"Lady Amelia?"


    Rachel was baffled by the situation. She had only followed the source of what seemed to be a fight nearby, but paused as monsters obstructed her path.


    "Ah—Sorry, General Amelia."


    Rachel corrected herself.


    Now that she took a good look, Amelia seemed to havee out of where the fighting wasing from.


    "You are…?"


    "Ah, yes. I think this is the first time we''ve spoken to each other. I am Rachel Asami."


    "I see…."


    The conversation trailed off from there.


    It may have only been a few seconds, but Rachel could solemnly swear it was probably one of the most awkward moment in her life.


    "A friend of Brandon''s is a friend of mine. Let''s go, before they get here."


    "Y-Yes—Ah? They…?"


    Rachel stammered. Unable to articte her words in front of Brandon''s girlfriend.


    Kracka!


    A bolt of lightning rippled from the forest undergrowth. Amelia, who was in front of Rachel, reflexively turned around.


    A magic sword materialized in her hand—instantly repelling the sparks, sending a gust of wind that fluttered Rachel''s ck hair.


    "They."


    Amelia informed her once again.


    "Oh."


    Rachel couldn''t help but be astonished at the sight.


    ''Would I be able to react to that?''


    She asked herself.


    At that moment, Amelia rushed towards her and grabbed her wrist, dragging Rachel further away from the onrush of magic attacks.


    "They''re from ss C. We might be able to defeat them together, but I don''t want to risk it."


    Amelia spoke as she traversed the dense undergrowth of the snowy forest.


    Rachel stared at Amelia''s hand which was on her wrist, the two fleeing from the fight.


    Due to the fact that Amelia was a senior, and everything surrounding her about Brandon, Rachel initially found Amelia quite intimidating.


    However, now, her assessment of herpletely changed.


    ''She''s nice….''


    They quickened their pace until eventually, the coast was clear.


    "Haaa…. Haaa…."


    "H-haaa…. Haaa…."


    Supporting themselves with a tree, the two frantically caught their breaths.


    "Haaa…. Did we lose them…?"


    Rachel asked.


    "Most….. Haaa…. Probably…."


    Amelia, slumping down on the tree, responded.


    A week after separating with Amy, Rachel started her own set of hunts.


    At the moment, she had a total of nine badges—equally segregating them with Amy.


    "Are you in the safe zone, General?"


    "Please, call me Amelia.


    "Uhm…. I–"


    "I insist."


    Amelia nodded her head, giving Rachel the go signal.


    Rachel had no choice but to give in to Amelia''s good will.


    "Okay…. Uhm…. Amelia."


    "Mhm, I have a total of eleven badges. What about you?"


    "I have nine so far."


    "I see. So you didn''t go bounty hunting?"


    Bounty hunting.


    The term the cadets started to use—referring to the action of hunting their rivals. Or more precisely, their team members.


    "No, I want all my friends to pass this test."


    "I see."


    Once again, the conversation trailed off from there. The atmosphere grew awkward, and Rachel didn''t know what to say.


    However, the silence was soon broken by Amelia, who remained vignt, peering her eyes for any signs of movements.


    "Do you want to venture together? I''m not sure where yours or my friends are, but ss C seemed to have formedrge groups. I think it''s too dangerous for our sses to traverse alone right now."


    Hearing the sudden news, Rachel found it quite ironic.


    To think the weakest ss had now be the greatest threat.


    For Amelia''s proposal, Rachel had no objections. She was well informed with how strong Amelia was. Meaning, she was a great asset.


    Furthermore, there was one thing Rachel wanted to know.


    Why did Brandon fall for her?


    Not like she was still hung up, but she was honestly curious. Especially so, when Brandon had told her he was the one who confessed first.


    With those thoughts in mind, Rachel spoke with no hesitation.


    "Yes, I''d like that."


    Just like that, a partnership between the two formed.


    ***


    Six weeks had passed since the start of the training camp.


    November 15, 2149.


    Despite the amount of powerful cadets in ss A, Raven had been regarded as one of the major threats.


    After all, he was aplete counter against mages, and oftentimes, he would appear out of nowhere, catching anyone off guard.


    He had already gathered enough badges to pass the training camp, surprisingly.


    It wasn''t his fault. Cadets, for some reason, would always find a way to ambush him.


    But due to the nature of his abilities, Raven had no difficulties picking them off.


    However, during one of his ventures, Raven encountered someone familiar for the first time.


    "That you, Raven?"


    "Rein?"


    It was Reinhard.


    As expected. Despite belonging to ss B, Reinhard had no qualms with tackling the training camp solo.


    Raven truly thought it was a waste how Reinhard didn''t try his luck against Delton on that day.


    He would''ve liked it if Reinhard had ascended to ss A along with him back then.


    But what''s done is done and Reinhard wasted the opportunity.


    Simultaneously, as a dagger materialized in Raven''s hand, mes began to creep up, engulfing Reinhard''s whole arm.


    Raven''s eyes narrowed, his body tensing as the shadows around him seemed to ripple and shift, responding to his will.


    The dagger in his hand gleamed ominously, cloaked in darkness, while Reinhard''s arm red up with fiery intensity.


    The air between them crackled with tension, as two opposing forces—shadow and me—prepared for the inevitable sh.


    Reinhard looked at him with a condescending look. One that Raven was all too familiar with.


    "Just like always, huh?"


    "You bet."


    Swoosh—!


    Reinhard was the first to move, his fist aze as he lunged forward, sending a wave of fire in Raven''s direction. But Raven had already blended into the shadows, disappearing from sight as the mes scorched the ground where he once stood.


    The snow melted near–instantly, revealing a scorched patch of grass.


    Suddenly, a shadow darted from behind, and before Reinhard could react, Raven''s dagger was aimed at his back.


    ng—!


    Reinhard barely managed to twist his body in time, blocking the strike with a fiery shield. The force of the impact sent sparks flying, but Raven was already gone, disappearing into the shadows once again.


    After drowning in his ipetence, Reinhard realized just howcking he was in the defense department.


    For that reason, he trained in a way to specializebat against duelists—while being a mage himself.


    "Tsk."


    Reinhard muttered, shaking off the impact. He raised his hand, unleashing a pir of fire into the sky. The mes exploded outward in a wide arc, illuminating the area and forcing Raven to reveal himself.


    Vooosh—!


    Reinhard yelled as he charged, his fist zing with fire.


    Raven''s expressions hardened, his eyes gleaming as he side-stepped the attack, the shadows coiling around his form like tendrils.


    With a flick of his wrist, his dagger sliced through the air, aiming for Reinhard''s exposed side.


    But Reinhard wasn''t slow either. In a split second, his arm swung up, blocking the strike with a wall of me.


    The two forces collided once more, sparks of shadow and fire dancing in the cold air.


    Boom!


    The ground shook beneath their feet as Reinhard unleashed a fiery explosion, pushing Raven back. But before Reinhard could press the advantage, Raven vanished into the shadows again, his form blending seamlessly with the darkness.


    Suddenly, Raven emerged from the ground beneath him, his dagger aimed for Reinhard''s legs in a swift, lethal motion. But Reinhardjumped back just in time,unching a fireball in retaliation.


    BOOM——!


    The fireball exploded as it hit the ground, sending a shockwave of heat across the snowy battlefield.


    Without another word, the two shed again—me against shadow.


    Every strike Reinhard threw was met with Raven''s evasive movements, the shadow wielder darting in and out of the darkness.


    And yet, every time Raven attacked, Reinhard''s mes red up, blocking his strikes with a barrier of intense heat.


    As the fight dragged on, Raven faced difficulty for the first time in a while.


    His [Shadow] affinity allowed him to dart in and out of range, always keeping Reinhard on the defensive.


    But Reinhard''s fiery offense was relentless, pushing Raven to his limits with every strike, despite Raven having the [Reflection] skill.


    Finally, Raven saw his opening.


    As Reinhard unleashed another wave of fire, Raven ducked low, his dagger slicing through the air in a swift, deadly arc.


    "...!"


    Reinhard''s eyes widened as he realized his mistake.


    The shadowy de struck, grazing Reinhard''s side just as the mes around him erupted,pletely igniting the snow away.


    Boom!


    The explosion sent both fighters flying in opposite directions, the impact creating a crater in the snowy ground.


    "Cough…! Cough…!"


    Raven coughed, his body aching from the force of the st, but a grin tugged at his lips as he stood up.


    However, at that moment….


    Rumble…. Rumble…..


    The entire forest began to shake intensely. Theyers of snow atop the trees droop down, and Raven and Reinhard began looking around, remaining vignt due to the sudden turn of events.


    It was then.


    —Hwooooooar!


    A deep, guttural scream pierced the air, an earth shaking bellow that seemed to haunt the snowy fields.


    "What the…."


    "The hell was tha—"


    "Hieaaaa—!"


    Before they could even collect themselves, another scream rang out. However, this time, it was a girl''s scream.


    The two nced at each other before nodding, putting their fight on hold.


    At that, they disappeared deep into the forest, heading straight to the source of the scream.


    "Hieeeeaaa—!"