Episode 3: License Exam (8)

Bang!

A loud gunshot noise resounded through the open-space arena as a blonde-haired man could be seen shooting out a flurry of bullets over towards the Striker before him. There, it could be noted that each bullet the man shot out was either deflected or a miss.

"...ugh! Hey, support! Support!!" Landon cried out, sliding away as he narrowly dodged a punch from his attacker. "Dammit! He's fast! Too fast! Why is he so fast?!"

In an attempt to retaliate against the Striker, Landon pointed his two pistols at the brawler at point-blank range, hoping to deal a decent amount of damage. However, right at that moment, a white light shot out, completely interrupting Landon's rhythm.

"Ally! Don't mind me!" The Striker shouted out as he closed in on the distance between himself and Landon, soon grabbing onto the blonde-haired man and slamming him down onto the ground the next moment. "Go make sure that his teammate can't intervene! I'll handle things here."

"...argh...!" Bracing himself for the impact, Landon hurriedly stood up from the ground, soon leaping away from the brawler in that instance. "Hey, Jace! I need help! Major help!"

Slightly turning his head over towards the direction of Jace, Landon was greeted by the sight of an ongoing scuffle between him and the enemy Synergist. One was busily dodging attacks while the other was sending out a constant stream of it.

"...tch." With a frown on his face, the young man swayed to the side, avoiding a magic spark from Ally. "Are you seriously going after a bystander like me?"

Right as the match had begun, Jace and Landon were immediately thrown into chaos as the Striker and Synergist quickly barraged them with a sudden offence that completely took them by surprise. From a 2v2 fight, it became a 1v1, where, Jace was forced to dodge attack after attack from the opposing team's Synergist.

"Well, no hard feelings!" Ally smiled as she chanted out another spell, soon sending out a few magic missiles over towards Jace. "We're here to win this. So, even if you may be an easy opponent, we won't let you off so easily!"

"Such a nuisance..." Jace clicked his tongue, dodging the incoming missiles without issue. Soon after, he pointed his pistol just slightly to the left of Ally and shot out a few bullets. "I'm just here to watch the match. So can't you at least take out that guy over there before you go for this poor useless Synergist?"

"No chance!" The girl frowned as the bullets all missed her. "Who knows what you have up your sleeve?" Weaving her staff in the next second, another spell was casted out over towards the young man.

"I could surrender?" he lazily said, leaping backwards and avoiding the attack.

"Then do it now then!" Ally shouted out.

"...I'm lazy."

"Then stop talking and just get hit already!" Frustrated at Jace's attitude, Ally began conjuring up another batch of spells to send over towards Jace. However, at that very moment, the young man abruptly jumped forward. "U-Ugh... What?!"

"Or, you could maybe just leave me alone?" With a pistol in hand, Jace shot out a few bullets at the girl. "You should do your job as a Synergist and support your teammate over there." Among the bullets he shot out, only one accurately struck her hand, forcing the grip on her staff to loosen.

In that instance, Jace's pistol shifted to the side of him, soon pointing straight at the brawler that was constantly throwing out punch after punch over towards the poor Marksman.

"You...!" Momentarily shocked by Jace's abrupt movements, Ally quickly regained her composure, soon swinging her staff at Jace in order to intercept his attack. "Don't you dare!"

"...meh. I'm just doing my job here, unlike you." Taking a step backwards to dodge the attack, Jace pressed the trigger on his pistol, shooting out a bullet without hesitation. "So, leave me alone now, would you?"

Although Jace wanted to avoid attention, there was no helping it in this situation. As such, all he could do was throw in a few misdirections here and there regarding his performance. In order for him to not be talked about in the long run, he decided on putting on a mediocre show of his prowess. After all, he just wanted to avoid Soren at all costs.

"Tch..." Noticing that she was too late to stop the attack, Ally retreated back and repositioned herself, pointing her staff at the brawler the next second. "Have it your way then!" Soon after, she began chanting out a spell.

Right at that moment, a bright light shone down from the sky, soon enveloping the Striker in a warm radiance, completely nullifying the incoming attack from Jace. But, just as she did so, an attack came randomly from behind her.

"...a-ack...!" Directly taking the impact of the bullet, Ally turned her head over towards the direction of where the shot came from, taking notice that Jace was now behind her. "W-What the...?!"

"Well, even if you leave me alone, that doesn't mean I would leave you alone." He smiled, shooting out another bullet over to Ally. "No hard feelings. I'm just here trying to qualify for the license."

Jace's random appearance behind Ally was all thanks to his ability—[ Phantom Mirage ], which allowed him to blink in a short distance, leaving behind a mirage of himself at his original position. Having used it for the very first time today, he took it upon himself to restrict Ally's movements, allowing flexibility for himself.

"I knew you had something up your sleeve!" Gritting her teeth, Ally attempted to retaliate back against Jace. But, who would've thought that in that instance, a flurry of bullets came randomly from the side of her, taking her by surprise. "...?!"

"Hey, Lazy Eyes!" Landon screamed as he entered the scene, bombarding Ally with an endless stream of bullets. "Am I the one supporting or are you the one supporting??? Hello???"

"...you can handle the rest now, right?" Jace fired back a question in reply. "I'm tired. So let me just rest for a bit. I've done all that I can."

"Hah...?!" At Jace's words, Landon almost had the urge to shoot a bullet to his face, but holding in on his restraint, he continued his barrage of attacks on Ally up until the brawler swooped in and intercepted him. "Tch...!"

"I'm not done with you!" Angered by the blonde-haired man, the Striker's attacks became heavier as he wanted to take down Landon in one hit. "How dare you just leave like that?!"

"...you may be fast, but, I have the better reaction time here!!" Landon said, unmoving from his position. As the brawler's fist reached him, he ignored it, directly taking the hit as he continued his rampage on Ally.

"...!" Although the Striker's attack had hit, the man was left in confusion, wondering why it didn't affect Landon. "Ugh...!!" Annoyed, he began connecting his skills one after another. But, just before he could even proceed with that task, a bullet randomly shot him from behind. "...argh!"

"Wow Jace, you're not useless this time. I'm surprised!" Landon was overjoyed by Jace's usefulness during the battle, especially at the usage of the shields that Jace had been complaining were a niche. "But, you know those shields could've been MUCH more helpful earlier?!"

"Just take it or leave it," he sighed. "I just saw it as the perfect opportunity to use my skill, that's all."

For the shields of [ Phantom Mirage ] to appear, Jace had to be up close to an ally in order to use the skill. As such, only now could he have put the ability to use, blinking behind the brawler whilst providing Landon with a shield to fend off the attack.

"Well, let's just end this then!" Landon nodded his head, as his attention now fell onto the brawler. "You're next after that Synergist!"

...

Leaving the training arena with their heads held up high, two men could be seen making their way back towards the waiting room, this time, an air of cheerfulness lingered around them, especially to the blonde-haired man who was about to burst with excitement.

"Woohoo! We won!" Landon shouted out, raising his arm high up in the sky. "We won!"

"...yay." Jace cheered lazily.

"Hah?! What's with that reaction?!" he frowned. "You should be celebrating! We won, you know!"

"I'm tired," Jace replied, moving ahead of Landon. "So, I just want to get my license and go home."

"What?!" he cried out at Jace's words. "All you want to do is that?! Tch! Finishing this exam calls for a celebration! Come on! Let's go out for dinner with my friends, I'll treat—" As Landon was about to invite the young man over, a sudden loud noise rang out into the area, interrupting him.

"Landon!!!"

Turning his head over towards the direction of the sound, he could note that a large group of people flooded the hallways where the two men stood, soon crowding around Landon the next moment.

"E-Eh what the...?!" Shocked by the appearance of his friends, he blinked.

"You did great out there!"

"That last shot was amazing!"

"Landon sweep, let's go!"

"You guys!! How did you all get here?!" Happy at the sight of his cheerful friends, he laughed.

"Well obviously, we sneaked our way in here after your match!" A man smirked. "So, tell us! When are you getting your License? Let's throw a big party for passing the exam!"

"Haha, of course! I'll ask Sophie to cook us a big feast! Or do you guys want to head out to a restaurant? It's fine by me, I'm treating!" Landon grinned. "Oh yeah! Have you guys met Lazy Eyes yet? He's going to—" Turning his head to where Jace was, he took notice that the black-haired man was no longer there. "Eh...?! Where did he go?!"