"A magic barrier?! I thought you had no active combat abilities and that's why you got a zero! Moreover, you're a swordsman! Not a support!"
He had planted only the tip of the blade on the ground and held the sword in place with one hand and reached out with the other.
"These aptitude tests mean nothing if you cannot show results. So, try to heal me."
She pointed her staff towards him and shot a healing spell. The spell got disrupted by the barrier and dispersed. The look of surprise grew as she kept trying to penetrate the barrier.
"I don't understand... how could you score so low and yet still be able to hold a high-level barrier?"
He gave a small smile and shrugged
"True raw power isn't measured through normal means. Only the fight to live will determine that."
She looked like she understood what he meant and was about to go for another shot but then he put his hand up
"Before you fire, focus on me, not the barrier. Most people, even the most experienced would focus on breaking the barrier, but if you were to ignore the barrier, you can bypass it without a problem."
She took this advice and focused on him instead of the barrier. She closed her eyes and imagined as if it wasn't there and fired her spell. It hit home. She smiled in joy once it did and Akashi took his sword and sheathed it. He hung it on his side and motioned her to sit down on the nearby bench.
"You don't have much battle experience, do you?"
She shook her head. It was to be expected as she only just joined the ghost group a year ago. Akashi patted her on the shoulder.
"You will get better with time, for now, I think I should grab lunch for both of us. You should rest here."
He stood up but she got up too
"I'll come with."
"No need, plus, don't you need to sit in an area full of life to regain mana? There's no better place to do that than an open field."
He had a point and she sat down in defeat.
"I'll be back"
She nodded and he headed off towards the buildings. He was thinking of going into the mess hall to get something for the both of them, but instead, he went out to the outer markets on the other side of the campus. He was looking around for something that would be light but filling, that's when he ran into a familiar face.
"Headmaster?"
The headmaster turned around and gave a hearty smile
"Why if it isn't the new student Hashimora! How are you doing?"
"I came to grab food for Namo and me. What are you doing here sir?"
"I just came here to observe the students."
They both were walking for quite a bit, then the headmaster saw the sword
"I thought you were a freelancer now. Why do you have a sword?"
Akashi was about to avoid the question but then he thought of something
"Sir, I have a request."
"Hmm?"
***
He made it back to where Namo was supposed to be but he set the food down onto the ground when he heard yelling across the field. Bolting through the field, he saw Namo on the ground with a sword through her arm. There were no instructors nearby on the fields as it was a hunting zone owned by the academy. He hid in the shadows of the trees just as an extra precaution to know the situation.
His eyes sharpened when he saw Jin-Ae holding Namo in her arms yelling at what looks to be Kelvin. There was a broken staff next to them.
"Lies! I would never try to hurt her in any way!"
Kelvin was smiling as he said that. There was also a small group behind him as well, all of them were higher-level A rankers except one.
"Bullshit! You said we should move locations to a more shaded area but you were just targeting Namo all along! You even broke her staff so that she wouldn't be able to heal herself!"
"I don't know what you're talking about! I swung my sword at you and lost grip! Why are you blaming me for an accident?"
"Are you dumb?! She had a defense barrier around her the whole time! Did you think that I wouldn't see?!"
Akashi rose his eyebrow at that. Indeed if there was a defensive barrier around her, the sword would have shattered. At a closer inspection, the sword that is in Namo's arm right now looks to be a magic sword. Who would have thought that he would have one of the thousand magic weapons discovered in the world? A magic weapon has a power unrivaled of any other weapon. It shouldn't have pierced Namo's shield unless the magic within the sword was activated. To do that, the user must be very talented in that area and also have the sword to accept the user. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that if an A-rank has this, they have the power of an S rank. Two minutes have passed and Namo was laying there helpless as pulling the sword out would cause more bleeding
"Kriss, drag that lowly healer away into the forest. I'll deal with this one."
"I'll kill you if you touch her!"
Kelvin forced her chin up at him
"Do you not remember my royal status, you filthy vampire?! I am the first in line to inherit the title of Earl from my father! What do you think is going to happen to your little friend here?! Well, nobody would care anyway, she's born in a lowly family of lords."
She clenched her fist. Of course, she knew what could happen. Nobility taking advantage of their power to destroy another noble family is no joke in this country. Although one family couldn't be enough, if they get enough people and slander the name of the target, it most certainly will cause that family to fall.
"Now be a good girl and stay here"
"N-No...", Namo meekly cried out
Jin-Ae watched as Namo was being dragged away. Namo was in a critical state because of the blood loss. She has five more minutes until she loses consciousness. Akashi has seen enough and leaned on the tree. He wasn't even thinking right now as Jin-Ae was sheathing in anger and Namo was being dragged by the man name Kriss.
"How does it feel huh? Your best friend is going to die today and you're going to share the same fate if you don't sit here silently and shut up. Let's say that she died in the forest because of that motherfucker! Oh, what a glorious..."
Akashi ignored the rest of the conversation. Of course, he knew that who Kelvin was referring to. The only things that he was paying attention to now were Namo's vitals as she was being dragged away and the man in front of him.
"So... what's the verdict?"