Burn your bridges,

To break the night.

Burn your bridges,

To win a fight...

“I’ll head to Rodrick’s office to see if there’s anything he wants me to do before the meeting.” Rai said.

“Do you want me to come with you?”

“You can if you want. I get that it might be awkward waiting with them, so if you’re more comfortable-”

“I’m coming then.”

Rai wore a gentle expression. He figured that Sin would’ve wanted to avoid as much awkwardness as possible before the meeting. Which would inevitably be awkward.

*Knock knock*

“Come in.” Came Rodrick’s voice from inside.

Rai opened the door.

Then his heart sank. As did Sin’s.

What met their vision was not just the headmaster. But a man with pure white hair, pure white wings, and incredibly pale skin. The room was heavy, simply from his presence alone. He turned around as Rai and Sin stood in the doorway.

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you two. I’m sure you already know this, but my name is Amon.”

Neither of them knew how to react.

“Come now, do not be scared. I may be an Aspect, but I promise not to bite.” He said with a wink.

Rai felt it with his very being. This was not the same Amon that he’d seen on the crystalakrum before. Neither was it any other type of Amon that he’d heard about.

That could only mean one thing.

It was a performance.

Two can play at that game...

“Ahem. It’s great to meet you too sir! I’m Rai!”

“Nice to meet you Rai. I hope I haven’t spooked your friend too much.”

Sin was still in shock.

Rai put his arm around her, yanking her out of her stupor.

“Not at all! She’s just shy around new people, that’s all.”

“I see...”

Rodrick popped his head around from the standing Amon’s frame.

“He’s been wanting to meet you two since the evaluation, Rai. Do indulge in a little conversation, will you?” He asked.

“No problem. What would you like to talk about, sir?”

“Please, you can call me Amon.”

Sin was broken out of her stupor already, and she realised what Rai was doing. If she got the opportunity, Sin would try to do the same thing.

“As for what I would like to talk about... hmm... There is a lot for us to discuss, Rai.”

“Well, I’m all ears!”

“In that case... let’s start with the most important question. Where did you learn to use lightning?”

“Hmm... that’s easy! I taught myself.”

Amon’s eyes seemed to blink a tad bit faster than normal for a few seconds while he processed the last 3 words that Rai had just dropped on him.

“You... taught yourself?”

“Yeah.”

“Interesting. So you were born with the ability to use lightning?”

“... I suppose you could say that.”

“So it’s not from a grimoire... I’ll let you in on a little secret here, Rai. Lightning is known as a fundamental type of mana. The last lightning user died from his own lightning because it was so dangerous. The fact that you seem to have tamed it so perfectly is... impressive.”

“Thank you, Amon. But that can’t be the only reason that you’re interested in me.”

“No, it is.”

“... What?”

“I have no other reason to talk to you. You’re... a potential, but that’s all you are right now. Until you can scale up your abilities, I have no reason to seek you out any further.”

“But... didn’t I hurt your sons? I was wor-”

“So long as you stay on your side of the road... I will have no reason to intervene. A petty squabble means nothing, as long as you leave it at that. Am I clear?”

Rai nodded. Amon’s tone was heavy, so he would rather not push it any further.

“Good... now... to you, little Raven.” Amon turned to Sin.

She steeled herself, mentally preparing to give away as little as possible to this man.

“I believe the last time I saw you was... around 8 years ago. When you were 10 years old. Back then, Hiron couldn’t keep his eyes off you. But, alas, your choice is your own. I do hope you do not bear any ill-will towards him for that. He was young and stupid.”

The way he talks to Sin is completely different... Since she’s another Aspect’s daughter, he can’t just throw out non-verbal threats all willy-nilly.

“N-not at all Mr. Whin. The Hiron of today is not as... troublesome as he was back then.”

“Hahaha. I like that. It appears my idiot son might actually make something of himself yet.”

“Might I ask, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?”

“Oh, nothing too egregious. You and this boy have showcased your potential in obtaining 2 unique techniques. This would, of course, be nothing special if you had done so after graduating from the Academy... but to do it now... I must say that I am very impressed.”

“Is... is that all? I am flattered, thank you very much.”

“I would ask you to come and work under the Justice clan.”

“... I’m sorry... could you repeat that?”

“I will not. You heard the offer, but you refuse to believe its truth.”

“I-... I suppose you are right. I did hear it... but I simply do not see how that...”

“Makes sense? You are the daughter of an Aspect. It would make no sense if I had not given you this offer.”

“Then I must respectfully refuse your offer.”

“... Why?” Amon snarled, letting out some of his venom unintentionally.

“Mr. Whin... I am still a student. I still have to attend the Academy and complete my studies. I cannot, in good conscience, push my studies aside to join the workforce of another clan. I hope you understand.”

“I see... perhaps you think that you are in a position to make such statements. Make no mistake, little Raven, the Justice clan is the only option for you. I hope you reconsider before I take the offer off the table.”

“What is that supposed to mean? You are aware that you are insulting my clan, right here and now?” Sin said, anger creeping into her voice.

“Yes. I am very aware. Whether you come to see the truth depends on you. The offer stands until the day before the Summit. Do consider it a bit more than you have just now, as it is most definitely in your best interest to do so.”

Amon turned to the headmaster.

“I am leaving.”

He glided along the floor in a way that looked altogether unnatural, and left Rodrick’s office.

“Well... that didn’t sound good...” Rodrick said. “I may not know about the pressures you children of Aspects face, but if you need time away from the Academy to deal with this then you have my permission as the headmaster.”

Sin wasn’t expecting Rodrick to be so supportive, but this wasn’t a matter that he should speak about. Lest he find himself in trouble with the Arbiter.

“I appreciate the words, headmaster... but keep yourself out of conflicts between Aspects. I will be fine, and can talk to my father about this after the briefing.”

“Very well. Remember that I’m here to help if anything happens.”

“Thank you.”

“Now then... assuming you’re fine with where things stand, let’s talk about something else. I heard that you all hosted a ‘tournament’ of sorts to figure out who should lead your society.”

“Yep.” Rai said. “I won the tournament. So I got elected as the leader... but I have no idea about leading.”

“Ah it’s fine Rai, that sort of thing will come to you with time and experience.”

“I see... well, I wanted to come here in the first place to see if there’s anything you wanted me to do before the briefing.”

“Oh. Hmm... Actually... there is something you could do for me. You see, the dungeon that you’ll be attending is intended for intermediate adventurers. I still don’t know how capable the society is yet, but in the past we’ve been able to handle intermediate dungeons without a problem. Could you give me your opinion on the group? A basic rundown of everyone’s strengths and weaknesses, if you can.”

“Hmm... where to start. Well, I suppose I’ll start with myself.

I’m strong, fast, and I can act quickly. But, I don’t have many hard-hitting or long ranged spells, like Sin. I also don’t have many defensives that work well against creatures or beasts. But, Sin makes up for my weaknesses with her own strengths. She’s insanely strong. Not as fast as I am, but she has incredible defence and incredible offence. We function well both individually, and as a duo.

The others are a bit more difficult to break down, since I haven’t fought that much either with or against them.

Feris seems incredibly versatile, but he also doesn’t seem to have anything that stands out as a major strength. Though, maybe his versatility could be considered his major strength.

Amy and Lina are amazing at healing, buffing, and shielding. They support the group well enough to sustain us during fights, and their mana pools seem to keep up well.

Maya seems like she’d do well into humanoids, or keeping the supports well defended. I noticed when we fought the leviathan, and in the moment prior to it, she felt way more comfortable going up against a human than she did against the monster.

Hiron is someone I see as a wildcard. He’ll fight when he feels like it, but he doesn’t have any motivation for doing so. Thanks for that, by the way.” Rai said with a slightly peeved off expression.

Rodrick grinned back at him cheekily.

“As for Tullian...

He’s good but he lacks mental presence. If he gets emotional in any way then he’ll freeze up, not knowing what to do and flailing around without thinking. Without someone micromanaging him in those situations... he won’t achieve much.”

“That’s... interesting. I’m happy to hear almost all of that information, as it gives me confidence in the well-roundedness of your group for the expeditions to come. But Tullian... Joey’s been observing him in his lessons, and he seems to think that Tullian carries a mental strength to him. You’re saying the opposite?”

“Not necessarily. He might have a mental strength in situations where he’s already comfortable, but whenever he has to deal with real pressure, Tullian seems to break down.”

“I see... Right.” Rodrick got up. “Thank you for breaking it down for me. I’ll use this information to set up the team allocations for the dungeon. Come, let’s go to the next room and meet with the others.”

Rai and Sin had to prepare themselves. They didn’t want to deal with the awkwardness, but now that it was happening they had no choice.

Rodrick opened the door to his classroom. Everyone was there, dressed in their casual clothes...

Except Tullian.