The last day of the school week had finally arrived and Kira, having finished morning classes, was eating lunch in the dining hall alone as usual. She wasn't sure how her newfound friends usually spent their lunch break as she'd yet to see them there. As she got up from her seat, a voice called out.

“Oi, Kira! Over here!”

The familiar figures of Nanase and Usagi were standing at the entrance to the dining hall, Usagi waving her over eagerly. As Kira walked towards them, the usual stares followed her. In the eyes of many of the first years there was great admiration for Kira and Nanase who they now saw as guardian spirits that stood up against the unjust nobles.

“Morning, how are the two of you?”

“I’m great and she’s great. Now listen here.”

Usagi beckoned for the two of them to come further outside, out of earshot of the other students in the dining hall and those walking in and out. She pulled the other two in close and leaned in conspiratorially.

“Nanase and I picked up this sweet job for the weekend and we need more people to pull it off so we want you and Akane to join us. Oh, and Senji too if possible.”

“Job? As in work?”

Nanase and Usagi shared a look of surprise before turning back to Kira.

“Classmate Kira, do you mean to say, since classes began, you haven’t completed a single job?”

Kira nodded, still confused. Usagi sighed in desperation.

“Ya really something else. With what Nanase said about ya teacher’s attitude, it’s a miracle ya still here.”

“Classmate Usagi, please allow me to explain. Jobs are simply requests put up by other students that, if their requirements are fulfilled, the ones who complete them are remunerated in some way.”

“In simple words, we do stuff, we get paid.”

“Paid?”

“Well, not in money. We get paid in prestige points which are worth a lot more here. Sometimes, for the really good jobs, we can get materials and items too.”

Kira couldn’t say that she was completely surprised. She’d been wondering if there were ways to increase her ever-dwindling prestige point stockpile. This led to another question though.

“When have you two found time to complete these jobs?”

“That is…”

“Well, our teacher’s a total slouch. Most of the periods are self-study so we just stay for a bit then leave. He actually encourages us to go out and complete jobs because it ‘makes his job easier’. Humph.”

“I’m sorry, Classmate Kira. I know Teacher Kurokawa probably keeps you very busy with morning classes.”

Nanase’s words were an understatement. During the years Kira was training alone, she’d always been able to go at her own pace. If it was too much, she’d stop. If she thought she could push further, she would. With Teacher Kurokawa, she found that she had to constantly try to surpass herself. Teacher Kurokawa’s regimen was unforgiving.

“In Inscriptor class we can ask Akane and Senji then we can meet up at the dining hall afterwards to discuss the details.”

Kira said after some thought. The other two girls nodded and the three made their way towards the Profession Hall.

After the awkward supper in which Senji showed the girls his referred student’s tile, Kira had expected him to treat them differently, but he was back to his cheery self as if nothing had happened. However, Kira still felt somewhat guilty as it was her question that caused him to dwell on unpleasant thoughts.

“Yo, what’s up, Kira? You nervous to ask me to perform?”

Senji teased. Kira shook her head, partly in answer and partly at how far off the mark he was.

“Nanase and Usagi found a weekend job for us to do as a group. The rewards should be good. Do you want to join?”

“What guy wouldn’t want to spend the weekend with four cute girls. Count me in.”

Kira had approached him after class after having already explained to Akane what jobs were and received a positive reply from her. Together, they left the room with Nanase and gathered in the dining hall to eat supper and go over the details of the job.

“So it’s like this. This senpai of ours wants us to get this crystal for him. But here’s the catch, it’s one that only grows on a particular soul beast, the Gem-studded Armourdillo. It’s a pretty low-ranked soul beast but getting it to part with the crystal will be…tricky.”

Usagi explained. Kira, who’d read up on soul beasts, nodded.

“When threatened, they can focus natural energy through the crystals on their backs and use it to attack. But their most defining feature is their strong defence. The crystals growing on their backs augment their defence depending on the type of crystal and partially fuse with their skin making it tough to remove or break off.”

Senji, who was eating heartily, lifted his head up and swallowed.

“So I guess we just have to hit it really hard then.”

“Not only that but we only need one type of crystal so our attacks need to be accurate as well. There’s also no guarantee that our individual strength is enough to break off even a shard of it”

“That’s why we’re doing this as a team, no? Should be a piece of cake. Speaking of cake…”

Senji wiped his mouth and got up and walked over to the dessert station. Meanwhile, Kira looked towards Akane.

“When the time comes, do you think you can break off the crystal?”

“I think…I can…”

“Do not worry about it too much. I am sure that, together, we will be able complete this job.”

Nanase’s melodious tones were enough to soothe Akane’s nervousness and she gave her a shy smile.

“Yes!”

The next morning.

“Are we all ready?”

Kira asked as she approached a group of three near the Academy’s front gate. The entranceway was very busy with students either leaving to perform weekend jobs or to go explore the city.

Kira was dressed in the same clothes she’d worn when she first arrived at the Academy, a simple black dress that was easy to move around in with a double-wound, black sash that comfortably held the sheath of her dragon-motif katana.

“Not yet. Princess Nanase was still getting ready when I left.”

Usagi commented with a hint of exasperation. It was obvious that the only time she needed was enough to put on a pair of loose pants, tucked into a pair of high boots, and a sleeveless blouse that showed off arms which were only now beginning to show some shape due to the few days of intensive blacksmithing. Her usually shoulder-length hair was tied into a bun. She looked ready to take on any outdoor task.

“Do girls usually take so long to get ready? I was here an hour ago.”

Senji asked. Although, from the way he was shifting his weight from foot to foot, Kira could tell that he still had more than enough energy. Senji’s spiky red hair was the same as always, but Kira found his clothes interesting. His pants puffed out around the upper half but then quickly narrowed to hug his calves, similar to those in pictures she’d seen of ancient Sunstrike Empire entertainers, but the similarity stopped there. Looking further down, his feet were resting in very traditional, blocky, wooden clogs that added a few extra centimetres to his height. Holding up his strange dark-brown pants was a very long belt that wound once around his waist before looping up over his shoulder and down the other side, and to which was attached thin ropes that held his silver-grey chakrams. On his torso he wore a more ordinary plain white cotton shirt in the Sunstrike style with the sleeves rolled up. Around his neck and wrists were accessories set with tiny red gemstones that matched his bright red hair.

“You were…too early.”

Akane’s soft voice drew Kira’s attention towards her as she melted into view. Similar to Kira, she was dressed all in black but in a more peculiar outfit. She wore calf-high boots and elbow-length gloves with a long-ish, black training tunic, similar to the one Kira wore when she was younger only, instead of black training pants, her legs and arms were covered by a fine black mesh. Around her neck a black bandana was tied. Her usual twintails were instead made up into an orange braid and tied with a black ribbon bow. Overall, the usually shy girl looked almost intimidating, the black outfit giving off a feeling of danger.

“Apologies for my tardiness everyone!”

A sweet voice called out causing everyone nearby to turn and look. Senji gave a wolf whistle. Sure enough, it was Nanase, her wavy navy-blue hair glistening from the wash it had just received. When she arrived before the others, a soothing scent of lavender washed over them, causing them to relax a bit.

She wore a navy-blue skirt that was covered in silver embroidery and stopped just above her knee and above a pair of soft pumps. Above that, a loose, panelled white blouse with wide cuffs covered her developing curves. Her waves of navy-blue hair were elaborately tied back with a number of azure ribbons that matched the azure sash around her waist. Aside from her ever-present, silver, dragon-shaped earrings, she wore a blue-and-silver hairpin in the shape of crashing waves. Kira had to admit that she looked lovely, even if impractically so.

“There she is. Wait, ya do realise we’re going to explore a forest, right? I mean, if ya okay with getting ya hair tangled and those pretty clothes all mesesd up by branches, I can’t stop ya. At the very least, put these on. They might not be quite ya size but ya feet will thank me later.”

Usagi reprimanded with a mock serious face while pulling a pair of sturdy hiking boots out of her Storage Crystal. Nanase smiled at her and proceeded to change her shoes, but not before jibing back,

“Thank you, Classmate Usagi. Although, I wore this because it was fairly plain and I would be able to sew up patches easily, I appreciate your concern.”

“Fairly…plain. I give up. We’re clearly in different wealth classes.”

Akane shared Usagi’s look of disbelief while Senji just laughed raucously on the side. Kira tried to diffuse the situation while holding back her own laughter. Although she didn’t care much about money, even she could see the humour in one noble calling herself poor compared to another.

“Usagi, I take it you’ve travelled a lot.”

“Not exactly. My clan owns a lot of undeveloped land so my family goes camping in the surrounding forests a lot. I’ve picked up on a few things, like how to dress, for example.”

Usagi replied, teasing at Nanase’s outfit once more.

“We’ll be relying on you then.”

“But of course. How else are you going to survive even one night in the wilds?”

Usagi flexed her bicep which moved slightly more than the last time Kira had seen her do it.

“We should hurry up though. With Princess Nanase looking like that, someone might ask her out soon.”

Usagi couldn't resist one last poke at Nanase. Nanase blushed furiously, not sure whether to take the comment as a compliment or an insult.

“Yeah, let’s get going girls.”

“Agreed…”

The group of five took a carriage out of Moonsilver Capital, Lunari City, and headed south-west until they reached the boundary of the Eclipse Ring Forest, a massive circular forest that stretched across the boundary between the two empires. At its centre was the place where the Twin Empires’ founders, the Wandering Moon and Sun, are said to have had their final battle and had been laid to rest. Since then, it’s said that the forest had grown around the area as if to guard the sacred site and that the residual energy from those great people had permeated the air, mutating the ordinary animals who’d begun to live in the forest into the Soul Beasts people had come to know today.

This presented a problem for people wanting to cross the border between the empires as most of the boundary existed within the forest. Also, the closer one got to the centre, the more dangerous the Soul Beasts they would encounter. This meant that the only practical option for most people was to travel around the edge of the forest.

At the same time, this made it difficult for the two empires to engage in conflict with each other as there were two separate fronts to cover and any misinformation on where the other side’s powerhouses were located could be disastrous. Hence, the relationship between the two empires had remained fairly peaceful for the last hundred years.

Kira’s group had chosen to enter from the south-eastern quadrant of the Eclipse Ring Forest as that was where their client had researched there to be the highest chance of finding a Gem-studded Armourdillo with the crystal he was looking for.

All around the perimeter of the forest were checkpoints guarded by soldiers from the empire to prevent people from infiltrating the empire through the forest as well as to regulate the type and quantity of soul beasts being killed for their resources. Kira’s team didn’t intend to kill the Armourdillo, simply to dislodge a bit of crystal to finish their job.

“Identification please.”

The guard on duty at the gate requested. Kira and the others all brought out their entry tiles, proof that they were from the Bladeworks Academy. He didn’t blink twice at the tiles themselves but his eyes widened when he noticed the two referred students’ tiles.

“I see that you don’t have a teacher with you. If you don’t mind waiting, I can organise an escort for the young sir and madams.”

He said, bowing slightly. It was known to every soldier in the empire that referred students of that academy were the future powerhouses that would lead the empire to even greater glory and should be protected at all costs.

“That won’t be necessary, senior. We don’t intend to go that far in. We’re here simply to get a piece of crystal from a Gem-studded Armourdillo and we’ll be on our way.”

The soldier sized them up, thinking.

‘Can they even pierce it’s hide?’

“Very well. You may go through. I hope you find what you need.”

Once Kira’s group was out of earshot, he turned to the soldier at his side.

“Request a special unit to watch them, code gold.”

The other soldier nodded and ran off.

After passing through the perimeter gate, a strange silence settled around Kira and the others, as if they had stepped into an altogether different world.

“The air here…it feels different somehow.”

“The natural energy is denser here than outside. If we cultivate our Soul Energy here, I estimate that at our current level it would rise twice as fast.”

Kira observed. She’d paid a lot of attention to her cultivation while training alone and the effect of cultivating in different environments was just one of the things she’d observed.

“Classmate Kira is correct. We should make the most of our time here. However, obtaining the crystal is our current priority.”

“About that, do any of you girls know where we should look? As in, do you know where it likes to live in this forest?”

Senji enquired, not joking for a change. It was Kira who spoke up. As the one who spent the most time in the library, she took it upon herself to do some research on their quarry.

“Crystals, especially those with elemental attributes, generally form in undisturbed areas with strong elemental energy or elementally-inclined natural energy. The crystal we’re looking for has a strong affinity for water, so we should search for large bodies of water or large amounts of moving water.”

“Then we should head north, north-west. I remember seeing a lake there on the map.”

Nanase hadn’t been idling either. With all the free time Teacher Midorima gave them she’d decided to be productive and help prepare for the trip, reading up on the geography of this particular section of the Ring Forest. Everyone nodded and began the trek.

“Why do we have to do so much walking?”

Usagi complained, despite her boots making traversing the forest relatively easy.

“I thought you didn’t mind being outdoors.”

Senji retorted.

“I’m a blacksmith, not a hiker.”

“And here I thought rabbits1 were quick on their feet.”

“Come closer and I’ll show ya just how quick I am!”

“Whoa, scary.”

Senji teased as he backflipped away from Usagi, who was pushing up imaginary sleeves, before sticking his tongue out at her. Together, they were following Nanase, who was leading the group through the brush. At the rear, Akane was happy to shadow Kira who taking in the forest.

Kira took a deep breath. The air was fresh and clean, more so than in any forest she’d been in before, and worlds apart from the city air she’d grown used to over the past few weeks. The Eclipse Ring Forest felt as if it still had some wildness in it, a feeling of being untouched by humanity.

‘Or maybe because it actively rejects people.’

As this thought crossed her mind, a soft rustle in the bushes, which would normally have gone unnoticed, instead screamed a warning to Kira’s sharp instincts and she drew her sword without hesitation. A gentle pressure against her back let Kira know that Akane was also ready to fight, reacting to Kira’s movements. The others turned and looked at Kira in confusion.

“Is something amiss?”

The words were barely out of Nanase’s mouth when a blur of green shot out from the underbrush and towards her face. Kira reacted swiftly. Knowing she was too far away to block it, she slashed out.

‘Wind Rending.’

The green blur, sensing danger, surprisingly changed directions in midair to avoid the energy slash and instead headed towards the ground. Now that it had slowed down, everyone could see that it was a green snake with a pair of small, white, bat-like wings a third of the way down from its head. On its forehead was a red triangle of scales that reflected the light as it hissed at Kira in frustration before slithering away. Kira watched it go and, when she couldn’t pick up any physical signs of it returning, sheathed her sword.

“Just now, that was an N-Gon Winged Viper, wasn’t it?”

Nanase asked, her voice shaky. She hadn’t noticed the viper approach nor had she realised her life was in danger until after the danger had passed. Kira nodded.

“We were lucky it was only a Tri-gon Winged Viper or it wouldn’t have respected my attack as much. We should get into a proper formation. Usagi take the front, Senji and Akane on the sides and Nanase in the middle. I’ll take the rear.”

In this way, Kira’s group continued cautiously in the direction Nanase had indicated earlier.

1 Play on Usagi’s name, which literally means ‘rabbit’