Episode 3: License Exam (4)

"...what?" As the pairings and matchups were released, Jace who had turned his attention towards the screen, stood dumbly in place, eyes widened in shock. "I'm paired up with who now?"

The young man couldn't believe his eyes, rubbing them a few times. But, to no avail, the name on the list didn't change. It was still [ Landon Von Davies ]. The man who had been talking non-stop since the moment Jace had met him.

"This..." At the realization, Jace was at a loss for words. "Is my luck this terrible?"

Since the moment Jace arrived at the Hunter's Association, Jace was given little to no break whatsoever. From encountering the talkative Landon whilst he was registering for the exam to finding out that the format of the exam would change, Jace was completely taken aback by the additional news that his partner was the very same talkative man who approached him.

"Hmm? Jace? Who's that?" Whilst Jace was busy processing everything, Landon was just confused when he first saw the matchups. "Huh. The name sure does sound familiar! Do you know anyone by that name, Lazy Eyes?" he turned to look at the lifeless young man. "He's a Synergist! Oh, speaking of which, what's your class? From the looks of it... Marksman? Magician? Ah, I'm a Marksman by the way!"

"..." Hearing Landon's endless stream of words, Jace helplessly glanced at him, not knowing where to even start explaining. "My class? Do I really look like a Magician to you?"

"Eh, kind of? I don't know! It's that vibe you're giving off!" Landon shrugged. "If not a Magician or Marksman, then you're a Striker? Hmm... That's a tough one to imagine."

"...I'm not any of that," he shook his head. "I'm a Synergist."

"Huh?" Upon hearing the words 'Synergist' uttered by Jace, Landon was left there dumbstruck. "You're a what...? Synergist...? Huh?! You're a Synergist?! There's no way! You're just fooling around, right?"

"...uh." Jace blankly stared at Landon, not knowing what to say. "Why would I be fooling around?"

"I would expect you to be a Magician or a Marksman, heck even a Striker at best. But, a Synergist? You're not giving that vibes at all!" he cried out. "You seem like the person who would mercilessly take down his opponents with his weapon!"

"...???" Jace looked at the blonde-haired man in confusion.

Although Landon's guesses had some weight in them due to his history as a Marksman, that was all there was to it. He knew not of what kind of vibes Landon saw in him, however, surely being a Synergist wasn't too far-fetch to believe? After all, one of his guesses was him being a Striker.

"Look... I'm not sure where you got that impression of me, but, believe me, even if I was a damage class, I wouldn't go so far as to be merciless," he coughed. Back when he was a Marksman, he was just fulfilling his role by shooting out bullets. Where was the mercilessness in that? "I'm just a plain old Synergist. Your partner, in fact."

"...you're just a plain old Synergist?" Still not finding it in him to believe Jace, the man raised his brow in doubt. "Alright. Let's just say you truly are a Synergist, but that still doesn't explain the vibes—" As Landon was about to continue with his sentence, a sudden realization hit him. "Wait... Did you just say that I'm your partner???"

"...why, yes." He helplessly nodded his head. "I'm Jace Young, the person who you were looking for."

"Huh?!" Not expecting the man before him to be his partner, Landon was at a loss for words. "You're serious? You're Jace Young? The Synergist? That's... This can't be a coincidence, can it?"

"Well, it sure looks like one," Jace sighed. "But coincidence or not, I'm the one paired up with you. So, you're not going to think that I'm fooling around this time, are you?"

"Uh... Well... If it's really true, then I guess not?" He scratched his head. "But really, it's an amazing coincidence if so! I mean, we both met by bumping into each other! Who would've thought that we'd end up on the same team?" his eyes glowed in excitement. "Does this mean that we'll be the best Marksman and Synergist duo out there? Hah! Let's bring a storm to the arena!"

"Um, I wouldn't go so far as to say that?" Jace blinked. "Just so you know, I can't do much. Heals and shields are the only things I can do. If you want other utilities, then tough luck. You'll have to be doing most of the legwork."

"What? Most of the legwork? Haha! You're joking this time, right?" Landon laughed. "This is a team effort! Now seriously, what's your kit? I'll tell you mine when you tell me yours! We wouldn't be able to work together otherwise if we know nothing of how each other's skills work!"

"I'm serious..." Jace blankly looked at Landon. "I can only do heals and shields under conditions. Ah, I guess I can nullify a debuff too. But, in terms of fighting capabilities, you shouldn't expect much."

Although Jace was mostly telling the truth, Landon was somewhat right. There were other things that Jace could do, which were all locked behind the special gimmick of his kit: "Linking and Forming Bonds". He knew not of what would happen if he were to link with Landon—however, with him being a total stranger, it was too risky to see the effects of the skill.

"Shouldn't expect much?!" The more Jace explained, the more Landon was astonished. "Is your kit that of an F-ranker level or something? There's no way it can be that bad, right?"

"Well, you can judge for yourself during the first match." Jace shrugged, moving his attention over to the skill [ Soul Seer's Eyes ] in his ability list. "I'll try my best to support you, but... I'll mostly be relying on you." Then, locking eyes with him, he activated the ability for the first time.

At that moment, a status screen appeared before him.

[ Hunter Profile ]

Name: Landon Von Davies

Level: 1

Class: Marksman

Race: Human

[ Soul Compatibility ]: 70%.

*Soul Linkage is not available for this person.

[ Titles ]

<Goldworks, Sheriff's Whiff (A+)>

[ Status ]

HP: 256/256 | MP: 200/200

[ Stats ]

STR: S- | INT: C-

AGI: A | MND: B+

END: C+ | LUCK: F-

*As this person is not linked, you are unable to see further details of their stats.

[ Soul Compatibility: 70% ]

*Soul Linkage is currently unavailable for this person.

Fulfil the current conditions to link with [Landon]:

-Activate [ Soul Channeler ] on "Landon" once [ ]

-Give an opportunity for "Landon" to land his shots once [ ]

-Listen to "Landon's" rants at least once [✓]

[ Abilities ]

<Swift Blaze (A)>

<Fire Volley (B)>

<Rapid Spray (C)>

<A Successful Shot! (S)>

<Show Me Dah Money! (S)>

...

"Hmm...?" Upon using the ability [ Soul Seer's Eyes ] on the man, Jace was slightly taken aback. "The basic usage of this ability is to be expected... But, what's this about conditions now? Eh? Give an opportunity for Landon to land his shots once?"

At the sight of the conditions just below "Soul Compatibility", Jace stared at it stupefied. This was the first time he had used the skill, but never would he have expected the conditions of linkage to be outright stated in the profile and the tasks feeling random at that.

"...listen to his rants at least once? What?" He frowned, unable to understand the logic behind the conditions given. "Only the Soul Channeler one makes sense. But everything else is..." The rest had just left him in utter confusion.

As Jace was in deep thought, a hand abruptly waved in front of his face. "Hello??? Mr Lazy Eyes??? Are you even listening?!" Landon cried out. "Don't just leave me hanging here! What do you mean I can judge for myself during the match??"

"..ah." Shaking his head to rid of the thoughts in his mind, he turned his attention back to Landon. "It's like I said. Rather than me repeating that I can only heal and do shields, you can see for yourself during battle. Ahem. Now then... We should get going. It's almost time for our match."

"Huh? Hey! I'm not done with you yet!" Noticing that Jace was beginning to make his way outside of the waiting room, Landon shouted out as loudly as he could. "We haven't even discussed our tactics or what abilities we have yet!"

"Well, I already did," he shrugged. "You can tell me yours during the match. Though, I doubt it's really needed."

"Hey! Lazy Eyes! Jace! Come back here!" Being unable to stop the young man, Landon helplessly chased after him.