After challenging [Taurus] and obtaining the [Bull Ring], our party gained another permanent member, my little sister, Honoka. But suddenly, while still in the [Yellow Path], a straight long road with lots of tall yellow trees in both road-sides, a familiar boy suddenly called us. The time is now at high noon. With his appearance, both Honoka and I got really surprised and happy at the same time.

“Long time no see,” the boy wearing a black ninja outfit suddenly said with a smile.

“R-rave?” I reacted with a surprised expression.

“So you have an armor now. It looks good on you,” he said as he looks at the one I’m wearing.

“Rave, long time no see!” Honoka reacted with a happy face.

“Look at you, Honoka. You’re now much beautiful compared to the last time I saw you,” Rave commented with a smile.

“Jeez, you’re still like that,” Honoka replied and chuckled.

“Anyway, let me introduce you to my partner. Come on, Kumi,” Rave said and looked at the girl behind him.

Kumi then went beside him shyly and whispered, “M-my...name is...Kumi. N-Nice to meet you.”

Then, Kumi immediately hid behind Rave again.

“Sorry. This girl is really shy around strangers,” Rave explained.

“So she’s still the same as usual,” I said and looked at Rave.

“Well, she improved a little at least compared to the first time i met her,” Rave followed.

“Anyway, why are you two here?” I asked.

“You see,” Rave said with a sudden boasting smile. “We’re here because--”

“Hey! Rave! How dare you left us behind like that!” a girl in pigtails wearing a white armor complained as she runs towards us.

“Well, we caught up so…all is well now,” a girl behind the first girl said with a sleepy expression and a yawn. She’s wearing a blue ponchos and brown boots.

“You guys took a while,” Rave said and laughed.

“You’re just too fast!” the girl in pigtails retorted in a bad mood.

“Anyway, let me introduce you. This hot-headed girl is Shikaze. And this girl with droopy eyes is Aori.”

“I’m Aori. Nice to meet you,” the sleepy girl in ponchos said and and once again yawned.

“Who are these two?” Shikaze said and looked at the two of us.

“I’m Raiki, nice to meet you,” I introduced myself in a friendly tone.

“And I’m Honoka. Nice to meet you,” Honoka followed similarly.

“Since you’ve introduced yourselves, I guess it can’t be helped. I’ll let you know what my name is. I’m Shikaze of the Southern Wind Tribe. Be grateful for becoming my acquaintance,” she said proudly with a smile.

What’s up with this somewhat conceited girl? Rave already introduced you, you know. Anyway, it’s my first time hearing about the Southern Wind Tribe.

“Sorry about her. She’s really boastful,” Rave said with a tired expression.

“We don’t really mind, right?” I asked to Honoka.

“Yes,” Honoka agreed with a slight forced smile.

“So...continuing what I want to say earlier…the truth is…” Rave continued with a sudden serious expression.

“…”

“…”

“I am now a 4th rank soldier!” Rave followed with a big smile and showed me the rings on his right hand.

“That’s--!” I reacted with a surprised expression after seeing the [Archer Ring], [Bull Ring] and [Scorpion Ring] on his hand. “Amazing!”

“Jeez, you’re making me blush. Anyway, these three girls are my current [weapons]. They are really strong, you know,” Rave continued proudly.

“Ohh~ You see, I also have a total of three [weapons] now,” I followed.

“Really? Then, how about a battle?” Rave excitedly suggested.

“A battle, huh. It’s been a while since both of us did that,” I replied enthusiastically.

“These two...” Honoka whispered with a smile.

“You’re right. So…is it fine with you?” Rave asked.

“Of course. But first, let’s go to Ciana and the others. Then, we can start,” I answered.

“Alright! Let’s hurry!” Rave followed excitedly.

After walking for minutes, we finally arrived at the place where I left Ciana and the others earlier. After greeting each other, we decided to start the battle.

“So let’s start?” I asked with an excited smile.

“Yeah!” Rave replied with a similar expression as mine.

“[Iwa]!” I shouted.

“At your service,” Iwa replied with a serious expression and became a shield on my left arm.

“[Aori]!” Rave called.

“Right, right,” Aori replied with her usual sleepy expression and became a sword with a light blue blade and an azure handle.

“Iwa, what is [Aori]’s level?” I asked.

(I think it’s at level 54.)

“So it’s at level 54, huh. You are currently at level 53 so we need to be careful.”

(As you wish.)

“Long-range mode: Blaster!” I shouted and a cannon appeared on top of my shield.

“Ohhh~. [Clay Morph], huh,” Rave reacted with an amazed expression.

“It’s too early to be surprised! [Earth Blast]!” I replied and a lump of compressed soil got fired towards him.

*boooooooooooom*

When the smoke lifted, a wall of ice appeared and got shattered.

“[Atlantic Fence],” Rave whispered and continued, “It’s my turn!”

“Shield Mode: Protector!” I immediately ordered and [Iwa] transformed back into an ordinary bronze kite shield.

Rave then pointed his sword right above me and yelled, “[Avalanche]!”

“Oh no!” I reacted and moved my shield above me.

Suddenly, a pile of snow appeared with an amazing speed and buried me completely.

“But…” Rave whispered and started running towards the newly-formed mountain of snow.

*BOOOOOOOOOM*

With that attack, I successfully blasted the snow covering me, by delivering a [Bronze Smash] on the ground. The attack was so strong that the snow got blown away all over the place.

“I know that you’re capable of enduring that [special attack]!” Rave yelled and jumped towards me. Before I know it, he is now before me, already in a swinging position.

“[Wall--]” I yelled in panic.

“[Freezing Slice]!” Rave shouted and I got slashed by the attack.

“Ughhhhhh!” I reacted and knelt on the ground.

What is with that attack? My whole body became numb instantly.

“That’s the effect of [Freezing Slice]. With that, your astonishing [speed] is no longer a threat!” Rave announced.

“Long-range Mode: Blaster!” I shouted and pointed the cannon towards Rave.

“[Atlantic Fence]!” Rave yelled and a wall of ice appeared before him.

“[Earth Blast]!!! Full power!!!!!”

*KA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

As the smoke starts to disperse, Rave said, “[Atlantic Fence] can negate any attacks so you just wasted all of [Iwa]’s Magic Power. With that, you’re—”

“Hammer-mode: Whacker.”

“Wha—” Rave reacted after hearing that and looked around the smokescreen-filled area.

When the smoke lifted, I appeared on his right side and shouted, “[Log Pound]!”

“Oh no!” Rave reacted, surprised.

“Take this!” I shouted and landed a critical hit on his [Aori].

*boooooooooooom*

(Did we...win?) Iwa asked as the smoke generated by our attack covers our opponent. When it lifted, we got surprised that [Aori] is still in [weapon mode].

“But...that’s a critical hit...” I whispered with widened eyes.

“Yeah...[Aori] managed to withstood it. If that attack is slightly stronger than that, then [Aori] would have failed to maintain her [weapon form] now but...” Rave muttered and jumped up and made a swinging pose.

“Shoot!” I reacted in surprise.

“[Freezing Slice]!” Rave yelled and landed a critical hit on [Iwa].

(Sorry...Raiki...) Iwa apologized and transformed back to her original form.

“[Ciana]!” I immediately called.

“Leave it to me!” Ciana replied in a serious look and immediately transformed into a sickle in my left hand.

“What?” Rave reacted, clearly caught-off guard because of [Ciana]’s fast transformation.

“[Light Slash]!” I shouted and landed a clean hit on [Aori]. It was enough to make Aori transform into a blue light and be sent to Rave’s [weapons]’ standby-area.

“I leave the rest to you,” Aori said to Rave and yawned while sitting on the ground.

“I guess that’s one win for the both of us but it’s too early to know what will be the outcome of this match,” Rave said and drew out his right hand forward.

“We’ll see about that,” I replied with a smile.

“[Shikaze]!” Rave shouted.

“Any opponent that stands on my way…will be beaten without mercy,” Shikaze announced with an arrogant smirk and transformed into a green light.

“Do you really have to say that every time you transform?” Rave asked and a white long staff appeared on his left hand. He then swung it around with his two hands and pointed it towards me.

“Ciana, can I let Honoka handle this match?” I asked to Ciana.

(Sure) Ciana replied and transformed back to the position she was standing at earlier.

“[Honoka]!” I followed.

“I’ll definitely win!” Honoka replied and transformed into a red light. After circling a few times on my left hand, she transformed into a katana with a black handle.

“So that is Honoka’s [weapon mode],” Rave commented.

“Yeah,” I responded.

“Then, come!” Rave followed, ready for us.

I then bended my knees and whispered, “[Flame Thrust].”

*swoooooooosh*

“Woah!” Rave reacted and rode his staff. Before I know it, he dodged my quick attack by flying up.

“Are you…kidding me?” I reacted with a surprised face while looking up. Rave is now floating while sitting on his staff.

“Is this your first time seeing this? It is called [Air Ride], it lets me float and glide in mid-air. Amazing, right?”

“Now we’re at a disadvantage. Honoka, can you release a fire power strong enough to lift me and fly around?” I asked.

(Don’t ask for the impossible, jeez.)

“Now, taste this,” Rave said and flew straight up.

“I’ve got a bad feeling about this,” I muttered to myself and readied my sword for an attack.

Rave then pointed his staff towards me and because he is no longer riding his staff, he started falling straight down.

“[Kamikaze]!” he shouted and a very large tornado appeared before me. It was so huge that dodging or running away from it is not even an option.

“What kind of [special attack] is that?” I shouted and took the tornado head-on.

“With that, it’s my victory,” Rave whispered after landing on the ground in a kneeling position.

“Gahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahh!” I shouted as tons of razor wind struck me back and forth.

When the attack vanished, I collapsed on the ground and [Honoka] returned back to the standby-area, unable to maintain her [weapon form] anymore.

“Raiki!” Ciana and Iwa called while on the standby-area.

“What a strong attack,” Honoka whispered and stood up weakly.

I then stood up feebly and said, “What a destructive attack.”

“You’re one tough opponent alright. And here I though you can no longer stand-up,” Rave said with a slight surprised face.

“Well, somehow…”

“That’s the strongest [wind magic] attack, you know. You really are something,” Rave commented with a smile.

“I’m surprised that she already has that move. She’s still at level 55, right?” I asked.

“Yeah. Amazing, isn’t it?” Rave asked to me.

“But [Shikaze] isn’t the only one who can make the opponent unable to battle with one attack. [Ciana]!” I called and she transformed into a sickle on my left hand once again. “[Heaven Strike]!”

Before Rave realized it, I got teleported behind him and [Shikaze] transformed back without even realizing the sudden damage that [Ciana] inflicted to her.

“Did I just...lose?” Shikaze whispered, clearly surprised.

“That attack is really unfair,” Rave complained with squinty eyes.

“That attack has a 50-50 chance of landing, you know,” I responded.

“Right, right. So, let’s start the final battle,” Rave said and smiled.

“Of course,” I replied with serious eyes even though I’ve got lots of bruises all over me and my armor can no longer defend me in its state because of the sudden [kamikaze] from earlier.

“I see. But I will win this so prepare yourself,” Rave replied with a smirk.

“I’ll say the same thing to you. Let’s win this, Ciana,” I muttered.

(Yeah.)

“[Kumi]!” Rave shouted and a black dagger appeared on his right hand. So Kumi is also at level 55 just like Ciana.

Anyway, I need to blind them first. That way, inflicting the first blow will be my feat.

“[White Out]!” I shouted and the whole area got lit by a very bright light.

“Kumi, do it!”

Suddenly, the blinding light that [Ciana] created got swallowed by darkness and got negated completely.

“What?” I reacted with an astounded look.

“That’s the [ability] that we recently discovered, [Magic Glutton],” Rave said with a smile.

“Magic…glutton,” I repeated.

(That’s…)

“Ciana…do you know that?” I asked.

(Yeah. With that, they can no longer be affected by any [light magic] attack for a whole day.)

“What?” I reacted, shocked.

“This ability can neglect all of the [special attack] of the [magic] it ate for the day. And the magic [Kumi] ate for today is no other than that [light magic] of Ciana! Meaning, we won’t be affected by any [light magic] in our battle now!”

“Jeez. And here I thought I can use all of Ciana’s [special attacks] to the fullest,” I complained but still smiled at the end.

“Do you still think that you can beat us?” rave asked, also smiling.

“Of course!” I said and ran as fast as I can towards him. Before he knew it, I am now before him ready to swing my sickle.

“Bring it on!” Rave replied and our weapons clashed.

*spark*

“You clearly got stronger compared to last time,” Rave said with an amused face.

“Same to you,” I replied with a smile.

Our blades clashed multiple times while trying our best to over-power each other.

(Raiki, do you have a plan? At this rate, we will surely lose given Kumi’s [ability].)

[Magic Glutton] can now cancel all of [Ciana]’s [special attacks] so…wait. That’s it!

“[Teleport]!” I shouted and appeared behind Rave in a blink of an eye.

(That’s right! You can use any attacks as long as it isn’t directed to your opponent…just like [Teleport].)

“Shoot!” Rave reacted and made a defensive stance with his dagger after turning around.

“[Switch]!” I shouted and hit his dagger as hard as I can.

*BOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

“Not…bad,” Rave suddenly said.

When the smoke lifted, I saw that [Kumi] managed to endure our attack.

“But…I’ll be the winner this time!” he shouted and disappeared.

(Raiki, behind you!)

This attack…[Shadow Sneak]! I can’t move again!

“[Dark Blade]!” he shouted and I got sliced from behind. I then collapsed on the floor.

I then looked at [Ciana] who is still at my left hand.

(Raiki? Are you okay?)

“Sorry Ciana. This battle...is my lost...” I whispered and lost consciousness.

When I opened my eyes, I found myself lying on a carriage with Ruby right beside my head. It looks like I’ve been carried here and we already got a destination to go without me knowing.

*ruu!* Ruby reacted and licked my face.

“Sorry that I made you worry, Ruby,” I said as I pet him with a smile.

“Raiki,” Ciana, Iwa and Honoka reacted with a smile after seeing me finally conscious.

I immediately lifted my upper body upright and found everyone sitting. The ones sitting on my left side are Ciana, Iwa, Honoka and Darkness while the one sitting on the opposite side are Kumi, Shikaze and Aori.

“Are you fine now?” Ciana asked with a worried face.

“Yeah, just a little tired from the battle earlier,” I replied with a smile.

“Here, Raiki,” Iwa said and offered me a [banapple drink].

“Thanks,” I muttered and drank it. “Anyway, where are we?”

“Well, apparently, you finally have your first mission as a soldier,” Honoka explained.

“Mission?” I reacted with a surprised face.

“Yeah. You and I have a mission to guard God [Scorpio]’s [weapon],” Rave suddenly answered, sitting in the front beside the owner of the carriage controlling the horses that pull us.

“God [Scorpio]?” I reacted, surprised.

“Here we are,” the owner of the carriage said and the horses stopped. We are now back at the central area of [Taurus Empire]. We then got off the carriage and Rave paid him.

“Let’s now head to the meeting place. I’ll explain the details while we’re walking,” Rave said and we started walking.

“So why do we need to guard God [Scorpio]’s [weapon] so suddenly?” I asked.

“Apparently, God [Scorpio] received a threat letter. It said that the sender will kill his [weapon] before he got out of this Empire,” Rave explained with a serious face.

“What?” me, including my party reacted with a surprised face.

“That is why we three soldiers got assigned as guards so they can safely return to [Scorpio Empire],” Rave continued.

“Three?” I repeated with a confused look. “Who is the other one?”

“He is already at God [Scorpio]’s place. Here we are,” Rave said after stopping in front of a high-class Inn. It is a 20-floor building and is said to be the most luxurious Inn here at [Taurus Empire]. “Anyway, let’s enter.”

We then entered the building and after Rave talked with the Inn Keeper, the guards allowed us to ride the lift.

“So this is an elevator,” I muttered to myself.

At the corner of the hall, there’s a big metal plate with a cylinder at one side of it. The lift can be ridden by around ten people. We then rode it and when Rave pushed a button on top of the cylindrical pole with a height half of Rave, the pole emitted a blue light and we got lifted slowly to the highest floor.

“Cool,” Honoka reacted as she watches the lift ascend.

“Rave, do you know the [rare loot] that powers this so called ‘elevator’?” I asked curiously.

“Nope. But this lift is really amazing, isn’t it?” Rave said with a smile.

“Yeah,” I replied with a smile.

After reaching the destination floor, we then walked towards [Scorpio]’s room. Rave then stopped in front of a big door and said, “We’re here.”

I then remembered the time when I met [Scorpio], when he killed Darkness’ [wielder], [Dark Ripper].When I looked at Darkness, she just gave me her usual emotionless eyes. I wonder if it’s just okay to let Darkness meet God [Scorpio] so suddenly.

Rave then opened the big door and what welcomed us is a guy wearing a black eye patch, standing. He is also wearing a yellow light armor.

“You must be Raiki, right?” he asked with a gentle smile.

“Y-yeah,” I replied with a slight nervous expression.

“Don’t be nervous because we’re both 5th rank soldier, you know.”

“I see. Sorry about that,” I said and laughed.

“My name is Arron, nice to meet you,” he said and drew out his right hand.

“Me too,” I replied and shook it.

“Hey, Raiki. I heard that you completely defeated Toru in his empire challenge. Now I’m excited to battle you,” God [Scorpio] suddenly said with a smile as he walks towards me.

“I still got a long way to go before I can challenge you,” I replied with a bow.

“Anyway, your mission is to guard my partner, Rosanna,” he continued and looked at the girl behind him. It is a girl with dark red hair and wearing a black suit.

“Yes, Sir!” all three of us replied with a salute.

She then bowed to us and said “I’m leaving my safety to you” in a serious tone.

“Raiki, Arron, remember that Lady Rosanna’s life is more important than ours. Let’s defend her with all of our strength so they can leave safely tomorrow,” Rave said with a serious expression.

“Yeah,” Arron and I replied with determined look on our faces.