Applicants (1)

'Is she part of some new company?'

'Is she here to scout some people for her cult?'

'Calm and collected when confronted by those of higher strength. Ignorance, or something else…?'

'She's a cute one~.'

These are just some of the thoughts going through the company representatives' minds regarding the catkin standing with them. Ignorant of their curiosity, I watch as the first person steps onto the floor. It's a human girl with long bubblegum pink hair, and I have to wonder whether it's natural or dyed. She's a bit taller than me, I'd guess, and dressed in a plain set of pants and shirt. She doesn't seem to have any weapons either, so I suppose she's a mage.

On the other side, a middle-aged guy with a five-o'clock shadow steps forward, drawing a greatsword from his back. He sets himself, looking weirdly serious while facing a girl a good head shorter. Though her smile does seem a bit…ominous considering her opponent.

A receptionist steps forward, raising a hand. Apparently the rules for the evaluations were told to them before, so he doesn't repeat it. Instead he just lowers his hand and shouts, "Start!"

The examiner goes into a guarded stance, ready to protect himself at a moment's notice. The girl, though, simply clears her throat.

"Well then. *Let's get down to business. To defeat, the Huns.*" To my and everyone else's surprise, she starts to sing. More than that, she's singing a Disney song!

'A transmigrator! What does she think she's doing!? Disney copyrights everything! We don't have permission to use that! Though I suppose they don't really have jurisdiction in another world. At least publicly.'

While I was lost in mental ramblings due to my shock, something has been happening down below.

A mist gathered around the girl, gradually obscuring her from view. Meanwhile, the examiner hasn't moved from his spot, waiting for something to happen. For a moment, the only sound is the obscured girl singing one of the most familiar songs back on Earth. Then for a moment, it stops.

For the briefest moment, the mist fades, letting everyone see the girl. Her face is red, sweat beading on her forehead as she takes a deep breath. Then she starts the song again, even louder than last time! She's covered again, but this time we can see movement.

From the mist appears shimmering ephemeral shapes, their forms coming into focus once they step out of it. Warriors clad in armor from another stand before the examiner, ready to fight for the one who's singing is keeping them in existence.

She stops for another moment, likely taking another breath, and in that brief moment between breathes they all fade slightly. It seems like her limit is three 'phantoms' for lack of knowing what they're actually called.

One phantom is short and squat, reminiscent of a dwarf. It cracks its gauntleted hands, putting them up into a fighting pose. A hand-to-hand fighter.

The second is incredibly thin, though only slightly taller than a normal sized human. They twirl a pike around themselves, fumbling it at the end. They pick it up and look around, as if checking to see if anyone saw it. When it doesn't see anyone react, it wipes imaginary sweatdrops off of its head and stands at attention, its pike planted firmly next to it.

The final phantom is both tall and round, far larger than any human could naturally be. They rest in a relaxed pose, leaning on their staff with their eyes closed. The staff is in the shakugo style, with the tip being a circle, with rings hooked onto it. They jangle as the big man moves.

I watch with nostalgia as they charge the examiner, the tall one stabbing with his spear, forcing him to dodge or parry the thrusts. Meanwhile, the dwarf darts in, swinging with wide, powerful punches, hoping to land a single solid hit. Behind the two, the big man shakes his staff, and a glow appears around his allies. They become faster, their attacks stronger than they were before.

'Brawler, mid-fighter, and support. A solid party that would give anyone trouble. But…' I watch as the examiner continues dodging, not having taken a single hit so far. He's just that strong.

Then the singing stops. It doesn't start up again, instead everyone hears the girl take deep gasping breaths from singing so long. With their power source gone, the phantoms rapidly dissipate, the skinny one taking one last swing at the examiner as they go.

He parries it with contemptuous ease as he walks towards the now revealed girl. She's on her hands and knees, trying to get enough air to breathe. It seems like her ability enhanced the negative effects of singing so long. It takes a good three minutes before she's done gasping.

The entire time, the examiner has been standing over her, his sword pointed at her neck. When she tries to get up, he pokes the back of her neck with the tip, being careful not to break the skin.

She stops, her body freezing at the feeling of something sharp digging into her skin. He says one word. "Yield."

She swallows, then speaks. "I-I yield."

He withdraws his blade and sheathes it on his back. Without a second glance he walks back to the other examiners, shouting her results over his shoulder as he goes. "E-Rank. Make sure you get with a team, or else you'll die. The moment you run out of breath, you're easy prey."

She swallows, rubbing the back of her neck where his sword touched her, then steps to the side, away from the other applicants.

While the next applicant, an unarmed man, enters the stage, the representatives discuss the previous girl's capabilities.

"An interesting use of magic. She infused raw magic into her words, using them to guide the structure. Perhaps some kind of legacy magic?"

"What's legacy magic?" I ask.

He snorts at me. "Like I would tell you, cultist."

Rolling her eyes, the woman explains. "Legacy magic is exactly what it sounds like, magic passed down within a family. Only their direct descendants are taught the techniques in order to utilize it."

I nod to her in thanks while smirking at the baldy mage. He scowls and turns back to the fight below, though it doesn't seem to be very interesting. While we wait for it to end, the dwarf speaks.

"What was that song she was singing? Was catchy."

The priest shrugs. "I am unsure. Likely it is some kind of battle hymn passed down through their family meant to empower their summoned constructs."

"Nah." Everyone turns their heads to look at the woman. "It's a song from the transmigrators' world. I met a couple before I settled down in Somewhere. Anytime they heard someone say 'let's get down to business', they would say; 'to defeat, the huns'. Apparently the song is famous over there as training music."

The other representatives each react differently to the news that it's a song from another world. The mage looks at the girl hungrily, a creepy smile plastered across his face. The dwarf's mouth twists into a dissatisfied expression. The priest is unique in his reaction in that he doesn't react, and I have to wonder if he has *Acting* or some kind of deceit based skill.

I look on as the woman smirks at them, happy with the reactions she got, and I have to wonder. 'Is this woman one of my people?'