113 I.T. 16 (graduation)

The skill I had picked out for Hunter was called Elemental Blade. It was a skill and not magic. The skill would create a blade from the element a person had affinity for. Because he was part dwarf, he had a natural affinity to earth. The skill would allow him to summon a blade made of the earth element. This would negate his clumsiness while in battle, plus allow him to have an incredible weapon. It was a powerful skill, like bone blade spell, before it disappeared in this place.

I would likely spend the time to learn this skill as well when I had finished learning my current skill. There is no telling if I would be able to though because my core was technically not in my body anymore. I could only sigh at the thought. Perhaps by the time I have learned my current skill I would find something more worthy of my attention.

I was not the only member of my squad who was taking our time here seriously. Even at the age of 10 Bailey seemed to be a rather determined individual. The old man had showed her the weapon she needed to use, but not the method to use it. She spent most of her free time looking through the books. Eventually she seemed to have found something and came and sat down next to me.

She had chosen a skill that I would not have thought of. It was an elemental projectile ability. It would function like my own bullets, but the ability would use different elements. The skill was rather amazing but would require her to cultivate her own magical core. She seemed rather prepared for it however, as she had a second book next to her.

She did not spend a lot of time practicing the skill, rather she spent the time copying the book down on a notebook she had kept in her inventory. I had to hand it to her, she might have not been strong before this, but she was more than capable.

That night I meditated again, but I could tell that I was not the only one who was meditating. On two of the bunks near me I could feel the faint fluctuation of mana. I smiled as this happened. Even with their experiences gone my party members were as hard working as ever.

I could feel the power of my core grow slightly. Of course, I did not have any access to it, but I knew it would have a positive effect on Lucifer's development. He was sleeping next to me currently. There was an extra bed he could have taken, but he seemed content to sleep at the foot of my bed. He reminded me of a dog in that way.

In a way he could be considered our 6th and final party member. The idea was a little nut, but as an intelligent creature he was more than qualified. He was more than qualified, but unfortunately that is not the way it works. Hylia was only able to maintain her status as an adventurer due to the Goddess's influence. Lucifer would always be considered my familiar. My only true familiar.

I slept for slightly over 5 hours. The morning came far too quickly. The following day was much like the first. The day after that exactly like the second day. This continued for Six years.

It took me two years to master the Arcane body ability. It was rather intense. After that I began to practice a dual wielding regime. It was not traditional dual wielding, rather I trained to attack with claws in my left hand while I shot with my right hand. It took a year for me to master that. I was also very capable of attacking with both my hands with my claws, as well as using both pistols.

The fourth year I had reached Advanced proficiency with my pistols. This gave me access to my mother's notes on firearms. Training with this took the rest of my time. Slowly my proficiency reached perfection. It could be said only my mother was better than me when it came to the use of a pistol.

The only events of note during this time were the competitions between the towers. The competitions were not combat oriented, but rather a competition between the leaders of the towers. There was a total of 3 towers, and each tower would win once every 6 years.

The competition was a joke, but the entire thing was meant to be a time for the students to mingle. We all made a variety of contacts at these events. The ability he spoke of was given, though it was not anything grand. The ability was one that I had previously obtained but was taken from me. The skill was [Body Cleanliness]. Needless to say, I was happy to get the skill back.

There was no graduation to speak of. We went to bed that night as usual, only when we woke up, we were no longer in our comfortable beds in the tower. We woke up in a field in the middle of nowhere. A large stone arch stood before us. The arch was filled with purple energy. The girls around me seemed stunned for a moment. They looked around at each other for a long moment.

Each of the girls had become a beautiful lady in this time. There appearances were much the same as they were before. Only two of them had any real differences. Hylia had grown up. She was no longer a small girl, but rather a full-grown homo arachnis. She had curves that her previous body could never live up to. As memories began to return to her, she looked at me with a confused expression.

For the last six years the two of us have had little to no contact. For this period, I did not have the heart to interrupt what seemed to be a perfect life for her. She seemed genuinely happy as she played and trained with the other students here. I had seen her laugh and smile more in a day here then she had for the last few months we had spent together on Kaos. The events that had transpired on the floor before this one had further tore the two of us apart.

She looked at me with a lost look in her eyes and I could only smile weakly at her and shook my head. She did not need to know I had retained my memories of that place. She did not need to know the pain I had felt every day.

The other girls seemed rather excited as they examined their bodies while comparing it to their previous states. They had lost many of their abilities but had gained so much in return. It would be a lie to say they were not much stronger than they had been previously.

Lucifer was the only one who did not have anything to compare with. The last six years had been the true beginning of his life. He had worked hard every day to gain strength. He worked out with the rest of us. He studied the books with the rest of us and learned how to fight with the rest of us. On top of that I had meditated every day, increasing the power of the core inside of him. Because we were in an instance there was no way to look at our status or abilities, but I knew the core was much stronger than when I had been in possession of it.

He had not grown; he was still as small as ever. But he had matured quite a bit. Hr still had a childish mentality, but could form words to communicate with me. As a dragon this was to be expected. Even I had not aged much, I appeared to be around 13 years old. Much less mature then the humans. Bailey only seemed around a year older than me, and Sierra a year older than her. At such a young age it was already readily apparent the amount of lifespan that each species had. I could only sigh when I thought about this. Unless we gained a great amount of strength Bailey and I would far outlive the rest of them.