Under the moonlight, Ivy and Wrath made small talk. The two could sense themselves through each other. It kinda felt weird, like talking to their future/past self. Ivy smiled as she stood up and waved Wrath goodbye. She expected Wrath to disappear back to her team, but instead, the petite girl decided to stay with Ivy. Ivy wanted to say something but kept it to herself.
The two slowly walked back to the dorm when they were intercepted by the rest of Wrath's team. Ivy didn't hold anything against the team. She was slightly worried about Wrath since it's possible that her skills may get to her head. Wrath silently sighed before walking towards her group, she slightly lifted her lips and formed a smile.
Blake noticed Wrath's sudden changed and smiled at Ivy. Ivy tilted her head before shrugging. Blake snorted before saying, "If you don't mind Ivy, I would like to see what kind of combat prowess you have. Considering that you have changed from the past, you may have a different role than scout and recon."
Ivy eyed Zane and Aaron as she suspected the rest knew what happened. The only person Ivy was slightly concern about knowing her past was Ruby. Ivy wasn't ignorant. She knew that Ruby was helping in the shadows, but Ivy didn't know why Ruby was focusing so much on her and not the academy. Sighing, she opened her mouth at Blake, "If you can relay a message for me. Tell Ruby to stop focusing so much on me, or else she will leave small gaps that will soon help her enemies infiltrate the academy. Also, come by tomorrow, I have a class that fighting against monsters with a few of my teammates."
("New teammates? Already...does her past...no. It still does haunt her, she has already limited her interaction, and most of her actions aren't even the full power. Ivy is being extremely cautious, so she doesn't repeat history,") Aaron thought to himself. He remembers seeing Ivy from the burning building; however, fear took over, and he ran away from Ivy.
Blake nodded before lending out a hand, Ivy hesitated before lending out her mechanic hand. Seeing the mechanic hand, Blake took a better look at Ivy's appearance. She had a metal left arm and a metal hand, moon-like eyes that seem to glow underneath the light. Her brunette hair weaving through. Blake nodded before leaving Ivy alone.
Seeing the team leaving, Ivy sighed before pulling out a necklace. A small gem encircled by a silver border, it was a reminder to Ivy about her past. She always acts like the past never affects her. However, in reality, Ivy could never forget what happened in the past: even when she was an infant. Ivy closed her eyes before hiding her necklace and headed back to the dorms.
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The next day was boring for the most part. Most classes were the same, of course, Ivy made sure to be attentive and prepared plenty of notes. Rose noticed Ivy's odd changed and asked if anything was wrong. However, Ivy never answered her. Shaking her head, Rose didn't try to force whatever Ivy wanted to hide. It wasn't her business to peek into other people's lives.
Once Ivy's history class ended, her entire team grouped together and headed towards the gym. Today was the day that the Six Guardians would be watching. Ivy didn't feel pressured by when the others noticed, they started to break out into a sweat.
Rose leaned into Ivy and whispered, "What are they doing here?" She was scared, pressured, and, more importantly, likely to not pay attention to her surroundings. Rose always looked up to the Guardians, but she never thought she would meet them during a training exercise.
Ivy could see Rose's worries before saying, "Don't be afraid. They are here to watch. They may give a few pointers." Ivy's voice was calm as she heard Scarlet call them in.
Scarlet and Professor Naofumi introduced the Six Guardians before telling the students their objective today. Scarlet made sure to ease the students' worries as even she was feeling a bit of pressure from them. She told them that the Guardians here were to simply observe and may give out a few tips about some student's techniques. Scarlet then dismissed everyone as each team was called up from the stands as they watched one team fight a few waves of enemies.
The first team was pretty decent. Their communication wasn't excellent; however, they seem to have a much better grip at attack when there's an opening. If Ivy was to give the group a score, it would be around four out of ten. Since they lack communications, their attacks seem a lot more random. They aren't using their abilities to help counter the incoming attacks. The next couple of teams were also the same. Ivy continued to rate them in her head, five out of ten, three out of ten, seven out of ten, five out of ten, two out of ten, all in respectably order.
"So, how do you think your team will fair?" Wrath's voice echoed into Ivy's head. Ivy looked around to see Wrath staring at the next batch of students.
Understanding that Wrath probably had a way of talking in people's head, Ivy responded with, "Not sure, I believe we'll do decent. Most teams haven't had much of a chance to really work together much; however, some of them seem to be excellent in working with others."
"Team Rose, you're up next," Scarlet announced. She currently graded every team in four categories, Combat, Communication, Flexibility, and Relation. The first three were self-explanatory. The last one is a bit tricky, Scarlet is analyzing how well each team member is doing and whether they will help fend off a tough opponent. The lower the grade, the possible chance of a team being disbanded.
Rose and her team entered the arena as they looked at the stands. Rose felt a bit of pressure as she could feel the Guardians looking more attentively than usual.
" 'Don't be afraid,' " Ivy's voice sounded in Rose's ears before calming down. She shouldn't be afraid, this was a simple test to see how her team does. She just needs to make sure her team is ready for anything and everything.
Ivy silently smiled as she saw Rose's nerves calm down. She pulled out a one-handed single-edge sword and waited for her team. York pulled out a red katana and a rifle that looks like it would function as a scabbard. Eden a pair of gauntlets while Neo had her umbrella. Lastly, Rose pulled out a custom made high-caliber sniper-scythe.
Professor Naofumi approached the group and asked if they were ready. All of them were. Nodding, he left the arena and tapped something on his tablet before hordes of enemies started to rush at the team.
"York and I will slow them down. The rest, try to take the ones who aren't slowed," Rose order immediately as her scythe turned into a sniper rifle as she heard York's gun go off.
Ivy and the rest dodged the bullets coming from the two, taking quick care of those who were slowed. Ivy made sure that everyone was alright before sensing something creeping. She immediately backed off while scanning the crowd. Rose noticed Ivy's sudden retreat, but before she could say anything, Ivy pulled out a massive sword and used it to block the sudden tentacles.
"Hm, squid monsters," Ivy said as she continued to block the lashing tentacles.
"Lower your sword Ivy, and create a barrier. On my mark, I want you to drop it then cover it up," Rose commanded as she went down on one knee. She plans to time her shots to penetrate the small squids.
Following Rose's order, Ivy created a barrier that blocked the tentacles. She waited for Rose's call. She watched as Neo and Eden seem to be a bit more cautious of the newly squid monster and taken a few steps back.
"Mark!" Rose yelled as she fired a bullet. Ivy opened a clear hole in her barrier for the bullet to pass then immediately covered it back up.
They continued to fire until all the squid monsters were dead and turned into dust. Rose order Ivy to help Neo and Eden while York and herself joined the fight.
Their battle ended quickly, and they were graded immediately. Scarlet gave them a nod before calling the next team. Rose and the others were a bit nervous while Ivy contemplated about the squid monster. During the barrage of tentacles, Ivy could see a small liquid dripping out of their spores. Assuming that one of the arms was successful, what would have happened?
"Good job out there, better than the rest of the team to be honest," Wrath's voice broke Ivy's thoughts. She laughed a bit before saying, "The fluid from those tentacles are quite something. They can paralyze a person, but if there are enough tentacles surround the person, it can actually control them. We had to deal with those types a few times, pain in the ass if you ask me."
("Paralyzing ability plus control. Interesting,") Ivy was intrigued by Wrath's explanation.
Ivy gave Wrath a quick thumbs-up before staring back at the arena. Ivy continued to look at the on-going battles as she watched each team prowess. She hoped that there may be an outlier and wanted to see their ability and skills.