During the three days while everyone at Celestia Academy was getting ready for the big assault, not a single Summoner or Spiritual Guardian seed to care about the Mannaz who kept dying.
At first, the Academy Elders organized the groups and sent them to each region. Then, whenever the death toll got too high, their emblems alerted them and they sent more and more reinforcents.
But on that final day, they were pretty confused to see that the Mannaz weren’t dying like they’d expected. Only about 10% of the predicted deaths actually happened.
That was really odd. A few Elders tried to call a new eting to discuss it, but the Summoners shut them down.
"The Risen must be sending only the weak ones, without any leaders to guide them. No reason to overthink this. Focus on the bigger goal," one of the top Summoners told an Elder. "Once we move out, a few Elders will stay to help train the newcors. They can confirm everything then, anyway."
So nobody heard word about what was really happening in those regions... yet.
By the end of that day, all the Summoners and Spiritual Guardians gathered in a huge courtyard at the Academy.
There were probably a billion people there, all ready to fight, faces set and determined.
Among them were three Spiritual Guardians who looked especially worried: Veyle, Harper, and Matteo.
’Darian hasn’t checked in... Well, he told us to go with the flow and not worry about him. If he needs us, he’ll call us. Let’s fight with everything we’ve got and earn rit points. We need to make more rings to help rebuild the clan,’ Harper thought to the other two.
’But... Lucy and Lucius aren’t among the newcors. Everyone’s already been sent in...’ Veyle replied, anxious.
’Stop overthinking. Those twins are just as unusual as their big brother,’ Matteo reassured her gently. ’Didn’t you hear? Almost a year ago, a calamity-level anomaly showed up out of nowhere. It took fifteen days after the trial to arrive. Who do you think that was? Darian, obviously.’
Veyle and Harper sighed, nodding. They’d spent all that ti not returning to this universe, and now they’d heard all the rumors about this "anomaly." Even without knowing exactly what Darian looked like now, they were sure it was him.
*PREPARE!*
A booming voice echoed.
Imdiately, the entire Celestia Academy pulsed with golden light. The main inscription was being activated at full power. In an instant, everyone vanished from the Academy and was sent to the nearest galaxy.
It took a minute for the light to hit its peak. Then, everyone disappeared.
Just over an hour later...
On the Academy’s outskirts, inscriptions started glowing again.
An Elder noticed and frowned, rushing toward the glow. Soone was returning from the frontlines, apparently fleeing death!
When the figure appeared...
The Elder stopped, stunned.
"You? Who ordered you to return?!"
Niara turned to him. Then sothing shifted inside her clothes—a small creature erged from a hole in her chest and scurried up to her shoulder.
The Elder nearly jumped in fright.
Niara puffed out her chest, full of energy. "My partner ca back. I’m still a Summoner, so I thought it’d be wrong to stay on the frontlines."
The Elder was speechless for a few seconds. Then he asked, "Why did it take you so long to co back to the Academy?"
"You told to defend that place, didn’t you? Even with him back, I had to follow orders. It took almost three days—so here I am," she snapped.
He huffed. At the sa ti, several figures approached, looking surprised.
"How is this possible? The High Elder confird that the contract was void," one Elder said thoughtfully.
Niara sighed. "Who cares... Where did everyone go?"
They all glanced at her thoughtfully.
"They already used the main inscription and launched the attack. You can’t join in anymore... Well, you only have one ring between all of you. Helping train the newcors on defense won’t make much difference."
*Buzz*
Suddenly, all the Elders felt their emblems vibrate. They pulled them out and saw a summons.
"What? Two new Summoners?! It’s already been three days!"
"Three days? My partner took fifteen," Niara replied with a mocking grin.
Everyone turned to her, then sighed. Yeah, that duo had definitely set a new standard. Now, three days didn’t seem so crazy anymore.
At that mont, Niara felt sothing odd and looked over at Darian’s shoulder.
He looked a bit confused and surprised.
’What’s up?’ she asked ntally.
Darian gave a slight wave. ’I sense a distant connection to ... It must be those two. If it’s just popping up now, it ans they’re the ones returning at this mont.’
Niara’s eyes lit up. ’Let’s go—I want to et them.’
’No, let’s give them so space,’ Darian quickly replied.
Niara was puzzled. She’d never had siblings or a family. She could clearly feel that Darian was worried and wanted to see them, but his words didn’t match his feelings.
’They need to learn to manage on their own. I want to help and make sure they’re okay, but I can’t protect them forever. They chose to beco Spiritual Guardians—there’s no avoiding pain and suffering until they grow up.’ he said seriously.
Niara didn’t fully get it, but she sensed he was doing it for the two of them.
anwhile, the Elders were arguing among themselves. In the end, one stayed behind while the others walked away.
The Elder who stayed said, "Go back and prepare. In fifteen days, you’ll help the newcors on the defensive lines."
As the Elder turned to leave, Darian asked, "Wait. Can we hit the library and pick up a new martial art? I rember that after you’re no longer a rookie, you’re allowed to attempt a higher-level one."
"Indeed, this is your second ti, so you can try," the Elder nodded and then spoke calmly:
"You may go, but rember: you’re only a bit better than rookies. You get only one shot. Your partner only got a D-level martial art before because those are extrely simple—no barriers to learning them; you just study until you can use them."
"C-level arts, on the other hand, require a test. In the intro, there’ll be a rune you must activate with your power. That rune is the foundation of the martial art. If you can’t activate it within a day, you’re disqualified and can’t read the real material."
"That’s why most who move past rookie status pick another D-level first—to solidify the Summoner’s power. Then they try a higher level. It’s better than ending up with nothing."
When the Elder finished, Darian said, "So I can try a B-level one, right?"
The Elder narrowed his eyes. "Are you insane? In the last two hundred years, only half a dozen people even got to read sothing at that level. I said read—that doesn’t an they could actually use it. They all already had partners with three rings supporting them. You won’t even get close enough to attempt the test. Don’t waste your one chance foolishly."
Darian fell silent. So that was the answer: yes, he could try if he wanted to.
The Elder snorted and calmly walked away.
Niara turned to Darian...
Their eyes t.
She knew what he was thinking. Both of them had an excited gleam.
"Hehehe, I know exactly which one I want to grab," she said with a smile.
The slug nodded. "Aweso—let’s do it!"
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