281 The Three Candidates

"We can do that if you really can't stand it, you know..." Aya said, with a tone that made her seem out of breath. Then, she added, "I mean, your scent is already smeared all over my body... but, if you want me to transform back to my original form, we'll have to find a secluded spot...YEOW!" Her forehead was flicked by Baiyi.

'What's with that… that seemingly intimate description? What did you say? I can... what? What exactly can a soul armature do to you, anyway? Original form? As if I want anything to do with it! I'm not even a follower of certain a religion that promises heaven filled with hour is, so do you think I would be that kinky?' Baiyi pondered furiously in his heart. He could not help but acknowledge that the mindset of the dragonkind was indeed quite different from that of humans. 'How old is Aya again? She is already having such thoughts before being of suitable age for marriage…'

After Baiyi delivered a lecture about propriety to Aya, while chiding her on the need to maintain a purer mind, the little dragon-lady began to tail Baiyi meekly, looking like a daughter-in-law who had just been scolded. Aya held Mordred's hand, and they all crossed the road to go and meet her new students.

As soon as the students saw her, they looked like they were facing off against their ultimate arch-nemesis! The owl transformed into a complete beast-shaped armor set, and this armor covered the great fox; this tactic was something Sunny the owl had learned while doing its homework. The sunflower clambered onto the great fox's head and settled into the strategically designed sunken spot on its helmet, then the great fox bared its fangs and frightful claws, forming an intimidating stance.

'Is this owl's true form really not some sort of slime? How can he just transform into… anything?'

Nota also made a move. She held the witch's hat on her head and began to climb up the Kitsune's back laboriously... This stance was their 'four-in-one' winning strategy, which they firmly believed would be the primary factor for their success; their level of naivety was equivalent to the nine-stage elimination strategy used by the Imperial Japanese forces in WWII.

Modred leaped onto the Kitsune's back, and her gaze fell on the cute Nota. She proceeded to hold Nota's hand graciously.

"You're so cute! I'm Mordred. What about you?" Mordred initiated warmly.

"m—My name is n—Nota..." Nota shuddered in pure terror; her entire body was trembling uncontrollably.

"Such an adorable name!" Mordred's voice rang out with pure, innocent laughter. She whipped out the whale plushie and stuffed it between Nota's arms, instead.

"This is what pap— oh, no... this is what Master bought for me earlier! Isn't it cute? Mama always said that good things have to be shared, so now that we're buddies, I'll lend it to you for a bit!"

"tha—Thank y—you..." Nota's voice was as audible as a mosquito's.

"Let's get along nicely, everybody!" Mordred bared her two fangs and came forward to give Nota a welcoming embrace, giving her soft, fluffy cheeks a gentle caress.

'Hmm.. this strategy seemed like the exact same one used on little Mia, isn't it?' Baiyi pondered silently as he watched the entire scene unfold before his eyes, noticing how insolently unresponsive the great fox and the rest were.

'How bloody embarrassing! At least make your own exit, dammit!'

After that, Baiyi decided to handover the situation to Aya, giving her the stage to get more accustomed to the new students and the environment. Getting herself acquainted with the students and earning their acceptance was her own duty. Baiyi could not help her out there, and there was nothing he could say or do to facilitate the process. Everything will be down to Aya's personal charm.

Pondering about other things, Baiyi went to his underground laboratory. He had decided to spend the afternoon drafting out the details of three techniques, which he planned to patent through the Sorcerers' Association.

According to his plans for the future, these three techniques — Flame Pole, Flash bomb, and Claw — would not only serve as his introductory pieces to the academic world because he also had personal plans for them. With the exception of the Flame Pole, whose name the Archmage had ripped off from something else, the other two techniques were not appropriate for one-on-one battles. The flash bombs were more suitable for small-scale confrontations and ambushes, especially those held indoors. The new and improved Claw was more suitable for military-scale battles involving large armies, and the Steppe Barbarians, who were exceptionally fond in using projectile attacks upon horseback, found it especially effective.

He already had plans to put these techniques up for sale. Besides these three, there were some modified enchantments, such as the Ultimate Slow-Down Enchantment, Attack Speed-Up, Defense Shield, and more — all of which where within the range of militia magic — that he could patent.

These enchantments were to be made into scrolls that would be sold to the Steppe Barbarians. The Steppe Barbarians were currently in the midst of a war, and they lacked sorcerers; shamans were not reliable, at all. Besides transforming into dancing wolves and getting killed, shamans were useless; after all, they were not druids, who had the utmost understanding of the world's elements. Hence, Baiyi's toys could definitely help either side win the war. He was not worried about being able to sell them, and he was pretty sure that the profit would be magnanimous. This was, by far, the best platform to put them up for sale.

As of now, news of the deal in Steppe had still not been made public. Although there were some who knew about it, they were extremely tight-lipped about it, without leaking a single wisp of it out. There were no rumors of external influences, meddling parties, or any sign of huge players coming into the scene. Those who were watching simply watched Undine and her gang make money out of this.

Seeing how easily they let Undine and her friends off on such a profitable deal made Baiyi wondered if a sinister and powerful force had set its eye on the area, so everyone else was leaving it alone. However, Bayi naturally had to act fast so that he could milk a huge sum of profit through Undine's vast web of contacts before the unknown force began to show its hand.

"Whew, hopefully the examination goes as smoothly as this," Baiyi murmured to himself, with a slightly muffled tone of voice. He had quite the good impression of the Sorcerer's Association, for now. In fact, he was sort-of a sorcerer himself, so naturally, he hoped that there will be no hiccups along the way. Since Grace Day was fast approaching, he had to hasten his steps.

After three days, Baiyi was almost done preparing the items for his mini excursion. Additionally, a letter from the Sorcerer's Association arrived before his doorstep that same day. It was an official invitation that required him to report himself for the Powel Level Examination the next day. This level of efficiency did not fail Baiyi's expectations, at all.

Baiyi proceeded to brief Aya and the rest of his students on his plan for the upcoming days. As he spoke, he noticed Mordred lying on top of the great, with the owl in her embrace, and all three were playing together. After three days of getting to know each other, the students seemed to have grown accustomed to Aya's presence, seeing as they now knew that they would not be eaten up; however, there was the possibility that this development may have only come about because the students feared the dragonkind. In the end, the fact that the students were no longer trembling in fear at the sight of Aya was a good sign. The fact that they could now maintain a level of contact, for educational purposes, made everything even better. Hence, closed-room-lessons and group sessions would no longer be a problem, and under Aya's tutelage, the students had begun to learn more about teamwork and its significance.

However, their relationship was still pretty awkward in private. Aya could not think of a better way to improve that for now, so she only chose to maintain the current level of interaction, while considering better methods to enhance it.

The next morning, Baiyi prepared to leave the house.

"That's about it, I think. I shall leave now."

"Have a safe journey." Aya had donned an apron and was standing against the doorway, looking like a dutiful wife who was sending her husband off for work.

The culinary lessons had also already begun early that morning. Attie and Nota were in the kitchen, putting their best efforts into their work. This was the third day of their lessons. Attie was a natural, but Nota... she kept forgetting where she placed the pepper…

Baiyi gave a curt nod and asked, "According to the updates on their progress which you gave me earlier, the great fox and the rest will be learning combat material today, right?"

"Actually, they cannot use typical combat moves that are catered for humans because they are naturally instilled with the best abilities and reflexes. If it was up to me, I'll just teach them a few simple aura exercises" Aya replied. "I did think of teaching them dragon's aura, but I'm not sure if they'll be able to pick it up..."

'My dear Aya, do you really think that the great fox and the owl could learn dragon's breath?' Baiyi mused, humored slightly by her thoughts. 'But whatever, she could teach them for the fun of it.'

Baiyi went on his way after that and reached the headquarters of the Sorcerer's Association at about ten in the morning. When he arrived at the designated level, via the hover disc, he bumped into two candidates, who had also signed up for the Examination, outside the practice arena — an old man and a young lad. Looking at the purple insignia on their chests, Baiyi could tell that they were Master level, so it was obvious to him that they were here to sit for the Legendary-level examination.

"Oh? A soul armature?" said the lad — who looked to be in his twenties — when he set eyes on Baiyi. The lad looked on curiously and noticed a similar purple badge on Baiyi's chest armor.

"Why would a soul armature attend a Power Level Examination? Can soul armatures still increase their powers?" The lad questioned in a low mumble.

Hearing the lad's words, the old man also tossed a gaze in Baiyi's direction, with a look of interest on his face.

Logically speaking, after soul armatures got sorted into a particular Power Level, they would not attend Power Level Examinations anymore. There were two reasons for this: first, it was too troublesome; second, after their summoning, the powers that soul armatures wielded decreased significantly, so there was no need to go through another Power Level Examination just to verify that.

Baiyi sensed their gazes and returned the favor by focusing his senses on the two. They both had legendary-level energy. The old man, who looked even older than Baiyi, was really nothing to shout about; it was the lad who Baiyi found interesting. He seemed to be as young as he looked; his body emitted an aura of youth and vitality.

'A twenty-year-old legendary-level? This individual can already be considered a genius!' The lad was dressed in common, shabby robes. One look at the staff in his grasp, and one could tell that it was a cheap item. The lad's financial situation must be pretty bad, so he probably was not one of those geniuses from a noble family.

This was quite remarkable. A genius lad with a common, mediocre background would have a great attitude and upbringing, unlike those rich geniuses who were born with unlimited benefits and resources at their disposal. With the exception of his plain looks and mediocre appearance, the lad was fit to be the protagonist of a typical fantasy storyline.

"How do you do, everybody? My name is Hope," Baiyi greeted politely, toning down his usual pompous attitude.

"Hope...?" The Elder lapsed into a moment's hesitation, during which his expression shifted from confusion to realization. "Are you really… Hope?" Obviously, he must have heard those stories from the Church.

The genius lad, however, maintained a normal reaction.

"Old man, is he very famous?" The lad turned to the Elder and asked nonchalantly.

'Mm? This can't be it now, can it? Using the metrics on Earth, I should be somewhat of an internet celebrity by now, right? You're telling me this lad has never heard of me?' Baiyi mulled pensively.This was referring to the combat strategy coined by the Imperial Japanese forces during World War II. It will not be elaborated here fully, but to sum it up, it was an assumption based-strategy, making the American troops seem like actors in a play. Everybody knew what happened in the end; it was a classic example of a backfired strategy.