After Kiaethia recovered from the shock of Justin catching her trying to read his mind, she reigned the conversation back in. “Now now. Let’s head towards the castle. There are people waiting for us after all.”

  Saying so, they all moved towards the entrance gate. I stood up and caught up to them, falling in stride at the back. The walk to the castle looked like it was going to take a bit of time, so I decided to ask Kiaethia some questions about The Kingdom to pass the time. “By the way, Ms. Kiaethia.”

  “Just Kiaethia is fine.”

  “Thanks. Ummm, so Kiaethia, I thought my sister was a super genius who was the first magister able to cast spells without circles, but you used psychic magic without a circle. Have I been a frog living at the bottom of a well?” Kiaethia being able to use magic with the use of a circle was too startling.

  “No, not at all. By all standards, your sister is a god gifted prodigy that has innovated magic. I’m not sure if she’s told you, but she’s also the seventeenth member of the Imperial Guard. After she was instated, His Majesty made a decree for her to teach the Imperial Guard how to cast magic without a circle. All of us have been attempting to master the technique to varying degrees of success, but for me personally, all I can manage to do is intermediate spells with each of my natures without circles. I’m nowhere near your sister’s level. She single handedly raised the standards of the Imperial Guard, which are supposed to be the top magisters of the noble families within The Kingdom.”

  -So she’s an Imperial Guard, huh?- If it was anybody else, it would be shocking. I mean, a commoner entering the Imperial Guard was like a wolf joining a pride of lions! That is, if it was anybody else. I already knew what type of monster my sister was, so I was more curious to see how the Imperial Guard compared to her. “That’s still pretty amazing. I’m not sure how to even approach circle-less casting.” I complimented Kiaethia on being able to achieve any level of spell casting without a circle. Even after hearing my sister’s advice for a several days, I still was no closer to comprehending how to manipulate magic without circles. Huh? I was only complimenting her because I was smitten and wanted to get closer to her? Don’t be ridiculous. I wasn’t so emotionally deprived that I would fall in love with someone just for showing me some basic kindness. That’s my story and I’m sticking with it!

  “I’m sure you’ll figure it out. You’re Zinaethia’s brother after all.” I smiled but didn’t reply. She probably didn’t realize it, since I was pretty sure she wasn’t reading my mind anymore, but it hurt my pride a little to be compared to my sister. I was my own person too, you know? I also worked hard to get strong, but I guess I didn’t really matter as an individual.

  -In the end, I guess I’m just the one who found The Destined or Zinaethia’s brother.- We walked through the streets, pointing out buildings that looked interesting and hearing stories about what it’s like working for the Imperial Guard. Kiaethia explained that aside from managing military affairs, each noble family also ran or contributed greatly to some economic stimulus within The Kingdom. Her family, which commonly produced psychic magisters, was deeply connected to the educational system and basically held responsibility over raising the future generations of nobles. After all, without proper guidance, all the strength in the world would be wasted!

  Other families were manarock miners and distributors, magical weapon and armor makers, gem studiers, mana researchers, and even more! The nobility was the true back bone of The Kingdom, keeping funds flowing in and out of circulation and providing commoners and other nobles alike with necessities and extravagant products as they were required. That being said, there were only so many nobles, so if they were the backbone, the commoners were the blood. Plenty of commoners resided within noble territories, and there were even a few sections within The Kingdom that were governed by commoners and half-nobles. They were the primary consumer base of the products sold by the nobles and were also the working class that handled work that didn’t require high magic precision.

  “Right over here.” Eventually we reached a certain area where a massive amount of people were gathered. Kiaethia pointed to a huge pavilion where it looked like they were all concentrating. It was blocked off by low fences so only a few lines could enter through the fence gates, and each one extended as far as the eye could see. Kiaethia guided us past the line at the dismay of those waiting and led us straight to a spot where there were manarocks embedded into the ground in a particular looking arrangement. “Go ahead and step into the Warp Formation.”

  -A Warp Formation!- I reassessed the manarocks embedded in the ground and took note of their positions. Pitch black manarocks that emitted a dark blue luster where light hit them were intermingled with dark blue manarocks that a had dim white radiance and countless crystals with pure white energy swirling within them in a strange pattern. Staring at it made my mind itch, as if I was looking at something I should know, but was forgetting for some reason. It was an odd feeling because this was my first time using, or even seeing a Warp Formation, so I shouldn’t recognize it at all. I kept looking at the structure of the formation and it felt like I was being pulled into an abyss as I became more and more focused on the details of it.

  “Hurry it up! We don’t have all day to stand here.” My sister’s harsh words shocked me out of the strange state of mind I was in.

  “Huh? Oh, right. Sorry…” I mumbled out my reply as I stepped into the formation with the other three. Once the staff that was operating everything in this pavilion saw we were all prepared, a group of magisters came and stood just outside of formation. Each held out more crystals with pure white energy swirling within them that were giving off noticeable mana fluctuations before smashing them on the ground within the formation! The white energy within the crystals was released and our feet were enveloped by an ethereal, liquid cloud like substance. It was only for an instant though, as the manarocks in the ground seemed to come alive and greedily absorbed the pure mana shrouding our ankles.

  -So they use mana crystals to activate the Warp Formations.- Formations required mana to activate like any other magic based technique, so there were two common ways to activate formations after setting them up. One was to cast Transfer into key points of the formation. If the mana being transferred wasn’t the same type as the manarock absorbing the mana, it would cost more mana and more time. The other way was to smash enough mana crystals, which were similar yet different to manarocks, within the bounds of the formation. The formation would trap the pure mana released by the shattered crystals and absorb it until the formation had enough power to activate. Transferring was usually a lot more convenient and a lot less expensive than using mana crystals, but depending on how much mana the formation required, it could drain a magister of a lot of mana. Mana crystals saved the magister time and kept them from using their own mana, but the crystals were also the main currency between Humans, so it would quite literally feel like throwing money away.

  Soon enough, the manarocks began to glow and my vision was filled with white for a moment. When my sight returned, we were inside of an actual building with walls and crowds of people moving about. The room we were in was expansive. People appeared and disappeared in flashes of white light and there were many magisters wearing jackets sporting matching logos to the gate.

  “No dawdling. We have people waiting to come after yo—!” One of the staff of the building came to urge us along, but it sounded like he choked on his spit mid sentence once he saw my sister and Kiaethia. He began to cough and quickly knelt down, wiping tears from his eyes as he began to speak again in a much lower and more respectful tone. “Lady Kiaethia, Lady Zinaethia, I’m glad to see you both in good health.”

  Zinaethia didn’t say anything and responded by simply nodding while Kiaethia revealed a refreshing smile that felt like it made my heart melt. Huh? It wasn’t even directed at me? I knew that!

  “Thank you. No dawdling, correct? We’ll be on our way then.” The man’s face showed a complicated expression as Kiaethia led the way away. Zinaethia didn’t even spare him a second glance and walked alongside Kiaethia while they chatted away merrily, Justin only took a glance at him when he first spoke up before he followed behind the two women, and I watched his descent into regret from the back of the group as we walked away.

  We eventually arrived outside of the building and entered the flow of traffic. Compared to the gate city we were just in, the castle city was much more bustling. The buildings were all taller, there was much more magic technology in use like vehicles on the roads and manarock powered equipment, and the quality of construction was obviously higher. Some people were even riding Beasts instead of walking! I saw a man on top of a rhinoceros Beast with three horns and spikes on its limbs and a family riding a giant two headed lizard Beast with a two colored body split right down the middle. The right half was purple and the left was orange. There were even a few adolescents racing down the road on some Burning Sky Pegasus, complete with flaming hooves and wings reflecting myriads of colors to name a few.

  As we wove through the droves of people, things gradually became less crowded and I could actually appreciate the surroundings. Most of the buildings were made with a mixture of materials. All of them had metal framework, but the walls were made of stone and wood, and even metal for some buildings. They were all at least two stories, rectangular in shape, and had small lawns in exchange for more building space. There were, however, rows of small trees, strips of grass, and flower beds lining the sidewalk to give a nice natural feeling to the building-filled street.

  We were walking down a service street, so the buildings were typically for weapon and armor repair and upgrade, magical item crafting, and facilities ranging from restaurants to shopping buildings to wait in while your services were being done. Every so often there would be open spaces for people to park their vehicles and places to drop off their mounts.

  We eventually arrived at an area where there was practically no foot traffic and only vehicles that seemed to be picking up and shipping out items came. As we did, Kiaethia’s elegant voice entered my ears. “Justin, Zinaether, welcome to the heart of The Kingdom, His Majesty’s castle.”

  I looked up and nearly fell backwards. I was so distracted by everything else around us that I didn’t even notice we reached the castle! I was staring at a huge silver wall that was releasing crazy mana fluctuations!

  “Is this made out of manarocks?” I didn’t ask anybody in particular, it was more like a question to myself.

  “Metal manarocks to be specific.” Kiaethia kindly answered my question. She was so sweet.

  “High grade.” My sister tacked on that detail like it was nothing, but that was crazy! Manarocks were split into low, mid, and high grades depending on how much mana was contained within them, and once they passed a certain threshold they could be considered a higher grade. The lowest amount of mana required to create a mid grade manarock was about ten times the amount contained in a freshly formed low grade, and the same was true to go from mid to high.

  Manarocks couldn’t be formed at the snap of a finger, however, and the higher the grade, the more time it would take to develop. Not to mention, areas that could even produce high grade manarocks were few and far between due to the required concentration of ambient mana.

  “The attribute of extreme solidity makes it perfect for defense, which is why the outer wall and the castle wall are both constructed pretty much entirely out of it. Ah, but the outer wall is made of a mixture of low and mid grade. High grade manarock isn’t very common, you know?”

  -More like extremely rare. What magister doesn’t covet high grade resources? Is this what not understanding the value of money looks like?- I looked at Kiaethia incredulously due to her downplaying the value of The Kingdom’s walls. She guided us around the expensive defense until we reached a giant archway with a flag waving The Kingdom’s symbol on top of it. After we passed through it, we walked through a small (for the scale of the castle) garden and arrived at the actual castle entrance.

  Once we were inside, Kiaethia guided us through grandiose hallways filled with portraits of people I didn’t know and banners of our region’s symbol. The floor was covered with golden carpet lined with white trimming. The hallways were wide and there were countless rooms and multiple different paths, but Kiaethia guided us through them effortlessly.

  Eventually, we arrived in a courtyard that seemed to separate the outer castle from the inner castle. Between the huge trees, expansive flower gardens, and majestic water fountains, this place was way too extravagant for someone like me to even comprehend. I never truly understood how low my standard of living was until today. There was a stone path that led to the inner castle, but it also had various branching paths that lead to different parts of the courtyard or outer castle. My inner passion to explore, which I was suppressing since we made it to The Kingdom, was beginning to well up, but I withheld the urge and continued to follow the others.

  -If I have downtime here before we leave, I’ll do a bit of wandering.- Telling myself that, I was about to refocus forward when something caught my eye.

  “Kiaethia, are these magical plants?”

  “Sharp eyes. That’s correct. There’s a reason the castle was built in this specific location. The mana concentration here is exponentially higher than in most habitable areas, meaning that most natural resources here end up absorbing mana and taking on magical properties. This isn’t limited to just the plants either. The water in the fountain, the stone path, and even the castle walls have all absorbed enough mana to obtain magical properties. In addition, while I won’t call our method perfect, we’ve managed to guide certain areas to have certain mana types, meaning we can artificially influence what nature of magical resources these areas produce.”

  Justin, who seemed extremely interested in the topic, couldn’t resist commenting on what Kiaethia explained. “Isn’t The Kingdom super powerful then? You can control and harvest magical resources and keep regrowing them, meaning you have basically infinite resources right?”

  “It’s not that simple. While it’s true that we grow and harvest our flowers and use our mana rich water to make healing potions, we can only reproduce the same products. Of course we’ve tried introducing more species of herbs into our gardens, but some things only grow in extreme conditions or require a certain type of soil. Basically, we’ve maximized the utility we can get from this, but it’s overall prospects are too limited. We can’t really expand our variety.” Kiaethia finished her explanation with a sigh. The limitations of their garden was clearly visible, and there wasn’t much they could do about it.

  “I see. So how do you guys get more resources then? I can’t imagine super powerful nobles to be content with being errand runners to gather plants from specific places.”

  “Have you heard of the MMG?”

  “MMG?” Justin raised his eyebrows in confusion. Before Kiaethia could explain, however, Zinaethia cut in. I hadn’t really noticed it before, but she was really stingy when it came to Justin.

  “The Magister Mercenary Guild. Basically, powerful magisters who sought to use their talents to get paid formed a club, accepting requests from anyone as long as they were reimbursed for their service. Although it started off small, it grew until every region had their own branch of the MMG located in the capital as well as other cities. The exact origin of the MMG is unclear, but the fact is that the MMG is probably the best way for non-nobles to interact and gain clout in other regions.”

  Justin’s brow furrowed and his lips curled down. “Why would they wanna do that? Who cares if other regions know who you are, right?”

  “That may be the case for you, since your only goal is to kill the Demon God and go home, but for other people it’s a very enticing idea. If another region offered you high status or more money, then you’d naturally be inclined to go there. Throughout history, there have even been cases where some commoners from one region were offered positions of nobility in others. This meant that it was likely they’d end up having a powerful spouse and would produce a child stronger than themselves. If they were to train the child with their vast experience as a mercenary, it was likely that the child could raise the family’s clout even more. Thinking about it from a forward thinking perspective, you’re basically setting up your descendants for success if you make it big as a mercenary. On top of that, more strong magisters means more powerful fighters to claim territory for Humanity.”

  “I see. Being a mercenary sounds pretty fun. We should do that sometime.” Saying that, Justin began laughing as we reached the inner castle. We walked through another giant archway into a spacious chamber. There were three people waiting ahead of us in front of an extravagant looking chair and fourteen magisters in white and gold half robes similar to Kiaethia’s lined the walls, forming a path leading to those three.

  The one on the left was a short female with sky blue hair and neon orange eyes. She wore a white cloak with golden edges that revealed her shoulders over a dark green shirt and tight fitting pants that accentuated her hips. Her eyes were almost similar to Kiaethia’s, but her eyes seemed naturally brighter, almost to the point where they were glowing. Despite her bright eyes, however, her expression was flat and emotionless. I couldn’t even call it ridicule. She just stared at us as we approached her with eyes that seemed almost dead. It was almost similar to Zinaethia’s attendants’ emotionless expressions, but there was a different, more solemn sort of feel I got from her.

  The guy on the right wasn’t much better. He had neon green hair that was long enough to cover one of his eyes, but one side was cut higher so that his other eye, which was yellow, was clearly visible. He had on a matte black jacket that was lined with Beast fur on the inside and baggy pants that tightened up right around his ankles. He at least seemed wary of us, in comparison to the complete uninterest I sensed from the girl on the left, but aside from that, his stare was just as blank as hers. It was like they were looking at us, but didn’t actually see us.

  On the way here, Zinaethia explained that nobles tended to have an arrogant disposition, but between Kiaethia, who was probably the best person I knew, and these two, who didn’t seem to care about anything, I couldn’t say her words were accurate. The man in the middle, at least, seemed to have some energy in him. He had a jawline to be envious of, prominent cheekbones, and a muscular neck. His hair was snow white and he had a goatee to match, making him seem older than his other features would reveal. Both were trimmed short and well maintained and he was wearing a white cape lined with Beast fur that was long enough to drag a few feet behind him. His sharp golden eyes had a pleasant shine to them as he reached both of his large arms forward and held his equally large hands open in a welcoming manner as he spoke. “Welcome back Kiaethia. Thanks for receiving our guests. It’s good to see you in good health as well Zinaethia. I’m sure once we’re done here, the Imperial Guard will want to consult with you.” As he spoke to them, both of the girls saluted him. Realizing he was important based off of their actions, Justin and I also saluted.

  Before he began speaking again, Zinaethia responded to his comments towards her. “It’s good to see you’re doing well yourself, Your Majesty, however I don’t plan on hosting a conference with the rest of the Imperial Guard when it’ll be closer to me managing a bunch of eager children. I’m sure since they’re all talented in their own regard, they’ll be able to learn without much guidance from me.”

  At her words, the people that lined the walls visibly all had their own reactions. -So these are the Imperial Guard? They’re all keeping their auras contained, so I can’t tell how strong they are. Maybe I should memorize their faces… but more important than that, did she refer to that man as “Your Majesty”? So he’s the King? He’s freakin’ jacked! I wonder what his magic natures are?-

  As I was connecting the dots in my head, His Majesty laughed at Zinaethia’s response. “Hahaha, it’s as you say. However, I hope you could at least entertain them a bit for the sake of Humanity. But that’s neither here, nor there. Based on his silver hair, that one must be Zinaether, meaning that you must be The Destined.”

  His Majesty gave me a passing glance as his eyes focused on Justin. -And once more, I fade into obscurity.-

  While I was becoming more and more of a background character, Justin straightened up his posture and addressed the King. “Your Majesty, if you would, please call me Justin.”

  “Of course, whatever you’re comfortable with.” Justin nodded his head in thanks before His Majesty continued. “Speaking of comfort, I’m sure by now, you’re comfortable traveling with Zinaethia and her brother. Is that accurate to say?” After receiving a nod, he continued. “I see. Does that mean you’re opposed to having additions to your squad?”

  At that, Justin showed a contemplative look. After taking a bit more than a moment to think, he began speaking. “If I may speak freely, Your Majesty.”

  “Do as you please.”

  “I’m not especially opposed to having additional members, however I’ve seen both Zinaether and Zinaethia’s skills first hand. I have no doubt that even if I weren’t around, they’d have no problems handling one or two Demons by themselves. That being said, if we were to indeed receive new squad members, I’d have to verify they can defend themselves without my presence. In the absolute end, my goal in this world is to kill Demon God. This means that we’re going to fight Demons possibly stronger than anyone has seen and lived to tell about. Just as we have His Majesty and the Imperial Guard, who remain in Human territory indefinitely despite being the strongest amongst magisters, the Demons probably have reserve forces they consider their trump cards within their territory as well. I say all of that to say, I’m worried that the new additions will end up being weak links.” After his explanation, I scanned the room with my eyes. The first thing I noticed was at the very end of his speech, the two beside the King showed a reaction. I couldn’t exactly place it, but something about Justin’s final words must have struck a chord with them. They both looked more unsettled than before.

  Aside from that, a lot of the Imperial Guard either nodded, seemingly agreeing with Justin’s logic, or were surprised by his words. Given the fact that they were the Imperial Guard, I found it hard to believe it was the content of Justin’s words that surprised them, but rather the fact that he thought so deeply about the issue. Even I was a little surprised, however Justin has known his goal since he got to this world, so of course he thought about any potential obstacles he may face in the future.

  “Indeed, your concern is not without foundation, however the solution is simple, is it not? We simply need the candidates to display their skills to you, and you’ll be able to determine whether you want them to join your squad or not.” As he said that, His Majesty patted the backs of the two beside him, urging them forward. “These are the two candidates I had in mind to join your squad. Allow them to introduce themselves.”

  As he said that, the two seemed to gain enough life to speak, however both their tones were flat and monotonous.

  “I’m Nanskynn Yuzutian.”

  “Kyozin Rigumund.” So the girl was named Nanskynn, and the boy was Kyozin. Their introductions were half-assed, but I guess they served their purpose.

  -But wait, Yuzutian?- As if in tune with my thoughts, Kiaethia glared at Nanskynn. A pink magic circle formed in front of the hand she held behind her back when saluting. I could only imagine the thought she was transmitting, but based on the glare she was giving Nanskynn, it must have been something that I wouldn’t want to hear in my head. I silently sympathized with Nanskynn, knowing the terror of having an older sister, while thanking Human God for not giving my sister psychic magic. Out of nowhere, a chill shot down my spine as a feeling of terror welled up in my chest. Suddenly breaking out in a cold sweat, I stole a glance at what I assumed was the source. Sure enough, Zinaethia was sending me a side eyed glare. I could practically hear her saying, “you just thought something rude about me didn’t you?” Due to her being in His Majesty’s presence she couldn’t outright assault me, but even with just a glare she could intimidate me to such a degree.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  -Maybe she has psychic magic as a secret fourth nature?- While I was questioning whether my sister’s sense could really just be defined as a woman’s intuition, Nanskynn seemed to have finished being psychically scolded by her sister.

  “Umm, excuse me for being so rude just now. As I said, I’m Nanskynn Yuzutian. My natures are psychic, freeze, and metal. I hope… that you’re willing to accept us.”

  Kyozin raised his eyebrow at her sudden change in attitude, but that only lasted for a breath as he reintroduced himself.

  “Like I said, I’m Kyozin Rigumund. I have lightning, acoustic, and transformation magic.”All Kyozin really did was add on his magic natures, but the energy in his words had increased somewhat. It appeared he was simply a man of few words.

  “Alright, I’m Justin. Just by looking at how you guys have been acting, I can tell you’ve been through something, but I’ll have to apologize for being rude. Can you guys demonstrate your ability to me?” At Justin’s words, they both nodded, seemingly resolving themselves for a fight. Seeing that, Justin turned to look at me then motioned for me to come over. As I approached the other two, Justin began explaining what was happening. “I think it’d be a bit unfair to ask you guys to compete with the innately strongest member of the Imperial Guard, so this is your challenge. This is my teacher, so if you guys can manage to land a clean hit on him with any of your attacks without getting hit… let’s say three times, I’ll acknowledge you as our squad members.”

  Hearing the conditions proposed by Justin, everyone in the room was shocked. Did I include myself in everyone? Of course! I mean, the King himself chose these people as candidates to join our squad, so they had to be talented. On top of that, I couldn’t get hit once? -Doesn’t he have a bit too much faith in me?-

  “H-Hey…” I tried to get my friend’s attention before things got out of hand, but…

  “That’s outrageous!”

  “Does he think the boy is his sister? These are noble prodigies!”

  “Won’t this be too easy? Maybe all that talk earlier was false bravado and he really did want them to join his squad?” The Imperial Guard seemed to think Justin was just messing around, but I knew better than anyone here that he really meant it. He loved to put me in difficult positions. I didn’t even have time to tell him he was being unreasonable before they broke out in disbelief. Sensing the timing to speak was missed, I looked over at the other two. Hopefully they’d be offended and demand different rules.

  “..!” They were staring at me with fire in their eyes. Clearly, they didn’t seem to think this was unreasonable like I did. Left with no other choice, I could only sigh and look towards His Majesty.

  “Your Majesty, is there a fitting place for our fight? I wouldn’t want to damage the castle while testing their abilities.”

  A certain expression flashed across His Majesty’s face. The corner of his mouth rose slightly, but I couldn’t tell if he was impressed with me or looking down on me. It was only for a moment, though, as his face returned to normal. “Jahseen, if you would.”

  “Yes, your majesty.” A chaos magic circle formed above the hand of a hooded magister in a few seconds. I was slightly surprised, but immediately regained my composure. After all, not only was he a noble, he was a member of the Imperial Guard, so it wasn’t surprising to see a Hidden Class magic. Eventually, a giant gate formed. Just based on the casting speed, I was superior, but that was primarily because I had to prioritize casting speed when fighting against Justin to keep up.

  I wondered how many spells he knew as I secretly cast a chaos spell of my own. I felt a drastic change occur within myself. With my chaos mana running rampant in my body, my vision, hearing, smell, and precision of movement increased drastically. The spell I cast was called Multiplier, an advanced spell which enhanced my senses depending on how much mana I put into it. At the moment, my limit was about three times better than my base sensitivity.

  I figured double would be enough to handle my opponents. Heck, it might even be too much. In addition to that, the chaos mana leaking from my body increased dramatically as well, making my aura seem more wild and unrestrained. As if they sensed this, some members of the Imperial Guard, including my sister, turned to look at me. I didn’t want to reveal the fact that I was already using magic, so I put on an act of firing myself up for the fight. Seeing this, they all turned back to walk through the gate. I was the last one to enter, and it closed behind me.

  Looking around me, the area we had arrived at seemed like an arena. It was a large circular area free of obstacles and around us were walls about twice my height. Rising from those walls were rows and rows of benches, clearly meant for spectators. I walked around the outer perimeter of the fighting area, sliding my hands across the wall. At certain intervals, there were quite large manarocks that were black in color and had a metallic sheen to them. -They must have set up a Formation that can be activated at a moments notice in case of attacks that are too strong.-

  Reaching that conclusion, I looked back and noticed that everyone aside from the fighters had moved into the stands. Realizing I couldn’t really stall for time in this situation, I made my way towards the center of the arena, stopping about a dozen steps away from my two opponents. When I stopped, a middle aged guard with his hood on and a long golden beard with silver streaks yelled down at us from the stands. “You brats should consider yourselves lucky. This is the personal battleground of the Imperial Guard. Now you shouldn’t have anything to worry about when it comes to causing damage. I hope that wasn’t your attempt to try and get out of the fight.”

  -It kind of was, but I already figured it was hopeless.- I glanced up at the guy and frowned. It seemed like he was going to continue ranting, but His Majesty raised a hand to stop him, then looked at us with an expectant expression. I didn’t know what he was expecting, but before I had time to try and figure it out, Nanskynn began speaking to me.

  “I hope you’re as good as The Destined proclaimed. It’d be a shame if this was too easy. That being said, I hope you don’t actually expect to win against the two of us. We’ve been a team for years, so our synergy is gonna make mincemeat out of you.”

  -The King was expecting trash talk?- Unless this was the noble arrogance Zinaethia mentioned, I couldn’t imagine based on her attitude earlier that she was serious with that comment, so I decided to play along. “Right, right. I’ll have you guys know that I’m not as kind as Justin, okay? Since I’m here, I plan to win using whatever means I have to. That means I’m not gonna give you the courtesy of telling you my natures, and I’m not gonna apologize if I hit too hard, so don’t go crying about it.”

  “Why you..!” That seemed to really get on Nanskynn’s nerves, but Kyozin put a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. She stopped whatever she was gonna say, but she was glaring daggers at me now. Well, for better or worse, she seemed genuinely upset with me now, so she definitely wouldn’t be holding back.

  His Majesty must have seen enough, because he raised his hand in the sky and called out to us. “I will now declare the start of the test. On your mark… Begin!”

  As soon as he yelled for us to start, I raised my hand towards both of them. I didn’t actually plan on using a spell, but I wanted to see if they would react offensively or defensively. In the same instant I raised mine, both of them raised their hands as well. Nanskynn was casting an intermediate psychic spell based off the pink magic circle, and Kyozin was casting an intermediate electric spell. They took about two seconds to form for both of them, meaning if I was actually casting a spell, it would’ve come out first, but two seconds was actually faster than I expected their circles to complete. That being said, they were intermediate spells probably meant to probe my abilities rather than actually hit me.

  Once their circles finished, a flash of lighting jumped out towards me as a feminine scream echoed through my head. With my enhanced senses from the Multiplier spell I used before we began, the lighting bolt seemed to be moving exceptionally slow, so I had no trouble dodging it with a simple side step.

  -So their plan was to break my concentration so I couldn’t form a circle and get a cheeky hit on me while I was distracted. Not a bad tactic. I’m sure they didn’t talk to each other before the match, so they were perf— wait, psychic magic.- After analyzing their decision, I realized I couldn’t rely on audio clues to respond to their actions, so it would all come down to how acute my awareness was to avoid getting caught in a trap. Well, that wouldn’t be a problem thanks to my secret pre-match Multiplier magic.

  Seemingly surprised by my minimal movement to dodge his lightning bolt, Kyozin began casting another spell. This one was gray and was simpler than the electric spell he used earlier. As a result, it actually formed faster than the one before, barely taking longer than a second. A high pitched sound, like metal screeching rang out for a couple seconds, causing me to cover an ear with my hand. Meanwhile, a shining silver magic circle that took about three seconds to complete spun in front of Nanskynn. A long blade shot out from the circle, headed directly for me at an impressive speed. It was simple enough for me to predict the trajectory and dodge, but it would go on forever if I kept dodging. Instead, I pulled my arm back and channeled chaos mana into my fist. As the harpoon neared my chest, I swung my fist down and knocked it to the floor.

  I was prepared for a dust cloud to form and use the cover as a means to attack, but her spell was so sharp that it just slid into the ground like a sword going into its sheath, causing no excessive damage. Kyozin was casting another electric spell, but it seemed that he was so dumbfounded by what just happened that he lost concentration, because his magic circle fell apart before it was done. Nanskynn also seemed baffled by what just happened, because she just kept staring at the blade in the ground. I could hear Justin laughing from the stands, but I ignored it as I fought the urge to cover my face in embarrassment. What I did probably looked pretty cool, but it wasn’t my plan at all, so I just felt stupid.

  “Y-You..! How did you do that?” Nanskynn was unable to believe her eyes, so she couldn’t help but question me. I understood, I really did, but I didn’t expect this to happen either, alright!?

  “Hmph! This is the difference between clouds and mud! You should quit while you’re ahead.” I tried to get them to give up, but that was mostly because I just wanted to forget this epic fail.

  Nanskynn gnashed her teeth and growled at me before she started yelling at me. “You say that, but you haven’t used a single spell yet! Aren’t you the one feeling overwhelmed?” I could tell she was trying to rile me up, and if she were right then it might have worked. Unfortunately for her, I was taking it pretty easy. Thanks to Multiplier doubling my stats, I couldn’t imagine it being too hard to get three hits on both of them, but I was meant to test their abilities here.

  -With that in mind, I should keep firing them up.- “Who knows? Maybe I’m just so bored that I haven’t felt like using a spell. In case you haven’t noticed, you haven’t hit me.”

  “Then maybe this will help!” I was so focused on Nanskynn that I hadn’t noticed Kyozin was casting the spell he dropped earlier, and he was finishing the circle now! This time, instead of a single bolt of lightning, there were five of them jumping at me from different angles to seal off my escape. The strategy wasn’t terrible considering they only needed a single hit. If he used this at the beginning of the fight, I would’ve had to do something to avoid it, but now…

  -At least Kiaethia’s sister inadvertently confirmed that they’re advanced magisters. Creating this physical blade will end up helping me.- I grabbed the blade with my fingers to avoid cutting myself and yanked it from the ground, throwing it into the air above me. All the lightning bolts were drawn to it, allowing me to escape harm without too much effort.

  Suddenly, there was an almost imperceptible drop in temperature around me. If it weren’t for my increased perception plus the fact that I was deathly afraid of my sister, I might not have noticed until it was too late. After sensing the almost negligible drop in heat around me, I kicked off of the ground by instinct. Because this was more of a subconscious dodge rather than a decision, I kicked off with a bit more force than necessary, so the ground where I was standing cracked under the force I put into my leg. As I slid towards the wall, a giant ice spike appeared where I just was. After realizing how extremely I reacted, I wanted to slap myself, but it was too late.

  “His instincts are extraordinary enough. He was clearly focused on the lighting the boy launched, yet he still sensed the girl's magic before it formed and evaded. In that situation, even I might not have been able to react that quickly after such a well executed diversion.”

  I could hear one of the Imperial Guards compliment me from the stands. -No no no, I totally fell for the diversion. If she would’ve used her metal magic there, I would’ve been toast.-

  I shook my head and focused my gaze on the two opponents I was facing. Nanskynn seemed even more shocked by what I just did than punching the blade into the ground earlier. Kyozin also seemed like he was irritated just by the sight of me. -Well, it looks like both of them are taking this seriously, at least. I should amp it up.-

  “I suppose it’s time I go on the offensive, huh?” As I said that, a bright magic circle spun to completion in front of me after one second. Both of them tried to cast psychic and acoustic spells to interrupt me, but in addition to the head start I had, I already formed my spells faster than they did.

  The spell I used was an advanced tier bright spell that caused an initial flash by converting all of the ambient mana within my aura into bright mana and increasing its purity to convert the metaphysical mana into physical matter, then gathered that converted mana into a huge sphere of light a few meters above the ground. The spell name was “Artificial Sun” in the spell book I learned it from, which was pretty fitting, but no reasonable person would call out the name of their attack as they used it.

  Normally, it was considered praiseworthy if a magister could complete an advanced tier circle in under three seconds, but when fighting against Justin, three seconds was no different from three years. After being burned and shocked countless times, I eventually got the hang of casting even high tier spells in a single second.

  “Advanced magic in a mere second? Isn’t he even faster than some of the Imperial Guard?” Another off-handed comment was made in the stands, but if they were shocked by this, they were gonna have a heart attack after seeing what was to come. The flash caused my opponents to lose focus, as their magic circles crumbled before completion. Immediately after I used my bright magic, I cast a chaos spell and warped behind Nanskynn.

  The reason I was messing around so much in the beginning partly was to gauge their abilities, but also so I could let my chaos mana properly spread throughout the arena. Now I could warp anywhere I pleased within the combat area, and since the distance was so close, I could warp without needing to open a whole portal. Instant Teleportation was inherently a basic spell, but the prerequisite was a bit tedious to achieve. Now that I had achieved it, I seized the opportunity and swept Kyozin’s legs from under him before I flicked Nanskynn on the cheek. As I did that, I taunted them. “That’s one on each.”

  While I was attacking, I cast an advanced shadow spell called Creeping Shadow, so when I flicked Nanskynn on her cheek, I activated its effect. I shrouded myself in shadow mana as I jumped into Nanskynn’s shadow. Normally if I were to do this, her shadow would darken considerably since I was inside of it. Thanks to the stark contrast caused by Artificial Sun, however, their shadows were already pitch black. On top of that, they had no idea I was also a shadow magister. As far as they knew, I only used my bright magic in this match, but in reality I’ve used all three of my natures already.

  As their vision recovered from the initial flash of Artificial Sun, they began to look around for me. Kyozin cast an intermediate transformation spell, and his nose and mouth elongated and morphed into a canine’s. His new nose twitched as he spun his head around, trying to find a trace of my scent. Unfortunately for him, I was currently within a shadow, so he wouldn’t be able to lock on to me. -Transformation magic is pretty cool. Getting an animal’s senses can be even better than my Multiply.-

  “Where’d he go? Is this bright magic invisibility? Isn’t he using too many high end spells at once?!” Nanskynn seemed frustrated, and I had to stifle a laugh to not give away my position. In a way, she was right. I have used one high tier spell after another, but that was just my fighting style. I mean, since I learned how to cast complicated magic at the same speeds as simple magic, why would I use low tier spells? It was mostly about practicality.

  Inside of Nanskynn’s shadow, I smirked with conceit. -She really does think I’m only using bright magic, just as I planned.- I marveled at how you could use people’s lack of information and imagination to completely guide their thinking. -Now then, what should I do next?-

  I sat in Nanskynn’s shadow as they called for me to show myself, contemplating my next move. In truth, I could’ve ended this already. Cheating before the battle was a big help, but the means aside, the end result was completely within my control at this point. I knew I was supposed to be testing them or whatever, but I was actually really upset.

  Ever since I showed up at The Kingdom, aside from Kiaethia (who I may or may not have fallen for), everybody had been treating me as a background character! The guard at the entrance, the Imperial Guard, and even the King! Because of that, I got really frustrated, so I was toying with their “noble prodigies” or whatever that one Imperial Guard called them to prove a point.

  -I’m more than just Zinaethia’s brother dammit!- With that thought in mind, I jumped out from Nanskynn’s shadow and chopped her in the back of the neck, knocking her out.

  “Sorry, I know it’s supposed to be three hits, but the result is the same in the end, right?” I might’ve let my anger get a hold of me for a second there, but I was feeling a bit better now that I landed a satisfying hit.

  Having heard me, Kyozin turned his head just in time to see me stopping her from hitting the ground face first. “Wha… y-you..!”

  He didn’t seem to know how to react, but I didn’t really care and turned Nanskynn over so she could lay on her back. I didn’t really notice earlier since her eyes seemed lifeless, but she was definitely cute. I could certainly see the similarities between her and Kiaethia. Also… I really didn’t notice earlier, but her chest was… I guess prominent would be the most polite word to use. It went without saying that she put someone like my sister to shame in that regard. There wasn’t even a comparison, only a jarring juxtaposition.

  Anyways, after I finished laying her down, I looked up to see a giant white magic circle with a red glow being completed in front of Kyozin. Upon completion, his appearance began to morph. He put his hands on the ground and had neon green fur growing at a wild pace across his body.

  -Judging by the size of the magic circle and the effect, he must have used complex transformation magic.- I was interested to see his transformation, as this was my first time seeing a transformation magister. It wasn’t too surprising this was my first time though, since transformation magic was Hidden Class like chaos.

  As all these thoughts passed through my mind, his transformation was nearing completion. The form he took was a canine Beast race, but there were many unique features, such as the neon green fur that now had yellow streaks in it, his slender legs, the two fluffy tails, and the wings on his back.

  In the stands, an Imperial Guard appreciated Kyozin’s magic. “The Twin-Tailed Flying Fox, huh? He certainly has a good transformation.”

  “Is it powerful?” Justin’s voice responded to him.

  “Extraordinarily so. A regular Flying Fox’s tail contains a certain magic nature depending on the environment they were raised in. You can infer what two tails means, can’t you?”

  Justin could easily deduce the Imperial Guard’s implication. “Two magic natures?”

  “Precisely. To be specific, I’m sure his two tails allow him to use his two natures aside from transformation.”

  “Is that really shocking?”

  “Yes. Usually, when a transformation magister assumes their new form, they’re limited to the characteristics of the Beast race they transform into, meaning they can’t use their own magic.”

  “So why doesn’t everybody learn the spell for the fox?”

  “It all depends on aptitude. Transformation magic is unique in the sense that each magister has an affinity for a certain type of Beast. That boy’s affinity is apparently for fox type species. As such, he can only transform into fox Beasts, but all types of fox Beasts are open for him to transform into as long as his comprehension of the Beast’s abilities are deep enough.”

  “I see. Transformation magisters are pretty cool.”

  An Imperial Guard explained the details of transformation magic. Justin’s one focus since coming to this world has been killing the Demon God, so he had next to no knowledge about the Beast and Spirit races. If he were to fight a transformation magister, he’d be at a severe informational disadvantage. I suppose I should teach him about stuff like that in the future, but to be honest, I didn’t know much about the Beast race either. The Imperial Guard’s explanation actually helped me as well, so I was thankful to him for explaining it to Justin.

  Kyozin’s transformation seemed to finally be completed. One thing I noticed about transformation magic was that it took way too long to be practical. Basically, if you were to use it, you should enter the battle transformed. Fortunately for Kyozin, I was curious and didn’t interrupt him. In fact, I was feeling excited to compare our Hidden Class magic.

  “..!” I turned to my left and swung my right fist to match a paw that swung at me from seemingly out of nowhere. I didn’t hold back at all with that punch, yet we were still evenly matched!

  The force of our collision caused a loud boom and shockwaves. Kyozin noticed he couldn’t force me back easily and retreated after that swing. Nanskynn would’ve been blown away if I hadn’t placed my foot on her clothes, so I picked her up and carried her over to the wall before I tossed her to Kiaethia in the stands. During this brief reprieve, all types of thoughts ran through my head.

  -He matched my 2x Multiplier? I guess it makes sense since he’s a Beast now. On top of that, he can still use his magic, which are acoustic and electric. I guess I’ll have to use my bright and shadow magic to contest. This… I may end up losing since I can’t even let one hit successfully land on me.-

  As I finished that thought, Kiaethia caught her sister, so I turned to face Kyozin once more.

  “You’re better than me. I would’ve done a sneak attack on me just to end this.” As I said that, I dashed forward, planning to take the initiative. As I approached him, I began forming a shadow magic circle, but one of his tails pointed towards me and launched lightning at me. Being forced to dodge, I lost focus on my circle and it collapsed.

  “Circle-less casting? Is it because he’s in Beast form?” Beasts didn’t learn magic via circles like Humans. In exchange for not always having three natures, Beasts could use the mana within their control with no restriction, i.e circle-less casting.

  Without even giving me a chance to breathe, he was right next to me again. Thanks to my cheati—err, chaos magic, I could still keep up with his movements, but since I was off balance from the surprise lightning, I could only block and ended up getting forced back. Trying to push his advantage, he pursued me and swung again. This time, however, I was more on balance and able to meet his attack. I used the force from our collision to widen the space between us. As soon as the distance opened up I began to form a shadow magic circle again. I thought I’d be successful, but a blaring sound made me feel like my ears were about to bleed, breaking my concentration once more. If there was anything positive for me about what just happened, it’s that using his acoustic magic slowed his movements down, so I had enough time to gather myself.

  When he rushed me again, I was able to meet him full force and cause a tie. Thanks to his natural abilities as a Beast race and my Multiplier spell, our attacks were too fast to track with normal vision. We entered a fierce melee where dodging wasn’t an option and all we could do were meet attacks with attacks. Fists, feet, and paws swung through the air in a flurry and sweat and loose fur was getting blown away.

  Things continued like this for a solid amount of time. You may be wondering why he didn’t use his magic to corner me, but the answer was that I wouldn’t give him enough time to do so. If he tried to split his attention to use his magic, he would slow down a bit, like he did earlier. If he were to give me such an opening in close quarters combat, I would definitely land a hit, which would put us both on the precipice of defeat. Things seemed like they would continue on for a while, but suddenly his transformation broke. I couldn’t slow down my punch in time and ended up hitting him full force in the chest, sending him flying into the wall.

  “Uhhh, I don’t think he’s getting up from that. I hope one of you Imperial Guards is a healer, and you should take action quickly.”

  Everybody seemed like they were engrossed in the fight, and my words snapped them out of a daze. As if they had practiced their timing, multiple Imperial Guards jumped down from the stands and rushed towards Kyozin. As they dashed past me, I looked at my quaking arms and legs. During our close combat, I had to use my whole body as a weapon to match his strikes, or else I would’ve been hit and lost. As a result, my arms and legs were numb to the point that it was a wonder I was still standing. I felt like the instant I deactivated my chaos magic, all the strength in my body would vanish and I would collapse.

  As I walked over to the wall, Justin and Zinaethia jumped down from the stands and waited for me. Once I got there, I sat down with my back against the wall and undid my Multiplier spell. As I suspected, it felt like I had no strength left as soon as I did that. I probably couldn’t get back up, even if I wanted to.

  “Magical Beasts… sure pack a punch. Not gonna lie to you guys… I’m gonna… have to sit here… for a while. I can’t feel my anything.”

  I was out of breath thanks to fighting so intensely at the end. Even with my enhancements, our physical abilities were about even. No, if things would have kept going on, I probably would’ve started losing ground. I was already turning numb, but from what I could tell, Kyozin still had energy to spare while we were fighting. If his transformation didn’t break in the middle of it, I would’ve taken a clean hit during our fight. The only reason I lasted so long was because of the adrenaline.

  “Hmph! If you never let him transform you’d be fine.” Aside from the rude tone, I could almost convince myself that she was concerned about me. Since I wasn’t really in the shape to reply, Justin defended me instead.

  “Now now. His goal with this was to test them. I think it’s good that he let him transform. Plus, the fight was fun to watch wasn’t it?”

  “It was just two guys punching and swinging at each other. I don’t see why everyone was so caught up in it.” Her words stung a bit. In the back of my mind, I was hoping my sister would compliment me for keeping up with such a strong Beast, but as usual, my hope was in vain.

  “Anyways,” Justin brought my attention back from my hurt feelings. “You used chaos magic to keep up with him, right? How much of a boost were you using?”

  “Double.” I forced the word out after I tried and failed to raise my hand and show him.

  “Twice your usual strength and you were still at a disadvantage. Kyozin’s transformation is certainly powerful. Now we just have to help him increase the duration he can use it and he’ll be a powerful ally we can rely on.”

  Understanding the meaning of Justin’s words, I decided not to reply and closed my eyes. Feeling my body, I realized my mana reserves were around thirty-ish percent of its maximum. While it would recover soon enough, I used a lot more mana than I realized. To be fair, the Multiplier spell I used was advanced tier magic, and I had it activated since before the battle, but I also wasted a lot of mana during that fight. The Multiplier spell was a continuous spell that constantly used mana to stay activated, meaning my mana reserve was constantly being drained. Despite the fact that I was essentially placing myself on a time limit, I still wasted a lot of time, wasting mana. Not only that, but two of my magic circles got interrupted, so I wasted the mana equivalent of two spells.

  If they were basic or intermediate tier spells, it would have been more or less inconsequential, but I only used advanced and complex tier magic circles, so the cost of using those spells was exponentially higher. If I used one more spell, I probably would’ve started getting a headache.

  -I should start increasing my mana reserves again. I thought I was in a good spot, but it seems like I was just naive.-

  Aside from being numb and having a low amount of mana left, my body felt like it was throbbing. Every time my heart beat, I felt an indescribable feeling pulse through my body. It was like it was trying to tell me I overworked it. My ears were ringing, and every time my heart beat, it became louder.