Point-of-View: Lilac Lero ———————————————————————————"Thank you for coming, we really appreciate the assistance," Smiled the Guildmaster of the Praepotentia Guild, a grateful look on his face."Don't mention it, we're all on the same side here, so it's only natural that we help each other out when necessary," Replied Iris politely. "Yes, of course, I completely agree."Hah, yeah right. Pretty sure this guy used to mock our Guild in the not so distant past, guess him showing genuine gratitude like this despite his previous attitude towards us means that the situation here must be pretty dire.After Sapphire wiped out all the Monsters around the capital in the direction we'd come from, we entered the city and made our way to the Praepotentia Guild. We came across a Goblin on the way in, I used Forced Tame on it to confirm that these Monsters are being controlled by someone with the same Class as me. We then arrived at the Guild shortly after, and there were a lot of people here, wit
Point-of-View: Iris Lero———————————————————————————"Damn it, there's just no end to them!" I snapped, as I slashed off a Monster's head with my sword, before rapidly extending the blade towards a Monster barreling in towards me from the right, piercing through the top of its head and splitting its skull open as I swung my blade up while continuing to extend it out.I then whipped my arm across, the blade slicing across several flying Monsters and bringing them down, before I began to spin around as I sensed a Monster springing up behind me.As I turned around, a massive blast of flames came shooting towards the Monster from its left, eliciting a deafening roar of pain from it as the flames enveloped it and set it ablaze, its agonized roars soon fading as it got burnt to a crisp."I know you probably had that under control, but you're welcome regardless," Grinned Rex, beads of sweat running down the sides of his face, before firing out a scorching wave of flames from his mouth at a g
Point-of-View: Iris Lero———————————————————————————I began to point my blade at the Dragon as it raised its arm up, before I lowered my weapon in surprise, as the Dragon... "No, wait-...!" Began Lilac, before abruptly trailing off as the Dragon plunged its claws into its own throat, killing itself.Blood gushed out of its neck as its body went limp and collapsed onto the ground, sending tremors across the area as blood poured out of the deep gash in its neck, pooling around its head."Wow, uh...that was hardcore. Wasn't expecting that from you, Lilac," Remarked Rex in surprise."N-no, I...that wasn't me. I linked with the Dragon using Thought Communication and managed to free it from the control it was under, I was going to set it free after that. It was in a frenzy and immensely enraged, even though I managed to establish a telepathic link with it, I couldn't get it to listen to me. I think it thought that I was going to take control of it instead of letting it go, and it chose t
Huh...? What's going on? Everything's dark, and I...I feel so drained and worn out. I can't even open my eyes... Wait, who...who am I? I...I can't remember. I can't remember anything. My head, it...it feels so foggy and cloudy... . . . . "...-42 and subject 43. You're up next."Huh? Whose voice is that? A memory? But it's unclear, I can't see anything-... . . . . . Huh? Is this a different memory now? It's unclear again, everything's so blurry...but I can just about, vaguely, hear what's being said to me in the memory... "You defiant little-...! Cooperate or die, we can make good use of your corpses if you prefer!"I...I don't remember this, but it...it feels familiar, the emotions welling up and taking over my senses, they feel so...so painfully familiar. I can feel a sense of immense fear and blinding rage surging inside me... . . . . . "It's no use, the result is a failure after all...how frustrating, we were so close too!"Another different memory. I-I can feel
"That...that sounds like a fake name. Is that a fake name? It's a fake name, isn't it? Yeah, it's definitely a fake name. What's my real name?" I frowned suspiciously. "What? No, that's your name, I swear," He responded with a shake of his head, firmly meeting my gaze with an earnest look in his eyes.Hm, I don't think he's lying this time...I mean, if he was capable of lying this effectively, I wouldn't have caught on to his initial lies to begin with. And since he's refused to tell me about my past, there's no reason for him to lie about my name, he could've just refused to tell me if he didn't want me to know what it is. But, seriously? That's my name? Topaz Oriole...it sounds kinda, I don't know, pretentious? Like, overly unusual or rare names feel sort of...gauche. "So, I take it you aren't going to explain anything to me?" I inquired, as I glanced at the man warily...he said his name was Ifeus, right? "Oh, not at all, I'll answer any questions you may have. Well, besides any
"Go on, introduce yourselves," Ifeus prompted the two girls, as they entered the room, staring at me with looks of intrigue and curiosity in their eyes. "Hello, it's nice to meet you...my name is Iris Lero," One of them introduced herself politely. She had snow while hair tied up in a ponytail, a slightly dark complexion, and bright, dark green eyes. Ifeus said that I'm fourteen, right? She looks a bit older, maybe somewhere around sixteen years old or so. "Hi, there! I'm Lilac Lero, my name's a bit of a tongue twister...try saying it over and over!" Grinned the other girl as she introduced herself in a cheerful, friendly tone. Yeah, I'd rather not. She's a bit excessively upbeat, huh? She looked like she was a bit younger than Iris, with a similar complexion, dark purple hair tied up in twintails, gleaming red eyes and-...wait, what's that? Something's moving in her chest. Huh? Is...is that a snake? "Uh...," I muttered in bewilderment, as a green snake poked its head out of her t
I wonder what it could be? Well, only one way to find out. I then locked my gaze onto the display, focusing on it...I should be able to control it with my mind. It should display my Class, which Tiers I've currently unlocked, and the Arts and Traits that I possess, as well as any Arts or Traits that I haven't yet learned but am eligible for. And it should also display my Ether Capacity, Maximum Ether Output and Power Level, along with numerical values for my various physical abilities. The active abilities that Mages use are called Magical Arts, or just Arts for short. There are also passive abilities that can be unlocked by specific Classes, abilities that are constantly active, called Magical Traits, or Traits for short. As for Power Level, it's a value derived from a person's Ether Capacity, Maximum Ether Output, Casting Distance and their various physical attributes. I'm not sure what the exact formula is, though. Okay, let's see here...show me my Class! The display then open
Oh, wow. Ignoring and setting aside the questions marks, the rest of my stats aren't bad at all...my Maximum Ether Output is well above the human average of 10. And the average for all four physical stats are about 15, so I'm well above average with those too. My durability is especially high, interesting. Gotta say, wouldn't have guessed that's the case since my body is kinda scrawny and slender, guess I'm more sturdily built than I thought. It does make sense that my numbers are above average though, since my Ascended Tier is unlocked. That said, my Agility and Speed stats are a bit low for an Ascended Mage, while my Strength stat is just about a fraction below average. It also makes sense that my Power Level isn't showing up and displays '???' instead, just like with my Ether Capacity stat. After all, since Ether Capacity is the main factor in calculating Power Level, and my Ether Capacity isn't showing up, it's only natural that my Power Level can't be calculated. I should also