【 Jump 】 Lv.1 / 20 ELEMENT BASE COST REAGENT Kinetic 2 MP per 10kg of caster weight None

Coat feet in mana then jump, increasing height and length of the jump. Maximum distance and height both determined by mana used when casting.

Physically jumping while casting the spell add additional height or distance to the jump based on the Caster‘s STR and DEX stats respectively.

Landing spot is determined by the combined vectors of the spell and the physical jump. Half the mana is used for the jump, and half is used for a safe landing.

"That is so annoying and unfair," Simon scowled as Kira displayed her version of the cantrip's description with a shrug. Chen chose 【 Jump 】, and Simon, Asim, and Brigit all chose to pick up the 【 Jump 】 spell as well. Their sparse descriptions were vastly different:

Coat feet in mana then jump, increasing height and length of the jump. Maximum distance and height both determined by mana used when casting.

"Since when has anything in life ever been fair?" Brigit grumbled half-heartedly, with the resignation and acceptance of one who'd often received the short end of the stick.

Everyone chose their cantrips, and Kira made sure to learn all of them since they were all good choices that seemed great fun to use. More importantly, having her learn them meant they could see for sure that all her spell descriptions were more detailed, not just the one she'd mastered that was related to her Class.

Ribbon chose 【 Dancing Lights 】, which she thought was pretty. She could control the appearance of the lights, from shape to color, and control their movement in a rather large radius.

Simon grabbed 【 Illusory Music 】, allowing him to play music saved in his System to either a specific target in range or the immediate area as a whole. Music from the System couldn't be heard by others without specific tools or spells, so the cantrip provided an important opportunity for the Elf - the ability to terrorize Asim with catchy pop music at will.

Mint picked 【 Prestidigitation 】, a minor magical trick with various uses, while Meri picked the complementary 【 Thaumaturgy 】 with similar yet different effects. To their credit, the twins managed to express mumbled gratitude when Brigit handed over their spell books.

Brigit, surprisingly, went with a spell called 【 Marble Eye 】, which had the effect of creating a cat's eye marble that shared its vision with the caster. Since said vision could be shared via System screens, it was very convenient for reconnaissance.

Asim was argued out of a specialized sword-type skill since only he and Brigit could feasibly learn it. Instead, he reluctantly went with Simon's suggestion of 【 True Strike 】, a more generic yet still combat-oriented spell allowing one to target an enemy's weakness. The very idea of learning a spell seemed to offend him, despite Brigit's many arguments about how magic properly supplemented fighting... Until Simon explained he could cast 【 Jump 】and【 True Strike 】together to cover enormous distances, slamming down on an enemy's weak point from above!

At the thought of raining flaming death on giant monsters, Asim visibly cheered up.

Dani wanted 【 Mage Hand 】, a magic spell for lifting small objects at a distance. She yawned again while reading out her choice, eliciting a round of good-natured laughter from everyone.

Kira learned all of her classmate's choices while she herself went with 【 Animate Object 】, which allowed her to summon a minor spirit to move an object according to her wishes for a short time, within reason. She was a little worried about the implications of such a spell at first, but Ribbon explained the minor spirits had to willingly answer the call and retained their free will, so if they were playing along it was by choice. Most minor spirits were child-like and silly, so they considered such spell summons a fun game!

A quick message to Ailsa, who once mentioned her magic involved spirits and had some further insights, helped soothe Kira's fears. She picked up the spell without regret, and immediately animated her consolation slime plush as practice. While she was busy making it dance around her feet, everyone else picked which spells they wanted to learn from the pool of collective choices.

Sir Karl's message about not spreading their research was originally met with disappointment and disgruntled sighs when Kira conveyed his wishes, but their negativity was swept away by seeing piles of spell books glimmering with mana and exuding an almost tangible aura of unfathomable power.

"Why are you all so impressed, they're just cantrips," Mint said, receiving a gentle elbow nudge from her sister.

Chen coughed to clear his throat. "All the same, I'm sure we're all very grateful to Kira and Brigit for their generosity. Cantrips are relatively weak as spells go, but they're easy to learn and cast, have low mana costs, and have a variety of uses even outside of combat. Having plenty of cantrips available across the whole class is a good thing. We really owe you two."

"I really don't like owing someone so much," Mint muttered under her breath, adamantly refusing to meet anyone's gaze.

"Then I'll be keeping a tab," Brigit said, opening a note file in her System to save the totals. "No pressure on anyone, just pay us back when possible. this is quite a large investment that we're paying for out of pocket, but it helps us as much as it helps you."

Never mind the fact that Kira didn't even feel like any of the money was hers to begin with, and already mentioned she didn't mind spending it all on magic for everyone while discussing plans with Brigit the night before. Their Gold Scholarship covered room and board for the time being, so the money would just go to extra things anyway, right? Might as well spend it on spells for everyone!

Brigit would have none of it. Kindness was a virtue, but anything in excess could be harmful.

She understood Kira's sentiment: they didn't earn the money through their own actions, so it was hard to conceptualize as something that belonged to them. All the same, the girl not setting aside any money for herself caused some concern to rise in the Drakke's heart. It was barely alleviated when Kira later asked the Archmage to invest in their research while everyone picked out their spells, and he promised to reimburse their purchases, but Kira's first instinct wasn't to save anything for herself and that was a potentially dangerous habit to have.

Community was very important in modern society. Only through reliance on your peers could you survive the world's many dangers to attain greater heights. Those strong enough to stand alone shouldn't forget their humble roots, as everyone started at Level 1 Rank F. The weak should work together to one day become part of the strong, supporting and one day fighting beside the people who once protected them.

Individualism was treated along the same vein as dishonesty and rampant greed. Not quite a crime, but morally objectionable bordering on reprehensible. Someone who always put themselves first couldn't be trusted to watch your back, or stand their ground, in perilous circumstances.

Just as someone too individualistic couldn't be trusted, someone who sacrificed or were otherwise incapable of maintaining their well-being in times of peace wouldn't be much use in an unexpected fight. One had to manage their total wellness - physical, mental, and emotional health - to be in optimal condition at all times in case of emergency.

Willingness to share what one could spare was expected, but one also had to learn temperance. Contribution, not sacrifice. Take care of the community, the community will take care of you. But you have to take care of yourself to take care of the community! Balance and moderation in all things was the key to longevity and survival.

Brigit sighed, snapping out of her thoughts to find everyone else already distributing the spell books. She smiled as Ribbon toddled over to a seat carrying a book pile as tall as herself. "Well... If the first tab is paid in full, we've agreed to fund further spell research as a loan."

Simon steepled his fingers together, a surprisingly serious expression on the affable Elf's face. "Pray tell!"

"We'll buy the spell up front for you to learn, then you pay it off."

"How many?"

"Hm... One loaned spell per person, at an appropriate level. We want to help, but please don't take advantage of that to try and get spells above your level, or resell them."

"Wow, hurtful." Simon pouted, dropping the steepled hands to instead cross his arms over his chest. "You think I'd do that?"

Brigit looked embarrassed, scratching at a spot behind her pointed ears. "Ah, well... Sorry. Just trying to cover all our bases, you know? We have quite a bit of extra money, but our wallets aren't bottomless."

'Maybe they are, but I don't want to test that,' Kira thought to herself, hugging her slime plush close.

Simon burst out laughing when he saw Brigit's abashed expression, nudging her gently in the ribs with his elbow. "Nah, I'm just teasing! It's totally more than fair, I'd be a lot more strict with boundaries in your boots! How can we pay you back for it all? Lump sum or payments or what?"

"We'll accept payment installments in credits or goods, and anyone who gets a book from us has to help us a bit with spell research. I'll keep track of who pays what so no one overpays on accident, though anyone lucky enough to cover their own debt can help the others if they like."

"You have way too many brains for a Squire," Asim grumbled, receiving another glare from the Drakke. "You're a fighter, not a merchant... Running a business in school, honestly..."

"It can't even be really counted as a business," Simon muttered. "Unless you're charging interest? Or a surcharge? Some way to profit?"

"We're only offering this to you folks, not creating a whole business around it. Our profit will be our class succeeding in the Trials."

"Why bother?"

Dani's sudden question surprised everyone into silence. She glanced around at everyone's stunned and confused faces, then pulled a fruit from her inventory and took a bite before clarifying herself. "Not that I don't appreciate the help, don't get me wrong. I'm talented and poor like the rest here. But y'all have Gold Scholarships. You're only in the General class with us losers because... What, late enrollment? Not enough recommendation letters? But if you have a good enough connection to get the Gold Scholarship in the first place, being moved to an Elite class is just a matter of time."

Brigit shook her head. "Whether we get moved in the future or not is irrelevant. Right now we're classmates, our own little community. Isn't that why Gold Scholarships benefit the whole class?"

"And I like most of you folks," Kira chimed in, purposefully avoiding looking at the twins as she said it. "I wanna help out how I can."

"Well!" Chen clapped his large hands together and grinned in a way that bared his tusks and fangs. "If that's that, let's all learn our spells and head over to a training zone, shall we?"

"Yeah!" Simon pumped his fist in the air, excitement sparkling in his violet eyes. "Let's go bully some puppets!"

"I'd like to open the floor for discussion regarding the Clanless Human that recently came to Atmont." Willis, the old grizzled Lepidor known as the Councilor of Familial Affairs, glanced meaningfully over at Karl and twitched his little black nose. Several councilors shifted uncomfortably in their seats, cleared their throats, or maintained a perfect poker face in an effort to look uninvolved. Karl took note of them, then glanced at the ones who seemed surprised.

Out of 25 people on the Council, less than ten were genuinely startled. A couple seemed afraid, while the rest looked embarrassed about being left in the dark.

Karl chuckled under his breath, leaning back in his comfortable chair. For the ones who had no idea, he made a mental note to contact them in the future. Their ignorance meant they didn't actively collect information on their fellow councilors, and were probably the sort of people to keep their head down and get their work done. Or they were hiding something more heinous, staying out of other's business to obfuscate their own. The former was a potential ally, and the latter was a threat. Either way, he needed to have his Smokewalkers observe their movements for awhile.

"Councilor Willis, surely you don't believe in rumors?" One councilor finally spoke while standing up, using a sickly sweet tone that set Karl's teeth on edge. "To bring such matters before the Council-"

Willis, never the type to take anyone's attitude, immediately threw out various enlarged screens from his System for the entire Council to see. A picture of a gate guard and his employee registration number, a video of said guard reporting about a scruffy young Human girl under the company of a Drakke woman rather than fellow Humans, pictures of the suspected Human and Drakke duo from security footage on the Atmont Bridge, and copies of the city entrance Scans with timestamps and a verification number in the corner that could be checked against the System's city records for authenticity.

Unlike Scan-type skills conducted by a person, Scan-type enchantments on tools could be tailored to show more specific information.

【 Kira Hawthorne 】 《 Relic 》 Lv. 1-F Human (Ancient) Geomancer UnAttuned HP MP Place Of Origin 16/20 32/50

Felton, California,

USA, North America

HEIGHT WEIGHT AURA 66 in. / 167.64 cm. 108 lbs / 48.9 kg Lavender (Purple) 【 Brigit Cinderscale 】 《 Tarnished 》 Lv. 5-F Drakke (Azure) Squire Attuned Employee Grade F of Treestrider Adventure Company HP MP Place Of Origin 30/30 10/10

Northeast Village, Wayward Swamp,

Llane Kingdom, Hatte Continent

HEIGHT WEIGHT AURA 71 in. / 180.3 cm. 178 lbs / 80.7 kg Azure (Blue)

"Ah yes," Willis sneered. "Rumors."

The councilor who spoke turned red and sat back down.

"Remarkable," Councilor Reiner muttered, stroking his beard. "What a remarkable child."

"A 《 Relic 》!" Councilor Helenn said, her sharp voice cutting through assorted murmurs and whispers. She stood, nodded at Willis, then pointed at the screen displaying Kira's information. "An Ancient Human just strolled into our city and there wasn't an immediate meeting called for the Council?"

"About that..." Councilor Ector drawled, opening his own System to throw out more screens. Karl didn't miss the smug glance that asshole Satir tossed his way, but he chose to ignore it rather than give the man any satisfaction of acknowledgment. "This might help explain why that is the case."

The pictures Ector put up showed Kira and Brigit following Lilian to the Transport Hub, followed by more pictures of Lilian leaving alone a few minutes later. They were slightly blurry, obviously not official security footage, but had appropriate timestamps and verification numbers to prove their authenticity.

Almost simultaneously everyone on the Council turned to look at Karl, and Lilian standing behind him. Accusatory glares, curious glances, angry stares and expectant gazes... Karl chuckled as he stood, scratching a spot at the base of his spiraling horns. "Ah, so you collected pictures of the Human and my assistant rather than reporting it to everyone else? Waiting for dramatic timing, were we?"

Ector's smug smile turned quickly into a scowl, as some of those accusatory glares were sent his way. "I was merely attempting to gather information on a potential threat, Councilor Karl. Yet on the very day she arrived, she was seen in the company of your assistant. Tell me, Sir Karl, why would that be?"

Murmurs among councilors rose to a rumbling chatter.

The insinuation was clear, but Karl kept a calm expression on his face while glancing around the room. "Because Lilian was escorting Miss Kira and Miss Brigit to the Atmont Academia, where they are both currently enrolled."

Chaos erupted.

Councilors took to their feet and started complaining at the top of their lungs, citing various laws and procedures and potential implications. The loudest, Karl noticed, were the ones who were looking to snatch Kira for themselves. Undermining the Council's authority, overstepping his bounds, even an accusation of plotting against Atmont was thrown Karl's way. He remained silent, waiting for the storm to pass.

"Councilah Karl." A low, deep baritone sliced through the commotion like the finest sword through unsuspecting butter, from a venerated Bronzen Dwarf with a magnificent pure white beard reaching to his knees. "Ye mind explainin' yerself fer us? Or ye gonna let us squawk about fer yer amusement?"

While it seemed Councilor Albite was admonishing Karl on the surface, his use of the word 'squawk' caused the other Council members to slowly lower their voices in embarrassment. Karl gave a slight nod expressing his appreciation to Ailsa's grandfather, before opening a single System window for the Council.

"...don't know how long I spent in there. It was... Weird. Like... Like a dream, almost. Where you know time has passed, but it doesn't feel like it. I thought it was only a couple weeks, and was worried my family would be mad, but... When I finally got out of the Gate, our house was... They were... It was gone. Just rubble and vines... I..."

The scrawny girl on the screen had tears in her eyes, shoulders visibly shaking even through the video. After a moment of composing herself she looked ashamed of her near outburst, scratching the back of her neck in a nervous gesture. "So um. Yeah. Now I have the 《 Relic 》 title, which I don't know what that does since I can't afford a Scan skill, and... Then I met Brigit, when I went to investigate the smell of blood and tripped on a tree root into the middle of a ruckus. That's all."

"Miss Kira Hawthorne was trapped in a Time-Haze Adamantium Gate since the Time of Antiquity, and personally witnessed the Proclamation. A fourteen year old child, suspended in time, by herself, while over two hundred thousand years passed on the outside," Karl said slowly but with emphasis. He heard a few sharp intakes of breath, and one whispered exclamation of shock. Willis, the grizzled old Lepidor, had a stunned expression on his fuzzy rabbit face. "Upon seeing the 《 Relic 》 title, I know many of you probably felt concerned that she was one of Them, and thus were rightfully concerned. However... Haze?"

Karl's Smokewalker rose from his shadow, wrapped in writhing darkness that only exposed his vague silhouette and shocking violet eyes. Every Councilor had their own Smokewalker bodyguard, so no one batted an eyelash at seeing the man partially materialize in their midst. "Sir."

"As all of you are aware, our Smokewalkers are Amanojaku Yokai. They can read the hearts of others and determine their truthfulness. You can obscure your heart from an Amanojaku, but in doing so will reveal to them that you are hiding. Haze, if you would?"

Haze bowed to the Council. "I have confirmed the Human girl, Miss Hawthorne, was speaking the truth as she knew it. Likewise, Miss Cinderscale was also being truthful. None of the detection wards or protective arrays were activated. There was no lingering mana signature on either of them that might indicate enchanted items in their possession."

"Thank you, Haze."

"Of course, Sir." The Smokewalker descended back into Karl's shadow.

Karl, meanwhile, tapped his fingers on his desk and slowly glanced at each individual councilor present. "She is not one of Them. She was a newly emerged 《 Relic 》 with no family, and only one newly acquainted friend, in a world completely changed from her understanding. To help her learn about the world, I enrolled her in the Atmont Academia alongside Miss Cinderscale, and gave them both Gold Scholarships, as well as a disguise enchantment to hide the fact that Miss Hawthorne is Human. She is also being watched over by a Smokewalker unit to ensure her safety."

"How dare you!" Ector exclaimed, jumping out of his seat. "This Human is a potential threat to our city, and our livelihood! Perhaps not through her own direct actions, but by the mere virtue of her existence! Human Clans will march on this city to retrieve her-"

"Retrieve seems to imply they are reclaiming something that belongs to them," Karl interrupted, breaching etiquette in a way that stunned the Satir and most councilors present.

"Of course she belongs to them, she's a Human!"

"By our own laws, an orphan of age to achieve Attunement is legally considered an adult. She can decide on her own where she wishes to reside, so long as she's following the laws of the land she settles on. I offered Kira a scholarship, and she accepted. She actively chose to attend the Atmont Academia. In fact, just the other day she signed a student-mentor contract with one Ailsa Reid after being matched together in the Combat Pavilion." Karl smiled as he brought out a copy of the contract, signed and notarized with an official glimmering mana seal in the corner.

Councilor Albite scowled, slamming his fist on his desk with a resounding THUD. "Mewlin' brat fergot ta tell 'er pappy 'bout 'is great-grandkid! Cheeky little..."

The councilors on either side of Albite cleared their throats to hide their chuckles while the old man fumed.

"Even if she's legally an adult, the fact remains she's 14 years old, a Human, and a 《 Relic 》. It's our civic duty to return her to her kind!" Councilor Muria spoke up, gesturing toward a smugly nodding Ector. "Councilor Ector is correct, the child doesn't belong here. Her very existence is a threat!"

"You're calling her a threat in the same breath you're calling her a child!" Willis shouted, his fur bristling. "You would send her to strangers rather than allow her to stay in a safe place of her own choosing?"

"You yourself are the one who broached this topic, Councilor Willis! Now you're defending her presence?"

"I was merely concerned about the potential threat if she were one of Them, but Councilor Karl already refuted that point!"

"But not the point that she will bring the Humans here, in force, once they learn of her existence!"

"And how would they learn? Hm? Are you planning on stopping by Human lands for a cup of sugar?"

"Are you implying they don't have ways of finding this information out?"

"Are you implying the Humans just have spies all over our city for whatever reason?"

"She's just a child, one whose whole world has been changed irrevocably! You would uproot her again?"

"My point exactly, get rid of her now before she has time to get attached to our city! If she can settle here, surely she can settle in Human lands just as easily?"

"They're adaptable folk, send the child to Human lands and be done with it!"

"But what if they're offended that we're so quick to get rid of her?"

"Humans do care an awful lot about the wishes and wellbeing of their young, if Miss Hawthorne is unhappy about being told to leave..."

"You're all assuming the Humans would come in force, what if they just send a friendly delegation to meet with her?"

"And what if pigs fly out of your ass, Councilor Armin? It's just as likely."

"Now you're just being offensive. Humans aren't warmongering jackals!"

"No, they just get militantly protective of their young! Of which we now have one residing in our city, in our school, with hundreds of our own young!"

Karl sighed as the Council meeting once again erupted into chattering chaos, sitting back down in his chair. "This is gonna take awhile."