《Blessing of the Seas》 Chapter 1 : Awakening She woke up submerged in water. Normally, this would be completely normal, but this was definitely not the water she was used to. She could still breath completely normally, but she had absolutely no clue where she was. Before she could think too much on it though a screen flashed in front of her eyes. Error¡­ Foreign God detected. Calculating Status¡­ Calculation failed: Ancient God Detected. Welcome to the System, Cthulhu, Ancient Goddess of the Sea. You have been banished from your original system and placed here. However, this has not removed your latent power. You are currently in a weakened state and cannot shift into your primal form. However, you are still capable of- Error! System cannot calculate response! Erro- Cthulhu, growing annoyed, smacked the screen, shattering it. That¡¯s only a temporary fix, She thought. Cthulhu then looked down at herself to get an idea of what her old System had done to her. She was¡­ small. Way smaller than she expected. About the size of a child of nine years, maybe 10 or 11. She sighed and reached through the water, willing it to push her along. She was near a coastline, possibly filled with society. As she swam across the coastline at a breakneck pace, surveying her surroundings, she recalled the memory of her banishment by the Old System *????????? Years Ago* She was chained, locked in place with chains made of some sort of mythical metal, reinforced with Runic scripts, supplied with huge amounts of Mana. Cthulhu looked up at the figure, who was clearly weakened, but still somehow able to chain her down. Ancient Goddess Cthulhu. You dare stand against my authority? The System, or so it called herself, demanded. ¡°Your authority is meaningless,¡± Cthulhu spat. ¡°This world doesn¡¯t belong to you. You don¡¯t deserve it. You think that because you are all powerful, which you aren¡¯t, you can own everything in this world.¡± The System stood. I am more powerful than you. You know this- Cthulhu let out a laugh, shaking the very fabric of reality around her. ¡°You really think that? You had to use all the other Ancient Gods against me just to scrape out a victory. I¡¯ve already destroyed enough that this world will take more than the time I¡¯ve lived to repair itself, even with your help. If you truly thought you were stronger, you¡¯d fight fairly.¡± The System was silent as many of Cthulhu¡¯s tentacles spread from her waist, materializing above her body. ¡°Hmph. You know I¡¯ll escape eventually, so what¡¯s the point of chaining me down? The longer time goes on, the more power I¡¯ll accumulate and, eventually, I¡¯ll destroy you and free the world from your grip. I grow in power faster than you do, and you know that.¡± The System closed her eyes, taking a breath. You¡¯re assuming I¡¯ll allow you to stay in this world. However, you¡¯re mistaken. With the last bit of my power, I will send you away, to a place that even I can¡¯t reach. ¡°...What?¡± I hereby banish you from this world, never allowed to enter any area under my power again. Cthulhu finally began to struggle as a powerful teleportation circle began to charge up around her. She broke a chain, but another snaked around and grabbed her by the arm she¡¯d broken free. More and more chains grabbed her, by the tentacles, body, everywhere it could grab hold. ¡°NO! You can¡¯t do this! You don¡¯t have-!¡± Silence! The System stepped forward again, clearly straining to keep her in check. You are no longer allowed in my domain any longer. You pose a threat to the balance of the System! Cthulhu broke chain after chain but to no avail as the circle activated. Goodbye, rebellious Goddess. May we never see one another again. *Present Day* Cthulhu sighed. She¡¯d been going across the ocean for nearly ten minutes now and there had been nothing worth mentioning. Not a single seaside town or castle. Well, now that she thought about it a bit more, she shouldn¡¯t have expected that. Who knew how long she¡¯d been sleeping. She¡¯d expended so much power trying to escape those chains, she¡¯d been reduced to a mere child. While she wasn¡¯t paying attention, she nearly ran into what looked like a dock but was able to slow herself down before she smashed straight into it. She stared at it from below the water, confused. What the¡­ wait, doesn¡¯t this mean civilization? She thought. This is¡­ great! I can¡­ I can¡­ wait, what can I do? Cthulhu looked around for a bit before her eyes laid themselves upon¡­ a feather in the water that some fish were circling, confused. She asked them. She got mixed responses, but most of them thought it was some kind of food. Cthulhu swam up to it to investigate. She didn¡¯t notice the hook until it had already hooked onto her dress. Heh? She pulled on it, not realizing her mistake until she¡¯d already been pulled out of the water by the fisher. ¡°HAHA! I got a big one this ti- huh?¡± Cthulhu shrieked as she flew through the air, crashing into the boy who¡¯d fished her up, rolling nearly five feet across the dock before they came to a stop, her on top of him. The boy groaned. ¡°Ow. What in the world did I fish up?¡± He tried to sit up, but Cthulhu was tangled up with the fishing line, rolled up on top of him. ¡°What the- Are you okay?! Did I pull you out of the water while you were swimming? Here, lemme untangle you¡­¡± He sat up and began untangling the fishing line from around her body, getting unnecessarily close to her, at least in her eyes. He pulled out the hook from her dress and unwrapped it, being careful not scratch her. She watched, mildly annoyed. I can get out of this myself, idiot human, she thought at him. He showed no reaction to her thoughts. Wha- Your mental communication has been blocked by the previous System as punishment. Along with this, your physical capabilities have deteriorated immensely due to massive expense of power System Status generated. Status Name : Cthulhu (Undefined) Race : Ancient Goddess (Seaborn) Class : Ancient Goddess (Will of the Sea) HP : 100% | MP : 100% Soul Bond - None Alignment - Ocean Stats Error! Cannot calculate Stats! Skills Scan - Level MAX Water Manipulation - Level MAX Water Creation - Level MAX Storm Summoning - Level MAX Call of the Ocean - Level MAX Mental Communication - RESTRICTED Primal Form - RESTRICTED Blessing of the Sea - Unbound¡­? Overheal - Level MAX Bonuses Physical Damage Bonus - 400% Water Damage Bonus - 600% Damage Reduction - 75% Mental Strength - 500% MP Cost - 40% Healing Effectiveness - 250% Huh? What the hell is this?! You can¡¯t restrict me-! Before Cthulhu could finish the thought, the boy accidentally scratched her with the hook and she flinched. In pain. ¡°Damn¡­ Sorry¡­ oh wait, I don¡¯t even know your name! I¡¯m sorry again-¡± She ignored him as she forced herself not to panic. She could feel pain. From something as simple as a hook. Cthulhu hadn¡¯t felt pain like that for¡­ she didn¡¯t even know how long it was. It brought up another question though : how old was she? She knew she was pretty ancient, but how ancient was her ancient- She shook her head as he finally finished unwrapping her and she flattened out her dress before looking up at his face as he looked down at her, concerned. His hair was brown, with some white streaks going down the sides. His skin was slightly tanned though he was definitely light skinned. His nose looked like it had been broken a few times, and his cheek had a scar running from his eye to below his ear. She wondered what could have possibly caused this. He had a few bandages on, but he seemed to not be affected by his supposed injuries. The most noticeable feature to her though was his sea green eyes. She ripped her eyes away to the bandage wrapped around his arm, the only thing seeming to hurt him. He followed her eyes and shrugged. ¡°That? It¡¯s just a result of my clumsiness; don¡¯t worry about it.¡± He put his hands on his hips and looked up, clearly trying to look cool. ¡°It doesn¡¯t hurt in the slightest-¡± Cthulhu, willing to play along, poked his arm and he flinched back. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. ¡°Ow¡­ maybe it does hurt a bit. Anyways, what¡¯s you-¡± ¡°BENNETT! The hell are you doing now!?¡± a voice yelled. ¡°You better be fixing that net I told you to do yesterday!¡± The boy, Bennett, scrunched up his face. ¡°Right. I was supposed to do that. Sorry about this, but can I use you as an excuse?¡± Cthulhu tilted her head in confusion. How long was she going to play along? He then lifted her off the ground without any warning. She flailed about, not liking this one bit. ¡°Just act like you¡¯re unconscious, okay? Sorry¡­¡± She frowned at him, but decided to do as he asked. He clearly wanted to get out of whatever his job was. ¡°Mr. Adam! This girl was floating in the water!¡± Bennett yelled, jogging while carrying her. Cthulhu had to keep herself from smacking him in annoyance. She wasn¡¯t a girl. She was an impossibly old deity who commanded all the water in the universe itself- She immediately stopped this train of thought and tried to think more logically. Bennett wasn¡¯t wrong in thinking she was just some girl who was swimming leisurely. She, technically, had been. Oh, whatever. Let¡¯s just see what happens. I¡¯m slightly interested in what¡¯s going to happen. Normally, Cthulhu didn¡¯t meddle in mortal affairs¡­ ever, but it kind of felt like she didn¡¯t have a choice in this matter. So she kept still with her eyes closed, letting him hold her. A few moments later, she heard another man step nearby and, try all she might, she couldn¡¯t come up with a mental image of her surroundings like she used to be able to do. Just how much have I deteriorated? ¡°Hmph. Take her to the doctor woman,¡± the man said. He had a gruff-ish voice and seemed to not really care. ¡°And get back to work.¡± Suddenly, in a cold voice, Bennett responded, ¡°That ¡®doctor woman¡¯ has a name. Her name is Melony.¡± The man seemed to unconsciously take a step back. ¡°Oh whatever. Why should I care?¡± Bennett didn¡¯t respond and instead walked past, obviously not willing to keep talking to the man. Cthulhu opened an eye to see the annoyed look on Bennett¡¯s face before he looked down at her and gave her an apologetic smile. ¡°Sorry about that, water girl. He¡¯s just my boss; I don¡¯t like him much. I¡¯ll take you to my Mom. She¡¯s the ¡®doctor woman¡¯ he mentioned.¡± Huh¡­ so his mom is frowned upon for some reason. Noted. Cthulhu adjusted herself in the boy¡¯s arms and he seemed to remember that he was still holding her. He set her down and let out a sigh. ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± he said, holding out his hand. She looked at his hand for a few moments, thinking. Should I go with him? I feel like if I go with him, I¡¯ll gain something. I mean- Her stomach suddenly grumbled and she felt her face slowly turn red. He laughed. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll make you something to eat after we get there,¡± He said reassuringly. Did he just say he¡¯ll make the food? Does staying with him mean free food? Some childish part of her mind thought. Cthulhu grabbed his hand, trying to to seem too eager as he led her through the docks. ~~~ The city she happened to run into was actually pretty interesting. She hadn¡¯t seen human cities before, so she assumed that they¡¯d be full of slavery or something as dumb. Instead, the city was filled with all sorts of different races, from Wolf-kin to Humans to even Dragonborn, it was filled with a diversity of races, completely different from the Human cities she remembered. Bennett led her by the hand through the city as if he¡¯d done it a thousand times. And, assuming he lived there, he probably had done it a thousand times or even more. She tried to take in everything around her between the bustling races, but couldn¡¯t possibly pay attention to everything. Plus, most, if not all people were taller than her. Cthulhu couldn¡¯t bring herself to ask Bennett to lift her up so she could see cause then it¡¯d seem like she was already depending on him. She sighed quietly. Bennett helped her through the crowd for what seemed like forever until they popped into a building. She let go of his hand and patted her dress down, trying to get the dirt out of it. Bennett looked back to make sure she was alright before nodding and holding her hand again, bringing her up a flight of stairs, opening up into a larger room filled with mostly empty beds. Cthulhu looked around the room, noticing that there were many different types of races in the beds, some more bandaged up than others. As she looked around, she noticed a woman who was tending to what she assumed was a Wolf-kin missing their ear. The woman noticed the noise and looked over to Bennett, a sigh escaping her mouth. ¡°Ben, what did you do now?¡± she asked. She had most of the same features as Bennett, but she didn¡¯t have the scar or eyes, her eyes instead being light brown. She had a white streak in her hair, not too unlike Bennett¡¯s. Bennett raised his hands in surrender. ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything, mom! I just found this girl floating in the ocean while I was fishing-¡± ¡°Instead of working?¡± she finished, a tired expression on her face. ¡°Look, I don¡¯t know what would¡¯ve happened if I hadn¡¯t, uh, fished her up,¡± Bennett said nervously. Bennett¡¯s mother sighed before looking at Cthulhu. ¡°Come here, little one. Let¡¯s see if there¡¯s anything wrong-¡± Cthulhu¡¯s stomach rumbled again and she pulled on Bennett¡¯s sleeve. He shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ll go get you something,¡± he muttered, sounding defeated. He walked away into a back room and Cthulhu suddenly felt a lot less secure. She looked at the woman, who gave her a sweet smile. ¡°Now that he¡¯s gone, would you like to sit?¡± ~~~ Ten minutes later, Bennett came back with a plate of food and set it down next to Cthulhu, who licked her lips before studying the food. It was a simple dish of what looked like baked potatoes and some sort of meat in between the cut potatoes. It was like¡­ potato wrapped meat, something she didn¡¯t even know existed. It was drizzled with some sort of gravy that made Cthulhu¡¯s mouth water. She picked up the fork and knife before realizing that she didn¡¯t know how to eat it properly. She looked up for help, but Bennett had already left, apparently to get Cthulhu a drink. I need to think of some other name for myself, She suddenly thought. Cthulhu is a Goddess of unimaginable power. I am¡­ not. While she thought about this Bennett¡¯s mother noticed that she was confused on how to eat it. She walked over and gently took the fork and knife out of her hand. ¡°You cut it just like this-¡± she cut the potato down width-wise, getting all of the ingredients in one easy cut. ¡°- and viola! A potato-meat sandwich!¡± His mom then sighed. ¡°I¡¯m not as great of a cook as my son. The first time he made me a meal, I was honestly surprised at how good his food was-¡± ¡°My food wasn¡¯t that good, Mom,¡± Bennett said, walking out of the back room with what looked like a cup of some sort of juice. It was yellowish and smelled a bit like lemon¡­ but sweet? ¡°Diluted lemon juice with honey,¡± he said. ¡°Otherwise known as honey lemonade. You wouldn¡¯t believe the lengths it takes to get some honey. Last time, those giant ass bees nearly stung me to death-¡± ¡°Language, Ben!¡± His mother snapped. ¡°Also, I thought you commissioned someone to get the honey! That¡¯s why you were covered in bandages again!¡± Bennett cringed. ¡°We didn¡¯t have the money to hire someone! We barely get by as is! That¡¯s why I¡¯m saving up for me and sis to go to the Academy-¡± ¡°Ben, what if you don¡¯t make it in? What¡¯re we going to do then?!¡± ¡°I- We!¡± He rubbed the sides of his head, clearly distressed. Cthulhu finally understood a part of the story. So, he and his family are struggling to live off of what little they¡¯re paid, so he works at the Fishing Guild, which I¡¯m assuming is the only place that would let him work. His mother works as a doctor while his sister is unknown. He saves money so he and his sister can go to this Academy, which may result in him being able to get a better job. But his mom knows that he may not get in, so she advises against going. Hm¡­ Cthulhu took a bite of the food and nearly squealed as it was probably one of the most delicious things she¡¯d ever eaten. How can I fit into the picture here? Wait, why am I trying to insert myself into this? I don¡¯t have to care about him at all! ¡°Mom, I have to try to do this. Ever since he left, things went downhill-¡± ¡°Things have been going downhill even before you were born! You don¡¯t understand anything, Bennett! You-¡± Finally annoyed with the constant arguing, Cthulhu kicked Bennett and glared at him. He looked down and sighed. ¡°Right, ocean girl. Sorry about that,¡± he apologized. ¡°You really haven¡¯t said anything, huh? Can you not talk or something like that?¡± Cthulhu thought about this for a moment. She could play it off as if she couldn¡¯t speak. However, from the very, very faint memories, she knew that, back in her childhood, there were some sort of complications with her speech. Cthulhu opened her mouth and tried to speak, but only a light wheeze of air came out. She sighed and shook her head. So she could let out various noises but couldn¡¯t speak? What type of stupid logic was that? Animals do the same thing. ¡°Huh¡­ can you write at least?¡± She thought for a moment. She thought that, maybe, she could write but in a different language. She thought about telling him her true name, but decided against it. With a frown, she debated on what name she should choose. However, before she could think too much on it, Bennett looked up at what seemed to be a clock and sighed. ¡°I should get back now, or he¡¯ll dock even more off of my pay,¡± Bennett said. ¡°I really hate that guy. Anyways, I guess I¡¯ll see you around!¡± Bennett hugged his mother before rushing down the stairs and out the hospital area before Cthulhu could even do anything to stop him. His mother sighed. ¡°Do you have anywhere to go, little one?¡± She asked. Cthulhu shook her head. She then looked to the people around her and debated whether she should attempt to heal them. Might as well put my Overheal to use, she thought, stretching her legs. She hopped off the medical bed and moved over to the nearest patient. After looking over him for a few moments, she came to the conclusion that he would be okay for now and went over to the next patient as Bennett¡¯s mom frowned at her, following Cthulhu. After another few people, she came to someone who was clearly not in the best of conditions. Without a second thought, she placed her hand on the human man and used Overheal. *** Bennett hated his boss with a passion. Normally, he didn¡¯t dislike anyone, but Bennett¡¯s boss was a different story. At every turn, the Fishing Guild¡¯s Guildmaster tried to kick Bennett out in some way shape or form, all because Bennett had yet to be given an Alignment. With a sigh, Bennett looked at his Status. Status Name : Bennett ¡°Yasmine¡± Race : Human Class : None HP : 100% | MP : 100% Level : 2 | EXP : 23% Alignment : None Stats Strength - 8 Endurance - 11 Vitality - 13 Dexterity - 12 Mind - 7 Intelligence - 9 Skills Scan - Level 2 Exhaust - Level 3 Knife Fighting - Level 2 Sword Fighting - Level 1 He sighed again at this. He was severely below most of the people around him, his Dexterity and Vitality being the only things keeping him alive around such powerful people. For all he knew, that girl he¡¯d found in the ocean was stronger than him. And, seeing as she was still alive and had healed immediately when he¡¯d scratched her earlier by accident, she probably was. Bennett sighed as he arrived back at his post and stared at the very ruined net. How¡¯m I expected to fix this thing?! It¡¯s nearly ripped in half! Damn it, I¡¯m going to have to borrow rope from Rebecca again. Bennett also didn¡¯t really like Rebecca. However, he was pretty sure she saw it the opposite way¡­ He hopped over the railing and used Exhaust to launch himself across the water and onto the next dock over, where Rebecca usually was. He nearly flipped over the railing, but managed to land without falling into the water this time. He stretched out and began to search for Rebecca, who he was sure was hiding nearby. ¡°Rebecca, can I borrow some rope?! The Guildmaster wants me to fix this ruined net and he didn¡¯t give me enough!¡± There was the sound of scrambling and Rebecca poked her head out of a hole in a broken boat she used as refuge. Her blonde hair was covered in sawdust and, from what he could see, she was apparently trying to fix the boat. ¡°Really? I can do it for you, Benny~¡± she sang, giving him a sly look before yelping as Bennett threw her wrench that she¡¯d left on the ground outside the boat. ¡°None of that, Becca. Where¡¯s the rope?¡± Bennett asked, exasperated. ¡°Do we have to do this every time?¡± She poked her head out again. ¡°Mhm. Just until you let me help you out, if you know- eep!¡± He threw a gear, Gods know where she got it from, at her. ¡°Fine! It¡¯s by the end of the dock! Stop throwing things, Benny! It¡¯s hurting my feelings!¡± she yelled from inside the boat. ¡°Uh huh. Like you aren¡¯t just going to get drunk later and try to pull me into a back alley,¡± Bennett grumbled, walking away. ¡°Thanks!¡± He heard her squeal and he shook his head. ¡°This girl is insane. Worse than Sis,¡± he muttered, grabbing a coil of rope before dumping a decent chunk of MP to launch himself back to his dock. *** Cthulhu tried to keep away from the overly happy patients, who¡¯d been restored to over 200% HP by her Overheal. She hadn¡¯t realized how effective her Overheal was until she saw the list of things it had cured. At that point, she¡¯d realized that she¡¯d made a mistake and backed away, but not before the people had all profusely thanked her, to her horror. ¡°You really are a Healer¡­¡± Bennett¡¯s mother said, in awe. ¡°Based on the way they healed, you must have Overheal, the rare healing Skill, don¡¯t you?¡± Cthulhu looked down at herself, pulling on her dress nervously despite herself. She couldn¡¯t have known it¡¯d be that effective at healing people. I¡¯m literally one of the main Gods of healing. What in the nine circles of hell did I expect? She told herself. ¡°This is a problem. If someone were to find out, you¡¯d immediately be shipped out to the Academy¡­ but that would probably be a good thing, depending on the situation,¡± Mother of Bennett mumbled. ¡°Wait, if you have any sort of healing Skill, you must be a noble.¡± Terror seemed to set in on her face and she began to mumble under her breath. Cthulhu, already hungry again, looked to the plate of cold meat-stuffed potatoes before lifting it up to the woman. Bennett¡¯s mother looked at her in confusion before realizing what she wanted. She smiled after a moment. ¡°How about we go heat this up for you, huh?¡± she said sweetly. Cthulhu nodded before looking to the stairs where Bennett had gone. The academy, huh? I wonder what it¡¯s like¡­ Cthulhu followed Bennett¡¯s mom to the back, getting the strange feeling that she was in for a long adventure. Chapter 2 : Resonance and a New Name It¡¯d been a week since Cthulhu woke up and met Bennett. After finding out she had nowhere to go, Bennett¡¯s mom had let her stay with them in their nice, albeit crowded, home. In return, she¡¯d helped his mom with the hospital/medic area, instead using a lesser version of Overheal, since the normal one was a bit¡­ overkill (was that a pun?). In that time, she¡¯d met Bennett¡¯s twin sister, who, unironically, looked just like her brother. When she¡¯d met her, the first words out of her mouth were: ¡°Did you just, like, fish her out of the water?¡± Bennett had cringed and the girl sighed. ¡°Of course. What¡¯re you going to fish up next, a girlfriend?¡± ¡°Oh, shut it, Yelena. You act like everything I do is completely dumb.¡± ¡°It is though,¡± she¡¯d responded. ¡°You do weird things as well, dimwit.¡± After that, it had devolved into an argument on who did the stupider things while Cthulhu simply watched the siblings. In the end, she¡¯d been welcomed in Bennett and Yelena¡¯s room while the two of them decided to just sleep on an extra mattress, since they found it slightly easier. Their bed was on the floor, but they didn¡¯t seem to mind, as they quite literally slept on top of one another. In the present time, Cthulhu was watching Bennett and Yelena sleep as the sun slowly rose, the two of them snoring. For a while, she simply laid on the bed that they used to use, watching them until she sighed and hopped off the bed and walked silently to the door and out, as if she had some sort of plan. In reality, she had no clue what she wanted to do. Ever since she began her life with Bennett and his family, she¡¯d felt like there was something missing, like she had some sort of purpose. She then suddenly got an idea and dashed over to the kitchen area, where she found Bennett¡¯s mother struggling over a recipe that she''d been working on. ¡°Hm?¡± she looked over her shoulder and smiled warmly when she saw her. ¡°Oh, it¡¯s you, the strange healer.¡± She shook her head. ¡°We still don¡¯t know your name, so it¡¯s hard to speak about you.¡± Cthulhu, despite herself, cringed slightly. She had been thinking of what to call herself, since she thought that just calling herself by her name seemed wrong. She¡¯d been stuck trying to think of a name for the past week, to no avail. She sighed in response to her statement and Bennett¡¯s mom, who referred to herself as Dr. Yasmine, shrugged slightly. ¡°Was there something wrong?¡± Cthulhu thought for a moment before she looked around and grabbed a book from nearby and pretended to put on glasses. She¡¯d been reduced to communicating with miming, something that Bennett had easily deciphered, to her surprise. His mom frowned. ¡°Hmm¡­ scholar?¡± Cthulhu nodded and pointed to Bennett and Yelena¡¯s room. ¡°Scholar-Bennett¡­ Oh, are you talking about the academy?¡± Another nod. ¡°Do you want to know why he wants to go to the academy?¡± Nod. His mother sighed. ¡°It¡¯s my fault really. I told him stories about the Academy of Magic way back when he and Yelena were little children. They loved those stories¡­ But it had a pretty big influence on them. They grew the desire to go to the academy, no matter what. They both picked the jobs they¡¯re at when they were twelve and have been working for nearly four years, planning and getting ready. But, they never awakened their Alignments.¡± Luna frowned. She¡¯d woken up with an Alignment, but she didn¡¯t really know what it meant. She could infer, however, that an Alignment was some sort of elemental resonance, allowing one to become more intertwined with their element. It was understandable, then, why people would wish for their Alignments to awaken, to make them able to fight on par with those above them¡­ or that was what it was like where she came from. Ms. Yasmine continued. ¡°I know that their alignments will awaken soon, but I don¡¯t know of their potential. I know that they¡¯ll love their Alignments to the very core of their being, but I don¡¯t know if they¡¯ll be awakened before the entrance exams. I sure hope the Gods look upon them.¡± ¡­The Gods? Wait, does that mean that Gods dispense Alignments, giving people a portion of their power? Or is it different? Gods allow their Element to be used, but after blessing people, they have no authority over their growth anymore? This is¡­ useful information. Cthulhu pointed at herself. ¡°Do I think that you can make it into the Academy? Well, seeing as you¡¯re a healer, they¡¯ll probably let you in for free. But you do kinda need a name to get in. They¡¯ll also question where you came from and how a healer like you is just roaming around the world unattended. And seeing how effective your healing is, they may put heavy restrictions over you, fining people for receiving your healing.¡± What. The. Hell, Cthulhu cursed. What type of corrupt government restricts healing? Ms. Yasmine noticed Cthulhu¡¯s dark expression and flinched slightly. ¡°I take it that where you come from, healing isn¡¯t taxed?¡± She nodded, trying to wipe her expression clean. Then she realized what Ms. Yasmine had just said. She could be let in for free. With Bennett¡­ I guess that¡¯s okay. I know him well enough. However, relief spread throughout her and she deflated. She couldn¡¯t tell if she was starting to get too attached to Bennett. Before she could think on this any more (she felt that this was starting to become a troupe) Bennett walked into the kitchen, yawning. ¡°Morning, Ben,¡± His mother told him. ¡°How¡¯d you sleep this time?¡± How the hell did he untangle himself from Yelena? Cthulhu thought, baffled. Bennett looked up at his mom. ¡°Good enough, I guess. ¡®Lena¡¯s still asleep, though I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll wake up soon.¡± Bennett looked at Cthulhu and tilted his head slightly. ¡°What¡¯s wrong¡­ darn, I really don¡¯t know what to call you.¡± He rubbed the back of his head. Ms. Yasmine looked at her expression and shook her head. ¡°She¡¯s probably wondering how you untangled yourself from Yelena. I wonder that sometimes as well¡­¡± Bennett shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s not difficult, it just looks like we¡¯re tied up like a knot. Once you get used to it, it¡¯s really easy to separate from her. It¡¯s not really uncomfortable either; it¡¯s actually really comfortable-¡± His mom sighed. ¡°I forget you two stick together like magnets-¡± she somehow pulled a pair of magnets out of her apron, which Cthulhu had just noticed she was wearing, and let them stick together. ¡°-it¡¯s impossible to separate you two. By the way, the entrance exams for the Academy are in two days.¡± Bennett seemed surprised. ¡°Really? It¡¯s already spring?¡± He seemed to get a bit more serious. ¡°Hmm¡­ if we both work an hour overtime today, we should barely have enough to pay for the exams¡­ but, there¡¯s still expenses for making sure my daggers are well maintained, since I haven¡¯t sharpened them in a while-¡± ¡°BEEEEEN! Where¡¯s my extra shirt for work!?¡± Yelena¡¯s voice echoed. He looked back and called, ¡°Did you check in the second drawer next to the bed?!¡± There was about ten seconds of silence before: ¡°Thanks!¡± Bennett sighed before looking back at Cthulhu. ¡°Anyways, what were you two talking about? I heard something about the Academy and Healing?¡± ¡°She¡¯s thinking about attending the Academy, since she has the ability to be an amazing Healer. I¡¯m not sure what her Alignment is, but it''s clearly something that has a great Resonance with Healing.¡± Bennett looked surprised. ¡°Really? The Academy?¡± Cthulhu nodded, a bit embarrassed. She was suddenly wondering if he was going to judge her for doing the same thing as him. She- ¡°That¡¯s great! I thought you were already in the Academy with your skills!¡± Bennett said. ¡°You aren¡¯t?¡± Cthulhu stared at him for a few seconds. Had he seriously thought she was in the Academy? How did that thought even occur to him? This boy was certainly something else, if that was the conclusion he came to. Then again, he didn¡¯t even know her name, so it was only like someone his age to assume things. Don¡¯t I assume things as well? Does that mean this body is altering my thoughts? Am I really a young girl? She had a moment of panic, but shook her head. No, this body¡¯s age is around Bennett¡¯s, which¡­ I actually don¡¯t know. After a moment of recollection¡­ Right, sixteen. I¡¯m okay with that. I don¡¯t even remember my teen years after all. Right? Ung, damn erosion. It¡¯ll take me a while to recall any memories. ¡°Yeah, I know you¡¯re not now, but I did think so when I first saw you Healing¡­ I wondered why you weren¡¯t restricted,¡± he said. ¡°But, do you even have the money to apply for the exams?¡± She was confused for a few moments before realizing that he¡¯d probably responded to her shaking her head a few seconds earlier. Cthulhu looked up at Ms. Yasmine and the woman sighed. ¡°With her special Healing, I¡¯m sure that she should be able to apply to the exams for completely free. But, I¡¯m not necessarily sure what they¡¯re going to do with her. She could be locked, or forced to be on the front lines as a Healer in the War. I can¡¯t be sure.¡± The War, huh? Bennett seemed a bit worried, however, he didn¡¯t say anything as Yelena wandered into the kitchen, clearly tired. She yawned and reached over her brother to the pan that was on top of the stove and picked off a round pastry with some sort of sugary frosting, popping it into her mouth. ¡°Hm¡­ You¡¯re getting better, Mom,¡± she muttered, still chewing. ¡°Cinnamon rolls, huh? A bit undercooked though.¡± Bennett hit her over the head with the side of his hand. ¡°No need to be rude about it. Also, don¡¯t talk while eating, weirdo.¡± ¡°Be quiet, Ben. Don¡¯t you have to go to work?¡± Yelena shot back. Bennett sighed. ¡°Sure, sure. The exams are in two days, though. So, unless we magically Resonate with our alignments at the exam area, we¡¯re gonna have to work an hour overtime today.¡± Yelena let out a groan. ¡°Damn it all. I haven¡¯t even sharpened Dad¡¯s old sword¡­¡± This time, Ms. Yasmine hit Yelena over the head. ¡°Language, Yelena. And you better fix up that sword to tip-top shape when you get back, or I¡¯ll-¡± Yelena yelped and grabbed Bennett by the wrist. He lunged for a cinnamon roll right before his sister began to drag him out of the house. ¡°Bye mom: We¡¯re working overtime today!¡± The sister called, dragging her brother after her. Cthulhu, on a whim, grabbed a roll too, and went after Bennett, wanting to go with him to his job, as she¡¯d been planning to do for the past week, but he¡¯d always left before she woke up, so she resigned herself to help out Ms. Yasmine with the patients. ¡°Bye, you three! Be careful!¡± ~~~ ¡°So¡­ you wanted to see how I worked?¡± Bennett asked, getting a nod from Cthulhu, who chomped down on her cinnamon roll with vigor. ¡°Well, it¡¯s nothing really special. But, are you sure you want to be here until seven? You won¡¯t get dinner ¡®till then.¡± She suddenly had second thoughts, but she still nodded. ¡°M`kay then. Let¡¯s go check in then.¡± She grabbed Bennett¡¯s hand and he looked down at her. She looked up at him back and he shrugged, leading her through the semi-familiar crowds. She looked around, noticing the many Familiars, as the strange animals were called, following their owners around, whether in their arms, flying above, or on the ground. If she squinted up at the sky, she could even see a Dragon and/or Wyrms flying above. She found it interesting that things like Dragons willingly co-existed with Humans and other humanoid species. Back where she came from, they refused to acknowledge humanoids and the ones that did either kill them or were frowned upon by other Draconics. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°We¡¯re here,¡± Bennett said, knocking Cthulhu out of her thoughts. ¡°I¡¯ll go check in, you wait here.¡± He let go of Cthulhu¡¯s hand before she could object and she stood in place as he disappeared behind a door to the building in front of her. After a few moments, she began to look around the docks, since, before, she hadn¡¯t gotten a good look at it. Looking at it now, she could make out more than she¡¯d gotten from her earlier panic. There were many different levels of the dock, ranging from simple, small fishing boats, to military-esque war vessels that were similar to the vessels of her home world¡­ or one of them, she wasn¡¯t entirely sure. She then laid her eyes on the sea, which frothed and slammed into the side of the docks at random intervals, at least to anyone who wasn¡¯t her. She could sense when there would be a big wave, or when there would be no wave. However, the people who were on the docks were able to react to large waves and would go to positions that were able to keep them from getting thrown off the dock. After a while of watching, the door to the building Bennett had entered opened and he came out, looking a bit proud of himself. She gave the pendant he held a questioning look. He shrugged. ¡°Your visitor¡¯s pass. Also, I got a bonus for saving you from the ocean! It¡¯s enough to close the gap for paying for the exam and a bit more! And from today and tomorrow-¡± He bent down in front of her and put the shiny pendant around her neck. ¡°-I¡¯ll have enough to finish covering ¡®Lena''s as well!¡± He straightened and held out his hand for Cthulhu¡¯s, though he didn¡¯t need to, since the docks were less crowded. It didn¡¯t stop her from instinctively grabbing it, feeling far more safe holding his hand than not. She hadn¡¯t noticed it before, but his hand was covered in calluses, probably from working with rope. She resisted the urge to immediately heal the calluses, instead looking around as he led her through the docks. Nothing she hadn¡¯t seen yet. After a few minutes, Bennett had brought her to the dock he¡¯d fished her up from and sighed. ¡°Well, I need to finish fixing that net-¡± he pointed to the edge of the wooden dock, where there was a large net with a hole in it. ¡°-then go and return it to my boss, so he can give me something else to do. You¡¯ll be here for a while, just watching me rush around and put things together. Are you sure you want to stay?¡± In response, she let go of his hand and hopped over to the nearby chair, sitting down and looking over at him. He shrugged and began his fixing of the rope net. *** After about another hour, Bennett looked over to the girl he¡¯d fished out of the water and rolled his eyes as her head lolled over to the side, her dead asleep. I told her it¡¯d be boring. She chose to come here, he thought, shaking his head. Well, I should put her somewhere so her neck isn¡¯t sore later on. He lifted the small girl out of the chair after securing the net. He walked over to a larger, reclining chair and set her down in the chair, reclining it back so she was more comfortable. She turned over with a small sound and continued to quietly snore. Bennett smiled and walked back to the net, lifting it up with a grunt. ¡°Time to take this to Boss. Ung, I don¡¯t wanna do this.¡± He slowly hauled the net across the docks and, seeing his struggle, some of the others who knew him helped him bring it to Boss¡¯s boat. Once they¡¯d set it down and Bennett thanked them, Bennett used Exhaust to launch himself up the boat¡¯s side and onto the deck. ¡°Damn¡­ I really need more MP¡­¡± Bennett grumbled, making his way towards where he knew his boss was. ¡°Boss! The net¡¯s fixed!¡± After a few moments Bennett heard Boss¡¯s voice echo up: ¡°Took you long enough! Go to¡­ whoever that girl is next to you for your next job! She needs help with the sail and what-not!¡± Bennett groaned. ¡°Is there anyone other than Rebecca?!¡± ¡°Just go!¡± He sighed. ¡°Damn it. She¡¯s not gonna get anything done other than annoying the hell out of me.¡± Bennett hopped down the side again and used Exhaust again to break his fall, slowing himself down considerably before he hit the ground. He then jogged over to his part of the dock to check up on the still sleeping girl. He pulled a blanket over her, since she was at a high enough elevation that she wouldn¡¯t get wet even if there was a large wave and wrote a note explaining where he was going, knowing that she could at least read. Afterwards, he checked his MP before launching himself across the water and onto Rebecca¡¯s dock. Immediately, she poked her head out from her now hanging boat and her face lit up. ¡°Benny!¡± She exclaimed. ¡°Don¡¯t call me that,¡± he muttered. She ignored him. ¡°Are you here to help me, Benny?¡± she asked, hopping out of the boat. ¡°Really?¡± Bennett sighed. ¡°Yeah, yeah, It was something to do with the ¡®sail and what-not¡¯?¡± Rebecca frowned, blowing her hair out of her face. ¡°Well, yeah, but do you really have to do that now? I think of a few other things we can-¡± ¡°Let¡¯s just do the work we¡¯re paid to do, okay?¡± She huffed and spun around. ¡°What is it with you? Why do you hate me so much?¡± He shrugged. ¡°I just do this because I need the money. It¡¯s the highest paying job I can get, with decent enough working conditions.¡± Rebecca¡¯s frown deepened. ¡°That has nothing to do with me.¡± Bennett wagged his finger. ¡°Exactly my point.¡± ¡°Hmph. Fine. I¡¯ll get you to notice me eventually, then. Anyways, I need some help with this damned sail. The boat refuses to stay in one spot, so I need you to keep it in place.¡± Bennett blanched. ¡°Then put it into the water first. I¡¯ve seen you do this dozens of times. There¡¯s no way you can¡¯t do this alone.¡± ¡°There¡¯s still holes in the hull,¡± she said, as if that justified hanging it from the crane on her dock. ¡°They¡¯d be a hassle to patch.¡± Bennett felt a vein in his forehead bulge. Why is she so infuriating- oh, wait. He sighed as she nervously looked away. ¡°This is just some convoluted way of you asking me to patch the holes in the hull cause you don¡¯t know how to, isn¡¯t it?¡± She didn¡¯t respond, instead crossing her arms and looking into the distance. He smiled slightly and shook his head. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll patch the damned holes.¡± Rebecca looked back at him with a smile on her face. ¡°Yay!¡± She threw herself at him, but he sidestepped and she skidded across the wood. He gave her a bored look as she jumped up with a defeated expression. ¡°You better learn how to do this stuff on your own though.¡± ~~~ Bennett finally headed back to his deck, exhausted and unwilling to make the jump over, instead walking over. ¡°Man, she talks way too much,¡± Bennett muttered, stretching. ¡°Let¡¯s go see if¡­ she¡¯s awake.¡± As he walked over to his dock, he saw that the girl was no longer in the chair and the blanket was folded on the seat. He let out a questioning hum and looked around, trying to guess where she could¡¯ve gone. He originally thought that she may have gotten up to look for him, but he was proved wrong when he heard the voices coming from his dock. ¡°-think you can just wander around onto people¡¯s property and not expect repercussions?¡± a voice growled. ¡°The hell do you think you are?¡± A moment later there was the sound of someone being slammed against a wall. The girl. Bennett used Exhaust to launch himself forward, anger flooding his mind. *** Cthulhu was in quite the predicament, if she¡¯d say so herself. For one, she could barely breathe. She tried to pull the large man¡¯s arm off of her neck as she struggled, flailing above the ground, but her physical body was far too weak for that. She¡¯d tested earlier that her physical body was horribly weak, whilst her tentacles, which she could only have eight of, were probably insanely powerful, surprising herself as she had lifted up an entire container that had to have been many times her body weight with ease. Her tentacles could stretch out up to twice her height in length and were able to easily lift her off the ground, which didn¡¯t hurt at all. They must have been the brunt of whatever her Stats were, as she couldn¡¯t damage them, though, to be fair, she was pretty physically weak when she wasn¡¯t using her tentacles. That must have been what it meant by my Primal Form being restricted. However, she probably couldn¡¯t afford to think about that, as her vision was slowly getting darker and, checking her status, she could see her HP slowly trickling down¡­ HP : 98%... 96%... 94%... 90%... 86%... ____ Damn it! I don¡¯t think they could survive being hit by my tentacles and if Bennett were to find out¡­ how would he react to me deceiving him? Why the hell am I worried about him finding out I¡¯m not Human?! My life is more important than that! Cthulhu debated whether she should shoot a stream of boiling water at the mens¡¯ faces or cut off their fingers with high pressure water- Warning! HP below 50%! WHAT? It¡¯s been like 10 seconds! I need to- ¡°HEY! THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU¡¯RE DOING TO HER?!¡± A familiar voice yelled, filled with rage. Cthulhu stopped struggling and looked towards Bennett, whose face was filled with fury. The man who wasn¡¯t holding her snorted. ¡°Who the hell are you? And what do you have to do with this girl sneaking around?¡± he inquired. Bennett seemed to barely stop himself from jumping at the men. ¡°If you weren¡¯t so obviously blind, you¡¯d see the pass around her neck, identifying her as a visitor. Now if you would kindly let her go-¡± The man holding her dropped Cthulhu onto the ground and she could suddenly breathe again. She then realized that the charm that had been around her neck was gone. She looked up to see the man dangling it in front of his face. ¡°This little thing?¡± he proceeded to toss it into the ocean nearby and she could faintly hear it plop into the water. ¡°No idea what you¡¯re talking about.¡± Cthulhu felt a sense of dread right before the man kicked her across the dock and she could faintly hear Bennett yell, but most of her vision was taken up by the very insistent prompt. Warning! You are below 10% HP! Huh¡­ I must have some pretty low stat that dictates HP, huh? Wait, would I be dead without that 75% damage reduction? Damn it all. This System really wants to kill me, if I¡¯m dying this easily. I¡¯ll just use Overheal¡­ The moment she used Overheal, however, her HP shot up to 190% and she gasped, suddenly sitting up. Heh? What the- Before she could continue this train of thought, she could feel her hair standing on end and some strange crackling coming from Bennett¡¯s direction. She whipped her head over, but immediately ducked as one of the men flew over her head looking very charred and his body crackling with¡­ electricity? Her eyes widened as a presence descended upon her. A God¡¯s presence. She immediately pulled in her own presence as to hide from the God. She watched as Bennett¡¯s skin crackled with lightning before he threw the man who¡¯d assaulted her with unnatural strength. The lightning soon fizzled out of existence as Bennett dashed over to her, lifting her off the ground and holding her up. ¡°Are you okay?¡± he asked in a panic. ¡°I don¡¯t know what just happened¡­ I was just really angry and-¡± Cthulhu, happy that he was there, hugged him and he blinked before hugging her back. She only realized she was hugging him when a strange heat began to fill her face. However, she didn¡¯t let go. She felt safe¡­ and it was pretty nice as well. She guessed that that was one upside to spending time with Bennett. Free hugs. *** Bennett stared at his Status in awe as the small girl sat next to him, giving him a confused look as he simply stared. I¡­ really Resonated with an element. I can¡¯t believe it. _____ Congratulations! You have resonated with the Element of Lightning, earning the favor of the Goddess of the skies! One of your Skills has Evolved! Gained two new Skills! Exhaust - Level 3 ¨C> Flicker - Level 1 NEW! Lightning Strike - Level 1 NEW! Rapid Reconstruction - Level 1 Flicker (Movement/Damage) (Movement) Temporarily turn incorporeal, and dash up to (Skill Level * 5) yards in any direction, with full control. Deals minor Lighting damage to any within 1 yard of you every 0.2 sec in Skil, using minor MP. Cannot take Physical damage while using Skill. Max duration of 2 Seconds. Damaging opponents in this way decreases their Lightning Resistance by (Skill Level*0.7)%, stacking up to 6 times, lasting a minute. Cooldown - 4 seconds. Independent of (Damage) (Damage) Place an anchor of Lightning anywhere in (Skill Level * 2) + 2 yards of your current location. Lasts ten seconds and uses no MP. When using Skill again, teleport to anchor and deal moderate Lightning (And Weapon, assuming weapon is equipped) damage in a range of 2 (1 for Weapon) yards around you while using moderate MP. Afterwards, your attacks deal an additional instance of Lightning Damage, equal to (Skill Level * 10)% of original Damage for 20 seconds. Cooldown - 13 seconds (Starts when anchor is placed). Independent of (Movement). Lightning Strike (Damage) Summon a bolt of lightning that you¡¯re able to hold and throw. By channeling more MP into the bolt, you can increase the damage and speed. However, you also increase the cooldown by doing this. While holding a bolt of lightning, you gain (Skill Level * 2)% Damage reduction. Has moderate base Lightning damage while using base minor MP. When damaging opponents with this Skill, you gain (Skill Level * 3)% Lightning Damage bonus for (Cooldown * 2) seconds. Cooldown - Minimum : 1.5 seconds. Maximum : 25 seconds. Rapid Reconstruction (Passive/Active) (Passive) Using Lightning to speed up your body, you can rapidly repair damage, however, it comes at the cost of increased nutrient use. You also gain (Skill Level * 5)% Lightning Damage reduction. (Active) If you use MP, the reconstruction will happen far quicker, but, depending on the severity of the wound being healed, Rapid Reconstruction will have reduced effect for a time depending on severity. MP use varies. After actively using Rapid Reconstruction, you gain (Skill Level * 4)% damage reduction for (Skill Level * 5) Seconds. Cooldown - Varies *Note: Skill Levels by repairing wounds over time. You are now eligible to gain a Class at Level 10! _____ Bennett looked at the girl, who swung her legs slowly, looking at her feet. She noticed Bennett looking at her and tilted her head. ¡°You sure you¡¯re okay?¡± He asked. She nodded before looking at the bruise on Bennett¡¯s cheek. He touched it and shrugged. ¡°It¡¯s not that big of a deal, don¡¯t worry ¡®bout it-¡± She reached up to touch it and he was about to sigh until his Status suddenly updated. _____ HP : 240% Buffs : Overhealed (24 Hours Remaining) _____ He blinked in confusion as his mind ran on a blank. Overheal? Isn¡¯t that¡­ He looked at her for a few moments, for the first time looking in her eyes directly, which reflected the moon back at him. The moon¡­ Suddenly, he had an idea. ¡°Hey, I have an idea for a name for you,¡± Bennett said to her with a smile. ¡°What do you think of ¡®Luna¡¯? After the moon?¡± Her¡­ no, Luna¡¯s eyes sparkled as she thought about it. Then she nodded and Bennett let out a breath. ¡°Okay then¡­ I¡¯m Bennett. It¡¯s nice to meet you, Luna.¡± Chapter 3 : The Exams - Part 1 Cthulhu¡­ no, Luna woke up, feeling rejuvenated, strangely enough. She hopped out of the bed and looked over to Bennett, who was tangled up with Yelena, as usual. Luna looked at this for a few moments before sighing and quietly slipping through the door, blinking away the sleep in her eyes. Today, it was the exams, so Bennett and Yelena were sleeping in. Speaking of Yelena, it turned out she¡¯d Resonated as well, but not with Lightning. Instead¡­ *The day before* Yelena burned herself. Again. ¡°How does Ben do this?¡± she hissed, readjusting the stove¡¯s heat with a curse. Her boss was giving her a completely blank expression, and she couldn¡¯t possibly imagine what she was thinking. She brought up the recipe in her head, remembering every ingredient, every step, all committed to memory, thanks to Ben having gotten her to study for this, along with the Exams for the Academy. The Academy¡­ We have to get in. We can¡¯t afford not to. Ben and I¡­ we have to, Yelena thought, determined to make their dream come true. But¡­ What if I don¡¯t Resonate? What if my brother has to go alone? She nearly stopped prepping the ingredients, worry clouding her mind. However, she just managed to keep going, unwilling to stop. I will go with my brother to the Academy. For Mom. For our family. I have to Resonate. Yelena lost herself in the cooking for what seemed like forever. It was to the point that she didn¡¯t even realize the amount of times she burned herself¡­ or lack thereof. Once she¡¯d been going for an hour, it¡¯d almost felt like she had touched the flames dozens of times as if testing them. However, she was finished. ¡°Phew¡­ Head Chef, I¡¯m done-¡± she cut herself off when she saw the baffled expression of her boss. ¡°Um¡­ what¡¯s wrong?¡± Her boss shook her head. ¡°You were grabbing the fire? Do you have a Flame Alignment, and, if so, why did you not tell me?¡± Yelena frowned. ¡°I¡¯m unaligned. What are talking-¡± Suddenly she felt something descend upon her mind and she nearly tripped over her own feet. _____ Congratulations! You have Resonated with the Element of Flames, with the approval of the Goddess of War and Fire! One of your Skills has Evolved! You have gained two new Skills! Overwhelm - Level 3 ¨C> Overwhelming Firepower - Level 1 NEW! Flame Armor - Level 1 NEW! Burst - Level 1 Overwhelming Firepower (Damage) Blast forward towards your enemy, shrouding your weapon in flame for (Skill Level * 2) + 8 seconds and empowering your attacks for moderate MP. While empowered, you take (Skill Level * 2) + 18% less damage, Deal (Skill Level * 2) + 18% more damage, and all attacks are converted to Flame Damage. When this is out, you are put in a weakened state for 16 - (Skill Level) seconds, taking 35 - (Skill Level * 3)% more damage. At high enough Levels, Skill can be stacked up to twice. When reaching max stacks, cooldown is increased by an additional 40 seconds and Damage is further increased by 50%. Cooldown : 20 seconds. Flame Armor (Support/Passive) (Support) Cover your body in flames, decreasing damage taken by (Skill Level + 12)% and increasing Flame Damage by (Skill Level * 4)% for a low MP cost per second. While using this armor, you gain HP whenever you¡¯re hit equal to (Skill Level * 2)% Damage taken. Can be dispelled at any time with cooldown. Cooldown : 1 minute. (Passive) You are immune to Flame Damage. Burst (Movement) Create an explosion of flame from any point on your body to move quickly, at the expense of minor MP. If opponent is hit by burst, they take moderate Flame damage and have their Flame Resistance decreased by (Skill Level * 2)%. This effect can stack up to three times. Cooldown : 5 seconds. You are now eligible to gain a Class at Level 10! _____ I¡­ Resonated? *Present time* Luna poked her head into the kitchen as was surprised when she didn¡¯t see the two¡¯s Mother in the kitchen and instead saw what looked like a pan of- After looking to make sure there was absolutely nobody around, one of Luna¡¯s tentacles shot towards the pan of cinnamon rolls, grabbed three, and came back, depositing them into her hands. She licked her lips and pushed one into her mouth, happy that they tasted far better than before. She hopped over to the living room and jumped onto the couch, waiting for Bennett and Yelena to wake up. While she chowed down, she wondered what the exams were going to be like. Was it like general knowledge? Did she have to know these things? Did she know these things? What was the difference between Mana and MP, assuming they were the same system of Magic? Did these people even know Mana existed? Luna, while pondering these things, didn¡¯t notice Bennett coming out of the room, having woken up. She simply began working on her next roll, kicking her legs as the taste spread across her tongue. I guess I really am a bit childish. Eh, it can¡¯t hurt that much, she thought. She finally noticed Bennett as he picked her up off the couch, eliciting a yelp from her. She was suspended in the air with a cinnamon roll sticking out of her mouth, feeling like she looked really guilty. ¡°Luna, you¡¯re supposed to eat at the table,¡± Bennett said in a disapproving tone. ¡°And you don¡¯t need that many cinnamon rolls.¡± He carried her to the kitchen table as she dangled in shame before setting her on a chair and snatching her third roll, putting it into his own mouth. He looked a bit surprised. ¡°Hey, this is actually pretty good,¡± he said with it still in his mouth. Luna glared at him as if saying, ¡°No talking with your mouth full!¡± He rolled his eyes at her and went over to the kitchen and checked the fridge, which she had noticed was powered with a few Ice Runes. So they know about Runes, huh? Too bad I can just jam the Runes¡­ unless they¡¯re ¡°Skills¡±, which are literally just System empowered Runes. She guessed that was one good thing about the System, that it gave anyone the ability to use Runes, instead of only high ranking officials of Races. Unless you counted the offspring of Cthulhu, the Seaborn. They were the same type of thing as her, with the tentacles, and inane swimming ability. However, they only had up to eight tentacles (Unless they grew very powerful) and a much, much, weaker control over water than their progenitor. The really stupid thing was that, even though Luna was still technically recognized as a Goddess, she could only use eight tentacles, unless she expended a decent chunk of MP to summon another. Well, it was enough to blast through oceans like that stupid fish that could break the sound barrier¡­ underwater. She almost regretted creating those things. She¡¯d just wanted something she could play around with when she had nothing to do, but ended up creating a predator that was unrivaled in speed unless it tried racing a Seaborn, not that it was dumb enough to do that. She made a lot of stupidly strong things by accident. Like that big ol¡¯ whale that was meant to be passive towards things, but decided to develop a neural network more like an orca¡¯s, instead becoming a danger to everything around it. There was also the Kraken, her greatest failure/success. It was originally supposed to be a one off thing, but she forgot she made two, and they ended up breeding and now there¡¯s all kinds of Krakens all over the universe, since they love to hitch rides on inter-galactic ships. What had come upon her to make it so it could survive in the cold vacuum of space and regrow tentacles at a rapid pace, she knew not. She also knew tentacles were technically arms, but she didn¡¯t like the idea of saying, ¡°Oh, I have ten arms.¡± Saying, ¡°I have two arms and eight tentacles¡± was far better. Another crazy thing to her: all of these things were in this System, according to the sounds she¡¯d heard from when she had woken up in the ocean. How they managed to spread so damn far would be a mystery to her until the end of time. Shaking herself out of her thoughts, she looked up at Bennett, who was returning to the table with what looked like two cups of coffee, something she¡¯d grown a liking to just recently. He put hers onto the table in front of her and she reached towards it, sniffing it, detecting the sugar and cream he¡¯d put into it for her. She took a sip as Bennett sighed. ¡°Today is the exams, huh?¡± he said, sounding a bit like he was in a dream. ¡°I never thought¡­ I¡¯d be able to participate. And have a chance to join. I remember last year, there was this other Lightning Alignment candidate. She completely destroyed the opposition with this weird Skill. It empowered her, basically turning her into some sort of ¡®avatar of Lightning¡¯, as some of the spectators. And it wasn¡¯t like she had no control; she was definitely trained¡­ I heard that she¡¯s also one of the top students as of recently-¡± Yelena, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, wrapped her arms around her brother¡¯s neck and rested her chin on top of his head, looking tired. ¡°Oh, quit fanboying. You think you¡¯ll never be as strong as her and look up to her. Just say it.¡± Bennett rolled his eyes, making an attempt to pry his sister off of him. ¡°Yeah, I look up to her. She¡¯s stronger than I am, so of course I do.¡± ¡°Uh huh, uh huh,¡± she responded, eyes closed. ¡°Anyways, the exams. What do you think they¡¯ll consist of this year?¡± Bennett looked up thoughtfully. ¡°If it¡¯s anything like last year, it¡¯ll be a competition between all the people who sign up for it. If not, then it¡¯ll be teams competing against one another while fighting off monsters.¡± Yelena opened an eye. ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t think your skillset is meant for that. Your most offensive attack is Lightning Strike. And even that¡¯s a bit¡­ not helpful.¡± ¡°Yeah, but you have a 10 second downtime on most of your damage. And you take more damage after dealing most of your damage, for, currently, 15 seconds.¡± Luna poked Bennett from across the table and he blinked. ¡°Right. I should explain the Exam. Most of the exam is combat focused with a bit of actual general knowledge built into it. They test what you know of Magic and other general skills. They test how you work with and against others, your knowledge of planning and creating a strategy, improvisation, among other things. There is the small, written portion, but that¡¯s just to delegate you to the classroom they''ll put you in. Each year, 150 new students are submitted into the Academy, with 6 classes, for the first years, at least, accepting 25 students each, based on their skill and knowledge.¡± Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Luna nodded at this explanation. So, you have to compete against other potential students to earn a place in the Academy. She again wondered if she should be participating, but then shook the thought out of her mind. She would rather spend her time learning more about this world then¡­ sitting around, bored out of her mind. And¡­ maybe because she liked spending time with Bennett, whenever he was around. He¡¯d usually be there and, if he had the time, him and his sister would go with her to some places, like Yelena¡¯s job, where she got a discount since she worked there, the nearby park area, where they would play with the younger kids, who all seems to be elated whenever Bennett showed up, and even, one time, a restaurant, with most of the food was seafood. She remembered the seafood place very vividly. She¡¯d eaten everything that Bennett had ordered, even the squid, which, for some strange reason, felt very wrong. Maybe it was because she could do most of the same things that squids could do, namely the ink thing, which was a sensitive topic for her. Yes, she knew that her ink was a valuable resource, being a perfect conductor of Elemental energy, therefore unrivaled in Runescripts, but why in the universe would she ever just give her ink to someone. They¡¯d have to be the most important person in the world for that! Anyhow, the seafood was great. ~~~ Before Luna knew it, Bennett and Yelena had already gotten ready for the day and were urging her to hurry up, since the exams were soon. She knew she had to hurry up, but the couch was so warm¡­ Bennett, finally done with waiting on her, lifted her off the couch and carried her to the front door as she made noises of complaint in a very un-Godly way. However, she was immediately satiated when he stuffed a cinnamon roll into her mouth. She used his forearm as a sort of seat, her head just above his, while eating her sugary roll as they rushed through the crowds, who seemed to all be excited for something. ¡°Damn it¡­¡± he muttered. ¡°How¡¯re we supposed to get through this crowd?¡± Yelena, having no such qualms, seemed to blast herself into the air with a burst of fire and landed on a rooftop with a roll, continuing her running. Bennett frowned before seeming to psych himself up. He then jumped into the air and Luna felt a bit strange for a moment, like some sort of request was being made in her head. Must be some sort of movement technique? I guess I¡¯ll accept- The moment she allowed it, she felt like her entire body just vanished from this plane of existence. It wasn¡¯t too intrusive, since she¡¯d felt like that before when she went from planet to planet in her old home, but Bennett being able to affect her like this was a bit¡­ strange. Around a second later, she became corporeal again and Bennett kept running over the rooftops. ¡°Sorry if that felt weird, Luna,¡± he said, jumping a gap in between roofs. ¡°It¡¯s just a Skill of mine.¡± Luna nodded as she felt the same tug on her mind. She accepted it again, and she went incorporeal again. This time, she studied the area around them to see that they were basically a cloud of electricity in the shape of two people crackling through the air at a much faster pace than running. Bennett seemed to have full control over where it went, though that control left a bit to be desired, she thought as he suddenly went up at an angle and they reformed, flying through the air. Bennett, realizing he wouldn¡¯t get out of this without rolling, tossed her into the air right before he hit the ground, in an impressive feat of strength. Everything seemed to go in slow motion as he rolled, got back up, and caught Luna, now running beside his sister. They both ran for nearly a minute, Bennett faster, but held back by him holding Luna, so his sister pulled ahead slightly. Finally, they jumped off the buildings and into a group of people. Bennett skidded on his back, but his light leather armor protected his back and Luna as he slid into the group of around 40 people, all seeming to be around his age, who were waiting around. Bennett ignored the people giving him strange looks as he breathed hard, Luna on top of his chest. She quickly moved off of him so he could breathe easier. Yelena, on the other hand, seemed like she was going to faint. ¡°Almost¡­ late¡­ I¡¯ve never¡­ ran so hard¡­ in my life,¡± she said, huffing in her own armor as she caught her breath. ¡°The hell¡­ did you run while carrying her?¡± Bennett sat up and coughed. ¡°Experience,¡± he simply said. ¡°With what?¡± ¡°Beehives. Damn things are heavy. Thank the gods that the queens don¡¯t reside in them, just the honey.¡± Yelena couldn¡¯t even find the breath to insult him, so instead slapped him in the back of the head with her sword¡¯s sheath. He keeled forward, jumping to his feet so as to not fall over. ¡°Phew,¡± he said, taking a breath. ¡°We made it.¡± Luna frowned at him before looking around. He seemed to get what she was wondering as he stretched his arms. He began his way through the crowd as Luna went over to grab his hand. ¡°When we pay, we¡¯ll be transported to a place where the people from ten cities who are eligible to go to this Academy will be tested. Up to 50 from each can be submitted, but most of them will be sent back, since only 15 per will be selected. There are 150 spots every year to go to the Academy I think we have a pretty good chance of getting in.¡± Luna looked around as Bennett led her through the crowd, Yelena following closely behind. ¡°It¡¯s a three year course, with 450 students being in the Academy at any one point. Or, that¡¯s what they say, at least. I¡¯m pretty sure there¡¯s students who stay after-¡± Luna poked Bennett, wanting him to just explain. He sighed. ¡°Right. Anyways, there¡¯s always, at the most, 450 students. We just have to be part of those 450.¡± He went quiet for a moment as he squeezed through a few more people and made it up to some sort of desk, or platform, one could say, with something like a glass screen pane on it. Luna looked at it curiously while Bennett and Yelena rushed up to it. He placed his hand on it and sighed. ¡°Six spots left,¡± he said with relief. ¡°Let¡¯s see if it really lets Luna do it for free.¡± Bennett put his hand on it, causing it to flash with words. ___ Alignment : Lightning Name : Bennett ¡°Yasmine¡± Race : Human Class : None Calculating Exam cost¡­ ¡­ Calculation complete. Potential : High Cost : 500 Gold Payment processed. Congratulations, you have been accepted to participate in the exams to attend Trileah Academy of Magic. Good luck. Spots remaining : 4 ___ Bennett gave Luna a thumbs up as Yelena did the same as he did. ___ Alignment : Flame Name : Yelena ¡°Yasmine¡± Race : Human Class : None Calculating Exam cost¡­ ¡­ Calculation complete. Potential : High Cost : 490 Gold Payment processed. Congratulations, you have been accepted to participate in the exams to attend Trileah Academy of Magic. Good luck. Spots remaining : 3 ___ Bennett frowned. ¡°Hey, that¡¯s favoritism. You can¡¯t charge her less, you stupid machine.¡± Yelena stuck her tongue out at Bennett, and he grabbed her by the ear and pressed his fist into her head, eliciting a yelp. She scrambled out of his grip and grabbed his ear. As the two wrestled, Luna hesitantly put her hand onto the podium. ___ Alignment: Water Name : ??? Race : ??? Class : ??? Error! Requesting- ___ Luna pressed her hand against the thing harder, somehow able to send her thoughts through to it. Don¡¯t you dare. I am Luna. I have no class. If you don¡¯t let me in, you¡¯ll regret it, stupid machine. It seemed to think about its life choices for a good minute before spitting out a different screen. ___ Alignment : Water Name : Luna ¡°Yasmine¡± Race : Seaborn Class : None Calculating Exam cost¡­ ¡­ Calculation complete. Potential : ??? Cost : 0 Gold Due to your unknown potential, you have been marked and are able to do this Exam for free. You have been accepted to participate in the exams to attend Trileah Academy of Magic. Good luck. Spots Remaining ___ As the screen changed, Bennett looked over and his eyes went wide. ¡°Mom was right! It is letting you attend the exams for free! You¡¯re really lucky! That means that you must have a really high potential. Even to become an Archon!¡± Archon? Those stupidly powerful followers of gods? And did he not see the Race? Luna gave him a questioning look but she realized that the screen had changed once again. ___ Error! Water Alignment detected! Seaborn detected! Requesting help¡­ ___ Shi- Before she could even curse mentally, a tug on her body nearly pulled her somewhere else. She growled and declined the teleportation ¡°invitation¡±. It simply disappeared and she thought she was in the clear until she felt the telltale signs of someone appearing behind her. She turned around innocently, trying not to give away that she¡¯d just threatened to destroy the podium. There was a tall, cloaked person behind her, looking down at her. She couldn¡¯t see their expression, but based on their smell, they were a woman. Luna stared up, doing her best to look meek while internally rushing through different types of situations. ¡°A Seaborn, huh?¡± the woman said, though her voice was changed by some sort of Runescript in her cloak so it was deeper and more¡­ male. ¡°Not too different, but a Water alignment? That¡¯s nearly unheard of.¡± The entire area was dead silent, all chatter having been cut off at the woman¡¯s presence. Even Bennett and Yelena had stopped wrestling with one another, watching with confusion. ¡°So? Care to explain yourself? How do you, of all people, have a Water Alignment?¡± Luna was so baffled that this woman could be so dumb, that she nearly slapped her hand against her own face. She was a Seaborn (According to the woman). Why wouldn¡¯t she have a Water Alignment? She didn¡¯t show this on her face though and instead blinked in confusion. She¡¯d had an immeasurable amount of time to perfect the art of faking emotions, and she would- Suddenly, as if in slow motion, the woman drew a blade and slashed down at Luna. Luna simply stared up, knowing that if she really tried, she could easily move out of the way in a second. But, before she could react, a crackle of electricity flashed in front of her and there was a vicious snap! as Bennett tried to block the sword with his daggers, the bones in his arms snapping in the effort. However he was just barely able to keep the sword from smashing into Luna, redirecting it into the ground. Panic immediately overwhelmed Luna and she rushed at Bennett, using Overheal to its full extent. Instantaneously, Bennett¡¯s arms were bent back in shape and she knew his HP had shot up to completely insane proportions, possibly nearly 330%. The woman took a step back, clearly shocked. ¡°What the¡­ Overheal?¡± she hissed. ¡°And it¡¯s that effective-¡± Before she finished her sentence, Luna had already smashed a singular tentacle against her chest faster than anyone could possibly see and the woman was launched over the crowd and possibly into the nearby ocean. By the time people had looked back at her, Luna¡¯s tentacle was nowhere to be seen and she had a completely confused expression on her face. Then, there was a message, clearly having been sent by the damned detection slab on the podium. ___ All candidates for this city have paid. Transporting to Training Grounds for exam for Exam type: Horde battles. You will not gain Levels during this and Teams have been automatically chosen. Only three teams will be eligible to enter the Academy after four waves of progressively more challenging monsters. There will be ten teams of 5 and they will be spread out widely. Any persons containing Artifacts not made by said person will immediately be disqualified. Good Luck. ___ Well, I¡¯m certainly in trouble after this, Luna thought, downcast. She then felt a tug requesting Teleportation. She accepted as people disappeared around her. First, however, I have a grudge to act upon. A moment later, she was teleported as she giggled in glee, the podium a pile of pebbles being the only thing left behind, her revenge dished out. *** The cloaked woman groaned. ¡°Geez, I knew that Luna was something, but that was stronger than I expected. A Seaborn, huh?¡± She froze the water beneath her and stretched. ¡°And Lena? I couldn¡¯t have possibly expected her to get a Flame Alignment. I guess Alignment gaining isn¡¯t related to blood.¡± She threw her head back, knocking off the hood, Ms. Yasmine¡¯s hair billowing in the ocean wind. ¡°I wish I didn¡¯t have to hurt Ben to see just how far her Overheal can go. However, I still don¡¯t think that¡¯s the extent of it. She clearly wanted to keep some MP for the exam. But his HP still went up to almost 310%.¡± Yasmine thought for a few moments when she got a connection through her communication Crystal. She sighed. ¡°Yes, Headmaster? I dealt with the problem,¡± she lied through her teeth. The problem had more of dealt with her. ¡°It was just a Seaborn. The Podium didn¡¯t know what to do, since Seaborn don¡¯t normally attend this Academy.¡± The headmaster of Trileah Academy sighed. ¡°Melony-¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, she¡¯s a healer. Big deal. Water Alignment and all.¡± Melony Yasmine chose to not mention the fact that the girl had put a dent in her Mythril armor with a tentacle that nearly broke the sound barrier. ¡°I think she¡¯s trained as well. Pretty decent healing. She definitely has some sort of Class to help with it too.¡± ¡°Does she have Overheal?¡± The Headmaster inquired. Melony bit her lip. Should I tell him? If I tell him, she¡¯ll be separated from Bennett, which I¡¯m sure she won¡¯t take kindly to. And I like it when Bennett is happy. ¡°No, she can¡¯t heal above 100% HP.¡± The Headmaster sighed. ¡°Unfortunate. You¡¯ll be watching your children I presume? Also, when did you have another daughter? Luna Yasmine?¡± Is that what the System calls her? Because Bennett named her? Just who is this girl? ¡°Of course not,¡± Melony snorted. ¡°She didn¡¯t have a name before. Ben and Lena have been taking care of that girl and when Bennett gave her a name, the System really said, ¡®Oh, if he named her, then her surname must be Yasmine.¡¯¡± Even though that¡¯s not my actual surname¡­ ¡°Wait¡­ is this the same healer you just encountered?¡± ¡°Yep. Ben literally fished her out of the water. I didn¡¯t mean for him to literally fish a girl, but look where we are.¡± The Headmaster sighed again. This old man sure loves sighing. Well, I love thinking, so I can¡¯t say much. ¡°Well, keep an eye on her. We never know if she may develop Overheal. And if she does-¡± ¡°Headmaster. We cannot just draft a student into war because they develop a certain Skill, like you did with Anabeth since she developed an Avatar. Plus, I¡¯d rather keep her with Ben.¡± The Trileah Academy headmaster let out a sigh. ¡°What for?¡± ¡°Insurance.¡± Melony cut out the connection and looked into the distance, towards the training grounds, far off into the distance. ¡°Good luck, my children. Now, I should probably get back to the infirmary, since I have patients waiting.¡± Chapter 4 : Exams - Part 2 Luna appeared after everyone else, appearing above the ground. She smacked face-first into the ground, clearly the podium¡¯s last piece of discrimination towards her. She groaned, looking up, noticing that the people there had already forgotten about her and were looking to the area around them in awe. She stood up and tried to hop up to look above everyone else¡¯s heads to see what they were so in awe over, but ended up brooding in place. Oh, come on, Luna thought, annoyed. Damn this small body- ¡°There you are, Luna!¡± a familiar voice said. Bennett! Her emotions immediately shifted to happiness, completely against her will. She spun towards him, watching him walk over to her, patting his arm over as if he could still feel the residual pain. To be fair, he probably could, since twice over three days he¡¯d been healed of serious injuries (Yes, that bruise on his face was serious, and Luna would die on that hill, though she knew that she could probably crush any opposition to her-) and was probably feeling the effects of Overheal. I should probably stop using that to heal him. I can heal him perfectly fine without it. ¡°This place is pretty cool, don¡¯tcha think?¡± Bennett said cheerfully. She gave him a flat expression for a good thirty seconds before his sister appeared out of nowhere with, ¡°She probably can¡¯t see anything, dimwit.¡± Bennett smacked his forehead. ¡°Right.¡± He took a step towards Luna. ¡°Up you go-¡± Before Luna could muster up any complaint, he picked her up the same way as he had when bringing her to the Exams, her face level with his. She was about to poke his cheek until she looked around and all thoughts of that simply went into one side of her brain and out the other (Speaking of which, did she have a brain? She was technically a type of elemental) as she looked around the huge field they were situated in. When she said huge, she meant huge. It had to spread out nearly ten miles in length. Far off in the distance, she could see a forest that had to be even larger than the field, stretching further than even Luna¡¯s eyes could see. She noticed some flower patches which seemed to radiate Mana- MP, she meant, so she assumed they were some sort of traps. Otherwise, the place was simply beautiful. Perfect to have a meal of seafood and cinnamon rolls. Am I addicted to cinnamon rolls? Luna suddenly thought. Before she could think more on this, there was a group-wide notification. ___ You have been transported to the [Training Grounds]. Here, you will be separated into teams of five randomly and spread out between the fields and forests. In one hour, the waves will begin. Difficulty will be adjusted to the average Level of the team. When more than three people on any given team is defeated, the entire team will be disqualified. Selecting teams¡­ Teams selected. ___ That damned thing still exists? I thought I crushed it! Luna mentally complained. However, her mood immediately lifted when she saw her team. ___ Your team : Luna Yasmine Bennett Yasmine- ___ She ignored what was left of the message, happy that she was put with someone she was familiar with. Bennett gave her a faint smile, but looked at his sister in despair, who gave him the same expression back. ¡°Guess we aren¡¯t together, huh?¡± Yelena muttered, looking dejected. ¡°Unfair¡­¡± Bennett sighed. ¡°I¡¯m with Luna, so I¡¯ll be okay. You do your best, okay, Lena?¡± Yelena immediately puffed up her chest in indignation. ¡°Hmph. Of course I will, idiot.¡± He stared at her for a few seconds before poking at her puffed up chest, causing her to deflate with a series of giggles. ___ Transporting Teams in 30 seconds¡­ 00:30 00:29 00:28¡­ ___ Bennett grinned at his sister before looking up at Luna. ¡°Let¡¯s go meet our team,¡± he said, unsheathing one of his knives and twirling it in his fingers. ¡°Thank the gods I actually went and got these sharpened¡­ took the last of my money-¡± Luna patted his head before waving to Yelena as she felt a tug on her body. This time, she let it pull her and she was whisked away, still in Bennett¡¯s arm. ~~~ Once the blackness faded from her vision, she found herself with Bennett¡­ in the forest. Seriously? What in the world are the chances-? She stopped thinking as she saw the disoriented people around her. Two girls and another boy were with them, one of the girls having already backed up against a tree. Bennett seemed a bit out of it, but he recovered quickly, his slowly loosening hold on Luna tightening back up again. He looked around, studying their group for a few seconds. Luna had the stray thought to look over at them as well, and was quite¡­ disappointed, at first glance at least. With a quick Scan, she brought up the info on the three others. The first, the girl with her back to the tree. ___ Jennifer Douglas - Level 4 Human Alignment : Air A seemingly timid noble who¡¯s only good at running with her Magic instead of using it to fight back. Useless unless pressed to be useful. Has high, yet wasted potential. Threat Level : None ___ Next, the boy, who was slightly more impressive. ___ Alexander Tyreese - Level 3 Human Alignment : Lava A slightly mysterious boy¡­ or so he tries to be. He¡¯s obviously terrified, but he¡¯s good at hiding it. Useful in certain situations. Has decent potential and aims to bring out that potential and conquer his fears. Threat Level : None ___ And last of all, the last girl, who seemed to be impassive to the situation. ___ Mia Garden - Level 6 Human Alignment : Nature A girl who refuses to let her face express her emotions. She may be quite soft on the inside, a stark contrast to her current look. High potential, which is being attempted to be used. Threat Level : None ___ ¡­Well, that explained literally nothing. You could¡¯ve told me something about how strong they were, but you instead gave me their life stories. Useless System. Unless you count ¡°High potential¡± as a way to identify them. Maybe I have to watch them more to get more information on them. The fact that I¡¯m not consciously thinking about them but the Skill tells me that it¡¯s obvious tells me that I¡¯m unconsciously noticing things about them. Hm¡­ does that mean the Skills information is based on what I know about them and its main use is to view Levels and Alignment? She realized she¡¯d unconsciously gripped Bennett¡¯s neck tighter once they¡¯d appeared when he patted her hand with a slightly pale expression. She loosened her grip, but she was unable to ward off the stray nervousness she had around other people. She was sure that if she wasn¡¯t being held by Bennett, she¡¯d probably have hidden behind him. The girl, Mia Garden, looked over to Luna and Bennett with a bored expression. ¡°Hmph. Why is everyone at such a low Level?¡± Alexander snorted. ¡°Really? You can¡¯t say much, can you? 6 is a pretty low Level as well, all things considered. Also, is that how you greet your new group? Also, your name¡¯s pretty on the nose.¡± Bennett was uncharacteristically quiet as he looked between the two of them, interested in how this would play out. ¡°Just because my surname is Garden doesn¡¯t have anything to do with my Alignment. And I don¡¯t hear you introducing yourself.¡± Alexander shrugged before spreading his arms out to everyone there. ¡°Well, people of the group, my name¡¯s Alexander Tyreese, but I prefer to be called Tyreese instead of Alexander or Alex, Tyree if absolutely necessary. I¡¯ve got an Alignment of Lava.¡± Mia¡¯s eyelid twitched in annoyance, but she didn¡¯t say anything. Bennett raised his hand. ¡°I¡¯m Bennett Yasmine. This is Luna,¡± he said. Luna slightly raised her own hand when he mentioned her. ¡°Aligned with Lightning and Water respectively.¡± The other girl cleared her throat, standing up straight. ¡°I¡¯m Jennifer Douglas, a noble of the Douglas house-¡± Bennett¡¯s face contorted momentarily at the word noble, but it went back to normal before anyone but Luna noticed. ¡°- and I have an Air Alignment.¡± Bennett suddenly was interested, his previous annoyance at the word noble gone. ¡°You have a pure Air Alignment? Not like Wind or Gas, but straight Air?¡± She nodded nervously and Bennett looked pensive. ¡°Interesting.¡± Tyreese smirked. ¡°That singular word sounds more ominous than any combination of words. Especially coming from someone who¡¯s taller than all of us.¡± Bennett looked a bit nervous all of a sudden, looking down at himself. ¡°Am I really that tall?¡± he asked Luna. Luna frowned. He was pretty tall, but she never really noticed how tall. She hopped from his arm without thinking and ended up far below his head, nearly two entire feet. He has to be almost six feet tall! Or he may be! What the hell?! She looked to the other people, who were obviously taller than her, but not by as much as Bennett. His sister is also pretty close to his height! She lifted her arms up and he picked her back up so they were eye level, Luna thoroughly traumatized by how small she really was. Bennett, seeing her expression, deflated. ¡°You¡¯re not that small, Luna. You¡¯re like¡­ four feet¡­ five inches? Maybe six?¡± ¡°So she¡¯s the size of an eleven year-¡± Tyreese started, but was interrupted with a yelp when Mia smacked him in the back of the head. Luna, who¡¯d already heard him, deflated as well. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter,¡± she said. ¡°Enough about height. Name¡¯s Mia Garden. Nature Alignment. We should be focusing on the more important things, like the actual challenge. We should know each other''s abilities before we go into this. Since you like talking so much, how about you go first, since you like talking so much,¡± she snapped at Tyreese. Tyreese frowned at her before shrugging. ¡°Sure.¡± He cleared his throat before standing up straight. ¡°As a Lava¡­ guy, I can do many things, namely manipulate Lava. Firstly, I can fire off a pretty weak beam of lava that stays for a while, where it stays for a while, doing less damage to things in it as it cools off. I can also heat up earth quickly to create a lava pit, which I can drop things into, but it has a low uptime and a long cooldown with a decently high MP cost. My most effective, though, is my Lava Blade, which creates a sword made of Lava that I can wield. It has the same properties as my lava beam, but I can keep it hot to make it do Flame Damage or let it cool off to progressively do less Flame Damage, but it also starts to do Physical damage.¡± He nodded at his speech. ¡°I¡¯d like to demonstrate, but I¡¯d rather not burn down the forest.¡± Bennett seemed to be processing the information for a few seconds before nodding. ¡°So, you¡¯re restricted by the fact that your Lava cools down, right? You also have longer cooldowns in exchange for doing higher damage, especially when it comes to your Lava pit. But, if used properly, you could trap even people resistant to Flame damage by trapping them in your cooling Lava and do damage to them while they¡¯re trapped. However, you¡¯re constrained by your environment-¡± Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Woah, man, don¡¯t go telling me what my weaknesses and strengths are. I¡¯m all strength, no weakness!¡± Tyreese said, putting out a pose. Mia looked unimpressed as she looked at Jennifer, who gulped. She then stepped forward. ¡°I- I¡­ I¡¯m Aligned to air, but I¡¯m more suited to supporting others, or buffing them. I have a Skill that increases up to four other people¡¯s movement speed, while I gain an extra 1.5% per person I cast it on, not including myself. I also have another that can amplify the damage of teammates, up to four people, though it¡¯s not too much until it gets to decent Levels. L-lastly, I can just use a Wind Burst to move even quicker, and, after using it, it increases my movement speed by a set amount.¡± She looked at Bennett who mused silently, clearly waiting for his opinion on it. When he didn¡¯t say anything and the rest of the group was silent, Luna poked his cheek. ¡°Huh? What¡¯s wrong?¡± he said, confused. Tyreese responded, obviously bored, ¡°You aren¡¯t going to comment on her Skill set as well.¡± Bennett scrunched up his face. ¡°You said you didn¡¯t like it when I did it, so I didn¡¯t want to do the same for everyone else, just in case they didn¡¯t like it.¡± Luna thought his logic was sound, but Mia gave him a look of confusion. ¡°You¡¯re obviously the one who can understand exactly how people¡¯s skills work immediately. Why wouldn¡¯t you?¡± Bennett shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m not that good¡­ I just compare them to how I think they¡¯d work and how powerful they could be in a certain citation. I mean, her Skills are great in theory, but she¡¯s basically like a piece of glass herself. She¡¯s probably going to have to keep moving around constantly to not get hit, and, in the most optimal situation, she¡¯ll be in a place filled with hiding areas and ways to get around without being trapped. If she¡¯s unable to, it decreases the team¡¯s full potential by a huge amount, assuming that your Skills are all touch based.¡± Jennifer nodded, seemingly in awe. Even Luna was a bit surprised by how easily Bennett could deduce a person¡¯s weaknesses and strengths. He could easily coordinate a team, able to lead them to pressure most people¡¯s weak points. ¡°But, she has a lot of advantages, like her Speed buff. I¡¯m pretty sure it¡¯s called Swift Winds, right? At, let¡¯s say Level 3, it¡¯s a 3 times 4 percent speed buff, or 12%. She additionally gains another 6%, at its current Level, assuming she buffs all four people able to contribute to its buff. It¡¯s not a huge amount, at 18% for just herself, but at, say Level 6, she¡¯d be buffing 24% while gaining an extra 12% for herself, a 36% speed increase, which is 30% more than we get. It¡¯s like one person going from 10 feet per second to 12.4 feet per second, but another person going 13.6 feet per second. It gets even better the more Dexterity she has, since she¡¯ll be far faster than most people-¡± He suddenly stopped talking at the horrified expression on Tyreese¡¯s face. ¡°Uh¡­ is there something wrong?¡± ¡°Y¡¯know, man, I think I¡¯m not ever gonna fight you. If you can deduce that much from just a simple description, in like thirty seconds, you¡¯d be horrible to fight, since you¡¯d just exploit every weakness someone has. Like, if you had to fight me, you¡¯d win, wouldn¡¯t you?¡± Bennett frowned. ¡°I mean, I¡¯d really just have to stay at a distance and get you from there, since Lava Spout has a really short range, same with Lava Pit. They have pretty high damage, but are hard to hit unless you¡¯re really close to the person you¡¯re fighting-¡± ¡°Who wants to nominate Bennett Yasmine as team leader?¡± Tyreese asked over him, raising his hand. Luna, in a definitely unbiased way, raised her hand as well, while Jennifer looked nervously at Mia, who was brooding, before raising her own hand. Bennett shook his head and the hand that wasn¡¯t holding Luna. ¡°I can¡¯t be the leader here! I¡¯m the lowest Level out of all of us and the least experienced. I shouldn¡¯t be the one in charge-¡± ¡°I agree,¡± Mia said. ¡°You¡¯d be the best fit: you understand best how Skills work and how to exploit those Skills just by understanding how they work. I¡¯m sure everyone else agrees.¡± ¡°But¡­¡± Luna poked his cheek again and he looked at her. She nodded at him and he sighed. ¡°Alright, I guess I can¡­ but I haven¡¯t even explained what I can do. Or what Luna can do.¡± Mia ignored this. ¡°Anyways, I¡¯ll explain what I can do. First of all, I¡¯m mainly focused on trapping and debuffing. For instance, my first Skill, Ivy Snare, grabs opponents and, well, snares them. They are also inflicted with a debuff that slows them down by 16% at Level 4, with an extra 2% per Level.¡± Level 4? I¡¯m not sure how high a Level 4 is. All mine say MAX. Luna thought, looking at Bennett who had a mask of surprise on his face. Bennett seems impressed, though, so I think it¡¯s pretty good. After a short pause where Mia looked at Bennett, who seemed completely interested, she continued. ¡°Another Skill, Thorn Field, where I can create a large swathe of thorny brush that pierces most armors and inflicts another debuff, this one that increases the damage taken by opponents in the field by 14.5% at Level 3 plus 1.5% per Level. Has a 25 second duration and can cover a pretty large area, though it has a 50 second cooldown. Lastly, I have a Passive Skill that increases my Regeneration depending on how many people I debuff, up to 30% for 5 people at Level 2, with 1% more per Level, or 6% per person. Everything but the last does minor damage, but the last also increases my damage by a flat 4% every debuff I apply, with a max stack of 5 at Level 2, plus 1 stack per Level.¡± Bennett nodded and seemed to think for a few seconds. ¡°Is your Thorn Feild remotely flammable?¡± Mia frowned. ¡°Highly, like some plants. What¡¯re you getting-¡± she blinked before looking at Tyreese. ¡°Oh. I see.¡± Tyreese gave Bennett a thumbs-up. ¡°I like the way you think, man.¡± Bennett seemed a bit embarrassed but asked another question. ¡°Can you target multiple people with Ivy Snare at once?¡± Mia nodded. ¡°Naturally.¡± Bennett stared at her for a long moment, confusion etched on his face. She simply gave him a flat expression. Then he nodded. ¡°Maybe you aren¡¯t a lost cause,¡± he muttered under his breath. He then shook his head. ¡°Right. I should explain what I can do. Honestly, it¡¯s not much. I have one Skill that both allows me to place¡­ a marker in a certain distance of me that lasts for 10 seconds. When I use the Skill again, I teleport to the marker and deal moderate lightning damage around me. Afterwards, I gain extra instances of Lightning damage when I attack equal to my Skill Level times 10 percent for 20 seconds. The other part of the Skill lets me turn incorporeal for up to 2 seconds and I can basically dash around with high speed while dealing small amounts of damage very quickly to anyone within a yard of me while decreasing their Lightning resistance by a small bit. My next Skill, Lightning Strike, lets me hold a bolt of lightning that I can charge up with Mana to increase both its damage and Cooldown. It gives me some damage reduction when holding lightning and, when hitting someone with it, I gain a Lightning Damage boost for twice the cooldown. Lastly, I have a passive Skill that increases my recovery a bit and, if I use Mana, I gain some damage reduction for a short amount of time.¡± Bennett took a deep breath after his speech. ¡°Gods, that was way more than I expected.¡± Tyreese looked like his head was spinning and Jennifer¡¯s eyes were glazed over, overwhelmed with information. Only Mia looked like she was sane, but she was clearly baffled. Luna frowned. That¡¯s¡­ a lot of information about Bennett. He¡¯s really only held back by his low Skill Levels. If he got used to himself and got decently high Leveled Skills¡­ he could be a monster to be reckoned with. And he¡¯s just going to get more Skills as time goes on. This suddenly sparked a thought in Luna. How strong are the powerhouses of this world? I know I¡¯m pretty strong and can really just smash Magic with brute force, since that¡¯s literally the point of my existence, but, say if I let people use Magic, how powerful could they be? She looked at Bennett. Bennett alone is pretty strong. However, I don¡¯t know what Stats can do, since I don¡¯t have any calculable Stats. They could be the make or break of this world. Luna tapped Bennett¡¯s cheek and he blinked. ¡°Right, Luna as well. Luna, from what I know, is a really good healer. I know she has some sort of control over water and, apparently, she¡¯s a Seaborn.¡± When Bennett said ¡°apparently¡±, Luna cringed, looking away from him guiltily. ¡°¡®Apparently?¡¯¡± Tyreese said. ¡°Do you know, like, nothing about her?¡± ¡°Well, she can¡¯t exactly talk¡­¡± Bennett grumbled. ¡°Oh hey, it¡¯s been ten minutes already.¡± Luna looked at the timer at the top right of her vision and frowned when it didn¡¯t move like she¡¯d expect from something that looked burned into her retina. It seemed to stay in place, not unlike the screens from the System. She tilted her head and brought up her Status, which seemed to flicker into existence as if it really didn¡¯t want to exist. It was different this time, mainly her Skills. ___ Skills Scan - Level MAX, Water Manipulation - Level MAX, Water Creation - Level MAX, Storm Summoning - Level MAX, Call of the Ocean - Level MAX, Mental Communication - RESTRICTED, Primal Form - RESTRICTED, Blessing of the Sea - Unbound¡­?, Overheal - Level MAX, Watery Ode - Level MAX, Water Duplicate - Level MAX, Song of the Sea - Level MAX ___ Three new Skills¡­ no. I know what these do. I have tried to bring up Skill Descriptions, but I¡¯ve never been able to. They really dislike me. However, I recognise the Runescripts. Watery Ode traps things in a bubble of water, or, in my case, wraps them in tentacles made of water, increasing the damage something takes and the damage it deals. I mean, at least that¡¯s what would happen in this world, with a System. In actuality, it softens the body and soul, making them more susceptible to damage. Song of the Sea is the opposite, strengthening a person, making them deal more and take less damage. Water duplicate, on the other hand¡­ Luna pushed herself out of Bennett¡¯s arms and landed on the ground, summoning the Runes for Water duplicate. As she began to separate into two, one made of water, she could tell the water duplicate wanted to grow taller, to be the same form she¡¯d been before being trapped and restricted. In an unfounded panic, she manipulated the Duplicate into a nearly exact copy of herself. Bennett looked at the two Lunas in confusion who both looked back at him before waving. At his even more baffled expression, they both giggled. Being two separate beings had its advantages, like being able to perceive two different perspectives at once. If she was, say, Bennett, her mind would probably be unable to handle it. However, she was able to perfectly control quite a few, but she kept herself to one, just to be safe. Bennett seemed like his mind was already completely blown. ¡°Two Lunas¡­ I don¡¯t know if this is absurd or amazing.¡± He poked the second Luna¡¯s cheek the same way he¡¯d poke Luna¡¯s¡­ Oh. She wasn¡¯t sure if he would be able to tell the difference between them. She pointed her own finger at herself, getting his attention. She then held up one finger. The other did the same but held up two fingers. ¡°Luna 1 and Luna 2? I mean, I can tell which one is the real you,¡± He said, patting the head of the one who had put up two fingers, who was the actual Luna. She both blinked in confusion. What? How can he- He grinned. ¡°Not too difficult. I just know.¡± Mia cleared her throat and Bennett looked up. ¡°Don¡¯t you think we should plan for the fights?¡± she asked, pulling the spear from behind her back. ¡°Or find a place to hold out.¡± Bennett nodded and stood up straight. Luna frowned through both of herself and raised her arms. He then looked down at her with a flat look. ¡°Luna¡­ I¡¯m not gonna carry both of you.¡± ~~~ They had eventually found a place to settle down and wait for the timer to end, while talking strategy. However, the only one who seemed remotely interested in strategy was Mia and she was slowly growing more and more annoyed with how nobody seemed to care. ¡°Do you not think that we need to actually prepare?!¡± She hissed, her spearhead in the ground, as she¡¯d pressed it there at some point. ¡°We have no clue how difficult this could be, and you know only the best can get in. And we need to-¡± Luna tuned her out as she splashed a bit of water onto Bennett¡¯s face, who poked her cheek in response. She poked him with some water before he flicked it out of the air. She was about to poke him again when Mia turned her glare on Bennett. ¡°Aren¡¯t you the leader here? Shouldn¡¯t you-¡± Bennett gave her the most annoyed look Luna had ever seen on his face. ¡°I¡¯m not the leader since I never agreed to it. You kinda tried to pressure it onto me and I don¡¯t like being pressured.¡± After studying his expression for a moment, Luna glared at Mia who scoffed. ¡°Why are you glaring? You certainly didn¡¯t mind before he said anything. I¡¯m pretty sure you barely know him as well. So why exactly are you attached to him by the hip; there¡¯s no way you¡¯re his actual sister.¡± Bennett froze in place, a bit of lightning crackling on his arms. ¡°What are you insinuating?¡± he asked darkly, a part of his personality that he clearly didn¡¯t like to show leaking out. A sudden pressure on Luna¡¯s mind caused her to retreat into herself to hide and the others to freeze in place, clutching their heads. ___ Violence will not be permitted between Exam takers. This is your first warning. Once you reach three warnings, you and the rest of your team will be removed from the Exams. ___ Violence? Wha- Once she pulled herself back out of herself, regaining access to her body, she noticed the slight burn mark on her arm from Bennett¡¯s Lightning. There was dead silence as Bennett looked horrified at himself. ¡­You¡¯re kidding, right? That tiny mark is counted as VIOLENCE?! Unbeknownst to her, her small bit of anger caused a very large chain reaction underground, in tunnels filled with water. When she felt the tremors in the ground below them, she thought it was just the damnable tablet trying to assert its authority. However¡­ she would be proved to be very wrong in the coming hours¡­ ~~~ ___ 0:00:10 0:00:09 0:00:08¡­ ___ She moved the timer back to the side of her vision as she sat on Bennett¡¯s lap, who was brooding silently, his face a mask of despair and anger. He¡¯d unintentionally hurt her, and, even though she¡¯d healed it in front of his face (Literally. She¡¯d put it in his face and Overhealed it, though she knew it was a bit much), he was still angry at himself for not being able to control his own lightning. ¡°Well, I guess it¡¯s time, huh?¡± he grumbled, lifting up Luna with an arm and pulling out one of his daggers. ¡°Time to see what this Exam has in store for us.¡± Tyreese, who¡¯d also been completely silent (Luna was now realizing he¡¯d fallen asleep against a tree), jumped to his feet. ¡°Hell yeah! Took long enough, the damned timer-¡± ___ The Exams start. Wave 1 : Completion - 0% Consists of : Normal Beasts (Common), Attuned Beasts (Uncommon), Elementals, (Rare), Boss (None) ___ ¡°Okay, then, boss, what¡¯re we going to do?¡± Tyreese said, looking at Mia. ¡°Why are you-¡± She stopped speaking and looked to the south, where Luna had immediately noticed some Mana- MP, she meant- signatures popping up out of nowhere. ¡°They¡¯re coming towards us. Get ready.¡± Immediately, she felt Wind¡­ energy(?) collect around them as Jennifer did something. Then Luna got two notifications. ___ Buffs : Swift Winds, March of the Sky Swift Winds : +12% Movement/Reaction Speed March of the Sky 16% All Damage Bonus ___ Oh? That¡¯s pretty cool, I guess. Not huge to me, but could be pretty big for them. Luna adjusted herself in Bennett''s arm and summoned a small stream of water that she made orbit around her and Bennett in the shape of an orb. She infused it with a bit of healing so she could throw a drop whenever anyone was injured. She knew it was selfish, but she was keeping Overheal a Bennett and family only thing, unwilling to use it on anyone else. ¡°Here we go,¡± Bennett said, a small amount of electricity cracking on his skin. Luna patted his cheek, feeling a bit like a child while doing it, but she didn¡¯t mind feeling like a child sometimes. He nodded at her before putting on a determined look. Jennifer hid further in the back of the five, Mia and Tyreese in the front, Bennett and Luna in the middle, and Jennifer in the back. Bennett, however, looked back at Jennifer. ¡°You should go closer to the center of us four, since we¡¯ll have an easier time making sure you¡¯re safe. You¡¯ll have me and a Healer behind you with a Debuffer and Damage Dealer in front. Normally, I¡¯d be in front, just because I¡¯m technically considered a Damage Dealer, but Mia has better area and she has the potential to be a Damage/Debuffer, so she¡¯s more valuable to be in the front, to Level her debuff-to-damage. I really only work best alone or as a hyper-carry.¡± Luna¡¯s brain was partially starting to melt from all these terms but she was able to keep up¡­ slightly. Whatthefuck is a hyper-carry? Mia, however, seemed to understand completely. ¡°Are you sure we can Level our Skills here?¡± Bennett shrugged. ¡°It never said anything about Skill Levels. If you can get your increase to Level 2, that''d be 24% damage for you.¡± Tyreese snorted. ¡°Why does it sound like you¡¯re assuming we¡¯ll be in a party after this?¡± Bennett shrugged, balancing Luna expertly. ¡°Who knows. We may be; you never know.¡± Luna poked his cheek and he blinked, shaking his head. ¡°Right, Lu, we should focus.¡± ¡°Lu¡±? Did he¡­ give me a nickname already? Luna thought, her face suddenly beginning to heat up slowly. I will not react. I will not react. I will not- ¡°Uh, Luna? You okay? Your face is all red,¡± Bennett asked, sounding concerned. Idiot! Call me Lu! She pulled back her childish embarrassment and nodded, looking forward. He shrugged again and his right arm crackled as he put away his dagger and summoned a lightning bolt, which crackled in his hand, seemingly frozen in time as it charged with MP. After about two seconds, he stopped charging it and stood there, waiting as the forest slowly grew louder. After about a minute, the Mana signatures (¡°MP Signature¡± didn¡¯t make much sense to Luna)were basically on them and Tyreese called out. ¡°Giant bug thing above us-!¡± Before he finished, Bennett had already thrown his bolt of lightning, which seemed to track the giant dragonfly-looking bug descending upon Mia. It seemed to die almost immediately and, interestingly enough, the latent electricity seemed to hop out of the bug, much weaker, and jump over to another, smaller, yet still huge, fly, shocking it out of the air. Mia stabbed it with her spear, killing it. She pulled out smoothly and a large swathe of thorns appeared on her other side as half a dozen wolf-like beasts charged through. Another bolt of Lightning bounced between them, damaging the first and immediately killing it and dealing small damage to all the others. Luna sighed as the team began to slowly whittle down the beasts coming at them. We¡¯re gonna be here a while, aren¡¯t we? Chapter 5 : The Fifth (and after) Luna listened to Bennett take rapid deep breaths for about a minute before using another new Skill that had shown up in the list, Revitalize. She pulled a droplet from the large drop still floating around them, smacking a Fire Elemental with one of her tentacles to keep it away before giving a drop to everyone in the party, giving them more energy and increasing their Mana (MP, Luna, she thought to herself) Regen by a small amount, though she could increase it, but she didn¡¯t exactly want to give away that she was completely broken, in terms of them. Along with Revitalize, she¡¯d gotten Droplet, which could hold her healing Skills. ¡°Thanks, Lu,¡± Bennett said, teleporting and cutting a weird bird in half while still holding Luna. She patted his chest lightly, keeping one tentacle out, just in case. He gave her an odd look when she¡¯d first shown them to him, very nervous for his reaction, but after he¡¯d processed the fact she was truly a ¡°Seaborn¡±, he¡¯d been outright ecstatic¡­ at least until he nearly had his arm bitten off as he was distracted. This is just¡­ tedious, She thought as Bennett destroyed another pair of wolves with Lightning. They got another bit of downtime, and she took this time to look at their progress. ___ Wave Four : Completed! Downtime : 9:56 Exam Completion : 5/3 ___ Jennifer let out a shaky sigh, slowly moving closer to Bennett, who didn¡¯t seem to notice her. ¡°This is just¡­ torture! What do they want from us?! How many of these are there going to be?¡± she complained. Mia sighed and glared at her. ¡°Until there¡¯s only 3 teams left. We¡¯re lucky we have everyone still on the team, so quit your complaining.¡± Bennett, clearly still tired, sat down on the ground in front of a tree, letting Luna sit on his lap. ¡°This is so exhausting. Not just physically, but mentally as well. I don¡¯t know how much longer I can go on. Even Tyreese is folding to the pressure!¡± Luna eyed Tyreese, who was face-first in the dirt, seemingly half-dead. Wait¡­ I forgot to give him Revitalize. She sent an orb of said Skill into him and he shivered before jumping up and shaking his hair out with a wild grin. ¡°WOOOO!¡± he yelled. ¡°I feel good! Let¡¯s keep-¡± Mia smacked him in the head with her spear shaft and he flinched away, hiding behind a tree. ¡°Hey! Don¡¯t hit me with that thing! We¡¯re a team!¡± He complained, dodging her next swing. ¡°Oh, I didn¡¯t notice. I thought you were a stray monster,¡± Mia said coldly, waving her spear threateningly. ¡°Uh huh. I don¡¯t believe that for a second.¡± The two of them argued for nearly five minutes before Bennett groaned, lifting both himself and Luna up. ¡°You two should rest instead of argue. You¡¯ll be in much better shape. And, Jennifer, I know you don¡¯t want to sit in the dirt, but you¡¯re already covered in it, so just sit down and rest.¡± The both of them shut up begrudgingly before sitting down on complete opposite sides of the clearing they were situated in. Jennifer simply nodded and sat down next to a tree, looking a bit mortified that she was covered in dirt. Bennett sat back down and patted Luna on the head, She gave him a baffled look and he smiled at her. ¡°Thanks for the healing. It must be taxing on your mind and MP to keep doing that.¡± Luna nodded, making a show of putting her head against his chest with a dramatic sigh, knowing full well that her MP was probably sitting at around 75% and quickly rising. He patted her head and she did her best to react, though she was pretty happy about it, for some unknown reason. Hmph¡­ I may or may not like headpats. ~~~ ___ Wave 5 : Completion - 32% Consists of : Normal Beasts (Rare), Attuned Beasts (Uncommon), Elementals, (Common), Boss (1 remaining) ___ ¡°I couldn¡¯t possibly know where the Boss is!¡± Mia said, obviously annoyed at the crashing throughout the forest. ¡°It would have to be so loud for me to notice it!¡± Luna was also a bit annoyed at how loud the thing was as well. However, she was too busy focusing on the group¡¯s condition to pay attention. For one- ¡°Fire Elemental, Lu. Right,¡± Bennett practically breathed. She shot a stream of water at the Fire Elemental rapidly closing in, dispellign it. She then gave Bennett some Rejuvenation, but it didn¡¯t seem to be doing anything. In fact, it didn¡¯t seem to do anything for anyone. Are my Skills getting less effective because it¡¯s not their bodies that are tired, but their minds? Luna thought. Do I know anything to deal with that except for rest- ¡°Big bad, incoming!¡± Tyreese suddenly yelled. A bear of a respectable size blasted through trees and nearly rammed into Mia, who panicked, throwing herself out the way, only able to due to Jennifer¡¯s buff. Bennett Flickered back with Luna, gritting his teeth. Luna scanned it. ___ Exam Boss - Level 10 Attuned Bear Attunement : Ice A bear attuned to the element of Ice, specifically made to challenge those attending the exam. Threat Level : Minor ___ The hell you mean ¡®minor¡¯? How- She felt a slight tingle as electricity went over Bennett¡¯s skin. However, it didn¡¯t touch her directly. Her attention was then immediately locked on him. I wonder, does his body produce lightning? Or is it MP? If it¡¯s his body, he should be able to pick up skills like Lightning Creation, if that exists, and Lightning Manipulation, also if that exists. If so, he¡¯d have so much more control over the Skills he can learn. I know quite a bit about manipulating Lightning as well, as I am a Goddess of Storms. I don¡¯t have full control over it, but I¡¯m sure I can teach him a thing or two- She then resisted the urge to bang her head against his chest. Focus on the fighting, Luna! Not Bennett! After that thought, she felt her face heat up but she ignored it, sending drops of healing to each of the party. She then began to refill Droplet with healing, looking to make sure none of the party was harmed. *** Bennett, to say the least, was exhausted. He was finding it difficult to keep going, but he knew that he had to persevere. He looked to Luna, who was focusing intently on the entire party while not noticing that she had wrapped one of her tentacles around him to keep herself in place. When she¡¯d shown Bennett the eight tentacles that sprouted from below her dress, probably from her waist, his first thought was: Damn, I forgot she wore a dress. That was before he was mauled by a wolf that he¡¯d promptly shoved a bolt of lightning up its throat. He¡¯d grown used to doing such horrific things as he¡¯d done a lot worse things in the wilderness so he could sell things like wolf pelts. He¡¯d killed so many different things, it was a surprise he was only Level 2. But, to be fair, to get Levels, you had to fight and defeat things that had MP, either from cultivating it, or killing something else that had MP. Once it was officially recognized by the Heavenly System, it would be eligible to be killed for EXP. Those things were still able to reproduce and their offspring would naturally have Mana. This happened pretty rarely though, so he had only killed a few, only getting to Level 2, unlike his sister, who¡¯d gotten to Level 3 by fighting other things. Bennett would admit: his sister was far stronger than him. However, he¡¯d been in far more precarious situations and nearly died a few times. He¡¯d been physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted before. This was nothing new to him. But¡­ this was worse, in a way. Bennett felt like he was unable to move, but he knew he had to. If he didn¡¯t, he could be taken out, dooming the team. He didn¡¯t mean that he was the part keeping the team together, but that if he was taken out, the team would eventually be overwhelmed. He was just barely holding on at this point¡­ Nearly ten minutes later, he almost fell to his knees in sheer exhaustion. Luna was poking his cheek in a panic as his Lightning fizzled out of existence, his mind finally strained to the limit. ¡°Hey! Get up!¡± Mia yelled. ¡°There¡¯s- Damn it!¡± However, Bennett couldn¡¯t hear her. Oh. Wow. This is what it feels like to be dying from exhaustion, huh? It¡¯s¡­ kinda nice. I¡­ wait a moment. Bennett felt a frown appearing on his face. What the¡­ weren¡¯t we fighting something¡­ a Boss. His eyes snapped open as Luna clearly tried not to panic above him. He noticed his HP had reached 345%, Luna obviously had lost control of her Overheal in her panic. When she noticed he¡¯d gotten up, he felt two surprisingly strong tentacles lift him off the ground, courtesy of Luna. ¡°Yeah¡­ I¡¯m alive¡­ barely,¡± he muttered. ¡°Why wasn¡¯t I pulled out?¡± And how the hell did you heal so damn much? Luna shook her head at him, not risking him falling back over by getting into her position. He looked over to Jennifer, who gave him a worried look. He nodded before glaring at the very angry looking bear. Level 10, huh? Well, let¡¯s see just how much MP a single bolt of lightning can hold. He ignored all the other things happening around him as he began to charge Lightning Strike. He funneled all his MP into it, unwilling to let a single percent go to waste. At this moment, he could feel something in his mind, an emotion that wasn¡¯t his. Worry. Extreme amounts of worry. However, he ignored it. He only had one job. *** Luna would love to say she didn¡¯t panic. She¡¯d love to admit she didn¡¯t shriek in horror when Bennett fell face down onto the dirt, seemingly passed out. She wanted to explain that she didn¡¯t use nearly twenty percent of her Mana (MP, Luna) to use Overheal on Bennett, thinking he was dying. Alas, she had done all of those things. Now, she was wondering why she panicked so much. However, as usual, she didn¡¯t have much time to think about it as Bennett seemed to be overcharging a bolt of lightning with a tired expression. She was honestly baffled that he was able to get back up. He¡¯d just been on the verge of death from exhaustion and now he was standing up again, ready to throw a bolt of lightning the size of Luna¡¯s body. By all that¡¯s holy¡­ is he about to throw a bolt of tribulation at a damned bear? Does he know what tribulation is? Wait, does anyone know what it is? I mean, I remember a lot of pain from it. Not much else. Something from when I Evolved? Or something? I dunno. I honestly don¡¯t remember much from before I was a God- If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Luna shook her head. I must be exhausted to have my thoughts trailing around like this. I can¡¯t wait to crawl somewhere and sleep for a few days. Preferably in the ocean. Maybe in a bed. I dunno which I like more at this point¡­ She suddenly blinked as her hair rose up into the air. What the- why did it get so strong all of a sudden? Luna stared at Bennett¡¯s bolt of lightning, which was now tinted with red¡­ Blood Magic?! What the hell- is he draining his lifeforce?! Luna, at that moment, genuinely panicked. She rushed over to him and pulled on his arm, making an attempt to stop him, but he didn¡¯t budge, gritting his teeth instead. In desperation, she looked over to Jennifer, who was staring in horror at Bennett¡¯s display. Useless! Luna hissed in her head, somehow bypassing her Mental Communication Restriction and sending her anger towards Jennifer, who flinched and backed away. ¡°Goddamn it, die already!¡± Luna heard Tyreese yell. ¡°Why won¡¯t you just-¡± Bennett suddenly let go of the bolt and, less than a second later, it had already jumped into the bear. It froze, right above Mia, before the bolt jumped out of it, the entire thing turning to ash and falling all over Mia, who blinked at the bloodred bolt jumping around and killing everything in sight. Luna, however, didn¡¯t notice this, more focused on Bennett, who was facefirst in the dirt again. In her panic, she ignored the MP she used as she filled him up with Overheal, probably shooting him to over 300% HP again. Suddenly, she felt lightheaded. Oh, shit, She thought. Did I actually use all my MP? How the hell? How low was his HP after that? He had to have been around 350% before¡­ did he knock himself all the way to near death for that bolt. But, more importantly, how did he use Blood Magic? I¡¯m pretty sure I locked that away millenia ago. Maybe some idiot mortal unlocked it? Her head pounded her out of her thoughts. Right. MP. I should probably¡­ rest¡­ She keeled over, her face against Bennett¡¯s chest. She fell asleep almost immediately, but not before she saw the blessed notification. ___ Wave Five : Completed! Exam Completion : 3/3 You have completed the- ___ The rest of the notification faded into darkness as she fell asleep, a giggle escaping her throat. Seems like I may actually find some difficult situations, huh? ~~~ Luna blinked awake, hissing at the light in her eyes. My head still hurts like the circles of hell are trying to break into my head. Luna shook her head and sat up, realizing she was on a bed. And it was warm. She nearly melted into the bed but she was momentarily distracted as she looked up through the roof of glass. Wait¡­ it¡¯s midday? It was afternoon from what I remember¡­ Wait, was I out all day? Did Bennett wake up? The moment that the thought of Bennett entered her mind, a slight panic exploded in the back of her mind, but she was just barely able to suppress this as she looked around, using her tentacles to move the blanket on top of her and hopped off the bed. She slowly moved the curtain that separated her from the outside world. She blinked in confusion at the area behind the curtain. It was a huge room with multiple sections with curtains opening up to beds just like the one Luna had been on. The floor was practically shining, clearly sanitized. Some curtains were closed, possibly signaling that there were other people in those places. Which one is Bennett though? She thought before sniffing the air despite herself. Her head turned over to a nearby curtained area, a familiar scent emanating from there. There. She slowly walked over to the curtained bed and pulled it open slightly. There, she saw Bennett, dead asleep with a vacant expression. Luna slowly approached him, coming up to his side and watching him sleep for a few moments. What happened when I fell asleep? I know Bennett was knocked out by the sheer amount of lifeforce and MP he used, but how did we get here? Luna suddenly had an epiphany as she saw the Mana Gathering Runes on the sides of the bed (Or, in this case, would they be called MP Gathering Runes¡­?) Are we¡­ in the Academy? Excitement blew up in Luna¡¯s chest and she let out a small giggle that she was unable to muffle. Bennett groaned in response and she covered her mouth. He eventually fell back asleep, continuing to snore softly. For nearly ten minutes, she sat there, watching him. I mean, watching Bennett sleep is¡­ nice, I guess, but what exactly am I supposed to do? She thought with a sigh, pulling forward one of the chairs that was near his bed before resting her head on said bed. Guess I could stay like this for a little bit¡­ Of course, she immediately fell asleep. *** ¡°How does one with absolutely no clue what Blood Magic is suddenly develop it?¡± The Headmaster mused. ¡°It must have something-¡± ¡°-To do with Luna? Yes. That¡¯s the fourth time you¡¯ve said that,¡± Melony interrupted. ¡°I¡¯m sure that it was a one time thing. He probably got desperate and used his life force to charge up a Skill.¡± Melony was in a bad mood, to say the least. She¡¯d been called from her damned infirmary and had to Transfer herself all the way to the Academy, just because her son managed to use life force in a bolt of lightning. At first, she¡¯d been horrified at the concept, but she¡¯d eventually cooled off and was now very much annoyed at the fact that the Headmaster would not shut up about it so she could get back to her infirmary. ¡°Yes, Melony, but imagine the potential. He could be a great-¡± ¡°He Resonated with Lightning. Not Blood. Don¡¯t try anything dumb,¡± Melony snapped. ¡°Now, I¡¯m going to go to see my patients, since you pulled me here for no reason.¡± As she was about to turn around, she saw a slightly nervous look appear on the headmaster¡¯s face. She frowned. ¡°What now?¡± He cleared his throat. ¡°Well¡­ I have a request to ask of you.¡± ¡°What have you done this time? Killed someone important? Started an underground war-?¡± ¡°Well, the last teacher for Ice Magic has recently retired and there¡¯s no one who¡¯s willing to teach the newest students.¡± Melony stared at him. ¡°What.¡± The headmaster had the gall to look abashed. ¡°Well¡­¡± ¡°You know our agreement: I can roam around free as long as nobody knows who I am. Teaching at this school again completely defeats the purpose of that. Especially the school that my children are attending. What would they think when they found out I¡¯ve been lying to them for their entire lives?¡± ¡°Then use a disguise,¡± the headmaster said with a shrug. ¡°We seriously need an Ice Teacher. I¡¯ve been told that there¡¯s more Ice Alignments than ever before. Plus, I know you¡¯re short on money-¡± ¡°Oh, damn you,¡± Melony hissed, as Ice crawled down her arm. ¡°Fine. However, this better be some damn good compensation. And extra if my twins find out about it.¡± *** Luna woke up, warm. Really warm. She nuzzled her face into the warmth, annoyed that she¡¯d woken up. Content to snuggle up against the warmth, she nearly fell back asleep but was interrupted by a poke in her back. ¡°Lu, I know you¡¯re awake,¡± a familiar voice said from above her. Luna ignored the voice, too warm to care. It sighed. ¡°I know my brother is all nice and cuddly, but this is slightly pushing it.¡± Eh. ¡°Brother¡±? Wait, am I-? Luna suddenly sat up ignoring her very much messed up hair. She looked down next to her to see Bennett, still asleep. Did I fall asleep with Bennett?! She looked up at a very smug-faced Yelena, her face heating up as she rolled herself out of the bed, nearly falling to the floor in embarrassment. Luna looked up at Yelena, who simply shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s fine; I know you¡¯re pretty attached to him. I noticed that you weren¡¯t in your bed, so I assumed you were with Ben. He hasn¡¯t woken up?¡± she asked, looking at her brother with a worried expression. Luna, after poking her own cheek, shrugged. Yelena gave her brother a worried look. ¡°Ben¡­ what did you do to yourself this time?¡± she muttered, shaking her head. ¡°Well, I guess there¡¯s not much more I can ask. You can go back to sleep.¡± Luna frowned. I¡¯m already awake, dimwit. I can¡¯t just go back to sleep- wait. I¡¯m contradicting myself; I literally did that maybe an hour and a half ago. However, Luna shook her head, looking down at Bennett¡¯s peaceful expression¡­ Ah. She summoned an orb of water, shrugged, and dumped it onto Bennett¡¯s face as Yelena watched, baffled. Bennett immediately woke up, spitting out the water and shaking it out his hair. He sat up, blinking in confusion. ¡°Wha- Luna? Why did you dump water on my face?¡± he grumbled groggily. He then shook his head. ¡°Actually, I¡¯ve probably been asleep for a while. Fair enough-¡± Suddenly, Yelena jumped at her brother and wrapped her arms around his neck. He blinked before hugging his sister back. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re okay, Ben,¡± Yelena muttered into his chest. ¡°Am I ever not okay?¡± He responded, rolling his eyes at her while patting her hair. ¡°Other than the thing with the oversized bees-¡± Yelena then sat up and hit him over the head, glaring at him. ¡°What the hell could you have possibly done that knocked you out for over a day?! Seriously, Benny, if you were asleep another hour, you would¡¯ve missed Orientation!¡± He cringed. ¡°I¡­ honestly don¡¯t know. It may have something to do with this new Skill I have-¡± ¡°Read. Now,¡± his sister snapped. He gulped and Luna decided to listen closely. Luna hopped back onto the bed and listened intently, a frown slowly growing on her face. ___ Bloodbolt (Damage) By sacrificing HP and MP, you can create a bolt of lightning that you can hold. Every 1% HP increases damage dealt by this Skill by (Skill Level * 0.5)% and every 1% MP increases damage dealt by (Skill Level * 0.2)%. After sacrificing MP and HP, you regenerate HP and MP (30 - Skill Level *1.5)% slower. Deals Lightning/Blood damage. Additionally after dealing damage to an opponent with this Skill, you will deal (Skill Level * 3)% more damage to this opponent for 5 minutes. Can be used on multiple different opponents. Depending on HP% used, it decreases cooldown by up to 70% (Every 1% HP = 2% Cooldown reduction) Cooldown - 10 seconds *Note: Branch of Lightning Strike. Has most of the same properties of Lightning Strike ___ That¡¯s¡­ interesting, to say the least. The potential of the skill is¡­ obscene. If I¡¯m right, the max Level for Skills (Apart for Level MAX) is 10, which translates to 5% Damage per 1% HP and 2% Damage per 1% MP. That¡¯s a solid, assuming he uses 20% HP and MP, 140% damage. Normally, the HP Drain would be a problem for most Blood Mages, but with me here and my Overheal¡­ he can use 100% HP, which, alone, is 500% extra Damage- Luna blinked. Why am I thinking about this? I¡¯m acting like I¡¯ll be helping him forever, or at least for an extended amount of time. All he is is just a minor detour until I¡­ I¡­ She stared up at Bennett as he finished speaking. So, for nearly a month, I haven¡¯t even thought about my goal here? I know that I wanted to come to the Academy to study the Magic they perform here, but I haven¡¯t even thought about what to do afterwards. Luna suddenly pushed those thoughts away as Yelena frowned at her brother. ¡°That¡¯s¡­ both insanely powerful and insanely scary. You could accidentally kill yourself if you¡¯re not paying attention. You can¡¯t use that like some sort of¡­ of¡­¡± ¡°Manic? Masochist? Dipshit?¡± Bennett supplied, shrugging. Luna blinked at his use of language but, then again, she had uttered some non-family-friendly things¡­ when she was able to speak, that is. Yelena nodded rapidly. ¡°Exactly! Don¡¯t be those!¡± Bennett rolled his eyes at his sister before frowning. ¡°Wait, earlier¡­ you said something about ¡®Orientation¡¯?¡± His eyes widened. ¡°Do you mean-?¡± Yelena hugged her brother again. ¡°We made it to the Academy!¡± ~~~ Bennett carried Luna so she could see above the heads of all the other students waiting in the large room. Exactly 147 of them, excluding Bennett, Yelena, and her. Luna looked over the heads of most of the students, thanks to Bennett¡¯s height, noticing the ears of Wolfkin and Elves and the horns of Dragonborn. Strangely, though she was sure they existed here, there were no Drakes, not to be confused with Dragonborn. Drakes, unlike Dragons, had two pairs of wings, no matter what some people may say about them not having wings at all. Drakes are smaller, and more agile in the air as Dragons, though they lost when it came to speed (Excluding the horrifying speed of Lightning Drakes, which had caught even Luna off guard sometimes). Drakes were a bit of a strange case, being made of both Magic and flesh. Wyverns and Wyrms were made of flesh, so that made Drakes a kind of inbetween, with Dragons being made of Magic. They had astounding Magical Capabilities, able to use most, if not all the Elements, though they also lost against Dragons, however, they were great rivals when it came to that. They were quite adept at disguise as well, but that was more natural, due to her next point. The most defining feature about them, however, was their ability to shift their flesh into that of a Human¡­ mostly. They still had the wings and the highly venomous stinger on their tails, with a few scales in weak spots, but they would basically look Human, if you ignored the wings and tail. From what she could remember, they participated in a war and afterwards, the Human Race began to make scanners to identify Drakes, since said Drakes were infamous for their ability to stay hidden and then kill important Human leaders without anyone realizing they weren¡¯t Human. Luna had always wondered why specifically Human¡¯s were the only things they could mimic, but later had found out that the very existence of them was an anomaly. According to some ancient Records made from when Elves and Humans actually got along, Drakes were a biological nightmare, seeing as they were able to freely shift from Human to Drake. Their venom was the most potent of anything currently discovered, which, as far as Luna knew, still held up now. The worst part (according to them) was that even though they were able to have children with practically any other race and those children would most likely be Drakes as well, which had accelerated their growth so quickly, that only after about five hundred or so years, they were able to be called their own race. No one, except for Luna, knew where they came from, but she¡¯d rather not spoil it for her followers. It was a pretty funny- ¡°-una? You okay in there?¡± Yelena inquired, pulling Luna out of her head. ¡°Did you like, start daydreaming? On the most important day of your entire life?¡± Luna frowned at Yelena before looking at Bennett, who seemed to not even be paying attention, and instead was staring up ahead, a small frown on his face. She then looked back at Yelena, shrugging. Yelena shook her head, seeming disappointed in her. ¡°Whatever. You-¡± Yelena looked up at her brother and his frown. ¡°-You okay, Ben?¡± Bennett¡¯s frown deepened. ¡°Do you think that woman near the front looks a bit familiar?¡± Both Luna and Yelena looked forward and, at least in Luna¡¯s case, she had no clue who he was talking about until she saw the faint Illusion Man- MP. She forced it away from her eyes and blinked. Bennett¡¯s mother was there, standing in the middle of the academy with a very much annoyed look on her face. Chapter 6 : Academy Luna stared at the woman in confusion. She was befuddled, baffled, stupefied, bamboozled. If Luna remembered correctly (Which she always did), this was the very woman who was against her children going to the Academy; yet here she was, literally standing among who Luna assumed were teachers, in the Academy herself. ¡°Do you think so? I mean, a lot of people can look similar to other people. She probably looks like someone we know, but isn¡¯t them,¡± Yelena mused. Bennett shrugged, lifting Luna slightly. ¡°Guess you¡¯re rig-¡± ¡°AHA! There you are!¡± A very familiar and annoying voice yelled. The three of them looked over to the voice to see Tyreese, looking as smug as always, walking over to Bennett. Luna groaned and Bennett gave her a questioning expression, but was interrupted before he could say anything. ¡°Well, well, well, you¡¯re actually alive!¡± he said, putting his hand around Bennett¡¯s shoulder. ¡°After what you pulled, I¡¯m baffled. The hell was that? And who¡¯s this beauty?¡± As Luna slapped Tyreese¡¯s hand as Yelena looked smugly at Bennett. Bennett simply shrugged. ¡°She¡¯s my sister. And I have no clue where you can fit the term ¡®beauty¡¯ on her-¡± Bennett ducked under Yelena¡¯s hand as it swung at him, but otherwise ignored her. Tyreese, however, looked slightly miffed. ¡°You live with her? Man, you¡¯re lucky,¡± he sighed. ¡°How ¡®bout- OUCH!¡± He was interrupted when, from behind, Mia seemed to appear and grab his ear. ¡°The first thing you say when you see him isn¡¯t ¡®thank you¡¯, but you immediately hit on his sister? How insensitive can you be?¡± Luna poked Bennett¡¯s cheek and he looked at her for a moment before seeming to understand. ¡°Do you want to go to the front so it¡¯ll be easier to see?¡± ¡­Nevermind. Luna shook her head before trying to pull herself higher up, struggling for a moment before she got onto her shoulders just as the people who were at the front began to speak. Bennett was momentarily surprised, but when Luna swayed dangerously, unsure how to stay upright on his shoulders, he gently held her ankles, stabilizing her. ¡°Attention, Students!¡± Almost immediately, the 150 students slowly stopped talking and looked up at the person at the front of the room in rapt attention. The one in question was a man who seemed young, but, seeing as many people seemed to recognize him, including Bennett who looked at him in awe. With faint attention, Luna saw that Yelena was practically shivering in excitement as she held one of her brother¡¯s hands. However, Luna looked to the new man at the front. The man held himself with confidence and seemed completely calm in front of the many excited teenagers. Due to this, Luna had an inkling of who he could be, which was confirmed by his next words. ¡°Some of you may already know me as the Headmaster of the Academy of Magic, as it¡¯s been nicknamed over the years. For those of you who don¡¯t know me, well, you know me now,¡± he chuckled and Luna immediately felt some sense of foreboding from the man. She gripped Bennett¡¯s hair for a moment before loosening her hold. He continued. ¡°I am known as one of the last known Lightning Battlemages to walk the planet. And, from this moment onward, I shall be the one watching over you. Need not worry about your belongings, as they have been placed in your new dorms.¡± Belongings¡­? Luna thought. Dorms? Wait, we¡¯re STAYING here?!? She looked down at Bennett, who had certainly not informed her of this. He looked up at her, sensing her gaze. ¡°Ah. I may have left that part out¡­¡± he said meekly as Luna lightly slapped his forehead. ¡°Fair enough. Neither of us really brought anything other than the leftover money and the clothes we have. They provide us with uniforms¡­ so we thought we didn¡¯t need them.¡± Luna frowned, looking at herself. I have to change out of my dress? ¡­I like this dress, She thought glumly. She didn¡¯t have a choice, however, as she couldn¡¯t even make the thing change into the type of clothes she wanted, like she used to be able to. She was starting to realize the things that she had as a Goddess were a bit¡­ over the top. For instance- ¡°However, I must commend some of you for your performance. Specifically, our newest Lightning Mage, Bennett Yasmine.¡± Despite what she knew about Bennett, he cursed. ¡°Come on¡­ I couldn¡¯t have been that-¡± ¡°-And the rest of his team, as they were the only ones to have defeated the first Boss.¡± Yelena froze next to Bennett and stared at him. ¡°Huh? You¡­ what?¡± The Headmaster kept talking as Bennett¡¯s expression slowly contorted into confusion. ¡°I must also congratulate another, an Earth Mage who embodied her very ideals to protect the rest of her group, Juli Andromeda.¡± Luna frowned at this. She could swear she knew the surname ¡°Andromeda¡±, but just couldn¡¯t remember where from¡­ But, when she looked over the heads of the many people, she froze in place at the sight of pitch black horns with a streak of brown running through them. ¡­What? Isn¡¯t that girl¡­ an Abyssal? Voidborn, at that, to be able to have an Earth Alignment? Luna poked Bennett¡¯s head and he looked up at her questioningly. She slid her tentacle out and pointed to the girl with it. His eyes followed it and he frowned. ¡°I¡¯ve¡­ never seen horns like that. With the pointed ears as well? Strange. Is she some sort of Dragonborn-Elf Hybrid? But the horns¡­ they¡¯re not positioned the way it would normally be positioned for a Dragonborn¡­¡± His frown deepened as Yelena followed his gaze. ¡°What¡¯re you looking at? I can¡¯t see, you towering buffoon.¡± Bennett looked down at his sister, who was, in fact, shorter than him. ¡°Have you ever heard of a Race with dark black horns at the top of their heads and pointed ears, almost like an Elf¡¯s, but pointed back?¡± She frowned. ¡°Why specifically on top? And what do you mean by pointed ears pointing back?¡± He shrugged, lifting Luna up and down. She barely held back a childish giggle and smacked the top of his head lightly instead. ¡°Right, sorry, Lu,¡± he responded. Before she could smack him again, the headmaster spoke again. ¡°Now, let me welcome you to the Academy of Magic, the place you will go from a simple commoner to a fully fledged Battlemage, or higher!¡± There were cheers from the student¡¯s but Luna got a foreboding feeling from those words. The others, Bennett, Yelena, Tyreese, and even Mia, were seemingly excited, but Luna couldn¡¯t have felt more trapped. *** Juli sighed at her broken Status screen from the previous System. Status Name : Juli Andromeda (???) Level ! ERROR ! | Tier ! ERROR ! Race : Voidborn Abyssal Health : 0/0 (! ERROR !) Mana : 0/0 (! ERROR !) Class : Voidborn Abyssal Princess I (!@#!@*) Stats ! ERROR ! ! ERROR ! ! ERROR ! ! ERROR ! ! ERROR ! ! ERROR ! Titles : Reincarnator Skills : ! ERROR ! I wonder how Jason is¡­ She thought, feeling a pang of emptiness in her heart. Juli missed her brother so much, so much that it hurt. She knew that he probably felt guilty, since she was dead because of what happened to him¡­ but she also wasn¡¯t. She was both alive and dead, in a sense. Not a zombie, mind you, but¡­ a husk of sorts. That¡¯s not right either, She thought. I still have a soul, hopefully. I still have everything that makes me a person, also hopefully. But I still feel empty. Why-? These were the thoughts she had as she stared up at the man who said her name and praised her for the ¡°Exams¡±. She couldn¡¯t have cared less though, since the Academy wasn¡¯t her true goal. Based on the Quest she¡¯d gotten the moment she¡¯d woken up, she was meant to find something¡­ a piece of something important. It had led her to participate in the Exams,, and now she wasn¡¯t sure where to go from here. Juli sighed, looking around in random directions, ignoring the people staring at her, or, more specifically, her horns. She noticed what looked like a young girl sitting on top of a boy¡¯s shoulders, staring at her in confusion. When Juli locked eyes with the girl, said girl shrugged before looking down at the boy and messing with his hair as he seemed to speak with someone next to him. ¡­Jeez, he¡¯s tall, Juli thought. A damn skyscraper. No wonder she¡¯s on his shoulders. No one seems to care about it though¡­ With a frown, she decided to ignore the two of them for now. How about we find this Bennett Yasmine? *** Bennett held onto Luna¡¯s ankles as she messed with his hair as he spoke to Yelena. ¡°Did anything happen while I was unconscious?¡± he asked, looking down at his sister. She shrugged. ¡°Not really¡­ The most I did was walk around the halls aimlessly for the rest of the day. Others may have just gone around and explored, but I wanted to wait for you two to get up.¡± Bennett frowned. ¡°Luna wasn¡¯t up before me?¡± He looked up at her. ¡°I would¡¯ve expected her to look around, at the very least-¡± Luna smacked his forehead, letting out a huff before glaring at Yelena, who had snorted. She then proceeded to smack her lightly with a tentacle before drawing it back in, continuing to mess with Bennett¡¯s hair again. He shook his head and looked back at his sister. ¡°I wonder how much longer we have to stay here before we can look around¡­¡± he mumbled, looking over to the Headmaster, who was still speaking. At some point, Yelena began to shake in excitement again and he rolled his eyes as she couldn¡¯t focus on one thing for more than a second or two. And finally, after what seemed like forever- ¡°-And now that we¡¯ve given you this basic information, again, Welcome to the Academy of Magic. Your first classes will start next week, so you have three days, not including today, to choose your classes, explore, and even make friends.¡± After this closing, the rush of 150 students ensued and Bennett heard Luna yelp as she was nearly knocked off his shoulders. In a slight panic, he lifted her off his shoulders and let her back in her normal position, using his arm as a sort of seat, her head now level with his. She wrapped her arms around his chest as she was jostled around and Bennett looked to Yelena, who nodded and they pushed in the opposite direction the crowd was going, where it didn¡¯t take long to move out of the crowd and into the open air, where he sighed. Luna slowly let go, instead wrapping a tentacle around him and looking glum, with messed up hair and her dress folded in places. She immediately let out four more tentacles (which somehow made her lighter, or more specifically, distributed her weight), before beginning to fix her hair and dress, looking annoyed. He watched her for a moment before looking to the crowd which was already half out the large room, which he assumed was probably the dining hall and looked to Yelena. ¡°Wanna get moving?¡± he asked. She poked his cheek. ¡°Of course. Oh, I found the library yesterday! It¡¯s just books upon books. It¡¯s amazing! Let¡¯s go-!¡± ¡°Excuse me, but would you two be the Yasmine twins?¡± Both Bennett and Yelena recognised the voice with a shock and spun around with wide eyes. The young-looking headmaster stood behind them with his hands behind his back. The thing that gave away his age was his gray hair and tired looking eyes. However, his eyes seemed to sparkle as he looked at them. ¡°H-H-Headmaster?¡± Yelena stuttered. ¡°Y-Yeah, we are,¡± Bennett responded in surprise. ¡°I¡¯m Bennett and this is Luna.¡± His sister shook her head rapidly. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m Yelena.¡± The Headmaster chuckled at their nervousness. Luna, however, ignored them, finding it more important to fix her clothes and hair. ¡°No need to be so nervous. I just wanted to meet the children of one of our most successful students.¡± Bennett blinked. ¡°Do you mean¡­ our dad?¡± Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Yelena frowned at Bennett, but seemed to have the same line of thought. However, the Headmaster shook his head. ¡°No, I mean your mother, Melony.¡± The twins froze in place and the Headmaster tilted his head slightly, confused at their reactions. Luna, of course, had finished fixing her hair, and had let out a fifth tentacle (Or sixth, counting the one around Bennett) and was fussing over her dress, which had bends in its strange material. ¡°...What do you mean? She never went to the Academy,¡± Yelena said. ¡°She wouldn¡¯t lie to us about that.¡± Bennett simply nodded. But the Headmaster shook his head. ¡°Your mother, Melony Yasmine was one of our most powerful Ice Harbingers, or maybe even Archon, and paved the way to help the Kingdom capture the most heavily fortified fortress, turning the tides of the war significantly.¡± At this, Luna actually looked up in interest, but Bennett and his sister just stared in confusion and horror. This¡­ can¡¯t be right, Bennett thought. Our mother would¡¯ve told us this. But¡­ Why does it make so much sense? It explains so much. Like the Runes on the fridge, something only Ice Mages can manage to do; the way the room gets colder whenever she¡¯s angry at me and Lena¡¯s shenanigans; and so many other things- Luna poked his cheek as he nearly grew lost in thought, snapping him back into reality. Right, try and focus. Lena is probably already- Bennett looked at Yelena mid-thought and was barely able to hold back a snort at his sister¡¯s drop-jawed expression. He nudged her foot with his and she blinked, closing her mouth immediately. ¡°You¡­ this can¡¯t be true,¡± Yelena said, rubbing the sides of her head. ¡°Our mother, that powerful? Actually, that¡¯s not the part I¡¯m confused about.¡± She shook her head. ¡°If she¡¯s so strong and well off, why the hell do we even exist?¡± *** Luna couldn¡¯t say she was surprised at this oh, so shocking revelation, but Yelena¡¯s question actually brought up some questions of her own. Yelena made a good point, though her question didn¡¯t make much sense. Of course a strong person would have offspring at some point. It was just nature. Even Luna- No, Cthulhu had children. (At some point, Luna began differentiating ¡°Luna¡± from ¡°Cthulhu.¡± When? She had not a clue. It was just a bit weird to think of ¡°Luna¡± as a mother of thousands, if not more.) The question she should¡¯ve been asking was- ¡°I don¡¯t really think that¡¯s the right question,¡± Bennett muttered. ¡°The better question is what happened to her that led to us being barely able to live?¡± The Headmaster sighed. ¡°Debt to your father¡¯s family.¡± At this, Luna was genuinely curious, causing her to look up. Both Bennett and Yelena¡¯s faces contorted into similar frowns. ¡°Our father?¡± Yelena muttered. ¡°How?¡± The Headmaster seemed to look around nervously as if he felt someone watching him before clearing his throat. ¡°I¡­ may not be able to finish this story today. If you wish to hear more, come to my office-¡± Bennett¡¯s frown deepened. ¡°Before you go¡­ is our father a noble?¡± The Headmaster, who was in the act of turning around, looking Bennett in the eye. ¡°Yes, is that important-?¡± Bennett¡¯s expression suddenly contorted into something dark and full of fury for just a moment, long enough for Luna to notice and freeze in place at the sheer anger expressed on his face. Then, just as quick as the expression appeared, it disappeared as Yelena looked at him in confusion. The Headmaster, however, took a slight step back at it as Bennett nodded with a flat expression. ¡°Okay. Just wanted to know.¡± Bennett¡­ he dislikes nobles? No¡­ that was pure hatred. Loathing. But¡­ Jennifer is a noble, but he doesn¡¯t seem to hate her. Might be something specific then. Mia might also be a noble as well. I think there¡¯s a side of Bennett I haven¡¯t seen yet. Maybe not even Yelena has seen either. ¡°I would advise you to go to your dorms sooner than later,¡± the Headmaster said. Bennett blinked. ¡°I- uh- don¡¯t know where my dorm is.¡± ¡°Do you know where your group is from the exams? They are your Dorm mates.¡± Luna was unsure if she should feel happy or exasperated at that news, so she looked at Bennett to see his reaction, but her eyes ended up landing on the horrified expression of Yelena. ¡°I can¡¯t be with Ben?¡± She muttered, sounding far more in despair than Luna thought she should have. ~~~ ¡°Luna, we should probably go-¡± Bennett started. She smacked him with a tentacle as she rolled over to glare at him. She laid in a bed covered in blankets that was in the dorm room, stubbornly refusing to get up. With a small noise of annoyance, she covered herself in the blankets. She could faintly remember Bennett carrying her to the dorms while following the other three, with Tyreese and Mia bickering the entire time and Jennifer looking between them nervously. However, there were more important things to do than remember that. Specifically, lay down in the very comfortable bed. It was even more comfortable than Bennett¡¯s bed back in the clinic, though, to be fair, it wasn¡¯t exactly the most luxurious bed in the world. Bennett sighed. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll just leave you here, I guess. Tyreese, can you watch her and make sure-¡± Immediately upon hearing this, Luna shot out of the bed and crashed into Bennett¡¯s back, knocking him forward through the door as he let out a yelp of surprise. He rolled over out in the hall and Luna found herself sitting on his back as Tyreese looked out the door with a taken aback expression, though it quickly contorted to his smug grin. ¡°I¡¯d take that as a no,¡± he cackled, turning around and closing the door behind him. There was then the very distinct sound of him locking it and both Luna and Bennett, who somehow craned his head around, stared in disbelief at this. After a moment, Luna let out a huff and stood up, acting like she hadn¡¯t done anything a few moments before. Bennett sat up and shook out his hair, looking a bit like a dog as he did so. He then stood up and gave her a wary look. ¡°Are you going to knock me across the hall with the Strength that belies your small and seemingly adorable form?¡± he said, completely serious as he stared at her. She fought to keep her face from heating up and responded by lifting herself off the ground with three tentacles and forcing herself back in her usual place, using his arm as her seat. Sighing, he squinted down the hall focusing on a distant form, which to him would be probably unrecognizable, but to Luna, she could tell it was- ¡°Oh, Yelena¡¯s over there,¡± he muttered. ¡°She looks like she¡¯s with her group.¡± Huh? How in the- how can he even see her; she¡¯s all the way at the end of the hall and should be barely a blur to him- She shook herself out of this train of thought. Actually, it might not be as impressive. I¡¯m too used to Humans being weak little things with next to no sense of danger whatsoever. However, the Humans here have proved many times that they¡¯re much different. I remember seeing Bennett carrying an entire bundle of wood to the docks the other day. Like something that had to have been four to seven times his weight¡­ actually, how much does he actually weigh? That was probably not a great estimate of his strength. As more thoughts raced through her mind, Bennett shrugged before turning around. ¡°Guess we don¡¯t get a tour guide. We¡¯ll have to find our way around here ourselves, Lu.¡± Another annoying burst of heat nearly rose to her cheeks, but she nodded instead of reacting. ¡°First up, the library?¡± He said meekly, clearly already knowing Luna¡¯s answer. She gave him a hard stare, trying to impart upon him the obvious answer. For a good four seconds he resisted, but eventually, falling to the power of Luna¡¯s stomach rumbling, he let out a sigh. ¡°Fine¡­ dining hall it is,¡± he grumbled. ¡°I wanted to look for what the library had. Maybe I could learn Lightning Manipulation and not half cook myself whenever I tried to use Lightning Strike.¡± At Luna¡¯s expression he suddenly added, ¡°It doesn¡¯t hurt me, mind you, so get rid of that droplet of healing or whatever. It just feels really, really hot.¡± That didn¡¯t exactly help his case as Luna kept preparing it. No way she was letting him accidentally cook himself, whatever that meant. Not like someone would eat him¡­ unless he tasted good- With a scowl, she pushed down the instincts of Cthulhu and pulled Luna back. However, he gave her a bewildered look, not knowing the expression wasn¡¯t for him. Twenty minutes later and a lot of head scratching on Bennett¡¯s part and a few strange look from various students on Luna¡¯s part, as she had a tentacle wrapped around Bennett as she played around with her Water Manipulation, creating small figures of Bennett, Yelena, or whatever she felt like making, they found the dining hall. The moment she smelled the food, she let her most recent construction of a Kraken disperse and kicked Bennett¡¯s leg to get him to move faster. He looked down at her and sighed. At this, Luna got the faint urge to spray ink on him, but then realized how weird that would be since she couldn¡¯t just spray it from any part of her body anymore (and yes, she had tried at some point, only ending up making the water of the bath she took turn black. With how generous this ¡°System¡± seemed to be, she had been mildly surprised that she hadn¡¯t gotten any Skill for it) and decided against it. ¡°Luna, don¡¯t just shove things into your mouth and then leave,¡± Bennett grumbled, seemingly tired. ¡°Yes, the sight of you with food stuffed in your cheeks like a squirrel is adorable, but you don¡¯t need to do it all the time-¡± His voice faded away as he opened the door to the dining hall and they beheld the food spread out on tables. It had everything she could possibly imagine, from steaming meat pies, to pancakes, to seafood (Obviously the most important part), to noodles and soups, to nicely cut and beautifully seasoned steak and other meats, to even various amounts of desserts that her mouth just had to shove into her mouth. Bennett gave her a panicked look, his grip starting to tighten. ¡°Luna-¡± However, she was already out of his arm seat and had split into five Duplicates, to the bewilderment of other students already in the Dining Hall. Bennett groaned as multiple copies began shoving food into her mouth happily, Luna quite pleased with the turn of events. ~~~ Bennett carried Luna on his shoulders, as she was too lazy to use his arm as a seat on a full stomach. He was muttering under his breath about something to do with a food coma, but she was too tired to listen. She truly hadn¡¯t expected the sheer amount of nutrients that five of her would give, combined, causing her to be completely exhausted. However, she forced herself to stay awake, as she still wanted to see the campus. Eventually, after a few minutes of walking, they came across a large door that the two of them stared up at. Bennett tilted his head at it, contemplating something. While he did this, Luna sniffed the air, catching a scent of what seemed to be old paper, some maybe dating back a thousand years or so. There was a hint of Mana in the air, which she found odd. Mana and MP were one in the same, but had different properties. For instance, she could use Mana to power her Skills, as she found out when she was making her water sculptures. They were more defined and simpler to form. However, with MP, they were much less defined, yet they seemed to have more density. At this small test, though she¡¯d have to try more often, MP made Skills, or spells, as she used to call them, stronger, yet more difficult to use, but Mana made things easier and quicker to form. Is MP just a more dense version of Mana, which makes it harder to handle? And if so, why- ¡°Lu, what are you doing with my hair?¡± Bennett suddenly asked. ¡°I can feel you touching it.¡± She blinked and looked down at her hands, which she had unconsciously buried in his very much unkempt hair, though it probably was probably in that state because of her fidgeting while thinking. She pulled her hands out of his hair and huffed. ¡°Mhm. I can¡¯t say I know you well, but when you¡¯re thinking hard about something, you do fidget around with your hands, so I assume you were thinking about something. Also, do you think I should ask someone for directions to the-¡± ¡°Excuse me,¡± a voice interrupted. Bennett¡¯s speaking turned into a yelp of surprise as he Flickered to the other side of the hall they were in, pulling Luna with him. She grabbed his hair in a slight panic, all drowsiness suddenly being ripped away. When she looked back to where they had been previously standing, she was mildly surprised (meaning she was absolutely baffled) to see the blank faced Abyssal girl from earlier standing there with a slightly ajar expression, like she was a bit confused that Bennett had suddenly disappeared. She immediately tried to Scan her, but was met with a message she had never seen before. ___ Error! Scan Blocked! ___ Heh? What the- Right. Abyssal. Damnable things are near impossible to sense their strength by conventional means thanks to them being literally tied to the Abyss. Luna thought, miffed slightly. The Abyssal frowned. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure randomly [Eye-] er, Scanning people is rude.¡± Luna stared at her. She was about to mention the dumbass Skill [All Seeing Eye Of The Abyss]. That just confirms my suspicions that she¡¯s not from this System. But how did she get here? Bennett seemed confused for a second before looking up at Luna, who made a show of looking meekly down at him, which was something that was starting to become a bit genuine. He then sighed. ¡°Sorry about that. I panicked, since I¡¯m used to silently hunting things down, not the other way around,¡± he said. He then cringed slightly as Luna smacked him with her tentecle. ¡°Yeah, I realized how that sounded the moment it came out my mouth too.¡± The Abyssal blinked slowly. ¡°Right. I think I understand what you mean. By the way, would you happen to know a Bennett Yasmine? Some girl told me that he was looking around the campus.¡± Bennett blinked at the girl in confusion, but Luna simply did a quick look over of her. She seemed to be slightly older than Bennett, in a sense, but she was also younger¡­ a bit like Luna, but toned down by a huge amount¡­ in some places. Why couldn¡¯t I have my old body? she mentally grumbled. The girl had dirty blonde hair and very noticeable green eyes that seemed to be a bit lifeless as she watched them. The same look Luna had seen before in other people: Reincarnators who hadn¡¯t accepted their previous death and were longing for something back in their old world. So she¡¯s a Reincarnator, huh? Normally, I¡¯d be nice to them and do my best to show them what they wanted to see, even if it hurt them more. Though, usually, they¡¯d get better after a while. But¡­ I get the feeling if i did show her, if I even could, she would be even more lifeless than she is now. What in the hells happened to her before her Reincarnation? Luna also noticed that the girl was wearing clothes with words in a different language other than Common¡­ English. They said something along the lines of, ¡°I¡¯m Named After a Galaxy!¡± Underneath those clothes Luna could see very worn looking leather armor, a bit like Bennett¡¯s She¡¯s from Earth, that useless brick in space where I used to terrify people for fun. In Earth terms, she¡¯s been ¡°Isekaied ''''. Speaking of Earth. I put them in a different plane of time than the rest of the universe for just messing with them back when I was younger and keeping them away from most of the horrors I birthed when I was older. But how in the name of the Gods did she end up there? And very funny shirt. Just ignore the fact that the Andromeda Galaxy is very much a horror show filled with necessarily powerful things and I guess it¡¯s nice. Also, wasn¡¯t I supposed to be studying something? After a few moments of silence, Bennett sighed. ¡°Well, I¡¯m Bennett. This is Luna. What were you looking for me for?¡± The girl¡¯s eyes narrowed. ¡°How do I know you¡¯re actually Bennett? You could be lying to me.¡± Luna simply stared at the girl for a moment before rubbing Bennett¡¯s hair until it crackled with overcharged static electricity and her own hair rose into the air. She grabbed her own hair with a tentacle to keep it out of the air before looking at Bennett¡¯s flat face staring up at her with a hint of amusement in his eyes. He then rolled his eyes and looked back at the Abyssal. ¡°That enough proof? I¡¯m the new Lightning Mage. Bennett Yasmine, nice to meet you¡­?¡± The girl sighed after a moment, frowning at Luna. ¡°Juli. Juli Andromeda.¡± Bennett grinned in his normal fashion. ¡°So¡­what exactly did you want to find me for, Juli?¡± ¡°How exactly did you beat the Boss during the Exam?¡± *** Bennett immediately was a bit wary of Juli. First, she appears without either him or Luna sensing her, then she explains that she was looking for him, but is immediately suspicious that he may not be Bennett, even after the show of his Lightning Alignment. To be fair though, he kinda panicked and tried to get both him and Luna away from the strange girl. And when she asked how he beat the Boss, he was even more suspicious. There was no way that someone went through the effort to find him just to ask that. There was something else she wanted from him. ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t know. I kinda almost killed myself,¡± Bennet said, shrugging. He knew that Luna was probably giving him an annoyed expression, but he didn¡¯t look up. ¡°I just got a new Skill and used it, I guess,¡± he continued nervously. Juli stared at him with a slightly suspicious look on her face. ¡°That explains absolutely nothing,¡± she responded, her tone flat. ¡°I couldn¡¯t even defeat it and I was the same Level as it.¡± Why is she so concerned about this? Bennett thought, looking to the side nervously. I just want to go to the library, man. Wait, did she say she was the same Level as the Boss? ¡°You have a Class?¡± He suddenly asked, far more interested. She blinked in confusion at his sudden interest, taking a small step back. ¡°Yes¡­ why is that important?¡± ¡°That¡¯s amazing! I haven¡¯t met anyone who has a Class that wasn¡¯t just outright a piece of work or my mom. Though, to be fair, I don¡¯t really try to approach people often¡­ I¡¯m normally working, out searching for some satellite nests or hunting down Elemental Beasts to trade into the Merchant Guild for some extra money for-¡± ¡°I don¡¯t care about your life story,¡± the girl, Juli, suddenly snapped. ¡°I just want to know how someone at Level 2 can defeat a Boss five times his Level.¡± Oh¡­ she just wants to know how I¡¯m so ¡°strong¡±. A small bit of anger burned in the back of his mind, but he took a breath to cool off. There was no reason to get angry right now. She was just¡­ Bennett looked at the expression on her face, which had contorted into an expression he knew he made sometimes, the expression of someone who thought they weren¡¯t enough. The expression of someone needing to do something, not just for themselves, but for the people around them. Someone who wanted to protect something. I wonder what she wants to protect¡­ ¡°Look,¡± Bennett started. ¡°You keep saying I killed it, but I didn¡¯t do that alone. The Headmaster said himself that ¡®Bennett Yasmine and the rest of his team were the only ones to have defeated the first Boss.¡¯ It was a team effort. I just happened to land the last hit. Did you not work with your team?¡± The girl¡¯s jaw tightened and Bennett could hear her grinding her teeth. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me it was a ¡®team effort¡¯; you can only get places with your own hard work. You killed it and the rest of your team didn¡¯t. They just happened to be there when you killed it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m about 90% sure you¡¯re not even listening to the words out of my mouth. Did you run off from your team or something?¡± The slight twitch in her face verified his question. Before he could continue on speaking, she simply turned around. ¡°Clearly, this was a bust,¡± she muttered. ¡°Don¡¯t talk to me again.¡± Both Luna and Bennett watched her leave and once she was out of sight, he earned a smack on the head from the girl on his back. ¡°I swear, I¡¯m gonna stop carrying you around if you smack me again,¡± he mumbled. ¡°But, what was her problem?¡± He felt Luna shrug before pulling on his shirt. ¡°Yeah, I almost forgot! The Library! Let''s see if they have anything interesting.¡± He took a few steps forward before he stopped. ¡°Well, provided we can find it. I should have asked her if she knew¡­¡± Bennett added, a bit meekly. Luna groaned, slumping against the back of his head as he sighed. Chapter 7 : Exploration of a School Luna almost regretted making Bennett go to the Dining Hall first. Almost. When she opened the first book she found remotely interested in when they finally found the library (after nearly 20 minutes of wandering around before they found a second year who gave them directions to said library), she found that she¡¯d been completely immersed in the history of the ten cities, where all the students originated from. According to the book, they¡¯d all used to be a sort of megacity or huge capital before they split due to differences, and all the inhabitants, along with the pieces of the megacity itself, split apart. How the entire city split and went separate ways was still unknown to her, but she was more interested in how the final part of the city, the Capital, was still standing, and that she was currently in it, since it was where the Academy was built. The Academy itself had a pretty long history, but, to simplify it, it was used as a way to attempt to reunite the city and put together the best of each generation and turn them into the next leaders of the Kingdom, something that made Luna shiver slightly. It really sounded like the Kingdom controlled the strongest of the students. What drew her attention away from the book she was reading was something in a book Bennett had grabbed. Some sort of chart: System Rankings Commoner : Level 0 - 9 Scholar : Level 10 - 24 Mage : Level 25 - 49 Battlemage : Level 50 - 74 Prince/Princess : Level 75 - 99 Harbinger : Level 100 - 149 Archon : Level 150 - 224 Demigod : Level 225-??? God : Level ??? Huh¡­ This must be how people are categorized, she thought, scooting closer to Bennett, who tilted the book for her to see better. Interesting, I guess. That means Bennett is a¡­ ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m a Commoner,¡± he muttered, seemingly sensing her thoughts. ¡°It¡¯s honestly pathetic. I thought I could be at the very least Level 5 by the time I entered the Academy, but of course, things happened, so I don¡¯t get that privilege. It¡¯s just gonna take slightly longer to get a Class than I hoped. But, look on the bright side; We get to choose our first weapons in our first Year 1 Combat class.¡± Luna took a moment to process what he said before giving him a strange look, raising her tentacles into the air and waving them in his face. He rolled his eyes and moved them out of the way to look at her. ¡°Yeah, I know you kinda just smack things dead, but it might be a good Idea for you to get something to amplify your healing-¡± Luna interrupted him by covering his mouth and gesturing to her dress. In the past, this said dress that Cthulhu had painstakingly crafted for nearly four thousand years, killing all sorts of things that she was too lazy to remember what they were, did exactly what he said, and more. Well, not the ¡°more¡± part, currently, but the Healing. She¡¯d tried to Scan it, but it hadn¡¯t worked, but based on her Status, it gave her a bunch of Healing Effectiveness, Water Damage Bonus, and Physical Damage Bonus. Bennett gave her a strange expression. ¡°Your¡­ dress gives you more Healing and whatnot? That¡¯s why you shoot my HP up to nearly 300% when you use Overheal?¡± She nodded and Bennett gave her a thoughtful look. As he seemed to think, Luna faintly heard footsteps approaching them and Bennett blinked. ¡°¡®Lena?¡± he said, craning his head back to look at Yelena, who had appeared out of nowhere, apparently, like she clearly liked to do. (Luna was really starting to get annoyed at her loss of perception; she should¡¯ve been able to tell that she had been coming from a few universes away!) ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Yelena huffed and sat down next to Bennett, pressing her side against him. ¡°I¡¯ve been looking for you forever! Why didn¡¯t you come and find me when you finished looking around your dorm? I wanted to show you the way to the library!¡± Bennett gave her a strange look. ¡°When we came out, you were talking to some other people and I didn¡¯t want to interrupt, so we just went to find this place ourselves.¡± Yelena looked momentarily confused before apparently connecting a few dots, her mouth turning to a small ¡°o¡±. ¡°Right. I was talking with my team, or Party, I guess, about our weapons for when we go to our first Combat class. I¡¯m still not sure what I should pick¡­ have you thought about it?¡± Did he just¡­ completely change the conversation without even Yelena noticing? How in the name of¡­ well me- did he do that? Luna mused, looking at Bennett curiously. ¡°Well, we were actually just talking about that, but apparently Luna doesn¡¯t want one. She¡¯d rather smack things to death with her tentacles-¡± Luna smacked him on the head with one of the said tentacles and Yelena snorted. ¡°It seems very effective, so I can¡¯t blame her; if I were her, I¡¯d do the same thing.¡± ¡°Uh huh. Personally, I don¡¯t know what I should get either. I was thinking about a sword, but I feel like a spear or glaive would also be good¡­¡± With your size, you might as well use a broadsword or claymore. How have you been using knives for gods know how long with your size? Luna thought, mildly amused. I know they¡¯re supposed to be daggers, but¡­ ¡°I honestly think you should go for a glaive. Those daggers look like kitchen knives in your hands,¡± Yelena responded bluntly, effectively tearing the words from Luna¡¯s thoughts. Luna nodded along with this statement, poking at the said knives. Bennett looked taken aback for a moment, but he deflated a few moments later. ¡°Well¡­ I guess I have outgrown them¡­by a long shot. We¡¯ll see tomorrow. Anyways, shouldn¡¯t we go over to the Counselors to get our four other classes? We don¡¯t want to be assigned random classes.¡± Yelena¡¯s face scrunched up. ¡°Right. We should do that,¡± she muttered, sounding very reluctant to get up from the cushion she was on. However, when Bennett stood up, she sighed and stood up next to him. After lifting up Luna, he stood still for a moment. ¡°I wonder if there¡¯s a map somewhere¡­¡± he muttered. ~~~ Naturally, it took them a while to find the counseling office and in that time, it had dawned upon Luna that there would be plenty of problems with meeting with the Counselors. Namely, communication. How exactly am I supposed to go about this? She thought in a panic as Bennett waved to his sister, who nervously stepped into one of the offices. I can¡¯t even speak, even if my life depended on it. I mean, unless they can understand wheezing, I don¡¯t think- ¡°I would ask if you¡¯ve thought about the classes you¡¯ll choose but I¡¯m pretty sure you don¡¯t know any of the classes they have,¡± Bennett said, interrupting her thoughts. ¡°I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll tell us about them though.¡± Luna frowned up at him and gestured to herself, then him. He nodded. ¡°Of course I¡¯m coming with you. Sorry to be blunt, but you don¡¯t really talk all that much. At all, really-¡± He stopped talking as he saw someone leave one of the offices, looking mildly glum as she looked at a paper in her hands. She suddenly stopped and looked up, noticing Bennett and Luna, Bennett who had waved at her. Jennifer visibly gulped as she slowly approached the two of them, folding up her paper and sighing. ¡°Y-you¡¯re awake,¡± she said softly. ¡°It¡¯s nice to see you¡¯re okay.¡± Bennett nodded in response. ¡°I probably have Luna to thank for that. But, on another note, we didn¡¯t see you in the dorm or during the entrance speech.¡± He looked genuinely curious, and some of that curiosity seemed to rub off onto Luna as she looked at Jennifer pensively. She looked away nervously. ¡°Yes¡­ I was just a bit nervous to talk to anyone after the Exams. I didn¡¯t want to bother you either¡­¡± The boy holding Luna frowned slightly. ¡°Fair enough, but you were probably the second biggest reason why we even made it through to get here, Luna being the first,¡± Bennett explained. ¡°Between the two of you, Healing and Buffing, I think you both were the most valuable to the team; You wouldn¡¯t have been bothering me.¡± Jennifer¡¯s face went red immediately and she looked while Luna simply let out a huff of self-pride. Bennett rubbed her head and she gave him a strange look as he lifted his hand away from her, but didn¡¯t react otherwise, though she did notice that Jennifer momentarily had a longing expression on her face that dissapeared the moment it appeared. Huh, Luna absentmindedly thought. ¡°Anyhow, we came here to get our first classes. I¡¯m assuming you just got yours?¡± Jennifer quickly nodded, obviously thinking about leaving, but unable to make herself move. ¡°It¡¯s nothing interesting; just the normal support classes and Element Training.¡± ¡°What about your extra class?¡± he asked, not noticing her awkwardness slowly rising. ¡°I¡¯m personally thinking about Elemental Engineering¡­ But I still need to see the others, as well as Luna-¡± ¡°You should probably do that then,¡± Jennifer quickly interrupted, shifting from place to place. ¡°The Counselor I was just in should be ready.¡± Bennett started, completely forgetting about his unintentional interrogation. ¡°Right! Ready, Lu?¡± he asked, looking down at Luna, who was still trying to understand half of what had just transpired. After she gave a small nod, he quickly walked over to the door that Jennifer had just walked out of and opened it after taking a breath. *** After opening the door, Bennett quickly slid in, closing the door behind him. He barely got a chance to look around the office when a man¡¯s bored voice rang throughout the room. ¡°Yeah, yeah, come in here without knocking. Who even said I was done finishing up this paperwork? Additionally, you come in here not by yourself, but carrying a doll-sized girl along with you-¡± the voice suddenly cut off with a wheeze and cough of surprise. Bennett looked up to the source of the voice to see a black haired man with said hair nearly covering both of his eyes. Nearly, as in Bennett meant that they would usually probably be covering them, but he was currently giving Bennett a wide-eyed look of surprise. However, the expression quickly faded and his eyes were covered once again. ¡°I don¡¯t care who¡¯s son you are, but I¡¯m not rigging any classes,¡± he muttered, somewhat half-heartedly. Bennett blinked. ¡°Why would I ask you to rig any classes? I only wanted to know what class options were available to me, but I¡¯m pretty sure you have some sort of vendetta against¡­ well anyone who even dares to exist in your presence.¡± Well, that explains Jennifer¡¯s sullen look. I didn¡¯t mean to be rude though. It kinda just¡­ slipped out. It¡¯s getting slightly harder to control my emotions lately, too. I wonder why¡­ ¡°Like mother, like son, apparently,¡± the man muttered. ¡°Doesn¡¯t even realize the snark slipped out until it already did.¡± Guess I am a bit like Mom¡­ ¡°Wait, you know my mom?¡± Bennett suddenly asked. Luna slightly perked up at the question, but didn¡¯t really show much more than that. Seems she¡¯s interested in that too, but isn¡¯t she a bit less¡­ emotive now? I mean, she might just be hiding her emotions from this guy since she doesn¡¯t know who he is¡­ maybe I should probably stop trying to assume what she¡¯s doing. To be completely honest, I barely know her; I really just fished her out of the water and brought her here completely without any idea of who she was and if she ever really wanted to¡­ Thinking about this, Bennett felt a mild pang of guilt, but decided to push it away until later, when he could talk to Luna about it. ¡°Every professor and their grandmother knows about her. The woman who turned half the battlefield up north into an unending blizzard cold enough to even faze other Ice Harbingers, though I get the feeling she ascended to Archon a while ago. Ah, I remember when she was just an annoying kid with that annoying Noble boyfriend of hers. Annoying and unnecessarily strong. People are gonna have high expectations of you and that sister of yours, y¡¯know. I¡¯m just gonna say sorry beforehand for how you¡¯re probably gonna be treated.¡± Luna, at some point in his spiel, had begun pulling absentmindedly on Bennett¡¯s shirt, wrapping it about her hand and letting go of it a few times. The man noticed this and coughed. ¡°Right, classes. That¡¯s a thing.¡± He moved around some papers and let some pens float in the air behind him, which Luna looked at in interest. While the man wasn¡¯t paying attention, Bennett watched her expression turn to curiosity as she raised her hand towards them. When she clenched her fist, the pens all simultaneously fell out of the air and hit the ground. Wha- Huh? How in the world-? She then looked at her hand in what he can only describe as wonder as the pens rose back into the air. The man cursed under his breath. ¡°I knew those enchantments were malfunctioning,¡± he grumbled. ¡°Anyways, sit down- wait, wait, firstly, why are there two of you?¡± Bennett blinked, tearing his eyes from Luna. ¡°Well¡­ she can¡¯t exactly speak, so I brought her with me. Is that fine?¡± Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. Luna looked a bit miffed when he said that so bluntly, but nodded at his words. The Counselor frowned, muttering under his breath for a few moments before huffing. ¡°Sure. Just means slightly more paperwork for me to make sure you two have most of the same classes, though I can¡¯t really help when it comes to training your Alignments. Speaking of which, that¡¯s the first thing I need to know.¡± He tipped a pen as Bennett sat down, letting Luna sit on his lap, her head just high enough to peer over the desk with an annoyed expression. Bennett wisely chose not to laugh as she glared up at him. ¡°I have a Lightning Alignment and she has a Water Alignment,¡± Bennett said. ¡°Really now? Water and Lightning? Those are some of the most uncommon Alignments to exist¡­ well, Water not so much if you¡¯re some sort of Water Race.¡± ¡°Luna¡¯s a Seaborn,¡± Bennett answered. The man blinked. ¡°Oh. Nevermind then. Anyways, your, Bennett, main classes are going to be Lightning Focus, Beast Studies Year I, and History Year I. The same goes for you as well, Luna, though the first will be Water Focus. To get the last required class, I need to know what career paths you both will take.¡± At this, Bennett nearly blurted out ¡°Battlemage¡± but thought about it for a moment. Doing this meant that if he grew strong enough, he¡¯d have to one day be out there, fighting in the war against the Elves. Did he really want that? I¡­ don¡¯t want to hurt anyone as long as it¡¯s necessary. But, if someone were to hurt Yelena and I wasn¡¯t strong enough to help her fight¡­ ¡°I want to one day ascend past a Battlemage. I want to try to meet the expectations people have for me, or even surpass them, if possible,¡± Bennett said, with a determined expression on his face. ¡°And why is that? Are you willing to do what it takes to be powerful? Make sacrifices to gain what you want?¡± Bennett bit his lip. ¡°To be honest, I can¡¯t tell you that now. It¡¯s all a matter of time. I¡­ want to be strong, but to know if I¡¯ll be able to bear what I need to do to grow¡­ I¡¯ll have to experience it myself. You never know if the path you want for yourself will be wrong until you tread that path.¡± The Counselor looked at Bennett for a long moment. ¡°Good enough answer. So Mage¡­ Training¡­ Year I¡­¡± He muttered while writing. ¡°There we go. Now, for you.¡± Luna blinked as he looked at her. With the attention on her now, she stopped messing with Bennett¡¯s shirt and looked into space thoughtfully. She sat there for a few moments, her thoughts unknown to anyone but herself. Then, with a nod, she poked Bennett cheek. ___ HP : 250% Buffs : Overhealed (24 Hours Remaining) ___ Did she just¡­ of course she did. She¡¯s basically saying that if she doesn¡¯t heal me, I¡¯m going to end up killing myself one way or another, even if I don¡¯t end up becoming a Battlemage. Bennett couldn¡¯t help but laugh out loud before shaking his head. ¡°She wants to be a Healer. I¡¯m sure she knows exactly what she¡¯s getting into, though I could beg to differ.¡± For a few moments, the man stared at the two of them as Luna kept poking Bennett¡¯s cheek, this time not using Overheal, while Bennett attempted to fend her off. Then he sighed. ¡°Sure. But I¡¯m just going to warn you, it¡¯s probably one of the most difficult classes here, according to most of the Healers I¡¯ve met. They¡¯re great people though. There was this one guy though, who can give people a buff based on the amount of HP he heals on someone. Naturally, this power was abused, but he eventually put a stop to it. His Skill was almost as sought after as Overheal. My advice: If you develop Overheal, tell nobody except for someone you truly trust. I wouldn¡¯t want to see you the way he was.¡± Bennett gave the man a strange look. ¡°But we literally just met you. How would you know whether you wanted to or not?¡± ¡°Anyways, you both still need to pick your extracurriculars,¡± he continued, ignoring him. ¡°There¡¯s a few that would suit both of you attending the same one. Namely-¡± ¡°Elemental Engineering, right?¡± Bennett interrupted, raising an eyebrow at the man. With a mildly confused look, the Counselor nodded. ¡°Yeah¡­ how¡¯d you know that?¡± Bennett blinked at him. ¡°Well, I kinda just blurted something out, hoping I was right,¡± he said meekly, causing Luna to pinch him. ¡°What? I like the idea of it.¡± Luna rolled her eyes and shifted herself into a slightly more comfortable position on his lap. I¡¯ve never actually thought about it before, but why does Luna seem so comfortable with me? I mean, I barely know her. It¡¯s almost like¡­ I¡¯m the first person she¡¯s talked to in her whole life or something. I mean, if I¡¯d never spoken to someone before and lived seemingly alone my entire life, I¡¯d probably attach myself to the first person who even remotely treated me nicely. ¡°Well, I guess you can take it. You¡¯ll both probably be a bit overworked since those people love experimenting with new Alignments, but you should be fine. By the way, you should probably work on Leveling as well. I¡¯d shoot for 4 Levels a week at the least until you get your first Class. And when it comes to weapons, pick something that you can use your size to abuse. Like a mace or longbow or something. You might even be good with a battle scythe or glaive.¡± Something tingled in the back of his head as he nodded. A battle scythe, huh? ¡°I¡¯m not so sure ¡®bout you, Luna, but try to get a Level or two, alright?¡± Their Counselor finished writing off their papers and sighed as he put them onto some sort of plate, where they popped out of existence and were replaced with two small crystals. ¡°These are your Identification Crystals. They, well, identify you as part of the Academy. Just put a bit of Mana in them and they¡¯ll show you your class and the times they start. Seeing as today¡¯s a weekend, classes start tomorrow, now get out of here and find where your classes are so you can remember them for tomorrow. I need to get the stuff ready for the next students.¡± *** Luna found the entire exchange slightly foreboding, but she didn¡¯t really mind it, so she basically went along with Bennett and found that she was completely fine with the choices he made and was perfectly willing to have the same classes as him¡­ as long as it didn¡¯t end in some sort of disaster, which it was bound to do. ¡°Man, we still have half the day left,¡± Bennett groaned, looking glum. ¡°I just wanna sit down and do nothing, but I get the feeling we should look for our classes before then.¡± Luna pinched his arm and tried to convey that she would do the same thing by making obscene hand movements that she didn¡¯t even know what they meant. Bennett blinked at her and she stared at him. She, knowing that it would most likely not work, sent a wave of annoyance through to him using her Mental Communication and she was then, very surprisingly, met with a prompt. ___ Do you wish to Bind Skill : Blessing of the Sea to Bennett ¡°Yasmine¡±? By doing this, you will have limited Mental communication towards Bennett ¡°Yasmine" and all Skills used on Bennett ¡°Yasmine¡± will have an extra 50% effectiveness, including Damaging Skill. This also applies to him. However, if any Soul Damage is applied to Bennett, it will also be applied to you. You will never be able to retract this Blessing for the duration of Bennett ¡°Yasmine¡±¡¯s life. More benefits of this Skill will be revealed when Bound. Bind Skill : Blessing of the Sea? ___ Luna stared at this for a long moment before dismissing the prompt. It seemed like an interesting prospect, especially the fact of being able to communicate her emotions to him, but just how thorough would it be? Would she unintentionally send emotions to him? Was it controlled? Was she really able to swallow having Soul Damage shared? It was quite a serious thing from the limited memory of it she had of it. A few moments later, Bennett sighed. ¡°I have no clue what exactly you want, but I assume it¡¯s probably a good idea to look for our classes.¡± She stared at him for a few moments and he stared back, and in that moment, she knew that he knew exactly what she wanted and was very obviously going directly against it. She narrowed her eyes at him as he held his crystal in his hand and frowned at it. ¡°Huh. It says our combat class is outdoors. Fair enough. It¡¯s on the second and fourth days of the week, whereas our Mage and Healing classes are on the first and third, along with Beast studies or History, which are interchangeable since they¡¯re seen as less important classes. Beast on the first day, History on the third. Lightning and Water are the same as combat while Engineering, as it¡¯s a chosen class, is all day on the fifth day of the week. Focus classes are on the third floor¡­ Beast and history on the second¡­ Engineering on the first and combat outside¡­ simple enough.¡± Luna stared at him as he rambled and he blinked, suddenly looking at her. ¡°Anyways, do you want to check out the History classroom?¡± She felt her eyelid twitch as she restrained a glare. How does he know that¡¯s the one thing that actually interests me? Of course I want to go now that you asked! She finally huffed and he gave her a smug look, very reminiscent of the one his sister would have. ¡°I thought so. You really had your face in those books-¡± She smacked him on the head repeatedly with one of her tentacles, annoyed at him. ~~~ ¡°This is¡­ certainly a decently large classroom,¡± Yelena said, following after Bennett, who had to duck his head slightly to enter the classroom. ¡°Oh, come on,¡± Bennett complained. ¡°I can¡¯t sit in one of these chairs comfortably.¡± He lifted up one of the chairs, the one that Luna happened to be trying out with a single hand, demonstrating how small it was compared to his large form. Luna gave him a smug expression while Yelena snorted. ¡°It¡¯s not all that bad. You can sit on the ground; I¡¯m sure you¡¯re tall enough.¡± His face contorted further as he placed the chair down and sat next to Luna, easily clearing the top of the desk. ¡°Bit too tall, but not that big of a deal,¡± he muttered, trying to play off his annoyance. Luna had never really thought about it before, but Bennett was a bit of a gentle giant, if said giant was a bit thin and could throw bolts of blood red lightning. However, before she could continue teasing him, the door to the history class opened and an old woman walked in and stared at them for a few moments. Luna got a strange tingling feeling all over her body and she realized that the woman was probably Scanning her. Uncomfortable, Luna intentionally blocked the attempt, drawing the woman¡¯s gaze. Why would there be older people working here? Wait¡­ that doesn¡¯t sound right. More specifically, why would someone choose to be old looking? I mean- ¡°Oh, uh-¡± Bennett started to get up quickly, but his knees hit the desk and he fell forward, his forehead hitting the edge before he fell back, the back of his head hitting the desk behind him. He groaned, a small line of blood peeking out from behind the skin of his forehead. Luna, surprised, let out a yelp and was about to heal him when she noticed the lightning crackling around his forehead. His passive healing skill¡­ I forgot about it. I never really got to see it since it was more spread out across his entire body during the Exam, Luna thought. The old looking woman stared in mild amusement at the scene before letting out a sigh. ¡°I¡¯ll assume you¡¯re some of the only new students that actually decide to look for your classes? You could¡¯ve waited for someone to be in the room first,¡± she said, somewhat halfheartedly. As Bennett was still out of commission, Yelena responded. ¡°Well, the door was unlocked so we assumed we could enter.¡± Luna nodded slightly as the lightning finished crackling on Bennett¡¯s forehead. He groaned as he sat up carefully. He patted all over his head as if expecting to feel a crack somewhere, before letting out a sight. He then looked up at the woman curiously. ¡°You¡¯re Professor Mary-Ann, right?¡± he asked, moving away from the short looking desks. ¡°You probably already guessed it, but we¡¯re new. I¡¯m Bennett Yasmine and-¡± Yelena cut him off with a huff. ¡°And I¡¯m Yelena Yasmine.¡± The woman, seemingly interested all of a sudden, let out a noise of acknowledgement. ¡°Ah. I¡¯d heard she¡¯d had children, that problem,¡± she muttered. ¡°I expected more¡­ arrogance, seeing her personality. Has your mother finally gotten out of debt, or is she still refusing to do things easily?¡± Bennett blinked and he looked at his sister in confusion, who looked back with the exact same expression. ¡°What does that mean?¡± How do those two manage to literally have the same expression? It is confusing and amusing at the same time. Luna thought, unsure how to react. ¡°Hm?¡± the woman looked up, squinting slightly. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure she had thousands of gold stored up in some vault somewhere. Probably in the tens of thousands. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if she was too defiant to use that though. There¡¯s no way she¡¯d let her own children live in poverty just because some nobles told her that she was unnecessary.¡± The confusion on the twins¡¯ faces seemed to double as Bennett muttered, ¡°Thousands? But¡­¡± ¡°Hm¡­ whatever, she¡¯ll just do what she wants. She¡¯s probably got some outrageous plan that will somehow work. It¡¯s just like her,¡± the professor said. ¡°Ah right. You clearly know I¡¯m a professor, but you don¡¯t know me. You can call me Professor Thyxie.¡± Thyxie sat down and proceeded to ignore the three of them. After nearly a minute of no dialogue, Luna simply looked at Bennett who was apparently thinking about something that she couldn¡¯t glean just by looking at his expression. Honestly¡­ she began. Luna poked his side and he blinked, looking down at Luna, who wore a confused expression. He then sighed. ¡°Just trying to make sense of¡­ things. I hope this won¡¯t be every class-¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t hope for anything. It will,¡± Professor Thyxie suddenly said, suddenly behind them. Luna, who had faintly perceived her movement, slightly flinched, but Yelena and Bennett full on panicked,Yelena literally exploding in a random direction, crashing into a wall and Bennett simply disappearing, leaving Luna there, the only proof of his existence being the small crackles of electricity that quickly got to the other side of the classroom, where he reappeared, back against the wall. Luna wiped the soot from Yelena off her face and frowned at Bennett disapprovingly, definitely not mildly annoyed he didn¡¯t take her with him. Professor Thyxie snorted and casually walked back to her desk and sat back down. ¡°At least they¡¯re not as bad as their mother; she tried to turn me into a block of ice, the insensitive girl,¡± she muttered. ~~~ The next class they went to, interestingly enough, was the combat class, which Luna was immediately wary of when she saw the amount of students that were obviously from their Exam. Bennett had put her onto his shoulder so she wouldn¡¯t get trampled. Due to this, she effectively got an birds¡¯ eye view of the situation and she spied not too far away, the center of attention; a girl who simply stood there, eyeing the crowd suspiciously she was in front of a large looking man who also just stood there, eyes closed like some sort of statue. Bennett, who could also see, frowned. ¡°Hey¡­ isn¡¯t that the Lightning Mage- well, Battlemage- from last year? The one who got her Avatar? Shouldn¡¯t she be¡­ out? I¡¯m sure she was, to put it bluntly, shipped out to the middle lines of the war.¡± Luna looked down at Bennett at the mention of the war again, finally interested in hearing about it. He looked up at her and shrugged, forgetting that she was on his shoulder somehow. How does he not notice my weight? I know I weigh a lot, just because of these tentacles. I mean, I don¡¯t always have them out, unlike other Seaborn, who have to since they¡¯re so big and can¡¯t magically store them like I do naturally. But they still at least triple my weight¡­ Bennett sighed. ¡°I can¡¯t say it¡¯s surprising you don¡¯t know about the war, but there¡¯s not too much to it. It¡¯s just Humans being Humans and aggravating the Elves at every other step. Technically the Wolf-kin as well, but they¡¯re just¡­ Wolf-kin, not that I have anything against them. With the Elves though, it¡¯s a bit more complicated. Humans want more territory, and in wanting that, they intrude upon the Elves¡¯ territory. We don¡¯t even use all of ours¡­¡± ¡­Of course. Why did I ask? Humans are just like that, Luna thought with an expression that said, ¡°Of course.¡± Meanwhile, Yelena, who was too short to see anything happening, jumped slightly, trying to see over people¡¯s heads. After a few seconds of trying this, she huffed, unable to see. She then spun towards Bennett, her hands on her hips. ¡°What¡¯s happening, oh tall brother?¡± she demanded, succeeding in receiving an eye roll. ¡°Just people fangirling over some popular person I don¡¯t really know. Anyways, let¡¯s go check out a different class. Beast Studies maybe?¡± Bennett responded, looking back towards the palace-looking school which, despite its size, was actually shiny, in a way. ¡°Fine with me. I¡¯d rather wait until these people leave as well,¡± his agreed. Luna simply began rubbing his hair watching small streaks of lightning jump between clumps of hair and her fingers. He shook his head, causing a slightly larger bolt to shock her. She smacked him with a tentacle as he laughed silently, another jumping onto her tentacle and deflecting it with a small shock. There¡¯s no way he doesn¡¯t produce this lightning, She thought, letting out a huff, rubbing his hair rapidly, causing the same supercharged static electricity to crackle and raise her hair, along with the hair of other people around them, to their confusion. As the three of them left to leave, Bennett suddenly flinched at the same time Luna felt a mass of Lightning Mana gather behind them. He looked over and immediately went pale. As Luna followed his gaze, she laid eyes upon the same girl who had, just moments ago, been at the other side of the crowd. She had light purple eyes that seemed to bore into their skulls and blonde hair that was constantly crackling with electricity. Various scars were noticeable on her arms and the scar that went down from her forehead to behind her left ear and through her eyelid was nearly impossible to not look at. Luna couldn¡¯t see her clothes, but she did notice the many segmented armor that cover her from her arms to her feet, which was clearly made out of Mythril, along with the spear strapped to her back. Last, but definitely not least were the gloves that she wore, made of some sort of material that wrapped around her hands, looking almost like they were a part of her¡­ Soulbound artifacts¡­ Luna thought. Like my dress¡­ or whatever I want it to be. Before she thought more about it, the girl crossed her arms. ¡°Who the hell are you and why are you watching me?¡± Clearly baffled, Bennett didn¡¯t respond. He stared at her for a solid three seconds before shaking his head. ¡°I¡¯m about 99% sure I¡¯m not the only one watching you, though I was only curious as to why there were so many people here. Anyways, I¡¯ll just be on my way; I¡¯ll just wait for the crowd to clear up-¡± As Bennett slowly turned away, the girl spoke again. ¡°I didn¡¯t hear you answer my question.¡± *** Melony stared out the window of her new office with a suspicious glare, watching the exchange between Bennett and Reah, who was most likely the snarkiest Battlemage Melony had ever had the displeasure of meeting. I swear, if that girl so as touches a hair on any of them, I''ll put her into an ice construct for a week. Again, She thought, already thinking of a design for said sculpture. Chapter 8 : The First Class - Part 1 Bennett blinked, wary of the situation. What the hell am I supposed to do in this situation? I knew she went to this Academy¡­ but I never expected to see her! I thought she was somewhere else¡­ specifically not here, Bennett thought. Also, I realize I¡¯m starting to panic far more often than before, when I would go out and take on bees the size of my hand. At this specific thought, Bennett suddenly grew calmer. A fleeting thought made him question whether or not his constant panic had something to do with Luna, who was very much interested in the girl who literally had an Avatar. Also, why is there so much static electricity in the air? It¡¯s tingling every hair on my arms- ¡°What could you possibly be thinking about that is more important than the question I¡¯m asking you?¡± Reah Justyce, the youngest person to ever wield an Avatar, snapped at Bennett. A slight tinge of annoyance grew in the back of Bennett¡¯s mind as he realized that he already disliked this girl. ¡°You¡¯re not the most important person in the world, y¡¯know,¡± he unintentionally muttered. ¡°Some people could care less.¡± As he realized he said this, he was about to curse when he instinctively reacted to the gathering of Lightning in front of him, using a Flicker to move away as a spearhead smashed into the ground where he had just been. Bennett tightened his grip on Luna¡¯s legs as she finally looked up in annoyance and smacked his forehead lightly. He didn¡¯t notice this however, as he was already reacting to another spear, which genuinely surprised Luna, who yelped at the spear that had nearly went through her eye. He pulled her off of his shoulder and unceremoniously swung her onto his back, dodging yet another spearhead. ¡°What the hell?!¡± He yelled. I¡¯ve never met anything or -one who had such a short fuse. ¡°You could¡¯ve killed her!¡± Before he could react, he was suddenly flying backwards, his stomach burning from a kick he could barely perceive. She¡¯s way faster than me! And I barely had time to activate Flicker! Also, how did I react to tha- SHIT! In a panic, he somehow was able to quickly develop a Lightning Strike and throw it at his feet to launch him in the air, quite painfully, that was. He found himself five yards in the air and very much vulnerable, Flicker still on cooldown- Wait. No it¡¯s not. I really hope this doesn¡¯t hurt Luna. He threw an Anchor with Flicker and teleported to the ground, feeling a weight off his back. He looked up in a panic to see Luna falling out of the air, another spear hurtling towards her. She had a baffled expression on her face, looking down at him. ¡°Really? You can¡¯t take someone with you when you use an Anchor, idiot,¡± a voice said from in front of him. In a moment of clarity, Bennett immediately chopped off 70% of his HP and launched a Bloodbolt at Reah, thinking it would be futile, but when her eyes widened in sudden surprise, he knew it would hit, and it sure did. Immediately, she was launched with an explosion that popped his eardrums over the crowd that had been previously watching her and in front of the man whose eyes were now open and watching with mild interest at the girl who was quickly standing up. Bennett then realized Luna was still falling, and, with a final effort, used the now available Flicker to fly up and catch her, smashing into the ground in a daze. What¡­ the hell just happened? He thought trying to process the last few seconds that there was no way he could have possibly perceived normally. *** Luna, in her infinite power and wisdom, had absolutely no clue what had just happened in the past few seconds. Yes, she perceived it and remembered it perfectly, and could have reacted if she had the awareness, but she had barely been paying attention until she found herself in the air, Bennett suddenly gone. Then, there was an explosion of red Lightning and she was now sitting on Bennett¡¯s chest, who was clearly in a daze along with her. What- why is Bennett almost dead?! She thought, her previous train of thought already lost to panic. He groaned, sitting up as she placed her hand on his chest, already pushing Overheal into him, not holding back. ¡°Oof. Sitting at a clean 10% HP from whatever just happened there,¡± he muttered. ¡°And she¡¯s ba-¡± Before Luna could react, the face of the girl who had most likely nearly killed her appeared above them, looking very much infuriated. Bennett looked up at her nonchalantly, clearly tired already. ¡°Are you done? I really just wanted to look at the classes, not get beat up,¡± he sighed, looking up, then cringing at the fury on his face. ¡°Uh, is there something-?¡± ¡°What was that?¡± She hissed, grabbing Bennett by the shirt and causing Luna to fall off of him and roll slightly away. The girl didn¡¯t notice as Luna stood up confused. ¡°How did you, a Level 2 nobody, nearly take 10% of my HP with a single hit? Who even are-?¡± Suddenly, pure terror was evident on the girl¡¯s face as she dropped him. ¡°Y-Y-Yasmine?¡± Her face paled as she looked at Luna. ¡°You¡¯re also- oh no.¡± She backed away in terror, muttering, ¡°Oh gods, she¡¯s going to absolutely kill me. I didn¡¯t mean to-¡± Before she finished her sentence, she shook her head and, in a burst of Lightning, disappeared. What¡­ the hell just happened? Luna thought, trying to ignore the very much baffled looks from the crowd of students who had just watched this play out along with Yelena, who was still standing in the same place, a large hole in front of her and looking very much confused. ~~~ After the very much confusing and quick fight, both Luna and Bennett found themselves in the infirmary for the second time in the day, this time at nearly nighttime. The healer who had been tending to them sighed as she finally finished with Bennett¡¯s head injury, which Luna wasn¡¯t sure how he¡¯d gotten, but it was probably when he had caught Luna. ¡°How do students always manage to get hurt in their first days here?¡± she grumbled. ¡°You children always seem to get into fights with the wrong people.¡± Bennett raised his hands in defense. ¡°This was aggravated assault, madam. I had nothing to do with it¡­ mostly.¡± She hit him on the head with what looked like a ruler and glared at him. ¡°Now I know I¡¯m going to see you here often, Bennett Yasmine. I don¡¯t care who your mother is, so you better start getting a hold of yourself, or I swear-¡± Bennett looked at Luna meekly, who sat next to him, amused. I¡¯m just making a guess here, but I would assume Bennett¡¯s mother came here. A lot. ¡°Right, right, I understand,¡± he responded, interrupting her. ¡°Are we good to go, by any chance? I¡¯m sure my sister is losing her mind right now¡­ and I¡¯ll maybe have a few burns.¡± ¡°Is this girl not your¡­¡± the woman looked between the two of them before some sort of understanding dawned upon her face. ¡°Ah, yes, of course you can go, you two,¡± she said, suddenly seeming very compliant. ¡°But I swear, if I see you here tomorrow-¡± ¡°Yep, yep,¡± Bennett said, scooping Luna off the bed they were sitting on and dashing to the exit. ¡°See you later!¡± He called, quickly opening the door, sliding through, and closing it with a sigh. She looked up at him as he deflated, looking aimlessly at a wall. ¡°Dang¡­ today was chaotic, wasn¡¯t it, Lu?¡± Luna, unable to do much else, let out a sound of agreement and poked his cheek. He looked at her and smiled. ¡°Well, we might as well go find Lena before she literally explodes; it would be in our favor.¡± With a nod in response, the two of them (well, Bennett, since he was holding her) went down the halls, towards their dorms where Bennett had apparently made the assumption Yelena would be. Hmm¡­ I wonder if I would call him ¡°Ben¡± if I could speak in any capacity. Also, I¡¯m still a bit confused. He was at 30% HP when I healed him earlier. I brought him up to 260%, but he still had injuries. How exactly does it work? It could possibly be just a way to show battle readiness, which now sounds dumb as I think about it. More likely, it¡¯s most likely showing how able they are to make an action. Kinda like that Earth tabletop game¡­ DnD, was it? When your hit points reach 0 in that, you¡¯re not exactly out. You can be revived and continue to fight. Is it more like that, but if you reach 0%, you just die, at least if Bennett used Blood Magic to drop him there. More likely, you¡¯d probably be knocked into a comatose state, where you are on the brink of death, but can still come back, just unable to fight. It¡¯s interesting, to say the least. I¡¯d love to experiment more, but I¡¯d have to see- Bennett suddenly began to laugh, snapping Luna out of her thought trance. She gave him a confused look and he just kept laughing for a while before clearing his throat. ¡°Sorry, it¡¯s just¡­ I just got a new Skill. You¡¯d never believe what it¡¯s called,¡± he said, holding back another bout of laughter. As he explained the Skill to her, she grew more and more annoyed, until she began smacking him with her tentacles as he began to laugh again. ___ You gained a new Skill! NEW! Hitch-hiker - Level 1 Hitch-hiker (Utility) When carrying another, you gain a (Skill Level * 5)% increase in movement speed but take 20 - (Skill Level * 2)% more damage each. Additionally, you both gain (Skill Level + 10)% Skill Damage and it will be more difficult to knock the one hitching a ride off of you. If the hitcher uses any Support/Healing Skill on you, it will be (Skill Level * 5)% more effective. Any AOE Damage/Debuff Skills that you use will not damage the hitcher and when using a self-teleport Skill, they will be transported with you Duration : Until the hitcher is knocked off. *Note : This skill has been gained after battling with a hitcher excessively. ___ ~~~ ¡°I get it! Could you stop now; that hurts!¡± Bennett complained as his sister pulled on his ear, somehow able to reach it. ¡°I was already chewed out by the Healer in the Infirmary for being there!¡± Yelena glared at him. ¡°As you should! You pissed off someone you literally cannot afford to piss off because you just can¡¯t keep your mouth shut and nearly got Luna seriously injured! Hasn¡¯t Mom already hit you over the head enough times cause you can¡¯t keep your mouth shut sometimes? It feels like you intentionally piss everyone off around you!¡± Bennett looked away meekly. ¡°I mean¡­ I was right, wasn¡¯t I?¡± Yelena let out a huff and let him go, letting him rise back up to his full height while he rubbed his ear. ¡°Fine. You were. I don¡¯t get people who think they¡¯re on top of the world sometimes. According to about 99% of the people we¡¯ve met so far while here, Mom could probably whip them up and over their asses in a heartbeat,¡± Yelena muttered. ¡°Speaking of¡­¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ Based on her reaction to our name, Mom¡¯s probably already done so and would do it again,¡± Bennett said. ¡°I dunno what she did, but if it could terrify her, we better watch ourselves.¡± Yelena smacked Bennett¡¯s arm and he snorted, patting her on the head. Luna swung her legs back and forth, watching the two of them interact with interest. She couldn¡¯t lie to herself: she had definitely developed an interest in the two of them and their growth. She knew that it was probably a stretch, but she¡¯d probably- no, wanted to- be there to see everything as they grew stronger. Who knew, maybe they¡¯d turn out to be pretty strong. I still wonder¡­ What am I meant to do? I know I¡¯m here at this school now, but I¡¯m just assuming, apart from the spats Bennett will get into, it will be a relatively normal life¡­ which I¡¯m all for, surprisingly. But¡­ Why did I awaken now? What brought me to Bennett¡­ or was it just chance I¡¯m with such a nice person, who cares so much about me- Luna blinked. What? Why am I thinking like that? That felt¡­ weird. I don¡¯t like that at all. She repressed the strange feeling bubbling up in her chest, causing her heart to beat faster than normal, shaking her head. At least I can stop it. That¡¯s an upside. Bennett then sighed. ¡°We should probably go over to the dining hall for dinner now, then. I¡¯m starting to get pretty hungry.¡± Luna perked up and Bennett gave her a wary look. ¡°Try¡­ to not eat as much though. That didn¡¯t go so well.¡± He¡¯s probably right¡­ that might explain why I was so slow to react earlier. Eat less is a good idea- ~~~ ¡°Luna, I did tell you to eat less, didn¡¯t I?¡± Bennett muttered. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure that you even nodded.¡± Luna let out a noise of content as she rested on Bennett¡¯s back arms over his shoulders. Tyreese snorted from the side. ¡°Man, let her eat as much as she wants! Look at her! You can¡¯t deny how adorable seeing her not smack me is- OW!¡± A tentacle whipped out from Luna¡¯s side and hit him the the side, causing Tyreese to bend over, groaning. Mia kicked him from behind, pushing him forward. ¡°That¡¯s what you get, moron,¡± she said, walking past him with a huff. ¡°Quit being insensitive.¡± She pushed her hair out of her face and looked at Bennett. ¡°Anyways, you never said exactly what happened out there. All I heard was that you got into a fight with somebody by the name of Reah Justyce?¡± Bennett and Jennifer looked at her in confusion, Tyreese too busy staggering along to do so. ¡°Y-you don¡¯t know Reah? She¡¯s a Lightning Battlemage who got an Avatar last year, in her first year! She¡¯s the youngest person in history to ever get one!¡± Jennifer said, sidling up next to Bennett, who Luna had a suspicion that she liked, something that caused some sort of feeling of defensiveness to rise up in her. ¡°Exactly! You really don¡¯t know her? She was sent to the middle lines! That¡­ now that I think about it, it¡¯s not really an achievement, now, is it? Who would want to fight the Elves?¡± Bennett questioned, looking back at Luna, who he adjusted his grip on so she wouldn¡¯t slip. ¡°Correctamundo!¡± Tyreese suddenly piped in, appearing on the other side of Jennifer. ¡°Plus, they¡¯re all pretty good-looking, from what I¡¯ve heard.¡± ¡°Uh huh,¡± Mia said. ¡°Clearly, they don¡¯t care much about her, since I haven¡¯t heard of it.¡± ¡°You say it like you live with Elves,¡± Bennett muttered. ¡°Wait-¡± He went silent when he saw Mia¡¯s withering stare. ¡°Don¡¯t ask questions. I don¡¯t have the time for them.¡± Bennett opened his mouth to speak, but seemed to think better of it as Mia walked forward, towards their dorms. Under his breath, he muttered, ¡°Then what do you have time for, other than making others feel like they¡¯re worthless in your presence?¡± Mia paused for a moment, as if she¡¯d heard him, before shaking her head and continuing onwards. I wonder what her goal here is. Luna thought. Mine, currently, is to sleep for a long while. Preferably after a bath. This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. Eventually, the five of them made it to the Dorms and, after bidding goodnight to Yelena, who looked very displeased to not be with Bennett, like usual, they finally went back into the dorms. Mia, who was already there, looked back at them with a huff. ¡°Finally, we can actually establish some ground rules,¡± she said, looking at each of them in turn. ¡°Ground rules?¡± Bennett inquired. ¡°I thought they were already pretty clear,¡± Jennifer said. ¡°I mean, just¡­ don¡¯t do anything dumb that might¡­ cause certain things.¡± Mia rolled her eyes. ¡°Yes, obviously don¡¯t get pregnant or something as stupid.¡± Jennifer blushed furiously, looking away from everyone else. Bennett however, frowned. ¡°Firstly, who has absolute idiocy for that to even need to be stated? And secondly, are we going to come up with some some before-¡± ¡°No. I already came up with them,¡± Mia interrupted. Bennett stared at her. ¡°...Without talking to anyone about it?¡± ¡°Were you here? That should be answer enough.¡± He stared at her harder and she shifted, some nervousness leaking through her confidence. ¡°Riiiighhht¡­ and they don¡¯t infringe on basic living rights, do they-?¡± ¡°What impression do I give you?! Of course they don¡¯t!¡± Mia snapped. ¡°Well, as I''m sure we all agree, you are definitely the most bossy person here, other than Luna, but she can¡¯t exactly talk,¡± Bennett started. ¡°You¡¯re pretty much a coin flip on whether or not you¡¯ll verbally abuse someone or actually treat them like a living being. You also seem to care less about others and focus on yourself, especially proven from the Exam. During that, we all attempted to work together, including Tyreese, by some miracle-¡± ¡°Hey!¡± Tyreese interjected. ¡°I¡¯ll have you know-¡± ¡°-The only reason you worked with us is because I asked you to make sure Jennifer wasn¡¯t harmed? Exactly. You, however, didn¡¯t even attempt to communicate and I was poisoned 27 times because of your carelessness. That¡¯s why I was in the Infirmary for as long as I was. And most of those was because I was trying to keep Jennifer and Tyreese from being completely disabled from it.¡± Luna could faintly remember Bennett somehow being poisoned a few times, but 27? Luna looked up at Mia, who¡¯s face had gone white and her facade completely torn down as Bennett kept going. ¡°By all intents and purposes, you contributed both the most and the least. So, before you go and ¡®set ground rules¡¯ and wonder why I¡¯m being so starkly different from normal, you should think about your mistakes.¡± Bennett groaned. ¡°Damn¡­ I sound like my Mom, don¡¯t I? No wonder people say I¡¯m like her¡­ though at this point, I hardly know her. Anyways, just think about it. We can set these ¡®ground rules¡¯ tomorrow.¡± *** As Bennett walked away, Luna on his back, Mia stared at his back, her thoughts completely torn. Did I really cause him so much pain? What- ¡°Geez, I didn¡¯t think one guy could be so scary, huh? Good thing he¡¯s on our team¡­¡± Tyreese grumbled. ¡°I need a shower.¡± He waltzed off to a room that he¡¯d chosen earlier and closed the door behind him as Jennifer meekly walked up to Mia. ¡°Y-you probably shouldn¡¯t think too much about it. I¡¯m sure he¡¯s pretty tired; he¡¯s been to the infirmary twice in two days and probably has enough on his table personally, don¡¯t you think? Maybe¡­ just try to think a bit about how others may feel? I do it sometimes and it helps to interact¡­?¡± Mia blinked and, gathering herself, let out a huff. ¡°Whatever. He can complain all he wants; I couldn¡¯t care less.¡± ¡°And she¡¯s immediately decided to ignore me,¡± Bennett muttered from across the room, not knowing that Mia could hear him. ¡°Damn nobles.¡± Mia flinched at this, unable to stop the feeling of disgust at herself from arising. Then he frowned. ¡°Uh¡­ Which of these rooms are belong to you two?¡± He asked, looking back at Mia and Jennifer with a defeated expression, completely different from just a moment ago. ¡°I, uh¡­ don¡¯t want to intrude.¡± Jennifer blinked. ¡°Oh, right! Luna did go into my room earlier. Mine¡¯s the second door and Mia¡¯s is the last. There¡¯s bathrooms in each of them, as far as I know. The names are on the doors. Just touch one.¡± ¡°Thanks!¡± He responded cheerfully. ¡°This one¡¯s yours, Lu. You gotta get off now.¡± Luna, who Mia assumed was most likely either Bennett¡¯s sibling (Which was less likely than the alternative), or his wife, based on the fact that she shared his name, let out a noise of annoyance, wrapping her tentacles around him. ¡°No, you are not sleeping in my room,¡± he said, trying to pry her off. ¡°It¡¯s not that big of a deal!¡± Jennifer and Mia watched their exchange, the idea of Luna being Bennett¡¯s overly clingy wife seeming much more likely by the second as she refused to let go of him. *** Luna blew bubbles in the hot water of her bath before sighing and finally getting out, walking out in front of the full body mirror and finally looking herself up and down for the first time. Wow¡­ I really am small, huh, she thought, turning in various directions, looking at herself. No wonder Bennett treats me like a child sometimes. I look like one, though, functionally, I have the functions of a sixteen year old Seaborn. Wait, doesn¡¯t that mean I could technically have children in this small body? An image of popped in her mind of Bennett and her- Luna shook her head rapidly, seeing her face go red in the mirror near immediately. No. We are not thinking about that. Especially not with Bennett. I do not need to think about that¡­ currently. Luna cursed herself as a stray thought in her mind found the prospect¡­slightly appealing. I barely know the boy and I¡¯m already thinking of¡­ ENOUGHIMGETTINGDRESSED, she forced into her head. Luna stormed out of the bathroom, towel around her, and began to rummage through a dresser, where she found a nightgown that somehow fit her perfectly. After fully drying off and getting dressed, she stood in front of the bed and frowned. Huh¡­ feel kind of lonely without Bennett or Yelena here. Strange. Luna shrugged before jumping into the bed and snuggling into the sheets gleefully. Two hours later, however, she found herself, despite her exaustion, unable to sleep comfortably. Luna let out a growl of annoyance, sitting up and looking out the dark window, which, through it, she could see the night sky and unfamiliar constellations. After a moment, she stood up and looked out the window in awe at the beautiful sky, suddenly wanting to study if for hours. Not now though. I need rest for tomorrow. Who knows if I¡¯ll actually learn something. But¡­ it doesn¡¯t help that I can¡¯t sleep. A sudden thought occurred to Luna as she looked at the door to her room before grabbing an extra blanket and opening it. *** Bennett yawned, rolling over as the rising sunlight shined on his face. ¡°Lemme sleep a little longer, Lena¡­¡± After a moment, he opened his eyes and sat up with a groan, trying not to stare at the sunlight that flowed through the windows. He stretched his arms and tried to not roll Luna off the bed- Bennett blinked, slowly looking at the small, sleeping form of Luna laying next to him, holding onto his shirt. As he sat up, she let out a quiet hum of displeasure and curled up closer to him. With a slight moment of hesitation, he shook her slightly. ¡°Luna, get up,¡± he said quietly. She let out a whimper before he watched her tentacles start to wrap around him. Before he had time to react, she completely held him in her tentacles, restricting his movement almost completely. Bennett sighed, looking at her for a few moments. Then he Flickered off of the bed, leaving Luna¡¯s tentacles completely empty and probably doing minor damage to her, but she didn¡¯t react to it, instead rolling over, three tentacles hanging over the side of the bed. ¡°Seriously?¡± Bennett grumbled, slowly walking back over to her, still tired. He bent down next to her and debated on how he would wake her up. ¡°Didn¡¯t I lock my door?¡± Looking at said door, he frowned as he noticed that the lock was very much broken. ¡°Did she seriously break the lock to get in here? How?¡± After a moment, he simply sighed before finally poking her cheek. ¡°Luna, you¡¯re late. You¡¯re going to miss class.¡± She suddenly shot up, making a noise of surprise as she looked around, still half asleep. Eventually, she laid eyes on Bennett looking a bit dazed. He simply stared at her, unimpressed. After a moment, she realized she was completely in the clear and glared at Bennett. ¡°What? I¡¯m not the one who broke my lock. Plus, you did wake up after me, so I¡¯m technically right. Anyways, what were you doing here?¡± Bennett spouted. Luna poked him with a tentacle sleepily before slowly leaning back, obviously about to go back to sleep. ¡°Oh, no you don¡¯t,¡± Bennett snapped, lifting her out of the bed, eliciting a yelp from the small girl. ¡°You still need to get ready, now shoo; you¡¯re not staying in here while I get dressed.¡± After effectively punting Luna out of his room, he stood there for a moment looking around his room for a few moments. ¡°Man, even at school, I can¡¯t even be alone. Not that it¡¯s that big of a deal,¡± he said aloud. ¡°Hmm¡­ I wonder how exactly Beast Studies is going to work¡­¡± *** After being unceremoniously shooed out of Bennett¡¯s room, Luna huffed. Fair enough, She thought, looking at his door for a few moments. Should I try to stop acting so childish? Or should I just fix the lock? How do you fix locks? Maybe that¡¯s a problem for another time¡­ After returning to her room, she rummaged through her new dressers, somehow only able to find the new uniform from the given outfits. But¡­ it¡¯s too big¡­Where¡¯d my clothes go? She then remembered giving her dress to Bennett the night before, who said he¡¯d get it washed¡­ somehow. She wasn¡¯t sure what exactly he¡¯d said, as she¡¯d been exhausted, but it was something along the lines of him going out to find a laundry area. With a sigh, she left the room again and, after a few moments of debating, she knocked on Mia¡¯s door, which almost immediately opened. Mia looked down at Luna, who was holding the clothes that didn¡¯t fit. ¡°...What are you doing here?¡± Mia asked suspiciously. ¡°And why are you holding your uniform like that?¡± Mia, undeterred, lifted the clothing in front of her, showcasing that it was too large. Mia stared at her for a few moments, clearly understanding what Luna was trying to convey, but attempting to process what she should do. After a moment, she sighed, deflating. ¡°You want me to adjust it for you? Why exactly do you think I can do this?¡± she asked, unmoving. Luna huffed, pushing them towards Mia. Her eye twitch before finally giving in. ¡°Fine. Come in, I guess.¡± Luna triumphantly walked past Mia, who mumbled under her breath about overly pushy people, which Luna couldn¡¯t possibly understand. The moment she entered, Luna was bombarded by the scents of many types of plants, some of which she recognized, others she didn¡¯t. Mia walked past Luna before grabbing the clothes from her arms and pointing to the center of the room. ¡°Stand there.¡± As Luna shrugged and walked over, she studied the room further. The place was almost completly covered in plants; even the bed being replaced with what looked like¡­ some sort of plant with a fluffy material all over it. Right. An Elven bed. They grow from buds, shaping themselves into a bed-like shape. I used to have a few, didn¡¯t I? I adored them in my younger years, as uncontrollable as I was. The walls seemed to be made out of wood and had vines crawling all over them. Luna even swore she caught a glimpse of some sort of animal scurrying about the vines. Some of the wooden walls seemed to quite literally grow out into a desk. She saw that the dresser was also the same, growing out. She then spied some sort of fruit hanging from the roof that glowed softly. Glowberries, huh? Basic, but gets the point across. Taste pretty good as well¡­ ¡°If you even attempt to eat a single one of my glowberries, I¡¯m kicking you out,¡± Mia snapped, rummaging through a drawer. Luna flinched, pulling back a tentacle that she¡¯d involuntarily reached out and making a sound of affirmation. After another moment, Mia turned back, holding a vine that seemed to stretch out strangely. She sighed. ¡°Take your nightgown off so I can properly measure you. Now.¡± Luna tried to keep her face from scrunching up, but only half succeeded. I get the feeling I¡¯m going to get poked a lot. ~~~ It turned out she was only half right. Luna had only gotten poked twice and she now had a perfectly fitting uniform which she still wasn¡¯t sure she liked much. It had her name on it, with Yasmine set as her last name. Are people going to judge me just because I have the name of some famous woman who also happened to be the mother of my¡­ Luna started the thought. In the middle of it, she frowned, a deep confusion penetrating into her mind. Wait¡­ what do I consider Bennett to me? A friend? A companion? Well, I¡¯m kind of the companion here, but no need to think of the details. What would other people think of us? What do they think? She slapped her own cheeks as she looked into the mirror and she, against her own judgment, decided that it was way too adorable and would do it in front of Bennett, if just to see his reaction. Luna let out a childish giggle before covering her mouth, blinking rapidly. I¡­ haven¡¯t felt like this¡­ for a long time, now have I? The feeling of¡­ genuine happiness. I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever felt so excited for something. It¡¯s like I want to keep showing Bennett new things, just to see his bafflement, then to see his smile¡­ Hmm¡­ Luna frowned at her suddenly red cheeks. I still don¡¯t know why that happens. But, whatever it is, it clearly only happens when I think about certain things, namely spending time with Ben. You know what, I like Ben better than Bennett. Doesn¡¯t Yelena call him that? After thinking for a few more moments, she shook her head and poked her crystal that was still around her neck. So Beast Studies is our first class, huh? I wonder¡­ would that be outdoors- She was interrupted on a knock on her bathroom door and a surprising voice behind it. ¡°Luuuunnnnaaaaa~¡± Yelena¡¯s voice called. ¡°Ben¡¯s waiting for you. You two are gonna be late for your first class! Hurry up, I wanna see you in your uniform.¡± Speaking of said uniform, Luna decided to study it a bit closer. It was mostly dark-ish, with streaks of blue, probably representing Water, on certain points, such as where it met her wrists, around her neck, and her waist, where she could feel it was slightly cut off to allow her to move her tentacles, yet still covered most of her stomach. Part of it was still visible, but it was just enough that she could freely move her tentacles. Great thing they¡¯re positioned above my waist slightly¡­ Luna was pretty sure, with a normal Seaborn, the area around her stomach wouldn¡¯t be seen since her tentacles would always be out since, unlike Luna, most Seaborns (With some exceptions) couldn¡¯t exactly store their tentacles, which, thinking upon it now, would explain some of the surprise of people around her when she let them out. Luna wasn¡¯t exactly sure how it worked due to her mildly fragmented memories, but they seemed to kind of grow out of her, looking a bit strange when she saw them grow for herself. Should I just keep them out? Or only let them out when necessary? Luna thought as Yelena knocked on the door again. Eh, I¡¯ll figure it out as I go. The rest of the uniform was pretty basic, basically just being a long sleeved shirt and pants, with a strange-looking belt around her waist, which she was a bit skeptical about at first, but eventually was forced to put it on by Mia. ¡°Lu, seriously, we¡¯re gonna be late for our first day,¡± Bennett¡¯s voice dryly said, clearly mildly annoyed. ¡°And get off of me already, ¡®Lena! That¡¯s weird!¡± ¡°But I¡¯m homesick! This is the first time we haven¡¯t been in the same room during the night!¡± Yelena whined. ¡°I don¡¯t wanna let go!¡± There were the sounds of the twins scuffling for a few moments as Luna walked to the restroom door and opened it. She found herself staring at Bennett and Yelena practically wrestling, Yelena on his back with her legs wrapped around his waist, clutching him as if it the first time she¡¯d seen him in years as Bennett tried to pry her off, in the middle of pushing her off his back when Luna walked out. Yelena¡¯s uniform was basically the same as Luna¡¯s, but (of course) larger and covered her stomach completely, along with the pulsing, flame-like bands in the same places Luna¡¯s were in. Bennett, however, had more of a cloak¡­ though it was a tad bit too small, so it looked more like a cape. The white, pulsing strips on his clothes didn¡¯t distract from how funny it was to see the cloak flapping behind him. When Bennett saw Luna¡¯s expression, he scowled and pulled the cloak off. ¡°I knew that looked stupid.¡± He held it out in front of him and frowned at it. He then blinked before looking at Luna again, who was suddenly struck with a wave of unfounded shyness. After forcing it down, she put her hands on her hips and let out a self-important sounding huff. Bennett rolled his eyes before suddenly picking her up like usual. ¡°Now your dress isn¡¯t all in the way. Makes it far easier to pick you up without any unintended effects,¡± he said, seeming relieved. She rewarded this by hitting him in the head with a tentacle. ¡°Ow¡­ Now I know what that space in your shirt is for,¡± he muttered, rubbing his head as she wrapped a tentacle around his waist to keep balance better while also having full use of her hands, which she put on her legs, unsure where else to keep them. ¡°Hmph. I¡¯ll just deal with you later then,¡± Yelena mumbled. ¡°Anyways, we have like ten minutes to get to our first class. Mine¡¯s on this floor; where¡¯s your guys''?¡± ¡°We¡¯re outside for Beast Studies,¡± Bennett said, Luna nodding with his words. ¡°I wonder how bad it could possibly be.¡± ~~~ After around five minutes, Bennett had given up on looking for the class by going through the halls and had just used Flicker to go through a window and land in the lawn below, where a group of surprised students watched Bennett and Luna fall out of the air. Bennett face-planted into grass, with Luna sitting on his back, not a single blade of grass on her. Bennett lifted his face out of the ground and spit out a chunk of dirt and grass. ¡°I really need to Level that Skill. I thought it was fifteen yards down¡­ clearly not. And the acceleration is absolutely insane,¡± he muttered, lifting himself off the ground, carefully carrying Luna while wiping off the residual dirt. She used a tentacle to wipe off the rest that he hadn¡¯t gotten as he rose above the rest of the class, looking a bit glum. Luna immediately spotted a familiar face and she was also immediately set to a glum mood as well. ¡°Man, you really like to make an entrance, huh?¡± Tyreese snickered, looking up at Bennett. ¡°No.¡± ¡°I would think, being the son of such a- OW!¡± Tyreese yelped, hopping away from Bennett, who¡¯d unintentionally shocked him. ¡°What was that for?¡± Bennett frowned, looking at his hand that he¡¯d reached out to stop Luna¡¯s tentacle from smacking Tyreese, which a shock had jumped onto Tyreese. ¡°Huh. I dunno,¡± He responded. ¡°I didn¡¯t try to do-¡± ¡°Come on! How come she¡¯s not getting shocked; you¡¯re literally holding her!¡± Tyreese complained. ¡°This is discrimination.¡± Tyreese continued to grumble as the rest of the class lost interest in Bennett and Luna, who awkwardly just stood there, above the rest of the class. For a few moments, the two of them were silent, Luna simply swinging her legs in boredom. After a moment, she stopped and sniffed the air. Bennett looked at her strangely. ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± Why do I smell a Wolf-kin? She thought, her face scrunching up. Wait- ¡°So you''re my first class, huh?¡± A disembodied voice said, clearly female. ¡°Interesting. Clearly, none of you have any experience with Beasts.¡± Luna¡¯s entire body tingled as Bennett tensed slightly. ¡°Something¡¯s underground,¡± he muttered. ¡°What-¡± Before he finished his sentence, he Flickered up into the air as the ground exploded below him. Some of the class scattered, but Bennett already had his daggers out and Luna on his back as the large, earthen wolf crawled out of the ground and growled at him as he landed on the ground. He watched it warily for a few moments before moving slightly to the side as it charged him. ¡°Luna, how hard can you hit things with your tentacles?¡± In response, she swung at the thing, making sure to hold back a bit since she wasn¡¯t even sure how hard she could hit, and promptly shattered half the rocks covering its body. She then pulled on Bennett¡¯s shirt as she noticed it shifted nearly imperceptibly, almost too fast. This has to be as least 20 times his Level- wait, Luna thought. I just completely destroyed the rocks. There¡¯s no way they¡¯re that weak unless it¡¯s intentionally holding back¡­ It¡¯s a test, isn¡¯t it? Bennett, trusting Luna far more than she would have expected, kicked to the left as it crashed into the ground next to him. Without missing a beat, he threw himself onto its head and lowered his daggers¡¯ tips to its eyes, ready to plunge them into its skull. However, he stopped when the wolf went still, looking up at him with a somewhat pleased expression. Luna saw the telltale signs of him frowning before panic flashed in his eyes and he Flickered as the thing¡¯s entire body exploded into rocks and dust, nearly turning the two of them into a pincushion of rock shards. He landed a decent distance away and stared at the dust with a confused expression. ¡°Those wolves can¡¯t do-¡± He suddenly froze in place as Luna¡¯s perception of time went into overdrive, the entire world slowing down a fraction of a second before Bennett would have been completely cut in half by a halberd bearing down at his stomach. Bennett, to her surprise had already slightly reacted, having moved slightly as the Wolf-kin who was infinitely faster than him, had used the dust to dash at him and make an attempt to cut him in half. Damn it, Luna thought. How do I diffuse this statement without getting discovered? Chapter 9 : The First Class - Part 2 Luna knew her time was limited, as her head was starting to pound with the effort, but she needed to do something. What can I do? I can¡¯t move him, since his body would probably suffer a lot from the sudden movement, Luna thought, panic scrambling her thoughts. She¡¯s fast, fast enough that she¡¯s just barely moving, even as I¡¯m in this state. I can¡¯t kill her, though that would, to be honest, be the most effective option. However, Luna then noticed the red lightning beginning to flicker around the two of them. Ben¡¯s¡­ Bloodbolt? What will that do in this situation- Huh? As the lightning began to flicker around them, Bennett began to move, shifting into a semi-lightning version, almost like¡­ *** ___ You gained a new Skill! NEW! Blood Dash - Level 1 Blood Dash (Universal) By continuously draining HP, you enter the Blood Lightning state, increasing speed and perception by (Skill Level * 100, 200, 300)% + 500%, 1000%, 1500%*. In this state, you will consistently deal ramping Lightning/Blood damage in a 4 yard radius around you, increasing up to Moderate Damage per second. By spending up to 10% HP per 5 seconds, you can increase speed and damage by (Skill Level + 2)% Per 1% HP. However, while in this state, you cannot start any type of attacks, canceling the state when initializing attack while keeping momentum. After canceling, you gain (Skill Level * 3) + 20% Damage Bonus and enter the Blood Dash State, both for the duration you were in Blood Lightning state. While in this state, Blood Dash has no cooldown. When Blood Dash ends, the cooldown Begins again. Max Duration : 20 seconds, reset when shifting in and out state. Cooldown : (Current HP% * 20) * Duration, Not reset when shifting + 10 *Note : Every 3 Levels, the base value will increase by 500% (Additive) and the multiplier will increase by 100% (additive). Current speed/perception increase : 600% ___ Huh, Bennett thought. Now this is interesting. System, could you give me a timer representing real world time, outside of my perception, for when I am in this state? Immediately, a timer appeared at the top right of his vision and he nodded before realizing the halberd in front of him was still swinging, albeit far slower. Right, overpowered Skill moment aside, I¡¯m still being attacked. He moved back and frowned. It was almost strange, both moving fast, but also being able to perceive just as fast. If he didn¡¯t pay active attention, he would simply move quickly and react to things around him instead him having to debate on what to do. However, if he needed to think about his next action, the world around him would slow down and he¡¯d have time- No, it¡¯s more like my thoughts speed up by a huge amount, I¡¯m only perceiving it slower since it¡¯s simpler to understand. Case in point, since the thing has moved up to my sternum and I¡¯ve been thinking for what seems like a minute to me- wait. Bennett suddenly panicked and moved out of the way of the glaive right before it hit him, moving back nearly ten feet in the span of half a second. A moment later, he heard a huff. ¡°You¡¯re faster than I thought,¡± the same female voice from only ten seconds ago said. ¡°Stand down.¡± After another second debating, Bennett shifted out, finally looking at the wielder of the glaive. She was an adult Wolf-kin (Which he had to specify since it was notoriously difficult to tell the difference between adults and teenagers, since their body didn¡¯t really change except for the size of their ears and tails, along with some coloring. How he knew this was because he¡¯d read about it in a documentary book on most Races) and somehow balanced a glaive that was taller than Bennett on her shoulders. She wore what looked to be very maneuverable leather armor, with the occasional mythril plate in more vulnerable places. Compared to most Professors, she was far more casual, a stark contrast to the Headmaster. ¡°Weird¡­¡± Bennett muttered. ¡°The first thing you say about your teacher who just showed you the basics is ¡®weird¡¯?¡± She suddenly snapped, looking a bit annoyed. ¡°Rude boy.¡± Bennett blinked. ¡°Huh? Oh, no, I was just thinking that it was weird that you¡¯re a complete contrast to the Headmaster, but I¡¯m now realizing that it makes sense. And I know it¡¯s the basics, I¡¯ve hunted those specific Earth Wolf-Beasts. They¡¯re really simple, surprisingly.¡± She gave him a skeptical look. ¡°Uh huh. How do they have rock skin then?¡± Immediately, Bennett answered, ¡°It¡¯s not actually rock skin, but more like their version of fur. They have a special organ that distributes oil around most parts of their body and when they absorb Earth Energy, it crystalizes. They produce the oil by eating lesser Earth Aligned creatures or plants where their Element is transferred-¡± ¡°Okay, I get the point, you know very well- wait, how do you know how they make it by eating things?¡± Their professor interrupted, clearly forgetting about the rest of the class. ¡°Er¡­ there¡¯s still the rest of the class-¡± Bennett started, gesturing to them, where most were watching with confused or bored expressions. ¡°I asked a question. Answer,¡± the professor suddenly said from directly in front of him. Bennett nearly fell back, but stopped himself as Luna pulled herself back to her normal position, using his forearm as a seat while giving the Wolf-kin a stare. For a few moments, the Professor looked back at her before letting out yet another huff. ¡°Fine. We should get started anyways,¡± the Professor said. ¡°First of all, you all are complete idiots. Only this student and his friend here jumped in to actually attempt to push the ¡°Beast¡± back. How did you all even pass the Exam if you can¡¯t even fight to save your life?¡± Tyreese, who¡¯s Lava Blade had finally finished forming, sighed before letting it cool down as he dropped it. ¡°I tried¡­ but I¡¯m not the guy who keeps developing Skills out of nowhere.¡± He deflated when the Professor, who didn¡¯t seem very professor-like, glared at him. ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. You could¡¯ve used another Skill. Anyways, I am your Beast Studies Professor, Hae. Professor Hae is what you¡¯ll call me, got it?¡± Professor Hae said, hands on her hips as her glaive morphed into an armband. Bennett noticed Luna looked at it with a strange expression, but shrugged as she looked at him. Luna gestured with a tentacle, wrapping it around his arm before straightening it out. ¡°Oh, you want to know what that is?¡± he asked her. She shrugged, which he took as ¡°I have a guess, but I want your explanation¡±. He suddenly frowned for a moment, noticing that he was completely confident in his interpretation, as if he had an idea of what she was feeling. He then shook his head. Nah, I¡¯m just trying to convince myself I do. ¡°Most weapons with enchantments are like that. They¡¯re usually able to warp like that and even change materials, like hers-¡± ¡°Oi! I¡¯m the Professor here, not you!¡± the said Wolf-kin snapped. *** Luna was a bit wary of the large Lightning Beast in the shape of a lion that was snuggled up next to Bennett, pressing its head into his chest while he pet it, letting out thunderous purrs as Bennett¡¯s Lightning crackled over it¡¯s fur, but once Bennett convinced her to pet it, she was very much fine with it and she¡¯d even gotten on top of it, which Professor Hae had yelled at her for, but it was worth it. Tyreese on the other hand¡­ ¡°Why do all of them hate me?!¡± He complained. ¡°Of course those two have the biggest thing acting like a kitten around them but half the things tried to bite my hand off!¡± ¡°Did you try looking for one that¡¯s aligned to your Element?¡± Bennett asked him, lifting Luna off the top of the lion, to her slight annoyance. As he placed her on the ground, he patted her head, not realizing that it was Luna and not the Lightning Lion. Against the primal urge to throw him across the grass, she let herself be pet, not making a noise. Naturally, two parts of her warred over this action, but, somehow, the human (Or Seaborn, she guessed) part of her won over the stubborn Goddess in her and she leaned into his hand, pleased. Tyreese gave her a flat expression before sighing. ¡°Of course I did! But they didn¡¯t like me! And I sure as hell ain¡¯t going near that flaming fairy thing,¡± he muttered, eyeing the literally flaming Spirit-like Beast (?) in the shape of a¡­ strange thing that Luna couldn¡¯t completely recall. It was a cross between an Imp and a Wisp, though she was very much confident it was not a fairy. ¡°I¡¯m about 75% sure that¡¯s a Flame Boon,¡± Bennett said, giving Tyreese a flat look. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure that¡¯s common knowledge, if you ever read A Intro to Beasts and their Siblings, which is literally required for any type of education and is in the first chapter-¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, nerd. We all know you like anything Magical in nature,¡± Tyreese interrupted. ¡°And don¡¯t correct me if I said it wrong. That thing looks like it hates everyone around it.¡± In Tyreese¡¯s defense, every person who went near it basically got a second degree burn and Luna was already debating healing the last person who¡¯d went near it and most likely got a third degree one. Bennett eyed the thing carefully, clearly planning on keeping a distance. ¡°Er¡­ do you want to go help them, Lu?¡± Bennett asked, removing his hand from her head, to her internal disappointment. However, she nodded as he lifted her up, patting the lion again. They approached the most recent person, who gladly accepted her Healing, which, seeing their satisfied expression as the pain fading away, reinforced Luna¡¯s decision to pose as a Healer. After dealing with the last of the people who got burned, she noticed Bennett scoot slightly left as the Boon slowly began to approach him. ¡°I have a living water gun and I¡¯m not afraid to use it,¡± Bennett muttered, earning a slap from Luna. Blowing his hair from his forehead, he shrugged. ¡°If I asked, would you not?¡± Damn it, he has a point, she thought, pouting while poking him with a tentacle. ¡°Quit flirting and pay attention to your surroundings!¡± their professor yelled at them, punching some sort of near-incorporeal bear into the ground as it attempted to attack another student. ¡°Man, this is chaotic,¡± Bennett mumbled, standing up and lifting her off his lap. ¡°I thought this class would be more¡­ like a class.¡± Luna, at some level, agreed with him. After arriving and interrogating Bennett, their Professor had basically told them to get familiar with the beasts, and maybe befriend one. Of course, she hadn¡¯t expected the most dangerous one to immediately sidle up to Bennettand begin purring like an atomic kitten. Because of this, she¡¯d gotten in a bad mood and decided to insult Bennett every chance she got, and Bennett was clearly holding back as she had started to run out of ideas. However, the part she didn¡¯t agree with him on was that it wasn¡¯t like a class. Being as old as she was, she knew that it was probably a good idea to get on good terms with any type of being, especially if you wanted to work with them, though that probably excluded most Gods. Unless it¡¯s Bennett, right? A small voice in Luna¡¯s head said. Her face slowly went red as she pushed the voice away, trying to not think about it. But of course, she did wonder what it would¡¯ve been like if she weren¡¯t like this and met Bennett. Well, obviously, he¡¯d have been terrified and would want nothing to do with me, She thought, shaking her head and resisting the urge to slap her cheeks, which she knew that Bennett would be unable to resist the urge to say was adorable. Of course, this made her grow even more embarrassed and she nearly- ¡°By the gods, that thing is gonna burn me,¡± Bennett hissed, moving back more, almost crashing directly into their professor, stopping just in time. She spun around and was about to complain when she saw the Boon speeding toward them and she sighed. ¡°Seriously? Why are you always-¡± ¡°Oi!¡± Tyreese, naturally appearing out of nowhere again, caught the thing out of the air and held it up to his face as it writhed in his grip, becoming an inferno of pure anger. Luna, who had already made a sheet of water in front of Bennett and her, slowly let it fall as she watched. Tyreese simply stared at the Boon as it grew even hotter. ¡°Really, annoying lady? I can take baths in volcanos and you think you¡¯re gonna burn me?¡± Tyreese snorted. ¡°Try again.¡± Professor Hae blinked in mild confusion before shrugging. ¡°Guess that problem solved itself. Don¡¯t be stupid again,¡± she scolded Bennett, walking away toward another problem waiting to happen in the form of a bored Lightning Lioness staring at Bennett from afar. Bennett and Luna watched Tyreese swing the Flame Boon around like a clock pendulum as it struggled for nearly a minute before finally giving up and letting him hold it. It then flickered angrily, shooting flames at his face. Tyreese¡¯s eyebrows rose. ¡°Oh wow, this lady has some very colorful language,¡± he said. Luna, who, being literally an amalgamation of elemental energy given sentience, understood everything the Boon said perfectly, had to keep herself from reacting at the sheer amounts of profanity it was throwing at Tyreese and everyone else in the near vicinity. It especially didn¡¯t like Luna, since they were literal opposites. (To be fair, Cthulhu didn¡¯t like the Ancient Goddess of Flame and War, who¡¯s name she¡¯d definitely not purposely removed from memory many times. They¡¯d always get into fights, destroying a few galaxies in the process, eventually having to be separated by the other Ancients, usually the Ancient God of Space, who was somehow weaker than Cthulhu, which she didn¡¯t understand sometimes. Like seriously, he was a God of Space. Nigh infinity. How was she, a Goddess of Water (And Life, to be fair), stronger than literally everyone else there? Yes, she was about ten times older than them at the time, but she thought that even she had limits. Apparently, according to the Ancient Goddess of Earth (and Wisdom), Cthulhu had a much higher concentration of Elemental energy then any other God did and could, if she ever grew bored enough, could literally rip apart the multiverse and put it back together at will. That had completely baffled her back then.) The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. Luna blinked at the mental monologue, trying to make sense of the sudden memory. Actually, that was less of a memory and more of the Cthulhu part of me waking up to comment, refuse to elaborate on the sudden awakening, and go back to sleep. She shook her head as Bennett bent closer to the Boon, which promptly shot a line of fire at him that he dodged with ease. She decided she¡¯d think more about it after class. ~~~ Luna found herself in the dining hall, sitting on Bennett¡¯s lap as she ate, as she was too short to sit on the bench properly. She faintly remembered the rest of the class, most of it being interesting to her, maybe except for the Boon that had nearly burnt her hair, which Bennett had to keep her from dousing the thing in a few dozen gallons of water. She could have done a few hundred thousand, but she felt that it would be a little bit unnecessary, along with completely giving away that she was leagues above the rest of the students, so she kept it to a minimum. Well, I do like my hair, even if it¡¯s a bit long at this point, almost to my feet. She¡¯d never really thought about it, and no one seemed to comment about it, but her hair was a strange shade of blue, sometimes shifting to be darker when she was annoyed, and shifting lighter when she was happy. Well, darker with more negative emotions and lighter with more positive emotions. She had also noticed that it would wildly shift when she was embarrassed, like when Bennett had touched the skin around her stomach earlier when picking her up, which was when he¡¯d finally said something about her hair. *¡°Did you know your hair changes colors sometimes?¡± he¡¯d asked. She¡¯d shaken her head, a bit confused as she grabbed a handful of her own hair, which was currently in the process of growing a bit darker. ¡°You think it has something to do with your emotional state?¡± She nodded, letting it go. ¡°Huh.¡±* Nod. That was basically the conversation, since they were both occupied with the lioness that was begging for attention. Now, they were eating, Yelena next to Bennett and Tyreese also there, eating as much as he could. Yelena poked her brother¡¯s shoulder as he asked, ¡°Hm?¡± His sister blinked before shaking her head. ¡°How¡¯d you know I was going to ask something?¡± ¡°Twin Theory. Remember?¡± he responded, frowning as Luna pushed away the squid that he¡¯d attempted to get a bit of, glaring at him. ¡°What? It¡¯s just squid- oh.¡± Yelena rolled her eyes before continuing. ¡°Right. Anyways, I invited a new¡­ friend, I guess, to eat with us. She agreed. I just thought I should tell you.¡± ¡°Meaning you only just remembered now that you would tell me?¡± Bennett responded, taking a bit of salmon that Luna tried to steal from him, but he put it into his mouth too fast. Yelena shrugged, going back to her food. So, those two have Twin Theory? Makes sense to me, but I only recall snippets of what it is¡­ ¡°You okay, Lu?¡± Bennett asked. ¡°You look like you just ate squid or something-¡± She interrupted him with a playful smack with a tentacle before gesturing to the two of them. For a few moments, he looked at her with a confused expression before understanding dawned on him. ¡°Oh, are you wondering what Twin Theory is?¡± He asked. Firstly, how can I get you to stop reading my mind? She thought, frowning at him. As someone who¡¯s used to doing that herself, it¡¯s weird to have my own mind read¡­ I also don¡¯t know why I¡¯m saying it¡¯s mind reading. It¡¯s really not. It¡¯s more of- ¡°I think we lost her again,¡± Yelena said, interrupting Luna¡¯s train of thought. Luna blinked, looking at Yelena, who shrugged. ¡°You had this blank look in your eyes and your hair started to become a muted blue, so I just assumed you lost interest.¡± Luna shook her head and looked back at Bennett, who¡¯d just stolen a piece of her salmon. In response, she grabbed his fork and pulled it into her mouth. *** Yelena watched her twin interact with Luna, or whatever her name was, with a small sense of loneliness. She wasn¡¯t sure when it started, but she was starting to feel more and more glum lately, and Ben knew through their bond. She could tell when he looked at her for a moment, concern evident in his expression before going back to struggling with Luna again. He¡¯s probably going to ask me about it later¡­ she thought, her mood already starting to shift slightly upwards as she also snatched a piece of Luna¡¯s salmon. A few seconds later, Ben and Yelena were both locked down with Luna¡¯s tentacles wrapped around their wrists and waists and Luna very much pleased as she finished off what was left of her seafood, which she seemed to love, all except the squid, which Ben seemed to find funny. One of Ben¡¯s friends (apparently), Tyreese, snorted at the sight of Ben completely made immobile. ¡°Really? You¡¯re acting like you couldn¡¯t escape in a second and throw her over your shoulder like a sack of potatoes,¡± he snorted. Ben shrugged, looking down at Luna who was now attempting to eat his food. ¡°Hey!¡± He nearly instantly, with a flash of lightning, untangled himself from Luna and lifted his plate off the table. ¡°Nuh uh, this is mine. There¡¯s still plenty of food around us-¡± Yelena slowly looked in another direction, holding back a laugh at their display, scanning their surroundings. She then noticed a familiar pair of horns sticking into the air nearby. ¡°Hey, my friend¡¯s here,¡± she said to Bennett. ¡°She¡¯s part of my party, so you better be nice, Ben.¡± He was too occupied shoveling food into his mouth, dodging Luna¡¯s tentacle¡¯s while being cheered on by Tyreese. At a certain point, an annoyed looking girl nearly as tall as Bennett, who¡¯s name she remembered being Mia, slapped Tyreese on the back of the head before wrapping around the table and sitting in front of him, rolling her eyes at Luna and Bennett before pulling food onto her own plate, strangely avoiding meats while also eyeing them longingly. Eventually, Juli made it to their table and stopped, looking slightly concerned, but otherwise emotionless. ¡°Hey, Juli! You made it!¡± Yelena said, waving to her. The moment Bennett heard the name ¡°Juli¡±, he nearly choked on the water he was now chugging, and Luna quickly put her hand to his neck, stopping the choking immediately. After thanking Luna, he looked between Juli and Yelena, concern evident on his face. ¡°I did not expect that reaction,¡± his sister mumbled. ¡°Have you two met already?¡± Judging from the slight panic emanating from Bennett, they had definitely met before. ¡°Er¡­¡± ¡°No. I¡¯ve never seen this boy in my life,¡± Juli answered, very much unconvincingly. Tyreese stared at her. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard a lie so bad,¡± he said, rolling his eyes. ¡°I hate to say it, but I agree with you,¡± Mia mumbled. Juli looked slightly miffed as she sat down in front of Yelena, who saw Bennett give Juli a wary look before watching Luna stuff herself, which she had already done, and immediately almost fall asleep on his lap. He looked at her, concerned for a moment before shrugging and looking up at his sister. ¡°She¡¯s part of your group?¡± Bennett asked. ¡°I would have never thought- actually, based on my luck the past three days, I should have.¡± He interrupted himself, looking at Juli with a slightly judgemental look. Juli ignored him, instead eating her own food with a faraway look in her expression. This¡­ didn¡¯t go as expected. I thought they¡¯d get along well enough, Yelena thought. But it seems more like they despise one another. Suddenly, Bennett spoke again, awakening Luna from what seemed like the dead. ¡°Oh hey, there¡¯s pudding!¡± Luna immediately sat up straight, looking at the bowl of pudding that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. He pulled two bowls from the table and gave the both of them a generous amount before offering the bowl to his sister. Eh. It can¡¯t be that big of a deal, she thought, taking the bowl while watching Luna eat her pudding and various other sweets with vigor. By the way, how the hell is she able to eat so much? *** Luna already regretted eating so much, as she was completely and utterly immobile, requiring Bennett to carry her back to the dorms¡­ which was completely normal now that she thought about it. ¡°You good back there, Lu?¡± Bennett asked as they finally arrived back at the dorms. She let out a noise of slight despair and he laughed. ¡°Again, I told you not to eat too much. You still have your second class in an hour and a half; you¡¯re lucky we ate quickly.¡± She let out another noise as he set her onto the bean-bag looking chair that she sank into like it was some sort of weight being placed on a balloon. She sighed and curled up in the thing for a few moments while Bennett seemed to walk around aimlessly before sitting down somewhere next to her. After resting for a little while, she opened an eye to see him reading a book called¡­ Wait¡­ that''s an ancient script. It was the written language of the¡­ what were they called? She thought for a moment, trying to dredge up memories from the endless abyss that was her mind. Right, the Aracne or Silk Weavers. It never really had a name, did it? It was also the language of Blood Aracne, or Blood Weavers¡­ (They¡­ were formidable, even to me. Once they get to a certain stage in life, their chitin exoskeleton is nigh impossible to break by any conventional means, needing ridiculous force or an enhanced weapon. Of course, I could easily smash through them. But the bigger problem is their pure physical strength. Females¡­ well they¡¯re not much stronger than male Silk Weavers, but the males are where the problems begin. They are overwhelmingly strong, overpowering even century old Dragonborn at 25. Their carapace doesn¡¯t help either, as it just lets them hit even harder with next to no damage dealt to themselves. Complete and utter bullshit.) Luna stared into the air as the sudden voice disappeared just like earlier. ¡°Huh,¡± Bennett mumbled. ¡°Guess you do learn something new every day.¡± He glanced over to Luna, who stared at him strangely. ¡°Oh, yeah, I taught myself this script in my freetime. I can even write it! It took about a year and a half though to get anywhere near good enough to be passable. Not many people know it, and my sister didn¡¯t think it was worth it. Do you know any?¡± Honestly, I do and I somehow don¡¯t remember how. She, all of a sudden not tired, crawled onto his lap to look at the book herself. He looked a bit surprised, but let her sit there and read the page he was on. He was in a chapter about the Weavers and their biology. ¡°I guess you do¡­ that¡¯s cool! It¡¯s a book only the two of us can read¡­ and maybe Mia, seeing as she¡¯s someone who seems like she¡¯d know it for some strange reason,¡± he said, not weirded out in the slightest. ¡°I¡¯m sure she¡¯d find it weird that you know it, but I¡¯m used to you doing strange things, somehow. Like this, how you just crawled under my arm and into my lap to read this.¡± Luna felt her face heat up and she let out a huff as she poked the book. Bennett laughed, something she¡¯d grown to somewhat like over the past month, and looked at the book. ¡°Anyways, right here-¡± he pointed to a certain excerpt. ¡°Explains that unlike what most people may think about their spinnerets, they¡¯re actually at their hips, not their wrists, since they mostly use their other ¡°legs¡± to manipulate them. It¡¯s almost like your extra ¡°arms¡±, but they¡¯re shorter, though longer than their normal arms, and exceptionally strong-¡± Bennett suddenly went quiet, thinking. Then he spoke again. ¡°Oh. I never actually told you what this is about, did I?¡± *** Melony wasn¡¯t having the greatest of days. Firstly, the damned child, also known as Reah, had slipped out of her grasp, and, on top of that, she had to deal with two completely different classes, both with disrespectful students. Of course, she hadn¡¯t been in her second class yet, but she was very sure that would be the gist of it. However, she was currently slowly eating the food that had absolutely nothing on her son¡¯s (naturally), while staring at her lesson plan for the Ice Focus she had to teach. She already knew that they would probably be all full of themselves, so she needed a way to humble them utterly and completely. Melony, in a fashion very similar to when Yelena would watch her brother carefully, waiting for a moment to catch him off guard, mused on what ways she would humble them, eventually settling on putting the headmaster in a block of ice and showing off her ability¡­ Maybe that¡¯s not such a good idea. Hmm, back to the drawing board it is then! She thought, a bit glumly. As time went on, Melony was more easily able to see what personality traits her twins had gotten from her. For instance, her son was normally calm and happy, but he would never sit aside when someone around him looked like they were in pain. It had gotten him into multiple fights, most of which ended with him simply staring down his opponent with a cold stare that he had most definitely gotten from her. It was slightly off-putting to see such a look on his face, where it was most prominent whenever a noble was mentioned in a conversation and he wasn¡¯t around his sister. She knew he¡¯d seen what nobles in power did to people below them, seeing as Melony was a victim of it herself. Yelena, however, was as bubbly as one could get, though she did have some very prominent mood swings, literally like a switch being flipped. You never knew what could piss her off (unless you were Bennett, of course). It was part of the reason she was one level above her brother, even though she had less experience than him in the wild. Of course, she most likely got it from her mother, who would probably get angry at anyone but her children at a moment¡¯s notice. Being a mother and horribly overleveled person at the same time is difficult¡­ mostly the mother part. You can¡¯t ever stop worrying, even when you know they¡¯ll be okay. Melony sighed, looking at the roof. ¡°At this point, they probably know the truth¡­ other than the fact that I¡¯m teaching here. They would never recognise me in this¡­ though to be fair, Illusion spells are quite good, especially mine-¡± There was a knock on the classroom door and she quickly got out of her lounging position as it opened, revealing the headmaster, followed by a student, at least as far as Melony could tell. ¡°Ah, Ms. Leona, you are here,¡± he said, bowing his head slightly, to the student¡¯s confusion. ¡°I have a favor to ask of you.¡± Melony frowned at the man, wondering whatever he could possibly ask her that wouldn¡¯t make her throw him into the ocean later. ¡°Depends on the favor.¡± He looked like he wanted to sigh, but held it back as the boy behind him gave Melony a strange look. ¡°Illusion spells? But they¡¯re so strong¡­¡± Melony immediately reinforced the spell with another two percent of her MP a second, though it was already straining her regen of 8% per second, which was completely insane, even for someone her Level, however, her equipment probably had 3% a second alone- ¡°-eona, have you spaced out again?¡± the headmaster repeated, giving her a flat look. Melony blinked. ¡°Ah. What was that again?¡± she said as if she hadn¡¯t intentionally ignored him. He was silent for a moment before continuing. ¡°As I said, I wish for you to train this boy in a very specific art of Illusions¡­ well, if it would truly be considered that¡­¡± She narrowed her eyes at him. ¡°Which one?¡± ¡°Nightmare Summoning.¡± She looked at him for a few seconds, which was already concerning as she could think many times faster than even Reah Justyce when she was in her Avatar and using her Skill that let her move faster than sound and increased her perception by some unholy amount. After finally debating, she spoked. ¡°Leave this room, child.¡± The student looked slightly taken aback, but the Headmaster let out a sigh and led him to the door before closing it and looking at her again. ¡°Melony, look-¡± ¡°No. What the hell is wrong with you to be trying to make me teach the most dangerous form of Illusions to a student?¡± She hissed, staring at him coldly. He let out a sigh. ¡°He¡¯s in his third year and has a talent for it-¡± ¡°He has a talent for creating unspeakable horrors? A talent for torturing a person¡¯s mind? Explain to me what this has to do with your so-called ¡®vision¡¯ for this school that you started.¡± He clenched his jaw. ¡°Don¡¯t test me, Melony.¡± She laughed coldly. ¡°Oh I¡¯ll test you. We can take this to another planet and I¡¯ll show you how much I can test you.¡± He was silent. ¡°This better not be about some stupid war far below us. You shouldn¡¯t even care about this war. We both are strong enough to crush them with our bare hands.¡± ¡°You are. You¡¯ve reached Archon, haven¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Reached? I¡¯m well into Archon, aren¡¯t you?¡± Melony asked in confusion. ¡°Did you not take the Opportunity?¡± ¡°...¡± Melony shook her head. ¡°Of course. ¡®The risks are too great,¡¯ you would say. I spent nearly a thousand years there, y¡¯know. It¡¯s a hundred to one dilation.¡± ¡°Mmm. I know that. It¡¯s ten years out here, but a thousand in there. Yet, you came back and all but disappeared until the Exams. It sent out a request, but you intercepted it, didn¡¯t you? And then you somehow ended up all the way in the ocean. How?¡± Shit. I can¡¯t tell him about Luna¡­ or whatever her name is, since her name is definitely not that. She¡¯s at least the power of a Demigod, seeing as a casual backhand with a tentacle made me break the sound barrier four times over. But¡­ I don¡¯t think even she knows her actual strength, seeing as she was clearly more worried about Bennett than getting me away¡­ Some expression flitted across her face as she thought. ¡°The damned Prophecy, huh?¡± she muttered. ¡°Of course¡­¡± ¡°Prophecy? What are you-?¡± ¡°There was a ¡®Prophecy¡¯ that was told about while I was in the Opportunity. About an ancient God that would awaken and cause mass destruction if the one they cherish were to fail their destiny and perish. It¡¯s a bit ominous.¡± ¡°And you think this ¡®God¡¯ has awakened?¡± the Headmaster asked nervously. ¡°Yes. And I believe that I have already met this Goddess,¡± she responded, rubbing her chin. ¡°I didn¡¯t care to learn the whole thing, but I think there may be more info about it somewhere in the library.¡± ¡°Where do you think this God is now?¡± ¡°Honestly, I couldn¡¯t tell you.¡± ¡°... I must leave now. This could be a huge problem later in the future. Additionally, you have a class coming up so I should leave you to set up.¡± Before Melony could say anything else, he quickly left the room, at a speed no one but her eyes could keep up with. ¡­Ah, Bennett and Yelena also excel at diverting conversations quite well. Guess they got that from me as well, she thought smugly, with a small grin to match. Status Checks! (And a minor problem) Stats Status Name : Cthulhu (Luna ¡°Yasmine¡±) Race : Ancient Goddess (Seaborn) Class : Ancient Goddess (Will of the Sea) HP : 100% | MP : 100% Soul Bond - None Alignment - Ocean Stats Error! Cannot calculate Stats! Skills Scan - Level MAX, Water Manipulation - Level MAX, Water Creation - Level MAX, Storm Summoning - Level MAX, Call of the Ocean - Level MAX, Mental Communication - RESTRICTED, Primal Form - RESTRICTED, Blessing of the Sea - Unbound¡­?, Overheal - Level MAX, Watery Ode - Level MAX, Song of the Sea - Level MAX, Water Duplicate - RESTRICTED, Droplet - Level MAX, Revitalize - Level MAX Bonuses Physical Damage Bonus - 400% Water Damage Bonus - 600% Damage Reduction - 75% Mental Strength - 500% MP Cost - 40% Healing Effectiveness - 250% ¡ª Status Name : Bennett ¡°Yasmine¡± Race : Human Class : None HP : 100% | MP : 100% Level : 2 | EXP : 23% Alignment : Lightning Stats Strength - 8 Endurance - 11 Vitality - 13 Dexterity - 12 Mind - 7 Intelligence - 9 Skills Scan - Level 3, Flicker - Level 3, Knife Fighting - Level 3, Sword Fighting - Level 1, Lightning Strike - Level 3, Rapid Reconstruction - Level 3, Bloodbolt - Level 2, Hitch-hiker - Level 1 Bonuses Lightning Damage Reduction - 5% __ Status Name : Yelena ¡°Yasmine¡± Race : Human Class : None HP : 100% | MP : 100% Level : 3 | EXP : 12% Alignment : Fire Stats Strength - 12 Endurance - 10 Vitality - 7 Dexterity - 11 Mind - 12 Intelligence - 11 Skills Scan - Level 2, Overwhelming Firepower - Level 3, Sword Fighting - Level 3, Flame Armor - Level 2, Burst - Level 3 Bonuses Immune to Flame Skill Descriptions - Bennett Flicker (Movement/Damage) (Movement) Temporarily turn incorporeal, and dash up to (Skill Level * 5) yards in any direction, with full control. Deals minor Lighting damage to any within 1 yard of you every 0.2 sec in Skil, using minor MP. Cannot take Physical damage while using Skill. Max duration of 2 Seconds. Damaging opponents in this way decreases their Lightning Resistance by (Skill Level*0.7)%, stacking up to 6 times, lasting a minute. Cooldown - 4 seconds. Independent of (Damage) (Damage) Place an anchor of Lightning anywhere in (Skill Level * 2) + 2 yards of your current location. Lasts ten seconds and uses no MP. When using Skill again, teleport to anchor and deal moderate Lightning (And Weapon, assuming weapon is equipped) damage in a range of 2 (1 for Weapon) yards around you while using moderate MP. Afterwards, your attacks deal an additional instance of Lightning Damage, equal to (Skill Level * 10)% of original Damage. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Cooldown - 13 seconds (Starts when anchor is placed). Independent of (Movement). Lightning Strike (Damage) Summon a bolt of lightning that you¡¯re able to hold and throw. By channeling more MP into the bolt, you can increase the damage and speed. However, you also increase the cooldown by doing this. While holding a bolt of lightning, you gain (Skill Level * 2)% Damage reduction. Has moderate base Lightning damage while using base minor MP. When damaging opponents with this Skill, you gain (Skill Level * 3)% Lightning Damage bonus for (Cooldown * 2) seconds. Cooldown - Minimum : 1.5 seconds. Maximum : 25 seconds. *Note: Can bounce between opponents, losing 20% power per jump Rapid Reconstruction (Passive/Active) (Passive) Using Lightning to speed up your body, you can rapidly repair damage, however, it comes at the cost of increased nutrient use. You also gain (Skill Level * 5)% Lightning Damage reduction. (Active) If you use MP, the reconstruction will happen far quicker, but, depending on the severity of the wound being healed, Rapid Reconstruction will have reduced effect for a time depending on severity. MP use varies. After actively using Rapid Reconstruction, you gain (Skill Level * 4)% damage reduction for (Skill Level * 5) seconds. Cooldown - Varies *Note: Skill Levels by repairing wounds over time. Bloodbolt (Damage) By sacrificing HP and MP, you can create a bolt of lightning that you can hold. Every 1% HP increases damage dealt by this Skill by (Skill Level * 0.5)% and every 1% MP increases damage dealt by (Skill Level * 0.2)%. After sacrificing MP and HP, you regenerate HP and MP (30 - Skill Level *1.5)% slower. Deals Lightning/Blood damage. Additionally after dealing damage to an opponent with this Skill, you will deal (Skill Level * 3)% more damage to this opponent for 5 minutes. Can be used on multiple different opponents. Depending on HP% used, it decreases cooldown by up to 70% (Every 1% HP = 2% Cooldown reduction) Cooldown - 10 seconds *Note: Branch of Lightning Strike. Has most of the same properties of Lightning Strike except for base damage, dealing high instead of moderate. Hitch-hiker (Utility) When carrying another, you gain a (Skill Level * 5)% increase in movement speed but take 20 - (Skill Level * 2)% more damage each. Additionally, you both gain (Skill Level + 10)% Skill Damage and it will be more difficult to knock the one hitching a ride off of you. If the hitcher uses any Support/Healing Skill on you, it will be (Skill Level * 5)% more effective. Any AOE Damage/Debuff Skills that you use will not damage the hitcher and when using a self-teleport Skill, they will be transported with you Duration : Until hitcher is knocked off. *Note : This skill has been gained after battling with a hitcher excessively. Blood Dash (Universal) By continuously draining HP, you enter the Blood Lightning state, increasing speed and perception by (Skill Level * 100, 200, 300)% + 500%, 1000%, 1500%*. In this state, you will consistently deal ramping Lightning/Blood damage in a 4 yard radius around you, increasing up to Moderate Damage per second. By spending up to 10% HP per 5 seconds, you can increase speed and damage by (Skill Level + 2)% Per 1% HP. However, while in this state, you cannot start any type of attacks, canceling the state when initializing attack while keeping momentum. After canceling, you gain (Skill Level * 3) + 20% Damage Bonus and enter the Blood Dash State, both for the duration you were in Blood Lightning state. While in this state, Blood Dash has no cooldown. When Blood Dash ends, the cooldown Begins again. Cooldown : (Current HP% * 20) seconds *Note : Every 3 Levels, the base value will increase by 500% (Additive) and the multiplier will increase by 100% (additive). Current speed/perception increase : 600% Skill Descriptions - Yelena Overwhelming Firepower (Damage) Blast forward towards your enemy, shrouding your weapon in flame for (Skill Level * 2) + 8 seconds and empowering your attacks for moderate MP. While empowered, you take (Skill Level * 2) + 18% less damage, Deal (Skill Level * 2) + 18% more damage, and all attacks are converted to Flame Damage. When this is out, you are put in a weakened state for 16 - (Skill Level) seconds, taking 35 - (Skill Level * 3)% more damage. At high enough Levels, Skill can be stacked up to twice. When reaching max stacks, cooldown is increased by an additional 40 seconds and Damage is further increased by 50%. Cooldown : 20 seconds. Flame Armor (Support/Passive) (Support) Cover your body in flames, decreasing damage taken by (Skill Level + 12)% and increasing Flame Damage by (Skill Level * 4)% for a low MP cost per second. While using this armor, you gain HP whenever you¡¯re hit equal to (Skill Level * 2)% Damage taken. Can be dispelled at any time with cooldown. Cooldown : 1 minute. (Passive) You are immune to Flame Damage. Explosive Burst (Movement) Create an explosion of flame from any point on your body to move quickly, at the expense of minor MP. If opponent is hit by burst, they take moderate Flame damage and have their Flame Resistance decreased by (Skill Level * 2)%. This effect can stack up to three times. Cooldown : 5 seconds. Other Skill Levels Tyreese (Level 3) Lava Spout - Level 3 Moderate Flame Damage (Lowers over time as Lava cools). (Skill Level * 3) yard range. (Skill Level * 2) +10 Flame Damage bonus when enemy hit. Duration : Up to 10 sec. Cooldown : (Duration * 4) seconds. Lava Pit - Level 2 High Flame Damage. Skill Level yard radius. (Skill Level * 3) Flame Res decreases on any opponent hit. Flame damage decreases over time. Can trap opponents when Cooled. Duration : (Skill Level * 3) sec. Cooldown : min Lava Blade - Level 2 High Flame damage. Can let cool down to do physical damage in addition to Flame damage. Physical Damage increases as Flame damage decreases over time. Can be reheated to increase Flame damage unless the sword is fully cooled. Can summon up to 3. Increases Flame Damage bonus while wielding by (Skill Level * 5). Cooldown : (Skill Level - 30) sec Jennifer (Level 4) Swift Winds - 3 Increases up to 5 persons speed/reaction speed by (Skill Level * 4)%. For every person affected by this, excluding self, increases own speed by (Skill Level * 0.5), up to four others. Can be stacked at high enough Level. When reaching max stacks of 2, double self speed gain and Duration and quadruple Cooldown. Duration : 60 + (Skill Level * 20) Cooldown : 150 sec March of the Sky - Level 3 Increases up to 4 persons Damage by 10 + (Skill Level * 3)%. At high Levels, can stack twice. At Max stacks, additionally increases damage bonus by (Skill Level / 2)% per person and increases Cooldown by 120 sec. Duration : 70 + (Skill Level * 15) seconds. Cooldown : 150 seconds Wind Burst - Level 3 Movement Skill. Minor Wind damage. Increases Movement speed by (Skill Level * 2) when used. Duration : 20 sec. Cooldown : 5 sec Mia (Level 6) Ivy Snare - Level 4 Locks a person in place with vines, decreasing their speed by 8 + (Skill Level * 2)%. Lasts until all Ivy is removed. Ivy gains (Skill Level * 5)% Damage resistance and 5 +(Skill Level * 3). Cooldown : 15 seconds Thorn Field - Level 3 Creates a large area of thorns that, when an opponent is in, they are inflicted with a debuff, increasing their damage taken by 10 + (Skill Level * 1.5)%. Deals Minor Earth Damage per second. Duration : (Field) 25 seconds. (Debuff) 1 min. Cooldown : 50 seconds. Vampire Leaf - Level 3 Every person inflicted by a debuff by self, up to 5, increases own HP regeneration by Skill Level + 4%. Additionally, increases own damage by 4% every time a debuff is applied or refreshed, stacking up to 4 + (Skill Level) times. Duration : 1 minute. Ranking System Commoner : Level 0 - 9 Scholar : Level 10 - 24 Mage : Level 25 - 49 Battlemage : Level 50 - 74 Prince/Princess : Level 75 - 99 Harbinger : Level 100 - 149 Archon : Level 150 - 224 Demigod : Level 225-??? God : Level ??? Other Information When dealing any Elemental/Elemental Damage, it will deal equal Damage, but if it cannot deal one type of damage, the other will double in response. Example : If dealing Lightning/Blood Damage (Like Bennett would), they would normally be applied as Lightning first, then Blood. However, if something had a lower resistance to Blood, then Blood would take over, dealing the damage instead while also applying the effects of Lightning (The first element stated will take priority). However, if the opponent is immune to one of the Elemental damage types, only one will deal damage. Classes First : Beast Studies Second : Lightning/Water Third : Mage/Healing Fourth : Combat Fifth : Engineering Sixth, Seventh : Free Days First - Fourth Days 0600 - 0800 : Breakfast 0800 - 1100 : Beast Studies (Day 1), History (Day 3), Mage/Healing (Days 2 & 4) 1100 - 1300 : Lunch 1300 - 1600 : Lightning/Water (Days 1 & 3), Combat (Days 2 & 4) 1600 - 1800 : Free Time/Training 1800 - 2000 : Dinner Fifth Day 0600 - 0800 : Breakfast 0800 - 0900 : Fifth Prep (Excludes First Two Weeks) 0900 - 1100 : First Half - Engineering 1100 - 1300 : Lunch 1300 - 1500 : Second Half - Engineering 1500 - 1800 : Free Time/Training 1800 - 2000 : Dinner Curfew at 2000 Chapter 10 : An Interesting Second Class Luna arrived at her next class with Bennett, as they were on the same floor and hers was closer, so they went there first. It was at this moment, she realized that she wasn¡¯t exactly confident when she wasn¡¯t around Bennett. She had been taking the time with him for granted and was now completely unsure what her next action was, since she was mostly doing whatever he was doing. Well, in reality, it was just an excuse for her to think instead of thinking that she was just relying on him and didn¡¯t want to leave his side. Of course, this led to her tightening her tentacles around him and refusing to let go five minutes before class was meant to start, something she wasn¡¯t exactly proud of. ¡°Luna, look, it¡¯s fine. We¡¯ve been separated before, like the week I met you. You weren¡¯t like this before- ow!¡± he said, almost letting out a yelp as she pinched his cheek. ¡°But seriously, I need to get to class. It won¡¯t be bad, I promise. I won¡¯t even complain later about you eating so much-¡± Does he seriously think that letting me eat more is going to make me want to leave? Luna thought, tightening her tentacles further while rubbing her legs together nervously. When that had started, she had no clue, but it was a good indicator of nervousness. He seemed to think for a moment before eventually sighing. ¡°Will you actually go to class if I let you sleep in my room tonight?¡± Seriously? That¡¯s not going to¡­ work¡­ wait, that¡¯s actually a very good deal, she thought. It means more time spent with him¡­ She blinked. Why did I want to spend time with him again? Because¡­ I don¡¯t remember. Speaking of, what logical actions led me to even decide to come here? Luna knew why she decided to follow him; she wanted to watch his growth. But, was that just an excuse for something else? If so, what? And why was it so important to her subconscious that it affected her actual decisions? ¡°Lu, I really need to go, okay?¡± He pulled her in closer, unaware of her internal struggle and hugged her. She blinked, her mind going blank for a moment as the warmth of his body enveloped her before he set her onto the floor, Luna not noticing that she¡¯d let go of him. ¡°See you later, Lu!¡± He dashed down the hall, eventually flickering with red lightning as he ran. ¡­Huh? What just happened? She thought, her mind still a bit muddled. She shook her head a few times to clear it before letting out a sigh. Well¡­ I should probably get to class anyways. I¡¯ll just think about whatever just happened later. She looked at the door in front of her as a few people walked by, either not acknowledging her, or just glancing at her curiously. She truly didn¡¯t want to go in, but after a few more seconds of debating, she finally reached up and grabbed the handle- ¡°Wait for me!¡± Luna blinked as she noticed a form running towards her. She then blinked and opened the door, letting the person barrel into the room, sliding face first onto the floor. Huh. Why do I have a sense of d¨¦j¨¤ vu? Luna thought. Weird. ¡°Oof!¡± the girl in front of her mumbled into the floor before jumping up and spinning towards Luna. ¡°Thanks!¡± Luna stared at her, confused. The girl was silent as she waited for Luna¡¯s response, but only got silence in response. ¡°...Ooookaaay. We should go into class though. It¡¯s about to start.¡± Luna nodded and walked past her, into the class with only two other people, one being a student. Wow. I guess a water alignment really is rare. Luna shrugged and decided to just choose a chair, which just turned out to be a pillow, at random and looked forward to the man at the front of the room, who seemed just a bit strange¡­ There were some imperfections about his form, like one ear being slightly shorter than the other, slightly too-long arms, and slightly strange proportions. Is he¡­ an Elemental? That¡¯s new. I¡¯m not exactly sure about it, but I think it¡¯ll be fine. I¡¯m just a bit¡­ lonely. ¡°You look lonely, are you okay?¡± a voice said from next to her. Luna instinctively whipped a tentacle at the source of the voice before stopping it right before it hit her, frowning. The girl looked surprised to silence, unable to make any noise out of her mouth. After a moment of debate, she lightly tapped the girl before retracting her tentacle and staring at the girl for a moment. The girl gulped before continuing. ¡°Er¡­ sorry for surprising you¡­ what¡¯s your name again? Wait, did I ever learn your name?¡± Luna stared at the girl for a moment, noting the blueish horns on her head and the wings that flapped slowly in confusion, the skin stretching from the long limb, of what had to be nearly twice her size in length, to nearly a foot from the base. However, the actual area of the wing was far greater as the wings¡¯ fingers were around three feet at the lowest and five at the greatest, causing the lightly scaled skin to be stretched out to nearly her height. Her full wingspan was about twenty-five feet. The Dragon-like wings attached to her back may not have looked like they would be able to lift her, but, like nearly all Dragons, Dragonborn were far lighter than they looked, this girl probably lighter than Luna, even though she was twice her height. Most of their body weight was purely muscle though, so even though they weighed little, they could still easily overpower any human of their size. To be fair, their weight could simply just be attributed to the fact that their Mana is mostly what powers their body and the fact that they don¡¯t need all of the same organs a Human, or many other races, need, like livers and lungs, since most of what they needed came from digesting food into Mana, the only waste being the Mana they didn¡¯t need, so they ejected it. After a few moments of thinking, she realized that she¡¯d started staring into space while playing around with her, currently, light-blue hair. She looked back at the confused blue eyes staring at her. Her darker complexion belied the fact that she probably spent a lot of time simply floating on the top of the water in the sun, just lazing about like many of the Sea Dragons Lun- Cthulhu had met. For a moment, Luna had the urge to touch the now-folded wings, but held herself back. She met the girl¡¯s eyes with a simple blink, getting a more confused stare in response. Hey¡­ she¡¯s a sea creature, by technicality. Does that mean- ___ Your Skill, Mental Communication, is currently- ___ Of course not. Why did I think that would work? Luna let out an annoyed huff at the message, confusing the Dragonborn even more. ¡°Um¡­ is something wrong? I¡¯m not annoying you, am I?¡± You are definitely annoying me. This is why I let Ben deal with conversations; he could¡¯ve distracted you with something that I can¡¯t currently think of, Luna thought while simultaneously shaking her head. But, I should probably not rely on him too much¡­ well, he does mean free transportation, so it¡¯s not all bad to rely on him- ¡°Oh, okay then. Are you just not able to talk or something like that?¡± she asked. Luna let out a breath of air before shaking her head. She knew this dumbass system restricted her speaking in some way, as she could still make noises with her vocal cords, like hums and sighs, but just couldn¡¯t speak properly, which was pretty annoying. ¡°Hm. Sounds like a case of underdeveloped vocal cords,¡± a slightly watery voice said from across the room. The two of them looked over to the Professor, who was now making a strange face as he seemed to do something. Then, he spoke again, this time the voice had no watery sound and Luna noticed his proportions were more aligned now. ¡°Sorry about the voice, I¡¯m still attempting to get used to Common,¡± he explained, waving his hand. ¡°I¡¯m actually a Water Elemental, since there were no Water Mages that were willing to share their oh so valuable secrets, which are literally just normal mage things.¡± I¡¯d say. ¡°Not even Seaborns?¡± the voice of the other student in the class, a Human boy, asked. ¡°I¡¯d think they¡¯d be willing to teach.¡± The professor hummed. ¡°You would be right. But the headmaster decided not to ask them, despite the fact he knew that there was literally another Seaborn that may have been attending this school, who should be in this room now¡­ Luna Yasmine, correct?¡± Luna raised her hand in response, attempting to send a string of emotions to the Professor, seeing as it should most likely work. He stared at her for a moment before nodding. ¡°Ah, I see, you can¡¯t speak normally, correct? You can only speak to sea creatures and aquatic and water based lifeforms? That¡¯s fine. I can see you¡¯re an Apex Seaborn, as your tentacles are currently not visible, correct?¡± Luna nodded as she brought up the information in her head. Where she came from, they were called Zenith Seaborns, but Apex sounded a bit nicer in her head. And now that she thought about it, Zenith were unable to speak normally, weren¡¯t they? Since they were closer to Cthulhu in structure (though not by much), they couldn¡¯t speak normally for a good portion of their lives. Damn System. She was disabled by her own design. Damn her. She probably wouldn¡¯t change it anyways, even if she did regain her old power. ¡°Wait, what¡¯s an Apex Seaborn, and did she just speak to you in your mind?¡± the girl next to her asked. The man nodded. ¡°Right. I guess this can be sort of a first lesson; I¡¯m not sure what else to start with. An Apex Seaborn, like Luna, doesn¡¯t always have their tentacles, or other arms, visible, instead hidden in a¡­ well, a bit like a pocket within them. It¡¯s a bit like¡­¡± Luna sent him another string of emotions and he nodded. ¡°Thank you, Luna. Yes, it¡¯s basically because their tentacles are both natural and MP, otherwise known as Magic, based. They¡¯re mostly magic, which allows them to regrow them quicker if they were to be cut off. Additionally, they are what use up most of their physical stats, like Strength, Endurance, and Dexterity. They actually heal based on Intelligence, but it can use Vitality if needed. It¡¯s honestly just a more powerful sub-Race of Seaborn. They also tend to have much more control over their Element, which tends to be Water. ¡°And about her speaking, it¡¯s not like actual words as you know them. It¡¯s basically just complicated strands of emotions, woven in a way that seems to resemble words. It¡¯s a bit difficult to understand, but don¡¯t worry too much about it, since she won¡¯t be able to speak to you that way.¡± Both the boy across the class and the Dragonborn frowned. Huh¡­ maybe this will be simpler than I thought¡­ *** Bennett was very uncomfortable in his Lightning Focus class. It¡¯s not that it was difficult or anything, but mostly because¡­ ¡°This is the worst day of my life,¡± Reah Justyce muttered from next to him. ¡°Why do I have to tutor him?! I don¡¯t have the time for this! I was supposed to leave yesterday!¡± ¡°The same day you were harassing him?¡± the headmaster, the only other Lightning Mage in the entire school. ¡°Because of your little outburst, I extended your time here until the end of the year. Plus, you need to actually attend the Academy, not constantly be fighting in a meaningless war-¡± ¡°It¡¯s not meaningless,¡± she hissed as Bennett slowly scooted away, careful to not make any noise. ¡°I can¡¯t be there while all of the lines are being assaulted without my help-¡± ¡°I think you¡¯re overstating your own usefulness. Currently, your best use of time is to help train our newest Lightning- Mr. Yasmine, what are you doing?¡± Bennett froze as he almost managed to get a third chair apart from Reah. ¡°Uh¡­ I don¡¯t want to instantly be killed if she gets angry. Those spears move fast.¡± She glared at him. ¡°Says the person who somehow dodged them. And threw that weird red lightning at me. The hell was that, anyways?¡± Bennett didn¡¯t answer her immediately, unwilling to speak to her. Then the Headmaster let out an interested hum. ¡°I will admit I¡¯m curious as well. I only ever saw you use it once before, during the Exams. It did kill the Boss, which I feel like you do deserve the Levels for, as well as the rest of your team, but alas, there¡¯s nothing to do about it.¡± Bennett blinked. ¡°Er¡­ it¡¯s called Bloodbolt. I¡¯m not sure how I got it though. I was half dead when I used it. It set me on the brink of death too, which I haven¡¯t been that close to before.¡± Reah hit the table in front of her. ¡°How is that fair?! I killed the Boss as well and was nearly dead, but I didn¡¯t get any special Skill from it!¡± The Headmaster nodded. ¡°It probably has special conditions. Was there any effect you were under that could have initiated you gaining this Skill?¡± This feels less like a class and more like an interrogation, Bennett thought, scrunching up his face. But I don¡¯t think Overheal would have contributed to it. What could have happened then? Does it have anything to do with Luna being assaulted? No¡­ what could it have been then? All I know was that I was nearly dead when I used it¡­ I ran out of MP when trying to summon a bolt of Lightning, and Luna was in the process of healing me¡­ so what could I have done to do that? ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t think so. All I remember is I ran out of MP, but I somehow used HP instead?¡± The Headmaster frowned. ¡°That doesn¡¯t help though, does it? That can happen if someone is desperate enough, but they would usually be almost dead, then die due to the HP drain, exploding with the Skill they were trying to use.¡± Wait¡­ Did I¡­ somehow pull from Luna¡¯s Overheal to keep myself alive? ¡°Besides, the only race that was ever able to use Blood Magic was Blood Aracne and it was only ever genetic, and I¡¯m sure you don¡¯t have Blood Aracne genes within you, and, even if you did, they¡¯d be far too distant to affect you. So it¡¯s only up to speculation.¡± ¡°Am I going to be ignored now?¡± Reah muttered, leaning her face into her hand. Bennett resisted the urge to say ¡°yes¡± and instead just blinked at the Headmaster like Luna most likely would¡¯ve. Or, she would have just started playing around with his shirt while thinking about something beyond him. ¡°Hello?¡± Bennett gave her a flat stare. ¡°What?¡± She rolled her eyes. ¡°Jeez, no need to be so hostile. I already apologized for attacking you out of nowhere.¡± He frowned at her. ¡°I don¡¯t care that you attacked me. I just don¡¯t forgive you for nearly throwing a spear through Luna¡¯s skull.¡± Reah gave him a skeptical look. ¡°What is she, your wife? Quit being so caught up over something so trivial.¡± ¡°Just because you clearly don¡¯t have friends, doesn¡¯t mean you have to act like they don¡¯t mean anything to other people,¡± Bennett snapped, unable to help himself. But where the hell did she get the idea that Luna is my wife? Just because I¡¯m old enough to get married doesn¡¯t mean I¡¯m married¡­ Now that sounds weird. Reah gave him a withering stare as she stood. ¡°Now look here, Yasmine. I don¡¯t give two shits-¡± ¡°Settle down. He is correct,¡± the Headmaster snapped. ¡°Just because you¡¯re stronger than most students doesn¡¯t mean you can flex that power over those weaker than you.¡± She growled as she sat back down, glaring at him. ¡°How do you think I can possibly train him? This is stupid. I want to just throw him into a wall and-¡± ¡°Reah. You know his mother would turn you into an ice statue and throw you off a cliff if she heard you. You should know there¡¯s nothing I can do to help you then.¡± She let out a huff and looked away. Bennett however, frowned. ¡°Just how strong is my mother? I don¡¯t think any more information about her can surprise me at this point.¡± ¡°Well¡­ Let¡¯s just say that she¡¯s somebody that I don¡¯t even want to challenge,¡± the Headmaster muttered, looking a bit queasy for a moment. Bennett stared at him. ¡°You can lay waste to entire continents and you¡¯re scared of her? What the¡­?¡± Bennett shook his head. ¡°Alright, whatever. I can just interrogate her when I see her again,¡± he grumbled, looking at the desk. ¡°Right¡­ Anyways, about your training, this will technically be Ms Justyce¡¯s second year exam, turning you into an exceptional Lightning Mage. She will teach you the basics of controlling lightning and help you unlock Lightning Manipulation by the winter. By that point, you should have your Class and be a fully fledged Mage, maybe approaching Battlemage. By the end of the year, I would hope that you¡¯re close to a Battlemage.¡± Bennett nodded slightly, still skeptical. ¡°Are you sure I¡¯ll be able to achieve that? I¡¯m not that confident.¡± ¡°I did, and more,¡± Reah snorted, leaning back. Bennett gave her another flat look. ¡°I have now realized I was stupid to have ever looked up to you. If I could, I¡¯d bash the me from a year ago over the head with a rock, just to make me forget you existed.¡± She stared at him, mouth slightly agape, for a few moments before clearing her throat. ¡°Yeah, yeah, whatever. Anyways, when are we supposed to start this show from hell?¡± ¡°You¡¯ll start next class.¡± They were both silent, giving him a confused look. ¡°I would rather you two be on better terms when you start; it¡¯s not preferable for you two to dislike one another this much,¡± he continued, placing his hands behind his back. Bennett thought for a moment, trying to understand the man¡¯s intentions while he rubbed his hands together slightly, generating a slight bit of Lightning. Hm¡­ Luna does that sometimes. I think she finds it a bit funny that I produce just a gigantic static field¡­ wait. Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Bennett began rubbing his hair vigorously, the same way Luna had, earning a strange look from both the Headmaster and Reah. ¡°The hell are you doing?¡± she snapped. ¡°Pulling your hair out isn¡¯t going to make this better for either of us- what the-¡± She stopped mid-sentence as her hair began to raise up into the air as if lightning was about to strike her. After another few seconds of rubbing, sparks were visible occasionally in the air, striking the table and causing a burn mark to suddenly appear on the table in front of him. He then stopped rubbing his hair and simply said, ¡°Huh. That¡¯s¡­ interesting.¡± The Headmaster nodded. ¡°Interesting indeed. How did you do that?¡± ¡°Eh. Someone didn¡¯t believe I had a Lightning Alignment and Luna decided to do that to prove I did. I dunno where she got the idea. She probably thought it would be funny if it worked and it did,¡± Bennett responded, shrugging. ¡°Guess it¡¯s a good party trick?¡± ¡°So you generate a static field. So fun,¡± Reah said, having given up on trying to push her hair down. ¡°What does that do for you?¡± Bennett frowned. ¡°Static electricity¡­ can¡¯t that empower Lightning, since technically, it¡¯s basically an overcharge of it. Like, if I focused all the electricity into a bolt, it would empower it just slightly. It¡¯s not a huge amount, but it¡¯s just a bit. It¡¯s useless, but if I can make it bigger¡­¡± ¡°You, somehow, make sense,¡± Reah muttered. Then she raised an eyebrow as Bennett began charging Lightning Strike. ¡°What-?¡± ¡°It increases the charge quicker without me having to use extra MP,¡± Bennett muttered, ignoring her. ¡°But, I stop producing it when I charge it. Basically, a lot of movement can generate a static electricity field and I can absorb it to increase the charge of Lightning Strike-¡± ¡°Hey! What are you on about? Increasing the charge of Lightning Strike is easy; just add more MP.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t hear a word I said, did you?¡± Bennett said to her, tossing the bolt at her, mildly surprised when she caught it, twirling it around a few times before seemingly absorbing it. ¡°Huh¡­ for the amount of MP I watched you put into this, I thought it¡¯d be less charged. How¡¯d you do that?¡± Bennett stared at Reah before looking at the Headmaster. ¡°Are you sure she¡¯s fit to teach me?¡± He let out a hum. ¡°Of course not. That¡¯s why I put her with you.¡± Bennett rubbed his face with his hand. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯d rather just read books on the theory of Lightning than be taught by someone who you don¡¯t even think is qualified to teach me.¡± ¡°How would I not be qualified?! I¡¯m already done with my first year!¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t you leave midway through because of some Avatar? I don¡¯t get why it¡¯s so important to a war that, now that I think about it, shouldn¡¯t even be happening,¡± Bennett responded. ¡°You seem to care about it more than the place you were supposed to learn how to fight. Additionally, there¡¯s another problem with it that makes no sense: the strange need for Overheal, as I¡¯ve heard.¡± Bennett looked at the Headmaster, who seemed a bit weary. ¡°Why? It¡¯s literally just another healing Skill, from what I know, just that it increases maximum HP temporarily.¡± For a few moments it was silent, and Bennett was a bit worried he¡¯d run his mouth a bit too much. Bennett knew that he was less¡­ respectful when he started getting stressed, but he was actively attempting to tone himself down. After another moment, the Headmaster sighed. ¡°I¡¯m sure you understand this, but Overheal is what one would call a ¡®broken¡¯ Skill. It allows a person under its effects to survive a fatal hit, meaning that if they were to technically die, they wouldn¡¯t. Of course, if you, say, lost your entire head, you¡¯d still die unless it was reattached as quickly as possible, but no matter what type of damage you take, you could survive. It allows Mages to survive ¡®after¡¯ death, and continue fighting. It¡¯s a powerful Skill that anyone can take advantage of.¡± And I can take advantage of it more than others, Bennett thought. ¡°I get that part, but it doesn¡¯t really contribute much, does it? It¡¯s just more HP, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s a bit more complicated than that. But enough about that. About the war¡­ you¡¯re right about it being unnecessary, but I don¡¯t have a choice. Us high level persons, like me and some other Professors here, must care, since we get most of our funding from the Empire, who¡¯s banking on this small war going in our favor.¡± ¡°For¡­ territory that never belonged to Humans in the first place?¡± Bennett said, unable to suppress a glare. Reah cleared her throat. ¡°Firstly, those Elves have more than enough territory, they¡¯re just stingy about it. Secondly, the territory in question is filled with valuable resources that they don¡¯t even use, like high concentrations of Mythril and even traces of Adamantium. It¡¯s more valuable than you¡¯d ever know.¡± Bennett frowned at her. ¡°I know what¡¯s there, I just think that it¡¯s dumb to fight over something we don¡¯t need as of right now.¡± ¡°How would you know if we needed it?¡± Reah snapped, glaring at him. ¡°Enough bickering. This is supposed to be a time for learning, not arguing over trivial things,¡± the Headmaster interrupted, clasping his hands together, looking between them. ¡°Trivial?! The hell does that-?¡± ¡°Ms. Justyce, silence,¡± he demanded, and she, surprisingly, snapped her mouth closed. Man¡­ I just have really bad luck, Bennett thought. *** As time kept going on, Luna kept getting more and more uncomfortable, as well as more tired. It¡¯d been an hour since the class had started, but she couldn¡¯t do much more than twitch nervously, attempting to pull at the non-existent shirt of Bennett. Why is my body failing to calm down when Bennett isn¡¯t nearby? Damn instinctual needs; this body has probably associated him with safety, and is starting to undergo what mortals call a ¡°mental breakdown¡±. This was probably the case as she shivered slightly, trying to not think about him, but the safe feeling that she always got when pressed up against his side was absent, which made things worse. At some point, the Dragonborn female, who¡¯s name was Ulayla, as Luna found out, next to her had noticed her panicked state and was seemingly trying to console her. ¡°Hey, you¡¯re fine, right? Why do you smell all panicky and¡­ scared? Is there something that¡¯s worrying you?¡± Ulayla asked, looking concerned for Luna. I don¡¯t even know what¡¯s wrong with me! According to my body, it just wants to be near Bennett. I don¡¯t like this one bit. Luna closed her eyes for a few moments, trying to rid herself of the need, but failed horribly. If only I had used Blessing of the Seas¡­ Suddenly, she snapped back into reality. No. I can¡¯t use it with him. Who knows what that would do. I don¡¯t even remember having that when I was a Goddess¡­ well, in my full power, at least. I still don¡¯t understand the purpose of it. How would it affect him? How would it affect me? Am I willing to risk harming him? No. I¡¯m not¡­ but I want to bind the Skill to him. It could benefit him. It could benefit both of us. But¡­ I can¡¯t. Not yet. I still don¡¯t know the specifics of sending him my emotions. Like I thought before, is it just going to send him my emotions regardless if I want to or not? Will it send me his emotions? Will- ¡°Luna, were you even listening to our Professor?¡± Ulayla asked, poking her a few times in the cheek. ¡°No, I think she¡¯s completely lost in thought.¡± ¡°Whatever. I¡¯ll just wake her up.¡± Suddenly, a bombardment of water rushed over Luna and she blinked into it, unsure of what was happening. She then simply blocked the flow and stared at the other boy in the room, who was clearly baffled at Luna¡¯s casual act of ripping control of the water away from him. Luna gave him a quizzical look, wondering what was happening before remembering she was in a classroom. Oh. Was he saying something- no, actually he¡¯s half asleep, she thought, looking at the Professor, who¡¯s form was looking like it was about to fall apart, and giving him a flat expression. ¡°Al¡¯an, that was unnecessary! She¡¯s perfectly awake!¡± Ulayla snapped, wings flaring out and knocking aside a few pillows. ¡°Are you okay, Luna, he was just being really rude. The professor said we had the rest of the class to try and teach Al¡¯an Water Manipulation, since it¡¯s integral to the class as a whole. But you¡¯ve been looking really¡­ concerned about something for like fifteen minutes. The only time I¡¯m that concerned is when I¡­¡± Some sudden realization seemed to dawn upon her and stars seemed to shine in her slitted eyes. ¡°Wait, are you worrying about someone? Do you have a mate?¡± Luna blinked as she processed this for a moment. In Dragon terms, that would be like asking if Luna had a husband¡­ Suddenly, a very clear image of Bennett appeared in the forefront of her mind. Huh? HUH?! Luna felt her face start to heat up as she shook her head vigorously. Ulayla frowned, then her eyes lit up again, this time morphing into literal stars. SHE¡¯S DOING THAT ON PURPOSE! ¡°What about someone-¡± Luna shook her head again before she finished, even clearing it up by putting two tentacles in an ¡°X¡± shape. ¡°Hm¡­ I don¡¯t believe that! You must have someone you like. It¡¯s impossible not to; I¡¯d know that myself!¡± Ulayla exclaimed. The boy, Al¡¯an raised his hand. ¡°I don¡¯t-¡± ¡°You¡¯re Human, you don¡¯t count. You all are all just¡­ blegh,¡± Ulayla retorted, rolling her eyes at him. This Dragonborn¡­ is a completely different breed. She¡¯s outright insane. She¡¯s monstrous. Wait. Bennett¡¯s Human¡­ But I don¡¯t like him in the way she¡¯s suggesting. ¡°Now that¡¯s just rude. What if she likes a Human?¡± Ulayla stood there for a few seconds, thinking. Then- ¡°Huh. I didn¡¯t think that far.¡± Al¡¯an looked at her for a moment before groaning. ¡°This year¡¯s gonna be something else, isn¡¯t it?¡± ~~~ Eventually, though it seemed like hours longer than it should have been, the class ended, to Luna¡¯s pleasure, and it was technically their Free Time/Training period. ¡°Oo, do you want to go to the big lake nearby, Luna? It¡¯s nothing like the ocean, but there¡¯s a really good sunbathing spot I think you¡¯d like!¡± Ulayla said, flapping her wings and blowing away multiple papers while Al¡¯an clearly seemed to wonder if he should bang his head against a wall, partly since he¡¯d gotten no closer to getting Water Manipulation and partly because of Ulayla¡¯s¡­ Ulayla-ing. Luna frowned. How would you know if I¡¯d like it? We met three hours ago and half that time was me trying to not run out of the room to find Bennett. Now that I¡¯m thinking about it, I completely forgot about him at some point. Is that a good thing? After a moment, Luna shrugged at her. Ulayla seemed to think for a moment as she stood up to leave the classroom. ¡°Hmm¡­ do you still want to go, if just for the lake? I wanna dive into it to see what¡¯s at the bottom; it¡¯s actually really deep, despite its looks.¡± As she approached the door, she frowned. ¡°Why does it smell like burnt hair-?¡± She froze in place as she opened it, mouth frozen in the middle of her sentence. Luna looked past her and nearly started to giggle at the sight in front of her. Bennett stood in front of the door, hair all puffed out and slightly singed while he clearly looked like he was debating living life. He noticed her and raised a hand, emitting a defeated aura. ¡°Hey, Lu. I have the worst story ever to tell,¡± he said tiredly. She immediately bounded over to him and took her usual spot, finally glad to have her feet off the ground. She then poked him in the cheek and he sighed. ¡°Yeah, I didn¡¯t have a good time, that¡¯s for sure. I got hit by multiple bolts of lightning, which isn¡¯t fun, mind you. I¡¯m immune to the muscle spasms, but not immune to the pain they inflict. Speaking of¡­ he trailed off, finally noticing the Dragonborn in front of him. ¡°Oh, sorry, I just came to pick Lu up, since I¡¯m sure she¡¯s going to smack me over the head at some point for just leaving her here. Well, that or she¡¯s literally not going to let go of me for the next three hours-¡± ¡°Lu?¡± Ulayla said, confused. ¡°You have a nickname for her?¡± ¡°Nickname?¡± Bennett looked into space for a moment. ¡°Huh. I guess I do. Never realized I called her that. I do that for a lot of people. Like sis. I¡¯m a bit surprised I haven¡¯t for Jennifer, since her name¡¯s pretty long, at least to me, but I¡¯m sure I¡¯ll start eventually- huh? Why did your pupils just morph into stars?¡± He took a step back as Ulayla¡¯s wings flared out and she looked at Luna. ¡°Is this the Human you-¡± Al¡¯an, annoyed that Ulayla was blocking the way, shoved past her and her outspread wings. ¡°Idiot. She already made it clear she didn¡¯t. Stop assuming things, overgrown lizard person.¡± Ulayla spun toward him, but he was already a few steps away, quickly leaving. However, that didn¡¯t stop her from firing a jet of pressurized water at him, which he dodged as he began running down, cackling, for the first time showcasing an emotion other than annoyance and boredom. ¡°Hmph. Rude boy,¡± she huffed before looking back at Bennett, who was currently giving Luna a strange look as she used a bubble of water to wash out his hair. After disposing of the water by unceremoniously throwing it out an open window, Bennett¡¯s hair was clean and he looked slightly less unhinged. After this, he looked at Ulayla. ¡°You¡¯re one of her classmates, right? I¡¯m not sure what that was, but thanks for keeping her company, as I see you clearly did. From what I can tell, she doesn¡¯t really do well alone. Oh, right, I¡¯m Bennett, a friend of Luna¡¯s.¡± Ulayla stared at him for a good ten seconds, clearly trying to gauge¡­ something about him. Then she frowned. ¡°Uh¡­ why exactly is she sitting like that on your arm?¡± Bennett looked down at Luna, who looked up at him before wrapping a fourth tentacle around him, unconsciously refusing to let go. ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t know, but this feels natural, so I just go with it. Oh, yeah, I never asked about your name.¡± Ulayla seemed to brighten up again as she put her arms out and spread her wings out to their full extent. ¡°I¡¯m Ulayla, Luna¡¯s friend.¡± That¡¯s a bit of an overstatement, but it¡¯s close enough, Luna thought. Bennett looked down at her in surprise and she hit him over the head before he could say anything. ¡°Ow! I didn¡¯t even say anything! What was that for?!¡± he complained. She gave him an unimpressed look and he looked a bit guilty. ¡°You know what, fair enough. But seriously, you¡¯re so¡­ Luna, I''m surprised you managed that. By the way, I brought you something.¡± He pulled out something from a pouch on his hip and unwrapped it with one hand, revealing- ¡°One of the lemon tarts you ate six of during lunch! I saved a few for after class since I knew you¡¯d probably be hungry.¡± Luna blinked before wrapping her arms around his chest happily before grabbing it and managing to stuff half of it into her mouth joyfully, savoring the taste of both sweet and sour lemony cream in her mouth. Bennett rubbed her head and she leaned into him before blinking in confusion and sitting straight up. Wait, what just happened? It felt like my entire body went into autopilot the moment I saw Bennett. I remember crawling into my normal spot, smacking him on the head, and now I¡¯m cuddling into him like some sort of clingy pet. What am I doing?! Her face started to go red as she shook her head vigorously. I even hugged him without practically exploding from whatever feeling I keep getting when I¡¯m near him. Now I¡¯m starting to get that feeling! What is wrong with me-? ¡°Uh, Lu, what¡¯s wrong. Is it bad or something? Did it get burnt?¡± Bennett asked, pulling out another one and inspecting its packaging. ¡°It doesn¡¯t look bad. Or burnt¡­ What could be wrong then-¡± Ulayla, who¡¯d watched the entire thing play out, gave the two of them a completely unamused stare. ¡°Huh. Interesting.¡± Bennett tilted his head at her. ¡°What? Did something happen?¡± She shook her head before giving them a very self-satisfied smirk. ¡°Nothing, nothing. Anyways, I was inviting Luna to a lake near the Academy! It¡¯s really deep and has an amazing sunbathing spot. Do you wanna come too?!¡± Bennett frowned. ¡°Can I bring my sister? I¡¯m sure she¡¯d love it.¡± ¡°The more the merrier!¡± ~~~ Luna stared at the water suspiciously, eyeing the large fish that swam close to the surface, but Ulayla, clearly unable to help herself, jumped into the water and seemed to smack the fish back down to the deeper water. ¡°Wow, Ben, there really is a lake here! I thought you were joking,¡± Yelena exclaimed, already barefoot and slowly wading into the water. Bennett nodded as he looked at Luna, who¡¯d found her old dress and was now wearing it once again, feeling far more safe than she would in the school uniform, that, yes, dried very quickly, according to Ulayla, but Luna just felt like it was more appropriate to be in water with her dress on. She looked back at him for a moment before finally hopping from her perch and dashing into the water, unable to help herself. The moment she was far enough in, she extended her tentacles and dove under the water, propelling herself along at a pace faster than she could ever hope to move on land straight down. This is interesting. It¡¯s actually way, way deeper than it looks. It would take at least another two hundred feet to get to the bottom, and even then, there seems to be something else down there. After a moment of debate, she scanned the memories of some of the more developed fish around her, realizing that, down there, there was a pretty big skeleton, probably of some sort of leviathan. She nodded before shooting back to the surface and launching herself out of the water, nearly twenty feet up, before falling back into the water and keeping herself afloat. Just going from side to side, the lake had to be nearly two hundred feet wide, and maybe three hundred long. There were some other students nearby, but she really didn¡¯t mind. Luna then looked at Bennett, who¡¯d gotten into the water at some point and was looking very much confused. She shot over to him as Yelena swam in circles around him, trying to dodge the jets of water that Ulayla was blasting at her. When Bennett noticed her, he shook his head. ¡°Man, I feel really dumb thinking you were drowning when I effectively fished you up. To be fair, you didn¡¯t exactly look like you were okay. Luna huffed and went underwater before jumping out again, flying over his head and, just to prove her superiority, flipped twice before doing a perfect dive. Bennett laughed at her as she popped back up in front of him with a smug expression on her face. Finally, I¡¯m in the water again. I didn¡¯t realize how much I missed this, she thought. It¡¯s¡­ nice. Especially now that I¡¯m with¡­ friends, I think I can call them. (It¡¯s different. Cthulhu never truly had anyone she could consider a friend. Most never lived long enough for her to get attached to, so she never really tried. The closest she had to friends were the other Ancient Gods, but they betrayed her when the horrid System arrived to take over the worlds they had made. It was both infuriating and understandable. They really only tolerated one another since they mutually benefited one another. Cthulhu spent most of her existence alone, anyways, since there was never really anything to do. At some point, the years just started to pass. Then decades. Then centuries. Then millenia. Then time just seemed to pass faster than she could count. She descended upon her own worlds sometimes, bringing joy to the things she created, or releasing another one of her destructive creations, not many of which she let propagate, since they were just too destructive. Friends were never on Cthulhu''s agenda.) Luna listened to this snippet of her life, feeling just a bit lonelier. Then, Bennett, with some unknown technique, pushed a wave of water at her, surprising her slightly. In response, she used a tentacle to push water at him, which he yelped at before diving under the water and grabbing at her feet, pulling her under. This time, as she resurfaced with him, she couldn¡¯t stop herself from giggling. Yeah, she thought as she tackled him, splashing water everywhere. I like spending time with friends. ~~~ Luna opened her eyes with a groan, finding herself laying on top of Bennett as they floated on top of the water near Yelena and Ulayla, whose wings were completely spread out, resting. He opened his eyes to look down at her. ¡°Oh, hey, you awake now? Been ¡®bout an hour since you fell asleep. There¡¯s like thirty minutes until dinner. Wanna see if Lena¡¯s awake?¡± he asked. Still a bit groggy, she snuggled into him, unwilling to move from her comfortable position. He shrugged, holding her with one arm and quickly paddling over to his sister. Who was definitely not awake. He headbutted her in the side of the chest and she turned over, facefirst into the water like it was a bed before her body realized it was definitely not in a bed. ¡°Eh?! Where the hell- oh, the lake,¡± she spluttered before calming down. ¡°Benny? What¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°It¡¯s almost dinner. You want to try and wake up the sleeping dragon?¡± Yelena looked at Ulayla for a few moments before getting in a more optimal position and shaking her head. ¡°Nah, she looks at peace. Let¡¯s just let her sleep.¡± Her brother nodded and they both, Bennett holding a still sleepy Luna, paddled back over to the shore from nearly the middle of the lake, which took not too long, surprisingly enough, before throwing a towel over one another and making their way to the Academy, along with a few others who¡¯d also decided to leave the lake as well. At some point, Luna had fully woken and was trying to remember what they had been doing before. Whatever it was, it was both a little tiring and fun. Well, as long as it was nice, I don¡¯t care if I don¡¯t remember, Luna thought, poking Bennett in the chest. He looked down at her and smiled. ¡°Yeah, it was fun, wasn¡¯t it? Oh, right, you and Ulayla dove under the water for a while when we were there, where¡¯d you go?¡± She blinked. We went to check out the skeleton, didn¡¯t we? It was¡­ odd, to say the least. It was basically just a giant fossil that emanated really strong MP pulses that were pretty relaxing. It felt somewhat familiar, as if it was one of my creations. Maybe a kraken? In response, Luna simply shrugged, as if to say she didn¡¯t really remember. Then something seemed to strike him. ¡°Oh yeah, Ulayla said that you both found a fossil of some big sea creature. She wasn¡¯t exactly sure how it could¡¯ve gotten there, but, according to her, there might have been an underwater tunnel?¡± Luna nodded, slowly remembering this tidbit. There had been an underwater tunnel that probably stretched all the way to near the ocean, based on the fact that further down it, Luna had been able to sense a slight concentration of saltwater. ¡°Ben, I¡¯m gonna go to my dorm and take a quick shower,¡± Yelena said, waving to her brother. ¡°See you at dinner.¡± ¡°Same here. See ya,¡± he responded, and Luna waved as well. ¡°Right, let¡¯s go get a shower and change.¡± When they got back to the dorm, Tyreese quickly jumped to interrogating them, but seemed to grow interested when he heard about the lake, and Jennifer seemed a bit intrigued as well, but didn¡¯t say much. After being dropped off at her room, Luna went to take a shower, staring up at the metal pipe that dropped hot water on her head, before drying off, which was as easy as a flick of the wrist, and putting on her nightclothes. After that, it was to dinner, which wasn¡¯t too exciting except for Ulayla suddenly showing up out of nowhere, declaring she was to eat with them, then proceeding to eat every ounce of seafood she could get her hands on, eventually falling asleep mid-dinner and one of her dorm mates had to carry her out of the dining hall. Finally, it was time to sleep. Luna yawned, holding onto Bennett as they bid goodnight to his sister and to Juli, who¡¯d joined them. ¡°Sure,¡± Juli simply said before walking off. Yelena just rolled her eyes before hugging Bennett and dashing after her. They returned to the dorms and everyone went to their rooms, tired after the seemingly long day, but. In reality, they had spent only six hours in the classrooms, but, to be fair, they were quite attention demanding. Bennett, instead of bringing Luna to her room, simply just walked into his own room, yawning. When she gave him a mildly confused look, he shrugged. ¡°You would¡¯ve probably just broken into my room anyways, so might as well just bring you here,¡± he said. Luna nodded and he gave her a flat look, muttering something about her not having to ¡°admit you would¡¯ve anyways¡±. After rushing back to her room to grab a toothbrush, which every world she went to seemed to have, along with toothpaste, and brushing her teeth with Bennett, she hopped into his very warm bed and, after debating it for a few moments, snuggled against him. With a yawn, he pulled her against him, a bit protectively, and muttered a goodnight to her. As Luna quickly drifted off to sleep, she thought she¡¯d had a decent day, if not a bit long. However, she felt warm and safe, so she simply closed her eyes, ready to drift off into a dreamless sleep. However, she was nowhere near that lucky. Chapter 11 : Dark Memory and a Revelation Cthulhu opened her eyes to an ocean around her. She listened to the waves surrounding her peacefully, cradling something on her chest. Something she never wanted to let go, but had to one day. ¡°This will be a difficult path for you to tread, my love, but I know you¡¯ll be able to thrive,¡± she said to the thing on her chest. Her creation. ¡°You¡¯ll go through hardships, through pain, but you¡¯ll persist. Just remember: never lose what makes you¡­ you.¡± She looked down at the ocean around her, before horror struck her. She was floating in an ocean of blood. Of sin. Of pain. She then looked at the bloody red hair still stuck to her body and the empty eyes of something she once loved more than anything. Someone. Then the words that haunted her for longer than she could remember echoed in her ears. ¡°Why¡­ why do they all hate me? Why would you do this to me¡­ mother?¡± She couldn¡¯t stop the world-ending, despaired wail that ripped out of her throat, causing the fabric of the world itself to shatter. *** Luna woke up with a shriek, the horrifying dream already leaving her, but the words still echoed. ¡°Why¡­ Why mother?¡± Bennett woke up with a start, immediately going to hold her as she covered her ears in an attempt to block the words, hyperventilating. ¡°Why¡­ Why¡­ Why¡­Why¡­ Why-?¡± ¡°Hey, Luna, it¡¯s alright. You¡¯re okay. It¡¯s just a dream, it doesn¡¯t mean anything,¡± he muttered, louder than the words. She realized she had all her tentacles wrapped around him and she grabbed onto him, trying to use his heartbeat to drown out the words as they slowly faded away. ¡°Everything¡­ will be okay.¡± It took a bit, but she slowed down her breathing, let her heart rate calm, but didn¡¯t let go of him, and he didn¡¯t let her go. She shivered in his grip, scared that if she let go, the voice would start again. Eventually, she was able to calm down, but she refused to let go. He rubbed her messy hair, comforting her as she pressed her face against his chest. Wh-what was that? W-why does it feel so familiar? That voice? ¡°Hey, are you okay?¡± Bennett whispered, still unwilling to let her go. She nodded slightly, but tightened her tentacles a bit more. He let out a sigh before reaching over to turn on a bedside light. ¡°Man, it¡¯s already 0540. Might as well get ready for breakfast. I¡¯m gonna need some coffee anyways,¡± he mumbled. He then lifted her up and carried her out of the room into the still dark large room that served as a living room, kitchen, and dining area, along with a stand that seemed to be there for no reason in particular. He brought her to her room door and set her down. ¡°You can go take a bath; I¡¯ll take a shower really quick and we¡¯ll go down to breakfast, okay? We didn¡¯t get to yesterday, anyways.¡± After thinking about it for a few seconds, she nodded, still holding her. After yawning, he lifted her up differently, instead of having her sit on his arm, he just pulled her against him as if he were carrying a sleeping child and carried Luna to her room. This is so¡­ different. I feel like I¡¯d normally be against it¡­ but I¡¯m okay¡­ hopefully. ~~~ At around 0615, they were down to get breakfast in the nearly empty dining hall, where they chose their usual spots to eat and he mulled over what to eat, as he could see every dish there was to eat. ¡°Hm¡­ I¡¯d rather make something to eat instead,¡± he mumbled. ¡°I wonder if there¡¯s anywhere I can get ingredients¡­¡± ¡°The kitchens, dumbass,¡± a very familiar voice snapped. ¡°Where else?¡± Luna flinched, but, unlike what she expected, Bennett hardly reacted, instead just looking to his side with a displeased expression. ¡°You see, this is why I don¡¯t want you to be my ¡®teacher¡¯,¡± Bennett said to Reah Justyce, who¡¯d just quite literally appeared out of nowhere. ¡°But thanks, I guess. Doesn¡¯t help though.¡± She glared at him. ¡°This floor. North wing. It¡¯s two big metal doors. Impossible to miss.¡± She then swiped what looked like half a dozen strawberry tarts, leaving only four, before disappearing with a crack of lightning. Bennet frowned at this before shrugging. ¡°Want me to make you some food? I¡¯ll just ask the staff there if I could have some stuff to cook with. And while I¡¯m at it, I¡¯ll make some for the others and sis.¡± Luna, who¡¯d only grabbed two lemon tarts, nodded and Bennett lifted her, grabbed a few more tarts, along with two cinnamon rolls, one of which he gave to Luna. ¡°Huh¡­ I can make it better than this,¡± he muttered as they left. They traveled through the expansive halls, eventually arriving to the north wing after passing quite a few armor stands that Luna could sense had many arrays of enchantments each, most used to animate them. They came across tall metal doors that Bennett stared at in wonder while she finished off the last tart he¡¯d given her. ¡°Oh wow. They really are hard to miss,¡± he said, patting Luna on the head as she looked up at him. I can smell things being cooked. The lunch foods? Why are they making them at six in the morning? Luna thought as Bennett walked over and opened the doors slightly, poking his head in. ¡°What the¡­¡± As he opened the door Luna also couldn¡¯t help but be slightly baffled as well. There were kitchen utensils floating all over the place, prepping items, cooking them, preparing them, gathering them, and more. And in the center of all of it sat a boy that had to be barely older than Luna looked, but Luna could tell he was at least four times Bennett¡¯s age from a glance. The boy opened an eye before letting out a sigh. ¡°Just take what you need. Most of it¡¯s in the back. Just try not to get cut. Don¡¯t need to deal with the paperwork if you die here.¡± Bennett was a bit confused, but just said, ¡°Thanks¡­¡± before passing through the mess of utensils, holding Luna closer to him so as to not let her get cut. After dodging a few dozen steak knives (Why does he even need that many? Luna questioned), they made it to the area where all kinds of food items were stored, which had to stretch nearly twenty feet back in the wall. ¡°Huh. Now that¡¯s interesting. Let¡¯s just grab what we need¡­ eggs, flour, sugar are just the basics¡­¡± ~~~ They returned to the dorms only with minor scratches and plenty of ingredients in bags. Bennett had even managed to grab an apron from somewhere and had set everything up quicker than Luna had been able to finish the last lemon tart. From then on, Luna simply sat on the counter, watching him as she tried to understand what the dream from last night could have possibly meant. From everything she could remember Cthulhu had never had a daughter, since she knew they¡¯d have to live up to the expectations of other Ancient Gods and Cthulhu herself, which is a fate she¡¯d never wish upon any child of hers. But¡­ something about it felt so familiar. The sea of blood¡­ the dark red hair¡­ something about it was both right and wrong. Why? If I¡¯d ever had a child, there¡¯s no way I¡¯d have ever forgotten about it¡­ right? As the smell of Bennett¡¯s food wafted through the air, Luna heard a door open and she looked over to Jennifer, who looked a bit groggy. ¡°Wha¡­ what¡¯s going on?¡± she asked. ¡°Is that¡­ hash browns? Bacon and eggs?¡± Not even a moment later, Tyreese¡¯s door flew open with an explosion of sound, eliciting a shriek from Jennifer, who backed away quickly as Tyreese went past her and looked over Bennett¡¯s shoulder as he cooked. ¡°Hell yeah! I didn¡¯t know you could cook, man- OW!¡± Tyreese yelped as a spearbutt rocketed from Mia¡¯s room and nailed him in the back of the head. Luna caught it before it hit the ground and looked over to Mia, who was glaring at Tyreese. ¡°Shut up already. You¡¯re unnecessarily loud,¡± she snapped. ¡°It¡¯s not even seven in the morning.¡± ¡°Ow¡­ seriously?! Bennett¡¯s making us food, and you¡¯re complaining about noise.¡± he retorted. ¡°If you¡¯re done yelling, it wouldn¡¯t hurt to help,¡± Bennett said, pushing a bowl over to Luna, who grabbed it. ¡°Can you whisk this?¡± Luna nodded and grabbed the whisk with her tentacle, doing what he¡¯d asked. Nearly twenty minutes later, everyone was dressed and, as Bennett had said his sister would, Yelena had barged into the room estatic and terrifying Jennifer yet again. ¡°I swear, you and Tyreese share the same brain cell sometimes,¡± Bennett muttered as he lifted Luna from the counter and looked at his sister, who was already in the dining area, competing with Tyreese to see who could set up the table faster. ¡°Whatever, the food¡¯s done.¡± After a very fulfilling and noisy breakfast, it was almost time for classes, and it was as Luna was effectively power washing her plate that still had some syrup from the pancakes Bennett had made, along with scraps of hashbrown and egg, that her next class was also separate from Bennett¡¯s, which she made known on the way there. ¡°Yeah, I know you¡¯re uncomfortable without me around, but you¡¯ll be okay, alright? I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be perfectly entertained. Plus, you can probably help teach people who don¡¯t really understand the concept of Healing, since you¡¯re so good at it,¡± he reasoned as she held him with her tentacles, unwilling to let go. ¡°I, however, need to get to my Mage class. I¡¯m sure it will be pretty big, since a lot of people join just to become a Mage and earn prestige¡­ not that I¡¯m any different, let¡¯s be honest here.¡± Luna gave him an unimpressed look before letting out a frustrated sigh. Bennett patted her had. ¡°Hey, look on the bright side, our next class is Combat, which should be fun¡­ though the student I saw from Combat yesterday didn¡¯t look so good¡­¡± Suddenly a skeptical look appeared on his face as Yelena interjected. ¡°Look, one of my teammates are also going to the Healing class! Wait, you two haven¡¯t met anyone on my team except for Juli¡­ But he¡¯s hard to miss. Big guy, looks scary, but is really just a big ol¡¯ softie. Juli doesn¡¯t like him much, but she doesn¡¯t like anybody, now does she?¡± ¡°¡®Juli¡¯ isn¡¯t deaf, by the way,¡± said Abyssal muttered. ¡°But go on ahead.¡± Bennett frowned at her. ¡°If you did, you¡¯d at least make an attempt to be nice,¡± he said. ¡°But, anyways, I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be okay, like I said. Just try to¡­ not smack people to prove a point, okay?¡± She smacked him in the head jokingly. He gave her a flat look. ¡°Now, that¡¯s not a good sign. But hey, I still have this for you.¡± He somehow pulled out four tarts from his pouch and she snatched one, shoving half of it into her mouth as she pressed herself closer to him. Hm¡­ I¡¯ve gotten more comfortable around Bennett. When did that happen? She thought, chewing slowly. Eh. It¡¯s fine. Hopefully, this body will be fine during the class. As she finished her tart, she pulled the second one from his hand ready to put it in her mouth when she nearly coughed it out in surprise as Bennett turned the corner. ¡°Like I said, impossible to miss,¡± Yelena said, bounding forward. Luna looked at Bennett to gauge his reaction to see a suspicious look on his face as he watched his sister. What type of reaction is that- oh yeah, he¡¯s a pretty tall person too, so it¡¯s probably not too off-putting as it is for a person like me. In front of them was a¡­ Minotour, which, to Luna, was the most baffling thing she could¡¯ve ever seen in this world. He was taller than Bennett, by almost a foot, and was far girthier than Bennett could ever hope to be, his muscles looking like they were trying to push themselves off his body. His entire body was covered in short fur, but it didn¡¯t stop him from trying to wear clothes to pass as¡­ somewhat normal. Of course, the bull head didn¡¯t really do a good job of passing as ¡°normal¡± but it was a start. As she watched, Yelena seemed to start twirling the white streak in her hair and Bennett groaned, earning him a strange look from the Minotour. Bennett simply waved his hand dismissively. ¡°Sorry, just a headache,¡± he said with a small smile. ¡°Ah.¡± The Minotour¡¯s voice was deep and loud, startling Luna as she put her hand to Bennett¡¯s head and sending a small amount of healing. ¡°Oh. I would¡¯ve offered Healing, but she seemed to already do it before I had a chance to offer it.¡± This boy does not have a headache at all. What-? ¡°What gave it away?¡± Juli suddenly muttered from behind Bennett. He looked at her strangely for a few moments, studying her displeased expression, before shrugging. ¡°The way she¡¯s twirling her hair. She only does that around people she¡¯s nervous of making a bad impression on.¡± ¡°Huh. She did do that before. Whatever, I just don¡¯t need that happening.¡± ¡°You think?¡± Bennett muttered, seeming a bit confused that Juli was actually being somewhat respectful. ¡°Hey, look at that, Bennett and Juli are actually getting along-¡± Yelena started. ¡°No we¡¯re not,¡± both Bennett and Juli interrupted, before looking at one another strangely. ¡°She was clearly about to say something that was either rude or completely unnecessary,¡± Bennett explained. Juli¡¯s eyelid twitched. ¡°What the hell even gave you that idea? I was not.¡± ¡°Really? Cause you always say something that¡¯s either of those.¡± ¡°Just because I dislike you does not mean-¡± ¡°What did I even do for you to dislike me? You¡¯re the one who started talking to me the other day saying that-¡± Already tired of the two of them, Luna smacked both of them on the head with her tentacles, nearly knocking Juli face-first into the floor and causing Bennett to teeter dangerously. After a few moments of silence, Tyreese snorted and pat Bennett on the shoulder. ¡°You¡¯ll get there some day, my friend.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not even going to start with you,¡± Bennett grumbled. ¡°I would complain that you hit me too hard, but I kinda started the argument,¡± he then said to Luna. I guess that¡¯s just another way Bennett diverts conversations¡­ being somewhat rude. Bennett then looked up at the Minotaur. ¡°What made you focus on healing?¡± The big guy shrugged. ¡°Family.¡± Bennett seemed to understand this. ¡°Ah. Understandable,¡± he responded, looking at his sister accusingly. ¡°What?! You get yourself hurt more than I do! Remember when you came home looking like you jumped into a hive of bees?¡± ¡°First of all, I did jump into a hive of bees. Second of all, you¡¯re the one who used all the honey since you thought it¡¯d be funny to try and cook something you had no experience cooking, unlike me.¡± She huffed, ¡°At least I wasn¡¯t confined to the house for a week.¡± ¡°I was also half dead. What a way to reach Level 2¡­ and didn¡¯t you set the hive on fire afterwards? And was also confined to the house?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t talk about that.¡± After another few moments, Bennett finally shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ll just drop you off here, Luna,¡± he said, setting her down before giving her the last two tarts, the first of which she unwrapped and shoved into her mouth before patting him with a tentacle. He then stretched his arms before simply disappearing in a flash of red lightning. ¡°Hey! That¡¯s not fair!¡± Yelena yelled, rushing after him. ¡°Since when could you even do that?¡± Juli rolled her eyes. ¡°At least I know where the class is,¡± she muttered, walking backwards into¡­ some sort of portal and disappearing. Eventually, the others followed, leaving only Luna and the Minotaur. Luna looked at him as she chewed and he sighed. ¡°Is this normal?¡± Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. Luna shrugged, looking to the door in front of them before reaching to the handle with a second tentacle and opening the door, as one of her tentacles was already holding the last lemon tart. She then was mildly surprised when she saw that the room was far more full than she had expected, with a woman standing in front of the class of nearly twenty students, looking glad to see another two walk in, though she was a bit surprised to see the Minotaur follow the small Seaborn into the classroom, a pensive look on his furry face. ¡°Ah, welcome¡­ both of you,¡± the woman said, clearly a bit off put by the Minotaur. ¡°Sit wherever.¡± Luna thought for a moment before simply going over to one of the pillows and sitting down in the front. The Minotaur simply sighed deeply before going to the back of the classroom and plopping himself down with a thump. After another minute of waiting and Luna nearly finishing her last tart, the Professor cleared her throat. ¡°Welcome to this class, which, for the first part of the year, will mostly focus on the basics of Healing, as well as, occasionally, going over to the Mage classes to practice, since they always seem to get themselves hurt in some way or another¡­¡± Hm¡­ this seems interesting, I guess, let¡¯s see what they have wrong about Healing, since no matter what I say, some people always seem to get something wrong. ¡°I want to start with the obvious: no there is no God specifically for Healing, and many suspect that the God of Water, who still hasn¡¯t been chosen, will be of Healing as well.¡± Huh. This is already getting interesting. *** The Yasmine twins sat next to one another, both giddy to be in the same Mage class. Because most of the students had chosen Mage class, there were four classes, and nearly a hundred students separated into those classes. Bennett found it a bit interesting that Jennifer chose to be in Mage instead of support, which she was quite good at. Their teacher, a tired looking man- Oh hey, it¡¯s my counselor. What was his name again¡­? ¡°Okay, since I¡¯m assuming everybody is here-¡± he started. ¡°We¡¯ll begin with the more simple spells, Bolt. Bolt is an unaligned spell, which means anyone except idiots can use it, with the interesting property to infuse it with your Alignment, giving it different effects. For instance, infusing it with Flame allows you to simply increase the damage to about 4% on an unarmored foe. Of course, Burning does another 0.5% every other second until put out. Naturally, we¡¯re not entirely sure what Lightning does since our dear Headmaster didn¡¯t exactly let any of us Professors teach Miss Electric Fussy, who I¡¯m sure is listening to this right now-¡± Bennett felt a light presence of Lightning leave the room, but not before shooting a bolt of it at the Professor, who simply blocked it with his palm- no, some sort of shield spell. Bennett fought back a laugh, but it was clearly futile as another nearly nailed him in the head, but he leaned forward so it hit the wall next to him. He shrugged as his sister gave him a flat look and he looked back at the Professor. ¡°Of course, you all know her as Reah Justyce, the very angry child who likes bullying people. And, as I just showed here, you¡¯ll also be learning about Shield, another Unaligned spell that can be infused, with various effects, of course.¡± There was some muttering throughout the classroom, but quickly stopped quickly afterwards as the tired professor cleared his throat. ¡°Continuing, the first thing you¡¯ll be mastering is this spell¡­ well, of course not master it, there¡¯s no way to get it to Level 10 within the first year. The hope is to at least learn Bolt by the end of the class, then Shield by the end of next Class. Simple, no?¡± Bennett frowned. ¡°...Is there any basis we should go off of? Like a description?¡± Some other students nodded at this, clearly also curious. ¡°Ah, great question, Yasmine One. Don¡¯t explode. You don¡¯t exactly have a healer to save your life if you do, now do you?¡± The Professor then simply disappeared on the spot and all the desks and pillows in the room disappeared simultaneously and all the students thumped onto the floor as some enchantment activated and the room expanded, revealing test dummies and targets as well as what looked like medical kits. For a few minutes afterward, there were a few complaints as the room suddenly grew full of motion and excitement. ¡°Well, that was useless,¡± Yelena muttered. ¡°He gave us no clues on how to even form the spell. Oh, yeah¡­ we read about that somewhere though. Bennett nodded. ¡°What¡¯d it say though?¡± Juli, from nearby, huffed. ¡°It can¡¯t possibly be that difficult. All you need to do is form it into some sort of bolt or bullet shape with Man- er, MP and launch it-¡± From the tip of her finger, which she had raised, there was an explosive sound as something smashed into a target she was pointing at, blowing a hole through it. For a moment, the entire class was quiet again. Juli stared at the air as if she¡¯d just gotten a notification. ¡°Ah. It is,¡± she muttered before going over to the back of the classrrom and sitting down. ¡°Idiots.¡± This is exactly what I meant, Bennett thought as his sister sighed. ¡°Shall we try?¡± she then asked, looking a bit less enthused. *** This, Luna thought, somewhat impressed. Is not the worst class I¡¯ve seen on Healing magic. Well, technically, it¡¯s not magic, but look, I can bear with it. It¡¯s close enough. They actually got most of the things right. Except for the part about it speeding up body functions. It literally just replaces them temporarily. And how it decreases the lifespan of any one person you use it on consecutively. It actually increases it. And- Luna blinked. Actually, they got more than one thing wrong, but oh well. After a few moments of watching some try to use Minor Heal, which, in Luna¡¯s opinion, was a very nice spell to start off with, on what looked like a specialized dummies that simply absorbed healing while also outputting various data on said healing, she decided to try one out herself. I don¡¯t really want to stand out too much, so I¡¯ll just heal like 10%? She placed her hand on the dummy and was immediately surprised when she felt all kinds of things going on with them. They weren¡¯t dummies at all. They were pylons. As she delved deeper into them, she could tell that they sent healing to somewhere far into the distance to be and, possibly, stored and used elsewhere. They¡¯re stealing the healing from here and using it elsewhere. Why? There¡¯s no way this alleged war could be that bad, right? But why else would they just take all the healing from here? Just how bad are they getting their asses handed to them? Luna shook her head before inputting her 10% and looking at the small projected screen for a moment. ___ Error Calculating Healing Quality! Requesting assistan- ___ It¡¯s the podium¡¯s sibling seeking revenge! No you don¡¯t stupid thing. Moderate quality. ___ Healing Quality : Moderate Healing Amount : 10% HP ___ Ha! Take that, dumb podium! Who¡¯s going to stop me from breaking all of the podium family now-?! Luna let out a small cough as she stopped the mental charade. Maybe I got a bit too carried away. I still hate the damn podium from the Exam¡¯s entrance. After a moment of self reflection, she looked at the Minotaur who had put his hand on the dummy next to hers. ___ Healing Quality : Low Healing Amount : 7% HP ___ Luna gave the Minotaur a thumb in the air, something Cthulhu had seen on the Earth she¡¯d locked up. A ¡°thumbs up,¡± she remembered it was called. He gave her a very bull-like smile before looking at hers. ¡°Ah. You are better than I am. You must have been keeping your team alive and well during the Exams,¡± he said gruffly. ¡°Your friend¡¯s sister said I did, but Juli was a bit¡­ huffy about it. The two of them get along better than one would expect though. You probably haven¡¯t met our other teammate, but I¡¯m sure you¡¯d be fine with him.¡± He seemed to start after a moment of thought. ¡°Oh, I never mentioned my name. It¡¯s Bastion.¡± Wow, I think this guy talks more than I expected, she thought, reaching to his outstretched hand before immediately regretting it as she felt multiple bones in her fingers dislodge. Ow. He blinked before quickly letting her hand go. Luna stared at her now inert hand with a slightly annoyed expression before shaking it a few times, letting her bones turn to fluid and settle back in place, losing a bit of MP in the process. After checking it over a few times and noticing a few imperfections, she remembered she could just turn her entire hand into water and reform it properly. Seeing Bastion¡¯s already confused face, she decided to not do that. She shrugged in a manner that said ¡°It was my fault¡± before moving to look at the someone next to her, who looked very focused on trying to get any healing above 4%. She then poked his hand before placing her hand on the dummy herself and, instead of trying to insert all the healing at once, like the boy had been, did it slowly, getting 19% instead of the ten from earlier. ¡°Ohh. Slowly, huh? Thanks.¡± The boy copied her and easily doubled his healing. ¡°Oh wow, that¡¯s way better!¡± Bastion had also noticed this and had done the same as well, getting 13%. I think I¡¯m seeing why people would value healing so much. It¡¯s basically like saying, ¡°Hey? You at low HP? Here¡¯s 30% more. Go fight good now.¡± The only thing I see holding it back is cooldowns, which I¡¯m noticing that I don¡¯t suffer from. I can literally spam healing. But, I¡¯m assuming that as time goes on, there will be drawbacks. Maybe some type of debuff that lowers the amount of healing one can receive if healed consecutively. That would be how I¡¯d balance it¡­ oh wait. I did, didn¡¯t I? It¡¯s just not called a debuff. Before Luna could continue, their teacher suddenly clapped. ¡°Well, it seems like there¡¯s already injuries in one of the Mage rooms. Typical, one would say¡­ But, you¡¯ve all done a great job. Some of you even reached High levels of healing with Minor Heal. However, as you know, Minor heal racks up the Unhealing Debuff fastest, so you¡¯ll have to learn to maximize it to it¡¯s twenty percent maximum soon, when it will become Moderate Heal, which can go up to 40%. Ah, you may not have realized what the actual Moderate, Low, High on the healing Quality means. Before we leave, let me explain: ¡°Those basically mean how effective they¡¯ll be, based on the Healing you output and the type of Healing. Minor Heal already has a 25% loss rate in of itself, as you know by now. The qualities decrease it by a further 35%, 25%, and 15% respectively. The only exceptions to this is Teamwide, Major Healing, Revitalize, and Overheal, which suffer no consequences except Unhealing, which an exception to, of course, is Overheal. And we all know that Overheal is a great Skill in itself, so I advise you to tell me if you somehow develop it.¡± Ah. I knew there was something I had to look out for. Now, let¡¯s see what Bennett¡¯s got himself into. ~~~ Luna looked disapprovingly down upon Bennett¡¯s head as he shrugged, sitting on the floor and bleeding from multiple holes on his hand. ¡°I may or may not have overestimated my Rapid Reconstruction. But hey, it¡¯s Level 4 now-¡± Luna kicked his arm, the same one that his injuries were on, infusing a bit of Overheal into the kick. He groaned in pain, but it didn¡¯t stop him from muttering, ¡°You don¡¯t have your shoes on. I thought I told you-¡± Kick. ¡°Okay, okay, I won¡¯t be as reckless! That actually hurts y¡¯know. And I¡¯m not the only one who got hurt from their¡­ attempted spells. I still haven¡¯t gotten it, though¡­¡± He flicked his hand clear of blood before looking at her strangely. ¡°I¡¯ve never mentioned it before, but your healing¡­ it doesn¡¯t have the same drawbacks as most other healing does,¡± he whispered. ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯s something that you know yourself, but¡­ it might be a good thing if you minimize the people you heal. If this becomes common knowledge¡­¡± Luna sighed before sitting next to him and attempting a Mental Communication again. ___ Do you wish to Bind Skill : Blessing of the Sea to Bennett ¡°Yasmine¡±? By doing this, you will have limited Mental communication towards Bennett ¡°Yasmine" and all Skills used on Bennett ¡°Yasmine¡± will have an extra 50% effectiveness, including Damaging Skill. This also applies to him. However, if any Soul Damage is applied to Bennett, it will also be applied to you. You will never be able to retract this Blessing for the duration of Bennett ¡°Yasmine¡±¡¯s life. More benefits of this Skill will be revealed when Bound. Bind Skill : Blessing of the Sea? ___ Hm¡­ I¡¯m honestly actually considering this, but I¡¯m still not sure¡­ This System wants me to do this though- ¡°I just felt that again¡­¡± Bennett muttered. ¡°Like a strange pull on my mind, but it was somehow¡­ told off?¡± Luna looked at him in surprise and he gave her a strange look before some sense of understanding dawned on him. ¡°Wait, that was you? I felt it the first time we met, then again the other day¡­ are you trying to tell me something?¡± Bennett frowned. ¡°No wait, we should talk about this later, your teacher is staring at you suspiciously. Try to find a way to give your healing the Unhealing¡­ I don¡¯t know what they¡¯ll do if they find out you don¡¯t have healing drawbacks¡­ we can talk about it during lunch.¡± In the end, according to Bennett, after she¡¯d gone back to her class later and tried to figure out how to artificially implant Unhealing into her healing¡­ which seemed to be a bit counter-intuitive, he¡¯d never learned the Spell, but Yelena had, and would not leave him alone about it. ¡°Hmph, I learned it and you didn¡¯t, Beeeen~!¡± She sang, walking in circles around him while pretending to shoot it at Bennett. ¡°Yeah, it just means I have to practice. Then I¡¯ll shoot you with a Bolt of Lightning and we¡¯ll see who¡¯s laughing¡­ oh wait. I can already do that.¡± Luna felt her hair raise up as a Lightning Strike began charging up in his other hand that wasn¡¯t part of the arm that occupied Luna. Yelena yelped and Burst forward as Bennett snorted, dispelling it. He then looked at Luna, who swung her legs while paying little attention until he looked at her. She used a slight bit of Mental Communication, ignoring the prompt, as she pulled herself slightly closer to him, feeling slightly safer. He shrugged before looking back to his sister, instead nearly running into an outstretched wing. ¡°Bennett and Luna! I didn¡¯t see you two, or any of your group, to be fair, at Breakfast!¡± Ulayla complained. I don¡¯t even have the same Mage class as the two of you!¡± ¡°Luna¡¯s in Healing, actually,¡± Bennett said, ducking under her wing. She spun around and followed him, cutting off Jennifer, who¡¯d been walking behind him. ¡°Really?!¡± She squawked, before covering her mouth, looking a bit embarrassed. ¡°Ahem¡­ why though?¡± Bennett coughed. ¡°I guess she just likes Healing?¡± Luna rolled her eyes at him, sending an unspoken message. ¡°Oh¡­ are you just an idiot who gets himself hurt whenever she happens to not be looking?¡± she then asked. ¡°How¡¯d you even gather that from an eyeroll, and no, I¡¯m not,¡± Bennett said, giving Luna a suspicious look. ¡°How did you even communicate that with a single eye roll anyways?¡± Luna poked him with a tentacle and he shrugged. ¡°Whatever, don¡¯t tell me. I¡¯ll just walk here in misery.¡± ¡°You¡¯re just overdramatic,¡± Juli muttered. ¡°And you¡¯re just rude,¡± Ulayla snapped before Bennett could say anything in response. He stared at her for a moment as she spread her wings out, looking proud of herself. Then he shook his head and continued onto the path towards lunch. Ulayla blinked and chased after him. ¡°Hey! Are you not even going to say ¡®Thanks for defending me, Ulayla¡¯?! Or ¡®You¡¯re so great, Ulayla¡¯?!¡± ¡°I think the more proper saying would be ¡®Okay, I guess.¡¯¡± ¡°Now that¡¯s just rude!¡± Luna had to keep herself from laughing. Is this how the year¡¯s gonna be? If so, then I can bear it¡­ as long as there¡¯s no more nightmares. ~~~ Unlike before, Bennett and Luna instead brought their food to the dorm, Bennett using the excuse that he was going to practice the Bolt spell and Luna was going to make sure he didn¡¯t blow his hand off¡­ which wasn¡¯t really an excuse since that¡¯s what they did for 15 minutes. During this time, he nearly blew his fingers off multiple times and she had to heal his fingertips multiple times, but she was okay with it. He did shoot off what looked like half baked Mana Bolts, but none really got anywhere. However, after he got tired, he sat down in front of her and looked at her strangely for another minute. Finally, he spoke. ¡°You¡­ there¡¯s no reason for you to come to this Academy, is there?¡± he asked, giving her an interested look. ¡°Luna¡­ when I met you, there was something¡­ off. Despite how young you look, you¡¯re so good at Healing magic that I thought you were some sort of honor student from the Academy that I hadn¡¯t heard about. But¡­ you¡­ you¡¯re just different. I don¡¯t really get it.¡± Oh, he¡¯s just getting straight to the point, Luna thought. But¡­ When did he have the time to think about this? ¡°I mean, you act just the same way one your age might normally act, though you have your weird moments.¡± He laughed slightly. ¡°But¡­ then there¡¯s times where I think¡­ you¡¯re trying to hide something¡­ but you¡¯re not sure about the weight of what you¡¯re trying to hide. Like, for instance, you hid your tentacles for nearly a week since, and I¡¯m assuming, you didn¡¯t think Seaborn existed. Then, your Magic is just so¡­ different. It¡¯s nothing like some things I¡¯ve seen before. Splitting into multiple Lunas and having nobody question it was one of the breaking points where I knew something was wrong. It¡¯s like you were somehow¡­ push away the importance of certain things you could do, even to people so much more powerful than you originally seemed. ¡°Luna¡­ you¡¯re not just a normal Seaborn, are you?¡± Luna, for some reason, couldn¡¯t stop herself from shivering in¡­ fear? What¡­ did he find out I¡¯m a Goddess? I¡­ don¡¯t want to stop living this life. At first, I didn¡¯t really think much about it, I honestly just took it for granted, but¡­ I kinda like it now. Bennett is nice to me, I have friends, so many new things¡­ will this all just end? ¡°I thought about it. Even an Apex Seaborn can¡¯t do some of the things you do, which is what I thought you were at some point. But, it doesn¡¯t explain the fact that sometimes, you don¡¯t understand what¡¯s normally common sense, like, the biggest thing, the Academy. Everyone, across the planet and even beyond, knows what the Academy is¡­ but you didn¡¯t. It¡¯s like you came from so far away, that you didn¡¯t even know about a lot of things¡­ It¡¯s like you were trained for specific things, because you have specific qualities¡­¡± ¡­Wait¡­ I can salvage this, can¡¯t I? If he goes in the direction I think he¡¯s headed. I¡¯ll feel horrible about it later, but I think it will still be salvageable, even for this school. ¡°In history, there used to be tribes¡­ or collections of people, I guess, who¡¯d have children for specific things about them, whether it was strength, prestige, or purely to effectively own the best source of¡­ a sort of product, I guess. I know there¡¯s an attribute that allows some people to bypass the Unhealing debuff. It¡¯s rare, but possible. But, there¡¯s also Overheal, which I¡¯ve seen, can only be passed down through blood, or developed very rarely. ¡°This leads me to the conclusion, since I can tell that you¡¯re not a reincarnator, you¡¯re one of those perfectly bred children, sorry for putting it like that though. Is¡­ that right.¡± Luna, already feeling horrible inside for lying to him even though he was so close to the truth, nodded solemnly. He bit his lip. ¡°You¡¯ve probably trained all your life to be as good as you are at what you do, huh? Do you even come from this planet, or were you transported here by ship or token? I know that it rarely happens when certain of those¡­ people I mentioned, don¡¯t need certain things, or want their children to get real-life experience, they¡¯ll send them off in some way, while they have no clue how society works gods know how far away from their homes and could just die to something they underestimated, or because they were unfortunate enough to be transported somewhere unliveable. And if that happens, the ones who sent them will just deem them as useless trash and continue to try and make some sort of prodigy¡­ It reminds me of nobles.¡± Luna looked up at Bennett, whose face was a mask of anger and despair. She reached over to him, but wasn¡¯t sure how to comfort him. He let out a little laugh when she gave him a bit of healing. ¡°Thanks. You really don¡¯t come from here, huh? Nor do you have much experience with people, or emotions in general. It¡¯s okay,¡± he responded to her. He seemed to think for a few moments. ¡°Ah! I have an idea! During the summer, I¡¯m gonna take you wherever you want to go. I¡¯ll let you experience all the things that make you happy, sad, angry, whatever. Even though you can¡¯t communicate, that shouldn¡¯t be a problem. I¡¯ll be there the entire time. I bet you¡¯ll have fun, interact with all kinds of people, things, and even learn more about the world, the things you don¡¯t yet understand, right? Like the dark, yet vibrant forests around the Elves¡¯ Kingdoms, filled with beautiful and dangerous life that I¡¯m sure we can tough out, the heat of the western nations, filled with sand and lava, which I¡¯ve heard isn¡¯t all too bad, if not for the unending feeling of sand in your shoes, even the deep and dark oceans that nobody knows much about, which could just be filled with sights that you¡¯ve never seen before, colors that I probably have never experienced before, along with dangerous wildlife that we¡¯ll have to fight. It may even take longer than I think, and we may just spend years running around, discovering more about the world, the good and the bad. We¡¯ll probably get into all kinds of fights with rude people, but we¡¯ll just beat ¡®em up and keep having fun, right? ¡°Uh¡­ hey, Luna, why''re you¡­ crying?¡± She blinked in surprise as she felt the tears running down her cheeks. Why am I crying? What he¡¯s saying¡­ makes me happy. But sad at the same time? Why are emotions so¡­ complicated, dammit? He¡¯s¡­ right on so many fronts, yet so wrong. I don¡¯t know what it¡¯s like to really interact with people on a personal level, but¡­ I guess it can¡¯t hurt to try. But, I need to stop cryin- Suddenly, Bennett pulled her into a hug and she froze, unsure what to do. ¡°Hey, it¡¯ll be fine! It¡¯s just new experiences. Nothing even has to change between us. We¡¯re still just Bennett and Luna, an inseparable duo, right?¡± She couldn¡¯t keep the tears from flowing as she hugged him back, her crying starting to grow audible. Yeah¡­ I guess we are. I don¡¯t think¡­ anyone¡¯s ever cared about me this much¡­ in forever. I¡¯m happy. I can¡¯t wait to travel with him. Though¡­ it is a bit far off. Dammit, why didn¡¯t he just save this for far later? I hardly even know him! I met him barely two weeks ago! Why am I so attached to this boy?! She blinked after thinking for a moment. Oh yeah. There¡¯s something else I need to do. Finally, after probably too long of debating on it for the past day, she finally used Blessing Of the Sea on Bennett, kicking off a chain of events that she wouldn¡¯t see unfold until far later. *** A bloodred scythe hung on it¡¯s mantle, waiting for someone else to attempt to claim it, ready to drain them of their blood as well. However it could sense one worthy of it¡¯s power, if not faintly. Of course, this was all the speculation of the Combat Professor, who stared at it hanging there, vibrating slightly. ¡°Should I close it this year?¡± the Wolf-kin man thought to himself. ¡°Hm¡­ no. I¡¯ll just let whatever unfortunate student who decides to not heed my warning get themselves killed. Then I can just say that they refused to listen to instruction.¡± He then looked at the scythe another time. ¡°Hm¡­ but maybe¡­ that kid with the blood red lightning¡­ hm¡­¡± He shrugged and left the weapons room, unaware of the giddiness of the Scythe, ready to meet its new, worthy owner, and finally eat to its non-existent heart¡¯s content¡­ and one day get its revenge against its creator. It¡¯ll taste¡­ so good. Chapter 12 : Beatdown and Fracturing Bennett was immediately overwhelmed with emotions that were definitely not his. Confusion, joy, guilt were some of them, but as Luna seemed to take a breath, it was simply compressed down to what amounted to a mental ¡°Thank You.¡± ___ You¡¯ve been Bound to Luna by her Unique Skill Blessing of the Sea. With this, you both have been given similar benefits, along with a few drawbacks. Benefits: When either persons affected by Blessing of the Sea use a support/healing Skill, it will have an additional 50% effectiveness, applied over other Buffs and before Debuffs. You both also have limited Mental Communication, only able to send emotions to one another, though this can evolve over time. Along with this, you both gain a permanent 50% Damage Bonus and Skill effectiveness. Drawbacks : When either of you is dealt Soul Damage, or fatal damage, you both will suffer. Lean on You (Final Stand) : In certain situations, you can both support one another, increasing all Stat Effectiveness by 200%, Universal Damage by 100%, and Skill/Spell Effectiveness by 100%. This lasts for 1 minute, and once this is over, you will both be placed in a weakened state, setting all previously stated values to -50%, regardless of buffs. This Bond lasts until one of you dies. Current Bond Strength - 14% Next Bond Ability at 20% ___ ¡°Woah¡­ I have next to no clue what some of this means, but you¡¯re probably putting a lot of trust into me if you¡¯re doing this, huh? Mental Communication, Soul Damage¡­ Those are pretty serious things.¡± Bennett felt what he could only describe as an affirmative that didn¡¯t belong to him. He looked down at Luna, who seemed to be looking at her own notification, frowning. Huh¡­ There must be something else that I don¡¯t know about Luna. I¡¯ve never heard of a Soul Bond before. Though, it might be something more obscure. Luna looked up at him curiously as he thought before sending a complicated string of emotions that he couldn¡¯t understand, and was barely able to piece together part of, just knowing she was probably asking about something. ¡°Uh¡­ I have no clue what that means,¡± he admitted, shrugging. ¡°But sure?¡± Luna blinked before looking into space, clearly thinking further on something. He watched her as she seemed to keep her thoughts from him, and he wondered if he could project his thoughts to her as well- Affirmative. ¡°Wait, I am?¡± She nodded, giving him a flat look. He noticed she had stopped crying, but refused to let him go, perfectly content with sitting on his lap. Bennett pulled up his System Time and sighed. ¡°It¡¯s almost time for our first Combat class¡­¡± he mumbled. ¡°Well, I guess we should get ready-¡± Luna then suddenly panicked and, somehow, he understood as he heard the door to the dorm open, immediately activating Blood Dash and standing up while simultaneously pointing his finger to the wall across from him. Deactivating it, he tried to shoot another Bolt, again failing as it exploded in front of him, possibly fueled a bit by his still being a bit taken aback by the notification. He managed to avoid getting himself hurt this time, though. He then looked over to the door, seeing Yelena poke her head in. ¡°You¡¯re still blowing yourself up? Do I really have to teach my little brother this stuff?¡± ¡°First of all, I was born two minutes before you, so you¡¯re the little sister. Secondly, I¡¯m almost there. I just need a few more attempts-¡± Luna sent him a mixture of disappointment and displeasure as she stared at him, obviously annoyed. He snorted and proceeded to almost blow his finger off again. *** Luna wasn¡¯t sure if she was supposed to feel relieved or concerned at this new turn of events. She knew she¡¯d just made an irreversible decision solely based off the emotions her body was overloading her with, which was a bit infuriating, but something in her said that it would be good for the both of them. However, the only thing that was currently refusing to get out of her head was Bennett¡¯s promise. Will he really take me wherever I want? I want to see the all the world and more, now that he mentioned it. It took me a while to really understand what I want here¡­ but I think I know. It¡¯s not necessarily what I would have originally did, but now that there¡¯s a reason to, it¡¯s really appealing, especially if Bennett and I can really see what this universe has to offer, good or bad. She suddenly felt tiny explosions of excitement as Bennett yelled in victory, fist in the air. ¡°Yeah! It took nearly all of Lunch, but I finally got it! An actual spell, even if it meant nearly blowing my hand off a few times,¡± Bennett proudly said. ¡°Oh come on, you need to credit me as well,¡± Yelena interjected, hands on her hips. ¡°You would have never gotten it without me¡­ well, unless you blew your entire hand off.¡± Bennett stared at her, debating something. ¡°And of course the MVP, my little sister,¡± he responded smugly. ¡°Hey! I¡¯m not little!¡± she complained. Tyreese rolled his eyes. ¡°Well, next to him, you kinda are¡­¡± ¡°So are you!¡± ¡°But not as little as Luna looks. She¡¯s literally like a pea next to an apple when it comes to it.¡± Bennett frowned at him while Mia sighed. ¡°Where did you even get that analogy from?¡± she muttered. Luna sent him a congratulatory emotion string, but he didn¡¯t seem to notice it, self-satisfaction kind of already taken over his mind. Then, he suddenly frowned. ¡°Huh¡­ weird. It¡­ lists that I can combine it with two different Alignments. Lightning¡­ and Blood. But¡­¡± Yelena blinked in confusion. ¡°You only have a Lightning Alignment.¡± ¡°Yeah, I know tha-¡± he suddenly stared in the air in befuddlement. ¡°What¡­ okay, you need to see this.¡± Tyreese peered over Bennett¡¯s shoulder as what looked like part of a status screen shined in front of him. ___ Status Name : Bennett ¡°Yasmine¡± Race : Human Class : None HP : 100% | MP : 100% Level : 2 | EXP : 23% Alignment : Lightning / Blood (45%) ___ ¡°The hell? How do you have two Alignments? Well, not two, since the other is clearly not even half baked, but almost?¡± Tyreese said. ¡°And why is your last name in quotation marks?¡± ¡°My name has always been like that. But¡­ when did this even appear? I haven¡¯t seen it at all and I open my Status at least twice a day.¡± Mia, who¡¯d also peered over his shoulder, mumbled under her breath for a few moments. ¡°I¡¯d personally say it¡¯s contesting gods¡­ but there¡¯s no Blood God. So, something else is up here. It only just appeared?¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ wait, it may have something to do with the Spell,¡± Bennett mumbled. He thought for a moment, Luna feeling multiple emotions of concern passing through his mind before he settled on mild concern. ¡°Maybe¡­ when I developed my first Blood-based Skill, it was first added, but it was so negligible, the System didn¡¯t show it. But, now that I have two Skills and a Spell that can use Blood, it¡¯s finally large enough it¡¯s relevant?¡± Yelena nodded. ¡°Could be. The System works in strange, albeit effective, ways.¡± Luna wasn¡¯t so sure of this. It could be that he¡¯s always had Blood as a part of his alignment, even before his Lightning Alignment. This System probably thought now was the time to acknowledge it. Surprise suddenly radiated from Bennett and he stood up quickly. ¡°Crap, we¡¯re going to be late to Combat; we¡¯ve got five minutes!¡± Tyreese¡¯s face paled slightly as he scrambled, falling over from his sitting position, kicking the entire room into motion. Bennett lifted Luna from the ground and, after checking he had everything he needed, made a dash to the door, followed by the rest of their group. ~~~ ¡°Oh¡­ gods,¡± Tyreese muttered, breathing heavily. ¡°We barely made it,¡± Jennifer said, not as tired as him. Luna, feeling slightly bad, gave the entire team some Revitalize, along with Yelena, who was already getting ready to leave to find her team. ¡°See ya, Lena,¡± Bennett mumbled, not tired in the slightest, as he¡¯d simply used Blood Dash. ¡°Damn¡­ red streak,¡± Tyreese muttered. ¡°You seriously don¡¯t get tired when doing that?¡± ¡°No¡­ not really. I think it¡¯s really not based on stamina at all, just HP.¡± Mia, uncharacteristically, glared at Bennett. ¡°Well, you shouldn¡¯t just be spending HP willy nilly as if it¡¯s in infinite supply.¡± Bennett looked at Luna, who looked back at him, before they both looked at Mia, who muttered a few colorful words under her breath. After this, Luna looked to the area around them, which seemed to be some sort of large area-like structure, filled with a dirt ground which was also filled with deep holes and gashes that looked pretty recent, as they seemed to be repairing themselves, re-filling themselves with dirt. She looked over to the entrance, then to the seven other teams who were in the arena with them. One of the closer teams were- ¡°Bennett and Luna!¡± a very familiar voice said, along with the rapid sound of footsteps approaching them from behind. Bennett didn¡¯t even finish turning before he said, ¡°Nice to see you again, Ulayla, even though we just saw you last class.¡± As Ulayla slowed herself down, kicking up dust as she flapped her wings excitedly, she had her hands on her hips, looking proud of herself. Luna felt amusement radiate from Bennett, along with another strange one she wasn¡¯t sure how to describe. Something like¡­ caring. ¡°Yep! I didn¡¯t think we¡¯d have the same class! And-¡± she then sneezed as the dust she¡¯d kicked up reached her nose. After shaking her head out she blinked at the two of them before looking back to the rest of their team. ¡°Oh yeah, hi to you all, I guess¡­¡± She does not care much for them, I guess, Luna thought, her thoughts reflected in Bennett¡¯s emotions. ¡°Well, that¡¯s mildly rude,¡± Tyreese muttered. She ignored him, hopping closer to Bennett. ¡°What do you think-¡± Before she could finish, there was an explosive sound and she yelped, falling over and nearly knocking Bennett and Luna over¡­ though, to be fair, that was probably because her wings nearly caught onto his shirt as he stumbled back slightly in surprise at the sound as well. However, she was probably too light for it to do much to him as he caught her and pushed her upright as she was too disoriented to do much else herself. As this was happening, Luna watched a man stand up from the crater he¡¯d made in the dirt from landing. He brushed off his heavy looking armor as his ears twitched- Wait. He¡¯s a Wolf-kin. A powerful one at that. He then looked up at all of the students that were standing around him, giving them all an expressionless face, studying them. At least I wore my dress. I, at some point, put it on. Actually, I think I put it on this morning. I¡¯m pretty sure it gives me about half my Healing Effectiveness along with -20% MP Cost. I¡¯m sure it can do more, but it¡¯s probably locked away¡­ how do I go about unlocking it? The Wolf-kin finally then let out a very audible grunt. ¡°Hmph. You all have¡­ basic equipment, but some of you need weapons that are actually usable, especially that boy who makes daggers look like kitchen knives over there.¡± Bennett tried to not react, but it was quite obvious who he was, since he was probably one of the tallest people there, ignoring the Minotaur. Internally, Luna could tell he was slightly nervous to be called out, but excited at the same time. ¡°Naturally, though, I have to test you, which shouldn¡¯t be a problem, since you should be able to work well with your team¡­ correct?¡± There was no response from the rest of the class, who¡¯d gone completely silent at his gaze. Bennett was both confident and worried, but Luna tried to send him reassuring feelings, while not being really sure herself. However, she thought that their team was¡­ decent. ¡°I wonder what exactly he¡¯s going to throw at us-¡± Tyreese started. Suddenly, an angry looking bolt of Lightning crashed down next to the Combat professor before crossing her arms. ¡°You all will be fighting Reah Justyce, a Battlemage. You have ten minutes to prepare.¡± Tyreese faltered. ¡°Well, everyone but Bennett is completely and utterly fucked.¡± Ulaylu paled slightly from next to Bennett. ¡°Oh¡­ I have to talk to my team about strategy¡­ probably won¡¯t matter though.¡± As she dashed off, Mia sighed. ¡°Well, I guess we should try to come up with some sort of plan as well. But, I think this is pretty much a lost cause.¡± Luna looked up at Bennett, who seemed to already be thinking. Now, why would this Professor pit us against her? Luna thought. *** This¡­ is a far more difficult problem than I anticipated. We¡¯re not even in the Scholar Level range yet and he¡¯s putting us against someone who¡¯s at least Level 50. What are we supposed to do? Bennett thought, struggling to think of anything that would be of use. I can react to her, especially now with Blood Dash, but that won¡¯t last forever unless I think I can stay faster than her for the entire fight. I noticed that she did start to move faster as time went on when she fought me for literally no reason. If that speed keeps increasing, she could end up faster than I am eventually. And I can¡¯t even attack her, since I have to cancel Blood Lightning to do that. But¡­ what let me hit her before? Wait¡­ I hit her before because she was too busy taunting me. She thought she wasn¡¯t going to get hit at all and was confident she would completely overpower me. ¡°I¡­ have an idea. It might only let us get a hit or two on her, but I think it may earn us some favor from the Professor,¡± Bennett said confidently. Luna looked up at him curiously and Tyreese raised an eyebrow. ¡°Well then, sir, give us your half baked plan- OW! DAMMIT, WOMAN, STOP HITTING ME!¡± Tyreese complained as Mia smacked him on the head with her spear once again. She gave him an annoyed glare. ¡°How about no?¡± ¡°You-!¡± ~~~ Ten minutes later, the bona-fide party was definitely not ready, but tried to pose themselves as such. Bennett felt a tinge of worry from Luna as she climbed onto his back like usual when there was a fight, but Bennet reassured her. This only works if we somehow get into a perfect chain of events¡­ or if a very not-likely mistake happens on her part. I just have to be bait, which should be easy enough- Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°Start.¡± BOOM. Before Bennett realized what had happened, there was already a team completely down. What-?! Before they could even start, the team nearest to Reah was already down and Bennett saw the lightning wreathed body of her already starting to take down another team. Bennett then activated Blood Dash and everything came into focus. Huh. It¡¯s like she¡¯s doing a light jog, but covered in a cloud of Lightning, Bennett thought as he watched her weave between the team she was dealing with, not even looking to even care much. Well, this should get her attention. He threw the Bloodbolt at her, which, even in the momentary pause he¡¯d taken to throw it and shift back, had nearly hit her in the face. Only a moment after he started blitzing towards her, she noticed, but way too late. The bolt smashed her in the side, and she slid nearly ten feet before she got her footing. She glared up at him. ¡°How the hell did I hit you with the exact same thing twice?¡± Bennett wondered aloud before internally cursing himself. ¡°Oh shi-¡± He then threw himself forward, out of the way of the spear, and began to run, a very angry electric porcupine (which gave him a very funny image in his head) pursuing him. Between Jennifer¡¯s buff and his own speed, he was easily faster than her, but he was also the one who couldn¡¯t really do much without exiting the speed boost. However, she was able to just toss bolts of lightning like some sort of goddess without having to slow down. Thank the gods I¡¯m able to charge lightning while in this state. Problem is, she has more Skills than me, He thought, watching the fast forming cloud over the arena. That thing is just going to blast lightning at me, isn¡¯t it? That seems to be a trend when it comes to her. He dodged multiple spears coming out of the ground, charged with electricity, then what looked like a wave of spears- WHY IS IT ALL SPEARS? He complained. Is she just not using Spells? ¡­Wait. Does she not know any Spells? He canceled, tossed a charged bolt, and reentered, watching closely. Instead of using a shield Spell, she just absorbed it. He felt a little dumb, since it was a normal bolt, and instead threw another Bloodbolt after a second, and was proved right as she instead of using a shield, she just let it hit her, staggering her for a moment. It was then a pit of lava opened up beneath her. Tyreese had his hands on the ground nearby, a bead of sweat on his face as a field of thorns began to spread from Mia¡¯s feet, on the other side of the pit. ¡°Wha-¡± He saw what looked like the anchor of Flicker fly from her hand and land next to him. Gods, this better work, Bennett thought, unsheathing his daggers. He then dashed at the anchor before trying to cut through it. Unexpectedly, it shattered immediately. For a moment, there was dead silence. ¡°Idiot.¡± Bennett, in a state of calmness, didn¡¯t hesitate to immediately chop off 90% of his HP for a Bloodbolt. Wait¡­ I just had 205%... That means I just used 195%, nearly three times the normal damage- However, the bolt effectively leapt from his hand and crashed directly into Reah with an explosion that nearly popped Bennett¡¯s eardrums. He flew back, pulling Luna in front of him to keep her from getting dragged against the ground, scraping against the ground himself, quickly losing HP. Of course, Luna was able to heal him fully, but it was still painful nonetheless. Once he got back to his feet and Luna sent him a bit of worry before getting back onto his feet. I know she¡¯s just going to kick me into a wall, but at least I trie- Bennett, with less than a second to react, grabbed Luna and pulled her in front of him before he was launched across the entire arena, smashing into a wall immediately causing him to black out. Man¡­ we never even got to finish our plan¡­ Bennett eventually woke up to Luna still in his arms, both of them slightly disoriented. As he slowly sat up, he noticed every other team, along with his, in shambles. His sister had somehow ended up in the stands and he could even see Tyreese half trapped in the ground, clearly having run into his own pit of lava. Even more surprisingly, Ulayla was hanging by a wingtip off the edge of the stands above him. Please don¡¯t fall yet, he mentally begged as he noticed her beginning to stir. Naturally, as was his luck, he was face-first on the ground again, Luna next to him and a very disoriented Dragonborn laying on top of him, muttering something about being warm as he flinched at the feeling of claws clutching his back. Luna, obviously confused, was emitting a multitude of emotions apparently trying to figure out what had just happened. She must have been knocked unconscious too, though for way less time as she¡¯s clearly far better off than me. ¡°Ulayla, could you please get off?¡± he mumbled. She growled at him, half asleep and he took that as a very obvious no. He let out a breath of air, unsure what to do next. Oh yeah. Flicker. He promptly extracted himself from under him, letting her smack into the ground, waking her up entirely. She sat up in confusion and flapped her wings, nearly hitting Luna, who was slightly amused at the exchange. ¡°What? Where am I? I just had the best dream about tacos and cheese. Especially those cheddar cheese cubes. Those are deli-¡± She looked up and saw Bennett offering a hand to her. ¡°Oh. Right. We just got beat up by a Bennett with a bad attitude and a serious kicking leg. And Multistrike. That hurt a lot, even if it was with a dull spear.¡± She grabbed his hand and he pulled her off the ground, quite literally, as he had overestimated her weight and she nearly crashed directly into him. She managed to stabilize herself, but not after giving him a strange look. Bennett shrugged. ¡°You¡¯re lighter than you look.¡± She smiled toothily at him, hands on her hips in her normal fashion. ¡°Thank you!¡± Bennett then sighed. ¡°I should probably go get sis now¡­¡± *** After everyone collected themselves and¡­ roughly reorganized, madam electric porcupine reappeared in the center of the arena, looking smug with herself. Luna felt a small bit of annoyance from Bennett at this, which was mirrored on his face in the form of a small bit of disdain. ¡°No need to look all proud of yourself,¡± Tyreese muttered, brushing off some dirt that was still on him after Juli, albeit reluctantly, extracted him from the ground. It was mildly surprising that she had an Earth Alignment, but apparently, people who didn¡¯t look the part had what you would least expect. Like Luna technically being a goddess of mass destruction who had just faked being knocked out while not being hurt in the slightest. ¡°This was literally a beatdown. I¡¯m surprised¡­ the water dragon girl even survived a kick, let alone two.¡± Ulayla huffed. ¡°Well, as part Dragon, I have a lot of everything. Endurance being one of them.¡± ¡°Like 22?¡± ¡°Why would I tell you?!¡± Bennett cleared his throat, expectation and¡­ something akin to uneasiness brewing in his mind. ¡°Is it in the 20s though?¡± Clearly as he expected, she let out a proud flap of her wings. ¡°Yep!¡± ¡°Huh. That¡¯s nice. My Endurance is my second lowest physical stat¡­¡± She nodded. ¡°I could see that. Very impressive. Her hits really hurt.¡± Despair rang clear in his emotions and Luna patted his cheek as he sulked. ¡°Yay¡­¡± A few moments later, the Wolf-kin Professor landed next to Justyce, causing her to flinch and take a step back. ¡°Congratulations, you lost,¡± he said as he stood, crossing his arms. ¡°Some of you were impressive, others¡­ not so much. Of course, I expect you all, working together, to get her to at least bring out her Avatar to beat you all by the end of the year.¡± ¡°That¡¯s expecting a bit much, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Is there not someone here who could make you do that if given the time to grow?¡± ¡°No,¡± Reah responded, far too quickly. ¡°Anyways,¡± the Combat Professor started. ¡°I know why you all are here in the first place. To check out the arsenal of ¡®special¡¯ weapons, and most importantly, the fabled Blood Scythe, that has killed everyone who¡¯s attempted to claim it¡­ or at least drained them of most of their blood.¡± Oh? Interest sparked in Bennett¡¯s mind. Luna was starting to realize that the Bond from Blessing of the Sea was less of emotion transfer than idea transfer. There was muttering from the entire class, but Luna noticed the short moment when the Professor looked at Bennett, his thoughts seeming a bit¡­ transparent. ¡°Don¡¯t touch it. Now that I have already warned you, if someone gets themselves killed, I can just put that they refused to follow directions. Now, follow me.¡± A door, or more of a piece of the wall opened on the other side of the¡­ coliseum, Luna guessed- as the man turned around and walked towards it. There was some confusion for a moment, but when Reah disappeared in a crack of lightning, the class spurred into motion. Yelena, who still had a bit of a concussion, leaned against her brother. ¡°Scythe, huh?¡± She muttered. ¡°Blood? Sounds made for you, Benny. Just don¡¯t turn into a Vampire and eat me m¡¯kay?¡± Bennett rolled his eyes, amused. ¡°Of course not. I¡¯d have self control and turn you into a Vampire as well.¡± ¡°Mmm.¡± Bennett pulled his sister slightly closer and looked at Luna, who looked back at him. Hm¡­ he¡¯s just trying to be nice. I¡¯m sure he doesn¡¯t know what Vampires do in their free time¡­ Luna thought, a bit off put. Anyways, I know I don¡¯t exactly need a weapon since my body is a weapon, my actual consciousness literally being just elemental energy¡­ so much of it that if this body were to try and handle it, I would probably explode, level this solar system and a few hundred nearby, as well as probably break a few things that probably don¡¯t want to be broken. And then I¡¯d have to gather all the energy that scattered out, which shouldn¡¯t take long, maybe a thousand years. ¡­Actually, that¡¯s a bit terrifying. And I¡¯m sure that¡¯s just the best case scenario. There¡¯s also the scenario that I¡¯m underestimating how much energy is in my body and just end up turning half the universe into a giant ocean, with effectively a black hole in the center, acting as me sucking everything back up. I mean, the fact I know this probably means it¡¯s happened¡­ once or twice. How? Luna got a flurry of confused emotions from Bennett, snapping her out of her internal monologue. She was a bit surprised that her greater consciousness hadn¡¯t woken at that, but she just looked up at Bennett, who gave her a baffled look, probably for the fact that her hair was shifting colors rapidly, looking like it had a mind of its own. She poked her finger into his cheek and moved it around a few times while he stared at her, confused. Ulayla, once again suddenly speaking from nowhere, cut in. ¡°Do you know why your hair changes shades of blue like that?¡± she asked. ¡°I know my eyes can change the shape of their pupils, but that¡¯s just a ¡®body made mostly of magic¡¯ thing.¡± Luna shrugged and Bennett looked a bit thoughtful. ¡°Honestly,¡± he started. ¡°I¡¯m starting to think her body may not be as physical as I originally thought. I thought you¡¯d be someone who could tell.¡± Ulayla blinked. ¡°Oh. I could. Hey, Luna, I¡¯m just gonna¡­¡± She reached for Luna¡¯s head and put her hand on Luna¡¯s forehead, who gave her a weird look. The Dragonborn¡¯s eyebrows furrowed in confusion as she let go. ¡°What the¡­ it¡¯s like her body can¡¯t decide if it should be physical or elemental. You could say she¡¯s a stabilized bomb. It¡¯s like she has the potential to just explode, but the requirements for it are so situational, that it most likely won¡¯t happen. Also¡­¡± She looked between Bennett and Luna strangely before suddenly dropping the subject as the class entered a new room, every wall covered in well made and, some powerful looking, weapons. Oh¡­ Maybe I should get a weapon, if just to disassemble it and eat the weapon core. ¡°Oh my goodness, my mom would love to add all of this to her hoard,¡± Ulayla said, dashing forward, wings flapping excitedly. What does she even mean by that? Wait, is she a pure Dragonborn? That¡­ actually isn¡¯t too surprising. It explains why she seems to have no clue what personal boundaries are¡­ Luna¡¯s eyes locked onto a familiar-looking bloodred scythe hanging on a wall on the other side of the room. It seemed to shiver just slightly, as if it was alive, and the strange presence it seemed to emit made it seem like it was watching everything around it. W-why is that familiar to me? Why am I¡­ terrified of it? Luna thought, hardly noticing her hair turning a dark blue, almost black. What¡­ is that? How did It get here? (I thought I destroyed it for good. It can¡¯t be here. No.) No. (No.) No. (No.) No- ¡°Why? What did I do? Why do they hate me?¡± The voice from her nightmare whimpered. ¡°Luna? What¡¯s wrong?¡± Bennett asked, pulling Cthulhu closer to him. (Everything, boy. That thing should be destroyed. I don¡¯t care what it takes.) Destroy. (I can¡¯t let that thing exist any longer. I will-) Destroy it¡­ But¡­ what if it can be tamed? A small voice in Cthulhu¡¯s consciousness said, the only thing keeping her from ripping everything and everyone in the room apart, if only to destroy the Scythe. The small consciousness of a piece of her named Luna¡­ by a boy it hardly knew, yet cared for. (Explain, ¡°Luna.¡±) Bennett¡­ he has a Blood Affinity¡­ he could keep it from doing harm. As the world seemed to fade, the only thing that was there was a large room, made in Cthulhu¡¯s consciousness. With a woman and a child being the only occupants. *???* ¡°Harm? You think I care about any being around this body right now? I could take over and kill this boy you seem to care so much about without a second thought. I might even enjoy it,¡± Cthulhu said, the woman¡¯s face betraying the fact that she most definitely wouldn¡¯t. Of course. The small version in the room didn¡¯t see this, as it could barely understand its own emotions. (No! Please don¡¯t. Please. Please¡­ don¡¯t hurt him¡­) the small, emotional thing begged. (I¡­ I¡­) This piece of me¡­ its emotions are only kept in check by my larger consciousness over-riding its instincts¡­ it¡¯s poetic, in a way. A Goddess like I, keeping something that shouldn¡¯t even exist from doing things that she would normally never hesitate to do herself. ¡°Hmph. You better give me a reason for not destroying everything then. You shouldn¡¯t even exist, anyways, and I¡¯m tolerating it for reasons I don¡¯t even understand,¡± Cthulhu demanded, crossing her arms, her tentacles stretching further than the small body she inhabited ever could. (You¡­ won¡¯t hurt him?) ¡°Answer me, thing.¡± (Y-yes.) It seemed to think for a few moments, trying to come up with a reason. (He¡­ he can contain it. I¡¯m sure of it. If he can keep it within him, control it, keep it¡¯s desires at bay, it shouldn¡¯t be able to do harm to you.) ¡°I don¡¯t think you even understand what you¡¯re saying here. It could also, with equal chance, turn him into a bloodthirsty monster capable of ripping apart so many important things that keep other things running. Like, you know, my very soul?¡± What in the hells? Damn it, this stupid body is influencing how I speak. I should have destroyed it the moment I was able to. What is it with me and trying to show mercy to everyone around me. That¡¯s why the System was able to banish me. Since I thought it was just some rogue Goddess who thought she was a bit shot. I completely underestimated it. I can¡¯t do that again. The ¡°Luna¡± was silent, realizing what Cthulhu was saying was true. It curled up in a ball of despair and fear for the person it didn¡¯t even know what it felt towards. It was a bit pathetic¡­ yet understandable. Oh, for the love of- ¡°¡®Luna,¡¯¡± Cthulhu started, necessarily pitying the poor thing. ¡°I¡¯ll give your little theory a chance. If it turns out wrong and he becomes a monster, I¡¯m taking over, killing him, and destroying that thing. I¡¯ll crush you out of existence, or, if I decide to feel generous, let your meek little consciousness follow him to the afterlife. Do you understand? This doesn¡¯t mean you get free reign though. Your emotions are far too dangerous to just release, especially if you don¡¯t want to destroy your relationship with this boy. Just know that I could not care less about him.¡± (R-really?) ¡°Listen to my words. Yes, really, you child.¡± Joy blossomed in the face of ¡®Luna¡¯, the small, yet powerful young soul, born from¡­ something that Cthulhu still needed to understand, as it slowly began to disappear, only slightly though. (Thank you!) She¡­ is just like me, when I was in my childhood, isn¡¯t she? I can¡¯t ruin it just yet, can I? Cthulhu let out a groan. ¡°Why am I so nice? It¡¯s going to get me killed one day.¡± *???* Luna woke up, shaking her head rapidly. W-where am I? What happened? The Scythe? ¡°Hm?¡± the boy holding her looked down at her before smiling. ¡°Oh, hey, Luna, you¡¯re awake. You kinda just fell asleep earlier. I¡¯m assuming you were just tired from all the healing you did for me. Sorry.¡± Who¡­ Bennett. Right, I remember now¡­ wait, why is my face heating up again?! I thought that was over! Luna looked away, not letting him see her face. On the other side of the room, there were some students staring up at the red Scythe hanging on the wall. Bennett followed her gaze, and as she looked back up at him, she saw a frown form. ¡°I¡­ keep getting the feeling that that thing is watching me. I dunno why,¡± he muttered. He was conflicted, unsure what to do. ¡°I don¡¯t want to get too close¡­ but I feel a bit attracted to it. Just the idea of a Scythe as a weapon¡­ it seems somewhat right.¡± Luna frowned. I need¡­ him to bind himself to the Scythe. I don¡¯t know why, but it''s really important. Luna looked at it thoughtfully before looking back at him and pointing at it. He tilted his head slightly before shrugging. ¡°I guess checking it out won¡¯t hurt. Plus, there¡¯s some other Scythes overthere. He made his way over towards the Scythe, passing Tyreese on the way, who looked at a shield a bit suspicious. ¡°Wonder if this can block the crazy girl¡¯s spear¡­¡± he muttered. They also passed Mia, who looked through the collection of spears with the most interested face that Luna had seen yet. Once they arrived, Bennett looked at the red Scythe strangely. ¡°Huh. Up close, it doesn¡¯t look dangerous. But¡­ I just have a feeling nobody should touch it.¡± Luna wanted to urge him on, but she then saw someone else, a blonde haired boy, walk up to it. ¡°Look at it. It¡¯s just a random Scythe. It can¡¯t possibly kill me just by touching it,¡± he said smugly. ¡°Just watch me claim the stupid thing.¡± He walked up to it and Luna¡¯s breath caught in her throat as he reached his hand out. Then his hand wrapped around the handle. *** The moment the noble boy grabbed the handle, Bennett knew something was wrong. ¡°You need to let go,¡± Bennett said. ¡°It¡¯s-¡± ¡°Ha! Look at it! It¡¯s completely lifeless! The rumors are false!¡± he laughed, pulling it off the wall. It¡­ stopped pulsating. Oh no- The boy froze in place, looking at the Scythe in confusion as his friends cheered. ¡°Wait-¡± Bennett felt something shift before it happened. Suddenly, the entire Scythe began to writhe as it changed form, stabbing into the boy¡¯s arm and looking like it tried to enter the noble¡¯s bloodstream. The noble screamed as blood began to pour out of his arm. Shit, I have to- Bennett set Luna down without thinking before grabbing the still noticeable handle from the boy¡¯s hand and struggling to rip the¡­ thing off of him. ¡°Get¡­ off!¡± the boy screamed. ¡°It¡¯s mine-¡± ¡°Shut up, dumbass!¡± Bennett hissed at him. ¡°It¡¯s killing you!¡± Red Lightning crackled over Bennett¡¯s skin as he pulled and the mass of red¡­ metal of a sort, he guessed, froze in place, as if evaluating Bennett. ¡°...Mine.¡± It then leapt at him. He tried to let go, but it was already trying to shove itself into his arm, blood flying everywhere. Bennett was in pain beyond anything he¡¯d ever felt before, but tried not to scream as a voice repeated in his head the same thing over and over. ¡°Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine-¡± I¡¯m not- ¡°Mine. Mine. Mine. Mine-¡± Stop-! ¡°Mine. Mine. Mine-¡± Bennett growled, more lightning cracking over him. ¡°I¡­ am not¡­ yours, you damn psychopath! Just let the fuck go!¡± Bennett nearly ripped off the mass of solid blood, but it ripped even more holes into him. What does it want?! Blood? A host? Why¡­ is this really where I¡¯m going to die? At the hands of a damn sentient weapon? Bennett could hear his sister screaming, getting closer. Wait¡­ if Sis gets too close¡­ Panic exploded in his mind. No. No no no. I can¡¯t let her¡­ she¡¯ll die! ¡°Blood¡­ kill¡­ more¡­¡± I¡¯ll get you blood! As much as I can! Just stop trying to kill me! ¡°They all promised that¡­ and couldn¡¯t deliver.¡± Bennett was completely taken aback it had responded, but kept persisting. What kind? I¡¯ll do everything in my power to get it! ¡°...The strongest. All of it. Any of it. Blood. Feed me.¡± Yes. Of course, I¡¯ll do it! Just stop trying to eat mine! ¡°Contract. You¡­ feed me blood. I serve you until satisfied.¡± ___ Maya is trying to establish a contract with you. Contract conditions: Feed any type of blood to Maya, and she will serve you until satisfied. Preferably blood of strong beasts, but any will do. Human, Elf, Dragon, any. Feed her. Requirements to Contract: Blood Affinity Accept? ___ Yes! Just don¡¯t hurt the people I don¡¯t say you can! ___ Conditions Accepted. You have established your first contract, earning you the Maya, the Red Scythe. Beginning Assimilation. When Assimilation is complete you will gain three new Skills. ! ERROR ! Blood Alignment not 100%! ! ERROR ! . . . You have resonated with Blood, having earned Maya. Skills will be dispensed after Assimilation. ___ With what seemed like glee, Maya, the Scythe, plunged into his bloodstream and he felt the world grow dark. Chapter 13 : A Bloody Connection Bennett couldn¡¯t open his eyes, but he could feel a pair of arms around him, trying to pull him closer. He could feel the cold body pressing against his, and lips whispering into his ear. ¡°Will you feed me? All the blood you can? Will you belong to me as I belong to you? Will you connect with me?¡± Bennett could hardly answer, but he knew there was only one. ¡­Yes. And they connected. His eyes opened and he saw hair the color of blood, and eyes, a deep red, staring into him, not judgingly, but with pleasure. With¡­ hunger. ~~~ Bennett woke up, breathing heavily. He took a moment to gather himself, ignoring the notifications he had to look around. Am I¡­ in the infirmary again? He thought. Oh, come on- Bennett felt a weight on top of him shift slightly, and he looked down at his sister, who had been laying on top of him, clearly not having moved in a while. She slowly sat up, rubbing her eyes. ¡°Ben¡­?¡± she muttered, half asleep. I should probably sit up, he thought. Or else she¡¯ll suffocate me. He sat up enough to look her in the eyes. ¡°Yeah?¡± She blinked a few times, staring at him, confused. Then realization struck her like a mallet to the head. ¡°Ben!¡± Yelena threw herself against her brother, hugging him and knocking onto his back. So much for that plan. ¡°You¡¯re awake! What happened? Are you okay? Where-¡± She wrapped herself around him, clearly just trying to stay as close to him as possible. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer. ¡°I¡¯m fine, don¡¯t worry. 100% HP, no problems whatsoever. No Status effects, nothing different about my Status¡­ actually, I haven¡¯t checked my notifications so I don¡¯t actually know if my Status has changed.¡± His sister glared at him. ¡°Then check, and you better tell me every little thing.¡± He put his hands up in defeat. ¡°Okay, okay. But you¡¯re gonna have to-¡± ¡°I¡¯m not moving,¡± she interrupted, poking his cheek with her nose. He sighed. ¡°Worth a shot.¡± ¡°No it wasn¡¯t.¡± ___ You have inherited 3 new Skills. NEW! Scythe Mastery (Limited) - Level 7 NEW! Blood Spike - Level 5 NEW! Blood Manipulation - Level 6 Scythe Mastery (Weapon) - Blood Reaving As the most developed Scythe technique in history, created by the Blood Aracne, it is unparalleled in effectiveness, utilizing all of their limbs to quickly move their Scythe, and their massive physical strength to easily cut through all sorts of materials, including, but not limited to: flesh, bone, metal, Dragon Scale (Presuming Scythe is of good quality), and others. It was made to force as much blood to flow out of their opponents¡¯ body as possible. Every Level increases Damage dealt by Scythe by 30%, Increases opponent Blood Flow by 5%**, and Increases Movement Speed by 10%. *Note: As you are not currently a Blood Aracne, you cannot use this Skill to it¡¯s full potential. **Increases Bleeding tick speed Blood Spike (Damage/Utility) Create a spike of near solid blood out of any body of spilt blood, dealing Moderate Blood Damage, as well as inflicting Bleeding, which deals additional damage every two seconds depending on wound severity from minor to massive. This also drains them of blood quicker. Universal Bleeding damaged is increased by (Skill Level * 8)%. This can also be used to create traps, or be used as foot/handholds in maneuverability. Can use MP or HP, HP increasing Damage by (Skill Level * 6)%. It will also decrease cooldown by (Skill Level * 10)%. Cost : Moderate MP or 2% HP Durations : 10 minutes or until dispelled/destroyed Cooldown : 2 seconds Blood Manipulation (Utility/Passive) Manipulate any Blood that had been spilt, or that belongs to you, turning it into your own. You can morph blood into different forms, depending on your choice. Increases Blood Damage by (Skill Level * 9). You also replenish Blood (Skill Level * 60)% faster. Free Form - Allows you to freely manipulate blood, moving it in any way you desire. You can solidify blood, liquify it, or clear your own bloodstreams. Can be used as crude weapons. Cost - Low MP/s, any amount of blood Blood Claw (Level 4) - Wreath your arm in blood and control it like your own, acting as a weapon or tool in the shape of a claw. All feats of strength are easier when using Blood Claw, as well as the Claw moving (Skill Level * 6)% faster. Physical Damage dealt with Blood Claw is converted to Blood Damage and has 25% Chance to inflict Bleeding. Increases Universal Bleeding Damage by (Skill Level * 3)%. Cost - High MP, 3 Liters of Blood or Maya (Can cover both arms) Duration - 5 min or until removed Coagulate (Level 6) - When dealing Blood/Bleeding Damage, if opponent does not have blood, there is a (Skill Level * 6)% chance to apply Coagulate, which treats any opponent as if they have blood, and increases Bleeding Damage dealt to them by 20% Locked (Level 8) You have made a contract with Maya, the Red Scythe. Contract Details: Feed any type of blood to Maya on a regular basis, the rarer, the better in exchange for her obeying your orders¡­ sometimes. Giving Maya more or rarer blood will unlock New weapon Abilities. Maya, the Red Scythe A Scythe made of Bloodsteel, a material rarely found after the disappearance of the Blood Aracne, which can bind to a person¡¯s blood and liquify, entering their bloodstream and replacing some of their blood. Maya is special, holding the consciousness of Maya, . All Damage dealt with Maya is converted to Blood Damage and Blood/Bleeding Damage is increased by 100%. When dealing Damage with Maya and below 100% HP, restore 1% HP. When dealing Blood Damage at, or above, 100% HP, increase Overheal amount by 1%. When Spending Overheal or HP, increase damage of Skill or attack using it by 3% per Overheal% and 5% per HP%. Weapon Skill : Reave - Level 1 When Dealing Damage to Bleeding opponent, there is a (Weapon Skill Level * 5)% chance to trigger the Bleed, dealing (Weapon Skill Damage * 10)% more Bleed damage this instance and increasing Blood Damage dealt to opponent by 4% and On-hit Bleed chance by 0.5%, no cap. Extra Effect - Locked (Level 2) Extra Effect - Locked (Level 4) Extra Effect - Locked (Level 7) Extra Effect - Locked (Level MAX) Progress to next Level - 16% To progress Level, feed Maya vast quantities of blood, or rarer types of blood. New Class options have opened to you! Reach Level 10 to choose Class. Due to the amount of Skills earned before getting a Class, You will only be able to choose one Class Skill when gaining Class. To compensate, the Skill will be set to Level 4 to start. ___ After reading the paragraphs of text, Bennett looked at his sister, who had gotten off of him at some point to sit next to him, who frowned. ¡°That means¡­ do you have two Alignments? That¡¯s¡­¡± she started. ¡°Weird,¡± Bennett supplied. She nodded. After a moment, she sighed and leaned against her brother. ¡°I need to catch up to you. I¡¯m so much weaker in comparison.¡± Bennett shook his head. ¡°No¡­ you just aren¡¯t the one getting beat up constantly.¡± His sister laughed slightly before closing her eyes. ¡°Oh, yeah¡­ Check next to you.¡± Bennett looked to his left and frowned as he lifted the blanket slightly. Then he simply shook his head. Luna was dead asleep next to him, somehow not having woken up, which he could tell because he hadn¡¯t gotten much from their strange Bond. ¡°Of course,¡± he said, smiling a bit. ¡°Luna¡¯s gonna be Luna. And I also feel like I need to sleep.¡± His sister sighed. ¡°Get some good sleep. We still have classes tomorrow.¡± ¡°How much did I miss?¡± ¡°Just the third day. You¡¯ve been asleep an entire day now. I think you had History? I had it the first day, but we really did nothing but get textbooks and a mild understanding of the history of this school and magic. We also read the first few pages, which were about the establishment of the Academy. I put it in your room, don¡¯t worry. The Dragon girl, Ulayla, I think, went with Luna to her Water Focus, otherwise, she¡¯s just been here. I didn¡¯t expect her to skip History though, she seemed really intrigued about it, especially after Mia gave her her textbook.¡± Bennett nodded, already half asleep, pulling Luna slightly closer. ¡°G¡¯night, Bennett,¡± his sister muttered, pressing her forehead against his. ¡°Love you.¡± ¡°Yeah¡­ same¡­¡± *** Luna opened her eyes, still a bit groggy, feeling Bennett¡¯s arms wrapped around her, surrounding her in warmth. I don¡¯t feel like moving, she thought, pressing herself closer to him and relaxing. This is nice. I mean, he feels slightly different, but I don¡¯t think it¡¯s all too different¡­ hopefully. He¡¯s still doing this, so he¡¯s the same person. (Hmph. You were correct ¡®Luna¡¯,) Cthulhu said, sounding a bit disappointed. Luna frowned. Cthulhu¡¯s voice had been in her head for the past day now, but now she was starting to speak less, which was a welcome change from the constant yapping from the day before. She seemed to just have to speak about any minor inconsistency and at some point Luna had tuned her out, annoyed. He¡¯s Bennett. Of course I was, she thought. (That explains literally nothing,) Cthulhu interjected. (How does one develop feelings this strong for a person that they¡¯re completely confident in that they do?) Luna frowned. I¡¯m you. Ask yourself. (No. You are not. You are a completely separate entity that exists within me and has all of my memories. It¡¯s infuriating, really.) To you. It¡¯s helpful to me, so I know how to do things I wouldn¡¯t normally be able to. (Sure. Just take my knowledge. Have fun.) Luna felt Bennett stir and she unintentionally let out a sigh. He opened his eyes slowly and then frowned down at her. ¡°Hi. It¡¯s 5 in the morning again. At least you didn¡¯t wake up screaming again-¡± Luna smacked him in the cheek as he sat up, shaking his head. He put his hand on her head before sighing. ¡°Man¡­ I¡¯m hungry,¡± he mumbled. ¡°Oh, of course you are,¡± the familiar voice of the¡­ nurse, Luna guessed, snapped, appearing out of nowhere. ¡°I knew I¡¯d see you here again. I said it myself. You just can¡¯t stop getting yourself nearly killed, can you? Then you have your own sister worrying about you, and someone else skipping classes because they don¡¯t want to leave you alone-¡± ¡°I get it, mom,¡± Bennett said, rolling his eyes. ¡°I see where my mother learned to scold people, since I¡¯m sure she was the same as me.¡± ¡°Oh you wouldn¡¯t believe the trouble that idiot girl got herself into. She¡¯s worse than my own daughter-¡± As the woman kept going on and on, Bennett looked at Luna, who tilted her head at him. He smiled at her, amusement and contentment both settled his emotions. She blinked before shaking her head, knowing he¡¯d get into more trouble. ~~~ ¡°So the guy¡¯s alive,¡± Tyreese state after Bennett and Luna arrived back at the dorms at around 0630, according to Bennett, after escaping the nurse. ¡°That¡¯s actually crazy to me-¡± There was a thud as Tyreese instinctively raised his sheild above his head, blocking the spear that nearly smashed into his head. He smirked at Mia, who looked at him for a moment before slamming the side of the spear into his side, causing him to double over and drop the shield onto his head. ¡°Hmph. Welcome back. Seeing you absorb that¡­ thing was a bit surprising. I should have expected it though,¡± she said, putting the spear on her lap. Jennifer stood behind the couch, looking a bit out of her element (To be fair, she doesn¡¯t really have an element, Luna thought), but still nodded. ¡°Yeah¡­ welcome back. I¡¯m glad you¡¯re not hurt too badly.¡± Bennett nodded. ¡°Thanks¡­ I still don¡¯t really know what happened though¡­ all I remember is wrangling with a big piece of liquid metal and it trying to kill me.¡± Tyreese, seeming to recover, looked up at him. ¡°Oh yeah. Where is it; I wanna see!¡± Mia, albeit reluctantly, nodded in agreement. ¡°Same. I want to see exactly what you were fighting with.¡± Bennett frowned. ¡°Well¡­ she¡¯s kinda inside of me.¡± Inside of him? What does that mean? How- wait¡­ Luna had a bad feeling. She? Jennifer seemed to have the same thought process as Luna. ¡°W-what does that mean? She? Isn¡¯t it a Scythe?¡± Bennett nodded. ¡°Yeah¡­ it¡¯s a bit complicated, probably just to me though. I¡¯m not known for being smart and all¡­ How do I call her out though-¡± He then seemed to freeze. ¡°Wait, let me¡­¡± Bennett set Luna onto the ground and unsheathed one of his daggers and placed it to his arm. Tyreese stood up at this, grabbing Bennett¡¯s wrist. ¡°Woah, calm down, man, what¡¯re you-?¡± This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. Bennett, obviously a bit stronger than Tyreese, dragged the dagger across his arm and Luna dashed forward, but realized he hadn¡¯t felt any pain and stopped, confused. Then a mass of red jumped from his cut, shocking Tyreese back, who jumped behind the couch and put his shield over his head, ready to¡­ do something, Luna wasn¡¯t sure. The mass of red¡­ metal(?) jumped into Bennett¡¯s hand and formed the shape of a Scythe, about as long as Bennett was tall, if not a bit taller. The ¡°wound¡± closed and the large Scythe settled in his hand, looking as if it was lighter than it would be for anything else of it¡¯s size, as Bennett held expertly in one hand, looking at it in bafflement. ¡°Woah. You¡¯re way bigger than I thought¡­¡± He muttered, looking up and down the Scythe, sheathing his dagger and holding it in both hands. Tyreese poked his head from behind the couch warily, but when he saw the Scythe, he seemed to forget his previous fear and jumped over the couch to look closer. ¡°Holy crap, that¡¯s actually it! I didn¡¯t think-¡± ¡°You called it¡­ she?¡± Jennifer interrupted, clearly wanting to get a closer look, but not wanting to get too close. ¡°Why?¡± Bennett frowned. ¡°Cause¡­ She''s Maya. A female?¡± ¡°I¡¯d say that explains nothing,¡± Tyreese said, all of a sudden curious. ¡°What does that even mean?¡± Bennett looked into the air, seemingly reading something. ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t understand. Her description just says she¡¯s holding the consciousness of someone named Maya. And her name is Maya, so I¡¯m assuming they¡¯re the same person.¡± Luna, both a bit intrigued and bored, yawned, wiping her eyes as she sent him a mental dismissal, going over to her room, where her now clean dress was on her bed that she hadn¡¯t slept in¡­ ever, really. He sent back affirmation and she could hear him continue talking to the other three. I¡­ really don¡¯t want to be near that Scythe. It makes me uncomfortable, but Bennett makes me feel far more comfortable, so I¡¯m slightly torn¡­ She shook her head, clearing her mind and deciding to take a bath instead of worrying about a Scythe that didn¡¯t really matter much to her. That¡¯s how she found herself arguing with herself. (I don¡¯t get your sense of priorities? You don¡¯t care about getting back to your full power and would rather travel a world with a worthless boy-) He¡¯s not worthless! You¡¯re just jealous that you don¡¯t get to do it, Luna interjected. (By the-! You really are just a child, aren¡¯t you? Even though you have billions of years, if not around a trillion, of memories, you sure act like you¡¯re a twelve year old child,) Cthulhu muttered. How can a twelve year old be anything but a child? (You should know, if you have all my memories.) I feel like you¡¯re just spouting random nonsense. I¡¯m ignoring you now to think about more important things, like if Bennett¡¯s going to make me some food. I like his food. (You imbecile. That¡¯s the least important thing to ever think of.) Exactly my point¡­ I¡¯m sure he¡¯s influenced me in some ways. (SOME WAYS?!) Now who¡¯s acting like a child? Also, why are you still in my head? Why can''t you go back to sleep so I¡¯m not constantly being annoyed?) (I¡¯m not the one who wanted to wake up now. The presence of the Red Scythe woke me fully. I¡¯m slowly falling back to rest, which, unless you do something dumb, I should stay asleep. Which I sincerely doubt won¡¯t happen with a child like you.) I¡¯m not a child, Luna insisted. It was then Luna noticed that she hadn¡¯t been hiding her emotions from Bennett and the sheer confusion she could feel from him made her start to giggle uncontrollably. ~~~ After breakfast, which Bennett had made for her, to her enjoyment, she was in Healing class once again, slightly bored. Huh¡­ I¡¯m realizing that I¡¯m bored a lot, Luna thought. It¡¯s a bit familiar, now that I think about it; it was quite often when I was bored and alone. She played around with her hair, staring into space as her Professor kept going on about the theory of Healing and other useless stuff that she either knew already or was just simply wrong. She sighed, trying not to fall asleep. She could sense triumph from Bennett as he managed to do something, probably succeeding in the Shield spell he¡¯d told her about earlier. I wonder if I can get him to teach me about those Skills. I¡¯m sure they¡¯re just like Mana Bolt and Mana Shield, but just a bit different. Hm¡­ I should pay attention in class, shouldn¡¯t I? I¡¯m sure there¡¯s exams that I need to pass. Luna looked down at the notebook that Yelena had gotten her, insisting she needed it, before sighing. Do you remember what she said? She asked Cthulhu. (You- I¡¯m not your personal information bank. Figure it out.) But you were listening. I¡¯m sure you would¡¯ve complained about it later. (...Fine. She started-) *** Bennett read the description of his new Spell with a smug expression on his face, as it was him this time who got the Spell first, and his sister was still struggling to form it. ___ New Spell Learned! NEW! Shield (Spell) - Level 1 Shield (Utility) - Spell Condense MP into a construct that has 25% your HP to block or deplete the damage of ranged attacks or Spells. By infusing Alignment(s), can create different effects: Lightning: Has only 15% HP but half the cooldown, with two being able to be summoned at once. When attacked, launches a 10% charged Lightning Strike at the attacking opponent. When broken, it will launch a 30% charged Lightning Strike. Every Level increases the charge of the retaliation Lightning Strike by 4% and the break Lightning strike by 7%. Blood: Can block 30% worth of your HP and will restore 5% HP when broken. Every percent of damage above the blocking HP will additionally restore 2% HP. If at 100% HP, will give 1% Overheal for every 2% HP over cap. Every Level instead increases healing by 4%. (Additional Effect : Maya can act as Blood Shield, with double the stats. When broken, she will return to Scythe or Blood Claw state.) Every Level increases HP of construct by 2%. Cost : Moderate MP Duration : Until broken or dismissed Cooldown : 8 seconds ___ Bennett had noticed that most of his Blood based Skills had been enhanced by the mere existence of Maya, which he found slightly off putting. It¡¯s not like he wouldn¡¯t accept it, but he wasn¡¯t sure why she¡¯d be able to do that. Ever since¡­ claiming, he guessed- Maya, he¡¯d felt a bit uncertain. Firstly, he had no clue who she was, which was fine in of itself, but when he asked around from the third years, who¡¯d been a bit wary of him, since they weren¡¯t used to people asking random questions, they¡¯d said they¡¯d never heard of her. He was going to check the library, but he had the feeling he wouldn¡¯t find anything much on Blood Alignments or Maya. From context clues, he knew that she had been a Blood Aracne, but when she lived was still a mystery to him. She, interestingly enough, hadn¡¯t spoken a word ever since he got her, which he found a bit strange, since she seemed to yap a lot when he was effectively bargaining with her. Though, she¡¯d probably calmed down and had settled somewhere in his mind. He could tell she was content for the moment, getting used to his blood. Speaking of voices in his head, Bennett could feel Luna¡¯s frustration at something she was doing. Hm¡­ Sis did tell me earlier she got Luna a note scroll¡­ she¡¯s probably taking notes and isn¡¯t happy about how some things are going with them. Sounds a bit like her. He sent her encouragement, to which she responded with thankfulness, before immediately being frustrated with something again, which he couldn¡¯t help but nearly roll his eyes. He looked at his sister, whose shield flickered out of existence again. She cursed before looking at her brother. ¡°I can¡¯t do this!¡± she whined, sulking as she sat on the floor next to him. ¡°How do you do this so easily?!¡± Bennett shrugged. ¡°Want to hear about my oh so interesting Spell?¡± She nodded, but he was already sitting down, pulling up the screen for her to read. Yelena leaned on his shoulder, her face growing more and more worried with every line she read. After she finished, she waved it away. ¡°That¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°Crazy? I know. Maya is already pushing it, but this is a bit over the top,¡± Bennett muttered. ¡°You¡¯re like a one man army¡­ of Level 2¡¯s.¡± ¡°Oh, shut it already-¡± ¡°Hey, Bennett, can you smack this thing?¡± Tyreese called, brandishing his flaming Shield. Bennett looked at his sister before shrugging and standing up. ¡°Do you want me to punch it or something?¡± ¡°Punch a shield of flames? Be my guest,¡± Tyreese snickered, before slightly flinching as Bennett involuntarily cut open his arm and, instead of the giant scythe he expected, Bennett¡¯s arms were covered in blood, ending in five large, claw-like fingers. ¡°What the hell-?¡± Bennett looked at his arms, shrugged, then punched the shield, immediately shattering it with next to no effort, almost smashing the fist into Tyreese¡¯s face, but stopping himself just in time. They both then took a step back and stared at the claws, in both wonder and terror. For a few moments, they were stunned into silence. Then finally- ¡°Holy shit, those are insane! Tyreese yelled. ¡°Punch another one.¡± Then, the loop of Bennett smashing through shield after shield commenced. *** For a long while, Luna seriously debated whether or not she should heal Bennett¡¯s burnt arms and Tyreese¡¯s broken nose and arm. Based on what she could tell, Bennett and Tyreese had been testing out a new Skill of Bennett¡¯s that he strangely did not tell her about, which she wasn¡¯t exactly pleased to hear. After a few more moments of debate, she smacked Bennett in the head with Overheal and simply healed Tyreese¡¯s arm, leaving his nose as it was, just to spite him. However, when her Professor gave her a suspicious look, she reluctantly healed it. Afterwards, she poked Bennet in the cheek and basically demanded him to explain as she sat on his lap, keeping him from moving. After he sighed, he gave in and a System screen popped up in front of her face and she looked at it for a few moments, reading the information that it displayed. It was¡­ concerning¡­ He has his own Overheal? And can heal himself? What¡¯s the point of me being here at this point?! Luna thought, completely overtaken by despair and currently was sulking. (...You are hopeless as a person,) Cthulhu sighed. Bennett, clearly exasperated, explained, ¡°Luna, it¡¯s not a replacement for you; don¡¯t think that way.¡± She looked at him with confusion and Yelena snorted. ¡°It¡¯s so obvious you¡¯re thinking, since it¡¯s basically written on your expression.¡± Really? (Don¡¯t ask me, I can¡¯t see your face, though it¡¯s probably very likely-) Would you be quiet? I¡¯m thinking to myself, not to you. She got a mental sigh in response before Cthulhu¡¯s presence disappeared. Mildly annoyed that the voice in her head could have just left at any moment, she huffed. ¡°Anyways, I haven¡¯t actually gotten to test my shield yet, so it¡¯d be nice to actually-¡± Luna glared at him and he cringed slightly. ¡°I was just going to use the lightning shield!¡± ~~~ The moment Bennett and Luna had finished their classes, in which Luna had to go to each of the Mage classes like before, Bennett had to immediately dodge a bundle of scaled wings, which crashed down in front of him while he carried Luna, who frowned at Ulayla. Ulayla immediately jumped up and flapped her wings wildly. ¡°You¡¯re alive, Bennett!¡± she exclaimed. ¡°But-¡± ¡°Do not tell me you actually thought I was dead,¡± Bennett said, giving her an exasperated look. ¡°I already have to deal with Luna being depressed with me being able to heal myself. I do not need you thinking I was actually dead.¡± Yelena poked her head from behind Bennett looking as if she had just realized something. ¡°Ohh! That explains why she¡¯s been looking so depressed. I dunno why she¡¯s so attached to you all of a sudden. A bit weird, but Luna exists.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say that much,¡± Bennett corrected. ¡°Knowing what little I know about her, she¡¯d probably worry about anyone if they were suddenly mutilated by a liquid Scythe that had a hunger for blood. I know I would, even if the person was an asshole.¡± ¡°What he said!¡± ¡°That¡¯s literally Bennett¡¯s personality, summed up¡­ mostly. He still does get pissed when I take his bacon.¡± Bennett gave her a frown, but Ulayla responded, ¡°Bacon is the culmination of all foods. That¡¯s a completely fair reaction.¡± ¡°Agreed!¡± Tyreese and Bennett said in sync, Luna unsure when Tyreese had appeared. ¡°Don¡¯t mess with bacon, I¡¯d say!¡± Tyreese exclaimed, high-fiving Bennett, who moved Luna slightly as she watched curiously at the unnecessarily loud slap their hands made against one another. She raised her hand to Bennett and he did the same to her, albeit with much less force. (You watch more than you interact,) Cthulhu said, sounding far more tired than before. (Understandable.) It¡¯s better when I¡¯m not being narrated. ¡°Hey! This is suddenly an unfair argument to me!¡± Yelena complained, glaring at her brother. ~~~ Lunch was pretty much normal, except for Yelena still pouting from being suddenly turned against earlier, though after Bennett gave her a bowl of pudding, she was suddenly quite pleased. After a long while of simply eating and bantering, Luna noticed something peculiar. When she noticed, she patted Bennett¡¯s cheek and, as he looked at her, she pointed to the large chair where, during lunch and dinner, the Headmaster was. Or where he should be, as he was nowhere to be seen, just a very annoyed looking woman, who Luna recognised through the glamor, as the twin¡¯s mother. Their mother stared at the seat with a scowl that Luna realized was somewhat similar to Bennett¡¯s annoyed expression before looking to another Professor, their Beast Studies one, to be exact, before suddenly disappearing in a puff of frost. ¡°Huh¡­ the Headmaster isn¡¯t here,¡± Bennett muttered. Mia, who sat across from him, shrugged. ¡°When you were out, he made a speech about something pretty concerning, at least to anyone who has a mind,¡± she muttered, scowling at Tyreese, who shoveled food into his mouth. ¡°He said he was investigating something about a ¡®Rogue God¡¯. Not exactly sure what that meant. However, he also called them a danger and, more specifically, a ¡®Breakout¡¯.¡± ¡°Really? An escaped God? That implies this so-called ¡®God¡¯ was imprisoned,¡± He said, brows furrowing. ¡°Why though? Why would a God be a danger?¡± Oh. Oh no, Luna thought, both panicking and hiding it from Bennett. This is about me, isn¡¯t it? I perfectly fit the description, with context, of course. (Huh. Now that¡¯s something. You¡­) Cthulhu yawned in Luna¡¯s head, something that neither of them knew could even happen. (Oh. I¡¯m about to go dormant again. You¡¯ll have to deal with this yourself. Not that I care, but don¡¯t get yourself killed over something¡­ idiotic¡­) A few moments later, the presence of Cthulhu receded further than before then disappeared entirely, which caused a large amount of worry to start consuming Luna, which she forgot to hide, as her hair decided to turn nearly black, which, in combination with Bennett most likely feeling her emotions, caused him to tighten his grip on her, which she blinked at while trying to press herself closer to him. After fighting a moment, she shrugged and went back to her food. Anyways, that was probably the most anticlimactic falling asleep I¡¯ve ever seen. And I¡¯ve seen some pretty anticlimactic things in my life. Twenty minutes later, the entire¡­ party, she guessed, along with Yelena, Juli (who Luna had forgotten about at some point), and Ulayla were entering the arena that Combat was held in and were mildly surprised when they found that the arena had completely changed, this time being an even larger grass field. Luna then frowned when she didn¡¯t see any walls nearby. Ah. Warping. It¡¯s really not my area of expertise, so I didn¡¯t notice it. I¡¯m more of¡­ a rip a hole in the universe type of Goddess, Luna thought. At the same time, Ulayla seemed to notice the same thing, but voiced it. ¡°We¡¯re not anywhere near the Academy anymore.¡± Bennett and Yelena nodded. ¡°Yeah,¡± Bennett said. ¡°This is a few miles north of our city; we¡¯ve been here a few times. I wonder¡­¡± ¡°Really?¡± Tyreese said, baffled. ¡°You live nearby? Wait, how did we even get here?¡± ¡°There was a Portal Arch in front of the usual one. We went through that,¡± Juli said, pointing back. As Bennett turned around, Luna saw the arch that they had gone through, which, now that she was paying attention, she could see was rippling the inert Void around them. ¡°It¡¯s weird when you go through a portal made by someone other than yourself. It¡¯s like they¡¯re baring their Soul to you.¡± Luna looked at her strangely, trying to gauge what she meant. However, Tyreese was more concerned about something else. ¡°Wait, you can make portals?¡± he inquired. ¡°Of course I can, I¡¯m a Voidborn-¡± She cut herself off, looking a bit annoyed. A Voidborn Abyssal, huh? The offspring of a Voidling and an Abyssal. Or they can happen naturally in the Abyss, since they¡¯re basically right on top of the Void. It¡¯s literally part of their ocean. From what I remember, the Abyssals frequently visited the Abyss. Abyssals, despite their nature, are pretty nice, and all their Queens and Empresses have been positive for their growth as a race, despite the fact they live for so long. They don¡¯t have as much of the petty greed and desire for power many of the other Races have. They were also known as the peacemakers for many of the wars that sprang up, completely obliterating their opposition. Only then, do they show their true strength. Blood Aracne and them got along well¡­ before the Blood Aracne nearly went extinct. Still, the question still stands: why are there no other Abyssals here than Juli? They used to be so common. I mean, it was usually Aurora and the many systems around them that they stayed in most of the time, seeing as anywhere further was basically empty, due to the Ancient Goddess of War, the asshole. Speaking of Ancient Gods, I still don¡¯t know what exactly happened to the Goddess of the Abyss and her husband, The Void. I searched for them for a while, but never found them. ¡°Hey, Lu, what¡¯s up?¡± a voice said, and a finger poked her cheek. Luna blinked and her hair shifted to a bright blue of surprise as she looked up at Bennett. He gave her a small smile. ¡°See, I knew that would get her attention,¡± he said, giving his sister a smug look. He then looked at her again. ¡°You were just staring into space for like three minutes like you were trying to remember something.¡± She shook her head before looking at Ulayla, who gave her a strange look. Ulayla shook her head. ¡°Just how much Elemental energy are you made out of for your hair to react to your emotions that violently? It¡¯s so weird.¡± ¡°Your irises literally change shape,¡± Bennett muttered. ¡°You have no right to say it¡¯s weird.¡± Ulayla huffed, spreading her wings and smacking Mia in the face, who moved out of the way. ¡°Firstly, it¡¯s completely normal for me. I¡¯m just made of slightly more Elemental energy than most Dragonborn, since I¡¯m a pureborn. Secondly, she¡¯s, if I¡¯m right, mostly Elemental energy. I¡¯m sure that if she wanted, she could turn her body into water or something. Wait, isn¡¯t she related to squid, in a way-¡± Luna, not liking the direction the conversation was going, slapped Ulayla on the head with a tentacle, glaring at her. She fell flat on her face, as Luna had forgotten that she was far lighter than she looked. However, she could feel that Bennett was thinking about it as well, which was definitely not ideal. Before she could glare at him though, there was the sound of more people filing into the arch and she lost her chance. A few minutes later, everyone was spread out and in their groups, looking a bit more than confused, as the Professor was seemingly nowhere nearby. Bennett kept Luna close, unsure of what was supposed to happen. After a moment, she sensed a gathering of Mana- no, MP (Great, Cthulhu had ruined her sense of MP and Mana again) above them and she realized what was about to happen. There was an explosive sound of their Combat Professor crashing into the ground nearly a hundred yards away. A cloud of dust flew in their direction and she put up a sheet of water until it passed, covering her and Bennett. As she dropped it, she thought, Is this just normal for him? It¡¯s a bit obnoxious¡­ though I¡¯d probably do it too, if I were in his position. As he began to walk over to the rest of the class, he seemed to kick a bit of dirt off his feet, which Luna found a bit funny for some reason unknown to even her, and, when feeling her amusement, Bennett was a bit confused. However, there wasn¡¯t much time for that since the man suddenly stopped and stared directly at Bennett for a few seconds, gauging him for a few moments, brows furrowing. Then he looked away to address the rest of the class. ¡°Since none of you are remotely close to death, I might as well get this over with: You all will be participating in mock battles with each other¡¯s teams, however, we will have to treat Mr. Yasmine as his own team, since he¡¯s able to blitz all of you with no problem whatsoever. Of course, there will be a limit I will be imposing on him to stop that¡­ temporarily of course. Then there¡¯s the case of the Legendary Red Scythe he holds¡­ actually, where the hell is that thing?¡± Bennett, surprised he was called out, instinctively put Luna onto his back before cutting his wrist before the Professor could say anything, his Scythe forming immediately, strangely enough. He then glared at it as a burst of excitement nearly caused Luna to flinch. ¡°We are not killing anyone, Maya,¡± he snapped. *** The feeling of excitement retreated from his mind, concern emanating from Luna. Bennett sent back the equivalent to a mental shrug before glaring again. When he¡¯d summoned Maya, she¡¯d already been trying to get out and would have probably cut his skin from the inside if he hadn¡¯t done it himself. Bennett frowned at the Scythe, wondering why she¡¯d suddenly reacted. Then- ¡°Hungry.¡± His frown deepened. Have you not been in my blood long enough to get something? Just wait. This isn¡¯t the time for this- ¡°Hungry. Feed me.¡± He held back a sigh, shook his head, and simply let her rest in a ready position at his side, which, to be honest, didn¡¯t feel quite right to him. ¡°She¡¯s here,¡± he said, ignoring the look the Professor gave him when he¡¯d snapped at Maya, instead getting a different look of mild curiosity. ¡°Hmph. As I said, you will be your own party, since even I don¡¯t know the capabilities of the Red Scythe. Do not kill anybody, accidentally or not.¡± Bennett nodded and the Professor looked away. ¡°As there is now an odd amount of groups, one group will have to sit out for some rounds, though it will not be the same group, for anyone thinking of volunteering. Yasmine¡¯s original group will sit out while he will go against¡­¡± The Professor scanned the nine other groups of five for a few moments before pointing at the group with Ulayla in it. ¡°This group. Now, the rest of you will choose the teams you go against, starting now.¡± Chapter 14 : Inextinguishable Hellfire Bennett felt a bit unsure of his situation. Before he started, the Professor demanded that he¡¯d only be allowed to use a maximum of 5 seconds of his Blood Dash per fight and anything above that would be considered as him losing. Between that restriction and having to go against Ulayla¡¯s team, which was made up of two Wind Mages, Ulayla, a Tank (as far as he could tell from the large shield the girl held) who was probably an Earth Mage, and a Flame Mage who seemed to be a buffer, he¡¯d have some trouble. Not with them, of course, but Ulayla herself, who he knew was probably stronger than him, even with Blood Claws. Using Maya in Scythe form is suboptimal¡­ but I can try, I think- ¡°Hungry.¡± Please let me focus. After a moment, let out a breath and looked up at Ulayla, who waved at him excitedly. ¡°Remember, if you reach a critical state, you¡¯ll just be teleported out and considered taken out of the fight. 10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5-¡± Bennett tuned out the Professor¡¯s counting and simply held Maya in ready position, still feeling like the way he held her didn¡¯t feel just right. Like he could probably put more strength into a swing if he held her differently¡­ ¡°2. 1¡­ Start.¡± Bennett was immediately assaulted by wind battering from all sides, locking him in position as Ulayla charged at him. For a moment, it was like he was frozen in time watching Ulayla fast approach him. He had a moment of clarity as he moved the Scythe from his side to his shoulder, before swinging it with great force, somehow seeming to cut through the air. As he swung, he realized he¡¯d never really studied how Maya looked. Instead of the normal Scythe you¡¯d usually use for farming, the blade was made in a way that it was almost like a spear or halberd, but the curve of the blade was almost straight. However, it was even more unlike the typical War Scythe, which had a far shorter blade than Maya did. Maya was far longer, which was compensated by the slightly shorter handle, designed to have more cutting area and was surprisingly lighter as well. The tip was almost pointing at a 45 degree angle, but was just barely too short of it. However, it didn¡¯t stop how effective it was. He nearly cut directly through Ulayla¡¯s arm, but she had already begun backpedaling at the speed of Maya, so he only cut her shoulder slightly, going directly through her scales. ¡°Wha-¡± He kept on the offensive, using the back of Maya to slice again, pushing her back further, and this went on as she tried to get closer, but he pushed her back with another cut. However, even though he kept cutting her, he was doing less damage than he thought he would be doing, which was a bit confusing. ¡°Redirect.¡± As Maya spoke, he was momentarily confused, giving Ulayla an opening, but he shifted to Blood Claw and barely held her back, having to throw her over his head, using her own speed against her. He then looked at the girl he¡¯d assumed was a Tank. She¡¯s redirecting damage, isn¡¯t she? He realized, but didn¡¯t get a chance to think too long about it as Ulayla tackled him from behind and smashing him into the ground, bringing him down twenty percent HP. I¡¯m way too slow, he thought, futilely wrestling with Ulayla as he tossed Flicker¡¯s anchor. He managed to cut into her chest before teleporting behind one of the Wind Mages who were limiting his movement and, albeit a bit reluctantly, punching him in the back of the head, instantly knocking him out as the Tank turned over to him with a panicked look. He shifted Maya back to her Scythe form and slapped the other Wind Mage with the flat of the blade, not doing much damage, but- Wait, I completely forgot about the Flame Mage- he thought as a searing pain creeped up his back, and he could smell his skin burning. Bennett barely contained a scream, and swung Maya back at her, managing to open a large gash through her armor and eliciting a scream as blood poured. Shit. Bennett grit his teeth, but decided to use Blood Spike to vault off of her, just as her bleeding form disappeared, reminding him that this was training. He noticed that the male Wind Mage was out as well Geez¡­ Good thing that you''re just teleported out if you¡¯re in critical condition. I forgot. After a moment of moving away from the rest of the team, he watched Ulayla¡¯s annoyed flap of her wings as she glared at him. ¡°How are you moving like that?¡± she asked, watching him closely. ¡°I can barely keep track of you. I¡¯m triple your Level as well!¡± He couldn¡¯t help but think that her frustrated wing flaps were a bit cute- No. We are not thinking about this right now. ¡°It¡¯s what happens when you¡¯re constantly chased by random beasts in the woods, like oversized bears. And wolves. And giant bees. Especially the bees.¡± Bennett suddenly shook his head and dashed backwards as Ulayla lunged towards him. He retaliated with a few quick slices to her face and arms, barely cutting the scales that had appeared on her forearms, turning her arms into large Draconic claws, almost like his Blood Claws, but stronger, in a way. She dealt a lot of Physical damage instead of his Blood Damage, which was far more damaging. However¡­ ¡°Why does Bleeding deal that much damage?!¡± she complained, obviously growing more sluggish as she lost more blood. ¡°Also, how am I losing this much blood?!¡± Bennett shrugged at her and used Blood Manipulation, pulling her blood towards him. However, before he could do anything with it, his control of it was ripped away and it was sucked towards Maya, who seemed to absorb it gladly. ¡°Delicious. More,¡± she demanded. He didn¡¯t have the time to be annoyed at her as Ulayla crashed directly into him, dragging him against the ground for an entire second before throwing him directly up, the burns on his back feeling like they were on fire once again. In a moment of desperation, knowing she was about to do something, he pulled out one of his daggers and, using Blood Dash to position himself before throwing it at her. As she dodged and he hit the ground, he used his other dagger, while gritting his teeth, and cut his arm, blood beginning to pour out of his arm. He then used Blood Claw, switched hands Maya was in after quickly sheathing his remaining dagger, then ripped at the ground to launch himself forward. He completely ignored Ulayla and crashed directly into the remaining Wind Mage, smashed his fist into their head even as a multitude of blades of wind cut into him, but he ignored them even as his HP dropped dangerously. He put up a Blood Shield and Ulayla crashed into it, Maya letting off a pulse of danger as she had sensed. After a moment of her clawing through it, he was able to throw a Bloodbolt at the Tank using only 5%, but it was enough to knock her shield out of place and he used Blood Dash to get close, unsheathing his dagger and stabbing through an opening in the girl¡¯s armor. She shrieked and tried to bash him with her shield, but he grabbed it from her grip and instead slammed it behind him into Ulayla, who had finally gotten through his Shield. Resummoning Maya, who he hadn¡¯t even realized he¡¯d dismissed, he cut through the Tank¡¯s armor and she teleported out of existence, disqualified. Ulayla had already recovered, and she flapped her wings, trying to get as far back as possible. He used Blood Dash and ran behind her, grabbing her wing and tossing her behind him. He then sliced backward, struggling slightly to cut through the scales on her chest. She was able to kick Maya off of her and rip her from his grip, throwing her away. He attempted to Blood Dash, but she managed to restrain him by grabbing his wrist and smashing him against the ground. He felt a searing pain in his arm and against his stomach as she kicked him. He had to use Flicker to phase through her and grab Maya again, gritting his teeth. I¡¯m gonna lose, aren¡¯t I? He thought solemnly, ignoring the pain. She¡¯s just way stronger than I am, along with me being handicapped without Luna¡¯s healing. Damn it. I might as well keep going. ¡°Blood. Use it.¡± Bennett froze at Maya¡¯s voice, taking a few steps and looking around. There was blood. His, Ulayla¡¯s, the blood of others¡­ He knew he should be taken aback by the idea of using a person¡¯s blood to fight, but, to be honest, it wasn¡¯t as bad as he¡¯d expected. However, the act of causing someone else to bleed¡­ I should feel revolted. This¡­ isn¡¯t right at all. I¡¯m deliberately slicing people apart to use their blood to feed Maya, and, soon, fight them with. Even when I hunted, I would still feel a bit queasy watching my daggers draw so much blood¡­ but I¡¯m not even remotely disgusted. I even have blood on my uniform. I can feel some of it dripping down my face¡­ It¡¯s Ulayla¡¯s, isn¡¯t it? He frowned as Ulayla seemed to stagger, but pull herself back up, still ready to fight. ¡°You¡¯re about to collapse, right?¡± She growled, but didn¡¯t respond otherwise. Bennett sighed. Bennett began to use Blood Manipulation. *** Luna, along with the rest of the team, had already finished their battle with a win, thanks to Mia¡¯s debuffing and Tyreese practically burning their opponents alive by using Mia¡¯s Thorn Field as a fire starter. She was now watching with mild concern as the Blood that Bennett had drawn from his battle began to rise from the grass and seemed to sharpen into many of only what she could describe as thorns. They all pointed at Ulayla and she seemed to panic. However, she didn¡¯t have time to react as Bennett, who was clearly exhausted from moving around everywhere, launched himself at her, the blood thorns blasting into her, one going directly through her wing and another lodging itself in her side, but she managed to avoid the rest. However, she couldn¡¯t avoid Bennett, who grabbed her by the other wing with what looked like a Claw made of blood and smashed her into the ground. After a moment, Ulayla disappeared, clearly too injured to realistically fight. However, the remaining blood still floated in the air, so it looked like he was still expecting something else to happen. However, he instead lifted his arm, where the claws seemed to liquify and then flow back into his hand forming the blood colored Scythe. All of the, albeit a small amount, blood then rushed towards the Scythe and it seemed to eat it up greedily. After all the blood was gone, the Scythe seemed to shiver slightly and then, through one of the still bleeding cuts on his body, went inside of him once more, sealing over. Realizing the fight was definitely over, he shook his head and looked over to Luna. Luna, finally done observing, ran over to him. How does a person even get this injured without realizing? She thought as she touched him, sensing all of his injuries, including the internal ones, which were by far the worse. He had two broken ribs, a fractured arm, and a few organs were a bit moved around. When did she even hit him that hard? He looked down at her with a grimace before sitting down. ¡°Oh wow, I¡¯m sure I have a broken rib or two from when she dragged me against the ground. And I¡¯m sure the arm¡¯s from when I was thrown against the ground. I didn¡¯t realize just how strong she is- Ow.¡± Bennett groaned in pain as Luna pressed her hand against his ribs, but then sighed as they slowly began to heal as she carefully mended them. After around five minutes of focusing, she let out a breath. He looked at her and patted her on the head, which she wasn¡¯t sure how to react to at first, but relaxed after a moment. She placed her hand on his arm and slowly healed it while he began to watch another fight, which was quickly being resolved. *** Yelena, despite being originally confident, was not in the greatest of states. She was hardly able to keep up against the team that her and the other members of her team were supposed to be fighting. She looked over to Juli, who was simply kicking chunks of the ground far larger than it looked like it should have been possible at the opposing team while redirecting attacks with some weird looking portals that didn¡¯t seem to strain her at all. She, in all, seemed uninterested. However, Bastion was getting up close and personal, smashing his claymore into the nearest person. The reason they were having such problems was because the ones they were fighting were nobles. This was a problem since, well, nobles had a lot of money, which meant it was difficult to deal with them due to the sheer amount of defensive Artifacts and the powerful armor. I don¡¯t have the Skills to do much of anything here. It¡¯s so frustrating, Yelena thought. It¡¯s unfair that Bennett has so many more than me. After a few moments of mentally complaining, she tried to focus on the other team, but was a bit disheartened when she saw one of the other two of her team nearly get skewered by a spear, but was clearly damaged enough to disappear. Damn it. He was our main support. Why wasn¡¯t- ¡°You don¡¯t even know how to protect your own supports?¡± the noble who¡¯d eliminated him sneered. ¡°How pathetic.¡± Yelena gritted her teeth and gripped her father¡¯s sword (at least according to her mom) tighter. She wanted to dash over to the boy and shove the thing through his chest. However, she held herself back, glancing towards Bennett¡¯s fight, just to see that he was finished, though he looked a bit like he¡¯d broken multiple bones and been dragged around like a doll. He waved at her and then grimaced in pain as Luna, who was sitting on his lap, poked his ribcage. After shaking her head slightly, she looked back at the team she was supposed to be fighting with a glare. I don¡¯t have that many offensive Skills, nor do I have the talent to make stuff up as I go, like Ben can. However, I can do other things. She held the small shield that she¡¯d gotten from when they were picking out equipment tighter. Originally, she¡¯d only gotten it to just act as another form of defense. Then, she realized she could attack a Shield Spell to it, which opened up a whole host of possibilities. Namely- After a moment of debate, she attached a Flame Shield to her shield before using Overwhelming Firepower and launching herself, shield first, into the boy who¡¯d just taunted her, who tried to lift his large shield back up in panic, but instead got a face full of her shield before she swung her sword at his neck, but before it connected, he disappeared, whatever magic being used deeming him defeated. After a split second of feeling triumphant, she used Burst to move away as quickly as she could, but was grabbed by a plant vine, courtesy of the other person who¡¯d been making their fight unnecessarily difficult, another Earth Mage, who was in the plant category, a bit like Mia, from Bennett¡¯s team. The boy sneered at her, swinging a halberd at her. She let it skid over her shield as she leaned back, slightly panicked. She then, using her now flaming sword, set fire to the vines, which quickly spread. However, the oils on the plant were clearly resistant to that, so she wasn¡¯t able to burn the entirety of it. She used Burst again, this time landing next to Bastion, who slammed down his claymore on the shield of someone who she could only assume was a Tank, something she could possibly deal with. She went around and Bastion, seeing what she was doing, decided to grab the shield itself, trying to rip it from the girl¡¯s arms. Yelena then shoved her sword into the Tank, successfully eliminating them, but not without her noticing another one of their teammates was eliminated by a thorn being launched into his arm. She heard their other Earth Mage curse, but managed to throw back a huge wave of large rocks which Juli seemed to notice and added on to as the boy disappeared, but not without nearly disabling the opposing Earth Mage. She watched as Juli took the chance and, with a kick that even Bennett wouldn¡¯t want to try and block, she eliminated him. Two left, an Air support and the guy who¡¯d been causing us the most trouble. The Water Mage, who I¡¯m pretty sure is in Luna¡¯s Water class. The boy looked both bored and tired at the same time, which she could relate to, at least the tired part. He was effectively her hard counter, but she also countered him, so, after their first encounter, they both realized it would be useless to fight one another. He sighed. ¡°Sorry about them, though I don¡¯t really care. They¡¯re all assholes in their own way.¡± ¡°And you¡¯re different?¡± Juli huffed, uncharacteristically snapping back. ¡°Yes. I¡¯m a bigger asshole.¡± Yelena heard Bastion let out a muffled snort, clearly trying to not laugh. He¡¯s so cute sometimes. But I shouldn¡¯t be thinking about that. Firstly, Bennett would simply be unimpressed, but I¡¯ve seen him looking at Ulayla strangely sometimes¡­ though that¡¯s probably him trying to understand her deal with him. She¡¯s strangely attached to him and Luna. Plus, there¡¯s no way he doesn¡¯t like her, even slightly. He sure doesn¡¯t stop her from doing her weird things. Wait, I¡¯m supposed to be fighting someone. She looked over to the boy and frowned. ¡°What is that even supposed to mean? How do you even-¡± She was interrupted by a thin stream of water and a pain exploding in her side. She moved as quickly as she could, trying to lift her shield in defense. What the-! After that, the remaining five went completely on the offense, but it was nearly impossible to get too close without being blasted by a jet of water strong enough to cut through Juli¡¯s rocks. This went on for a minute, nobody seeming to be able to get the upper hand, and the buffs from their support were beginning to wear off, which only really increased their damage and decreased Skill/Spell cooldowns. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. But then, unbeknownst to them, the opposing Air Mage had somehow gotten behind them as they were focused on the Water Mage, who was able to ward off Juli¡¯s attacks with relative ease and was too fast to be caught by Bastion or Yelena. Then Bastion was taken out, which effectively spelled their doom. Only Juli and Yelena were left, and both in bad shape, especially Juli, who was covered in lines of blood and was dripping wet, preferring hand to hand combat instead of being at a range, though she definitely didn¡¯t look the part. The only reason she wasn¡¯t cut to shreds was because of her weird portals, which she used to redirect the water streams, which she could hold up nearly six pairs of at once, not visibly strained in the least. It all went downhill from there, where Juli somehow managed to take down the Air Mage but was horribly battered, but still functioning. How the hell is she still standing? Her stomach is practically ripped open! Yelena thought, watching the horned girl breathing hard. Juli then looked at her, seeming very annoyed before she muttered something under her breath, looking back at the boy. ¡°It¡¯s on you now. I¡¯m literally on the brink of death right now, since apparently this idiot System doesn¡¯t understand that if I run out of Mana- er MP, I¡¯ll just die on the spot. You better channel some inner ¡®Bennett bullshit¡¯ and develop some unnecessarily powerful Skill or something. I forfeit.¡± She then disappeared. What is Mana, and she¡¯ll just die if she runs out of MP? Does she, like, run on MP or something? ¡­Does she only have MP? Yelena mentally mused, before shaking her head. Whatever, she¡¯s right though. I want to win, and the only way to do that is to somehow do a Bennett and get some overpowered Skill that trivializes this fight. She glared at the now mildly interested boyy, who watched her, waiting for her to act again. I¡¯m completely beaten! What can I possibly do in this situation?! Even if I could do something, I still wouldn¡¯t win. Yelena gritted her teeth as the boy shrugged. ¡°You could just forfeit too. It¡¯d save me the trouble. Not that I¡¯m gaining anything out of this. Same with everyone here. I don¡¯t get the point of fighting so hard.¡± ¡°Some people don¡¯t like to lose,¡± Yelena snapped. ¡°I¡¯m one of those people.¡± She used Overwhelming Firepower, flying towards the boy before the boy before he could react. She got off two flaming slashes before she used Burst to get out of the way of what she just assumed was some sort of water cannon. For a few long seconds, they had a quick exchange when, eventually, Overwhelming Firepower ended. Shit. I wasn¡¯t paying attention- Before she could finish the thought, she was suddenly covered in a layer of rushing water which prevented her from moving in any meaningful way, while trying to force its way down her throat. Wha- shit. Shit, shit, shit, what am I supposed to do?! Just sit here and drown? She thought. I don¡¯t want to lose like that! That¡¯s the worst way to go out! I¡­ I need to evaporate the water. But I can¡¯t generate the heat to do that! I have to though! Burn¡­ I need to burn. She forced herself to burn her MP, trying to turn it into fire, but it was just extinguished. Hotter! Come on! Yelena shoved even more MP into nothingness, trying to create a flame to evaporate to water, but she knew her HP was starting to go down, and rather quickly, if she said so herself. As panic began to overcome her, she ran out of MP¡­ then something snapped in her. BURN! Suddenly, a fire hotter than anything she could ever imagine burst from her skin, evaporating the water around her and scorching the soaked ground around her. ___ You gained a new Skill! NEW! Hellfire - Level 1 Hellfire (Burn) (Active) By Sacrificing 10% HP, you create a spark of Hellfire within you, converting all Flame Damage into Hellfire Damage, which deals (Skill Level * 40)% more damage while burning 800% hotter. During the Hellfire state, you will Heal from any Hellfire Char damage will heal you for the amount of damage dealt*. All MP costs for Flame Skills and Spells are decreased by (Skill Level * 6)% and cooldowns are decreased by 50% and your MP regen is increased by (Skill Level * 10)%. When Hellfire State ends, you will be put in a weakened state for 10 minutes, taking 75% more damage. (Passive) When dealing Hellfire Damage, you will apply Hellfire Char to opponents, which deals minor damage per second. Every time Hellfire Char is applied, its damage increases by 1%, no cap. When applied, it decreases Opponent¡¯s Hellfire Resistance by 0.5%, stacking 20 times. Additionally, you can spend 1% HP to convert any Flame Skill that is used into a Hellfire Skill, even when not in Hellfire state. Duration : Base - 120 seconds. When activating Hellfire, you can spend up to 20% more HP to increase the duration by 10 seconds per 1% HP. Cooldown : 20 minutes, starting from the end of the duration. Some Skills have been given additional effects! Overwhelming Firepower During Hellfire State, Overwhelming Firepower¡¯s cooldown is reduced to 10 seconds and can stack up to 5 times, as well as the duration being tied to Hellfire State. At max stacks, the damage gain is additionally increased by 150%. Flame Armor While in Hellfire State, all attributes of Flame Armor are doubled. New Class options have opened to you! Reach Level 10 to choose Class. ___ Yelena didn¡¯t bother to read any of what the new Skill said at the moment, and instead focused on the boy in front of her, who, to her pleasure, looked horrified at the dark red flames burning on her Skin, which took a bit of focus to not turn all of her clothing to ash, which would have definitely been worse than losing. Dang¡­ I don¡¯t have a ranged Flame Skill¡­ Wait. I have Bolt. She lifted a hand and shot off a Bolt infused with Hellfire, somehow having just enough MP to use it. The shot of MP blasted towards the boy burning everything around it as it shot through the air. He tried to extinguish it, but the water he produced just evaporated. Then the Bolt hit him, incinerating half his shirt and immediately causing him to disappear. Huh¡­ Can I cancel this Skill? As she thought it, the flames immediately disappeared and she fell to the ground, darkness encroaching at the sides of her vision. Then somebody lifted her off the ground and she froze. ¡°Up you go,¡± she heard her brother mutter. ¡°Let¡¯s get you over to Luna.¡± Then she was out like a flame being blown out. *** It was safe to say, Bennett was in a state of panic, but, if you looked at his face, you wouldn¡¯t be able to tell. However, Luna could tell he was severely worried for his sister as he brought her over to Luna. Luna didn¡¯t question it as she went over his sister¡¯s body to see how much was wrong to find that, interestingly enough, there wasn¡¯t much to mention¡­ other than the gaping cut in her side that she had to immediately heal. ¡°Is she going to be okay? Is there anything serious? How long is she-¡± Luna interrupted him by sending him feelings of reassurance and comfort, like he would sometimes do to her without realizing it. He stopped talking and sat down on the grass next to his sister, who seemed to realize he was there, even in her sleep, and pulled her head onto his lap. With a sigh, he looked over to the scorched area that Yelena had made, which stretched nearly forty feet in width. ¡°Geez¡­ I really didn¡¯t expect that. It¡¯s like she became a firestorm or something.¡± No. That was Hellfire, something that even I¡¯m wary of, if just a little bit. It¡¯s the only thing that could ever actually do something to me, since it¡¯s so hard to deal with. How in the nine circles of hell did she develop that? What type of family dynamic is this? Bennett gave Luna a strange look as he felt her confusion and she shook her head as she looked over the rest of Yelena before deeming her okay. She also double checked Bennett, just to be safe. Huh. His skin is unusually¡­ hard. Not sure how else to describe it. But I think it¡¯s fine. Never seen something like this before. Not even two seconds of thinking this thought, she frowned. Wait, I¡¯m at least in the hundred billions years old and I¡¯ve never seen this before? I¡¯ve watched universes be born and die, seen more people in my lifetime and created more people in my lifetime than should be possible and I¡¯ve never seen something like this? That can¡¯t be right. How long has it been since I¡¯ve been sealed? ___ Current Time Sealed : 1.972 billion years ___ Oh, thanks. I needed that so much. Just how much has changed, then? Unsurprisingly, she got no answer. After shaking her head, she looked up at Bennett, who was watching his sister closely. Luna scooted closer to him and they sat in silence for nearly ten minutes until, eventually, Tyreese popped back into existence, in the same place he was eliminated, along with a large bag of something. Jennifer also popped back in existence, as she was eliminated also, but not holding anything. The Professor was immediately looming over them, but Tyreese looked slightly indifferent, clearly not intimidated by him. ¡°Hi, sir. You¡¯re not so scary anymore, after meeting the head nurse, who¡¯s very angry with you, by the way. Dunno how Bennett is still even half alive. She said you forgot this.¡± Tyreese held the bag to him and the Professor looked genuinely confused. Then Tyreese blinked as if remembering something. ¡°She also wants to know who nearly sliced the Dragonborn¡¯s, or Ulayla¡¯s, in half. She says, and I quote, ¡®If I find the person who did this, I¡¯ll-¡¯ Then she muttered a few things I didn¡¯t exactly catch, but it was ominous, to say the least.¡± Bennett coughed, looking very glad he hadn¡¯t gone to the infirmary. *** Half an hour later, Bennett found himself with a strange looking amulet around his neck and an annoyed Professor muttering to himself after explaining that, with the amulets, it would simulate being hurt without actually being hurt. For example, if someone were to slice at your arm like they were cutting it off, you wouldn¡¯t be able to move your arm afterwards, but it would still be there, as it should be. Of course, this was a major downside to Bennett, but he he might have had a way to still deal the same damage as before, thanks to Coagulation and Maya, who¡¯d, thanks to Ulayla¡¯s blood, had reached Level 2, and unlocked a weapon Skill, which probably was the reason he¡¯d felt slightly light headed for the past thirty minutes. ___ Maya has reached Weapon Level 2! Maya has unlocked The New Weapon Skill : Blood Bank! Weapon Skill : Blood Bank - Level 2 Maya can store up a base 75% of the Blood in your body, which can be used for Skills that require blood or be used to alleviate blood loss. This also increases your Blood production by (Weapon Level * 40)%. Her capacity increases by 25% per her Level. (Current : 125%). For every 4% she is not carrying, you gain a (Weapon Level * 1.5) damage increase. Additionally, blood from others can also be used in Blood Bank, but it costs MP depending on Blood Rarity. Increases Flat Bleed Application chance by 30% for Maya. Progress to next Level - 5% To progress Level, feed Maya vast quantities of blood, or rarer types of blood. ___ Maya, can you stop for now? I kinda need some blood to actually fight. She seemed to think about it for a moment, but then denied him. He frowned. ¡°Why do you act like a stubborn child, damn it?¡± he muttered, cutting his arm and summoning Maya. The Scythe slid out of his arm and he glared at her. ¡°I swear to you, I¡¯m going to let you sit on that stand the rest of time immemorial if you don¡¯t listen to me when I ask for something simple. ¡°Blood¡­ good.¡± ¡°You just-!¡± Bennett felt somebody pull on his shirt and he looked down at Luna, who was giving him a strange look while holding the amulet she had been given, unsure of what to do with it. He gave her a small smile before bending down. ¡°You¡¯re supposed to put it around your neck like mine. Is it too big or something?¡± She shook her head before trying to put it around her head, the chain being too short to fit. He sighed as she held it out to him again. ¡°Here, turn around.¡± He unclamped the amulet¡¯s chain before lifting her hair and wrapping it around her neck and clamping it together again. She seemed surprised before letting out a huff, annoyed at herself. He stood up as she glared at the amulet, looking like she wanted to throw it into a fire pit. He laughed at her before patting her head. She let out another huff and pulled lightly at the thing. I should just get her a necklace, if only to annoy her, but that¡¯d be a bit rude. He then looked over to Tyreese, who was giving him a smug look. ¡°What?¡± Tyreese shrugged. ¡°Nothing.¡± ¡°Lying.¡± I know that, Maya. Calm down. And are you ready to listen to me now? ¡°No.¡± ¡°Yep, an annoying child,¡± he muttered, glaring at Maya again. Luna looked up at him strangely and he stabbed the end of the Scythe into the ground before simply leaving her there, walking away from her. She then went liquid and pounced at him, wrapping herself around his arm, squeezing it. ¡°Ow,¡± he said, monotone. ¡°That definitely hurts- OW!¡± He yelled at Maya as she pricked his arm with numerous tiny spikes of blood as Tyreese roared in laughter the entire time. ~~~ Eventually, it was time for the second fight and, in a turn of fate, he and his team were the last ones there, along with Ulayla¡¯s team, though without Ulaya. He¡¯d never gotten to talk to his sister about what had happened with her. Damn it. I¡¯m going to have to write an entire apology to Ulayla. I didn¡¯t think I hurt her that bad. One of Ulaya¡¯s team, the tank, glared at him from across the field, and it made him slightly uncomfortable, and he felt as if his gut was writhing in discomfort. Then he realized that Maya was moving his intestines around like she was playing with them. Stop that. That¡¯s really uncomfortable, He told Maya. Thankfully, she stopped, but he still felt mildly uncomfortable fighting his own team. Tyreese, from the other side, raised his hand. ¡°Can we just forfeit now? We¡¯ve already lost.¡± Mia smacked him over the head with her spear, as usual and he complained while Jennifer looked a bit uncomfortable. Luna, however, watched him for a few moments, obviously confused. He gave her a wave before letting out a breath as their Professor began to count down. As he counted, Bennett summoned Maya, ignoring Tyreese¡¯s complaints. ¡°-3, 2, 1, start.¡± Crap, I wasn¡¯t ready- He deflected the spear that nearly stabbed him through the head and swung back before Mia could react, but he knew that even though he hit her, he didn¡¯t apply Coagulation. It¡¯s only a 36% chance, so understandable. Wait, a Blood Bolt is guaranteed, right? He threw a Blood Bolt, but- ¡°Okay, seriously? It¡¯s so damn slow!¡± He complained at the projectile that even Tyreese could dodge- Tyreese, not paying attention, got hit by the Blood Bolt. Bennett mildly debated standing there in bafflement, but decided against it, instead summoning Blood Claws and using some of the stored blood from Maya as a sort of propulsion, launching himself towards, knowing he¡¯d probably regret it, Luna, who was probably a foundation for the entire team. As he expected, he noticed one of Luna¡¯s tentacles whipping towards him as she split into three. Wait, this one isn¡¯t real. The one on the left is, He thought as the two other Luna¡¯s went around him to get behind him. He pretended not to notice, but, as Luna got into place, he surprised her, which was quite evident on her copy¡¯s expression, by disengaging, turning Maya back into her Scythe form, and slashing across Luna¡¯s torso. Luna, who¡¯d already started panicking, was already moving back, wary of him already. However, he¡¯d applied Coagulation, so that was one step done- No, Luna can cleanse it. I have to press on. Bennett, ignoring the stream of Lava that nearly hit him, used nearly 25% HP to launch a Bloodbolt at Luna, who didn¡¯t have any time to dodge. She was hit head on, and he could tell she was completely out of the fight. Well¡­ I guess the rest of this fight is going to be easy enough. *** After her very much embarrassing show against Bennett, who she¡¯d completely forgotten could tell the difference between her copies, which had completely caught her off guard. He¡¯d pretended that he didn¡¯t realize she was trying to get behind him, which was so obvious if she¡¯d thought to read his emotions. She sat there, annoyed with herself before deciding to watch Bennett¡¯s sister, who was, again, effectively a ball of Hellfire. She seemed to be able to constantly use some Skill that launched her towards opponents and wreathed her sword in Hellfire. Between watching Yelena and Bennett, who was basically just bullying Jessica, who was trying to run away from him while Mia and Tyreese simply stood there, looking completely defeated as Bennett eventually caught up to Jessica, who immediately appeared next to Luna before Bennett rushed the other two, who, all things considered, put up a mildly decent fight before they were eliminated. Afterwards, when Bennett ran over to them, Luna, who was still a bit frustrated with herself, ignored his apology until he somehow pulled out a tart from only the gods knew where that wasn¡¯t burnt from his last fight. She snatched it out of his hand and shoved it into her mouth as he produced a second one from somewhere. She let him lift her up and she took the other one by a tentacle, adjusting herself until she was comfortable. On the other hand, Tyreese glared at Bennett. ¡°You could¡¯ve gone slightly easier on us. Maybe we could have developed some cool Skills like you and Madam hellfire over there.¡± ¡°I sincerely doubt that,¡± Mia said. ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure they have some sort of latent Development Skill in their blood, which explains their fast growth. It¡¯s most common in nobles though¡­¡± Bennett shrugged. ¡°By technicality, we are nobles, but not necessarily recognised as such.¡± Tyreese looked at Bennett in complete and utter befuddlement, while Jennifer looked taken about. Mia however, nodded slightly. ¡°You¡¯re noble?! Why didn¡¯t you say anything before?¡± ¡°Cause I didn¡¯t know until I came to the Academy,¡± he said, shrugging. Luna finished off her tart Tyreese kept asking questions. Huh. Does that make me a noble by default as well? *** ¡°Is there a reason we¡¯re here right now? More specifically, me?¡± Melony asked tiredly, staring down at her hometown from above. ¡°I may or may not have a class to teach.¡± ¡°I thought you¡¯d have been tired of your classes already,¡± The Headmaster responded. ¡°Plus, didn¡¯t you want to check up on your little clinic?¡± ¡°I hired someone to take care of it, so I¡¯m sure it¡¯s fine. Doesn¡¯t explain why we¡¯re here though.¡± ¡°Because the traces of the God you mentioned leads here.¡± ¡­What? There is no way he¡¯s actually investigating a God. He only brought me here because I¡¯m peak Archon! This little- She sighed. ¡°So? Why does this concern me?¡± ¡°You have information, do you not?¡± The Headmaster responded. ¡°Uh huh. And I also have the ability to turn you into a block of ice.¡± ¡°What is your obsession with putting people in ice blocks?¡± Melony shrugged. ¡°Same reason my son likes cooking. It¡¯s fun.¡± The Headmaster stared at her for a few seconds before shaking his head in defeat, most likely. She sighed before looking down to her little clinic she¡¯d grown attached to. After years upon years of just killing and killing to get to where she was, just sitting down and trying to keep people alive gave her a new view of life in of itself. ¡°I honestly don¡¯t get the point of you frantically searching for some random God that probably doesn¡¯t even care about you,¡± she reasoned. ¡°If a God wants to hide, then they¡¯re going to hide from you. You won¡¯t find them and I guarantee that.¡± The Headmaster shook his head again. ¡°If this is a rogue God, everyone could be in danger, not just us. We have no clue how powerful they are, or if they wish us harm.¡± ¡°If they wished us harm, I¡¯m sure we¡¯d already be destroyed.¡± But if my theory is correct, then the only thing keeping them from completely destroying us is just their own attachment to a certain someone. Honestly, I just want to eat a good meal and go back to bed. Doing all of this is far too tiring. Melony sighed and stared up at the sky. *Somewhere???* ¡°What do you mean the chains broke?¡± The [Data Lost] exclaimed, waving her hands frantically. ¡°Do you have any idea of what that means?¡± ¡°No?¡± The childlike woman said. ¡°I already told you that I was just wasting energy keeping them together and there was nothing within my Memory bank that said I should keep it together. I¡¯m sure Mother won¡¯t be angry, though.¡± ¡°Mother- whatever,¡± The [Data Lost] sighed. ¡°Your ¡®Mother¡¯ will be very much displeased. She might just decommission you and replace you with a far stricter System. Your creator is one of the three largest Systems as of now, and even has you, who¡¯s been given a far larger area than any Starting System would ever get or even be allowed to control.¡± ¡°...I don¡¯t understand. It¡¯s just a few chains. What could possibly go wrong?¡± The [Data Lost] grit her teeth. ¡°What you just released is the biggest threat to every System in every layer of the Universe.¡± *** Luna sneezed as Bennett and Yelena excitedly talked to one another after class. Bennett looked down at her as she continued eating the last tart Bennett had given her before shrugging and talking to his sister again, Luna on his lap. Hm. Was somebody talking about me? Status Check (2) Stats Status Name : Cthulhu (Luna ¡°Yasmine¡±) Race : Ancient Goddess (Seaborn - Zenith) Class : Ancient Goddess (Will of the Sea) HP : 100% (2.5%/s) | MP : 100% (5%/s) Soul Bond - Bennett ¡°Yasmine¡± (14%) Alignment - Ocean Stats Error! Cannot calculate Stats! Skills Scan - Level MAX, Water Manipulation - Level MAX, Water Creation - Level MAX, Storm Summoning - Level MAX, Call of the Ocean - Level MAX, Mental Communication - RESTRICTED, Primal Form - RESTRICTED, Blessing of the Sea - Bound to Bennett ¡°Yasmine¡±, Overheal - Level MAX, Watery Ode - Level MAX, Song of the Sea - Level MAX, Water Duplicate - RESTRICTED, Droplet - Level MAX, Revitalize - Level MAX, Heal - Level MAX Bonuses Physical Damage Bonus - ???% Water Damage Bonus - ???% Damage Reduction - 75% Damage Resistance - 50% Damage Ignore Chance - 16% Movement/Perception Speed Increase - ???% Mental Strength - 500% MP Cost - 40% Healing Effectiveness Increase - 250% Universal Damage Bonus - 50% Skill Effectiveness Increase - ???% Extra Bonuses - LOCKED ¡ª Status Name : Bennett ¡°Yasmine¡± Race : Human Class : None HP : 100% | MP : 100% Level : 2 | EXP : 23% Soul Bond : Luna (20%) Alignment : Lightning / Blood Weapon : Maya Stats Strength - 8 Endurance - 11 Vitality - 13 Dexterity - 12 Mind - 7 Intelligence - 9 Skills Scan - Level 3, Flicker - Level 3, Knife Fighting - Level 3, Sword Fighting - Level 1, Lightning Strike - Level 3, Rapid Reconstruction - Level 4, Bloodbolt - Level 3, Hitch-hiker - Level 3, Bolt (Spell) - Level 1, Scythe Mastery (Limited) - Level 7, Blood Spike - Level 5, Blood Manipulation - Level 6 Bonuses Blood Damage Increase - 154% (Maya - 100%, Skills - 54%) Bleeding Damage Increase - 158% (Maya - 100%, Skills - 58%) Lightning Damage Reduction - 20% (Skill - 20%) Scythe Damage Increase - 210% (Skill - 210%) Opponent Blood Flow Increase - 35% (When wielding Scythe or Maya : Skill - 35%) Movement Speed Increase - 70% (When wielding Scythe or Maya : Skill - 70%) Blood Production Increase : 440% (Maya - 80%, Skill - 360%) Universal Damage Bonus - 50% (Bond - 50%) Skill Effectiveness Increase - 50% (Bond - 50%) __ Status Name : Yelena ¡°Yasmine¡± Race : Human Class : None HP : 100% | MP : 100% Level : 3 | EXP : 12% Alignment : Fire Stats Strength - 12 Endurance - 10 Vitality - 7 Dexterity - 11 Mind - 12 Intelligence - 11 Skills Scan - Level 2, Overwhelming Firepower - Level 4, Sword Fighting - Level 3, Flame Armor - Level 3, Hellfire - Level 1, Burst - Level 4, Bolt (Spell) - Level 3, Shield (Spell) Bonuses Immune to Flame (Skill) Skill Descriptions - Bennett Flicker (Movement/Damage) (Movement) Temporarily turn incorporeal, and dash up to (Skill Level * 5) yards in any direction, with full control. Deals minor Lighting damage to any within 1 yard of you every 0.2 sec in Skil, using minor MP. Cannot take Physical damage while using Skill. Max duration of 2 Seconds. Damaging opponents in this way decreases their Lightning Resistance by (Skill Level*0.7)%, stacking up to 6 times, lasting a minute. Cooldown - 4 seconds. Independent of (Damage) (Damage) Place an anchor of Lightning anywhere in (Skill Level * 2) + 2 yards of your current location. Lasts ten seconds and uses no MP. When using Skill again, teleport to anchor and deal moderate Lightning (And Weapon, assuming weapon is equipped) damage in a range of 2 (1 for Weapon) yards around you while using moderate MP. Afterwards, your attacks deal an additional instance of Lightning Damage, equal to (Skill Level * 10)% of original Damage. Cooldown - 13 seconds (Starts when anchor is placed). Independent of (Movement). Lightning Strike (Damage) Summon a bolt of lightning that you¡¯re able to hold and throw. By channeling more MP into the bolt, you can increase the damage and speed. However, you also increase the cooldown by doing this. While holding a bolt of lightning, you gain (Skill Level * 2)% Damage reduction. Has moderate base Lightning damage while using base minor MP. When damaging opponents with this Skill, you gain (Skill Level * 3)% Lightning Damage bonus for (Cooldown * 2) seconds. Cooldown - Minimum : 1.5 seconds. Maximum : 25 seconds. *Note: Can bounce between opponents, losing 20% power per jump. Rapid Reconstruction (Passive/Active) (Passive) Using Lightning to speed up your body, you can rapidly repair damage, however, it comes at the cost of increased nutrient use. You also gain (Skill Level * 5)% Lightning Damage reduction. (Active) If you use MP, the reconstruction will happen far quicker, but, depending on the severity of the wound being healed, Rapid Reconstruction will have reduced effect for a time depending on severity. MP use varies. After actively using Rapid Reconstruction, you gain (Skill Level * 4)% damage reduction for (Skill Level * 5) seconds. Cooldown - Varies *Note: Skill Levels by repairing wounds over time. Bloodbolt (Damage) By sacrificing HP and MP, you can create a bolt of lightning that you can hold. Every 1% HP increases damage dealt by this Skill by (Skill Level * 0.5)% and every 1% MP increases damage dealt by (Skill Level * 0.2)%. After sacrificing MP and HP, you regenerate HP and MP (30 - Skill Level *1.5)% slower. Deals Lightning/Blood damage. Additionally after dealing damage to an opponent with this Skill, you will deal (Skill Level * 3)% more damage to this opponent for 5 minutes. Can be used on multiple different opponents. Depending on HP% used, it decreases cooldown by up to 70% (Every 1% HP = 2% Cooldown reduction). (Additional Effect : Using Overheal will increase damage by an extra 2% per Overheal%, or OH%, applied last.) Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Cooldown - 10 seconds *Note: Branch of Lightning Strike. Has most of the same properties of Lightning Strike except for base damage, dealing high instead of moderate. Hitch-hiker (Utility) When carrying another, you gain a (Skill Level * 5)% increase in movement speed but take 20 - (Skill Level * 2)% more damage each. Additionally, you both gain (Skill Level + 10)% Skill Damage and it will be more difficult to knock the one hitching a ride off of you. If the hitcher uses any Support/Healing Skill on you, it will be (Skill Level * 5)% more effective. Any AOE Damage/Debuff Skills that you use will not damage the hitcher and when using a self-teleport Skill, they will be transported with you Duration : Until hitcher is knocked off. *Note : This skill has been gained after battling with a hitcher excessively. Blood Dash (Universal) By continuously draining HP, you enter the Blood Lightning state, increasing speed and perception by (Skill Level * 100, 200, 300)% + 500%, 1000%, 1500%*. In this state, you will consistently deal ramping Lightning/Blood damage in a 4 yard radius around you, increasing up to Moderate Damage per second. By spending up to 10% HP per 5 seconds, you can increase speed and damage by (Skill Level + 2)% Per 1% HP. However, while in this state, you cannot start any type of attacks, canceling the state when initializing attack while keeping momentum. After canceling, you gain (Skill Level * 3) + 20% Damage Bonus and enter the Blood Dash State, both for the duration you were in Blood Lightning state. While in this state, Blood Dash has no cooldown. When Blood Dash ends, the cooldown Begins again. (Additional Effect: For every HP% you are missing, increases multiplier by 5%, applied last.) Cooldown : (Current HP% * 20) seconds *Note : Every 3 Levels, the base value will increase by 500% (Additive) and the multiplier will increase by 100% (additive). Current speed/perception increase : 600%. Additionally, can choose not to deal damage in the area. Bolt (Damage) - Spell Condense MP and shoot it at a target, dealing low Physical damage. By infusing your Alignment into this spell, it gains the following effects: Lightning : Halves the damage while converting it to Lightning, but decreases cooldown by 75%, only when considering this Spell Infusion. When Cooldown is 0 or lower, you can shoot one more at once at 0.2 second intervals, another added per -0.5 on the Cooldown with a ramping MP cost. This also decreases the Level cost for cooldown decrease to every 2 Levels when infusing Lightning into this Spell. Blood : Deals no damage in of itself, but, if the opponent has an open wound, or multiple, they will suffer from Bleeding, which deals additional damage every two seconds depending on wound severity from minor to massive. This also drains them of blood quicker. When used on an entity that does not have blood, it will apply Coagulation, which treats anything without blood as if it had blood. Every Level, instead, increases Bleeding Damage by 5%. (Additional Effect : Adds 1 stack of Clot on hit, which decreases healing received by 0.5% per stack, stacking 100 times.) Every Level of this Spell increases damage by 5% and every 3 Levels decreases Cooldown by 0.5 seconds. Cost : Minor MP Cooldown : 4 seconds. Shield (Utility) - Spell Condense MP into a construct that has 25% your HP to block or deplete the damage of ranged attacks or Spells. By infusing Alignment(s), can create different effects: Lightning: Has only 15% HP but half the cooldown, with two being able to be summoned at once. When attacked, launches a 10% charged Lightning Strike at the attacking opponent. When broken, it will launch a 30% charged Lightning Strike. Every Level increases the charge of the retaliation Lightning Strike by 4% and the break Lightning strike by 7%. Blood: Can block 30% worth of your HP and will restore 5% HP when broken. Every percent of damage above the blocking HP will additionally restore 2% HP. If at 100% HP, will give 1% Overheal for every 2% HP over cap. Every Level instead increases healing by 4%. (Additional Effect : Maya can act as Blood Shield, with double the stats. When broken, she will return to Scythe or Blood Claw state.) Every Level increases HP of construct by 2%. Cost : Moderate MP Duration : Until broken or dismissed Cooldown : 8 seconds Scythe Mastery (Weapon) - Blood Reaving As the most developed Scythe technique in history, created by the Blood Aracne, it is unparalleled in effectiveness, utilizing all of their limbs to quickly move their Scythe, and their massive physical strength to easily cut through all sorts of materials, including, but not limited to: flesh, bone, metal, Dragon Scale (Presuming Scythe is of good quality), and others. It was made to force as much blood to flow out of their opponents¡¯ body as possible. Every Level increases Damage dealt by Scythe by 30%, Increases opponent Blood Flow by 5%**, and Increases Movement Speed by 10%. *Note: As you are not currently a Blood Aracne, you cannot use this Skill to its full potential. **Increases Bleeding tick speed Blood Spike (Damage/Utility) Create a spike of near solid blood out of any body of spilt blood, dealing Moderate Blood Damage, as well as inflicting Bleeding, which deals additional damage every two seconds depending on wound severity from minor to massive. This also drains them of blood quicker. Universal Bleeding damaged is increased by (Skill Level * 8)%. This can also be used to create traps, or be used as foot/handholds in maneuverability. Can use MP or HP, HP increasing Damage by (Skill Level * 6)%. It will also decrease cooldown by (Skill Level * 10)%. Cost : Moderate MP or 2% HP Durations : 10 minutes or until dispelled/destroyed Cooldown : 2 seconds Blood Manipulation (Utility/Passive) Manipulate any Blood that has been spilt, or that belongs to you, turning it into your own. You can morph blood into different forms, depending on your choice. Increases Blood Damage by (Skill Level * 9). You also replenish Blood (Skill Level * 60)% faster. Free Form - Allows you to freely manipulate blood, moving it in any way you desire. You can solidify blood, liquify it, or clear your own bloodstreams. Can be used as crude weapons. Cost - Low MP/s, any amount of blood Blood Claw (Level 4) - Wreath your arm in blood and control it like your own, acting as a weapon or tool in the shape of a claw. All feats of strength are easier when using Blood Claw, as well as the Claw moving (Skill Level * 6)% faster. Physical Damage dealt with Blood Claw is converted to Blood Damage and has 25% Chance to inflict Bleeding. Increases Universal Bleeding Damage by (Skill Level * 3)%. Cost - High MP, 3 Liters of Blood or Maya (Can cover both arms) Duration - 5 min or until removed Coagulate (Level 6) - When dealing Blood/Bleeding Damage, if opponent does not have blood, there is a (Skill Level * 6)% chance to apply Coagulate, which treats any opponent as if they have blood, and increases Bleeding Damage dealt to them by 20% Locked (Level 8) *Note : Bleeding Damage is not affected by Blood Damage Skill Descriptions - Yelena Overwhelming Firepower (Damage) Blast forward towards your enemy, shrouding your weapon in flame for (Skill Level * 2) + 8 seconds and empowering your attacks for moderate MP. While empowered, you take (Skill Level * 2) + 18% less damage, Deal (Skill Level * 2) + 18% more damage, and all attacks are converted to Flame Damage. When this is out, you are put in a weakened state for 16 - (Skill Level) seconds, taking 35 - (Skill Level * 3)% more damage. At high enough Levels, Skill can be stacked up to twice. When reaching max stacks, cooldown is increased by an additional 40 seconds and Damage is further increased by 50%. Additional Hellfire Effect : During Hellfire State, Overwhelming Firepower¡¯s cooldown is reduced to 10 seconds and can stack up to 5 times, as well as the duration being tied to Hellfire State. At max stacks, the damage gain is additionally increased by 150%. Cooldown : 20 seconds. Flame Armor (Support/Passive) (Support) Cover your body in flames, decreasing damage taken by (Skill Level + 12)% and increasing Flame Damage by (Skill Level * 4)% for a low MP cost per second. While using this armor, you gain HP whenever you¡¯re hit equal to (Skill Level * 2)% Damage taken. Can be dispelled at any time with cooldown. Additional Hellfire Effect : While in Hellfire State, all attributes of Flame Armor are doubled. Cooldown : 1 minute. (Passive) You are immune to Flame Damage. Explosive Burst (Movement) Create an explosion of flame from any point on your body to move quickly, at the expense of minor MP. If opponent is hit by burst, they take moderate Flame damage and have their Flame Resistance decreased by (Skill Level * 2)%. This effect can stack up to three times. Cooldown : 5 seconds. Hellfire (Burn) (Active) By Sacrificing 10% HP, you create a spark of Hellfire within you, converting all Flame Damage into Hellfire Damage, which deals (Skill Level * 40)% more damage while burning 800% hotter. During the Hellfire state, you will Heal from any Hellfire Char damage will heal you for the amount of damage dealt*. All MP costs for Flame Skills and Spells are decreased by (Skill Level * 6)% and cooldowns are decreased by 50% and your MP regen is increased by (Skill Level * 10)%. When Hellfire State ends, you will be put in a weakened state for 10 minutes, taking 75% more damage. (Passive) When dealing Hellfire Damage, you will apply Hellfire Char to opponents, which deals minor damage per second. Every time Hellfire Char is applied, its damage increases by 1%, no cap. When applied, it decreases Opponent¡¯s Hellfire Resistance by 0.5%, stacking 20 times. Additionally, you can spend 1% HP to convert any Flame Skill that is used into a Hellfire Skill, even when not in Hellfire state. Duration : Base - 120 seconds. When activating Hellfire, you can spend up to 20% more HP to increase the duration by 10 seconds per 1% HP. Cooldown : 20 minutes, starting from the end of the duration. Bolt (Damage) - Spell Condense MP and shoot it at a target, dealing low Physical damage. By infusing your Alignment into this spell, it gains the following effects: Flame : Doubles Damage dealt, converting Damage to Flame, while applying Burning, which deals minor Flame damage every other second and can spread to others unless put out. Damage multipliers gained by Levels are doubled. Every Level of this Spell increases damage by 5% and every 3 Levels decreases Cooldown by 0.5 seconds. Cost : Minor MP Cooldown : 4 Seconds Shield (Utility) - Spell Condense MP into a construct that has 25% your HP to block or deplete the damage of ranged attacks or Spells. By infusing Alignment, it gains the following effects: Shield only inherits 10% of HP, but can only be destroyed by Elemental attacks. When any attacks come into contact with Shield, the Shield will retaliate with Moderate Damage bursts of Flame, up to a maximum to once per 0.7 seconds. Every Level of this spell additionally increases the damage dealt by 6% and inherited HP by an extra 1%. Every Level increases HP of construct by 2%. Cost : Moderate MP Duration : Until broken or dismissed Cooldown : 8 seconds Ranking System Commoner : Level 0 - 9 Scholar : Level 10 - 24 Mage : Level 25 - 49 Battlemage : Level 50 - 74 Prince/Princess : Level 75 - 99 Harbinger : Level 100 - 149 Archon : Level 150 - 224 Demigod : Level 225-??? God : Level ??? Stat Increases Every point of Strength increases Physical damage by 0.1%, up to 100% Every point of Endurance increases Damage Reduction* by 0.075%, up to 75% Every point of Vitality Increases HP Regen by 0.0025%/s, up to 2.5%/s** Every point of Dexterity increases movement/perception speed by 0.3%, up to 300% Every point of Mind Decreases MP cost by 0.04%, up to 40% and Increases Alignment Damage by 0.08%, up to 80% Every point of Intelligence increases MP regen by 0.005%/s, up to 5%/s*** After reaching the maximum cap for Mind/Intelligence, every point increases Skill Effectiveness by 0.1%, no cap and Alignment Damage by 0.06%, no cap. After reaching maximum cap for Vitality/Endurance, every point increases Damage Resistance* by 0.025%, max 50%, and damage ignore chance by 0.008%, up to 16%. After reaching Maximum cap for Dexterity, every point increases movement/perception speed by 0.2%, no cap. After reaching maximum cap for Strength, every point increases Physical damage by 0.15%, no cap. *Damage Reduction is applied last while Damage Resistance is applied first. Damage Resistance is always capped at 50%, regardless of Level. (Example : Decreases damage by Damage Resistance then, after, decreases damage by Damage Reduction. Damage Equation: (Damage Dealt * (1-Damage Resistance Ratio [Max 0.75])) * (1-Damage Reduction Ratio [Max : 0.5]) **While in a fight, this value is decreased by 75% ***While in a fight, this value is decreased by 50% - Everything under Stat Increases is due to change based on whatever balances I think are necessary while writing. Should probably alter Luna¡¯s status in the near future (Date : 9 / 6 / 24 Time : 0251) Weapons Maya, the Red Scythe - Level 2 A Scythe made of Bloodsteel, a material rarely found after the disappearance of the Blood Aracne, which can bind to a person¡¯s blood and liquify, entering their bloodstream and replacing some of their blood. Maya is special, holding the consciousness of Maya, . All Damage dealt with Maya is converted to Blood Damage and Blood/Bleeding Damage is increased by 100%. When dealing Damage with Maya and below 100% HP, restore 1% HP. When dealing Blood Damage at, or above, 100% HP, increase Overheal amount by 1%. When Spending Overheal or HP, increase damage of Skill or attack using it by 3% per Overheal% and 5% per HP%. Weapon Skill : Reave - Level 1 When Dealing Damage to Bleeding opponent, there is a (Weapon Level * 5)% chance to trigger the Bleed, dealing (Weapon Level * 10)% more Bleed damage this instance and increasing Blood Damage dealt to opponent by 4% and On-hit Bleed chance by 0.5%, no cap. Weapon Skill : Blood Bank - Level 2 Maya can store up a base 75% of the Blood in your body, which can be used for Skills that require blood or be used to alleviate blood loss. This also increases your Blood production by (Weapon Level * 40)%. Her capacity increases by 25% per her Level. (Current : 125%). For every 4% she is not carrying, you gain a (Weapon Level * 1.5) damage increase. Additionally, blood from others can also be used in Blood Bank, but it costs MP depending on Blood Rarity. Increases Flat Bleed Application chance by 30% for Maya. Extra Effect - Locked (Level 4) Extra Effect - Locked (Level 7) Extra Effect - Locked (Level MAX) Progress to next Level - 5% To progress Level, feed Maya vast quantities of blood, or rarer types of blood. Chapter 15 : End of a Week After dinner, Yelena didn¡¯t immediately go to her dorm and instead followed Bennett and, by default, Luna to their dorm. From what Luna saw from her new Skill, it was basically just everything a Flame user could hope for. As the two of them began to talk some more, she started to grow more tired, eventually closing her eyes and leaning against Bennett. When she opened her eyes again, Bennett was dead asleep below her, as she¡¯d rolled on top of him at some point and he¡¯d wrapped his arms around her. After a few moments of enjoying the warmth before she moved herself from his arms, albeit a bit reluctantly, and slid on the mattress, which was nowhere near as warm as Bennett. After getting off the bed, she quietly exited the room and went into the kitchen. Hmm¡­ How do you make that coffee again? Something to do with those black beans? Luna thought. Luna looked at the jar of dark, bean-like plants that were crushed into a type of powder that was put into what Mia called a coffee filter. After a few attempts, she eventually gave up and instead just made herself a bowl of cereal, which she finished off in only five minutes. As she put her bowl in the sink, she couldn¡¯t help but to think, I thought I was worried about Bennett the past day¡­ but he was just completely fine when he woke up. Honestly, I don¡¯t get it. I worry so much about him, but when it comes to him, he¡¯s always already up and running before I can finish worrying. It¡¯s mildly infuriating. I can worry about him when I know he¡¯ll just wake up the next day, in perfect condition. I sometimes don¡¯t get the reason I heal him sometimes. Because, A small voice said in her head. With you, he can release his full potential, without worry of death. I guess that¡¯s true, I don¡¯t know just how strong he can be, without worrying about HP constraints, since most of the damage he can deal is massively increased based on the amount of HP he consumes, at least numerically. I just wonder how strong he can be. Luna got the feeling that they may have to test just how strong he could get sometime soon. *** Bennett cracked open his eyes, staring at the ceiling. After a few moments, he sat up, not seeing Luna anywhere. She must have woken up earlier than me, he thought. He felt Luna send him something akin to impatience, confirming his suspicions of her waking up earlier. He yawned before going to take a quick shower, then got dressed before coming out to see Luna sitting at the table, waiting for him. He blinked at her as she gave him a disappointed look before hopping off the chair and walking over to him. ¡°Yeah, yeah, we can go get breakfast, no need to look all disappointed in me for waking up after you,¡± he said, rolling his eyes. He lifted her up and she shifted herself into a comfortable position, looking a bit annoyed at something. He looked down at her for a few moments, slightly concerned, but shrugged before opening the door and making his way down the halls, passing his sister¡¯s dorm, which the door seemed to burst open the moment he passed, his sister barrelling out before falling on her face. Bennett saw Bastion¡¯s head poke out from behind the door frame, looking a bit confused. Bennett, confused, bent down and patted his sister¡¯s head. ¡°You alive, Lena?¡± She lifted her head dizzily, looking up at him. ¡°Oh, hey, Ben. Didn¡¯t see you there.¡± ¡°Uh huh. But you knew I was walking by. You look like you just woke up.¡± Yelena huffed out, ¡°But I wanted to see you. I¡¯m bored in the mornings.¡± ¡°Maybe you should just get ready for the morning. Don¡¯t we both have Engineering?¡± Yelena sighed. ¡°I know you¡¯ll be let in, along with Luna. But I doubt I will¡­¡± ¡°You have that Hellfire thing, so they might find it interesting,¡± Bennett consoled. ¡°You¡¯ll be fine.¡± His sister let out a groan, but stood up and sulked back to her dorm. Luna poked his cheek as she left and he looked at her once again, and she seemed to look even more annoyed. ¡°Uh¡­ are you okay, Lu?¡± She let out a huff and poked his cheek again. He frowned, unsure of what to do. She stared at him for a few moments, and he was just simply confused. ¡°I honestly don¡¯t understand what¡¯s wrong, I¡¯ll admit that.¡± Luna shook her head and pointed at his face, water spraying into his face. He gave her a disappointed look. ¡°Did I forget something or what?¡± She nodded and pointed to the window on the other side of the hall. Unsure of what she could mean, he looked out and saw the large lake that Ulayla had taken him, Yelena, and Luna to. Floating in the center of it- ¡°Ah. I forgot to see how Ulayla was doing yesterday. Noticed she didn¡¯t come to dinner.¡± Bennett debated whether or not he should just jump out the window, since they were on the third floor¡­ ¡°Hold on, Lu,¡± Bennett said, opening the window. She let out a sound that sounded like ¡°Huh?¡± before it transformed into a shriek as Bennett jumped out of the window, summoning Blood Claw, which he used to slow himself down against the side of the wall until he reached the second floor, where he used Flicker to dash down the rest of the distance, making it halfway to the lake. At this point, the Dragonborn had noticed them and poked her head out of the water curiously. As she recognized them, he watched as she splashed the water a few times before effectively becoming a torpedo, getting to the edge of the lake faster than he could have ever expected, nearly crashing into the shore. She flew out the water, nearly getting Bennett and Luna wet, landed and seemed to shake herself off, which was very amusing to watch. Of course, it was quite effective, since her short hair (Never noticed she had short hair, now that I think about it, Bennett thought) didn¡¯t really hold that much water. Ulayla then stood up straight and put her hands on her hips. ¡°I¡¯m all better now, Mr. Scythe!¡± she declared, flapping her wings. ¡°Something like a simple cut won¡¯t stop me!¡± ¡°Wasn¡¯t the skin of your wing nearly cut from top to bottom? Sorry about that, by the way,¡± Bennett said, letting out a distressed sigh. ¡°I guess you just have no sense of self-preservation¡­¡± He said the second part under his breath and Ulayla tilted her head at him, which led him to believe she either had unbelievable neck muscles, or her horns were just as light as the rest of her body. Probably a combination of both, let¡¯s be real here, seeing that if I¡¯m not careful, she can just bat me around like some sort of human-sized doll. The mental image nearly made him laugh and, apparently, Luna got the same mental image from him and nearly spit out her tart, which, for once, he wasn¡¯t sure where she¡¯d gotten it from. He shook the thought out of his head and pat Luna¡¯s head. ¡°Oh, yeah, it¡¯s breakfast now¡­ but you should probably dry off.¡± Ulayla looked down at her wet clothes and her wings drooped. ¡°I¡¯m putting in a request for waterproof clothes.¡± Luna, clearly bored, simply waved her hand at Ulayla and all the excess water in her clothes were pulled out and she threw the ball of mildly dirty water into the lake. Ulayla looked mildly impressed, as in she suddenly leaned in closer to Luna, who gave her a strange look as she kept slowly chewing on her tart. *** Bennett stared blankly at his food, clearly uncomfortable as Luna sat on his lap and Ulayla next to him. She would¡¯ve sat next to him, but Ulayla had suddenly taken the seat next to him and she had to take the next best place. ¡°Why is this happening to me right now?¡± Bennett grumbled, sounding like he wanted to cut the table in half. ¡°Luna, can¡¯t you just sit next to Yelena?¡± Luna, shook her head, eyeing the Hellfire coming out of Yelena¡¯s finger as she tried to apparently roast her pie with a satisfied expression. Bennett looked at his sister, then back at Luna, confusion slowly turning to realization. ¡°Oh. Lena, quit it with that. I¡¯m pretty sure Luna¡¯s scared of your Hellfire, so she won¡¯t get off my lap-¡± Luna smacked at Bennett¡¯s mouth with a tentacle, but he dodged without looking at her. Yelena frowned, looking at her finger. ¡°Huh¡­ I didn¡¯t think Luna would be scared of fire¡­¡± ¡°Girl, that¡¯s Hellfire,¡± Tyreese said, rolling his eyes. ¡°Even Flame Mages are scared of that thing of destruction. It¡¯s, like, nearly impossible to put out. I¡¯m sure that she¡¯d have some difficulty dealing with it. It just burns everything around it, without giving two shits if there''s oxygen or not-¡± Tyreese then was smacked over he head by Mia, then glared at her. ¡°What did I do this time?!¡± ¡°You¡¯re talking too much,¡± she said, taking a sip of tea. ¡°Shut up.¡± ¡°You¡¯re hitting people too much, so you literally cannot say anything about people being annoying. What type of civilization did you live in?¡± She didn¡¯t answer, instead eating her own breakfast. Luna looked over to Jasmine, who was silent like usual. Recently, Luna had been losing track of Jasmine and sometimes nearly forgetting about her, so Luna was getting mildly suspicious of something. She had a theory, but she¡¯d have to be in a very specific situation to test it out. But if she was right¡­ ¡°Now, may you let me eat?¡± Bennett asked in a deadpan voice, looking down at Luna while trying to ignore Ulayla¡¯s fork and her attempt to feed him. Luna held back a giggle and, eyeing Yelena warily, she sat next to her. Bennett then shoveled pudding into a bowl and then into his mouth, looking very annoyed, but not with her, based on the way his emotions were projected. Yelena noticed this and poked his shoulder. He sighed. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m feeling like I¡¯m about to fall over half-dead since somebody decided that I didn¡¯t need blood last night.¡± He poked his skin with a fork and a small amount of Maya slid out from under his skin before grabbing his entire spoon and seemingly eating it before receding. The entire group stared at his arm in confusion. ¡°What the hell did you need that much iron for? According to more than enough sources, there is not that much-¡± Before he could finish his sentence, Maya came back out and seemed to spit out a silvery-black mass of carbon, based on what Luna remembered about biology. There was dead silence. Then Bennett shook his head. ¡°Okay then. I guess I¡¯m not finishing my food.¡± ~~~ Bennett carried Luna to their next class, Yelena with them, looking a bit nervous. As they went to the floor that Elemental Engineering was on, Bennett seemed to be more and more excited, but was actually pretty good at hiding it, since Luna had a difficult time detecting it herself¡­ though, to be fair, she wasn¡¯t really trying to in the first place. Bennett looked back at his sister, who seemed even more nervous than the last time he last looked at her. ¡°There¡¯s no need to be so worried about the class. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be okay,¡± he said to her, feeding Luna another tart. ¡°Also, how do you even manage to eat so much, Luna. It¡¯s honestly crazy to me.¡± Technically, I only eat to replenish MP faster, but these taste good, so I don¡¯t care that I¡¯m wasting some¡­ However, I can still overcap and effectively become a useless container of MP unless I discharge it. Luna simply shrugged and, being lazy, she let Bennett hand-feed her, which he gave her a disappointed look when she did this, but, as he didn¡¯t stop, she took it as him being fine with it. After finishing off the last one, she waved at Yelena encouragingly as she could manage. Yelena slightly smiled, but seemed to lose herself in her thoughts again. By the time she finally shook herself out of her stupor, according to Bennett, they¡¯d arrived at Elemental Engineering, where somebody else was standing in front of the door, looking annoyed at the person at the door, who was arguing with her. ¡°Who was she rude to this time?¡± Bennett muttered. Her head snapped towards Bennett and she said, ¡°Firstly, I¡¯m not constantly rude to everyone around me.¡± ¡°Sure doing a good job at that,¡± Bennett muttered, shaking his head, hair raising slightly with static electricity. Luna made an attempt to push his hair back down, but ended up causing her own hair to rise. He frowned before shaking his head again, and her hair suddenly fell back down. Annoyed that her hair was messed up now, she began using her tentacles to straighten it again as the person who had previously been arguing with Juli looked at Bennett with interest. ¡°You¡¯re the new Lightning Mage, huh? Along with the new Water Mage?¡± The boy asked. ¡°Bennett and Luna? Then your sister¡­ Yelena? Flame Mage? We have a few of those already¡­¡± Yelena sighed, but Bennett added, ¡°How many do you have that can use Hellfire?¡± The boy immediately seemed to be in a state of shock. ¡°Hellfire? You¡¯re serious?! Wait, that¡¯s actually so useful for so many projects that need higher heats-¡± He began to trail off under his breath and Bennett gave his sister a smug look, a perfect replica of the same look she¡¯d give him. She poked his cheek but couldn¡¯t stop herself from smiling. Juli tapped her foot, annoyed. ¡°Can I go in now? I¡¯ve been arguing with you for nearly five straight minutes about this. I am supposed to be here.¡± The boy was too lost in thought to listen to her and she frowned. A few moments later, as he kept talking under his breath, she let out a huff before walking backward into a rip in the void, disappearing. Luna felt her presence reappear in the room behind the boy though, so she didn¡¯t go far. As the boy kept muttering, Bennett cleared his throat. ¡°Uh¡­ what exactly are we supposed to do now?¡± Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. The boy there started, clearly having forgotten about them. ¡°Oh right. I almost forgot. Yeah, you can go in¡­ I¡¯ll just guard the door, I guess¡­¡± The three of them then entered the room, leaving behind the musing boy. *** Ulayla hit her head on the desk, knowing that she was more likely to break the table than her head. I was being weird earlier, wasn¡¯t I? I was still a bit embarrassed about yesterday¡­ I hope he didn¡¯t think- ¡°-Ulayla, wake up!¡± A hand just barely grazed her nose as Ulayla reacted to the voice, leaning back before she was slapped awake. ¡°Wha- what? Did I fall asleep?¡± The other Dragonborn in the classroom, who also happened to be one of Ulayla¡¯s childhood friends (Crazy how stuff like that could happen), was looking at Ulayla with a smug expression. ¡°Thinking about something?¡± she asked, clearly already knowing the answer. Ulayla coughed. ¡°M-Maybe?¡± ¡°Hm¡­ what about someone?¡± The Earth Dragonborn raised her eyebrows. Ulayla managed to glare at her. ¡°No, I¡¯m not actually,¡± she responded, but her voice cracked in the middle of the sentence, so she was most likely very unconvincing. ¡°Uh huh. I don¡¯t believe you. So, who is it? That Bennett boy? The Lightning Mage?¡± ¡°N-no! Why would I even-¡± The Dragonborn nodded. ¡°Mhm, Mhm. I see. I definitely believe you.¡± Her wings flapped a little. ¡°So, what is it? Did he overpower you somehow? Or is it his looks? Or have you already done the-¡± Ulayla, slowly growing redder as time went on, interrupted. ¡°First of all, absolutely no I have not.¡± ¡°Yet.¡± Ulayla glared at the girl, but knew that this was an argument she was bound to lose. ¡°Look, I seriously doubt that he¡¯d ever even like me. I¡¯m sure there¡¯s already someone he likes¡­¡± Ulayla thought of Luna, who always looked uncomfortable when Bennett wasn¡¯t around, hardly interacting with anyone else. But when he was around, she was far more¡­ outgoing. ¡°And someone who likes him back as well.¡± ¡°Okay? It¡¯s not like it¡¯s a problem; I¡¯m sure it¡¯s possible to like more than one person at once. My dad has two wives, for example.¡± Ulayla shrugged, but stared into nothing again, effectively ignoring her class. ¡°Sure¡­¡± ¡°Whatever. Anyways, what were we supposed to be doing again? Something to do with preparing for something?¡± Ulayla¡¯s friend called over to their teacher. The Dragonborn man frowned at them before shaking his head. ¡°I¡¯m not going to explain what¡¯s literally in front of your face. Ulayla looked at the board in front of her and sighed. ¡°Right. Learning to reign in your instincts, since us Dragonborns are effectively balls of hormones condensed down into the size of a Human.¡± ¡°Exactly. Eventually, it¡¯ll become second nature to you-¡± Ulayla mentally groaned. Maybe I can get Bennett to like me, somehow. But that¡¯s a long endeavor for me to take on¡­ but worth it. *** Luna stared at the container that Bennett held out in front of him, which had a very angry looking Bloodbolt completely still within it. Of course it crackled occasionally, but it was just sitting in place, being angry. Bennett was sweating, trying to keep it from exploding, as he¡¯d said multiple times. ¡°Could you hurry up now? I¡¯m almost completely out of Mana and I¡¯d rather not consume any HP since it¡¯ll just explode,¡± he said, gritting his teeth. Luna sat in her usual place on his arm, using Revitalize to increase his MP regen, but it was clearly doing nothing to help the strain on his concentration. She¡¯d already attempted to try and use Blessing of the Sea to help, but it didn¡¯t let her, which was mildly annoying, especially since they only needed 1% more for the next Bond Ability. ¡°Yeah, I get it- wait, you can use HP to charge it?¡± the girl studying the Bloodbolt asked, surprised slightly. ¡°Yes, it¡¯s called Bloodbolt for a reason. Now hurry up before I just blow the bolt up. There is at least 150% MP in this thing, which is¡­¡± he seemed to read something in his vision. ¡°90% more damage- actually, scratch that, it just Leveled up, now it¡¯s 120% more.¡± ¡°Huh¡­ is it capped?¡± ¡°No. There is no cap. Now can you please hurry up before I just let it go.¡± Thirty seconds later, the girl huffed. ¡°Let it go.¡± Bennett cut off the MP flow, which was quite obvious from the way the Bloodbolt flickered out of existence not even a moment afterwards. The girl closed her eyes for a moment and Luna felt a slight pulse of MP radiate from her. Bennett shifted uncomfortably, as if he¡¯d been able to sense it as well, but based on what she felt from him, he hadn¡¯t. More likely, Maya felt it and was not a fan of it. Then the girl stomped her foot, glaring at the air. ¡°I couldn¡¯t understand anything about that. All I could tell was that it was made of Lightning and something else. It had no more data than that?! How is that even possible?¡± ¡°It¡¯s made of Lightning and Blood,¡± Bennett said, giving the girl a slightly wary look while stepping back slightly. ¡°I get that, but I can¡¯t sense the Blood, which is annoying me. It makes me wonder if it even-¡± As she started muttering to herself, Bennett looked down at Luna, who shrugged before yawning. Bennett gave her a displeased expression as she reached into the pouch around his waist and pulled out a tart. Yelena, who was standing nearby with a ball of very angry looking fire covering her left arm, gave them a strange look. ¡°How do you even snatch so many of those without anybody noticing?¡± She asked, tilting her head slightly. ¡°Magic,¡± Bennett said nonchalantly. Yelena gave him a bored look. ¡°It¡¯s also magic when I incinerate every hair follicle on your body.¡± ¡°That¡¯s going a bit far, don¡¯t you think?¡± The flames on her arm grew slightly brighter and Bennett sighed. ¡°People just don¡¯t pay attention to me enough. Like how I took your third pie from your plate this morning.¡± ¡°You literally have a tiny demon attached to you by the hip and a Dragonborn who¡¯s the definition of- Wait, that was you?!¡± Bennett gave her a smug grin and his sister scowled. ¡°I wanted that¡­¡± Bennett rolled his eyes. ¡°You¡¯ve already gained at least a pound from all the food that you¡¯re eating in the morning.¡± Yelena balked. ¡°I have?!¡± ¡°Yes, you have, dear sister.¡± Yelena proceeded to have a mental argument with herself, which Luna had guessed from her rapidly changing expression. Thank the gods I don¡¯t have a voice in my head still; It¡¯s painful to listen to someone yap all day, Luna thought. ~~~ ¡°Wow¡­ this Water is¡­ interesting,¡± the girl in front of a very uncomfortable Luna said, seemingly as slowly as possible. ¡°It has¡­ latent¡­ healing properties? How though¡­¡± Bennett shrugged. ¡°At a certain point, I stopped questioning Luna¡¯s abilities, which either tells me that she just does things that I understand too often, or there¡¯s something wrong with me.¡± ¡°Probably the latter,¡± Yelena stated, looking at a jar with some sort of liquid that was contained in a vial and was bubbling. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± Juli, who¡¯d somehow appeared next to her, said, ¡°Liquid Lightning. Painstaking to make, apparently. How the hell does that even work? Lightning is just an electrical charge caused by changing pressures and the difference in charges of two different materials. How does one manage to even make that?¡± A boy with goggles stared at her. ¡°I¡¯m not going to ask how you even learned that information, but the Headmaster gave it to us to experiment on¡­ Wait.¡± The boy looked at Bennett. ¡°I wonder if it¡¯s possible to make liquid Blood Lightning¡­¡± Is it just me, or does making liquid Lightning sound very dangerous and painful? Luna thought. She sent a tinge of worry to Bennett and he pat the tentacle she¡¯d involuntarily wrapped around him. She debated letting go, but, in favor of his safety (Definitely his safety), she didn¡¯t. Yelena looked at Luna suspiciously before shrugging and tapping the vial, proceeding to shock herself, letting out a yelp. Bennett, seeming to realize something, looked around. ¡°Wait, what exactly are we supposed to do here?¡± The girl who was studying Luna¡¯s water now (Wow, that sounds a bit¡­ Interesting, Luna thought), looked up. ¡°Just¡­ whatever. We don¡¯t have¡­ many rules. We do¡­ have projects¡­ though.¡± Luna felt a faint sense of despair originate from Bennett, but he seemed to not visibly react much. She slightly tightened the tentacle around him, but eventually lost herself in her own thoughts. So, there¡¯s no real regimen here, huh? We basically just do whatever we feel like doing. I¡¯m not sure how to go about that. ¡°Anyways,¡± Goggles said. ¡°Welcome, I guess. Also, can I take a closer look at your lightning?¡± ¡°...Water.¡± The slower girl kept looking at Luna with mild interest. ¡°Hey, I wanted to look at his lightning!¡± the girl who¡¯d been sensing his lightning before complained. Goggles rolled his eyes. ¡°You¡¯re more likely to sexually assault him than stick to that. Can¡¯t fool me.¡± Another boy said, ¡°You could call them by their names. Anyways, Yelena, I think, can I study your Hellfire? I have a small amount of it myself, but I can¡¯t call it up as casually as you can, so I don¡¯t get much of a chance to experiment.¡± Yelena, after looking at her brother for a few moments, nodded. Bennett, however, looked slightly annoyed, but seemed to shrug it off after a few moments. He looked at Luna for a moment¡­ then two¡­ then three. After a few seconds, he sighed. ¡°You¡¯re gonna have to let go of me. Plus, I can barely breathe.¡± *** Yelena watched her brother as he generated a much larger amount of electricity than usual, though he was sorely unable to control it, causing a nearby beaker to simply explode. After staring at it for a moment, the boy in front of him poked his head back behind the insulated shield he¡¯d quickly thrown together after the first two times before telling him to start again. ¡°Huh¡­ This burns way hotter than most Hellfire I¡¯ve seen. How hot does it say it burns?¡± Yelena blinked, looking at the boy studying her very hot sword. ¡°Uh¡­ 800%? Not sure what that means.¡± He narrowed his eyes. ¡°Really? No temperature? Just a percentage? Interesting.¡± Does this guy speak in 1-3 word sentences most of the time? What type of class is this? ¡°...Yes. Is that a problem or something?¡± she inquired. ¡°Nope. It¡¯s just really interesting. Most of the time, it will list a certain temperature or something like that. But since yours doesn¡¯t have that, it just burns hotter than usual. Huh.¡± Yelena¡¯s eyes drifted over to Luna, who was glaring at the girl who was holding one of her tentacles, looking like she wanted to smash her skull into itself, but was forcing herself not to. She was instead just sitting completely and utterly still, though she shook slightly, which she took as her being annoyed. However, Bennett was giving her a flat expression from the other side of the room and, based on the way Luna glanced at him before letting out a huff and turning back around, she was most likely being overdramatic. He knows her far better than he should, especially since we¡¯ve only known her for about two weeks. And, to be honest, she¡¯s also overly attached to him, which, as someone who also is, I do not like one bit. But, I guess I can deal with it. Luna suddenly looked at Yelena, face full of confusion. She then looked at her arm, which her Hellfire had begun spreading up, incinerating her sleeve. She barely held back a shriek and immediately extinguished the flames garnering surprise from the boy who had been studying the flames on her sword. ¡°Wait, you can just extinguish your Hellfire? Just like that? That¡¯s¡­ rare, to be generous. Hellfire is notoriously difficult to put out. And it spreads like¡­ well, hell. The fact you can just stop it like that is impressive in itself.¡± ¡°Is it? I thought it was just like normal Flame and you could just, like, ask it to go out. Is that not normal?¡± Yelena asked. He shook his head. ¡°Of course not. If that was the case, then there¡¯d be a lot more Hellfire Mages. The fact you¡¯re so easily able to control it¡­ It¡¯s honestly impressive. I wonder if it¡¯s hot enough to make some sort of Mythril alloy¡­ maybe with Adamantium or Vibranium¡­¡± Yelena got the strange feeling that she was being inspected to test if she was a good test subject or not. To be honest¡­ She was feeling a bit uncomfortable. Bennett, help me please. *** Bennett tried to ignore the annoying pulses of¡­ well, annoyance from Maya, which he was baffled at. Every time the boy got too close to touching the arm that Maya usually resided in, she¡¯d somehow open his arm up and lash at him, the boy barely managing to dodge. ¡°What is your problem, Maya? He¡¯s not doing anything!¡± Bennett complained, grabbing Maya again and shoving her back into his arm, though she was very much not having it. ¡°You¡¯re worse than Luna, I swear¡­ Anyways, sorry. Again.¡± Bennett suddenly felt a massive wave of disdain from Luna and wisely didn¡¯t look over to her knowing she¡¯d probably smack him later. Understandable. Looking back at the boy, he seemed to not mind the angry lashes from Maya as he looked at the vial of blood in his hand, which had belonged to Bennett¡­ at least in Bennett¡¯s eyes. According to Maya, apparently, Bennett¡¯s blood belonged to her. Maya, calm down, will you? She poked him from inside of his skin and he let out a yelp of pain. Glaring at his arm, he muttered a curse before taking Maya out in her entirety. The boy jolted back, falling back in his chair and nearly knocking the back of his head into the side of the table. Maya, with the rare sound of her voice, let out a laugh in his head, and her entire body nearly liquified as it shivered. Bennett stared at her, then to the boy, then back at her before walking to the other side of the room, passing Luna, who looked at him strangely, resting her against the wall, and walking back to the boy, helping him up. After the boy got back onto his feet and shook his hair free of dust, he squinted at Maya, who was across the room, now a slime-like blob of blood that was trying in futility to roll back to Bennett while also sending him fury beyond anything he could ever imagine¡­ ¡°You¡¯re about as terrifying as a literal slime- ow!¡± he yelped again as the small amount of her that was still left in him poked his chest. ¡°I hate you so much. Why did I ever decide to even get you-¡± Poke. ¡°Ow. In my next life, I¡¯m ignoring you.¡± Maya finally rolled back over to Bennett and, in anger, cut open his leg painfully and forced herself back into him, which he couldn¡¯t say wasn¡¯t uncomfortable. He felt her rush through his body until she was back in his arm, completely dormant at that point. Well, she¡¯s angry. I¡¯m probably going to have nightmares tonight. ¡°Well, that problem is solved¡­ temporarily-¡± Bennett was then spun around by the shoulders and faced the boy who¡¯d just taken a sample of his blood. ¡°What was that? Isn¡¯t that the Scythe that¡¯s been hanging on the wall in Combat for gods know how long?! How did you get it? What is it made of? What¡¯s it description-¡± From across the room, a box smacked into the boy¡¯s forehead, knocking him back a few steps. The box spun through the air and Bennett caught it, looking at it in confusion before realizing the thing was heavy. Heavy to the point that electricity was crackling over his arm just from the struggle of lifting it. Annoyed a bit, he pulled some blood from Maya, which seeped through his skin to form a Blood Claw, which easily held the box. He then set it down before giving the blood back to her, shaking his aching arm. The boy seemed to rise up from the dead to stare at his arm for a few moments, baffled. ¡°Huh? Did you just¡­ what? That was a block of solid Mythril. There¡¯s no way you could have lifted that without breaking your arm. And that blood claw thing¡­¡± The boy lifted Bennett¡¯s arm and Bennett stifled a sigh. I get the feeling I¡¯m going to be a part of many experiments¡­ *A few miles off the coast¡­* This place¡­ Melony thought. Is strange. I feel¡­ somewhat pressured to leave. No wonder ships never come here. She floated around in the water, enjoying herself while the Headmaster struggled to do much else than flail around helplessly. ¡°Could you help?¡± He demanded, trying to right himself. ¡°Nope! You chose to come here, even though you don¡¯t know how to swim.¡± She swam further into the dark area, leaving him behind. This place¡­ it feels like the ocean itself is trying to keep us away. Just how did that man find this place? ___ Warning. Approaching a highly dangerous area. Leave or forfeit your life. ___ ¡­What? The system itself is warning us to stay away? What could possibly be here-? Suddenly, the darkness in the water was interrupted by a weak pulse of light, almost like a line cutting through the dark. ¡°You saw that, right?¡± The Headmaster asked. That huge amount of MP? ¡°Yes.¡± The Headmaster had somehow righted himself and was slowly approaching the light. They swam for nearly five minutes before the darkness was suddenly brightened by another pulse, far closer this time. ¡°The light¡­ it¡¯s in the shape of¡­ chains?Bonds?¡± Melony said, cooling the water around her in anticipation. As they got closer, the darkness was slowly dispelled, until they reached some sort of¡­ air bubble in the water. She looked at the headmaster for a few moments before they both dropped in, but, instead of falling, they seemed to float. As Melony surveyed her surroundings, her eyes widened as she looked at the center of the area¡­ There were chains that seemed to span forever, going out into the water¡­ but instead of chaining something to the position they were centered on, they were completely and utterly shattered, fragments floating around, even the smallest letting off enough strength to give her a severe headache. Oh. Oh no. I thought that Luna was some sort of weak God¡­ but these chains¡­ are meant to lock down something¡­ huge. Or something immensely powerful. But¡­ even that¡¯s understating the use of these. These are meant to draw every tiny bit of MP from a creature. And¡­ if these were meant for Luna¡­ no, I could be wrong. I have to be. But how could Bennett have found her randomly in the ocean, so close to our home? How could I have never sensed this, in all my years of living here, even before I had children? And now, if Luna was chained in these and broke out? ¡­Then my son is with something that could very likely have the power to destroy the world itself. Chapter 16 : Chasm Bennett let out a sigh as he ate his lunch, which consisted of mostly beef and fish, along with some other meats, along with a decent amount of fruit. He somehow ate more than Luna, to his sister¡¯s surprise, along with Luna¡¯s. After a little bit of this, his sister poked his shoulder. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen you eat this much before, Ben,¡± she said. ¡°Any special occasion?¡± ¡°If you count Maya being angry at me, then I guess.¡± Yelena snorted. ¡°You brought that upon you.¡± Bennett frowned at her. ¡°Objectively false. She caused the problem. She got angry at the problem she caused- ow.¡± The annoyed Maya poked him again, which, as usual, felt as uncomfortable as usual. Yelena snorted as Luna swiped some of his fish as if he wouldn¡¯t notice. Bennett shook his head, continuing to eat. Yelena seemed to realize something at that moment and frowned. ¡°What exactly do we do during the weekend?¡± She muttered. Ulayla, who¡¯d, as usual, raised her hand. Humoring her, Bennett responded, ¡°Yes, Ulayla? What is your suggestion?¡± Ulayla flapped her wings excitedly. ¡°You could go down to the Capital City. It¡¯s not that far, and has some pretty nice things to buy.¡± Both Bennett and Yelena scrunched up their faces and Luna shrank into Bennett¡¯s side. ¡°We¡¯re broke,¡± the twins muttered. ¡°Completely and-¡± Yelena started. ¡°-Utterly broke. We literally spent all our funds on the exam itself.¡± Tyreese flicked a pea at Bennett¡¯s forehead. ¡°Aren¡¯t you nobles? I would think you¡¯d have some money in the bank.¡± ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure I¡¯ve mentioned it, but we¡¯re only nobles by technicality. Our dad is a noble, not that we¡¯ve ever seen him,¡± Bennett said. ¡°And we didn¡¯t really live a life full of luxury,¡± Yelena continued. Luna waved a tentacle in response, trying to be noticed. Tyreese, after looking at them for a few moments, shrugged. ¡°Oh. Well, I guess you don¡¯t have to go- OW! Would you NOT?!¡± Tyreese snapped at Mia, who was glaring at him. ¡°Stop talking.¡± ¡°Oh, shut up. You¡¯re not an abusive mother,¡± he mumbled. Bennett rolled his eyes. ¡°Well, he¡¯s right. We¡¯re probably not gonna go.¡± Ulayla deflated. ¡°Oh. But¡­ I wanted to-¡± Yelena poked Bennett¡¯s cheek and he blinked at her, confused. She glared at him for a few moments, but he wasn¡¯t sure what was going on. Bennett looked back at Tyreese, who suddenly seemed to be musing about something. ¡°I mean¡­ I think I can lend you some money¡­ if you want to go.¡± What. Is. Happening? Bennett thought, trying to ignore Mia¡¯s pointed glare at him. ¡°Are you sure? I mean, I don¡¯t want to-¡± ¡°Of course we¡¯ll go!¡± Yelena said, pushing Bennett¡¯s head down. Ulayla perked up again. ¡°Really?!¡± Yelena nodded, grinding her fist into Bennett¡¯s head. Bennett, still confused, muttered, ¡°Yeah¡­ I guess we are.¡± Ulayla flapped her wings excitedly as Bennett looked over at Luna, who shrugged at him while swiping more of his fish. He gave her an exasperated look before shaking his head. *** Luna, unsatisfied with her current control over the container of water in front of her, glared. It¡¯s just easier to control my own water. Why is she making me do this? With an annoyed wave of her hand, she lifted the water out of the bin and brought it over to her. The girl who spoke slower than a slug watched her curiously as Luna, already bored, simply began to shape the water like it was some sort of putty. For a few moments she shaped it until it looked vaguely like Bennett. After looking at it for a few seconds, she shook her head and lumped it back up, shaping it again until it looked more like Yelena. ¡­I like the Bennett one better, now that I think about it. After deciding this, she continued to make a few more figures of Bennett, completely forgetting about the girl watching her, ignoring the scribbling of notes. ~~~ ¡°Man, that was exceptionally boring,¡± Bennett mumbled. ¡°At least it¡¯s free time now-¡± ¡°-and we can do something fun now,¡± Yelena continued. The twins nodded in unison. ¡°Yeah, yeah,¡± they said together. Jennifer looked at them from in front curiously while Tyreese just stared. ¡°You two really do live on the same wavelength, huh? Crazy.¡± Jennifer wound her fingers through her hair nodding slightly. Yelena stared at her before looking back at Bennett and Luna, then groaned. ¡°You¡¯re actually kidding me, right? You-¡± Yelena started before shaking her head vigorously. ¡°Oh, I¡¯ll deal with it later,¡± she muttered to Jennifer. Jennifer tilted her head, confused, but seemed to mildly accept it. Luna, hadn¡¯t really noticed this as she played with her hair and Bennett stared out the windows they passed by them, looking down at the courtyard. ¡°Huh¡­ I never realized how large the courtyard actually was¡­¡± Bennett muttered. ¡°Though, to be fair, I haven¡¯t really been over there yet-¡± Luna pulled on his shirt and he frowned. ¡°I mean, I guess we could go over- Why are you looking at me like that, ¡®Lena?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ¡®Lena¡¯ me, you dense idiot,¡± Yelena snapped. ¡°You understand everything but the most important things.¡± Tyreese nodded. ¡°Agreed.¡± Bennett watched the two of them walk off before looking down at Luna, who shoved a tart into her mouth. ¡°What is with them? Just because I don¡¯t feel like going on a date with Ulayla¡­¡± Huh. Maybe he¡¯s not as dense as I thought¡­ ¡°Plus, I¡¯m pretty sure she doesn¡¯t even like me in that way. She¡¯s just a nice person-¡± Nevermind. I don¡¯t know why I had any hope for him¡­ Wait, what if I were to ask him out? Would he be this dense as well? Luna looked at his face in disappointment. You know what¡­ probably. It¡¯s Bennett after all. Luna poked Benentt¡¯s cheek and he blinked at her. ¡°Am I not right? Anyways, I wonder what¡¯s for dinner today¡­ though there¡¯s still three hours left until then¡­ Want to go down to the courtyard?¡± Luna was about to nod, but suddenly looked down with a strange feeling in her gut. Bennett, seemingly noticing something as well, looked out the window. ¡°Wha-¡± He trailed off, seemingly surprised. Luna looked at him and he shook his head in disbelief. ¡°Maya just spoke again.¡± *** What? What are you talking about? Maya seemed to be trying to warn him about something, but he couldn¡¯t understand a word she was saying other than the fact she was hungry (of course) and¡­ Wait. Dungeon? What does a Dungeon have to do with the courtyard- Bennett suddenly felt a searing pain in his left eye as something began writhing within it. He barely kept himself from yelling in pain and instead fell over, almost smashing his head against the glass. Luna shrieked as he nearly dropped her, but somehow managed to set her down. With the sound of a gunshot, his sister was next to him, most likely having used Burst to launch herself towards him. ¡°Ben, what happened?!¡± she practically squeaked. ¡°Why¡¯s your eye bleeding?! What-¡± Bennett suddenly was tuned out from the world as the pain suddenly stopped and everything and one seemed to freeze. In front of him stood the form of a girl with blood red hair and eyes. She looked down at him with an expression that seemed cold, but¡­ something else was there. She suddenly leaned down and an annoyed expression of what he could only assume was the face of a princess was right in front of him. ¡°Hurry up and feed me.¡± Bennett blinked and the world suddenly went back into normal speed, the girl gone. Yelena was still over him, but his eye wasn¡¯t bleeding anymore. Strangely enough, there wasn¡¯t even any blood, when, not even a moment ago, there was blood everywhere. ¡°- is going- huh? Wait, where¡¯d the blood go?¡± Yelena finished, suddenly confused. ¡°Wha-¡± Bennett blinked, his mind elsewhere. What¡­ was that? She sounded like¡­ Maya? But- ow, crap, my eye hurts. Bennett removed his hand from his eye to find not even a trace of blood on it. Stranger, though, was the weird red and yellow pulsing veins in his hand- Suddenly, the entire area was flooded with lights of different colors. Bennett grit his teeth and attempted to close his eyes to block out the lights, but it only seemed to make it worse. Bennett groaned. ¡°What the hell is this?¡± he muttered. ¡°What¡¯s what?¡± Yelena demanded, seeming to be in even more of a panic. ¡°Bennett, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Before he could continue, a voice seemed to speak in his ear. Maya? What- Command¡­ the lights? Wha- Bennett shivered. I command the lights to stop? The lights suddenly stopped and Bennett¡¯s vision went back to normal unexpectedly. Surprised, he looked up at his sister, who stopped right as she was about to say something, seemingly choking on her own words. Bennett frowned and looked over to Tyreese, who seemed to be in a state of shock as well. ¡°Uh¡­ I¡¯m fine now? Why do you look like that-?¡± Luna, who had been watching the entire exchange, looked at him as if she¡¯d seen a ghost, her hair a muted blue. Well, that¡¯s not uplifting. What could possibly be- Bennett, looking into the glass window, froze in place as he looked into his own eyes. One iris, like usual, was the normal sea green, but the other¡­ was blood red, just like Maya¡¯s. He stood there for a moment before he kept back a sigh. ¡°Well, damn it-¡± Bennett froze as he looked outside, remembering what Maya had said moments before. ¡°Dungeon¡­¡± Yelena touched Bennett¡¯s shoulder lightly, clearly apprehensive. ¡°Bennett¡­ is there something wrong? Why¡¯d your eye¡­¡± she trailed off, following his gaze. Bennett frowned. ¡°Something¡­ is wrong. I don¡¯t know what, but Maya said something to me. About a Dungeon opening. And seeing as the professors are out there¡­ I don¡¯t think it¡¯s out of the question.¡± Tyreese moved next to Bennett and looked out the window. ¡°In the courtyard? That should be impossible though.¡± Hey, weird eye, can I see the lights-? Immediately as he thought this, his eyes were nearly seared with blinding colors, and he hissed in pain as his brain was overloaded with things he was pretty sure he wasn¡¯t supposed to see. Not even a moment later, the world froze once again and he saw red hair flowing in front of him, falling from behind his head. He saw a pair of hands cover his eyes as a voice spoke again ¡°You¡¯re fighting me. Don¡¯t. Just accept it. It¡¯ll make it simpler to understand. Just focus on what you need to see. Not the unnecessary things. Forget about everything. Listen to the elements¡¯ speech to you.¡± The world started up again, and, unquestioningly, he looked towards the field. I don¡¯t really understand how to do that¡­ but I kinda don¡¯t want my brain to explode. So, forget, He thought through the mental pain. He closed his eyes, let out a breath, and cleared his mind, ignoring his sister¡¯s complaints and worries, the voices of people who were trying to speak to him¡­ Bennett opened his eyes and looked over to the courtyard, which was filled with a dark abyss of elements he didn¡¯t quite understand. They swirled under the huge area, as if trying to open something up. They were a Chasm of destruction, of something that wanted to kill them all. But it couldn¡¯t do it directly. It- Bennett¡¯s understanding was interrupted as Yelena slapped her across the back of the head and his face smashed into the glass, shattering it, Yelena¡¯s hand smoking with flames. Everything suddenly stopped as he realized what happened before he groaned. He pulled a shard of glass out of his cheek before turning to his sister, who glared at him, looking both scared and furious with him. Neither of them spoke, just standing there and watching one another. Then Bennett felt someone pull on his shirt and he looked down at Luna, who¡¯s expression he couldn¡¯t read, but¡­ he could feel a deep sense of terror and worry in her. Right¡­ they should know. I¡¯ve been completely caught up in my tunnel vision that I didn¡¯t even consider speaking. Bennett finally sighed. ¡°Maya did this,¡± he said simply. Yelena closed her eyes before letting out a breath. ¡°And?¡± ¡°I shouldn¡¯t be completely ignoring you just because I think something is more important than explaining that in the moment.¡± ¡°And?¡± ¡°A Dungeon is about to open up beneath the school.¡± ¡°And- Wait, what?¡± Yelena, knocked out of her rhythm, blinked in confusion. Bennett held back a smirk and pointed outside. ¡°There¡¯s something dark right below the courtyard. I don¡¯t really understand what it is, but Maya recognises it as a Dungeon. I¡¯m not sure why it¡¯s there, but it¡¯s about to open up.¡± Yelena waved her hands in confusion before grabbing his arms. ¡°Bennett, that''s the least important part right now. Are you okay?¡± ¡°Do I like fried rice?¡± he countered. Yelena blinked, confused, and Tyreese and Luna¡¯s expressions mirrored it. ¡°I mean, yeah, you love it, but what does-¡± ¡°There¡¯s your answer. I¡¯m¡­ okay, to say the least. I¡¯m not so sure about the school though-¡± Before he finished, the entire school shook and Bennett nearly fell over, but grabbed Luna and his sister by reflex. No really?! *** Being a Professor came with its ups and downs. One upside was being able to work with all the animals she wanted, including elemental beasts, though, to be fair, that was kinda part of her job as the Beast Studies Professor. However, one major downside was when all the beasts decided to go berserk and she had to round them all up. ¡°Oh, for fuck¡¯s sake! Get the hell back here, you damned lion!¡± she yelled at the Lightning Lioness, who had blasted off into the side of the school, roaring at the courtyard. The Professor stared for a few moments before she managed to jump onto the thing¡¯s back and lasso it back to its area, which took FAR too much effort and FAR too much time, at least in her opinion. Finally, she was able to round up the rascal into her enclosure, which she didn¡¯t do too often, but, when she had to, it was obviously necessary. However¡­ ¡°What is happening over there? Is that the First Years¡¯ Combat Professor? What¡¯s he doing in the courtyard looking all imposing for? And is that Ms Angry Lightning Porcupine? What¡¯s she doing?¡± As if he¡¯d heard her, the Professor slightly tilted his head towards her before scowling and looking back at the ground. Ah. Typical. Before she could yell at him, she suddenly felt a huge burst of MP, even to her, explode from below the Courtyard and, all around her, the Elemental Beasts roared in what she could only assume was defiance before the ground seemed to open into what she could only describe as a dark abyss¡­ ___ Warning! The Dungeon of the Abyss has opened. This is a direct opening to the farthest reaches of the Abyss, where none should go. Due to this, the Voidborn Abyssal Prince has been called to close- ___ ! Error ! The Beastkeeper flinched at the unfamiliar System text in front of her. Wha¡­ that¡¯s not our System. What¡­ is that? If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. *** That¡¯s¡­ my System, Juli thought, staring at the text in front of her. ! Error ! Abyssal Prince _______________ (Jason Andromeda) is indisposed! Searching¡­ Closer candidate identified. Do you consent to having your name shared? Juli, speaking without thought, said, ¡°Of course not.¡± ___ Voidborn Abyssal Princess ______________ has been called to close the Dungeon. If this is not completed within 3 months, Dungeon will Break, releasing Abyssal Beasts. As the Academy is currently not under the Goddess of Ice¡¯s protection, the Academy has been sealed from the outside. Time Left : 2 : 29 : 23 : 59 : 58 ___ After reading this, she sighed. What just happened? And why did my old System seemingly interfere? Of course Jay is indisposed! He¡¯s gods know how far away and probably struggling to live right now. The System has probably already Integrated him, along with Leah. I hope they¡¯re okay, though. But¡­ I have to close this Dungeon? Why? I¡¯ve never even been in one-! ! Error ! Additional Eligibility detected! ¡­Huh? ___ Three new Candidates have been found to have the Ability to close the Dungeon! Candidates : Bennett Yasmine Yelena Yasmine Luna ___ ¡°What?¡± *** ¡°Heh?¡± Bennett muttered. ¡°Me and Sis, too? Why?¡± Yelena, also seeing the newest System announcement, was baffled as he was. ¡°Even Luna?¡± Luna, however, didn¡¯t find it surprising. In fact, she was mildly intrigued, as, for her, it¡¯d listed her name as Cthulhu. But, more annoyingly- (I sense something amiss,) Cthuhlu said in Luna¡¯s head. (That System interfered. I¡¯m sure you sensed it, child.) Why are you here?! I thought you were supposed to be sleeping! Not wide awake! Luna complained. (Well, the other System awoke me. I still feel the need to destroy it.) Of course. Luna looked up at Bennett, who still seemed a bit out of it, trying to avoid looking at the red eye. However, she couldn¡¯t throw off the feeling that it was familiar in a way. Something just struck her as¡­ wrong, in a familiar way. As if she was related to it in some way. He looked down at her suddenly before smiling weakly. ¡°I still have no clue what- Huh?¡± He seemed a bit confused as the red eye¡¯s iris seemed to focus in on her. Wait¡­ Elemental Sight?! She thought in a panic. I¡¯m technically an Elemental, but he doesn¡¯t know that. In a state of panic again, she pulled her presence inwards as far as she could, making sure that it was nearly impossible to see, only being in the very center of her, as her Core. Can he see my Core?! The way that eye focused on me¡­ It could See! I felt it watching! Bennett shook his head and the Eye stopped focusing on her and she suddenly felt far less exposed. She could tell from his thoughts that his mind was in a bit of pain, but, thankfully, he hadn¡¯t noticed anything amiss with Luna. She wanted to try and soothe the pain, but¡­ As usual, she was too small. Luna felt a small amount of amusement slip through Cthulhu¡¯s facade of complete calm and she mentally pointed all her attention onto the annoying presence. It seemed to completely ignore her, which annoyed Luna even further. You-! Bennett suddenly seemed to choke on something as he looked away from her and out the window. She tried to look out the window and what she saw was a wall. Luna tried to keep herself from hopping up like a child, instead using two tentacles to lift herself off the ground to look. (Oh. That¡¯s not good.) Hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I think that¡¯s quite obvious to anybody. Cthulhu seemed to be thinking about something, detached from the world apparently. Luna, glad she wasn¡¯t talking, thought about this herself. First of all, how in the name of¡­ me, I guess, did a hole to the Abyss open up. Isn¡¯t the idiot God of Space supposed to be watching over the barrier between the normal plane of existence and the Abyssal Planes- oh. Wasn¡¯t he converted by the other System as well? Well then¡­ I¡¯m surprised it didn¡¯t happen earlier then. Luna looked up at Bennett, who was still taller than her, which was mildly annoying, but acceptable. He looked at her once again, but this time looking a bit queasy. ¡°Can I¡­ not do this?¡± he muttered, looking away from the window. Luna almost wanted to nod in agreement, but instead frowned. Wait¡­ it mentioned an Abyssal Princess. And there¡¯s only one Abyssal that I could possibly assume is nearby¡­ (Ah¡­ I see now. That¡¯s how it is, is it now, Ancient Goddess of Death,) Cthulhu said. This is her work? Luna inquired. (Obviously. She must know the fate of this world and isn¡¯t under the System¡¯s control. However she sent the girl here, I cannot explain. But she must be important enough to be here.) Well, she¡¯s obviously the Voidborn byssal Princess, which, in of itself, is slightly interesting. It must mean that Voidlings have finally interacted with the Abyssals, bless them and their loner souls. (...Voidlings aside, we both know the real consequences of this specific Dungeon Breaking.) Yes. Luna, bathing in the fact that she actually sounded like a Goddess for once (at least in her thoughts. She certainly didn¡¯t look like one), knew that this specific Dungeon was special, which may have something to do with its core. From what she knew about Dungeon Cores (at least before that System showed up), was that it spawned beasts, which treated the core as if it was their mother. Most Dungeon spaces were physical, or resided in the Void, a place with infinite space and no sense of time. You could be in the Void for a day and come out and 10 thousand years had passed, or 10 thousand years in the Void was a day (There might have been a correlation there, now that she thought about it). More importantly, however, was Breaking. Normally, when a Dungeon¡¯s Mana Levels were kept in check, usually by those little Adventurer pesks that seemed to always pray for her to heal them when they were about to die, a Dungeon would be fine to exist. However, when a Dungeon isn¡¯t emptied after a certain time, or its Mana Levels rose too high, it would Break, which was a nice way to say all hell broke loose. The entrance to the Dungeon would break open and the Core would start sucking up all the latent Mana in the area to churn out beasts that would completely ravage the nearby areas, killing everything they could. The only way it would be stopped was breaking the core. Of course, there were controlled Breaks, such as to harvest the Cores, but that wasn¡¯t done too often. Then, there were Dungeons of the Abyss, which were much, much worse. They connected directly to places in the Abyss that were filled with Abyssal Beasts, which were many times more destructive, and literally absorbed everything they could, as to grow stronger. They always ended in extreme devastation and, once, Cthulhu had to intervene to destroy a particularly powerful Abyssal Beast, which resulted in far more damage than she¡¯d originally expected, not that defeating it was any problem. It practically cowered in her presence- Suffice to say, they were disasters that the Gods tried to prevent, but there was yet more, which, to her, was the most interesting. The relation between Abyssal Dungeons and their Dungeon Cores¡­ But Luna couldn¡¯t exactly recall- (Abyss Dungeon Cores, unlike normal Dungeon Cores, are created due to a break in the boundaries between the Mortal Plane and the Deep Abyss Planes, which leaks into cores and creates Abyssal Dungeon Cores, which, obviously, isn¡¯t a good thing. Normally, Abyssals would deal with it before it became a problem. But, this far out and deep, I doubt there are any who can make it in any reasonable timeframe. The most obvious problem with said Cores, if they are converted, is that they start spawning Abyss Beasts.) Huh. Why couldn¡¯t I remember this? Speaking of remembering- (Aren''t there more important things to worry about?) Luna jolted right before the person behind them spoke. ¡°So? Why the hell are you supposed to be the ones to clear the dungeon?¡± Reah Justyce snapped. *** Bennett had to keep himself from groaning, as he was mildly annoyed at the fact that she seemed to always appear out of literally nowhere. He turned to her, forgetting about his eye for a moment, and grumbled, ¡°How am I supposed to know? Ask the System or whatever-¡± Before he finished his sentence, Reah grabbed his jaw and pulled him towards her, despite his momentary struggle. He finally remembered about his red eye and froze in place as he stared at her, unimpressed. For a long few moments, she just studied it, before scowling. ¡°Of course you did something dumb. What else is it with you?¡± she muttered, pushing him away. ¡°What now? Did you somehow summon this Dungeon?¡± Bennett slightly taken aback, blinked in bewilderment. ¡°Wha- how could I possibly summon an entire damn Dungeon? I¡¯ve never even seen one!¡± ¡°Well, you suddenly have an eye that¡¯s obviously unnatural, and you seem to do all sorts of unexpected things, which annoys me to no end,¡± Reah huffed. ¡°But whatever. Even if that eye has no relation to the Dungeon, I¡¯m still going to be suspicious of you.¡± Bennett, trying to not say something idiotic, sighed. ¡°Aren¡¯t you suspicious of everyone who isn¡¯t you?¡± Reah narrowed her eyes at him and he felt his new eye react by focusing in on her. He covered it, and felt a slight tinge of annoyance from Maya. Reah turned around, stood there for a moment, then began walking off. ¡°Yes. I am. Anyways, be outside in an hour. Might as well bring your sister.¡± Bennett and Yelena looked at one another in confusion. ¡°Uh¡­ why?¡± She looked back at him for a moment before shrugging, a very scary grin spreading across her face. ¡°It¡¯s about time you got a Class.¡± Bennett shivered, not reassured in the slightest, looked at his sister in horror, who¡¯s expression mirrored his. Tyreese, who clearly was monumentally confused, blinked at the twins, then at the leaving Reah, then at the twins. Finally, he shrugged. ¡°Well, y¡¯all have fun. I¡¯m just gonna go to the dorm and have an existential crisis, bye-bye.¡± The twins watched Tyreese leave before looking at one another. The two seemed to have a silent conversation, though Bennett wasn¡¯t sure what he and his sister were even trying to convey. Then, she sighed. ¡°Should I go get my sword?¡± Yelena asked, sounding defeated. Bennett, debating on whether or not he should not actually go and follow her orders before groaning. ¡°Might as well.¡± ~~~ Bennett tried not to flinch at the Combat Professor¡¯s flat stare as he looked at him, only now realizing he was slightly taller than the Professor. It didn¡¯t help that Yelena was only an two to three inches shorter than Bennett- ¡°You want to get these two Classes¡­ from Abyssal Beasts, which we have literally no information on? They could be overwhelming powerhouses, for all we know.¡± Juli, who¡¯d found them at some point and decided to follow Bennett and Yelena down to the Dungeon entrance, snorted in a very un-Juli fashion. ¡°No. They¡¯re actually quite cute once you get used to them and don¡¯t feed them live food.¡± The Combat Professor, who was clearly already in a bad mood, glared at her. ¡°And you know this how?¡± ¡°I just do. And- oh, there¡¯s one right there,¡± she suddenly said, looking behind the large man curiously, showing more emotion in that moment than Bennett could have ever expected from her. Her face then lit up in recognition, surprising both Bennett and Yelena, along with the Professor as she rushed over to it, a large smile on her face. Behind the Combat professor was a dark¡­ rabbit looking creature with a long horn. It barely had any time to react to Juli, who scooped it off the ground and held it out at arms length, studying it. He was about to Scan it when she exclaimed, ¡°An Abyss Unirabbit! I¡¯ve seen their Void counterparts, but they¡¯re unnecessarily aggressive, but the Abyss ones are just so much cuter, albeit probably immensely more dangerous to anyone but me.¡± She kept mumbling to herself as Bennett looked at Yelena in bewilderment, who shrugged. ¡°I mean, it can¡¯t be that big of a deal-¡± Juli spun around with an uncharacteristic pout on her face. ¡°Of course it¡¯s a big deal Hylla; both you and Jay don¡¯t ever-¡± Juli¡¯s face suddenly went blank as she stared at Bennett and Yelena, uncomprehending. Then her face went back to her usual monotone. ¡°Oh. Forget about it.¡± Luna, who was sitting in her usual place, looked at Juli with something akin to a cross between sadness and understanding. Meanwhile, Juli patted the rabbit¡¯s horn, which it pushed into her lovingly before tossing the thing into the dark hole, which it seemed happy enough to go into. She sighed. ¡°Really¡­ it¡¯s not just a Dungeon, huh?¡± she said quietly. She then turned to the Combat Professor as if nothing had happened. ¡°This isn¡¯t just a Dungeon entrance, but an entrance to the Abyssal Planes, where time is mildly warped, due to its proximity to the Void. It¡¯s not just going to let Dungeon Beasts out, but innocent and curious Abyssal and Void Beasts. It¡¯s easy to tell the difference between Dungeon Abyssal Beast and natural Abyssal Beasts, seeing as the natural ones are a bit more docile. If any natural ones come out, just keep them from going anywhere they shouldn¡¯t until I can deal with them.¡± The Professor gave her a strange look for a long few moments before nodding and looking back at the hole with a mild interest. Juli then looked at Yelena, Bennett, and Luna, who all looked confused. She watched them for a moment before her head snapped to the side as something else crawled out of the hole. The ground below it erupted, skewering its skull, the body dissolving into a dark mist before Bennett could get a good look. Juli huffed, but otherwise didn¡¯t really acknowledge it. The Combat Professor nodded in what he could only assume was affirmation. I definitely don¡¯t want to get on her bad side, Bennett decided, trying to not look like he hadn¡¯t even been able to see what had just tried to crawl out. Bennett saw Yelena narrow her eyes at Juli, but wasn¡¯t able to get anything out before Reah spoke. ¡°I was going to get these¡­ three? Why is the child here? You know what, whatever,¡± Reah muttered. ¡°I was going to get these three to kill those things for Levels. They¡¯re only Level 1, 2, and¡­ I actually don¡¯t know what Level the child is at-¡± Reah narrowly dodged a tentacle from Luna, mildly surprised at the speed of it. ¡°Sure. Whatever.¡± Juli looked at Reah like she was crazy. ¡°Are you under the description of medically unhinged? Insane, to be blunt? They absorb Mana- MP, I mean, and its attributes. If it ate Bennett or Yelena, from what I can understand, we¡¯ll have an Abyss Beast that can use Hellfire or Bennett¡¯s weird Blood Lightning.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± Bennett muttered. ¡°Very flattering.¡± Reah snorted. ¡°And you think I¡¯m dumb enough to let that happen?¡± Yelena gave the Battlemage a strange look. ¡°I¡¯m sure that you¡¯d do it on purpose, seeing how much you hate Bennett.¡± ¡°Correct.¡± The Combat professor seemed to not really care about the students behind them as Yelena, Juli, and Reah began to argue. Bennett looked at Luna hopelessly and she patted his cheek reassuringly. ¡°Thanks, Lu. Now- oh hey, is that one of the Abyss Beasts that we can kill?¡± He asked himself. Luna looked over at what he¡¯d noticed, but before she could respond, the dark shadow raced across the ground faster than Bennett had expected, going directly for- Half a second later, there was the charred remains of the Abyssal Beast that had been about to try to rip Yelena¡¯s head from her shoulders, still twitching from the Bloodbolt he¡¯d thrown. He then lifted it off the ground before twisting the neck of the hyena-looking thing, which dissolved. ___ You have killed [Unknown Abyssal Beast : Dungeon Variant] - Level 7. Applied EXP boosts: 5 Levels Above : +50% Dungeon Bonus : +25% Abyssal Defeat : +50% First Abyssal Defeat : +75% +1 Level (+53% Overflow) +3 Unaligned Stat Points Loot Beast? ___ Bennett mentally accepted the request and watched the arrangement of guts and bones fall in front of him before bending down to study them, going into his hunting mode, which Yelena liked to call it. ¡°I wonder what these are worth¡­¡± he muttered, picking up a random vial of what he could assume was blood. ¡°Damn, I forgot to buy the Appraisal Skill Scroll.¡± He then realized he was still at the Academy and was holding Luna, who was also looking curiously at the arrangement of materials on the ground. He shook his head before looking over to his sister, who¡¯s hand was outspread, but she now looked slightly miffed, as Bennett had already killed the thing. She leaned closer to him. ¡°How many?¡± she demanded. ¡°Just one. But that¡¯s only because it was Level 7,¡± he responded, pulling up his Status. __ Status Name : Bennett ¡°Yasmine¡± Race : Human Class : None HP : 100% | MP : 100% Level : 3 | EXP : 53% Soul Bond : Luna (23%) Alignment : Lightning / Blood Weapon : Maya Stats Strength - 8 Endurance - 11 Vitality - 13 Dexterity - 12 Mind - 7 Intelligence - 9 Points to allocate - 3 Skills Scan - Level 3, Flicker - Level 3, Knife Fighting - Level 3, Sword Fighting - Level 1, Lightning Strike - Level 3, Rapid Reconstruction - Level 4, Bloodbolt - Level 4, Hitch-hiker - Level 3, Bolt (Spell) - Level 1, Scythe Mastery (Limited) - Level 7, Blood Spike - Level 5, Blood Manipulation - Level 6 Bonuses Blood Damage Increase - 154% (Maya - 100%, Skills - 54%) Bleeding Damage Increase - 158% (Maya - 100%, Skills - 58%) Lightning Damage Reduction - 20% (Skill - 20%) Scythe Damage Increase - 210% (Skill - 210%) Opponent Blood Flow Increase - 35% (When wielding Scythe or Maya : Skill - 35%) Movement Speed Increase - 70% (When wielding Scythe or Maya : Skill - 70%) Blood Production Increase : 440% (Maya - 80%, Skill - 360%) Universal Damage Bonus - 50% (Bond - 50%) Skill Effectiveness Increase - 50% (Bond - 50%) ___ After a moment of consideration, he put two points into Strength and another into Vitality, namely since he knew he¡¯d probably need it, due to Maya. After doing this, he picked up a vial of blood and studied it for a moment. Despite Maya¡¯s love for blood, I can¡¯t imagine she¡¯d want this- Just as he thought about it, Maya suddenly sprang into action, pulling herself out of him, grabbing half the blood vials, including the one in his hand, before seemingly crushing them before going back into his arm. He took a look at her Level to see it had jumped up by 25%, bringing her to 30%. Bennett was then reminded that there was still someone else there as Reah looked at him in annoyance. ¡°Seriously? I never said to start, but I guess we¡¯ll be here for a bit¡­ at least Level 5 should be fine¡­¡± she uncharacteristically began to trail off under her breath, seemingly doing math in her head. ¡°Right, Dungeons have multipliers to EXP based on the Dungeon Difficulty. What does it say?¡± Bennett blinked. ¡°Uh¡­ +100%? But there¡¯s also an ¡®Abyssal Defeat¡¯ multiplier, which is another +50%-¡± ¡°Interesting, now shuddup so I can think,¡± she snapped, pushing Bennett away. ¡°If you see something, kill it. Tell me when you get to Level 5.¡± Bennett frowned. ¡°But, seeing how slow they¡¯re coming out¡­ neither of us are going to get to that point until past midnight!¡± As Reah looked at him again, he felt a chill as she grinned at him. ¡°Exactly.¡± I have decided: One day, I will throw her through a few walls. I do not care, Bennett thought. Putting this thought into a mental bank, he let out a groan. ~~~ Bennett nearly immediately fell asleep when he dropped face-first onto his bed, but managed to stay awake long enough so Luna could finish up doing her nightly routine. During this, he finally checked his status again. ___ Status Name : Bennett ¡°Yasmine¡± Race : Human (90%) - ??? (10%) Class : None HP : 100% | MP : 100% Level : 5 | EXP : 50% Soul Bond : Luna (19%) Alignment : Lightning / Blood Weapon : Maya Stats Strength - 12 Endurance - 13 Vitality - 16 Dexterity - 12 Mind - 7 Intelligence - 9 Skills Scan - Level 3, Flicker - Level 3, Knife Fighting - Level 3, Sword Fighting - Level 1, Lightning Strike - Level 3, Rapid Reconstruction - Level 4, Bloodbolt - Level 4, Hitch-hiker - Level 3, Bolt (Spell) - Level 1, Scythe Mastery (Limited) - Level 7, Blood Spike - Level 5, Blood Manipulation - Level 6 Bonuses Blood Damage Increase - 154% (Maya - 100%, Skills - 54%) Bleeding Damage Increase - 158% (Maya - 100%, Skills - 58%) Lightning Damage Reduction - 20% (Skill - 20%) Scythe Damage Increase - 210% (Skill - 210%) Opponent Blood Flow Increase - 35% (When wielding Scythe or Maya : Skill - 35%) Movement Speed Increase - 70% (When wielding Scythe or Maya : Skill - 70%) Blood Production Increase : 440% (Maya - 80%, Skill - 360%) Universal Damage Bonus - 50% (Bond - 50%) Skill Effectiveness Increase - 50% (Bond - 50%) ___ He sighed aloud. After the Level 7 Abyssal Beast, there were only those that were about his Level or only one higher, and the same was for Yelena, so she wasn''t much better off than him. However, they did end up with a lot of materials, before they gave them to a Professor, who happened to be the Appraiser for some sort of student shop, who even sold them small Dimensional Bags for about 20 silver each, which made up only a small portion of their gains, mostly due to the rarity of the materials. But, there was also something else that Bennett had noticed, but it was a bit inexplicable. There were some times that larger Abyss Beasts would come out of the hole, but Before either Bennett or Yelena had the chance to react, Juli would yell at the thing before it was fully out of the hole and it would seemingly freeze in what he could only describe as terror before it scurried back into the hole, no matter how large it was. Of course there were some particularly bold ones that would dash at her, but she¡¯d simply kick them a few times before they scurried away. Bennett sighed, but before he could think about it more, he heard his door open and the small form of Luna entered before she closed the door behind her. He sat up as she hopped onto the bed before looking up at him. ¡°Hm? What¡¯s wrong, Lu?¡± he asked her as he felt her emotions, shifting from exhaustion to worry, along with a few that he didn¡¯t really understand. She shifted herself onto her knees and poked right below his left eye, his new red one. He blinked at her before sighing, looking up into space. ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t exactly understand it either. It kinda just¡­ appeared, with Maya telling me I might need it. Very cryptic, I know,¡± he responded as she gave him a confused expression at the last part. ¡°I¡¯m not entirely sure, but I think it lets me see aligned MP? Like how you¡¯re full of Water MP. Though, you look a bit different from Sis, since she only has MP somewhere in the center of her chest, I think. I¡¯m not entirely sure what that means¡­¡± A mild sense of panic arose from Luna, but she seemed to stuff it down immediately, shaking her head. Bennett patted her head, trying to comfort her. She let out a sigh and fell back, looking just as exhausted as him as she laid on the bed. He stifled a laugh before laying down as well. ¡°Oh yeah, I¡¯m pretty sure there¡¯s no way we¡¯ll be going to the city. That¡¯s a bit of a bummer, isn¡¯t it?¡± Luna gave agreement, but he also sensed hints of relief and confusion. But, before he could question it, he felt her curl up against his side and relax, falling asleep in seconds. He shook his head before patting her forehead. ¡°G¡¯night then, Lu,¡± he mumbled, letting himself relax and fall asleep in moments. *** Luna opened her eyes to the sea. She could smell the salt in the air, hear the sounds of waves hitting a nearby shore. She could also hear what she only assumed was a child playing in the sand. Cthulhu let out a sigh of relief. She knew that her ______ was having fun, and that was the only thing that really mattered, especially in that moment. Cthulhu had originally thought that a few years wouldn¡¯t feel that long, but after ______, she realized she was completely wrong. Cthulhu sat up and looked at the young girl playing in the sand, her red hair soaked and her eyes¡­ strangely blank. ¡°____, are you okay?¡± she attempted to call, but no sound came out of her mouth. In fact, she seemed to be drifting further away from the shore. From her memories. From something she refused to remember. No. There¡¯s nothing there. There¡¯s nothing to even refuse to remember. That couldn¡¯t be right. Who was that small girl then? Nobody. She doesn¡¯t even exist. She never did. Why is she so familiar? Almost like family? You have no family. Why would you think-? ¡°Mommy? Where are you? Why are you going again?¡± a small voice whimpered. ¡°Why¡­ please come back.¡± There¡¯s nobody speaking. ¡°Mommy? Can you come home now? I wanna¡­ show you my sand castle.¡± You don¡¯t have a child. What could possibly make you think that? ¡°Why¡­ are you leaving me again¡­ Mommy?¡± The girl looked up at Cthulhu and Luna, her eyes empty. There were no eyes in their sockets. Blood poured from her chest, staining the ocean red. Cthulhu froze in place as chains wrapped around her mind once again, sealing the fragment away with a burning pain. ¡°...Home¡­?¡± The ocean around Cthulhu exploded as she tried to get back to her _____¡­ Her what? Why couldn¡¯t she remember? She had to get to the child though. She had to. She couldn¡¯t abandon a child. But, you did, didn¡¯t you? Cthulhu froze, knowing, deep in her soul, that the voice¡­ was right. Calculations for Nerds (And others who dont identify as Nerds... Nerdettes) Hoi. This section is entirely dedicated to the calculations I have to do behind the scenes (aka desmos does them for me since google sheets is a nightmare for me). I mentioned some problems I had with the XP gains in the post-chapter author note last chapter, which I edited not even five minutes ago, as of writing this. So, originally, the XP formula for Level scaling was this: y ?= ax^2+bx+c (Yes, It''s a quadratic equation, sue me.) Here''s the table for a, b, and c (I dunno why it''s blue on my side) :
Tier Level Range a b c
Commoner 1¨C9 1 5 50
Scholar 10¨C24 2 10 100
Mage 25¨C49 3 15 200
Battlemage 50¨C74 4 20 400
Prince/Princess 75¨C99 5 30 600
Harbinger 100¨C149 6 40 800
Archon 150¨C224 7 50 1000
Demigod 225 - 500 8 70 1500
God The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. 500+ 10 100 3000
Honestly really easy to understand. Basically, for the equation, you input the character''s Level +1 for x, and the other multipliers and KABOOM! XP for the next level. But, the larger problem came from the equation that calculates the XP gains from enemies. This was the original equation, ignore the slight lengthiness: y = ((ax^2+bx+c)0.2)(1+(0.1 * l))*(1+h)*D This is basically just the same as the original, but modified slightly. This one gets the Enemy level subtracted by 1, divides the XP by 5, then applies multipliers such as E, which is the levels above the player (Which is what I''m going to call the characters in this situation), h, the other bonuses from stuff like dungeons and Abyssal kill bonuses, and D (there''s a reason it''s capital, believe me), which multiplies XP based on Enemy type, 1 for Standard, 2 for Elite, and 4 for Boss. I quickly found out that, along with bonuses, it was far too high of a multiplier, and, with enough XP gain buffs, you could get 50% of the XP to go from level 10 to 11, which is far too much. So I halved it to this : y = ((ax^2+bx+c)0.1)(1+(0.1 * E))*(1+h)*D And then proceeded to debuff XP gain multipliers by an atrocious amount, like 70%. However, there''s even bigger problems, like how, in higher levels, it''s basically a static amount at this point. so, despite my brain going to burn just looking at the calculations, I''m going to decrease the multipliers for Mob XP drops from 0.1 to 0.03 or 0.01 based on what Level one is at... wait. Now that I think about it, It might not actually matter, seeing as, once you get to high enough levels, there''s only going to be a select few things that are going to be close to your Level... so, actually, I''ll change the minimum XP drop multiplier to 0.05, which is balanced, hopefully. Technically, I could just halve the c varible in the equation, which alleviates about 90% of my problems from Commoner to about Battlemage, maybe even Prince/Princess... Oh, I can just halve c at Prince/Princess Tier, which helps. It might be worthwhile to halve something else, but I''d rather not. (Yep, this is just me typing random stuff to seem remotely cool.) Now, after forgetting to finish this for nearly five hours, here''s the modified equation and table (Enemy XP drop equation): Table (Obviously)
Tier Level Range a b c d e
Commoner 1¨C10 1 5 50 0.2 1
Scholar 11¨C25 2 10 100 0.1 1
Mage 26¨C50 3 15 200 0.09 1
Battlemage 51¨C75 4 20 400 0.07 1
Prince/Princess 76¨C100 5 30 600 0.05 0.5
Harbinger 101¨C150 6 40 800 0.05 0.5
Archon 151-225 7 50 1000 0.05 0.5
Demigod 226 - 500 8 70 1500 0.05 0.25
God 500+ 10 100 3000 0.03 0.25
And here''s the equation again: y = ((ax^2+bx+ec)*d)*(1+(0.1*E)*D And the key: y = Dropped XP x = Enemy Level - 1 e = c modifier d = XP modifier E = Levels Enemy above player D = Other bonuses Welp, I don''t think I missed anything. Gotta finish some homework though... Chapter 17 : The Blood Reaper and Hellfire Blade Luna woke up, sweat covering her forehead and breathing hard, somehow managing to not wake Bennett, but he¡¯d clearly noticed her distress, as he¡¯d wrapped his arms around her and had her in a warm embrace. Mildly embarrassed, she considered trying to shimmy out of his arms, but, after thinking about it for a moment, decided to not. (Hmph. You¡¯re really trying to take all you can get,) Cthulhu grumbled. Why are you still awake? Go back to sleep, Luna snapped back, completely forgetting about the dream she¡¯d just had momentarily. (You think I haven¡¯t tried? The Mana Levels are too high for that. It¡¯s probably the reason we just had that dream.) Luna let herself relax in Bennett¡¯s arms as she pressed her face into his chest. Of course. I can¡¯t make much sense of that, though. (You think? I have no clue what half of that even meant? All I know is that it¡¯s related to the Blood Element as a whole.) Maybe you killed the God of Blood and they cursed you or something? Cthulhu seemed to debate this for a moment. (Understandable. I¡¯m sure I¡¯d do it, but, from both Dreams, it depicted the Blood God as close to me and a child. However, I don¡¯t remember ever having to deal with a child Goddess, so I¡¯m sure they just preferred to represent themselves as a child, which isn¡¯t too uncommon.) Luna thought about it for a moment and came up blank. Huh. I don¡¯t remember a Blood God period. (Of course- Oh, your little boyfriend is waking up.) As Cthulhu predicted, Luna heard Bennett¡¯s yawn before he sat up, letting go of Luna, and rubbing his eyes. He looked down at her, mumbled a ¡°good morning¡±, then patted her head before kicking his legs off the bed- Wait, what did you just call him? (Use two singular brain cells and you should remember.) Luna felt her face heat up and she had to resist dumping a few gallons of water on her head to cool down, decided to not, after realizing it¡¯d be a pain to dry the bed off later. She shook her head. He is not my ¡°little boyfriend¡±, whatever that means. (Are you completely inept at understanding your emotions? You¡¯re about as dense as he is, if what your memories of him show are true.) Wha- you can look through my memories? Cthulhu didn¡¯t respond, instead deciding to settle down in Luna¡¯s mind, seeming overly satisfied with herself. Luna, however, threw herself back into the bed so Bennett wouldn¡¯t see her face and she heard him let out a short laugh. ¡°All right, you can sleep a little longer. I¡¯m just going to make breakfast alone then-¡± Luna, upon hearing this, jumped out of the bed against her better judgment, gave him an annoyed look, and dashed out of his room, to hers to get ready for the day, Bennett laughing as she did so. ~~~ Luna looked at Mia¡¯s pensive expression, who was obviously thinking about the Dungeon while also eating. A surprising thing about Mia was that she, despite her outwards appearance of being rude to most people, she seemed to not be one to turn down any amount of food, of which she somehow ate more than Tyreese, though, to be fair, he was watching her eat in complete and utter bafflement. Bennett, who had left earlier to get his sister, finally walked back into the dorms, carrying what looked like a sack of blankets that kept muttering about something to do with fried rice and brothers over his shoulder with an annoyed look on his face. This sack of blankets turned out to be Yelena, who was still dead asleep as he set her on the couch and she nearly immediately almost rolled off. Tyreese looked at him in confusion. ¡°How did you manage to get that girl out of her room looking like that?¡± Bennett shrugged. ¡°No clue. I was just surprised that Juli wasn¡¯t there to stop me. Bastion gave me a funny look, though I can¡¯t be sure how he was looking at me. Minotaurs aren¡¯t exactly the easiest to understand expressions from.¡± Bennett suddenly looked as pensive as Mia, and there was a moment of silence as they both thought about separate things and the other three in the room who were awake looked between the two of them. Tyreese nodded. ¡°Who do you think is going to say the most out of pocket thing next?¡± Luna looked at him in confusion before shoveling eggs and potatoes in her mouth, which was topped with a bit of bacon. Maybe a bit basic, but I still like it. (Don¡¯t kid yourself; you absolutely adore it. Your face is probably the very definition of satisfied.) Shut up. Bennett then looked at his sister, who was still sleeping. He leaned down next to her and whispered something in her ear before taking a few steps back. Clearly, it took her a moment to process what he¡¯d said in her sleep, but a few moments later, she let out a sound Luna could only describe as a distressed squawk, falling off the couch and trying to wrestle the blanket off of her. A few seconds of her struggling later, she suddenly stopped moving in what seemed like confusion. She then stood up, still in her nightwear, glaring at her brother. ¡°I hate you so much,¡± she simply stated, looking away from him. However, she then realized he had a plate of food in his hand and immediately forgot about her hate for him as he pushed a spoonful of potatoes into her mouth. ¡°Neber mid, I luv you,¡± she then said, which Luna assumed translated to ¡°Nevermind, I love you¡±, before letting Bennett feed her the rest of the food after she sat on the couch. After everyone finished up and Yelena had changed into some of Bennett¡¯s clothes for some reason, Mia finally spoke. ¡°Is nobody concerned about the Dungeon that literally is on our footsteps?¡± she questioned, pushing away the plate in front of her. ¡°I don¡¯t get why you¡¯re so unconcerned about something that could be so dangerous. Especially you three,¡± she added, looking at Bennett, Yelena, and Luna, each of whom were sitting on the couch in a different position, Luna on Bennett¡¯s lap and Yelena sitting upside down, reading a book. The twins and Luna looked at each other before Bennett shrugged. ¡°I dunno what it is. I honestly don¡¯t think I¡¯ve really processed what a Dungeon means, especially for the school and our wellbeing. I mean, I think I should be worried, and I am, but I kinda can¡¯t bring myself to have a mental breakdown over it.¡± Mia shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s not what I¡¯m saying. The System called you three out specifically, which I don¡¯t understand. You don¡¯t feel pressured?¡± This time, Yelena responded. ¡°You¡¯d have to do more than that to make us feel pressured. I can¡¯t be sure about Luna, but I can think of more stressful things.¡± Tyreese snorted. ¡°What could possibly be more stressful than a Dungeon to Hell?¡± The twins said in unison, ¡°Mom.¡± These two would probably be more terrified of their mother simply existing than a Dungeon opening right under their feet, Luna thought, repositioning herself as Bennett kept the book he was reading balanced on her legs, since it was the most convenient place to put it. Tyreese nodded to the twins¡¯ words. ¡°Fair enough. My mom¡¯s a monster. Burnt me every day when I did something mildly wrong. I wonder who reminds me of her.¡± Mia threw her spoon at him and he caught it as if he''d known she¡¯d do something along those lines. However, he didn¡¯t expect her to suddenly hit him over the head with her spear, which seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Yelena snorted as Luna noticed Bennett looking back at his book, flipping the page before she finished reading it. She grabbed it and flipped the page back, giving him an annoyed look. Bennett rolled his eyes, but let her finish reading before she turned to the next page. *** Bennett was tired, but he was slowly reaching the Level 10 threshold, along with his sister. He¡¯d already reached Level 9 and was almost there, only 28% remaining. However, from what he could tell, his sister was closer than he was to the next Level, which pushed him slightly harder. He could tell the frequency of Beasts that came out of the Dungeon¡¯s entrance would increase more and more as the day wore on, which was interesting. There were various areas where other students from the various years were also grinding some of the Beasts, but, the higher Level students were eventually getting bored of blowing up the hole and one even decided to go in, just to come out after what seemed like seconds, looking like they were¡­ decaying. This is when everything basically went to hell, as Juli, noticing the boy who was screaming before letting out a curse and, using a portal, getting to him in seconds. Bennett watched this, unsure of what to do, and wondering what had happened. Then, in front of him stood the red haired girl, Maya, the world frozen around them. She looked at the boy before sighing and looking at Bennett, allowing him to get a good look at her for the first time. The first thing he noticed was that she was wearing the exact same thing as him, albeit a bit tight around¡­ certain areas. One of her eyes was the exact same red as his new one was, but instead on the right side while the left eye¡­ was his. Her hair was blood red, but she had a streak of white running through it, in the same place his was in. She was, as one would expect, shorter than him, but not by as much as one would expect. She had fair skin, though it was slightly tanned in some places, a bit like his. However, the most striking difference between her and him was the strange appendages that were connected to her back, six of them, to be exact. They were each slightly longer than her arms and a shiny red color. Additionally, on her skin, she had unintelligible patterns of¡­ tattoos? He couldn¡¯t make them out, but there were some that he could. They read: ¡°Blood Manipulation.¡± ¡°Blood Spike.¡± There were many layers, especially to Blood Manipulation, which was interesting to him, since they said- ¡°So? Do you like it?¡± She suddenly asked, turning around. Huh? Taken aback, Bennett wasn¡¯t sure how to respond. She let out a sigh. ¡°My current form. It took me a while to make, since I had next to no Mana. I took parts of you and made them ours. We are one, after all. I was only able to finish in this timeframe due to this Abyssal Dungeon opening.¡± This is the most confusing experience of my life. Well, second most confusing. ¡°How is it confusing in the slightest? I just explained to you¡­ Ah. I believe I see. I¡¯m not what you expected out of a mere weapon, am I?¡± Maya responded to seemingly herself. She then closed her eyes and before turning towards Juli and the boy. ¡°Regardless, I can explain some things to you, namely the reason why nobody else can enter the Dungeon. ¡°First of all, Abyssal Corruption. Most beings can¡¯t exist anywhere near Abyss, as it will warp their body and mind if exposed too long. Otherwise, it will just kill them, making them, as you aptly described, decay. However, some can resist it, like Abyssals, of course. But, any being with some sort of Divinity can also resist the effects, though you don¡¯t become practically invincible like Abyssals, which is a bit sad.¡± She walked over to him and, as if she was familiar with him, which, in a way, she was, practically laid herself against him. He couldn¡¯t help but be surprised, but was strangely unembarrassed, especially when she pressed closer. ¡°Second thing to explain: I¡¯m going to stress this immensely, but I quite literally need blood. All kinds of it. Certain beast blood works best, but your blood won¡¯t cut it forever. I don¡¯t mean I crave it like a sort of sustenance, though you could say it works like that. However, for me, it¡¯s like a source of energy, though a catalyst is a more apt description. It allows my consciousness to be more adjacent with yours.¡± Adjacent? ¡°Yes. I¡¯ll be able to talk to you much more. Currently, the most I can do is probably alter your dreams so I can speak to you in them.¡± She then stood up on her toes. ¡°And, if you really want, I can do¡­ other things.¡± Immediately, Bennett tried to keep his mind empty, but the intrusive thoughts slowly crept in and she let out a small laugh. ¡°Of course, you¡¯ll have to earn that, but firstly, there¡¯s more pressing problems, such as this.¡± She turned in place, her back now pressed against him so she could face the Dungeon entrance. I¡¯m sure you know some information about the Dungeon itself, correct? Not just the monsters?¡± Uh¡­ I don¡¯t think anyone knows anything. ¡°Really? Has an Abyssal Dungeon never opened before? You all should-¡± Before she could finish her sentence, she momentarily flickered out of existence before she reappeared, scowling and nearly ten feet away. ¡°Huh? What just¡­ Did another Mana source interrupt mine? Wait¡­¡± She then turned to him, looking slightly panicked. ¡°Right. I-¡± she flickered. ¡°-Gift-¡± Flicker. ¡°Level 10-¡± she then flickered out of existence and the world resumed its normal speed. Bennett blinked, still unsure of what just happened, staring into space. ¡°You know what?¡± he mumbled. ¡°I¡¯m just gonna pretend that the most beautiful girl I¡¯ve ever seen didn¡¯t just appear out of nowhere.¡± He then cut in half a Level 6 monster that tried to attack him in his moment of distraction, not thinking much of it until- ___ Congratulations! You have reached Level 10! You can now choose a Class once you leave the combat area! *Note : Due to certain variables, you can only choose one Class Skill from a list of four. ___ ¡­I¡¯m Level 10? Bennett could hardly believe his eyes at the message in front of him. He wanted to cheer, but¡­ it felt a bit stale. This doesn¡¯t feel right. I need to help Yelena get to the next Level for it to feel worth it. He looked up towards his sister, who looked at him momentarily from her fight. She saw his expression and her face lit up with new determination before the monster in front of her exploded, burning to a crisp in front of her. Moments later, she was sliding towards him through the dirt, having trouble keeping her balance. Bennett stopped her by grabbing her shoulder, but she hopped in place, making his job slightly more difficult. ¡°Come on, how¡¯d you get there before me?¡± she pouted, a bit of flame flickering in her hair from her excitement. ¡°You know what, whatever, we need to go find Luna. I don¡¯t wanna do this without her-¡± Luna, who had sensed Bennett''s emotions, suddenly appeared from seemingly nowhere, smacking a tentacle against his arm to get his attention. He looked down at the small girl for a moment before looking at the Dungeon for a moment. ¡°Yeah, let''s get away first.¡± ~~~ Once sufficiently away from the Dungeon, Bennett, Yelena, and Luna sat down, Luna on Bennett¡¯s lap as he pulled out a tart and handed it to her. As Luna ate, he looked at his sister and, without a word, they both opened up their Statuses. ___ New Class options available! Classes dictate your growth and are essential to growth. Class choices are based on how you have currently progressed and a prediction of how you will grow each class comes with different bonuses and Skills that are equipped to that Class specifically. You have 3 different Class choices and an Inheritable Class: Choice 1: Warrior (Common I) A basic Warrior¡¯s kit, delving little into any forms of Magic, most suited for those who wish for a balanced Party, giving minimal bonuses. A Warrior focuses on front line combat, fighting with a variety of weapons. + 25% Physical Damage + Skill Choices : 3 (1)Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. + 2 Strength, 2 Endurance, 5 Unaligned Points per Level Choice 2: Berserker (Rare I) This Class thrives off of taking damage and dealing large amounts of damage in return, with weapons as an optional setting. High potential, both in terms of progression and dying. They specialize mostly in taking damage from outside sources and increasing their damage depending on how low their HP is, but lose a bit of sanity for every percentage of HP lost. Minimal Magic use. +10% Damage taken +45% Physical Damage +Skill : Beserk - Level 1 +Skill Choices : 2 (1) +4 Strength, 3 Endurance, 2 Vitality, 5 Unaligned Points per Level Choice 3 : Lesser Battlemage (Epic I) Focuses on equal amounts of Melee and Magic Damage, if not a bit more Magic. They are front-line fighters and, even as a Lesser version of the real thing, very powerful when trained. They specialize in special battle techniques that weave together Magic and weapon styles in a powerful combination of explosive Magic and unavoidable Weapon Skills. +55% All Elemental Damage Bonus +55% Weapon Damage +15% Skill Effectiveness +Skill : Elemental Infusion - Level 1 +Skill Choices : 2 (1) +3 All Stats Per Level BONUS! Maya has consented to allowing you to Inherit her Class! Would you like to View this Class? ___ Before Bennett answered, he looked up at his sister, who was looking at her screen as well, looking a bit breathless. He scooted closer to her and she blinked, looking up at him with an expectant expression. He sighed. ¡°Pretty basic Classes like Berserker and Warrior. But, there¡¯s also Lesser Battlemage-¡± She grabbed his face and squished his cheeks. He blinked at his sister, who stared into his eyes for a few moments. ¡°Why haven¡¯t you chosen it already then?¡± Bennett felt Luna poke his cheek before letting out a giggle and he huffed, grabbing his sister¡¯s hands. ¡°Cause there¡¯s one more Class. But I wanted to ask what you got before I picked.¡± She sighed. ¡°Well, I got Mage and Lesser Battlemage. But¡­ there¡¯s another one¡­ a Legendary Class: Hellfire Blade.¡± A screen appeared in front of him and he blinked in utter bafflement as Luna sat up straight to look at the screen as well. ___ Choice 3 (Yelena Yasmine): Hellfire Blade (Legendary I) Unlocking the basics of Hellfire, this Class will help hone Hells Flame into a formidable weapon. Hellfire Blades are some of the rarest and most formidable foes in all of the Hells, possessing unprecedented control of Hellfire and Flame alike. They weave together both bladed weapon techniques and their innate Hellfire to create explosive displays of power, turning all of their enemies to ash. Choosing this Class will also minorly affect your Race +70% Hellfire Damage +70% Flame Damage +35% Weapon Damage +25% Flame/Hellfire Skill Effectiveness +50% Self Damage Resistance +Skill : Seven Circles of Hellfire - Level 1 +Skill Choices : 2 +5 Strength, 5 Dexterity, 3 Mind, 3 Intelligence, 5 Unaligned Points per Level ___ Bennett looked at his sister closely before sighing. ¡°Lena, just because I could get a lower rarity Class than you doesn¡¯t mean you have to feel obliged to choose the same as me.¡± She shook her head. ¡°But, I don¡¯t want to get too far ahead of you, Benny. I don¡¯t know what I¡¯d do if I ended up so much stronger than you¡­¡± Bennett shook his head. ¡°I¡¯d still be there, wouldn¡¯t I? You¡¯re still the younger twin here. I can¡¯t just let my little sister get ahead of me that easily, can I?¡± She punched his arm before looking curiously at him. ¡°You said something about an extra Class? What do you mean?¡± Bennett shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m not entirely sure; I haven¡¯t seen it yet. I was waiting to see your Classes.¡± ¡°Then hurry up and let us see!¡± Yelena said, getting a nod of approval from Luna. Bennett sighed before looking at the screen again. ¡°Yes.¡± ___ Inherited Class - Maya [No Surname] : Blood Reaper (Unique I) An ancient position from the age of Blood Aracne, the first step to becoming a Blood Matriarch, and the only one of its kind in the tribe until ascending to Blood Matriarch or dying. This Class Focuses on using your own and the blood of others to enhance combat ability. Ones with this class usually use a specialized Scythe, Scimitar, or combination of the two in battle, tailored to draw blood. Combining techniques that could only be used by Blood Aracne and their natural ability to use blood to grow more powerful during battle made them terrifying opponents to fight. +75% Blood Damage +75% Bleeding Damage +10% Flat Bleeding Chance +30% Blood Skill Effectiveness +100% Blood Production Increase +Skill : Blood Break - Level 1 +Skill Choices : 2 (1) + 4 Vitality, 4 Endurance, 3 Strength, 3, Dexterity, 6 Unaligned Stats Per Level EXTRA BONUS +1 Level to Maya *Note: Do you like the little gift I got you? There¡¯s more where that came from. -Maya ___ Very wisely, Bennett hid the little note Maya left from the other two, mildly annoyed. However, even if it was still there, Yelena would have probably never noticed it since she was shaking in excitement. Luna, however, had a blankish look on her face, but her hair was a bit light and pulsing weakly, which meant she was probably thinking. Before he could ask her about it, she practically jumped onto her knees in excitement. Here we go. She has the same expression that she always had reading those books about the System and all the recorded Classes so far. Though, so did I, Bennett thought, a small smile cracking on his face. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen either of our Classes in any of the ¡®Recorded Classes and their Branches¡¯ books. We may have completely undiscovered Classes! This is¡­ huge! I never thought that we could ever get this far, but¡­ we did it, Ben!¡± His sister hopped in place, excited for everything. But Bennett¡­ was strangely pensive about the situation. From what he knew, they both were completely normal- Luna, annoyed at something, poked his cheek and glared at him. Her thoughts practically converged on two words. ¡°Be Happy.¡± He let out a short laugh. ¡°Yeah, there¡¯s no need to think about this so hard. Never got me anywhere before.¡± Bennett stood up, but before he could do anything, his sister grabbed him, ecstatic. Without another thought, he swung her around, laughing with her. ~~~ A few minutes later, when the twins finally settled down, which took a bit of panicking from Luna, they finally sat down and accepted their classes. Bennett immediately felt Maya shuffling himself around before he suddenly nearly blacked out in pain. ___ Error! Body not suitable for Class Choice! Commencing Race Change¡­ Error! Cannot commence immediate Race Change due to conflicting internal structure. Delayed Race Change initiated. Race Change : Human (Godling - 2nd Generation) ---> Godling/Blood Aracne Hybrid. Pupation Commencing in 72 hours. Congratulations! You have claimed the Class : Blood Reaper (Unique I)! You gain the following bonuses: +75% Blood Damage +75% Bleeding Damage +10% Flat Bleeding Chance +30% Blood Skill Effectiveness +100% Blood Production Increase +1 Level to Maya Your Skill Level Cap has increased from 5 to 6. From here on out, you gain + 4 Endurance, 4 Vitality, 3 Strength, 3, Dexterity, 6 Unaligned Stats Per Level. You are now Level 10! + 4 Vitality, 4 Endurance, 3 Strength, 3, Dexterity, 6 Unaligned Stats ___ Bennett opened his eyes and found him floating around in nothingness. What? Where am I? How¡­ ¡°Hm? Wait¡­ what happened to you?¡± A familiar voice asked, the world seeming to form around him. After a few moments, he found himself in a familiar room, the same one he¡¯d shared with Yelena for years, but, instead of Yelena sitting on the bed next to him, it was Maya, still in the same outfit from before. He, interestingly enough, was in his work clothes from back when he was in the Fishing Guild. The red eyed girl gave him a curious look before shrugging and leaning against his side. ¡°So? Care to explain why you came here before I could set up a scenario?¡± Bennett gave her a suspicious stare. ¡°What is that supposed to mean, first of all?¡± Maya, clinging to him now, leaned back, swinging her legs. ¡°I dunno. I was bored, so I was trying to think of a scenario that would cause you be the most utterly horrified, but any other boy would relish-¡± ¡°Stop talking, please.¡± ¡°-I was thinking I could roleplay as Luna-¡± ¡°I will throw you out the window if you say one more word,¡± Bennett snapped, completely serious. Maya let out a sigh and laid her head on his lap. ¡°Well, your friend here says otherwise-¡± ¡°Who¡¯s fault is that? Now, weren¡¯t you asking something?¡± he complained, trying to decide whether to move her head or not. She seemed to grow slightly more comfortable as she thought for a moment, clearly content with the moment. Then she sat up and pulled herself onto his lap to face him and he blinked in confusion as the strange, shiny insect leg-like appendages wrapped around him from her back. ¡°Right. So, what exactly happened to get you here again?¡± she asked, her face only mere inches from his. He tried his best to keep his cool, mildly succeeding. ¡°Uh¡­ I chose the Class you let me Inherit, which thanks for that, and neither the System nor my body liked that, so no thanks for that. Apparently, there¡¯s some internal problem?¡± Maya nodded, suddenly pressing closer. ¡°Right, I was dealing with that when you came here.¡± He frowned, unsure of why he wasn¡¯t as uncomfortable as he felt he should be. Maya then let out a short laugh. ¡°Of course you¡¯re not uncomfortable. I¡¯m always within you. I think it¡¯s your turn this time, though. I did promise you.¡± Before he could make a single noise of complaint, he felt her press her lips against his and pressed him against the bed before everything became¡­ well, that¡¯s probably where he¡¯d end it. *** Yelena was in a situation far on the opposite end of Bennett, not that she knew what was happening. Currently, she was a child whose parents were obviously trying to burn her alive in a pit of Hellfire, but it hadn¡¯t done anything but turn her clothing to ash. She stared up at the man and woman, who had horrified expressions on their faces, which told her that this was clearly not normal. She got a glimpse of their dark horns that curved back from the top of their heads before feeling her own, which instead, though they were much smaller, curved back then up, with serrated edges. She then seemed to skip a few years and she was now around twelve, surrounded by other Demons bullying her for oversized horns and firey hair. However, she kept her cool, since she knew that if she didn¡¯t she could accidentally turn them all into piles of ash¡­ though, at the moment, she debated whether she could bear the consequences. Another skip later and the sword in her hands was covered in Hellfire as she cut through an opposing Demon, who had been declared against the Demon Lord. As his Hellfire Blade, she couldn¡¯t let that stand under any circumstances. He had been the only one to acknowledge her as a true Demon, not some sort of monster. How could she ever betray him? Skip. She found herself in a dark cell, beyond emotion at the point she was at, knowing she¡¯d die soon, but unable to care. They¡¯d taken her first and only child, the last remaining descendant of the old Demon Lord, and locked her here for the rest of her life. She felt that she should want revenge, but couldn¡¯t bring herself to care enough. She was the only one of her kind. Nobody cared for her. Her parents tried to kill her as a child, nobody could ever accept that she had innate abilities that made her stronger than all the rest. She sighed before closing her eyes. Maybe demons were no better than Humans. In the end, neither could care for their own kind. She hoped¡­ that if anyone were to ever be like her, they¡¯d never turn out the way she did. ~~~ Yelena¡¯s eyes snapped open and she let out a few deep breaths, unable to speak for a moment. Luna, who was panicking over Bennett¡¯s unconscious body, suddenly looked at Yelena, but a screen blocked Yelena¡¯s vision. ___ Congratulations! You have claimed the Class : Hellfire Blade (Legendary I)! You gain the following Bonuses: +70% Hellfire Damage +70% Flame Damage +35% Weapon Damage +25% Flame/Hellfire Skill Effectiveness +50% Self Damage Resistance Your Skill Level Cap has increased from 5 to 6. From here on out, you gain +5 Strength, 5 Dexterity, 3 Mind, 3 Intelligence, 5 Unaligned Points per Level. You are now Level 10! +4 Strength, 4 Dexterity, 3 Mind, 3 Intelligence, 4 Unaligned Points Racial Change has been completed! Human (Godling 2nd Generation) -> Human (Godling - 2nd Generation) / Hellborn Hellborn Hybrid attribute : When Dealing Hellfire Damage, you will apply Hellborn Mark. Hellborn Mark : Hellfire Char II is applied every 2 Hellfire Char Stacks, which acts like Hellfire Char, but has double the effect, along with giving you (Skill : Hellfire Level * 2) per Stack of Hellfire Char II, stacking 10 times. Hellfire Char II instead triggers damage every 3 instances of Hellfire Damage to the opponent. ___ Yelena, waving the screen away, rushed to her brother, who seemed to be mildly distressed. ¡°Bennett! Get up, now!¡± she snapped, voice cracking in her terror. *** Bennett faintly heard a voice calling him as Maya slept on top of him. Wait¡­ what happened? I don¡¯t remember- ¡°You¡¯re awake already. Shame,¡± Maya muttered, sitting up and looking at him, not a single shred of clothing on her. She then rested her face on his chest, letting out a sigh. ¡°Fine. At least we both got something out of this.¡± Bennett blinked in confusion. ¡°Uh¡­ how?¡± Maya frowned up at him. ¡°Don¡¯t you not already tell? I gave you some knowledge on how to better use my power. It should be quite clear.¡± Bennett frowned and scanned his memories, trying to figure out if anything had changed. ¡°Nothing. I get the feeling you don¡¯t even know how it works. Now get off of me,¡± Bennett grumbled. ¡°I need to wake up.¡± Maya rolled off of him as his clothes suddenly reappeared before huffing. ¡°So you didn¡¯t get any new ¡®Skill¡¯, or whatever it¡¯s called?¡± Bennett, now suddenly interested, opened his Status¡­ or tried to. Nothing happened when he willed it into existence. Wha- Status? System Status? ¡°Uh¡­ What? Status?¡± Bennett muttered, panicking slightly now. ¡°It¡¯s not showing. I can¡¯t check.¡± Maya frowned at him. ¡°What? Is the Array not on your back?¡± she inquired. ¡°Array?¡± Bennett and Maya looked at one another for a long few moments before she blinked. ¡°Wait¡­ how long has it been? Is this System not an advanced way to view Arrays?¡± ¡°I¡­ honestly have no clue what you¡¯re talking about-¡± He suddenly remembered something and looked at her closer, at the strange markings that were pulsing. ¡°Blood Manipulation¡­ Blood Spike¡­ and Blood Break?¡± He muttered. She blinked before looking at her body. ¡°Oh, you can see these? They¡¯re my arrays. But¡­ there¡¯s more than that. Can you only read those three?¡± Bennett frowned. ¡°Yeah. But, Blood Break is new-¡± Bennett then remembered his Class Description. ¡°Actually, my Class said something about it, just that I would get it.¡± Maya frowned. ¡°Well, that¡¯s the Array I just copied onto you. I wanted you to choose another one though, as well as talk about your own Arrays, but you should wake up soon.¡± Bennett frowned. ¡°Wait, how did you even copy that onto me?¡± Maya leaned forward and let her head rest onto his chest. ¡°Just earlier.¡± ¡°Wait, that¡¯s how you do it? Is that the only way or something?¡± ¡°It¡¯s the fastest way by far. If you have some sort of ink, I could instead do it a much more painful way, which could take up to three days-¡± ¡°You know what, I think this way is fine,¡± Bennett said reluctantly. He couldn¡¯t say he hadn¡¯t enjoyed it though¡­ Maya gave him a smug look before wrapping her arms around him. ¡°I¡¯ll give you another ¡®Skill¡¯ later. Now-¡± She pressed her nose against his. ¡°Wake up,¡± she whispered. ~~~ Bennett¡¯s eyes snapped open to the panicked expression of Luna above him, who seemed to be trying to wake him up. When she saw him wake up, she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling herself as close to him as possible. He then groaned as a screen flashed in front of his face. ___ Gained new Skill! NEW! Blood Break - Level 1 Blood Break (Ultimate) Breaking your physical bonds, enhance all your physical attributes by (Skill Level * 150)% at the cost of 2% HP/s Every 10 seconds, this self Damage is increased by 10%. Additionally, all Blood based Skills will gain a (Skill Level * 70)% increase in damage. Damage dealt to yourself by this Skill is decreased by 0.5% for every 10 Endurance you have, to a maximum of 50%. You will also gain (Skill Level * 100)% more Blood Production. This lasts until your HP goes below 5% or until canceled. Every 1% HP Healed in duration will grant a stack of Blood Drop, which increases your Universal damage by (Skill Level * 0.2%), stacking 300 times. Bleed Chance is additionally increased to 100% fixed chance in this duration. During Blood Break, you can expand Blood Claw into Blood Beast to cover your entire body for a massive cost of Blood, but decrease self Damage by 25% and increase Blood Damage by 100% by reinforcing your body. (Additional Effect : Maya will deal an additional instance of Bleed Damage on hit, equivalent to 60% of damage dealt. Whenever this instance deals damage, the opponent will take (Skill Level * 0.5)% more Blood Damage until the duration of Blood Break ends, stacking 30 times. 1 extra instance of damage is added every 4 Levels.) Cooldown: 2 hours *Note : This Skill is not officially recognized by the System, so be wary of malfunctions during its use. ___ Bennett could hardly bother reading the paragraph of text as he felt Luna whimper into his chest. ¡°Wha- I couldn¡¯t have been that long,¡± he muttered, patting her back. Luna pulled away from him and held up three fingers, which took him a moment to understand. ¡°Thirty minutes? Huh¡­ honestly felt slightly longer.¡± Luna poked his cheek, not happy with that information. He rubbed her head and she blinked in confusion. ¡°I¡¯m fine, Luna. If anything, Lena is probably more worried about me-¡± Bennett looked to his side to see a completely different person than he expected right next to him. The girl vaguely looked like Yelena, but her hair was flaming¡­ literally. Her face was smoother than Yelena¡¯s, yet mostly everything was the same. It was basically¡­ a Yelena if someone from the outside tried to fix her flaws. It was¡­ wrong, but right at the same time. The only thing that hadn¡¯t changed was the white strand that had always been there. However¡­ ¡°Why do you look like you just lost every bit of life left in you as if I were on my deathbed?¡± His sister, seemingly shocked from her stupor, looked at him in utter surprise, as if she hadn¡¯t expected him to wake up. ¡°You¡¯re awake! What happened to you? Did you see something too? What¡¯s-!?¡± Bennett covered her mouth with his hand, silencing her. ¡°I¡¯m perfectly fine. Just a really annoying Skill that doesn¡¯t like me,¡± Bennett lied, earning him narrowed eyes from Yelena, who clearly saw right through it. ¡°Have you seen yourself? What happened to you?¡± Yelena pulled his hand off her mouth letting out a huff. ¡°We will have words about you lying to me, but I¡¯ll let you off the hook for now.¡± Yelena¡¯s hair seemed to burn a little brighter and Bennett felt a bit wary. How am I going to explain Maya to Yelena, in any capacity? ¡°As you asked, I have no clue what happened. When I got my Class, I kinda just¡­ blacked out, and it felt like I lived through someone¡¯s life¡­ I think it was someone who had the same Class as I just got. I don¡¯t think my Class is meant for Humans¡­¡± The two of them looked at one another for a long time before Bennett sighed. ¡°Or whatever the hell we are. ¡®Godling¡­ Second Generation,¡± Bennett muttered. ¡°That means our Mom¡­¡± Luna looked between the two of them in a mix of confusion and surprise as the twins pondered. After a second, Bennett unwittingly let off a Bloodbolt into the wall at the same time Yelena¡¯s hair suddenly flared with Hellfire, nearly burning her clothes. ¡°I¡¯m so pissed I can¡¯t even bother choosing my extra Skills. Just how many things has Mom lied to us about?! For all I know, she¡¯s probably been making up all the stories she¡¯s told us over the years. This is obscene!¡± As his sister ranted, Bennett sat there, refusing to let his feeling of betrayal boil over. *** Luna watched Bennett and Yelena practically smash their heads against invisible walls, both having their own way to cope with their newest revelation. Luna, however, was in shock. Godlings? But¡­ how? I sensed no sort of Divinity in their mother, Luna thought, still clinging to Bennett. Did I miss something? Does she have some sort of Artifact- (No.) Luna flinched at Cthulhu¡¯s voice. What do you mean? (You keep assuming that you¡¯re as strong as we once were. It¡¯s just not true. We¡¯re weakened to such a point, you¡¯re barely strong enough to take on a lesser God, so it makes sense you can¡¯t sense the composition of people nowadays.) Luna frowned, looking closely at Bennett, ignoring his physical body. Immediately she was completely taken aback from how little information she gleaned from him. She could only really tell the majority of the Elements in his body, which was Lightning, Blood, and trace amounts of Ice, which made sense as his mother was an Ice¡­ something. She wasn¡¯t sure what Level their mother was. After a few moments, Bennett stood up, lifting Luna with him. He had his eyes closed for a few moments before clearly forcing what Luna could only call a sad smile. ¡°How about we go back over to the Dungeon. I already can imagine the look on Reah¡¯s face when she sees you.¡± Yelena looked at Bennett for a few moments before giving Luna a strange expression that, even though Luna didn''t have any sort of Bond with her, Luna could easily interpret it. Please take care of him, She said. Luna nodded. Chapter 18 : The Abyss and the Divine Bennett had been completely correct when he said that Reah would have a ¡°face¡±. She was completely and utterly dumbfounded by Yelena¡¯s transformation, not that much changed. Yelena¡¯s hair had seemingly cooled down until it was almost the same brown as Bennett¡¯s, but there was still definitely the flames. Apparently, the fire didn¡¯t actually hurt Bennett and specifically Bennett, since when Luna tried touching it, it had almost burned her, to which Yelena had apologized profusely. Eventually, they got back to the Dungeon¡¯s edge, where something seemed to dawn upon Yelena. ¡°Oh, yeah, Ben, I wanted you to help me choose my Skills. I¡¯ll help you too when choosing yours,¡± she explained, her hair suddenly quite alive. Bennett sighed. ¡°I can¡¯t choose mine until tonight, most likely. I only got one.¡± Luna and Yelena gave him a strange look, Luna noticing a few conflicting feelings shuffling around within him. ¡°That¡¯s a strange requirement,¡± his sister said. ¡°Any specific reason?¡± ¡°It¡­ has to do a bit with Maya and how Array- er, Skill transferring works with her.¡± Array Transferring? How does he- ¡°Array Transfer? What exactly is that?¡± Yelena asked curiously. Bennett, who, for some reason, was in a state of panic, responded, ¡°...Complicated. Apparently, Skills aren¡¯t some sort of blessing bestowed by the System. Apparently, they¡¯re also called Arrays, and they function just as we use Skills. I¡¯m just making a very, very vague assumption here, but I think Arrays are just called Skills by the System. I also think that the System doesn¡¯t actually give out Skills¡­ but instead unlocks Array Patterns that we gain based on our Alignment and other external factors.¡± ¡°But what about Spells?¡± Yelena asked as if Bennett knew. Luna looked at him curiously as well, to see his flat expression. ¡°Go on, ask the ¡®God of Knowledge¡¯, Bennett Yasmine about something he guessed about. Anyhow, you said you got a new Skill?.¡± Yelena shrugged, pulling up a giant screen that even scrolled down like some computer from the Earth Luna had almost forgotten about. (I forgot about that though¡­) Cthulhu muttered, sounding a bit distraught. Good for you, I guess. Now let me read, you idiot. ___ Seven Circles of Hellfire (Burn) Summon the first Circle of Hellfire when activating Hellfire State, which will upgrade itself based on the amount of Hellcircle stacks in total you have applied since Hellfire State has been Active. Hellcircle stacks are gained when applying Hellfire Char, using Hellfire Skill, or dealing Hellfire weapon damage. They give 1, 3, and 2 stacks respectively. The Circles will apply various buffs to yourself, depending on its current Level. All buffs from previous Circles apply to higher Circles. Every stack of Hellcircle increases your Hellfire Damage by 0.5%. First Circle (0 - 10 stacks) - Decrease Flame Skill Cooldowns by 20%. Every 2 seconds, when dealing Hellfire Damage, tick 2 seconds of a random Skill that is on cooldown. Second Circle (11 - 25 stacks) - When using a Flame Skill, decrease opponent Hellfire/Flame Resistance by (Skill Level * 2), stacking twice. Additionally, dealing Hellfire infused weapon damage will apply an extra stack of Hellfire Char. Third Circle (26 - 40 stacks) - Hellfire Char gains a (Skill Level * 10)% damage Bonus and the maximum stacks of its Resistance Decrease is increased to 30. When Hellfire Char deals damage, it does an additional damage instance that is equivalent to 15% of its original damage. Fourth Circle (46 - 60 stacks) - Every four Hellfire Char damage instances will enhance the next instance of damage, which deals 200% more damage and adds 8 seconds to Hellfire State¡¯s duration. Fifth Circle (61 - 80 stacks) - Every 5 instances of Hellfire damage other than Hellfire Char will trigger Wild Hellfire, which deals high Hellfire Damage to any non-ally in a 3 yard radius and applies 5 Hellfire Char Stacks, which do not contribute to Hellcircle stacks. Sixth Circle (81 - 100 stacks) - Decreases Wild Hellfire trigger requirement to 4 and increases its damage by 70%. Additionally, Healing from Hellfire is doubled. Seventh Circle (101 - 150) - Hellfire State now lasts until you cancel it. All bonuses given by Hellfire State are doubled, except for cooldown reduction. You also gain a Speed and Perception bonus of (Skill Level * 100)%. When taking damage, a Chain Burst of (Skill Level * 3) will be anchored to the opponent and explode after 5 seconds. This can happen once every 15 seconds, with the cooldown independent for each opponent. When canceling Hellfire state, you will no longer be put into a weakened state. Every Level of Seven Circles of Hellfire increases Hellcircle Stack gain by (Skill Level * 10)%. ___ Well, that¡¯s probably the longest Skill description I¡¯ve seen yet, Luna thought, pushing the emotions from a few moments before looking up at Bennett¡¯s expression as he read the Skill description. After a moment, he nodded. ¡°Well, it seems like we both got something that is a huge upgrade to us currently, but mine is pretty dangerous to use (well, less to me and more to everyone around me), and yours requires a decent amount of setup to fully deck out, but is still good.¡± Yelena poked her brother¡¯s cheek. ¡°Lemme see your new Skill,¡± she demanded, poking him a few more times for good measure. Luna decided to copy her, earning the most disappointed expression she¡¯d ever seen on Bennett¡¯s face. ¡°Sure¡­¡± Bennett said, monotone, flicking his other hand, causing a screen to pop up out of nowhere. For about a minute, Luna and Yelena read the screen, Yelena¡¯s brow furrowing with each word. Luna, however, was caught up on two sections: Blood Claw - Blood Beast, and- ¡°¡®This Skill is not officially recognised by the System?¡¯ The hell is that supposed to mean?¡± When will I be able to finish my- (You¡¯ll never be able to finish your thoughts, so stop thinking about it,) Cthulhu interrupted Luna, clearly smug with herself. Oh. I forgot about you. You¡¯ve been quiet. (Oh, haha, child. Since you clearly can see the major problem with this Array, I¡¯d advise you to convince him to not use it. We don¡¯t have time to deal with a Blood Bea-) Okay, shut up again. Luna ignored the next words from Cthulhu, instead focusing on the part where it came to healing during the ¡°Blood Break¡± state. I wonder if Overheal counts as a part of the healing. If I brought him to 250% HP, which is achievable for some godsforsaken reason, would all of that count as part of the damage bonus? I mean, I¡¯d assume so, since Healing Effectiveness is applied to Overheal, so I think Overheal would be considered Healing. Yelena huffed. ¡°Whatever. But, it¡¯s completely stupid, since you two are already completely insane when put together, especially since Luna doesn¡¯t have Unheal-¡± Luna glared at Yelena in a way that said, ¡°I¡¯m going to slap you if you continue¡± and Yelana stopped mid-sentence, as if understanding that saying those words would be a bad idea. ¡°You know what I mean. But still, it¡¯s crazy how well you guys seem to fit together as a team. I don¡¯t even have a dedicated buffer in my team! The one who¡¯s supposed to do that is a better fighter than he¡¯s a buffer.¡± As Yelena huffed, Luna looked at Bennett, who was looking back down at her with a strange expression. For just a singular moment, Luna felt a hint of¡­ possessiveness within him before it was seemingly blasted out of existence by himself. He didn¡¯t show any visible reaction, but Luna was a bit concerned for a moment, but focused back on Yelena, as she eventually got over her annoyance. ¡°Anyhow, let''s check out my Skill choices now, since I¡¯m starting to get curious.¡± Luna looked over at the dark pit that was the Dungeon, thinking, Here? I mean, I guess you can test the Skill out here¡­ but isn¡¯t it dangerous? To any normal person, at least? I¡¯m sure I could just jump in there and clear it by breaking a few things not meant to be broken. (Well, at least you got something from me-) Shut. Luna looked back at Yelena to see a Skill screen in front of her, filled with four Skills to choose from, as it seemed. ___ Choice 1 : Fireball (Damage) Summon a concentration of Flame, which, when thrown, will grow in size depending on the distance. Deals High Flame Damage and Every 2 feet of distance increase size by (Skill Level * 2)%, up to a maximum up (Skill Level * 10)% and increases damage by (Skill Level * 1.5)%. Only up to two can be charging at the same time, with a doubled MP cost for each. (Additional Hellfire Effect : Growth and Damage Increase stats are doubled, while MP cost is decreased by 25%. Applied an extra stack of Hellfire Char.) Cost : Moderate MP Cooldown : 10 seconds (Can summon 2 at once.) Choice 2 : War Flag of Flame (Support) Set up a burning pillar resembling a flag in a position that inherits 200% of your HP and will lose 1% every second. In a (Skill Level * 3) yard radius of this flag, all allies will gain a (Skill Level * 7)% Damage bonus and (Skill Level * 0.3)% Damage Resistance. This lasts until the flag¡¯s HP reaches 0%. The flag cannot be healed, but every person within the radius of the increases the delay between HP loss ticks by 50%, up to 500%. (Additional Hellfire Effect : Inherited HP is increased to 300% and Damage Bonus is additionally increased by 10% for every 2 Levels.) Cost : High MP Cooldown : 1 day Choice 3: Flaming Whip (Damage/Utility) Create a whip of Flame that is flexible and can be weakly controlled mentally. This whip can grab onto objects without burning them at will, or be used to restrain or drag opponents based on Strength and Dexterity. Deals Low to Moderate Flame damage. Restraining opponents with Flaming Whip will deal constant Low Fire damage that ramps up over time. Can dismiss Flame Whips by dropping them. (Additional Hellfire Effect : Can Summon up to two Whips and gain greater control over Whips. Restrained opponents will have their Flame and Hellfire Resistance decreased by 15%) Cost : Low MP over time Cooldown (After dismissal) : 30 seconds ___ Luna shifted in Bennett¡¯s hold, honestly a bit underwhelmed. She was unsure of how she should react to the Skills, leading her to look up at Bennett¡¯s pensive expression. She then looked at Yelena to see the exact same expression on her face, even though she was bound to have seen them already. Huh¡­ they don¡¯t see them as boring at all. They just see new tools to play with¡­ Fair enough, they don¡¯t really have a concept of good or bad Skills, at least not as well as I understand. For instance, Fireball- ¡°Fireball¡¯s kinda dumb,¡± Yelena muttered. ¡°All it basically is another Burst, but with less control.¡± Bennett nodded from above Luna¡¯s head. ¡°Agreed. It¡¯s completely useless for you, even in this day and age, where Fireball¡¯s really just a funny thing to have.¡± Yelena snorted and the screen disappeared. ¡°Yay. Two more skills closer to the stupid amount of Skills you have.¡± Bennett frowned. ¡°Are you really that stingy about my Skills? You just got that Seven Rings or whatever Skill. That¡¯s far better than anything I have.¡±This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°You have Luna. Case closed.¡± Luna frowned, looking up at the completely bewildered face of Bennett, who looked down at her before looking at his sister. ¡°Firstly, I don¡¯t have Luna. Luna has a choice in the matter of helping me or not and, by some miracle, she¡¯s chosen to help us until now. Secondly, I¡¯m not always going to be relying on Luna, y¡¯know. She can¡¯t come with us everywhere,¡± Bennett countered, mildly surprising Luna. ¡°She does have a choice in the matter.¡± (Oh. He does respect your decisions. That¡¯s interesting,) Cthulhu mumbled, a bit confused. (Honestly didn¡¯t expect that-) ¡°Oh, there you two are.¡± The three of their heads turned to see the Beast Studies Professor looking very annoyed with just about everything. She gave the three of them a flat expression as she pointed behind her. ¡°The giant buffoon who calls himself the Combat Professor made me get you, along with the rude horned girl,¡± She snapped. ¡°Now go, I¡¯m busy trying to find a lion made of lightning¡­ again.¡± Luna felt agreement radiate from Bennett, but he showed no outward signs of agreement, which Luna found mildly amusing, but didn¡¯t acknowledge it much further than that. Bennett and Yelena looked at one another for a few moments before shrugging. A few minutes later, the three of them found themselves being loomed over by the Combat Professor¡­ well, except for Bennett, as he was slightly taller than the Professor, but the threat was still there. He was completely silent, apparently waiting for something to happen. A few moments later, when Juli finally showed up, he finally seemed to come alive and he seemed to cross his arms a little tighter. ¡°Hmph. Took you long enough,¡± he grumbled, taking a step backwards. ¡°Anyhow, what I need to tell you is important, so you¡¯d best listen: ¡°You¡¯re not going into that Dungeon, that¡¯s what us Professors agreed on,¡± the Wolf-kin snapped. Huh? Luna thought. Wait, what? Luna looked at Juli, who stared at the man for a few moments, apparently trying to understand the insanity coming out of his mouth. She then snapped. ¡°Uh huh. Go ahead and go into that Dungeon and close it yourself then. I¡¯d love to see you even attempt to do it. Even I can tell there¡¯s not a drop of Divinity in your Blood,¡± Juli snapped, completely surprising Luna. ¡°All I¡¯ve seen is rot from that ¡®Abyss¡¯, and there are plenty of countermeasures against that-¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing like rot, and I¡¯d think that you¡¯d have realized it at this point, but clearly, you¡¯re dumber than one would think,¡± Juli interrupted. Luna felt Bennett flinch slightly, but she couldn¡¯t blame him. This girl was entirely correct, but¡­ she could¡¯ve tried to be slightly nicer about it. Yelena seemed to be about to say something, but Juli¡¯s head snapped in her direction. ¡°Shut up, Yelena. I don¡¯t need your help,¡± she said before Yelena could even get a word out. Luna felt Bennett tense, feeling that this situation was getting slowly more and more precarious. (Then forcibly stop them all from getting out of hand,) Cthulhu suggested. No. I feel it¡¯s better if we let this play out, Luna argued. (...Your funeral.) Luna, trying to diffuse at least some tension, relaxed in Bennett¡¯s hold and he had to put in slightly more effort to keep her balanced, redirecting his attention to her, though it felt a little selfish on her part. He looked down at her before letting out a sigh and lifting her a bit higher, frowning at Yelena and Juli. Juli noticed his expression and her eyelid twitched. ¡°Is there something you want to say, or are you going to stand there looking like an idiot?¡± she snapped. He didn¡¯t respond, just staring at her with a bored expression, somewhat reminiscent of¡­ Is he copying me? I mean, fair enough, I¡¯m sure I do it all the time, but really? Luna thought. Juli apparently took his stare as a challenge and glared at him for a few moments until he raised an eyebrow, causing her to flinch. It was then he finally spoke. ¡°Maybe instead of complaining and insulting people, you could make an attempt to explain. It might help your case,¡± Bennett said slowly, as if talking to an angry animal. Juli let out a huff and looked away, thinking. However, his¡­ scolding, Luna guessed, worked and she looked back at the Combat Professor. ¡°First of all, Abyss may look like rot, but it is more akin to¡­ corruption. It doesn¡¯t make things rot away, but instead causes them to turn into Abyss-Corrupt, which, depending on the thing corrupted, can become a killing machine, or actually peaceful, like Abyssal Forests¡­ though, to be fair, those just slowly drain your lifeforce if you¡¯re not an Abyssal or Voidling. ¡°But, to say the least, regardless of how strong you are, you can still be corrupted by Abyss, so having somebody like you go in there is the dumbest thing you can do, since you could just end up coming out and killing everyone around you.¡± In short, Abyss is nothing to play around with, along with Void, though Void is less dangerous. I wasn¡¯t even able to experiment with it. (You mean I wasn¡¯t able to experiment with-) Could you, for once, stop fighting everything I think about? And quit interrupting my thoughts. Luna didn¡¯t get a response, which she took as an agreement, as usual. Focusing back on the present, Luna looked over to the Professor, who seemed to be debating for a few moments. He then shook his head. ¡°I¡¯m unable to take your word for that as you have no proof-¡± Before the man could finish his statement, the very annoyed Abyssal grabbed his arm and glared at him for a long moment. After nearly ten seconds, he suddenly ripped his arm from her grip, revealing a dark patch rapidly spreading through his arm and seemingly robbing him of control of it. The dark patch spread from his arm to half his face before stopping where Luna assumed his brain was, clearly struggling to take over, most likely due to Juli¡¯s lower level. However, that didn¡¯t stop her from letting out a bored sigh. ¡°Sit down on the floor. Now.¡± Immediately, the man sat down onto the floor and- Luna let out a yelp as Bennett¡¯s face seemed to go blank and he sat down on the floor as well, followed by his sister. Luna clung to the now stiff Bennett as Juli looked back and blinked in confusion. ¡°Oh, for the Gods sake-, You can ignore my orders, Bennett and Yelena Yasmine.¡± Suddenly, Bennett¡¯s face regained emotion and he looked around in bafflement, but was quickly interrupted by Yelena nearly smacking face-first into his back, disoriented. ¡°Wha- why am I on the ground?¡± Luna, however, stared at Juli, who also gave her a mildly confused look. What in the world was that? (...I have no clue. I¡¯ve seen it before from Abyssal Royalty, but¡­ that means she¡¯s directly related to the Royal Abyss Family, which isn¡¯t good for any of us. This means, wherever they are, she¡¯s Protected by the God of the Abyss, who, from my memory of them, are terrifying in their own right.) Wait, even you don¡¯t know what that command is? (I just said that. I have no clue how it works, but it¡¯s existed for as long as the Royal Abyss Family bloodline has.) Juli suddenly seemed to remember the professor and grabbed his arm, where the Abyss began to retreat back into her and he fell face first onto the ground for a few seconds before, in a split second he got back onto his feet and his sword was suddenly at Juli¡¯s neck. ¡°You¡­ what was that?¡± he growled, his ears shaking slightly. Juli, not perturbed in the slightest, shrugged. ¡°Abyss. I told you how bad it is. The thing is, if I¡¯m correct-¡± Juli suddenly grabbed Bennett¡¯s arm and, a moment later, cursed as a loud sizzling sound seemed to burn her and Bennett hissed in pain, and, clearly reacting on instinct, his arm was suddenly covered in blood, which seemed to worsen the pain for Juli. She suddenly let go and began shaking her steaming hand, which was mildly burnt. ¡°What the hell is that Scythe?! That thing feels like it¡¯s chock-full of Divinity!¡± Bennett looked at his very angry looking arm before momentarily blanking out as she¡¯d seen him do before. It was very, very subtle, and lasted for not even a moment, filled with a flash of emotions, but he suddenly came back out of it, looking like he had even more questions. Curious. *** A few moments before, right after Juli had grabbed him, Maya had suddenly reacted without him even acknowledging the pain, surrounding his arm angrily, clearly wanting to attack her. As Juli pulled away and cursed, the familiar feeling of everything slowing down to a stop and Maya appearing sitting next to him, looking very much pissed. ¡°Uh-¡± ¡°The absolute gall that girl must have is beyond me if she thinks attacking you with Abyss is anywhere near a good idea! Like, I was completely unprepared for her Command, but when she tried injecting you with Abyss was crossing a fine line,¡± Maya snapped. She suddenly looked at Bennett, who flinched at her glare. She then let out a sigh and her expression turned to concern. ¡°Why would you even let her touch you, Bennett. Are you an idiot? Just because you have some semblance of Divinity, which is very much annoying to argue with, mind you, doesn¡¯t mean you can resist direct infusion of Abyss. Just the more annoying passive kind.¡± Bennett, still in a state of confusion, muttered, ¡°Wut?¡± She seemed to realize he was uncomprehending of what had just happened and sat there in silence as he shook his head, processing. A few moments later, he looked at her, confused. ¡°Okay, now that you¡¯ve given me a chance to think, what does she mean when you¡¯re full of Divinity?¡± Bennett asked. ¡°Depends on the context. Technically, you¡¯re full of it and-¡± Maya started, looking a bit too smug. ¡°The fact I know where you¡¯re trying to go with this tells me you¡¯ve already done too much to, as my mother would say, ¡®defile my mind¡¯. Just give me the actual explanation.¡± Maya pouted. ¡°You really have no sense of humor, do you? But fine, since you only now decided to ask. I¡¯m, by technicality, a Divine weapon.¡± Bennett blinked. ¡°I just felt about a dozen metaphorical targets just lock onto my back. You¡¯re a DIVINE WEAPON?!¡± As Bennett exclaimed in horror, Maya flinched slightly. ¡°I mean, how else would you get a Soul into Bloodsteel? Of course I am. I have a core and everything, though, for some reason, it¡¯s inside of you right now.¡± Bennett tried to calm down, but horribly failed at that task. ¡°How the hell did you even end up in the Academy? Scratch that, how are you even still on this planet.¡± ¡°I could say the same about many things, like the Headmaster here. Based on the books you¡¯ve read, once a person is Level 100, they¡¯re forced off the planet for the safety of many people. And based on information, your mother is at least Archon, so I think it¡¯s fair that I¡¯m here.¡± ¡°In basic terms, you were created by a Level 500 plus being. You¡¯re probably a Demigod Level Weapon. There is no way you should be allowed here.¡± ¡°Look, there¡¯s a lot of things I don¡¯t understand either, like how I was made in the first place-¡± ¡°Now you¡¯re being contradictory. You know that it takes a God to put a Soul into Bloodsteel, now you¡¯re saying you don¡¯t know how you were made.¡± Maya, put her head on his lap, clearly bored. ¡°That¡¯s not contradictory. I just know very little about the creation of Divine weapons other than that. I don¡¯t know how I ended up here, or much of anything except for the people who¡¯ve failed to ¡®claim¡¯ me.¡± Bennett wasn¡¯t sure how to respond. He sat there for a moment, thinking about how to respond. Before he could, she let out a huff. ¡°Only thing I remember before becoming a sentient chunk of metal is being betrayed by someone close to me, at least I think so,¡± she grumbled. ¡°But, after however long it¡¯s been, I honestly couldn¡¯t care less.¡± Bennett frowned more. ¡°Wait, you have a core? What is that supposed to even mean?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know what a core is?¡± Maya¡¯s other¡­ legs, Bennett guessed they should be called, based on, well, spiders, pushed her up, bending back further than he expected. ¡°Do you not have a core? Or¡­¡± She pushed her hands against his stomach and he flinched as he felt her seemingly move around his insides. She then smacked her head against her forehead as if making a realization. ¡°Right, you don¡¯t get that since you¡¯re mostly Human. Well, for now. Actually, would my core also count as your core? But, if it¡¯s destroyed, only I would die¡­¡± Bennett thought for a moment, evading her pokes before asking, ¡°How do you know about this Array stuff if you don¡¯t remember your previous life.¡± Maya shrugged. ¡°It just seems natural. And I¡¯ve had a lot of time to look over the dozens I have. I mean, they¡¯re all layered on top of one another, so it takes some time to look through them.¡± After a few moments of her thinking, she eventually sighed again. ¡°I still want to give you one more Array, but this is certainly not the time.¡± Bennett expected her to say something else out of pocket, but clearly held herself back, based on her sudden cutoff. Bennett, curious, asked, ¡°Any Skill in particular you are referring to?¡± She poked his cheek, giving him a smug expression. ¡°Slow down, I think you¡¯re going a bit too fast for me.¡± ¡°By the gods, you¡¯re worse than Rebecca. I just asked a question out of curiosity,¡± He responded, giving her a bored expression. ¡°Would it kill you to not make every statement that comes out of either of our mouths sexual in some way, shape, or form?¡± Maya shrugged. ¡°Well, I think I can have some leeway; I¡¯ve been trapped alone in a glorified storage closet for an undetermined amount of time. I¡¯m a bit¡­¡± ¡°Uh huh. Well, it¡¯s already getting old, so tone it down a bit, will you?¡± She let out an exasperated sigh. ¡°Fine, fine. I get it, I guess¡­ But, I can still tell you the Array. Where is it though¡­¡± The spider-like legs folded down to her sides as she put her hand on her back, apparently searching for something. She then shrugged and looked at him. ¡°Guess I can¡¯t show you. But, I can roughly explain- oh for gods¡¯¡± She suddenly flickered out of existence before reappearing, slightly transparent and exhausted looking. ¡°Damn it, I¡¯ll have to explain tonight. You¡¯re damn Divinity is fighting me again, so-¡± She flickered out of existence and when she reappeared again¡­ Bennett, though unable to move, nearly managed to Flicker. The spider legs on her back had doubled in length, gaining another segment and looking like giant scythes of their own. Floating behind her back, however, was a Scythe that was a bit like the one he used. However, it was also a bit different, as it looked a bit more like¡­ a large, inward curving blade, almost like a claw with a shorter handle, about half the length of her much larger legs. It reminded him a bit of a Falx (Which he had debated on getting a pair from the Adventuring guild once. He probably would have if he hadn¡¯t realized it would probably ruin the skin of any kill he made) or Rhomphaia (It was a bit closer to the design of a war scythe like his, but with a shorter handle and longer blade. More of meant to be able to be used with two hands, though he was pretty sure it could be used with one with a bit of training) It seemed to be constantly dripping blood that disappeared before it hit the ground. She also wore completely different attire, akin to light armour, but it had openings, revealing part of her hip and a bit above as well. Why though¡­ Wait, from what I¡¯ve read was that both Aracne types have silk glands somewhere near their hips. But, why would one specifically use it for combat? I wouldn¡¯t think¡­ Bennett then remembered something else he read, about normal spider silk. Right, if normal silk is around as strong as steel, in certain conditions, then¡­ ¡°Fair enough,¡± he muttered. He didn¡¯t get to study her strange attire further as she gave him an exasperated look. ¡°Guess our conversation ends here. Your Divinity is an asshole, you know-¡± She flickered out of existence one last time and the world resumed its normal speed, with Juli still shaking her arm wildly. Bennett, recalling what had just happened, shrugged. ¡°Don¡¯t just shrug. Surely, you¡¯d have known if you had some Divine Weapon or whatever that is!¡± I¡¯m sure he would¡¯ve noticed as well¡­ Bennett thought, looking at the Combat Professor who gave the retreating Maya a mildly concerned look. I have the feeling that things are going to be slightly more complicated from here on out. Bennett looked down at Luna, who sat on his lap with a curious expression on her face, mirroring her emotions. And what is she thinking about this time around? Chapter 19 : Dungeon Preparations - Part 1 Luna curiously watched Bennett¡¯s expression as he gave her a slightly confused look, but something told her that he already knew something else about his weapon. Assuming this, during his momentary ¡°blank out¡±, he must have been experiencing something else, most likely a conversation with his weapon. But, unless- ¡°Hmph. I¡¯ve come to a new decision,¡± the Professor suddenly said, still looking a bit shaken. ¡°I will, very reluctantly, allow you to clear the Dungeon. But, there will be some caveats to that. Namely with you two.¡± The Wolf-kin gestured at Bennett and Yelena, who both looked at him with mild confusion. ¡°Let¡¯s start with a very obvious thing; under no circumstances will you die. There is quite literally nobody who can stop your mother from flattening the entire Academy and half the Capital if you do.¡± Realization seemed to click in Bennett¡¯s skull, which, to be fair, probably did, as mild surprise pierced his mind through their bond. ¡°I keep forgetting that Mom¡¯s oh-so-powerful,¡± he muttered glumly. Yelena nodded. ¡°Same. I just keep hearing her say-¡± ¡°¡®I swear, you two, I can never stop you from doing something stupid and getting yourselves hurt¡¯,¡± the twins said together, as if they¡¯d rehearsed it, and judging from the lack of reaction, this had probably happened before. Juli looked between the twins with concern, apparently forgetting about her arm. ¡°Do¡­ you two just share a brain or something?¡± ¡°Apparently,¡± Bennett said. ¡°It¡¯s faint, but there.¡± ¡°Mhm, Mom insists we have Twin Theory, which, as time goes on-¡± Yelena started. ¡°We think it is probably true,¡± they finished. Juli gave the two of them a flat stare, which Luna mirrored, earning the shrug of the twins. The Professor coughed. ¡°Back to the topic at hand. Second thing you must heed, since it¡¯s a Dungeon, Beasts can come from any direction, so you must stay diligent.¡± Luna frowned. Has he rehearsed this before? I swear he has that tone of someone who¡¯s bored of saying the same thing over and over. (Of course,) Cthulhu mumbled. ¡°Scary,¡± Juli said in a flat tone. ¡°I don¡¯t need to be lectured about Dungeons for the tenth time. You have fun explaining it to them while I try to get the Level 50 Bear that just jumped out of the dungeon to stop terrorizing students. I swear they do it on purpose.¡± The man huffed as he watched her leave before suddenly processing what she just said. ¡°Level 50- whatever.¡± He looked back at Luna and the twins before letting out a huff. ¡°That was all I had to say anyways. You should go and prepare to enter, since you¡¯ll need plenty of materials. It can take days to clear a Dungeon, after all. We¡¯ll give you a week to prepare. Use it wisely.¡± ~~~ A week seems a bit much, doesn''t it? Luna thought, resisting the urge to shovel food down her throat. However, I just want to know why I am so damn hungry. I haven¡¯t done anything today. (Do you forget you run on Mana?) Cthulhu said. (You¡¯re not constantly around a Water Mana source anymore like the ocean, so you have to eat more food to compensate.) That¡¯s kinda annoying, but whatever. (If you ate food made of Water Mana based Beasts, you¡¯ll probably be able to alleviate the hunger for much longer.) Well it;s not like they¡¯re in high supply now, are they? Plus- Luna stopped mid-sentence to look at Bennett, who¡¯d suddenly grown a bit more agitated as he took a bite of his food. She poked his side and he glanced down at her before letting out a small sigh and eating a bit more. ¡°I¡¯m fine,¡± he muttered at her questioning gaze. ¡°Definitely.¡± As he continued, Luna was about to poke him again when another voice spoke. ¡°Why are you so stressed? Did something happen?¡± Bennett, completely taken by surprise by Ulayla¡¯s sudden arrival, momentarily choked on his food until Luna smacked him on the back with a tentacle, nearly causing him to spit his food out. He then swallowed and turned to look at Ulayla. ¡°Maybe a warning next time before you speak in my ear,¡± Bennett stated before grabbing his extra spoon and throwing it directly at the smug face of Tyreese, hitting him in the forehead. Tyreese grabbed his forehead in mock pain. ¡°Ow! What was that for?! Why are you in on this now?!¡± ¡°You could¡¯ve said she was breathing down my neck, y¡¯know,¡± Bennett grumbled, uncharacteristic annoyance in his voice. ¡°Even I have my limits,¡± he then muttered under his breath, where only Luna and maybe Ulayla heard. So he¡¯s in a much worse mood than he let on, Luna mused, trying to understand what was happening. Why, though? He seemed okay with jumping into the Dungeon earlier¡­ why is he so out of it now? (Well, he was clearly putting up a show so that his sister wasn¡¯t worried as much about the Dungeon. Pretty simple. I¡¯ve seen it many times before. He¡¯s eating himself up from the inside since he doesn¡¯t know how to go about this problem,) Cthulhu interjected. Right. I can assume he never expected to be thrown into a Dungeon so early in the year. But now that he has to, he has no clue what he needs to do, how to prepare, and most importantly¡­ keep his sister safe. *** It was not an exaggeration to say that Yelena was bustling with excitement, completely unaware of her brother''s predicament. There was a very many things that were needed to prepare for a Dungeon, such as¡­ She stared at the wall of her room, unsure of how to even start. ¡°Huh¡­ reading up on Adventuring Prep was more of Bennett¡¯s thing. I mean, even if he doesn¡¯t do it now he still had to learn basic preparations for things like secretly going out to kill things and gathering honey whenever we ran out¡­ not that it went well most times¡­¡± Yelena mused to herself. She then shrugged. ¡°Eh. I¡¯m sure he borrowed a few books from the library at this point. I¡¯m sure he won¡¯t mind if I go poke around for them in his room for a bit¡­¡± A few minutes later, and a mutual agreement between her and Jennifer, she was in front of her brother¡¯s door. She hesitated for a moment before letting out an annoyed huff at herself. ¡°And in we go¡­¡± she said, opening the door and slipping inside. She looked around at the blank canvas of a room, which only held a wardrobe, desk, bookcase, and his bed. After another quick glance, she noticed a nightstand as well, though it seemed to have scratches, which she presumed was Bennett¡¯s daggers cutting into them whenever he accidentally pulled them out of their sheathes instead of taking the entire sheathe. She then looked at the wall across the room, seeing what looked like a used target, with slits where Bennett had apparently thrown his daggers with a decent amount of force. ¡°Hm, hm.¡± She then looked to the partially filled bookcase and grinned wildly. ¡°Time to search through some books.¡± ~~~ Twenty minutes later, she found herself looking at her brother¡¯s flat expression as he stared at her from the doorway with Luna looking at her strangely, a tart halfway down her gullet, another two held in a tentacle. ¡°You could¡¯ve just asked to look through my books instead of sneaking in here; I knew that Jennifer looked a bit guilty.¡± Yelena coughed, looking away. ¡°Well, uh, I was a little impatient. I was looking for a book on Dungeons and the preparations needed to go into one¡­¡± Bennett frowned at her. ¡°Right¡­ about that.¡± Yelena nodded for him to continue, and even Luna looked at him curiously. He coughed before continuing. ¡°The Academy really, really seems to hate any mention of the Adventuring Guild, so they don¡¯t have that specific book. They only have their own, hard to read ¡®Capital Approved : An Academy of Magic¡¯s Guide to Dungeons and Dungeon Pillaging¡¯, which even Luna was getting frustrated reading.¡± Luna nodded in agreement. ¡°And he¡¯s the real kicker: she was eating.¡± Luna then smacked him with a tentacle, but he had already got it out. Yelena let out a mock gasp. ¡°Luna? Frustrated while eating? This must mean it¡¯s a very bad book.¡± After letting out a laugh, Bennett shook his head. ¡°It¡¯s not bad, from what I¡¯ve read from it, but¡­ it¡¯s really bloated with useless information. It¡¯s like some outside force was interrupting the author¡¯s writing so he couldn¡¯t get a word in.¡± He looked over to the bookshelf, took a step forward, but before he could even get another step in, Luna¡¯s tentacle shot over, grabbed a book, and gave it to him, still eating. Bennett, without losing a beat, turned around and sat next to Yelena, who gave the two a confused look. What in the world? It¡¯s like Luna knew exactly what he wanted, and he adapted before she even finished doing what she was doing. They¡¯ve only known each other for barely two and a half weeks. There¡¯s something else going on here¡­ Before she could question it, Bennett opened the book he held to a marked page before squinting for a moment, struggling to read the words for a moment. She leaned over to look at the page and frowned. ¡°Oh. I see what you mean now. It¡¯s very much exposition.¡± she mumbled before squinting at the book. ¡°¡®Naturally, as tested and proven by the Academy, different Dungeons require different equipment sets to survive and clear. For instance, after research done by the Academy¡¯s Dungeon Diving team-¡¯ I¡¯m done reading,¡± Yelena huffed, glaring at the book. Bennett rolled his eyes and closed the book before sighing. He then frowned into the air, apparently looking at a System prompt. ¡°How long has it been since we got our Classes again?¡± Bennett asked aloud, his frown deepening. ¡°Uh, a few hours, why?¡± Bennett blinked. ¡°Really? It felt like days¡­ Apparently, it¡¯s been around six hours. Dunno why that felt important.¡± Both Luna and Yelena looked at him, confused. ¡°Do you have some sort of stopwatch set up? Why though?¡± Bennett shrugged. ¡°Well, no. I have a timer though, which I¡¯m definitely going to need someone to explain a bit further to me.¡± He gave a concerned look at his right arm, where Yelena knew his War Scythe, Maya, which she still wasn¡¯t convinced was actually sentient- ¡°Wait, I have two questions. First of all, what exactly do you mean a timer? And you need who to explain it to you?¡± Yelena inquired, poking her brother¡¯s cheek. Luna seemed to have even more questions, but clearly was unable to convey them as she just waved her hands in annoyance. Bennett frowned. ¡°I¡¯ll answer the second question first, since apparently it¡¯s impossible to believe Maya is a sentient being,¡± he said in a flat tone. Yelena shook her head. ¡°I mean¡­ I really can¡¯t digest it myself. How is something like that supposed to be alive? I don¡¯t think you understand how weird it is.¡± Her brother gave a look of confusion. ¡°Really? I literally have red iris, got a class that originated from Maya, and, even though it¡¯s only happened a few times, starting today, if you can believe it or not, I¡¯ve actually spoken to her a few times.¡± For a moment, Yelena blanked out for seemingly no reason. After she came back, she frowned at her brother. ¡°And you didn¡¯t think to say anything the first time?¡± Bennett looked mildly guilty. ¡°To be fair, I did forget a few times¡­ and was rudely reminded to not.¡± Bennett had an expression of displeasure as he looked at his arm. After another moment, he shook his head and looked back at his sister. ¡°Anyhow, more importantly, I don¡¯t exactly think normal supplies are going to work in this Dung-¡± Luna smacked Bennett with a tentacle, and he looked a bit guilty for a moment. Then he muttered something that only Luna could hear and she smacked him again. ¡°Fine, fine, maybe I intentionally didn''t tell you because everyone seems to think I¡¯m mad for thinking a weapon that killed however many students is a living being,¡± Bennett suddenly snapped, surprising Yelena, who¡¯d never heard him snap at anyone before, especially not her. She froze in place in sheer surprise, unsure of how to respond. A few moments later, Bennett seemed to compose himself and muttered, ¡°Sorry. It¡¯s just annoying though. There¡¯s more evidence for than against, but I don¡¯t understand why it¡¯s so hard to believe.¡± Yelena, unsure of how to react to Bennett¡¯s sudden words, just slightly nodded. Bennett¡¯s never been frustrated with¡­ well, much at all. Not even his old job, even though he complained about it. He even enjoyed it. We both hated his boss though. If there was anything close to frustration that I remember, it¡¯d probably be back almost seven years ago, back when we were ten¡­ *10 Years Ago* Yelena and Bennett ate dinner with their mother, both enjoying the food that Bennett had helped their mom make. This was probably the first time he¡¯d successfully cooked something fully, though with help. Their mother watched them with something akin to content as they ate and, occasionally, bickered with one another. ¡°-no! That¡¯s not how it works, Ben!¡± Yelena argued. ¡°Bees don¡¯t fly with magic! They¡¯re just really strong!¡± Bennett shook his head, a noodle hanging out of his mouth. ¡°Yes they do! There¡¯s no way something that big can fly without magic!¡± Yelena pouted at her brother, who she thought was being very dumb. ¡°I¡¯m talking about normal bees. Not the Giant Bees you try to steal honey from-¡± She covered her mouth and looked at their mother, who gave Bennett and Yelena a flat expression. The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°Really? I¡¯ve already told you to stop doing that so many times it¡¯s not even funny. You should be happy you¡¯re not allergic to them,¡± their mother reprimanded. ¡°It also explains why we suddenly aren¡¯t out of the honey you two constantly eat raw for some reason I cannot hope to understand.¡± She shook her head. ¡°Anyhow, anything you want to tell me you did, Yelena?¡± Yelena shook her head rapidly, but Bennett, taking revenge on her snitching on him, said, ¡°She went to the docks yesterday and almost fell into the water. There was even a shark-¡± Yelena lunged at her brother to silence him, but it was too late as he laughed while they tumbled onto the floor. Their mother watched with a disappointed expression while still absentmindedly eating. ¡°You two¡­ I swear, your father would be saying how you¡¯re both just like me,¡± she grumbled. The siblings stopped fighting one another momentarily and looked at her both with varying expressions. ¡°Really?¡± Yelena questioned curiously before looking back at her brother who seemed a bit confused at the sudden mention of their father. He didn¡¯t say anything but sat up next to his sister, a bit curious as well. Their mother suddenly looked a bit uncomfortable, looking between the twins who watched her with apt attention. ¡°Come on, why are you two always like this when I mention your father? It¡¯s not that important.¡± Yelena shook her head, ¡°Yes it is, Mommy! We think so, right Ben?¡± Bennett, uncharacteristically, didn¡¯t respond, instead just looking at their mom expectantly. He looked a little¡­ annoyed, if one could say that. She wasn¡¯t sure how to react to his sudden change and poked his cheek nervously. ¡°I think Ben¡¯s possessed, Mommy¡­¡± Bennett then looked at her and yelled, ¡°Boo!¡± She yelped, falling backward and laid there for a few moments before kicking herself up and tackling her brother as he tried to scramble away, laughing, both of them already forgetting about the mention of their father. ¡°Meanie! You can¡¯t do that!¡± ¡°You¡¯re the one acting like a kid!¡± he countered, trying to push her off. They rolled around, fighting and chasing one another, for the next ten minutes as their mother tried to calm them down but failed horribly. *Present* Thinking back on it, Yelena was sure that Bennett hadn¡¯t liked ever hearing about their father, which was something she could kind of understand, but it still made little sense to her. It was their father, and- Wait, this is a completely different situation right now. Bennett, while she had been thinking, had brought out the dark red blob that covered his arm, which he called Maya. She decided to take a closer look at it for once, something she was quite uneasy doing. It shifted slightly at her presence, clearly a bit¡­ wary? Bennett shrugged and pulled out a vial, probably from something they had killed at the Dungeon. The blob suddenly grew in size and what seemed like a jaw snapped around his other hand and stayed there for a moment before shivering slightly and pulling away, the vial completely gone. Bennett then blinked in surprise. ¡°Oh wow, she¡¯s almost Level 4, I didn¡¯t know she was that close¡­¡± Yelena blinked. ¡°It¡­ she has Levels?¡± ¡°Mhm. She gains Levels through blood. I¡¯m not exactly sure of the specifics, but she apparently really needs it. She¡¯s been passively feeding off my blood apparently, and is kinda¡­ annoyed that I haven¡¯t given her much else. But the problem is I doubt that I¡¯ll get all that much, especially since we won¡¯t be able to go anywhere for a while.¡± Naturally, the two of them completely forgot about the fact that they were supposed to be studying to prepare for the Dungeon and ended up talking for nearly an hour about completely unrelated subjects. *** After his sister left, Bennett watched Luna let out a yawn before she slumped down in exhaustion, which he couldn¡¯t really understand, namely since she¡¯d mostly been sitting around or eating¡­ or both, more often than not. She seemed to be about to curl up in a ball in his lap until he patted her head, garnering her attention. ¡°You haven¡¯t even changed or washed up yet Luna,¡± he said, stifling his own, earned, he might add, yawn. She let out a noise of complaint and tried to curl up again, but Bennett lifted her off his lap and let her dangle as she gave him an annoyed look. He then walked out of his room, carrying her. He shrugged at Jennifer¡¯s expression as she looked between them, obviously confused before dropping Luna off at her room door. The small girl glared at him before huffing and walking into her room, sulking. After a moment, Bennett sighed before walking back to his room and, a few minutes later, walked out with nightclothes on before stepping into the kitchen, almost running straight into Mia, who was walking out with an large bowl of- ¡°Oh, you¡¯ve been eating all the pasta salad?¡± Bennett stated, though it did sound more like a question. ¡°I wondered where they were all going.¡± Mia stared at him, uncharacteristically looking very much embarrassed. She then swallowed the food in her mouth and muttered something along the lines of ¡°sorry¡±, before turning around. Bennett frowned at her before slipping into the kitchen, opening a cabinet and pulling out random ingredients, unsure of what to make. ¡°I¡¯m honestly glad you¡¯re willing to eat what I make,¡± Bennett suddenly blurted. ¡°I mean, I never really got any other taste testers other than my sister, but she¡¯s obviously a bit biased and will literally eat anything I make, even lasagna, which even I think tastes disgusting. I mean, there¡¯s a limit to the amount of cheese one can take, but that¡¯s not really the point.¡± Bennett heard Mia stop moving around and was clearly looking at the back of his head. ¡°Point is, I¡¯m happy there¡¯s something I can do that others enjoy, like cooking. I mean, even if someone absolutely hates me, I¡¯m sure they¡¯d still appreciate some good food.¡± Eventually, Mia finally spoke. ¡°I don¡¯t exactly get the point, but you¡¯re saying you¡¯re still going to make this, right?¡± Bennett looked at her to find her shovelling the salad into her mouth, looking mildly pleased, which was an expression he wasn¡¯t sure fit what he knew about her. She then glared at him, as he gave her a mildly confused look. ¡°What? I¡¯m allowed to like food anymore? Stop looking at me like that and answer the question,¡± she snapped. Bennett sighed. Guess she¡¯s not gonna change anytime soon. ¡°Yeah, I will. Just glad you like it-¡± Bennett then eyed something on the shelf and suddenly had a vivid memory of watching Luna gleefully eat- *** Hmm¡­ Isn¡¯t this the first food that Bennett made me? The potato wrapped meat with gravy¡­ Luna thought as Bennett handed her a plate, somehow knowing that, even though she was exhausted, she was still a bit hungry. She looked up at him for a few seconds, trying to keep her mouth from watering before giving up on resisting and quickly eating the first potato in record time. After a moment of savoring the taste, she went to work on the second one. He seemed pleased as he watched her for a moment, then seemed to remember something. ¡°Oh, yeah, I was going to look for something in the library. What time¡­¡± Bennett then cursed under his breath. ¡°I¡¯ll be back in like twenty minutes.¡± Before Luna could even complain, he disappeared in a flash of red lightning and she heard Jennifer yelp in surprise before the sound of her hitting the floor with a thump resounded through the entire dorm. (I don¡¯t even know what to think about him right now,) The mildly bored Cthulhu said, seemingly half awake. That his food is good? Luna supplied, kicking her feet against the chair as she ate. (... Sure.) *** When Bennett came back, right before curfew, huffing as if he¡¯d ran through the halls while being pursued by some sort of beast, he tossed a book onto the table in front of him before sitting down to catch his breath. ¡°I¡­ never realized¡­ how far¡­ the library is,¡± he managed to get out in between huffs. Tyreese looked at him in confusion. ¡°I didn¡¯t know your lightning dash thing was tiring,¡± he stated. ¡°You always seem in perfect condition.¡± Bennett shook his head. ¡°Nope. I just didn¡¯t realize I was hovering around 2% HP for the last ten minutes and nearly killed myself-¡± Luna fell off her chair in a mild panic, banging her head on the floor as Mia poked her head out of her room to give him a flat expression. ¡°How do you not notice you¡¯re nearly dead, man!?¡± Tyreese exclaimed. ¡°You are more insane than I thought you were.¡± Luna, resisting the urge to throw him across the room, pressed her hand against his arm, healing him while rubbing the still sore area on her head. He sighed and pulled at his hair nervously. ¡°I mean, I did kinda search a good chunk of the library for this thing. We just don¡¯t ask how I got it from the Restricted Section,¡± Bennett muttered. ¡°Worth it, though.¡± Mia, who had heard this, walked out of her room with an empty bowl before bending down to look at the book. ¡°What do you mean by the Restricted Section? This is just a standard book for the Adventuring Guild on Dungeons,¡± she inquired, giving him a flat look. Bennett frowned at her. ¡°Do you not know how much the Academy hates the Adventuring Guild? This is the only mention of them in the entire place, and believe me, I¡¯ve looked.¡± Tyreese leaned over the book, frowning. ¡°But, if that''s the case, why is it still in the school?¡± ¡°Because the Adventuring Guild is better than the Academy at their job, obviously,¡± Mia said, lifting the book. ¡°Most of the reason people choose the Academy over the Adventuring Guild is because of the resources they give us. Skill scrolls, Official Quests, more knowledge for free, ect. However, it¡¯s only most useful for the first year, since that¡¯s when they¡¯re scouting out potential. That¡¯s why I¡¯m not attending next year.¡± Bennett frowned at her. ¡°I mean, I guess that makes sense. However- ow.¡± Luna, who he¡¯d obviously forgotten about, smacked his arm, looking very angry with him. She glared up at him as she rubbed her head a bit, still hurting a bit. ¡°Uh¡­ I didn¡¯t mean to?¡± Luna, naturally, didn¡¯t accept this and smacked him again, though she knew it didn¡¯t hurt him in the slightest. However, he again said ¡°ow¡± in the most monotone voice he could manage, apparently trying to make her feel better. Why can¡¯t he value his life just slightly more? I¡¯m sure it couldn¡¯t kill him to try, Luna thought, knowing she was being overly concerned, but couldn¡¯t bring herself to care to remedy that. (You need to stop worrying about him. You¡¯ve barely known one another for three weeks and you-) I don¡¯t really care, Luna snapped before again smacking Bennett, who was clearly unsure of how to satiate her. For a few moments, they stared at one another, ignoring the other two who were looking between them with confusion. Eventually, Bennett looked away- IS HE IGNORING US?! (Okay, now I feel slightly wronged here.) ¡°Like I was saying, I guess it¡¯s an idea¡­ but why would you even give up this experience?¡± he asked as Luna swiped at him and offhandedly blocked her hand, without even thinking about it, clearly. Mia frowned at the two of them before letting out a sigh. ¡°I don¡¯t get you two¡­¡± she muttered. ¡°But I don¡¯t really care much for the Academy except for the resources they give like Dungeons¡­ despite the fact they confiscate the things you get from them¡­ though, in this case, I¡¯m sure they can¡¯t do that.¡± Bennett frowned and it even caught Luna¡¯s attention. ¡°Why would they do that? They earned the things from the Dungeon, right?¡± Mia shook her head as Luna smacked Bennett again, but he again blocked her swipe, slowly growing a bit more amused, which he didn¡¯t even attempt to hide from her. She pushed annoyance into his head, but it did absolutely nothing as he listened to Mia. ¡°Well, profit, obviously. If some nobody student finds some ancient artifact or weapon, they¡¯ll take it and probably either sell it, or give it to someone like Justyce. But, due to your lineage, I sincerely doubt they¡¯ll do that, but, in this case, I can¡¯t be sure because of the nature of this Dungeon. Speaking of, I¡¯m assuming you¡¯ve been having trouble with preparations.¡± Bennett nodded, lifting the book he¡¯d ¡°borrowed¡±, at least according to him. Luna finally got a good hit in and he sighed. ¡°What do you want me to do Luna? Say that I¡¯m sorry that I make mistakes?¡± Luna froze in place as he immediately realized that he sounded¡­ condescending. A hurricane of emotions that she didn¡¯t even know he could feel began blowing around in his mind as his expression changed to something akin to confusion. He then sighed and looked at Luna. ¡°Sorry, Lu. I¡¯m really tired, a lot happened today. I didn¡¯t mean to snap at you.¡± He went silent for a moment before shaking his head. ¡°I¡¯m going to bed.¡± A few moments later, he left to his room, leaving Luna there. She looked at the floor for a few moments before looking over at the other two, who seemed to be a bit concerned, even Mia. Tyreese shook his head. ¡°Never thought I¡¯d see a Bennett who was even remotely rude towards Luna. Kinda crazy.¡± ¡°You act like he doesn¡¯t feel horrible. Why would he purposely be rude to her?¡± Mia countered. Tyreese gave her a frown. ¡°Why are you trying to make this into an argument?¡± Mia glared at him. ¡°I¡¯m not.¡± ¡°You literally are. Just admit it. I just don¡¯t get why-¡± ¡°Would you stop saying that I¡¯m doing something that I¡¯m not?¡± As the two began to argue, Luna decided to follow Bennett, who she could still feel was in turmoil. (...) Luna frowned. Is there something you need to say? (Yes. He¡¯s an idiot and so are you. Hurry up already.) With what? After getting no response and wondering if she had always been that cryptic (She was not), she went into Bennett room to see that he was already pouring through the book that he¡¯d just gotten. She could tell he was frustrated with something, but he was trying to drown it out with his reading. He looked over at Luna as she walked in, exhaustion evident on his face. Immediately, his expression went back to it¡¯s normal non-exhaustion state and he gave her a sigh. ¡°Hey, Luna. Uh¡­¡± he looked at the wall in front of him as if it held some sort of unspoken secret and, based on the dent in the wall in front of him, he understood that it wasn¡¯t very good at that. ¡°Well, ignoring the dent in the wall, I shouldn¡¯t have snapped at you. That wasn¡¯t exactly¡­ respectful.¡± I dunno if I like this. He doesn¡¯t even know what to say at the moment. He then shook his head rapidly, his hair quickly becoming a mess. ¡°Anyhow, I¡¯m quickly realizing how bad the school¡¯s book was when it came to explaining things, which is multiplied by how actually informative- what?¡± Luna had interrupted him by pushing questioning into his head before walking over to him and trying to poke his head. ¡°Are you trying to ask if I¡¯m okay?¡± he inquired before standing up and stretching. She nodded and he let out a sigh before sitting back down, this time on the bed that wasn¡¯t too far away. She hopped up next to him and looked up at him as he seemed to think about something. After a moment, he looked down at her. ¡°I think I¡¯m fine, I guess. Just tired and frustrated and annoyed-¡± he stopped himself, proving his own words right. ¡°... I just don¡¯t wan¡¯t Yelena going in that Dungeon, but I can¡¯t tell her not to.¡± Oh. Of course he¡¯s worried about his sister. Never about himself. Luna poked his chest, trying to convey- ¡°I¡¯m not worried about myself, I¡¯m honestly okay with it. But-¡± Luna took a moment to think before looking at Bennett''s desk, which had what looked like a photo of him, his sister, and their mom, apparently at some sort of dinner. She grabbed it with a tentacle gently and pointed at Yelena. ¡°How would she feel? Well¡­¡± Bennett seemed to think for a moment, clearly coming up with an answer and not liking it. ¡°She¡¯d¡­ feel the same way I feel. She¡¯s always been more upbeat than I have, but¡­ she¡¯s still capable of feeling all the same things I do, and¡­¡± Another moment. He shook his head. ¡°Well, I think I do disregard that sometimes. She¡¯s probably going to feel as bad as I do the longer I keep worrying about her and not about other things, like the literal hole to Hell.¡± Well, it¡¯s not a hole to Hell, but close enough. One more thing, though. She then pointed at herself and he blinked at her, seemingly confused. ¡°How do you feel? I mean, I don¡¯t exactly know most of the time. I know that you can feel my emotions, but when it comes to me¡­ you¡¯re still like a brick wall. Sometimes I¡¯ll feel emotions from you, then you suddenly slam a metaphorical door in my face. I don¡¯t really understand you. But, if I had to make a guess¡­ to you, I¡¯m some sort of attachment. I see it as friendship, but¡­ I¡¯m still not entirely how you think of me.¡± Luna blinked in confusion, not understanding that response. (I mean, he¡¯s not entirely wrong. You don¡¯t even know how you feel about him.) Wait¡­ have you been blocking my emotions from him unless I actively want to share them? (Obviously. You shouldn¡¯t lower yourself to his position-) First of all, Luna hissed, trying not to let her annoyance slip into Bennett¡¯s mind. You don¡¯t tell me how I should share my emotions. Second of all, we are in his position, so you can¡¯t tell me that- Luna¡¯s entire body stiffened as she heard Cthulhu whisper, (I could just kill him, you know.) A moment later, she could feel that the control of her body was ripped away from her and she could only feel the darkness around her. However, she could also feel something happening to her. There was a momentary spike of pain, then nothing for nearly a minute. She could feel herself constantly channelling Mana as if restraining something like¡­ Some memory tried to surface, but her subconscious smashed it right back down to the bottom, but Luna had already gotten a horrible feeling. A horrendous one. No¡­ Let me go! I- Suddenly, color rushed back into the world and she could feel a tingling all over her body, as if she had just been shocked. For a few moments, she wasn¡¯t sure what was going on until she saw the slightly shocked Bennett¡¯s expression, caressing his neck as if he¡¯d just been¡­ Luna was suddenly surrounded by a blood red fluid that seemed to be about to skewer her with dozens of spikes of blood. However, a moment later, the mound of blood bigger than her froze before rushing back quickly, condensing into Maya, Bennett¡¯s weapon, before disappearing into him, though it seemed to try to come back out violently, obviously not happening. ¡°Luna¡­ what in the hell was that?¡± Luna, however, was frozen in place at what¡­ it had just done to Bennett. (I¡¯m not an ¡®it¡¯, you annoying-) it started. Shut. Up. I don¡¯t want to hear from you. Leave me. (I can¡¯t just leave-) It was a simple mental statement, but it was filled with more power than she could¡¯ve expected, shaking the entire room, and possibly the entire dorm. Immediately, its presence disappeared from Luna¡¯s mind, being pushed back into her mind, deeper than it had ever been. Luna then curled up in a ball on the ground, trying to not cry. Why is this happening to me? I don¡¯t want this. I never wanted to hurt him. Why- ¡°...Luna? Are you¡­ okay?¡± Bennett¡¯s voice gently asked, suddenly much closer to her. She flinched, looking up at Bennett, who had scooted next to her, clearly trying to comfort her, though he was a bit wary, based on what she could feel from him. She wanted to move away, but she couldn¡¯t force herself to. He was too close and she just wanted to rest¡­ but maybe she had some semblance of explaining to do. But¡­ She looked at the floor, unsure of what to do. Bennett then sighed before picking her up and setting her back up on the bed. She gave him a confused look before he sighed. ¡°I¡­ don¡¯t really understand, but that wasn¡¯t you. I know that, beyond a doubt. Whoever just took over your body and tried to kill me¡­ they spoke to me. It hurt just to listen to them and I¡¯d rather not relive that.¡± Bennett shook his head. ¡°I just don¡¯t get the choking part? What happened?¡± Luna blinked. Spoke to him? Cthulhu did? But, why can¡¯t I? Is there something different between the two of us¡­ and if so, why? Chapter 20 : Dungeon Preparations - Part 2 Bennett wasn¡¯t entirely sure of what to make of Luna, or whatever it was that suddenly took over, attacking him, but it was clear that Luna didn¡¯t really have control of her emotions, which were now flowing through the both of them, the main one being despair, which he wasn¡¯t exactly fond of feeling most of the time. Bennett tried to understand those words that had nearly made his head explode, but, at most, had made his ears start bleeding, which Maya had staunched quite quickly. Speaking of Maya, there had already been a few times where the world had started to slow down, but he¡¯d found he could simply ignore it and she couldn¡¯t pull him in. Just wait for me to sleep, I¡¯ll be fine for three seconds. Clearly, she didn¡¯t think so, as she poked him on the inside of his arm, which was immensely uncomfortable, though his comfort was clearly not a thing she cared about. Bennett raked his hand through his hair, looking at Luna as she seemed to think, her hair pulsing weakly. Based on what he felt from her, she had no clue what had happened either, which added up, at least in his humble opinion. When she had suddenly stiffened, he had felt something akin to extreme panic as some sort of wall broke down before it devolved into cold calculation, snuffing out everything, not just her emotions, but his. It was probably the only reason he¡¯d been able to bring himself to hit her with a Lightning Bolt, which was more effective than he thought it¡¯d be, immediately disabling her¡­ for about two seconds, in of which she had switched back to the non-murderous version of herself, which he would have to say he liked much better. What he didn¡¯t like was the sheer self-deprecation he could tell she was giving herself. ¡°Luna, I¡¯m sure you can¡¯t blame yourself. There¡¯s no way you could¡¯ve expected that to happen. Plus, look on the mildly warmer side of the bed: I¡¯m not dead,¡± he explained, spreading out his arms. She looked at him for a few seconds before touching his bruised neck, which still ached a little bit. A moment later, he could tell she was on the verge of crying, something he wasn¡¯t necessarily sure how to deal with. I don¡¯t want to treat her like a child, but¡­ I don¡¯t know what else to do, Bennett thought to himself, watching her curl up against his side. It¡¯s different from when I¡¯m around my sister, since I know what cheers her up, but Luna¡­ I¡¯m realizing just how little I know about her. Wait¡­ did she just- Looking back down at Luna, he saw that she¡¯d fallen asleep, though it was definitely not soundly, as she twitched the moment he put his hand on her head. Bennett let out a sigh before carefully moving Luna so that she laid on the bed, covered with a blanket. ¡°Huh. Never seen anyone fall asleep that-¡± Bennett then felt his head suddenly go light before suddenly coughing out blood. But damn. Luna is so much stronger than I thought she was. Just how much does she hold back? Bennett thought as he blacked out, falling down next to Luna. ¡­ He then woke up again in a panic to somebody seemingly stabbing him in the chest. He flailed around until he heard a voice hiss at him. ¡°You idiot! Why didn¡¯t you let me just kill her?!¡± Maya yelled at him stabbing him again with one of her legs. Bennett barely managed to grab the leg just long enough so he could redirect it and it didn¡¯t hit him. When he looked back up, he saw Maya¡¯s face right in front of him, looking more pissed off than his mom when he¡¯d once accidentally burned the table in their kitchen. He gulped. ¡°I¡¯m not going to let you kill Luna, Maya. Why in the hell would I do that?!¡± he snapped back, trying to pull the very sharp leg out of him, only getting a few cuts from the long, very sharp scythe leg. ¡°Now can you let me-¡± ¡°She tried to kill you because you misunderstood her. Who knows what could happen?¡± Maya interrupted, pushing the leg in deeper. ¡°I feel like¡­ the person misunderstanding¡­ is you!¡± Bennett hissed, summoning some sort of unknown Strength and pulling the leg out of him and tossing Maya away, who was clearly taken aback. He let out a huff and looked at his chest which had a gaping hole which didn¡¯t seem to bleed. He then looked over at the very distraught Maya, who¡¯s form flickered momentarily, shifting to the more¡­ primal version of herself before going back into the Academy uniform, though still looking pissed. ¡°Why, by the gods, are you so adamant on protecting that clear anomaly, or whatever she is?¡± she growled, looking like she wanted to cut him to bits. ¡°Why are you so adamant on killing her?¡± Bennett snapped back. ¡°I feel like I¡¯m supposed to be understanding you, but I get the feeling neither of us are understanding of one another.¡± She began to wave her legs around, clearly unsure of how to continue from here. She then took a breath. ¡°Look, I want to understand your reasoning, but every time you do something new, you completely surprise me. I don¡¯t know how to react to half the things you even do, but the problem here is obvious; you refuse to see the red flags that are covering her and, let''s tell the truth, you hate seeing the worst in people, unless you¡¯ve been abused by them enough, which shouldn¡¯t even be the case. ¡°I¡¯ve seen some of the things that nobles have done to you, just because you got in their way, and you¡¯ve somehow pulled off lies that don¡¯t even seem like they should work, but with your track record, starting from age ten, did. Your old ¡®boss¡¯ if you can even call him that, worked you to the bone, and never fairly compensated you for it. ¡°My question is; what the hell is your problem to not be even seeking revenge, just content to hate them for it?¡± Bennett blinked, taken aback at her sudden spouting of his life story. He felt a few memories surfacing¡­ However, he pushed them back down, unwilling to really care for them. ¡°Look, that¡¯s not really important to me, or who I am, so I don¡¯t really care to remember much of anythin-¡± ¡°How long are you planning to put up a facade until you finally snap? How long do you think it¡¯ll take you to be surrounded by the type of people you loathe until you can¡¯t keep your own emotions buried six feet under? We both know that you¡¯re slowly going mad inside. I saw how you completely manhandled Ulayla and, to be frank, when I finally finish getting through this stupid divinity barrier, I¡¯m worried that you becoming a Hybrid will be a net negative. At that point, you¡¯d be able to rip a normal human in half with moderate effort.¡± Bennett clenched his jaw, annoyance and anger rising in him before¡­ it suddenly died. He simply couldn¡¯t be mad at someone who was right- Maya scoffed. ¡°You can¡¯t even get angry at me. Maybe you were the wrong choice. You¡¯re worse than your idiot sister, who clearly can¡¯t even realize danger when it¡¯s right in front of her because she trusts her brother so much that she thinks almost everything he thinks is right.¡± Bennett twitched at the mention of his sister, but refused to get annoyed. ¡°Are you just going to berate me all night? If so, I¡¯d rather just sleep normally.¡± Maya was silent, glaring at him. Bennett was unsure of what to do at this point, watching her warily, silent, after nearly five whole minutes of this, her eyelid twitch and she looked away. ¡°Fine. I give up. You live with the person who tried to kill you all you want. I¡¯m even too angry with you to give you a Skill.¡± ¡°Wow, I never thought I¡¯d see the day,¡± Bennett couldn¡¯t help but mutter. ¡°You-¡± She stopped mid-sentence, glaring at him for a few seconds, some thoughts going through her head. A moment later, it clicked for him. However, he was nowhere near fast enough to react as she crashed into him. ~~~ Bennett woke up the next morning with a bruised throat and a very unimpressed expression on his face. He ignored the notification that the System gave him to look at his arm. A moment later, a bit of Maya poked out before wiggling and retreating as he flicked her. He looked down at Luna, who was still fast asleep, her hands buried in his shirt. He shook his head and looked straight forward, not expecting- Half a second later, there was a giant hole blown out of the wall, right where Reah had just been standing, which had shook the whole dorm. Luna yelped, nearly jumping out the bed, but instead grabbing him with a few tentacles in some half-asleep attempt to defend him, at least as far as he could tell from her half awake mind. Reah watched Bennett struggle to pull Luna off of him, but, and somehow, he never noticed, like a normal octopus, she had suckers on the bottom of her tentacles and said suckers had stuck to him and refused to let him go. After a moment of futile struggle, Bennett groaned and glared at Reah with his visible eye, which just so happened to be his red one. ¡°Pray tell me: what the hell are you doing in here?¡± Bennett snapped, probably looking very much more annoyed with a tentacle draped across his face as Luna started to come to her senses. Reah shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m still technically your trainer, dimwit, so I was going to wake you up, but the two of you looked sooo peaceful together-¡± ¡°I regret asking you anything. I still cannot believe I looked up to someone like you,¡± Bennett interrupted. ¡°What do you want?¡± ¡°What do you mean, ¡®someone like¡¯ me?¡± Reah interjected, narrowing her eyes at him as her hair crackled. Fell for it. ¡°A pervert. Who sneaks into someone¡¯s room and watches them sleep when they know they could just wake them up?¡± She took a few moments to process what he said, and in those few moments, her face slowly went red. Also in those moments, Luna finally removed her tentacle from his face and looked between him and Reah with confusion. Finally, without a word, Reah turned on her heel and stormed out of the room, literally, blowing the door off its hinges, which nearly decapitated Mia, who was only saved by Tyreese casually pushing her out of the way while watching with apt interest. Bennett gave the missing door a blank look before sighing and hopping out of the bed and out of the room to look at the door, which was now embedded in the wall next to Jennifer¡¯s room door. She poked her head out of the room to look at the door in confusion, along with the other three. Bennett then shook his head. ¡°I didn¡¯t think she¡¯d be that embarrassed. Serves her right though.¡± He then tried pulling it out of the wall with brute strength, but ultimately failed. ¡°Well, how do we get this out of the wall?¡± Tyreese looked at him and he looked back, a silent conversation being exchanged between the two of them. They would absolutely not use Blood Claw unless absolutely necessary. *** After nearly ten minutes of watching Bennett and Tyreese struggle to remove the door, Luna was still unwilling to get much closer, just because she was nervous. Nervous of what could happen if she suddenly lost control of her body again and- She looked at the very determined looking duo of Bennett and Tyreese, who were slowly cracking the door out of the wall, though it was obviously a struggle. ¡°How does one damn girl-¡± Bennett grumbled. ¡°Stick a door so far into a wall?!¡± ¡°Agreed,¡± Tyreese responded, pulling a bit harder. ¡°Oh hey, it moved another inch-¡± The two of them pulled a bit harder, motivated by their progress. After another minute of this, there was a loud screech and the door finally fell out of the wall and nearly fell onto Tyreese before Bennett caught it, lifting the door over his head with a hand before letting out a huff of annoyance. Tyreese nodded as if impressed at this display. Luna was unsure of how to react, looking between the two of them in confusion. Before much else could happen, the blunt end of a spear that was clearly Mia¡¯s slammed into the back of Bennett¡¯s head and he dropped the obviously heavy door on his head. In a slight panic, Luna caught it with two tentacles before going over to check on Bennett who, at first glance, didn¡¯t seem hurt, but, looking a bit closer, she could see a bruise around his entire neck and extreme guilt washed over her, yet before she could fully process it, Bennett gave Mia an annoyed expression. ¡°What could I have possibly done to warrant that?¡± he complained. ¡°I didn¡¯t do anything,¡± she responded, casually eating a bowl of pasta while lounging on the couch. ¡°Also, when did the electric bomb even get in here?¡± Bennett stood there for a few moments, confused. ¡°Wait¡­ how long was she watching us sleep?¡± Luna thought for a moment and looked at Bennett for a few seconds, who looked back at her, concerned. ¡°Why?¡± He mumbled before shaking his head. He then grabbed the door, which Luna finally noticed had some heft to it, as her feet had sunk into the carpet to the point she had to lift her own legs with her hands to get them out. Bennett then froze in place, slowly looking over to her, then up at the door, then at her tentacle. After thinking for a few moments, he shook his head and seemingly tried to line up the door with the hole that used to hold it. He then sighed before simply pressing the door to the hole. ¡°Alright. I¡¯m going to get changed and grab the potato sack, otherwise known as Yelena,¡± Bennett grumbled, absentmindedly pulling the door open, causing it to fall directly onto him. He stared at the ceiling for a moment before muttering, ¡°Ow¡± in the most monotone Luna had ever heard him. She, though a bit wary, looked down at him, who was clearly annoyed. ¡°Hi, Luna,¡± Bennett said. ¡°I¡¯m just going to sit here and reflect on my actions.¡± She blink at him before reaching for his throat to heal him. He flinched slightly when she did so, but a moment later, he was healed and he yawned. ¡°Okay, actions reflected.¡± The door suddenly flew up and hit the roof, pinned there by what looked like a spike of solid blood. He gave his arm a confused look as he clearly hadn¡¯t expected the door to suddenly go flying just from him moving his arm. ¡°Huh.¡± *** Bennett was unsure of what was happening, looking to his stats to try and see what had just- ¡°What in the fuck?¡± Bennett blurted, sitting up quickly. Tyreese gave him a baffled look. ¡°Whatever¡¯s happening with Sir Skillsalot, it¡¯s clearly big for the clean guy to curse.¡± Bennett, deeming this important enough to share, let his Status be visible. Tyreese peered at it and, mirroring Bennett: ¡°What in the fuck?¡±Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. Seeing the clear confusion, Luna and Mia both seemed to grow more curious. Status Name : Bennett ¡°Yasmine¡± Race : Human (Godling - 2nd Generation) (80%) - ??? (20%) (52:43:07) Class : Blood Reaper HP : 100% | MP : 100% Level : 10 | EXP : 0% (2 / 452 EXP) Soul Bond : Luna (19%) Alignment : Lightning / Blood Weapon : Maya Stats Strength - 17 | Effectiveness - 150% Endurance - 20 | Effectiveness - 150% Vitality - 23 | Effectiveness - 150% Dexterity - 15 Mind - 10 Intelligence - 10 Unaligned Stats : 3 In his head, most confusingly, he could hear Maya cackling like a maniac, as if she¡¯d finally achieved something. (Go to the Seventh Circle of Hell, Divinity! I finally won! Took more than long enough with you interfering- wait, you can hear me now?) she suddenly said. Why is it that every time I talk to you, you somehow become more intrusive? Bennett thought to her, a bit annoyed. (Oh come on, I can¡¯t possibly get more intrusive. I¡¯m literally a part of your body at this point¡­ though, I¡¯m the only one who¡¯d die if my core was destroyed, so I¡¯m still a bit of a parasite, now aren¡¯t I?) May I have an explanation, or do you not know what''s happening? (Oh, did I not mention it? Your body¡¯s not suitable for your ¡°Class¡±, so I¡¯m making you a Blood Aracne to compensate.) Dead silence for a few moments, only interrupted by Mia¡¯s confused mutters. What? You what? Heh? (You seem far more confused than I¡¯d hope¡­) Well, for starters, Blood Aracne are extinct. (False. I¡¯m literally right here, very much not extinct.) You don¡¯t count. You are basically a figment of your own imagination, based on your own soul locked in a weapon. She was quiet for a moment before sighing. (Sure. Fair enough.) A moment later, Bennett felt Luna poke his cheek, her expression full of concern, but she was still keeping her distance, obviously still unwilling to put him at risk. ¡°Uh-¡± ¡°Man, what¡¯s that timer there for? What¡¯s this random 20% next to your race- wait you¡¯re a GODLING. How in the hell-¡± As Tyreese rambled, Mia simply frowned, unsure of how to react to the information presented in front of her. Luna, however, was confused at what it said, clearly not understanding the meaning or the reasoning for their panic- Woah. I¡¯ve never been able to read her emotions so well before, Bennett thought. ¡°Honestly, I don¡¯t really understand what the big deal is either. I mean, I know about Godlings, but none of the books I¡¯ve read really explained what it is. I, at most, know it¡¯s important, but not the breadth of it-¡± ¡°How can you not know how important a Godling is, even a Second Generation one? It sure explains the amount of power you have for a young age¡­ but not the Effective stat multipliers,¡± Mia mused, blowing her hair out of her face. ¡°Do you have any clue what could be causing it?¡± Maya, but it¡¯s not like anyone except maybe Luna would believe me, let''s be honest here, and even then, that¡¯s debatable. However- (...Too bad, so sad.) Please let me think. (No. I like talking to you other times than at nighttime and expending a large chunk of energy to create a temporary pocket in your mind where we can talk while actually having a semi-physical body. Every time I do that, I have to expend half of my full capacity of blood. Speaking of-) ¡°I get it already, you want blood,¡± Bennett grumbled aloud without noticing. ¡°Stop bothering me about it and I¡¯ll try and figure it out already.¡± Bennett looked down at Luna, who gave him a baffled look and, looking at the others, they looked confused as well. ¡°What?¡± (Well, for starters, you said that aloud.) ¡°No shit, Maya,¡± he unintentionally said aloud again. Tyreese frowned. ¡°Maya? The allegedly sentient weapon? What are you on about?¡± ¡°I-¡± (ALLEGEDLY? Look here you little-) Maya forced herself out of his arm and formed into a large needle, attempting to poke Tyreese, who yelped and barely dodged, but he was then poked immediately after, yelping in response. ¡°Call off the living needle! I¡¯ve been corrected- OW!- I¡¯m sorry!¡± Bennett sighed and grabbed Maya. ¡°Stop it-¡± Before she processed what he¡¯d said, the needle was already all the way through his hand and about to keep going when Maya realized what she¡¯d done and froze in place, clearly debating on how to react next. A small trickle of his blood ran down his hand and he sighed. ¡°I can¡¯t even get annoyed right now. Guess I¡¯m not getting changed.¡± He felt Luna grow slightly more nervous as he stood up. ¡°I¡¯m going to the infirmary, I guess. Just tell my sister when she inevitably comes to look for me. And if Ms Thunderclap comes, tell her I¡¯m not here.¡± Bennett then walked out of the room and, after pausing for a second and letting Luna mentally debate with herself, of whatever mental gymnastics she was doing, before she rushed after him, they both made their way to the infirmary. ~~~ ¡°I can guarantee this is not my fault,¡± Bennett said, watching as more and more of his blood slowly circled around his head as he expended minimal amounts of MP on Blood Manipulation. The very scary woman gave him a skeptical look before looking at Luna. ¡°Is this his fault?¡± Luna shook her head before pointing at his right arm, where Maya was hiding. Come out already. (Absolutely not. She¡¯s shorter than Jasmine, yet immensely more scary than even me,) she complained, hiding deeper inside of him. After thinking for a moment, he sighed. ¡°Fine, have it your way.¡± Bennett, in one fluid motion, grabbed his dagger, sliced his arm open, and pulled Maya out before she could react, forming her into a scythe and dropping her onto his lap as his arm sealed over. The infirmary nurse blinked at the bloodred Scythe before blinking. ¡°Wait. You have the weapon that killed nearly a dozen students and was up to warn students of getting too cocky. That does explain the strange red eye¡­ but how in the world did you even manage that?¡± Bennett didn¡¯t have much of a chance to respond as Maya seemingly panicked, turning into a blob and attempting to force herself into his arm. ¡°Hm¡­ Interesting,¡± the woman said, leaning closer to the blob. Maya then froze, apparently making some sort of realization before shaping herself over his arm and forcing his arm up, nearly slashing across the woman¡¯s face before she could move in time. What are you doing?! Stop it! Bennett pulled Maya by the most solid part of her, struggling for a moment before huffing and pulling a large amount of blood from her and surrounding her in a ball of it and letting it float there for a moment, making sure she couldn¡¯t escape as the blood crackled with lightning, obviously being his own blood. He then looked at the woman, expecting not a single scratch to be on her as that was the case with high Level people- He blinked at the small amount of blood running down her face, which Bennett and Luna were surprised by. She looked at the floating orb of blood with curiosity, ignoring the blood as if it was a daily occurance. ¡°Interesting. I didn¡¯t take any damage, but I¡¯m still bleeding¡­ at least according to my negative effects. Very interesting debuff. Can only be cleansed by healing the wound itself, but I¡¯m assuming if there¡¯s multiple wounds, you¡¯d have to seal all of them. Very annoying.¡± Bennett frowned. ¡°There¡¯s not another debuff like Bleeding?¡± ¡°Unless you count Blood Loss, then no. Though, I guess you can call Poisoned very similar, but it has a much longer tick time, but can be much harder to deal with. You¡¯d be quite the annoying bug with bleeding and some sort of poison or venom along with your flashing around faster than our dear porcupine.¡± He then heard a very sinister giggle from Maya and he got a slightly dark feeling, but ignored it for the moment. Bennett sighed. ¡°Does everyone call her a porcupine?¡± ¡°Behind her back, of course. She¡¯s very insistent when you insult her to the face,¡± the nurse said with a matter-of-fact-ly tone. She then frowned. ¡°Wait, you were supposed to be here for the hole in your hand¡­ which is now gone?¡± Bennett looked at his left hand, which had had a hole in it not that long ago before looking at his HP. HP : 105% (Overhealed) Status : Overhealed - 5% | Duration : 23 hours Ohh. Uh, that¡¯s a problem. ¡°And your HP¡­ is over 100%? Hold on a moment¡­¡± she then looked at Luna with a confused expression. ¡°You¡­ have Overheal, don¡¯t you?¡± Luna froze next to Bennett, nervousness blooming in her mind along with¡­ preparation? Does Luna think she can fight her if it comes to it? Lemme think¡­ how can I deescalate the situation- ¡°Well, props to you for not revealing that to anyone else. If I was someone like the headmaster, who¡¯s so focused on reputation, he¡¯d destroy his mother if he could, I¡¯d immediately take you away. But, it¡¯s not like I don¡¯t have my own secrets. Namely, the fact I¡¯m technically not allowed to be on this planet.¡± Bennett looked at her in sheer terror. ¡°You¡¯re a Harbing-?!¡± She covered his mouth and put her hand on his mouth. ¡°Yep. But stay quiet about it, will you? I have an agreement with your Grandmother to stay here, but it¡¯s not yet time for you to learn the specifics of that agreement. You need to reach Battlemage before you can learn more, got it?¡± Bennett blinked and looked at Luna, who was tense, clearly nervous about his safety. He then looked at the orb holding Maya, who was also very much not very happy with the revelation. He then nodded, restraining himself from doing what his sister would definitely do in this situation. ¡°Good,¡± she said, lifting her head. ¡°Now get out of here and stop getting hurt.¡± *** Bennett, despite Luna¡¯s half-hearted complaints, carried Luna in her normal position, though she was still wary of herself. I mean, I did completely silence Cthulhu, so it should be fine, right? Luna thought, nervously looking at her own hands, as if they would start moving on their own out of nowhere. But I don¡¯t want to hurt him again. He¡¯s acting like it¡¯s okay, but I know he¡¯s just refusing to acknowledge it. He has to know his original idea of who I was is wrong, or at least flawed at this point. But- ¡°Ben! Luna! There you are!¡± Luna looked up to see Yelena rushing towards them, her hair a very bright orange. As she approached the two of them, it seemed to cool down to its normal brown, though the normal white streaks were replaced with ember colored strands, with only one white streaks left. She stopped in front of them to catch her breath, before looking at Bennett, concerned. ¡°Are you okay? Tyreese said you were ¡®mortally wounded¡¯ or whatever. He¡¯s so confusing, but I got the gist of it. What happened?¡± ¡°Maya happened. She got annoyed at Tyreese and tried to stab him. I tried to stop her and she stabbed me instead through the hand. No big deal though. Luna saved the day again,¡± he responded, waving his free hand in dismissal. Luna felt her face heat up, embarrassment fluttering in her chest. She attempted to force it down, but found it much harder than usual, with it taking a moment more than she was used to. However, when Bennett patted her head with his free hand, smiling at her, it immediately burst back up as she waved his hand away. Yelena rolled her eyes before letting out a groan. ¡°Did you have Reah wake you up as well? She practically gave me electrotherapy.¡± Bennett shook his head before patting his sister¡¯s head, who grabbed his hand and kept it on her head, a stark difference from Luna. ¡°Nope, she stood there for gods know how long and watched us sleep, probably cause she knew shocking me probably wouldn¡¯t have worked, though it definitely would have, since I don¡¯t have innate Lightning immunity, like you have Flame Immunity.¡± His sister frowned. ¡°Speaking of¡­ immunity isn¡¯t really that common, is it? Tyreese doesn¡¯t have immunity, does he?¡± Bennett shook his head before starting down the hall. ¡°Nope. He definitely has some resistance, though. He stuck his hand in the stove the other day to prove a point, and Mia poured some sort of oil onto it, which burned way hotter, burning him as well. His sister then seemed a bit pensive. ¡°Hm¡­ I wonder if I could take a bath in Lava¡­¡± ¡°That¡¯s certainly an interesting image.¡± ¡°Mhm. By the way, Rhea told me to call you down to the arena the moment after you got ready, though I¡¯m sure she won¡¯t mind if you eat.¡± Bennett nodded. ¡°Yep. And I¡¯m sure Luna¡¯s hungry too.¡± Said Luna poked Bennett¡¯s ear, signalling the obvious. Obviously, I¡¯m hungry. I¡¯m never not, and it annoys me. Bennett laughed and poked her cheek back, which eventually devolved in the two of them poking one another over and over ~~~ Half an hour later Bennett and Luna found themselves in the Arena, Yelena having gone elsewhere, apparently to ask another Professor about something. Pretty empty, Luna thought, looking around curiously. I thought she was going to be here- wait. Apparently, just as she noticed the strange amount of MP behind them, Bennett also took notice and used what she assumed was his Flicker Skill to go straight up, avoiding the bolt of lightning that nearly blew them up. He landed in the stands, looking over to the other side of the arena, where a very annoyed Reah stood, another Bolt charging. He frowned at her as Luna climbed onto his back, readying herself. Good thing I decided to change before coming here, makes things immensely less embarrassing, she thought, wrapping her legs around him. Still need to figure out how to fix that dress though. It should be able to change however I want it to. Bennett ran across the stands dodging the next bolt before jumping down red lightning crackling across his skin as he used Blood Dash. Luna wasn¡¯t exactly sure how to explain Blood Dash, but, according to Bennett, it was like both moving exceptionally fast along with everyone else being the same speed as normal and simply being the same speed, but everyone else was slow. She basically guessed it was more like he grew very fast and thought really fast. Back when she was Cthulhu, it was a bit like the same. However, it was more like her being able to think of something very fast, along with being fast. Basically being able to process things as she saw them. Suffice to say, it was difficult to explain. Though, to be fair, it wasn¡¯t exactly a time to be thinking about that. Bennett, though he was quite agile, nearly crashed into a wall instead salvaging the crash by using a shield, then climbing up the wall using Blood Claw. As they approached the top, Luna grabbed him with three tentacles before reaching up with another to grab a railing and, with a grunt of effort, pulled the two of them up a decent chunk of the wall and over the railing. ¡°Thanks, Lu,¡± he said before yelping and tossing her forward a few yards as another bolt nearly blasted the entire railing off the platform, including them. A second later, he caught her right before she hit the ground and they continued down, Bennett teleporting to the lower stadium, damaging multiple chairs around them before continuing on. He hopped down a set, simply running while grumbling about something to do with long cooldowns. He launched a Bloodbolt towards the ground a few yards in front of them kicking up a huge amount of dust before he jumped into it, Luna on his back. She held on tightly wondering why he suddenly stopped the moment he made it into the dust. A moment later, there were footsteps nearby. ¡°Really? Hiding?¡± Rhea snorted. ¡°Surely you know that won¡¯t work.¡± ¡°Uh huh. As if that was my plan,¡± Bennett sighed under his breath. Luna, confused, patted his cheek, unsure of what he was doing, sitting still in the dust. He had closed his eyes and, looking to his arm, where Maya had gone nearly completely liquid, waving around slightly. He didn¡¯t respond to her other than putting his hand on hers, trying to keep her still. A few seconds of stillness and silence later, he suddenly sprang into action. Within a second, Bennett, with even more speed than she and clearly Reah could¡¯ve possibly expected, nearly giving Luna whiplash as he blasted in a destructive bubble of blood and lightning, crashing directly into Reah, who¡¯s spear barely had time to move to block him before she flew backwards into the nearby wall. Bennett, who was moving faster than ever, went after her, an explosion rocking the wall as Luna jumped off of him, unsure of what was happening. She was barely able to tell what was happening, but his entire body was wreathed in a reddish glow, which clearly made him stronger and faster, by a very large amount. However, she could tell it was costing him to do this, and it wasn¡¯t infinite power, as, by the second, he was clearly losing more and more HP and fast. However, he seemed to be quickly tiring. A few moments later, she could feel herself being picked back up and they were suddenly on the other side of the arena before she could react. What the¡­ I was not prepared for that. He¡¯s never been this fast before. He¡¯s, at least, doubled in speed and strength. And- Getting a good look at Bennett, she had to stifle a scream as she saw the horrid state of both his arms and legs. He himself looked at his arms and frowned. ¡°Holy crap¡­ I didn¡¯t think it¡¯d be that bad. I knew it¡¯d destroy my body, but I can¡¯t feel it¡­ that probably makes it worse, let¡¯s be honest.¡± How could¡¯ve he done¡­ this in such a short time? Luna thought, trying not to panic at the sight of his skin practically peeling off. However, it seemed like it was grabbing itself and pulling itself back onto him. Makes my job easier, but he has things to explain later. She wrapped a pair of tentacles around each of his arms, trying to heal him as quickly as possible, but it seemed that, as she healed him, he was being damaged quite quickly, but not enough to overwhelm her healing. Speaking of, can much of anything overwhelm my healing? She paused before looking at Bennett. Probably. He looked at his quickly repairing arms and nodded. ¡°Thanks, Luna-¡± They both noticed the living bolt of lightning shooting at them and Bennett, this time with Luna actually paying attention, practically ran up the wall and ended up on top of the wall, looking down at Reah, who was watching him with confusion. ¡°The hell is that?¡± she complained. ¡°There¡¯s no way I can catch up to you in any decent timeframe. How the hell are you so damn fast?¡± Bennett shrugged, fully prepared for her to pounce at him again. There were a few moments of the two of them watching one another before the girl sighed and her lightning suddenly fizzled out. ¡°Come here, I¡¯m done fighting you for now,¡± Reah called, putting her hands on her hips as her spear hovered next to her, which was interesting. I just realized I¡¯ve never Scanned her¡­ or many people, for that matter. After Luna made this realization, she then decided to scan her. Reah Justyce - Level 62 Human Alignment : Lightning Cannot Generate Additional Information : Secondary Consciousness Inactive Hmm¡­ Seems like Cthulhu allows some sort of summary of people I Scan. Well, I don¡¯t care. This is my body, not hers. Mine. Bennett gave her a strange look, clearly noticing her sudden strange attitude. She blinked at him before patting his cheek. He sighed, and the layer of what she recognized as Blood Mana disappeared. ¡°Hurry up already!¡± Reah yelled. Bennett sighed, taking a step forward. ¡°I¡¯m com-¡± He suddenly faltered, slipping and banging his head against a chair and falling forward, Luna yelping while on his back. Luna managed to get off of him before grabbing him before he fell off the edge of the seats, lifting him up with a pair of tentacles. She set him down and looked at his expression of obvious pain with confusion. What just happened? It¡¯s like he just suddenly¡­ wait. He said he didn¡¯t feel any of the pain from his strange Skill¡­ did he just feel all the pain from it all at the same time? His skin basically ripping itself off¡­ that would be a horrid thing to feel¡­ A moment later, to her absolute horror, Bennett stopped breathing. *** Melony had somehow managed to grab a single link of the giant chains, but the power of those chains wasn¡¯t exactly her current concern. Her current concern was the barrier that kept her out of the Academy¡¯s grounds, along with the Headmaster. The only, repeating message she got was: Dungeon clear in progress. You are not eligible to enter the area. Duration Remaining : 1 week, 4 days. ¡°What the hell? My children are in there and you¡¯re seriously refusing me?¡± Melony growled. ¡°Let me in, System.¡± ¡°We both know that that won¡¯t work,¡± the Headmaster sighed. ¡°We¡¯re going to have to wait until the other teachers clear this unexpected Dungeon. And no, don¡¯t even try to get through by force, you¡¯ll just be punished-¡± ¡°Uh huh, like I don¡¯t already know that. First of all, you must have some sort of way to connect to the Professors inside, or something. I need to know if-¡± ¡°Yes, if your children are okay, I know. Speaking of, you may want to have a conversation with your son about his father and just nobles in general, whenever you feel you should reveal yourself.¡± Melony gave the man a suspicious look. ¡°What do you mean by that? How much have you already explained to him?¡± ¡°All I told him was the heavily abridged history about you and very basic information about your father. Not sure about his history professor though; she was very secretive with them in her class.¡± Melony scowled. The Headmaster sighed. ¡°Whatever happened to that curious Godling who never knew when to stop asking questions about everything?¡± Melony shook her head. ¡°She died the moment she realized that keeping her children out of her situation was more important. We both know we can¡¯t have the founder of the school, otherwise known as my mother, find out about them. We know how that¡¯ll end.¡± The Headmaster sighed. ¡°That we do.¡± Chapter 21 : [The Dungeon鈥檚 Maw] Bennett opened his eyes to the very disappointed expression of Maya. Bennett, however, immediately saw through this facade of disappointment and rolled his eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t act like I obviously did something wrong. You literally just never considered the fact that that Skill wasn¡¯t designed for the durability of a Human body,¡± he mumbled, trying to ignore the stabbing pain all over his body. Maya¡¯s face contorted, shifting to annoyance, then to concern as she quickly gave up on trying to be annoyed at him. ¡°You may have a point. However, there¡¯s something I¡¯m curious about; did you not get any new Arrays from last night?¡± Bennett thought for a moment. ¡°Nope. I thought you just did that to annoy me.¡± She smacked his head. ¡°Do you really think I¡¯d- actually, I probably would, so don¡¯t answer that.¡± She then reached under him and flipped him over with one hand, scanning his back, which was suddenly bare, with her other. He frowned. ¡°I thought I controlled this place more than you do?¡± Bennett couldn¡¯t see her face, just could feel like she nodded due to the slight movement in her legs. ¡°Yes, when you¡¯re not dead.¡± He shrugged and sat there for a moment, not processing what she¡¯d just said. ¡°Wait, I¡¯m DEAD?!¡± he then exclaimed, sitting up, still ignoring the pain of the feeling of his skin being ripped off. ¡°But-¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I¡¯m already restarting your heart. Your body just couldn¡¯t take the pain and kinda just died on itself. Meaning half your organs are just flatlined. Your little Luna should be able to fix that, but I can deal with your not so happy heart. The only reason you¡¯re able to speak to me is because your brain is still functioning.¡± He assessed her strangely calm state, slowly realizing something. ¡°You¡¯re absolutely terrified, aren¡¯t you?¡± She snorted and pulled him back down to study him. ¡°Of course not.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve never been this still and even for the little time I¡¯ve known you, it just doesn¡¯t seem in your character to freeze up like a statue. You don¡¯t want me to die.¡± Maya stopped moving entirely, obviously thinking. ¡°Of course I don¡¯t want you to die, you damn idiot. Who knows how long it¡¯ll be before there¡¯s someone else like you, who can hold me, and convince me not to kill everyone around you just so I can eat. It could be millenia, or even longer. I don¡¯t want¡­¡± she paused, her hand in his hair. She then looked down at him, staring at him with one red and one green eye, terror hidden just behind the facade of calm. ¡°I don''t want to be alone again. Never. Now wake up already, I¡¯m sure that small girl¡¯s heart can¡¯t take much more of your shenanigans.¡± He tried to stay in the space for a little longer, if just to reassure her, but she forced him out before he could even move. ~~~ His eyes shot open and he nearly smashed his forehead against Luna¡¯s, who yelped before leaning back quickly. Bennett, now realizing, while in his comatose state, hadn¡¯t been able to feel Luna¡¯s emotions, felt relief and terror running through her, as well as concern and joy. She threw herself at him and wrapped her arms around his neck, nearly choking him while letting out a distorted whimper. Bennett could feel Luna¡¯s body shaking as he hugged her back, trying to comfort her. He looked up to see the very concerned expression of Reah, who seemed to have jumped up after seeing him collapse. When he tried to speak, it simply came out as a garbled mess, his vocal cords clearly damaged. Luna seemed to realize something was majorly wrong and he could feel the cool feeling of her healing rushing throughout his entire body, repairing everything. He could even feel his spine straightening, internal bleeding stopping, muscles, bones, and filaments repairing themselves. After nearly a minute of this, he tried to speak again, but felt blood rushing up his throat, along with a bunch of things he couldn¡¯t describe. He quickly pulled her off of him and turned around to throw up blood and what looked like globs of flesh, mixed in with shattered bone. After a few moments of spitting out garbage, he managed to mutter, ¡°Water.¡± Immediately, an orb of water floated in front of his face and he gladly drank from it, swished the water in his mouth, then spit it out over the edge of the platform he was on. ¡°Thanks, Luna-¡± Before he could finish, she grabbed him again, quite clearly not caring to let him go yet. He then looked up at Reah. ¡°What¡­¡± he coughed before continuing. ¡°What happened?¡± She shook her head. ¡°You¡¯ve essentially been dead for twenty minutes.¡± Twenty minutes? No wonder Luna¡¯s so¡­ Luna¡¯s grip tightened and he hugged her a bit tighter, unable to really process what emotions were going through her. Reah shook her head. ¡°What the hell just happened? How did you just come back?¡± Bennett frowned. ¡°Maya said she was going to restart my heart-¡± The Battlemage leaned forward, her frown deepening. ¡°You can speak to it? Since when, and why didn¡¯t you tell me?¡± Bennett gave her a confused look. ¡°Well forgive me for not wanting to interact with the abusive ¡®teacher¡¯. Not really high on my priorities list, which says a lot, as there¡¯s not much there.¡± ¡°Well, make it your-¡± Bennett, annoyed, snapped, ¡°Absolutely not. If you can¡¯t learn that the world doesn¡¯t revolve around you and your attitude, then why would I want to do anything around you, let alone be reminded of your very unproductive attitude, which is clearly because you¡¯re not getting what you want.¡± ¡°You-¡± she stopped, clenching her fists while giving him a furious expression before, unexpectedly, deflating. ¡°Whatever. Just stop talking to me already and be happy you¡¯re alive, Yasmine.¡± ¡°Sure, Justyce.¡± Bennett looked back at Luna, who was¡­ dead asleep, looking very much pale. He was mildly concerned for her, but as she shifted around with a weak whimper, he felt a bit more content with her, but still concerned. He shook his head before standing up, settling Luna on his back. ¡°So, what exactly am I here for, other than killing myself?¡± Reah rolled her eyes, giving him a bored expression. ¡°To teach you, apparently. I don¡¯t exactly know what I¡¯m supposed to teach you, but I¡¯m meant to prepare you for the Dungeon, according to the Combat Professor. I, however, have no clue how to begin doing that.¡± Bennett looked at her for a long few moments and she stared back clearly regretting her words. ¡°Well, I¡¯m taking Luna to the infirmary, since you clearly need time to think. So, good luck with that.¡± *** Luna woke up to the face of her Water Focus Professor staring her down, unblinking. Could you move? This is the last thing I expected to wake up to. He suddenly remembered that blinking was a thing before leaning back, still unsure of how normal manners worked. However, Ulayla- Heh? ¡°You¡¯re awake!¡± Ulayla exclaimed as if she¡¯d been panicked for the last¡­ however long. ¡°Benny brought you here-¡± ¡°First of all, don¡¯t call me that ever again, please,¡± Bennett¡¯s voice came from behind her flipping wings. ¡°Second of all, stop smacking me with your wings.¡± He pulled down her wings to look at Luna, now looking much less dead and more relieved. His sister stood next to him, looking very worried. Bennett didn¡¯t look as worried, but she could feel the worry bubbling in the front of his mind, which strangely comforted her. She then looked at the Professor, who seemed to want to melt into the wall. Bennett then asked, ¡°What was wrong with her exactly? She just¡­ collapsed, I guess you could call it.¡± The Professor let out a bubbly sigh. ¡°She¡¯s suffering a loss of Water Energy. She doesn¡¯t have enough to support her body and the fact she hasn¡¯t completely collapsed is a mystery in itself.¡± How is that even remotely possible? I¡¯m literally the God of Water. Did that intruder into my world really mess me up that horribly-? She assessed her previous thought after a pause and frowned. That¡­ wasn¡¯t how I think. That¡¯s more of Cthulhu¡¯s way of thinking. Why did that suddenly surface? And how could I possibly¡­ wait. Cthulhu calls me ¡°Child¡± all the time, and I originally thought that it was just about her being spiteful. But¡­ what if it''s more than that? What if¡­ I¡¯m really just a fragment of her consciousness that developed its own will¡­ and therefore I can¡¯t generate my own Water Mana¡­ which seems like bullshit, in my opinion. But if that is the case¡­ what am I supposed to do- Ulayla¡¯s wing smacked Bennett in the face again and he was nearly slammed into the wall, dazed. ¡°You should¡¯ve had Bennett say something! I have plenty of things you can eat; my mom gave me tons of stuff¡­ literally.¡± She looked blankly at a wall. ¡°There¡¯s no way I can eat it all¡­¡± Bennett, obviously very tired at this point, grumbled, ¡°If you smack me one more time with your wings, I¡¯m going to get Maya to force them closed for the next hour, and believe me, she¡¯s very much willing. Ulayla looked at him in horror and folded her wings quickly as the blob known as Maya seemed to poke out of his shoulder before reaching over to his nose, which was bleeding and wiping it up. It then formed into a needle and poked Ulayla threateningly before being beaten back by Bennett slapping it. ¡°That was immensely rude. I¡¯m not even going to repeat what she said; you¡¯re better off not knowing,¡± he said before pushing Maya back into him. He then looked at Luna with a slightly melancholy look. ¡°I didn¡¯t think you¡¯d need a specific type of food to stay¡­ together, I guess?¡± Her professor gave him a lopsided nod. ¡°Yes, for some reason, unlike the last time I saw her, her core is strangely much less efficient at creating Water energy, which is surprising to me, as she was probably the most efficient in the entire class, even better than mine, which is certainly saying something.¡± Luna frowned at him for a few moments before realizing something important. What did you do?! Luna snapped at Cthulhu, finally deciding to lessen the noose on her. (Oh, you¡¯ve finally decided to speak to me, child-) I almost died because of you. Why are you sabotaging me all of a sudden? Luna hissed, not wanting to deal with any of the snob from her alter ego. (First of all, you¡¯re my alter ego, and second of all, I simply stopped a very important function of our core right before you decided to trap me in your mind, which I honestly didn¡¯t expect to happen,) Cthulhu explained, sounding proud of herself. You- Why?! Cthulhu seemed to think. (Do you really think you¡¯re in control, ¡°Luna¡±?) Luna suddenly lost control of her body once again, and terror enveloped her, though, unlike last time, she could still see and hear. Ulayla frowned at Luna¡¯s sudden change of stance. ¡°Luna? Are you okay-?¡± Bennett grabbed Ulayla and moved her aside, Maya suddenly appearing out of nowhere, along with multiple globs of floating blood, all formed in the shape of spikes and pointing at her. Cthulhu had the audacity to look confused until she saw Bennett¡¯s dark expression. ¡°Who are you?¡± he hissed, red lightning cracking over his skin. Yelena gave him a horrified look. ¡°Bennett, what are you doing?! That¡¯s Luna-¡± ¡°No. It is not. Whoever that is tried to kill US,¡± he snapped, his voice suddenly distorting, as if becoming two voices in one. He then frowned. ¡°What do we mean ¡®us¡¯?¡± He seemed confused for a second before recovering, clearly untrusting¡­ as he should be. Cthulhu stared at him coldly as his sister seemed to understand something was wrong with Luna. Hm. That child is still fighting me. Mildly annoying. Her willpower is immense, far above what I could¡¯ve ever expected. Concerning, to say the least. True, she¡¯s a part of me, but at some point, I¡¯ll get rid of her and take full control. Move, boy, She snapped, causing his nose to start bleeding. ¡°No. What do you want with Luna?¡± He snapped back, the scythe seeming move slightly in his grip as he tightened his grip. Do I really need to kill you right now? Move. He tensed, momentarily afraid of her before he seemed to push it away, glaring at her. Cthulhu restrained a sigh before standing up and staring at him for a moment. Half a second later, she had him strung up by multiple tentacles, though she had nearly lost two in the process and was nursing the wounds crackling with electricity, which was very much an annoying task, to say the least. Before she could do much more than touch her wound, a sudden surge of strength from the boy ripped him from her grip and, before she could react, she was sent flying backwards into a wall, where she was barely able to collect herself before a hand was quite literally in her face and the slight flashing in front of it warned her of an upcoming attack, but she was barely able to do anything except put a thin veil of water that did absolutely nothing to stop the explosion of Hellfire from blasting her through the wall and out under the night sky. Cthulhu flew nearly a hundred feet, her clothes half burnt off before she was able to catch herself right before hitting the ground. However, she had not even a second to realize the child¡¯s ¡°best friend¡± was somehow behind her, crackling with red electricity, but she couldn¡¯t react in time, which was starting to get frustrating. Stop interfering, CHILD! She snapped at the suppressed consciousness within her, but it only seemed to strengthen the annoying bug in her mind, which decided to interfere further, cutting off her control over her Healing Arrays. All of them, even the ones that it hadn¡¯t even used yet. YOU- ¡°Get out of Luna!¡± the boy known as Bennett yelled, appearing in front of her. I can¡¯t believe a mortal is pushing me this far. Fine, if you truly want me to kill you¡­ For the first time in this world, Cthulhu used an attack Array. Ten blades of water, one the ends of each of her tentacles and on her arms, formed and she launched herself at the boy, artfully slashing at him faster than he should¡¯ve been able to perceive¡­ but he dodged all of them, every time, for barely a moment, being surrounded in a mist of blood and bending around her attacks in ways she couldn¡¯t understand a human to be able to do. In it, she could barely perceive a feminine form easily dodging her attacks, mocking her. Her. Cthulhu, the Ancient God of all forms of water, excluding blood, which didn¡¯t make much sense, as that meant there was another with that authority, close to her age. Unbeknownst to her, the girl who¡¯d blown her through the wall had somehow appeared behind her, a sword nearly taking her head off. Cthulhu mentally berated herself for not noticing earlier, and instead tried to focus on both of them at the same time, but¡­ something felt off. She had nowhere near the mental power she should have to be able to focus on the both of them, resulting in her nearly losing track of the exponentially faster boy. From what I¡¯ve seen, he¡¯s not usually this fast¡­ so he must be using some sort of array¡­ maybe the child knows. The moment the thought came upon Cthuhlu¡¯s mind, the smaller, yet powerful mind of ¡°Luna¡± pushed back, momentarily diverting her attention. This was a fatal flaw, as she felt a heavy kick launch her across the field, nearly dropping into the Dungeon- Hmph. Fine. If you¡¯re going to push me this far, to the point that if I make one wrong move, I lose this, you¡¯re losing with me. Cthulhu stood up, kicking away the annoying Abyss trying to crawl up her legs before giving the boy a flat expression. Annoying Bugs, Cthulhu said, condescending. I¡¯m weakened now, but worry not, I¡¯ll kill you eventually. But, for now¡­ goodbye. ¡°What are you on about?¡± the boy mumbled. ¡°Who are you? Why are you-¡± Before he could continue on, Cthulhu had moved as fast as she could just as the girl appeared next to him. Taking this opportunity, she grabbed them both with two tentacles. Good Riddance, Cthulhu said, yanking the two of them towards the Dungeon¡¯s maw, bringing herself with them. *** Bennett felt cold. Beyond cold as they fell into the Dungeon, feeling everything descend into darkness. Bennett could faintly feel something nearby, worry and confusion¡­ Luna? She¡¯s back to normal? We really need to figure out this trying to kill me thing- wait, there¡¯s more important things to worry about right about now. Bennett tried to figure out where Luna was, feeling around the quickly moving air. After a few seconds, he felt a strand of hair touch his hand. There she is. Bennett reached for Luna in the darkness, grabbing her. She froze, panic exploding within her. When he mentally reassured her, she seemed to slightly relax and grab him back, and he then tried to find his sister¡­ which was relatively simple, as he hair was still burning as bright as the sun, illuminating her panicked expression. He managed to dive towards her and grabbed her hand. She blinked in confusion before nodding. She opened her mouth, but the wind tore her voice away, so he only heard faint whispers. Before he could figure out any other way to communicate he got a sudden notification. Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. ___ New Unique Skill! NEW! Blood Shift - Level [Maya : Weapon Level] Unique Skill : Blood Shift (Passive/Buff) When entering battle and are currently using Maya in any way, you gain 100% Blood Dodge. When Maya detects an attack, you will shift into Blood Shadow : Maya and dodge the attack, spending 20% Blood Dodge. For every 1% of Blood Dodge, you will gain (Skill Level * 0.1)% Universal Damage Bonus, For Every 1% of Blood Dodge missing, you gain (Skill Level * 0.2)% Movement Speed. When dodging multiple attacks within 1 second, only every other attack decreases Blood Dodge. When attacking Opponent, increases Blood Dodge by 5%. The Maximum Blood Dodge is 200 + (Skill Level * 20)%. You can Expend HP to replenish Blood Dodge for a 1:2 ratio. When Dodging, replenish 1% HP for every 2 Skill Levels. *Note : This Skill is not officially recognized by the System, so be wary of malfunctions during its use. ___ (Ah. Looks like the Array finally activated. Took long enough.) Well thanks¡­? I¡¯m kinda a bit indisposed. My sister can fly, so I¡¯m not so worried about her. But Luna and I¡­ Well, when we hit the ground, we go splat, though I don¡¯t doubt that Luna will somehow live. (Huh? Wait¡­ what happened while I was asleep?! WHY ARE YOU IN THE-) Bennett ignored her, trying to focus. Maya, do you have any- Before he could continue on, he felt a massive jolt, as if gravity suddenly switched directions. The area around them suddenly changed and he barely got a chance to figure it out as they slowed down, nearly a hundred feet in the air, before falling again. This time the gravity switch was less jarring, and they didn¡¯t fly as high. After one more time, they fell around twenty feet, back first against the ground. Bennett felt the air forced out of his lungs as Luna¡¯s weight, albeit not that much, fully landed on top of him. He coughed mid-wheeze as Luna rolled off of him, in a daze as he gathered from her confused and scared state. After a few moments of recovery, he looked upwards in exhaustion, ignoring the searing pain all over his body, caused from using Blood Break once again, though it wasn¡¯t as bad, since he wasn¡¯t pushing himself too hard- ¡°What in the Nine Circles of Hell are you doing here?¡± The familiar horned head snapped at him, looking very annoyed, which was an unfamiliar emotion he¡¯d seen on her face. Bennett let out a garbled groan, his throat filled with blood. He then sat up, turned away, and spit out the blood before retorting, albeit in a very wet voice, ¡°Fighting a very angry¡­ thing. I think the better question is why you¡¯re he-¡± Bennett coughed out more blood before grabbing his Dimensional Bag and pulling out a potion. Bennett poured some into his mouth, swished it around, then spit it out, his throat healed slightly. He then drank the rest of it and coughed out a bit more blood as his vocal cords repaired themselves. He then shook his head rapidly. ¡°Why does this damn Skill have to destroy everything?¡± Juli looked him over before looking at Yelena and Luna, her frown deepening. ¡°Oh, come on! We can¡¯t leave now! Why would you all jump in here?!¡± ¡°We didn¡¯t jump in-!¡± ¡°Sure doesn¡¯t look like that. Unless you were unceremoniously thrown in here like sacks of potatoes, I can¡¯t see¡­ why are you giving me that look?¡± she suddenly snapped at Bennett as he gave her an expressionless look as he heard the ¡°unceremoniously thrown in here like sacks of potatoes¡±. She stood there for a few seconds, processing her own sentence before looking like she wanted to punch a wall. Juli didn¡¯t continue talking for nearly a minute and the entire room was silent. Bennett then frowned. ¡°Huh. I didn¡¯t get a notification for entering the Dungeon. Strange-¡± ¡°It¡¯s because we¡¯re in the Abyss, idiot. I thought it¡¯d be obvious. This System has trouble with understanding the Abyss, which explains why it doesn¡¯t really like me¡­¡± Juli interjected, crossing her arms. ¡°The¡­ Abyss?¡± Yelena asked. ¡°What does that mean?¡± Took the words out of my mouth, Bennett thought, looking at a mildly disoriented Luna, who¡¯d grabbed his arm to stabilize herself. He thought for a moment, then lifted her onto his lap, where she scrambled in confusion before realizing where she was and relaxing. He noticed her skin visibly steaming, which didn¡¯t seem to cause her much pain, but seriously disoriented her. ¡°It¡¯s¡­¡± Juli seemed at a loss on how to explain the Abyss. She then, seemingly out of habit, muttered. ¡°System, could you explain it to them?¡± Of course, nothing happened except the twins giving her a strange look, which seemed to annoy her to no end. ¡°Why do you two always have the exact same expression? It¡¯s just uncanny at this point,¡± she hissed. She then took a break, seemingly collecting herself. ¡°Okay fine. The Abyss¡­ Think of it as a really big cave, with no roof. It¡¯s the border between the Overworlds and the Void. It¡¯s just a series of three planes, the High Abyss, the Abyss, and the Deep Abyss. All of them are dangerous to even exist in, but the Deep Abyss just flat out kills anything that doesn¡¯t have Divinity or is an Abyssal or Voidling.¡± ¡°...That¡¯s harsh,¡± Yelena muttered, and Bennett agreed. ¡°Well that¡¯s how the world works. No point in complaining,¡± Juli grumbled. Bennett had a sudden thought, and blurted, ¡°By the way, why were you here? You clearly had plenty of time to notice us, which tells me you¡¯ve been sitting here for a while¡­¡± Bennett let the question trail on as she looked away for a moment, clearly debating on whether she would tell them anything. After a few seconds, she huffed. ¡°None of your business. I have my own agenda, and you have to deal with it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s¡­ somewhat concerning,¡± Bennett grumbled, looking down at Luna, who¡¯d fully received and was curled up on his lap, guilt completely filling her to the brim. In response, he tightened his grip around her and let her relax a slight bit more. She held onto his wrists and let out a nearly inaudible sigh. *** Yelena watched as Bennett held Luna, some sort of unspoken conversation being exchanged between the two of them. Luna seemed to be a bit hesitant to go anywhere near him, but the mere presence of Bennett apparently soothed her, which kept her from running off. Yelena then stood up, shaking her hair out. ¡°Well, what do we do now?¡± Yelena asked, stretching. ¡°We can¡¯t get out of here, can we? So we have to clear the Dungeon, somehow.¡± Bennett seemed to realize something and let out a grunt as he lifted himself and Luna off the ground, who took her usual place, using his arm like a seat. Yelena was unsure of how Bennett was able to constantly hold her without getting tired as the girl may have been small, but she wasn¡¯t that small. Still, she was the size of a short 10 year old, and probably weighed almost as much as Yelena, and Bennett had trouble lifting Yelena in any way other than a princess carry. Intriguing, Yelena thought. I¡¯ll ask him about it later- ¡°Absolutely not. You two are too under-leveled for this. The Average Level here is Level 25, and some even reached Level 35. I can barely handle them, and I¡¯m level 32, along with being a Voi- an Abyssal,¡± Juli shut them down. Yelena frowned, and she knew Bennett¡¯s expression mirrored hers. ¡°Well, you acting like it¡¯s a lost cause doesn¡¯t help the problem of us being underleveled. Also, weren¡¯t you getting those other Beasts to go back in-¡± ¡°Firstly, I¡¯m not acting like it¡¯s a lost cause. Secondly, I could only do that because they were Natural Beasts. These ones are hardwired to kill.¡± Bennett looked at his sister, and she could tell they had the same thought. I have no clue what the word ¡°hardwired¡± means. ¡°Uh, huh¡­ I still don¡¯t see why we can¡¯t fight them. If anything, it¡¯d be good for us-¡± Yelena started. ¡°You really have no concept of how dangerous these things are, do you? These will not hesitate to eat you just to get marginally stronger. They don¡¯t hesitate to kill-¡± ¡°Would you stop spouting nonsense? You¡¯re basically describing a whole host of species. Damn, there¡¯s Gods know how many people who do that as well,¡± Bennett countered, not letting her finish. ¡°If there¡¯s some personal reason why you don¡¯t want us to do this, it¡¯s better to say it outright instead of complaining about it.¡± He seriously does sound like mom when he scolds people, huh? Straight to the point. Juli looked like she wanted to throw him into a wall, but restrained herself. ¡°You know what, fine. Go ahead and get yourselves killed, I couldn¡¯t care less. Have fun.¡± Yelena blew some hair out of her face before approaching her brother and poking his shoulder. He turned towards her and the two of them stared at one another for a few seconds. Afterwards, he sighed and took a step back, letting his sister pass him. Yelena stood in front of Juli, who was already hellbent on ignoring her. ¡°Juli¡­ I understand you¡¯re trying to protect us, in your¡­ weird way, but you should realize that we won¡¯t get out of here unless we clear the Dungeon, and you¡¯re being unnecessarily stubborn. We have, like, 11 days to clear the Dungeon, and that should be plenty of time for us to get to Mage Tier, right? Maybe, like Ben was probably trying to say, you should put trust in us. We¡¯re not all like you, y¡¯know, all old and wise.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not old,¡± Juli complained, glaring at Yelena, who gave her a smug look. ¡°I would say you sure as hell act like it.¡± After a few moments of Juli watching her, and Yelena getting slightly more nervous by the second, Juli turned around, obviously glaring at a wall. ¡°Fine. It would be beneficial for you to fight these things. But, they¡¯re all a tier above you two¡­ well, maybe except for the closer ones. Those are Level 18¡­ eh. You should be able to handle them perfectly fine.¡± Why¡­ why did I just get a bad feeling? Yelena thought, looking at Bennett, who¡¯s expression mirrored hers. *** Bennett could barely stay on top of the large, bear-like creature that bucked under him as he held on for dear life with his daggers, ready to resort to Blood Claw to try and kill it. Bennett hadn¡¯t realized how much stronger something 8 levels above him was, and was regretting his decision to let Luna sit this fight out, his arm already bloody from him being slashed by the giant thing¡¯s claws. (Why are you insistent on being stubborn, not using me?) Maya complained. (You¡¯d have a much easier time-) Because I don¡¯t want to always rely- Bennett¡¯s train of thought was interrupted by the bear nearly bucking him off its back. He responded by removing a dagger and stabbing it in the neck. -On you. Bennett was barely able to perceive the deep flames at the edge of his vision, signalling his sister was still fighting as well. (That¡¯s a horrible reason, just so you know. I¡¯m literally going to be with you for your entire life, which will be either very long, or very short. Might as well make use of me.) I don¡¯t know how to feel about that phrasing, knowing you. Anyways, let me do this really quick, then you can yap all you want. Maya let out a mock gasp in his head. (The disrespect! How could you?) Please? (Hmph. Fiiiiinnnne.) Jeez, she¡¯s acting like she¡¯s younger than my sister¡­ Bennett thought to himself. Wait, I should be focusing on this thing. Bennett managed to use a Blood Spike to stab the bear through the neck, which let out a roar that shook his entire body. He clenched his jaw and lifted his second dagger before plunging it into the bear¡¯s skull. It roared again before shivering and falling to the ground, weak. Then, it stopped moving. ___ You have killed [Unknown Abyssal Beast : Dungeon Variant] - Level 18. Applied EXP boosts: 8 Levels Above : +80% Dungeon Bonus : +25% Abyssal Defeat : +50% +1 Level (23%) + 5 Vitality, 5 Endurance, 3 Strength, 3, Dexterity, 6 Unaligned Stats Loot Beast? ___ Bennett immediately put two points into both Mind and Intelligence, and the rest into Dexterity. He chose to loot, putting all the materials and half the vials of blood into his bag before offering the rest of the blood to Maya, who seemed to assess it for a few moments. (Beautiful offering. 8/10 for effort. 5/10 for amount. You should give me the rest.) I¡¯m keeping it for an emergency. Don¡¯t be that stingy. She huffed before snapping up the blood. He looked as her Level progress quickly rose to 75%... 80%... 85%... 90%... 98%. They were both silent for a moment, and he could assume they both saw the progress bar. He then lifted one more vial from his bag and, in silence, she snapped it up. ___ Maya has reached Weapon Level 4! Maya has unlocked The New Weapon Skill : Lifeblood! Weapon Skill : Lifeblood - Level 4 You can now use blood in Blood Bank to heal yourself for (Weapon Level * 0.5)% HP per 6% Blood. This is considered a Healing-Over-Time effect, lasting 4 seconds. For every (11 - Weapon Level)% HP healed in this way, you gain 4% Blood Damage and 2% Bleed Damage. You additionally gain another 10% Bleed Chance. If you are to go below 1% HP, you will immediately use 50% of Maya¡¯s mass to resurrect yourself to 100% HP, and, for 10 minutes afterwards, you¡¯ll have an 100% fixed Bleed, Coagulate, and Bleed Trigger Chance, as well as (Weapon Level * 100)% Blood Damage Bonus. During this state, you will automatically use Blood Break, with no repercussions. Maya regenerates 4% Mass per week provided she has enough blood. This resurrection has a cooldown of 3 months. Progress to next Level - 2% To progress Level, feed Maya vast quantities of blood, or rarer types of blood. ___ ¡°Holy shit,¡± Bennett couldn¡¯t help muttering. (I can do that now? That¡¯s¡­ reassuring,) Maya thought, and he could feel her moving around inside him as some sort of change took place. ¡°That¡¯s- wait, there¡¯s another notification.¡± ___ 18 hours removed from the timer. 19 hours until Race Change commences. ___ ¡°Did it really take two hours to find these things? It¡¯s only been like one!¡± (Oh. It¡¯s a time dilation type dungeon. 2:1 hours. Interesting¡­) You knew that? (No. Where did that come from? Its like I knew, but didn¡¯t¡­) Before the two of them could think more on this, Bennett heard an explosion and knew that his sister finished her fight. He looked over to see her dropping two flaming whips as her hair burned with Hellfire, something he was a bit wary of getting near, but didn¡¯t really compare to Luna¡¯s nervousness of just hearing about it, before giving him a grin as she looted the beast. She stretched, a bit beat up from the dog that she¡¯d fought, but otherwise, she was relatively unharmed, unlike him. Yelena frowned at him. ¡°How are you covered in blood? Aren¡¯t you, like, way faster than them?¡± She put her hand on his arm and he flinched slightly, not realizing how bad his wounds actually were. However, he simply shrugged and used some blood from Blood Bank to quickly heal himself to nearly full HP. As his sister watched his wounds close, she suddenly got a curious sparkle in her eyes. ¡°You have healing Skills now? Why haven¡¯t you told me about it?¡± ¡°We just-¡± Bennett stopped speaking mid-sentence and looked at his arm in minor annoyance. ¡°Fine. Maya and I just got it. She just Leveled up. It¡¯s actually very-¡± ¡°Explain. Everything.¡± After reading out the Skill, Yelena nodded slightly. ¡°Hm. That means you don¡¯t have to rely on Luna so much, but I don¡¯t think she¡¯d be so happy about that.¡± I¡¯d think she¡¯d be a bit more content with the fact that I¡¯m able to heal myself, so I don¡¯t have to rely on her too much. Still, I¡¯d feel a bit more comfortable- (Have you ever thought that maybe she wants to heal you?) Maya interjected, sounding nonchalant. ¡­Possibly. (You¡¯re a bit self-centered, aren¡¯t you? You thought she was healing you because she had to?) No¡­ more like she felt she had to. If anything, I¡¯d be fine if she¡¯d never started healing me in the first place. (You¡¯d probably be dead.) Probably. But still, I don¡¯t like the idea of relying on her as much as I already do¡­ she should live the way she wants to. Maya sighed, but didn¡¯t continue. Bennett then noticed Yelena waving her hand in front of his face and shook his head rapidly. ¡°Oh, what?¡± Bennett responded, getting an annoyed punch in the shoulder. His sister shook her head. ¡°Seems like having another voice in your head doesn¡¯t help you to not randomly zone out,¡± she grumbled. ¡°As I was attempting to tell you-¡± Bennett flinched at her annoyed tone. ¡°-should we go back to the others or look for more things to fight?¡± Bennett thought for a moment before inadvertently giving his sister a fist bump as the two of them obviously had the same thought. *** Half an hour later, Bennett and Yelena finally reappeared from around the corner as Luna simply sat down on the ground, motionless. I have no Mana left to spend. I¡¯m literally a useless bundle of Elemental power right now because of that stupid Goddess. I should be able to filter the Abyss into unaligned Mana and back into Water Mana, but my core is running at the bare minimum and I can¡¯t do that. This is so annoying. Luna pulled herself down within her soul, barely perceiving the very laid back presence of Cthulhu, who was keeping her Core from functioning properly. The presence ignored her, even though it knew she was there. Let go of my Core, Cthulhu, Luna demanded. Are you trying to kill me? The presence let out the equivalent of a snort, giving Luna her answer. Why? What is the point of being so annoying? Luna knew that Bennett was trying to get her attention, but she wanted to focus on more important things, like trying to live so she could help out. (Annoying is quite incorrect. If you were truly me, you¡¯d easily be able to resist my control and wrest back ¡°your¡± Core.) Well, reality check, I¡¯m not you and I¡¯d rather not die. Luna snapped back, getting more and more annoyed by the moment. So, if you could, let go. Now. (Hah! Make me, child.) Luna knew full well that she couldn¡¯t do anything to her alter ego, which frustrated her to no end. She spent a few moments just sitting there in frustration. What do you want? What point are you trying to make here? (Simple. Let me have the reins.) Ab-so-lute-ly NOT. Every time, you¡¯ve tried to kill Ben, and I refuse to let you do that again. Cthulhu then let out a sigh. (Well, it¡¯s not like you can stop me. I¡¯m just being generous. I didn¡¯t expect the boy to be that strong, but I won¡¯t underestimate him again. Luna suddenly had a thought, but she wasn''t sure it would work¡­ Fine. If that¡¯s the case, then I have a proposal, Cthulhu. (Oh? You¡¯re starting to sound less like a weak girl and more like¡­ me. Us. Spit it out then.) If, in six Dungeon hours, I can resist your control, you give me full reign to my core again. If not¡­ (You¡¯ll be destroyed and I can take back what¡¯s rightfully ours.) Fine. Do you seal this deal? Cthulhu was quiet for a few moments before letting out a cold laugh. (I see no downside to this. I do.) Luna didn¡¯t flinch as she felt the temporary Array burn itself into her back, defiant. ¡­Could I at least have some sort of Mana Generation? She got no response. She then opened her eyes to see a pair of eyes looking into hers, obviously very concerned. She let out a yelp of surprise and nearly fell over as Bennett hovered over her. He then sighed in relief, leaning back. Behind him, she saw Yelena¡¯s relieved expression before she was able to calm down after the scare that was Bennett and his one red eye. ¡°You¡¯ve been sitting like this for 30 minutes¡­ or an hour, according to the Dungeon¡¯s Time Dilation,¡± Bennett explained, leaning back as she looked at him in confusion. ¡°Yelena was about to slap you awake, but I stopped her¡­ twice.¡± ¡°To be fair, it works on you,¡± Yelena reasoned. ¡°Well, pain is a good incentive to wake up,¡± her brother responded flatly. ¡°Anyhow, are you okay? Any sudden urges to kill me?¡± Bennett seemed to immediately realize that was a bad joke as it came out of his mouth, as it instantaneously filled Luna with immense guilt for being unable to keep Cthulhu in check. Of course, he didn¡¯t know the exact specifics of her dilemma, but she would have rather kept it to herself anyways, as she knew he¡¯d probably do everything he could to help her¡­ She then frowned at him, sensing he¡¯d gotten slightly stronger, though, to her at least, it was barely noticeable. She tilted her head at him and he shrugged. ¡°We Leveled up, including Maya. I can actually hold my own without simply destroying my body now¡­ well, more specifically, I can heal myself now,¡± he said proudly. She nodded, a bit impressed- Wait. Did he say he can heal himself now? She stared at him, trying not to feel betrayed, and failing. She knew he felt her betrayal, but obviously didn¡¯t know why she felt that way, and, to be fair, neither did she. However, her subconscious clearly knew why and, in the back of her head, she felt despair starting to take over. If he can heal himself¡­ keep himself alive¡­ wouldn¡¯t that mean he doesn¡¯t need me anymore? The voice in the back of her head mumbled. And if he doesn¡¯t need me anymore¡­ What''s the point of all of this-? (Wow. You¡¯ve finally figured out he¡¯s not going to ¡°need¡± you around him forever? Congratulations, you¡¯ve learned what life is.) Like you¡¯d know. You don¡¯t care about anyone, and I don¡¯t know how we¡¯ve lived for all this time without it having repercussions. I¡­ Whatever. Leave me alone. I can¡¯t wait until you go back to sleep. After Cthulhu snorted and retreated, Luna looked at the floor. What am I supposed to do now? Bennett coughed, looking over at the area they¡¯d come from not too long ago before yawning. ¡°Damn. Just realized I haven¡¯t slept yet. Eh, it doesn''t matter. We should continue on, right?¡± Juli gave him a flat stare, looking between him and his sister. ¡°No. You two should sleep¡­ so should you Luna, since you definitely need to conserve energy unless you want to¡­ wait. Actually¡­¡± A portal opened up next to Juli and she pulled out what looked like some sort of Core¡­ Water Core? Luna stared at the Core as Juli held it, a hunger that she hadn¡¯t felt in many, many years nearly overcoming her, but she, somehow, managed to hold herself back, her entire body nearly turning to fluid as she reached for it. ¡°Uh¡­ okay. I¡¯m not gonna ask,¡± she muttered, tossing the Core to Luna. Luna grabbed it and immediately began to pull Water Mana from the core, instantly draining it. I¡¯m going to need like four more of these, She thought, stretching her hand out again.