"May I leave this battle first?" Aefia asked Ms. Avry while walking towards her through the barrier.
Her knife had turned into a dagger, which she used to block the attacks of the beast, but didn't harm it or place any attack in return. She ran clear stimulations and altered the beast's power and strength to stop it from causing any harm to her teammates. It was clear as day that if they wanted to end this battle, they would have to fight alone and Aefia couldn't contribute.
"Sure," Ms. Avry let down the barrier for Aefia to exit.
"Aefia, why did you choose to leave?" Nada asked feeling betrayed.
"To be precise, any actions that I carry out will only cause the situation to worsen. And also, if I contribute, you guys won't get proper training." Aefia replied. The truth was, she had already exhausted her health from continuously running simulations and pausing time to collect data on the beast.
Also, I have already set the monster's strength to the level you guys can afford. That is the most I can help right now. My contribution would make Ms.Avry mad too.
"Plus, if I were there, Helio would have to heal five people and waste his own mana while putting a risk to his health." Aefia added at last.
The monster can be defeated if Helio heals each member by fifteen percent, and each member, including Helio, places five attacks on the beast.
"I will make sure to get my revenge after this fight, Aefia!" Nada shouted while dodging an attack.
Aefia shrugged. When she had paused the time, she gave a good amount of scolding to the frozen Ms. Avry.
"IF YOU REALLY WANTED ME NOT TO FIGHT, THEN WHY DIDN'T YOU SAY IT THE FIRST TIME! I HAD TO WASTE AWAY MY MAGIC POWER LIKE THAT JUST TO COME TO THIS CONCLUSION!"
She then unpaused the time and used her 'Future Stimulation' skill and 'Future Prediction' skill one last time to confirm the results and then deactivated both skills.
"You made a bold move exiting the battle," Ms. Avry told Aefia, who was standing next to her by now.
Of course, it is a bold move for you. And it is even better for you because you didn't have to waste another seven bottles of potion to tell me that yourself.
When Aefia remained quiet for a long time, Ms. Avry added, "How did you figure out that by removing yourself, the battle will end?"
"My instincts told me," Aefia replied straightforwardly. "Also, my 'Infographics' skill was acting useless."
Ms.Avry laughed, "You have got yourself a bonus then, no one ever lies like that." Aefia looked at her mentor. She knew that her mentor had read her list of skills and in that list, there was her 'Future Stimulation' skill.
"I said that knowing that you know I used up all my magic power on using that skill until I managed that sentence out of your mouth. And I am pretty mad because you didn't say it earlier." Aefia answered.
"I only wanted to see what you would do next." Ms. Avry replied. Huh? What would I do next? Why is it hard to read people's expressions nowadays?
They both looked at the fight scene inside the barrier. The floor was spoiled due to all the fighting. Cracks appeared on the floor and disappeared, then another crack formed until it became a cycle.
Aefia had never in her life seen a hardworking and dedicated Nada, so seeing this scene was like seeing a live-action movie for her.
"If they successfully defeat this beast, will they get paid?"
"Not really, but they will be given a very small amount for participating in the training."
***
"AEFIA!" Nada raced in her direction after the barrier was put down and the beast had been defeated. There weren't any injuries or scratches but they were bleeding through their noses as a result of overusing their powers.
Aefia turned around just in time to block Nada's punch with 'Wolf Strength'. "Calm down, I had to go through a lot too! You think it was easy to restrict the monster's strength by forty percent? I had to exhaust my magic power too!"
"Yes! I heard it all! Why didn't you tell us earlier?!" Nada asked while trying to slap Aefia with her other hand which was also blocked by Aefia.
"There wasn't time, the longer I stayed to explain, the harder the battle would have gotten." Aefia let go of Nada's hands.
Anasiy slapped Aefia's head from the back which caught Aefia off-guard. Ouch, I should have kept my 'Short-term Furturesight' skill activated.
"You are certainly as Nada described you as, pretty selfish," Anasiy said when Aefia turned around.
"How was I selfish?" Aefia asked when Nada slapped her head again. Now what?!
"How else were you selfish? Did you really have to leave in between the battle?!" Nada asked. Another slap landed on Aefia's head. Stop! I might get a memory loss!
"And you used a future-seeking skill?! And you never told us about it?!" Anasiy spoke. Meanwhile, Aefia in the middle was questioning her sanity. Why did I choose to come to this world? Why did I call this world my new home anyway?
Suddenly a hand pulled Aefia out of the chaos. "Guys, stop. If this feels unfair to you, how do you think it feels to Aefia, who used half her magic power to stop that beast from causing you injuries?" Ms. Avry spoke while patting Aefia's head. For the first time, Aefia didn't complain. I am regretful for scolding her back then.
"I think her money has been repaid enough. I have contributed in a battle, how much do I get?" Nada asked, changing the subject.
"Actually," Anasiy started walking towards Aefia. Aefia moved closer to Ms. Avry while activating her skill. "I prefer to stay at Aefia's side about that." Anasiy finished. Is this another trick?
"This is getting way too unfair than." Nada stomped her feet. "I thought we were getting paid for defeating the beast."
"Oh, in that way," Anasiy looked at Ms.Avry. "You will get paid but," Ms. Avry answered, "It will only be one vetor."
"It's better than nothing," Nada dusted off her jacket. "Unlike Aefia who currently doesn't have any money." You know, I could pause time and rob a bank without them noticing.
"You are still going to be paying back Aefia right?" Ms. Avry asked. Why did you just say that?
"Oh yeah," Nada walked up to Aefia. Aefia gave a run to the other direction and Nada chased behind her.
"Ms. Avry! Why did you say that!" Aefia cried out for her life while she dodged Nada's attacks. The other teammates laughed. "These two are like cats and dogs," Anasiy said.
"It reminds me of that famous cartoon back on Earth. The one we all grew up watching. It looks like that live action version of it right now. Aefia is the brown mouse while Nada is the blue cat. Who is the grey dog?" Diego asked.
"Ms. Avry, do you want to stop them?" Helio asked while looking at Ms. Avry's direction.
"One of you do that," Ms. Avry spoke while eating popcorn.
"Actually, let's just watch it," Anasiy replied grabbing another bucket of popcorn.
***
"Ok stop!... I had enough." Aefia said while breathing heavily.
"Let's take a break," Nada said while sitting down on the ground.
"No, let's quit it completely. Otherwise, I will have to use an exclusive skill on you." Aefia said while sitting on the floor opposite Nada.
"Then let's just continue." Nada stood up. Just when Nada was about to attack. Aefia cut the tip of her finger with her knife.
A drop of blood fell on the ground, and just in time, the blood recollected and wrapped around Nada's wrists and ankles, locking in place with red strings connecting to the corner of the room.
Everyone looked at the tired Aefia, who was still sitting on the floor with blood dripping from her fingers. "Don't move or else the strings will slice through your limbs," Aefia said while walking towards the dining hall to grab a bottle of water.
"Alright fine, I won't attack you. Just let me go!" Nada yelled as the strings slowly tightened around her ankles.
Aefia wiped off the blood, which caused the strings to disappear and the drops of blood on the floor to vanish. I just unlocked this skill thanks to Nada.
"Are we done Ms. Avry? That should have been enough training for today." Aefia sat at the dining table.
"Yes, that's enough for today. But you can't leave here until you have finished your daily number of things to be done. This training centre has rules which is controlled by magic." Ms. Avry spoke.
"The things that need to be done are one-on-one duel, cleaning and reloading of weapons, and cleaning of the court." Ms. Avry listed out.
"So how do we do the one-on-one battle?" Anasiy asked.
"You will each fight one another until one drops their weapon." Ms. Avry explained. "I will group you with your power match."
Diego was grouped with Helio while Anasiy was grouped with Nada as usual. Ms. Avry chose to duel Aefia since they were almost the same level of power. Did I grow that strong already?
Everyone headed to three separate locations with their teammate. "My only weapon is this pistol, so there are restrictions for you. You can't use your strings, or your future prediction. Only present time fighting." Ms. Avry explained to Aefia.
"Alright." Aefia unsheathed the knife, and it turned into a dagger. The lightning pattern seemed to glow a brighter red than usual. Just then, Ms. Avry fired a bullet at Aefia.
***
"You are really advanced with your fighting skills. Did you fight before?" Ms. Avry said while picking up her pistol. The rest of the teammates were still fighting.
"No, but I feel like someone has control over my movements." Aefia explained while putting back her pistol. She would have been hit in the shoulder with a bullet if it wasn't for the plate armour. Except my first encounter of course.
"You already got your elemental magic book, you should be able to learn something about it there."
"Yeah, if I have the time when I get back." Aefia wiped her knife with a handkerchief. It had fingerprints all over it's shiny surface.
They waited in the dining hall for the teammates to finish. Anasiy won against Nada and Helio won against Diego. All four of them came back while cleaning their weapons. Nada had scratch marks on her hand while Helio had a small wound on his thumb which he healed with his skill.
"Now we need to clean that court." Ms. Avry pointed to the blood stained court. If I could control brooms and brushes, it would have been easier.
"Everyone should contribute or else no one gets out." Ms. Avry was holding a broom.
Anasiy mopped the floor and Nada wiped the table. Diego scrubbed the blood stains and Helio cleaned the dishes. Aefia wiped the showcases while she studied the amulets inside. Although she knew she had the book about amulets back at the office, Aefia thought it would be better to memorize the looks of the amulets for a better visual reference when she is reading its description back at her room.
After they were done, they left the training centre and hopped onto a bus. The bus charged five gadiens for a person but Ms. Avry paid one vetor instead. The bus driver didn't seem to mind.
They stopped at the Library of Smod to get each student a library membership card. Aefia asked if she could stay for five minutes and select a book to borrow since the first book was always free.
When she received the clearance she went to the section of shelves containing books about outer worlds. The books were arranged in alphabetical order.
Before she arrived at this section of books, Aefia had asked Ms.Avry about the world of the fallen king. "The world is called Hellas," Ms. Avry had replied.
She walked to the row containing the book with names starting with 'H'. "Found it." She took the book out of the shelve.
It was a deep green cover with gold embroidery at its edges and two squares representing borders. Inside the border was an arc shaped window and from outside the window, it seemed to Aefia, were birds and a scene of people protesting for something.
Aefia held the book, which was heavier than her book about 'Demae'. She walked to the counter and registered the book. "Can I get an extended due date?" Aefia asked the lady at the counter.
"Sure, to extend it by one month, you need to pay a total of a vetor." The lady replied.
"Sure," Aefia handed the library card to the lady while she input data under Aefia's name into the computer. The computer was old, it represented computers from its early ages back on Earth. It had a small monitor and a blotted back.
"Ma'am, may I ask where you got that computer from?" Aefia asked.
"From a shop in Nepolitan. They had more slim and elegant option called a 'PC' but I prefer this vintage look better." The lady replied.
"What price was the PC? If you can recall of course." Aefia asked while excited. If we have wifi or internet, that set is complete.
"They were asking five salars for only the monitor. The full set was two angcles because they say it's harder to produce compared to others." The lady replied.
That ruins it. I was really willing to buy one. But I can go to more battles to earn some extra cash though!
"Thank you for the information," Aefia bowed. She took the book and walked towards Ms. Avry.
"So what was the conversation about?" Ms. Avry asked.
"Well, the lady told me about the computer so I was interested." Aefia replied.
"So you could play video games instead of studying all those books at the office?" Ms. Avry gave Aefia an angry look.
"Well...not like that....I mean." Aefia was at a lost of words. I am pretty sure my ADHD would distract me like that.
"Anyway, you have a lot to study now, do you think you can finish all those books in a month to complete this?" Ms. Avry asked.
"Not really, I can finish this one first, then I will get my hands on the Elemental magic book after which I will continue with the other books." Aefia replied.
The rest of the ammates returned after a short while. Aefia looked at the book Nada was carrying. It had a similar cover colour to a book she had back at the office. A book she had bought from the old bookseller.