In the school cafeteria, the young man could be seen eating quietly, wearing sunglasses unlike his usual appearance.
—(This apprentice ability is too powerful... but it makes going outside complicated now)—Thanks to his ability, Shoun's default energy detection sense as an apprentice had been enhanced, allowing him to register any type of energy, not just spiritual as usual, within a 30-kilometer radius. Energy was present everywhere, from the light energy in sunlight to the thermal energy emitted by living beings. This concentration of energy kept Shoun in a constant state of dizziness. The most he could do was suppress his sense to 5 meters, his maximum, but it didn't completely solve the problem—(Oddly enough, I feel better in the mirror world than here... though I still prefer living here).
Soon Robin and Sein joined him at the table, both sharing a knowing smile.
—Hey guys... What are you two plotting?
—Oh nothing, we're just excited about Sein's promotion.
—Yeah yeah, plus I prepared something special to surprise you and Deuz.
—...Okay? Just don't do anything more dangerous, remember today you'll face a wretch for the first time.
—Hehe—Without answering directly, the boy began eating, which worried Shoun a little.
Later in a familiar government facility, little Sein could be seen doing various stretches while Deuz, Shoun and Robin watched him prepare for his test.
—Are you worried?—asked the boy in the beret, seeing Shoun's concerned face.
—...I'd be lying if I said no.
—Don't worry Shoun, our friend is more than ready. Kaze and I are very confident after helping him with his training.
—I hope so... By the way, what did he mean when he said he had an ace up his sleeve?
—He wanted it to be a surprise for you, just watch and admire, because it looks like it's about to begin—As if confirming the scientist's words, a red dome covered the entire training area. Dust rose and began forming Sein's opponent.
The boy gripped his golden sword tightly while carefully observing his black gloves, the gift Shoun had given him the first time he went to the mirror world. They looked much more worn and faded now, which was normal considering all the battles he'd been through with Clover Flush.
—(I've come so far, I won't disappoint them)—Clutching his sword with both hands, he looked at his opponent. The vestige being formed by the dust was a collection of bones. Its lower part resembled a serpent's tail, its middle was an open ribcage from which large, sharp bones extended. The skull was a bunch of seemingly unrelated bones, with the notable feature of disgusting bulging eyes that protruded from their sockets, barely held together by a thin purple line.
When the bone formation was complete, it immediately shot toward Sein. The boy remained calm, activating his ability to enhance himself and adding the spiritual energy boost to his body. Thanks to this, when he charged at his opponent, he could match its speed perfectly.
The golden sword and the vestige's bony arms clashed, causing sparks to fly from the impact. As if testing each other's strength, both maintained their positions for a moment before the vestige broke the stalemate by leveraging its arms, forcing both the sword and its sharp bones back. But since its massive arms weren't its only weapons, it could continue its attack.
Opening its ribcage even wider, it approached the boy again, wanting to crush him within its bones. Sein, who had expected this, reacted quickly. Activating his ability again, the golden sword began to glow, causing the vestige's entire body to emit smoke, showing clear signs of deterioration.
Due to the attack, the wretch retreated momentarily, giving Sein a chance to catch his breath.
—Haaah...haaah—The brief respite didn't last long. Like a spring, the vestige shot forward again, this time spreading its arms wide, planning to surround the boy and put him in a difficult position where he would almost certainly get hurt—(This is exactly the opportunity I wanted to show my new technique!).
Almost eagerly awaiting the vestige's attack, the boy prepared himself. When the impact was just a few meters away, Sein did something surprising and seemingly stupid. He threw his sword.
—Huh!?—Shoun shouted in surprise, afraid that Sein's "butter fingers" had returned at the worst moment, but this was quickly disproven.
Like a battering ram, the sword flew through the air and struck one of the vestige's extended arms, severing it. Without giving it time to react, Sein was already running toward it. He opened his right hand and activated his ability one last time. A beam of light surrounded his hand, forming a large, lethal blade. Seizing the perfect moment, he lunged at the vestige and cut off its head. The Codex quickly echoed his feat.
[You have slain the "Mortal Fossil," a wretch]
[You have completed the promotion test. Congratulations, apprentice!]
The moment Sein read the message, his body exploded in white light, marking the moment he became an apprentice.
—You did it Sein, you scared me when you threw your sword!—Everyone ran to him, and soon the boy's neck was caught in Shoun's strong grip.
—Stop, stop!
—You did well Sein, congratulations.
—That's right, just as predicted, Shoun was really surprised by your new trick.
—By the way, how did you come up with that?
—Well... I always use my sword to channel my powers, mainly because it's more comfortable and simpler for how I use it. But Robin made me realize that because of that, I might be missing other uses for my abilities. That was one of them. It's not like I can control an element like you or Deuz, but I can shape my ability to some extent. So it can be a projectile, an enhancement/attack zone, or even a deadly blade... though I imagine if I use it on you guys, it'll still give the buff.
—Quite ingenious—Deuz finally declared, nodding at how the boy had discovered this aspect of his ability.
—Hehe, time for the good part. Tell us right here what you got—Robin took out his tablet and prepared to write. He didn't take them to the truth-detection room since it wasn't necessary.
—Right, give me a second!—Sein hurriedly opened his status window. After a moment, his eyes shone with clear excitement—I got a Grade A ability!
—That's great! What does it do?
—It says here... it's called "Dawn's Guardian." From what I understand of its description, it's a shield I can place on myself and my allies. The damage allies receive will be minimized and transferred to the central shield, which would be mine... It accumulates that damage and can eventually release it as either a healing wave or a destructive attack. Finally, it seems to suggest that the stronger my willpower, the more resilient my shield will be... or so I think. Honestly, I didn't quite understand that part.
—Typical of you... Anyway, that should be enough for the report—Robin finished writing on his tablet and turned back to Sein—It's a good ability. Your skills are certainly a rare hybrid between being a tank, healer, support role, and to some extent an attacker—quite unusual, to say the least.
—Indeed, though I think Sein stands out more for his support side, mainly because all his abilities can do that, except the golden sword—added the boy in the beret.
—I suppose. So what now? Want to celebrate or something else?
—Let's go to... you know where—Sein started to say "mirror world" but stopped himself when he saw everyone's looks.
—I was about to suggest we go there too! I planned something very useful for this weekend!—Everyone agreed with Robin. After completing all the legal formalities, they returned to Shoun's house, where they told Kaze everything that had happened before heading to the mirror world, guided by Robin to the training room.
—Alright Robin, we're all here. What did you plan?—asked the young man as he lined up horizontally with the others, all looking at Robin.
—Well, I realized you don't know exactly what your capabilities are, both physically and ability-wise, as shown by Sein not knowing about his newest technique. So I decided to run some tests to see what you're capable of and determine your optimal roles. Plus, the top performer gets candy—Robin suggested these tests despite the difference in their levels mainly because level improvements didn't significantly affect the final results.
—Sounds good!
—I don't see why not.
—Works for me—After Shoun agreed, Kaze also confirmed with his usual nod.
—Great, I'll be overseeing all the tests. First, let's start with a physical test—Using the base's equipment, they provided various weights to test lifting strength. They also tested pushing force and destructive power. Considering only abilities, the one who came out on top in this area was unsurprisingly Shoun, thanks to his enhancement being much more powerful than that of a normal apprentice, even surpassing the second-place finisher in the category—Sein with his spiritual energy enhancement and ability buff—by a wide margin. The young man could lift about 40 tons and destroy reinforced steel walls provided by the base, while Sein could only lift half that and barely dent the wall. As an extra test in this area, it was shown that Sein's ability increased Shoun's base strength by a total of 25%, meaning when the young man applied his own enhancement, it would be even greater.
The second test was speed. This resulted in a tie between Kaze, Shoun, and Deuz, but for different reasons. Starting with Shoun again, he was capable of reaching great speeds thanks to his enhancements and Balance Voltage Impulse, even surpassing Kaze with his cloak. The problem was that if he reached those speeds, he couldn't change direction, making that speed ineffective in combat. Deuz wasn't as fast as the other two, but thanks to being able to teleport from shadow to shadow, he could cover the same or greater distance in less time. Finally, Sein, even with his double enhancement, couldn't compete with the others, coming in last.
The flexibility test was a tie between Deuz and Sein. The boy in the beret, with his ability, could serve as attack, defense, and support in certain situations, and he could do so at long ranges, not just close range like Sein, who with his abilities served as healer, attacker, and tank.
The final round of tests was endurance. Shoun didn't participate in the stamina test for obvious reasons. In that test, Deuz won again thanks to his spiritual energy regeneration in shadows, but the margin wasn't large. In the physical endurance tests, the winner was Sein, followed by Shoun. Again, Shoun could show higher defense momentarily, but it wasn't sustainable over time, which unlike in the speed test, cost him the victory this time.
—Alright, averaging these tests, it seems the undisputed winner is Shoun! Congratulations!—With that, Robin tossed him a piece of candy. The young man, who didn't really want it, gave it to Sein, who was already drooling over it—Now, outside of the competition, I must say most of you are exceptional. Even though Shoun left you far behind in the physical tests, your results indicate you're still ahead of the average apprentice. And as for you, Shoun, if someone saw your stats, they'd think you were a Dominator—one of the weakest, but a Dominator nonetheless—With that, Robin displayed everyone's results in a hologram.
—(These results don't fully reflect my limits. I can't maintain that speed or strength throughout an entire battle. If I tried, my body would break. So in reality, while I'm stronger than the average apprentice, I don't think I can even approach Rank 3, at least not consistently)—Even though the results weren't entirely accurate to reality, they still confirmed the capabilities Shoun believed he had.
—One last thing, Shoun. Your apprentice ability's capabilities should have shown better results in the flexibility test. Is there a reason why that wasn't the case?—The scientist knew how energy types worked, so he could clearly visualize how Shoun could take advantage of them through his ability. Despite that, Shoun hadn't done so during the tests.
—...Give me your hand—Shoun offered his hand to Robin. Without much hesitation, the scientist took it, but after a few seconds, he pulled away with a shout.
—Ah!