Author's Note: Changing 'warrior' to 'Warrior' from now on. You'll understand why later one. Enjoy reading! :D
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"I think me and Qin are gonna through the weapon's mastery Lesson line, to become proper Warriors. I think after this, we might even be able to learn Blade Techniques." A hint of excitement entered Gray's voice as he talked, part of his childish joy showing itself at the idea of learning new magical abilities.
A hint of smile appeared on Fen's face.
"You'll show me that once you do learn it, right?"
"Of course!" Qin also nodded.
"As long as you keep sparring with us I won't have a problem with it."
Inwardly joyful that he could finally learn how imbue energy into his weapons, Fen ate with even more fervor than before, digging into the eggs with wild abandon, hurrying to fill his stomach in case that whatever they were waiting for appeared earlier than expected.
Turns out he could've taken his time, as the group was left alone for an hour longer.
The four of them continued to chat while they waited, taking the time to relax. They could only chalk it up to that the Foundation was meeting with the different Squads independently rather than all at once, most likely to separately give out the rewarded points given for the Task.
After all, announcing over the interface who got what amount of points was a sure-fire way to spark jealously and even provide the families after Fen's life with a way to kill him by sending envious Opfer his way. Well, he said 'to kill him', but the most an Opfer could do was try and maybe hurt him. If Fen managed to take down a Chosen, what could an Opfer do?
'Speaking of killing a Chosen... there must be a large amount of points waiting for me, right?' Fen's inner greed revealed itself.
Even if it wasn't supposed to happen, what he did was still something that no other Opfer had done, so there should be a suitable reward for him. It might even be generous enough to replace his broken armor (Rest in peace Theoredian Armor, you'll be missed) with a much higher quality one, which hopefully wouldn't be torn to pieces from a single fight.
The sound of the door opening interrupted his thoughts before his greed could completely take over his mental processes, thankfully.
"Alright, Squad 42. Amelia Dys, Gray Witter, Qin Turner and... shit, it's you." The Archon's eyes narrowed as she noticed Fen, who was still sitting down and eating (He grabbed more food because of the long wait, leaving the rest of his Squad in shock by his massive appetite) despite her entrance with Yor by her side. Fen wondered if the guy ever left for some time alone, it didn't seem like he was ever by himself.
"Can't you be in some other Squad? Here, I can even transfer you now-"
"I'm fine, thank you." Fen firmly declined before she could finish. He didn't want to risk getting paired up with annoying Squad mates. He had a good thing going here, with Amelia helping him improve his magical abilities while the youngers ones were great punching bags- ahem, they helped improve his physical ability.
"Damn. Fuu, well, I guess I should get started." Barely sparing Qin a glance, she pulled the chair out from under him and placed it underneath her so she could sit comfortably while she gave out her assessment. Qin landed with an audible thump, but he didn't audibly complain, at least he wouldn't while the Archon was still in the room. None of them had forgotten the sight of her throwing streams of lightning at the introduction of the Program.
The youth hurriedly grabbed an extra chair with a flushed face.
"Well, I'll start off with the worst one to get it out of the way."
"Fen, you have yet to show any respect towards me or other Foundation members despite our repeated attempts to instruct you, and to be honest, I don't like your character. You see others like tools, and yet, our files list you as one of the most compassionate and caring people in the Program while you were still on Earth. Care to explain?"
Although Fen dramatically acted shocked when Ellora referred to him when she said 'the worst one', he stopped the act so as to react in time and respond to her question.
"Your files are wrong. The only people I give a damn about are my family. I kill because of them. Miss." He added the last respectful part after she threw a threatening glance at his direction.
"Yes, I've come to notice that. But, the Foundation has also noticed that you have a lack of self-preservation. You have a remarkable level of pain-tolerance, but that doesn't mean you should continue throwing yourself into dangerous situations. Planning is essential. If you continue to simply react you won't manage to survive long." She had a point. Dey had mentioned that earlier by telling him to let go off his emotions, but Fen hadn't thought about planning. So far, everything had worked out with him simply making preparations and charging in, adapting to the situation as it changed.
But before he could start thinking and digest her words she continued talking. "And when you do plan, I swear to the Heavens that a toddler could've thought of better ones. You're uncreative."
...Just when he was starting to feel appreciative, she went and insulted him.
Ellora sighed. "But, you did manage to out-perform a Chosen, and one of the stronger batches at that. Two-thousand five hundred points will be assigned to your name after the evaluation is done. Also, to give you some advice, you show potential as a Knight, you're good with Vitality. Continue down that path."
Fen was now even more stunned to discover the amount of points he was getting, but his shock was nothing compared to that of his companions upon having learned that he had faced a Chosen in the first Task, and won. That wasn't something that they had the confidence, or even the will to do; they barely managed to win against an equally powerful Opfer. It made them wonder if maybe he was holding back in their spars, otherwise they couldn't imagine how he'd managed to survive.
After the initial shock passed, he carefully reviewed her words. Ignoring the scathing insults, her words really did carry a lot of useful advice for later that he was planning on utilizing whenever he could.
Knowing and understanding were two very different things. Fen was able to gain an understanding of Vital energy and spellworks from Raisen and the memories of the magically enabled monsters he killed, but there were many gaps in his knowledge that had yet to be filled. And yet, despite those gaps, he was still capable of challenging a Chosen. It made him wonder at how far he had come thanks to his Vitul nature. There were too many times to count when the only reason why he survived was because of his nature as a Vitul.
Did that mean he was talentless? No, but it did mean that he had been supplementing his abilities as a Vitul rather than his own skills in combat. From now on, he wanted to improve his own skills rather than relying on the memories of the dead for his own improvements.
Once he was confident in himself, he would start again with manipulating the memories he received from the dead to improve himself.
"Qin Turner. Surprisingly average." Ellora squinted at her mobile interface to read the text, making sure it was correct. "Your family's average, achievements are average. An only-child, you have done absolutely nothing to make me think you were right for the Program."
'Then why the hell am I even here?' Qin silently screamed out his question, cursing the Foundation for taking him here.
"But, you did survive the first Task. So, a total of seven hundred points will be rewarded to you. It seems like a lot, but the base amount of points that can be rewarded is five hundred. You didn't accomplish much. Please strive to improve. I see that you've taken weaponry Lessons. If you have any talent, you might yet become a Warrior."
Fen turned to see that Qin's eyes were glazed over from shock, his psyche took a massive blow from Archon Ellora's evaluation. Even Fen himself didn't know he'd react to basically being called extraordinarily ordinary.
"Gray Witter... I remember you. I believe I was one of those assigned to choosing you. You seem average, but your ability to adapt to situations is quite unique. Moving from city to city, you always made friends, with the different locations having very little effect on your performance, be it on academics or otherwise. It appears that I haven't made a mistake choosing you. Your ability to adapt is rare, and you should make the most out of it." A rare genuine smile flitted across the Archon's face.
"For your performance on the Task, you will receive a total of nine hundred points. As for your advice, I believe you'd make a great Warrior. Take time to familiarize yourself with your own body."
With a final turn, the Archon faced Amelia.
"And lastly, Amelia Dys. Hmm..." She took a second to review the files on her mobile interface, a frown on her face. "Rough childhood, with abusive parents and a twisted older sister who- yikes, that's rough. I hope that you have been enjoying your time so far in the Program?"
"W-well-"
"Forget I asked, of course the answer's no. Nobody's having a terrific time in this hell-hole. Anyways, for you my only recommendation is to find motivation, that's the only weakness listed on the interface. You have everything else, determination, the ability, and skill to progress but no drive. Anyway, your total is one thousand points for the Task given to you. You have talent as a Mage, so keep taking Mage-related Lessons."
The mobile interface in her hand flicked off, the golden particles dimly glowing as they retracted into the delicately carved device. Placing two hands on her hips, Ellora stretched out her back with audible pops coming from her back, signs of her wariness.
"Thank the Heavens I'm finally done here. I'm watching you, you monstrous fuck." She made a certain rude gesture towards Fen with her fingers before quickly exiting the room and going wherever people like her go.
Yor stopped by him before he exited with her, apologizing.
"Sorry, usually she's better than this but after working for a long time she just shuts off her limiter. It's a problem, but there's nothing I, or the Foundation can do about it." The executioner covered his mouth as a slight blush appeared on his face. "She's kinda cute when she speaks her mind though, right?"
Fen had to resist his urge to beat some sense into his mind, or at least slap his face for spouting such complete bullshit. The instinctive feeling of death that he got prevented him from laying his hands on the delusional man however.
The man coughed. "Ehem, anyways. Your authority within the Program has been upgraded accordingly, so be sure to review the changes when you can."
With the two crazies finally gone, the others immediately rushed towards him. They were all asking questions about his Task, and why he hadn't told them that he'd fought a Chosen.
To answer them, Fen simply shrugged.
"You all had your own stuff going on. Besides, it wasn't that big of a deal anyways. I survived, didn't I?"
His answer did absolutely nothing to satisfy the number of questions rolling through their minds, but it was all they were going to get. After saying his piece, Fen immediately entered the Training Hall to go through the changes in the interface, leaving behind the still-shocked faces of Gray and Qin, and Amelia, who for some reason looked uncomfortable with something.
The familiar golden glow of energy particles exited the interface before formatting itself into a screen, showing all of Fen's personal information. This time however, there was new text at the top.
[Shop]
[Candidate 178-3001: Fen Altairus]
[Points: 2501]
[Current Purchasing Level: Opfer +1]
[Knowledge Available: Stage one {Knight} ]
[Please note: The options available for purchase are formatted based on previous purchases and interests, and will continue to change to better incorporate the desires of the user. Thank you, and we hope to service you again.]
His purchasing level was updated, with a '+1' next to his status as an Opfer. Did that mean plus one Task? As in, after surviving a Task his options were now broadened within the Program? Fen's thinking made sense, so he didn't put much further thought into it.
There was also one extra row of information, 'knowledge available'. And what was the 'Stage one' supposed to mean? It couldn't also be about the number of Tasks he survived, right? Otherwise it'd just be another plus one...
Setting aside those questions for later, Fen continued reading the note, which didn't appear to be written by the Narrator.
A little disappointed to not see the frustration-inducing messages of the Narrator, Fen laughed to himself after noticing how important the mysterious figure became in his heart. Even if it was nowhere near the positions of his family and Miko, the man, who Fen was pretty sure was a guy based off his crude way of writing, took up much of his time in the Program. He continued to read about his journeys before he slept every once in a while, using the break to rest his mind after experiencing the life and death situations he was exposed to on the daily from the Scenarios.
Fen very quickly scrolled down to check if the Narrator's writing was present on any of the new items, not bothering to read their names and just scanning the description. Upon seeing the crudeness of said writing, an imperceptible smile appeared on his face before remolding itself into his usual calm expression.
"Cough, alright, let's check out the new stuff..."
[1. Intermediate Lesson on the Manipulation of Vital Energy {Knight} ]
[Instructor: Raisen York]
[Description: Going off the Basics, this Lesson introduces the various techniques that ancient Knights from various civilizations have discovered and passed down throughout hundreds of years. After being modified and being improved countless times, you, the brat who ignored my warnings and took the Basic Lesson, now have access to those techniques. In addition to learning more intricately about the many applications of Vital energy, your handsome and cultured instructor- wait, it's Raisen?! Shit, never mind. I almost feel bad for you. Go find about the different Stages on your own.]
[Cost: 1500 points]
[2. Iberian Short Sword {Class Three Material *Press to expand* } ]
[Properties: Forged by a master craftsman within the Iberia civilization, this weapon is of a much higher quality than it's predecessor in that it's made from a Class three material, and is able to conduct a small amount of energy in battle. The blade is sharper and more sturdy, and won't easily break in a high-intensity battle.]
[Cost: 500 points]
[3. Basic Lesson on the Manipulation of Mana {Knight} ]
[Description: Well, if you somehow managed to survive the first Task without learning how to use Mana, this is as far as you're gonna get. As it seems that you're on the path of a Knight, (Good for you, you lucky bastard...) this Lesson is more orientated towards combat applications of magical energy, and how you can use it in close-range without injuring yourself.]
[Cost: 700 points]
[4. Imperator's Armor {Class Three Material *Press to expand} ]
[Properties: Seemingly designed by an ancient civilization, this armor is metallic in nature, and has the weight of that nature. However, it's not plate armor and isn't restrictive enough to be considered dangerous in a battle. This specific armor comes as only a torso-piece, with a breastplate and shoulder-covering plates. And hey, it looks kinda cool!]
[Cost: 700 points]
[5. Basic Combat Lesson {Knight} ]
[Description: Joking aside, this instructor has a full understanding of the healing capabilities a Stage one Knight has. Meaning, they'll kick your ass until you learn how to fight. Seems reasonable enough, but they won't just stop at that. When you're down, too weak to even lift a weapon, they'll slam you into the wall and break a few bones just to teach you, and I quote, 'a lesson that only pain can teach'. Trust me, I should know. Different from the original Combat Lesson, this Lesson is structured around the fighting style of a Knight, but the teaching will change after you discover what combat style fits you best.]
[Cost: 500 points]
Hmm. Well, the interface seemed to have a good grasp of Fen's interest. For one, almost everything he wanted was on the first page of information in the Shop. Truly, it was almost the exact same as clicking a website for a clothing brand, and then all of his advertisements were then from that brand!
"Scary..." Fen mumbled to himself.