Chapter 263: – Back At Mystwood Academy. |
“I almost forgot about this part…”
Rusty mumbled as he pressed his hand against the barrier leading out of the summon dueling arena. Just like before, he could not leave in his current form. The spells surrounding the arena prevented summoned creatures from wandering around the academy, so to pass through, he needed to shrink himself down.
“Oh, he doesn’t like being small? But he’s so cute!”
Astrella commented, and Rusty looked down at her in silence for several seconds before answering.
“Cute?”
“Yes, cute.”
“There is nothing cute about reducing my combat effectiveness. You humanoids say the strangest things.”
Rusty shook his helmet from side to side, imitating gestures he had seen humans use before. To him, losing almost all of his combat abilities in this smaller form was a travesty. He could barely defend Gwen like this, and the restriction applied throughout most of the academy, with only a few designated areas allowing summons to move freely. If someone tried to assassinate his summoner at night, there would be little he could do in such a weakened state. Yet for some reason, Astrella found the whole thing amusing.
“Haha, that just makes it even cuter! I didn’t know Rusty talked like this, Gwen!”
Gwen stepped between them, apparently convinced that Astrella’s teasing genuinely bothered him. In truth, he did not care nearly as much as they seemed to think he did.
“He’s sensitive about it.”
“I am not sensitive…”
Rusty quickly tried to defend himself, and as he did, he noticed Syber slightly grinning in the background. Before the group could continue arguing, however, they were interrupted by a wave of shouting from the audience.
“The Metal Maiden!”
“B1 wins this time!”
“That bear wolf was just all hot air!”
Cheers flooded the arena as students leaned over the railings above. Rusty had almost forgotten how much these magicians loved watching one another compete. It seemed to be their favorite pastime, as even the weaker summoners drew crowds. Then, in an instant, the noise vanished. The audience was still shouting, but their voices were blocked by a silencing spell similar to the one Rusty and Gleam had used earlier.
“This concludes this semester’s final interclass competition between Class B1 and B2. Please return to your classes or dormitories in an orderly manner.”
The amplified voice echoed through the arena as the silencing barrier slowly faded. The students stopped shouting and finally began to disperse while the scoreboard shifted.
“Maybe we should head back to the dorms. Thanks to Gwen winning, we’re back on top among the B classes. If this keeps up, we might finally make it into A-Class. We’re so close!”
Rusty was not entirely sure what the girl meant, but the mention of A-Class immediately caught his attention. It was the highest rank a student could achieve within the academy, and perhaps reaching it was the true objective of his current mission.
‘A-class… That’s where that girl is, right?’
Without asking, he glanced over at Gwen. At the mention of the class, she seemed to shrink back a little, and once Astrella continued, it became obvious why.
“We’ll show Katherine who the true best summoner is, won’t we, Gwen?”
“Uh… I’m not sure about that… I like it here…”
Rusty was not sure how Gwen’s position had changed over the span of the last half year. While she looked better and healthier, it was still clear that the name Katherine Grandwell brought back unwelcome memories. If Gwen made it into that class, she would be exposed to her every day, so it was not strange that she wanted to remain in B-class, where things had been going well.
“Why don’t you worry about getting your own grades up first?”
Syber stepped over and glanced at Astrella. She did not take his words too well and stuck out her tongue.
“My grades are perfectly fine!”
“If you say so.”
With that, he turned around and started walking away. Rusty finally used the creature reduction skill he had learned last time, and his body began to shrink. He was still larger than the fairies, but not by much.
Rusty stared down at his smaller metallic body while flexing his fingers. The transformation compressed his frame into something closer to a toy knight than the towering armored warrior from moments earlier. His weaponry had vanished along with most of his plating, leaving behind only a simplified version of his armor.
“I can’t really do much in this form, Gwen, so you’ll have to be careful.”
Gwen used the opportunity to move away from the topic of A-class. She picked him up and held him against her chest with both arms, just like she used to in the past.
“Why don’t we visit the cafeteria first, eat something, and tell Rusty what he missed out on?”
“Oh, that’s a good idea!”
Astrella nodded and quickly forgot about the earlier conversation the moment food was mentioned. Bartholomew Woodward, whom they had defeated, had already retreated in shame without throwing any more insults their way. The entirety of B2 grew quiet as Gwen and the others departed from the battle arena.
As they walked away, Rusty looked around. He could see magical energy drifting through the air. The damage done to the stone flooring was already being restored, much like how dungeons repaired themselves, though at a far faster rate. Floating brooms swept the area clean while several people stood nearby supervising the process.
‘I wonder if Gleam could do that. We could use something like it to clean the lair.’
Gwen looked down at him with a smile as she carried him through the academy corridor. Rusty remained quiet for a moment, taking in the scenery around him. Outside, several students had gathered around the scoreboard displaying the five bouts between classes B1 and B2. The board was being updated, but before it was finished, he managed to catch a glimpse of who had won each match.
Aranea Venomridge had been victorious and, since he had been gone for half a year, she had likely remained the strongest person in Class B1. However, her trust in Gwen seemed to have grown, as she and the other students had entrusted her with the final match against the strongest student in Class B2.
Syber had also been there and had won his bout. Then there were Eldric and Aldric, both of whom lost their confrontations, which forced Gwen to carry the final match alone.
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“Looks like you really were the deciding factor.”
Rusty glanced up at Gwen while she carried him through the hallway. She looked slightly embarrassed after hearing that.
“I just got lucky… If you hadn’t shown up, I probably would have lost…”
Her words trailed off, making it clear that she still lacked confidence in her own abilities. Rusty could see that her status had improved enough for her to summon his current leveled form, which showed how much progress she had made. She could also summon the armor sets he had unlocked for her, though he was not sure how effective even ten or twenty of them would actually be against that bear wolf.
“That wasn’t luck, and you know it.”
Astrella replied while walking beside them. Her two fairies floated above her shoulders and occasionally sat on them.
“I’m not so sure about that…”
Gwen replied with her head lowered, and Rusty decided to change the subject.
“So how exactly are you able to communicate with me?”
Rusty was still curious about how Gwen and the other two could clearly understand him without there being a summoning bond between them.
“Oh, it’s thanks to this.”
Instead of Gwen, Astrella responded. She raised her hand and showed him the ring on one of her fingers.
“That ring?”
“Yes, this is a bond band. You can attune it to other people. Look.”
She took Gwen’s hand and held it out, showing that they were both wearing the same accessory. Apparently, this magical item was what made communication possible, and once it was in front of his visor, he immediately wanted to examine it.
In his home world and in the other summoner worlds, he could not communicate with others unless he used the possession skill and a dead head. Perhaps he could copy the spells enchanted into these rings.
Rusty tilted his head slightly while examining the ring. The enchantment woven into it was far more delicate than the combat spells he usually studied. Using his senses, he could see thin strands of mana flowing between the silver bands like invisible threads connecting them together.
“It establishes some kind of link?”
“More or less, and the best thing is that these bands can be made in all kinds of forms. We decided to go with friendship rings because we’re best friends, right Gwen?”
Gwen blushed slightly at Astrella’s embarrassing declaration while they walked. She simply nodded without replying, and soon they continued through the corridors toward the cafeteria.
Syber walked ahead of them for a while before eventually making his way toward what looked like the battle training grounds. It was clear to Rusty that the young man had grown much stronger and possessed a drive similar to his own. He could recognize people who constantly sought greater power, and Syber was clearly one of them.
“All he does is train and train. Even now, when the semester is almost over, he does nothing but train. That musclehead.”
“I think it’s commendable.”
Rusty’s response left Astrella visibly surprised, probably because he had taken Syber’s side. It was obvious the two shared some kind of rivalry.
“W-well, we should probably go eat…”
It seemed she did not want to continue the discussion, so they finally headed to the cafeteria. Once they had ordered their food and settled down to relax, the two girls told Rusty what they had been doing over the past five months, along with what his true mission would likely be.
“I see, so all of you studied hard, learned to summon stronger creatures, and are now heading on this… excursion to the Rose Knight Academy?”
“Excursion is probably the wrong word for it. I see it more as a trip! We’ll finally get to leave the academy and visit other places. Isn’t that exciting?”
Astrella’s way of speaking had not changed at all, and she was clearly thrilled about the upcoming journey.
“If it’s not an excursion, then what exactly is it?”
“It’s just another test before the semester ends, the last one of the year. Once it’s over, we’ll finally get some time off. I can hardly wait.”
That did not really answer his question, so this time Rusty turned his small head toward Gwen, hoping she would provide a clearer explanation. They were sitting in the same cafeteria as before, but the food the girls were eating looked far more appealing and noticeably denser in mana. He was not sure if it was one of the reasons, but the combination of intense training and better meals might have contributed to Gwen’s higher level and improved disposition.
“It’s a joint academy evaluation.”
“That sounds… complicated.”
Rusty answered immediately while staring at the bowl of fruit in the middle of the table. Astrella laughed as she stuffed a pastry into her mouth.
“That’s because the teachers love giving everything long, fancy names.”
Gwen gave a slight nod before continuing.
“Every year, several academies gather to take part in different tests and competitions. Some focus on combat, while others are centered around survival skills, dungeon exploration, mana control, teamwork, and summoning.”
“It’s also where the noble students like to show off.”
Astrella added as she picked up one of the fruits and took a bite. To Rusty’s surprise, Airy leaned over and took a small bite from the same fruit as well.
“And where teachers compare whose classes are better.”
“Oh, will this be one of those tests like the one in that forest?”
Rusty recalled fighting a lightning tiger during one of Gwen’s exams, when all the classes had gathered together.
“Mmm, something like that, but we won’t be taking it within the academy, and we won’t be doing it alone.”
Gwen replied while sipping her tea.
“Yes, instead we’ll be joined by a group of knights from the Rose Knight Academy… but now that I think about it, I never mentioned the full name, so how did you know that, Rusty?”
Gwen raised an eyebrow while staring at her small summon. Rusty had read the mission description, and the academy’s name had been included there. He could explain it all, but he was not sure if that was a good idea. These halls had eyes, and he knew people were always watching and listening. If the mages discovered his unique disposition, they might try to interfere with his mission somehow.
“Oh, well… you know…”
He responded while looking around to see if someone was listening to their conversation.
“I know?”
She raised her eyebrow again and leaned closer, clearly suspicious. He remained silent for a few seconds while trying to think of a good excuse. Before he could answer, Astrella called out from her spot.
“Isn’t it obvious, Gwen?”
“It’s obvious?”
Gwen tilted her head in confusion.
“Of course. He was probably watching over you from the shadows, waiting for the perfect chance to help you!”
“Oh? Is that so, Rusty?”
Rusty was not entirely sure what the girl was talking about, but it was probably a better explanation than exposing his soul forge to this world. Gwen already knew he did things while unsummoned, but she was not aware of everything.
“It was something like that…”
“See? I told you. He was just testing you so you wouldn’t become too reliant on his power!”
The explanation made enough sense, and once Gwen heard it, she clenched her small fists with determination. Her gaze became much more serious.
“I understand, Rusty. I’ll make sure to become a worthy summoner in the future!”
“Uh… sure…”
Gwen nodded furiously, as if she had reached some grand conclusion. After that, the two girls finished eating and eventually returned to their dorm room.
“I can barely wait. I wonder how much the world outside has changed. We haven’t been able to leave this academy for a whole year…”
Astrella was still Gwen’s roommate, and the two girls talked while Rusty wandered around in his smaller form.
“It has been a while, hasn’t it…”
Gwen responded, though she did not seem nearly as enthusiastic as Astrella about leaving the academy.
“There you go again, Gwen. You need to stop being so gloomy! Just think about the knights we’re going to meet. Young and handsome, and they say the Rose Knight Academy has the most attractive boys around. You know what that means, right, Gwen?”
“N-no…”
Gwen started blushing while hugging a nearby pillow. Astrella, however, showed no signs of stopping.
“Oh, come on. Don’t tell me you’ve never thought about it before!”
Astrella leaned forward on her bed with a mischievous grin while Gwen hugged the pillow tighter against her chest.
“T-thought about what…?”
“The handsome knights, obviously!”
Gwen’s face immediately turned red.
“I have not!”
“You absolutely have.”
“I haven’t!”
Rusty watched as the two girls continued going back and forth. He found himself wondering what this expedition would be like. As always, he wanted to earn the highest grade possible, but he was also eager to see how this world differed from his own.