Chapter 9 - Charles Military Academy (7)

My face was in disbelief while looking at what I'd done. "How did I… Do this?" I gasped in surprise. "Huh? You are asking me? How should I know?" Dorothy shrugged. Dorothy stared at the giant mechanical lizard that was sliced into two and the gaping wall behind it, "To think a single swing of a sword could cause this…." Dorothy rubbed her chin, pondering, looking at me up and down. "Can it be…." Dorothy furrowed her eyebrows before quickly taking out a rectangular device from her uniform pocket. "Hmm… Hey, Vaan, quickly take out your ARC-D," Dorothy urged. "Oh, o-okay," I took out the ARC-D from my pocket and found it shining green.

"As I thought…." Dorothy rubbed her chin. "I forgot about my ARC-D. It must've activated somehow when I was fighting against the mechanical lizard," I said. Dorothy shifted her glance from me at the gaping wall, "So this is the power of an Aether Core…." Dorothy said softly. "How did I deactivate this again?" I rotated the rectangular device in my hand. "I think pressing the C button on the cover should do it," Dorothy replied. "Oh, yeah," I pressed the C button on the cover, and the green glow disappeared. As the green glow disappeared, I heard something click. The pedestal rose, and the Blue Crystal floated on top. "Hmm?" I scrutinized the pedestal, "Does it mean it's truly over now?"

"I don't know. Keep your guard up, just in case," Dorothy replied.

I nodded, "Then, cover me while I try grabbing the Blue Crystal."

"Un," Dorothy gripped her Aether Staff.

Walking slowly, I approached the Blue Crystal step by step with vigilance. Before grabbing the Blue Crystal, I turned toward Dorothy, and the latter gave me a nod. "Okay, I'm going to grab it now," I said, extending my hand at the floating Blue Crystal. As soon as my hand grabbed the Blue Crystal, the room around us shifted. The pedestal before me sank to the ground while the wall to the side revealed a door. "As I thought…. This school really is way overboard," Dorothy sighed. I observed my surroundings, and once I determined there was no threat around, I relaxed, "It looks like it's over."

"It seemed so. Shall we proceed, or do you need a break?" Dorothy asked. "No, I'm still fine. Let's go."

===

"Look who's finally decided to join us," a familiar orange-haired young man said with a grin. "Oh, Wortel. And you are?" I looked at the short girl with short, silvery-white hair. She had purple-colored eyes, stood around 145cm tall, and had a cute, petite, round face. "Rie," the silvery-white-haired girl replied. "You two are quick," Dorothy said. "Well, yeah. The test they put out is quite easy. Especially with this baby helping out," Wortel bragged while tapping his ARC-D. "This thing packed quite a punch. I wonder how powerful I can get if I fill all the empty gem sockets," Wortel eyed his ARC-D with obsession. "Power is useless in the hand of a moron," Rie quipped. "What did you say, runt?" Wortel glared at Rie. "Humph, I said what I said," Rie crossed her arms.

"Haha~" scratching my head, I took out my own ARC-D. "To think I would be capable of such a feat with this tiny little thing. I wonder if I am able to match her now," I muttered under my breath. While I was in my thoughts, a cyan-haired young man, alongside a blonde-haired girl, entered the room. "I told you we would be last," the blonde-haired girl pouted. "Better come last than dead," the cyan-haired young man, Gilbert, quipped back. I watched the girl huff her moderately-sized chest up and down. Her blonde hair was tied into a twin tail as she stood around 150cm tall, slightly shorter than Dorothy.

"Huh!? What are you looking at?" the blonde-haired girl growled as she noticed my gaze. "Um, nothing, nothing," the edge of my lips twitched. "I'm sorry about that. Quickly apologize, Eliza," Gilbert urged. "Why should I apologize? Humph, you're always like this, Bert," Eliza turned around and pouted. I watched as Gilbert tried comforting the blonde-haired girl with a smile on my face. "They are quite funny," Dorothy commented. "Yeah. They are like lovers. Maybe they knew each other before?" I asked. "Maybe," Dorothy nodded.

"Good job for clearing the test, my students," a familiar voice resounded inside the room. Then, a red-haired woman came out from the roof with a broad smile. "Now, shall we move on to the real test?" Stephanie smiled mysteriously, sending chills to the back of my neck.