Easter Surprise! A Meeting between Protagonists (2).

Easter Surprise! A Meeting between Protagonists (2).

So, to summarize, the goal of the magic test is for you to learn how to mold your mana and then cast a spell. You will be rated on how strong your spell is. There are plenty of magic books around for you to read and get an idea for a spell, so use them well! John said.

Ahh, yes, magic lessons. How long has it been since Master Kush trained me? Fuck that, why the hell am I here?!?!?

Hestia? Are you alright? the foxia runalymo girl standing next to me spoke up with curiosity, somehow able to detect the agitation in my heart despite having blindfolds on.

Alysara stood elegantly with long, waist-length, royal blue hair that shifted to gold near the ends. She had large fox-like ears similar to a fennec fox's ears in proportion to her head. A pair of sapphire and gold earrings adorned her ears, atop her head was an intricate Diadem of some unknown metal but [Mana Eyes] shows it was made entirely out of mana much like her dress.

An amulet sat around her neck. It was a dark gem in the shape of a teardrop with swirling colors inside, matching with two bracers. She had a voluptuous figure and three very long tails that were as long as she was tall which flicked gracefully from side to side.

Shit, calm down, Hestia. This is all just a dream.

O-Oh, nothing, Alysara. Just a bit excited since it's been a while since I had an actual magic testing session.

Id teach you how mana works and all that but your world probably doesnt work the same way, Alysara said while playing with her hair, somehow, with all the grace and elegance in the world.

Probably not, but my magic master taught me to observe and learn from other mages, even if I couldnt reproduce the spells. Creating spells is all about creativity and having an open mind. I showed a thumbs up to Alysara. So, cant wait to see how

Hey, ladies.

My body froze as I heard somebody say those words in the most cringey way possible. My neck slowly snapped around as I forced myself to smile just to be polite. And, just like nearly everybody else in this weird place, the people standing before me were three young men with the most generic hairstyles possible.

No, I lied. I wouldnt call them generic, but they certainly werent really eye-catching. All of them had hair colors ranging from blond to black, a mighty departure from Peolyncas myriad color palette. I might not be a hairstylist, but even I could probably do something to bring these guys up a notch in the attractive meter.

We heard from John that you two were already reincarnated before coming here. Well, shame about that, but its kinda cool that we get to meet each other now, right? The dude in the front smiled friendly. You guys already got a cool makeover, so I kinda want to ask if you guys also came from Earth and from which countries exactly.

I have yet to recover all my memories but Ive been told my soul was adrift in the void for a few million eternities so my earth is long past its expiration date, Alysara said matter-of-factly.

The young men stared at Alysara as if they had just seen a ghost, causing the situation to break down dramatically. U-Uh, well, at least we have a new world that awaits us, right! Who cares about our old home when the one were going to is gonna be so much better!

My memories are also in shambles and I died, leaving my loving father and mother behind. Im currently trying to work my way back to my Earth to apologize to them, I said with a deep sigh.

Awkwaarrrd.

W-Well, then how about we help each other learn some proper spells so you guys can But before this smooth talker could end his sentence, John waved at us, calling us over to him.

Hey! You two! Lets get this over with, already. Get over here and cast whatever spell you want. It seemed John was quite impatient.

Do you want to go first or should I? Alysara asked, ignoring the smooth talker much to his annoyance.

You can go first, if you want. And just like that, the both of us simply forgot about that young mans whole existence, albeit, I could hear him boil silently from behind, but that was not our problem.

Once we met John, he pointed at a lone training dummy standing on an empty field. He told us the dummy was usually closer, but he had a weird feeling, something about his gut hurting, which told him he should do this arrangement for us.

What is he expecting us to do? Nuke the training field?

Youll be graded, but nothing bad happens if you fail. So, just shoot something at it and youre done.

I haven't had a chance to use this much, Alysara said, moving up obediently. But it is quite strong.

Alysara held a hand out and a glowing cat-sized wispy fairy materialized above her hand, however. the fairy did nothing other than glow slightly brighter and shrink down. Alysara continued to charge her spell until a humming sound started to emanate from the fairy, which was rapidly losing its wispiness. A few seconds later the fairy had turned completely solid and looked metallic, but Alysara didn't stop there.

It was at this point John began backing away, looking paler and paler.

Umm, Alysara, Thats good enough, you can use the spell now, he said, almost begging her to.

Im being graded right? Alysara said with a mischievous smile I need to show my best.

It was then that the fairy started losing its metallic look and ripples formed on its flapping wings. Several flashes of light jumped from Alysaras hand to the Fairy before she lowered her hand and the fairy darted to the dummy, seemingly sinking into the dummy before a loud roar and wind rushed past the group. A wave of mana washes over the field but safely parts around everyone. Dirt and earth rained down as a gust of wind blew the dust cloud away, revealing the aftermath a huge crater.

?! Johns mouth was agape, prompting me to nod vigorously. He must have been impressed.

I see, I see! So that is what you should be doing, huh? I thought nuking the field was a joke, but you actually want us to do that! I stated with amazement. No wonder this place was responsible for sending reincarnators to worlds!

W-Wha?! Wait, no, thats John tried to say something, but I didnt register it as I noticed the ground of the training field was regenerating by itself. The crater Alysara created disappeared and the dummy returned, almost untouched.

Interesting, its like a Dungeon Alysara said with academic interest.

So her dungeons work in the same way ours does, huh? Dungeons are universal.

With the ground repaired, I took this as my cue. I flapped my wings and flew over to the training dummy in a few seconds. I thought of using a draconic ability, like solar beam, but I guessed it wasnt really a spell. It was a draconic ability. I shouldnt cheat, right?

Instead, I channeled my mana through my hand and held it up. In the next moment, this mana created a huge red magic circle above in the sky as I quickly recited the chant for it. I havent done it in a long time since the Divine System did it for me, but not like I would forget my first custom spell, right?

Symphonie des Feuergottess!

A waterfall of dragon fire shot out from the magic circle directly onto me and the area around me, bathing a baseball stadiums area in an ocean of inferno. I had to use my pyrokinesis ability to prevent it from harming John and the reincarnators, but that was about it. Otherwise, the flames had full liberty to consume grass and earth.

Once the flame dissipated, I could feel the buffing effects of my spell inside me, even in effect without my system. I canceled it, since it would just make controlling my body temperature harder.

Good! This should be plenty enough. I smiled at my handiwork. The whole area was dyed in gray ash.

I waved my arm at Alysara and returned to her and John.

No, I cant see. Alysara pointed to her eye wraps.

Oh An awkward silence fell over them before I clapped my hands, causing John to cough lightly with a blush. B plus. You missed some opportunities and could have aimed for weak spots but overall proficient. And He then turned to me. Whatever you do, please, dont do the same thing you just did in the next test, Miss S.

At the sound of our announcement, the crowd behind us became too loud for me to ignore. All those guys were gossiping behind our backs like a bunch of valley girls.

Oi, did you just hear that? S rank! That girl over there.

Jeez, how the hell did she manage to create such an explosion?! Shes just shy of two ranks before SSS. If the armor had taken the explosion into account, she probably would have hit SS, at least.

Yo! Arent they supposed to be a bunch of noobs?! They just arrived! How the hell did one of them nuke the field and the other fight better than me despite how long Ive been training here! This is fucking unfair!

Unfair? A bit too self-absorbed, maybe?

I looked over at Alysara, noticing how neutral her expression was despite all we were hearing. I wondered what she was thinking, but I simply shrugged it off when she noticed me looking at her. Nothing, lets go, I told her. Unlike Alysara, I glared at the guys quite intently as we left, leaving them figuratively frozen in place.

For our last test in this section of this place, we had a final sparring session with a humanoid golem inside an anti-death field, as John called it. The golem would attack us with both magic and martial abilities, and unlike the animated armor from the last trial, any damage we took would hurt.

Not too much, of course, but you will feel the impact of the hits you take, John warned us before pointing at somebody fighting the golem, only for him to get knocked out unceremoniously. Pain is dulled slightly in this world, so you dont go into shock, but that doesnt mean you should take them. Bones breaking can happen here. You win by defeating the golem and are graded by how fast and how skillfully you did it.

And you lose when you get knocked out? I asked, which John confirmed with a nod. So, if you actually can take damage, does that mean you can die here?

Hestia, aside from the both of us, all the other soon-to-be-reincarnated are already dead, Alysara astutely pointed out. If they die, they probably just wake up in a bed or in the room where we were all summoned.

The both of us then turned back to the training field, intently watching the corpse of the guy who just lost his match, probably both wondering if he would disappear into light. However, disappointedly, after a few seconds, he simply stood back up, laughing as if nothing happened.

You cant die here. This place doesnt work under mortal laws. John sighed at our morbid curiosity. Anyways, I already know what you two can do. Ive seen too many people clear this test already, so get it over with. Just, Hestia, dont. Cause. Another. Explosion!

So does that mean I can make it go boom? Alysara said with a mischievous smile and started walking toward the golem as John started protesting.

Alysara, no! Dont blow it up!

However, it was too late.

Dozens of fairies manifested around her, building up an army of hundreds in a few seconds. Five of those liquid-mana fairies were already forming in front of her. The golem readied itself and charged at Alysara, swinging a sword down on her. However, she didnt even bother dodging. The sword cut her in half to Johns shock, but she then became fuzzy and reformed. It was another of her illusions. The real Alysara was never standing there in the first place, since she retreated to a safe spot before the fight began.

Without Mana Eyes, I dont think I would have found her. This is some advanced illusion magic.

While I stared at Alysaras real body, the dozens of fairies swarmed around the golem, attacking it with spears and causing tiny explosions where they hit, blowing off pieces of the golem. Eventually, it lost too much of its body, crumbling under its own weight in the process.

Thats when the super-fairies charged. All five rushed toward the golem, their bodies sinking into it before a blinding light flashed over the training grounds, knocking most of the trainees down with a powerful gale. Some were even outright blown away! A deafening roar silenced the world, soon accompanied by a ringing as the dust revealed an enormous crater, far larger than the last time she did this spell.

I tilted my head around to John. Since I was expecting something of this effect, I had preemptively cast [Air Shield] around us to protect us from the shockwave. Seeing him fall onto the ground with his jaw wide open, I could only imagine what was going on in his head.

As Alysara returned to our side, multiple adults in the same outfit John was wearing ran towards us. Poor John received the full brunt of the scoldings from his colleagues, telling him he should have controlled us better. They even noted that some of the reincarnators were even traumatized by what Alysara just did.

After those people left, a crestfallen John turned around, looking at me with eyes that told me he would die soon if I messed up. I gave him a thumbs-up, acknowledging the two of us might have gone a bit too far with our display.

While I moved up for my turn, I showed Alysara a peace sign with a wink, before telling her she probably will have a higher score for this round. She showed me a playful grin, understanding I couldnt go all out since it would make John sadder. John was nice to us. We shouldnt tease him too much.

Like the field from the last two tests, Alysaras masterwork quickly regenerated back to its former state. I twirled my glaive around as I challenged the golem. Acknowledging me as its opponent, it charged at me, readying its sword for a powerful slash! And it cut me!!!

I would have mentioned, if I wasnt keeping the thing away from me by shooting it with the rifle mode of my glaive.

Hestia?! John cried out, but I couldnt help but be confused at his outcry.

What? Im not blowing it up. This is a totally normal strategy and it's part of my weapon.

Made by my partys personal blacksmith, Grimnir, my glaive wasnt only an incredibly sturdy weapon made from my dragon forms shed scales and claws, it also had a mechanism to shoot out my scale-dust like bullets. It was a glaive-gun, in other words.

And with this weapon, the golem was quickly shot down like a gangster. John didnt want me to be flashy and explody, right? Well, this probably was the least scenic ending I could have given the golem. Anything else would have involved flames, infernos, and explos

Boom!

I turned back to John and Alysara, both dumbstruck at what just happened. You see, the scale-dust exploded, taking the golem to the netherworld.

Hey, I didnt destroy the ground or anything else. That was the fastest way I could think of defeating it without, you know, causing some environmental damage.

John didnt seem convinced. Maybe I could have turned the golem into a donut, but that would have been too boring.

Hmm, maybe the glaive isnt working properly in this dimension? It shouldnt have ignited the scale-dust there. I should let Grimnir check on it later on.

Regardless, what was done, was done. John did receive some glares from his fellow instructors, but none of them complained directly to him. With shadows under his eyes, he announced our scores, telling us we aced all three tests and established new records.

Alysara set the high score for the magic and sparring tests, while I reigned supreme over the martial arts one. One for me, two for Alysara. I was losing right now, but there were still a ton of other tests before us.

Good luck with the next one, Alysara. Its been kinda fun, right? I showed her a warm grin.

Well, I suppose its a nice change of pace from my studies and experiments and let loose once in a while, Alysara said, turning toward John for the last part. We can get the scouting and survival tests done easy so let's get that out of the way next.

Yeah, got it. You two go there first. Here, these are the directions. John handed us a sheet of paper. I need to warn my superiors there will be more explosions.

And he fast-walked away.

I guess we scared him a bit.

Alysara nodded.