Concordia and Mitsuki stared at Saito's party in shock. They'd never expected them to be able to nullify Mitsuki's abilities.
"What now Saito?" Keiran asked.
"It would be folly to attempt to take Concordia's party down in close quarters combat. Concordia is able to match San's physical ability and San's strength is pretty monstrous, almost bordering on freaky, even for Dream Knights. Mitsuki's abilities should ordinarily make her vulnerable in one on one battles but if Uncle Prince and Aunt Ai purposely sealed away vast reserves of her power, I doubt they'd leave her vulnerable. I'm quite certain they got her to hone her hand to hand combat abilities. If that's the case, Mitsuki wouldn't be vulnerable even in close quarters combat" Saito analysed the situation. "It would be best to wear down their stamina with elemental attacks" Saito suggested.
"So the 'Lion' fighting style it is then" Keiran said as he stretched his hand forward.
"KRAKEN ANDROMEDA! PORCUPINE DEFENSE MODE!" Concordia called as countless arrows materialised around herself and Mitsuki.
They were not too soon for in the next instant, their defense was engulfed in the torrential flame stream flowing from Keiran's palms.
"It's at times like this that it really sucks when Arlene's not on our team" Concordia complained.
"Arlene! Any tips for us too?" Concordia asked.
"I thought you said that was unfair" Arlene said with a sarcastic grin.
"You don't have to tell us what to do. Just give us a clue like you did with the other team" Concordia said.
"So you basically admit that you're losing to them" Arlene chuckled and sighed. "Fine. I guess it's only fair" Arlene said.
"Hey! Whose side are you on anyway?!" Keiran roared.
"I'm not really on anyone's side. However, I will admit that I am a bit interested in seeing how each side will overcome the obstacles in their path. You can call it one of the eccentricities of being an information specialist" Arlene said with a smirk.
"She just turned dark" Concordia and Mitsuki stared at Arlene with weird expressions on their faces.
"About that clue" Concordia asked.
"Two simple words, 'Black Holes'" Arlene said.
"The hell is that supposed to mean?!" Concordia roared angrily.
"Exactly what I said" Keiran said with a smug look on his face.
"Mitsuki might get it. It may or may not be useful advice, like I said earlier" Arlene said.
"Black Holes?" Mitsuki thought deeply and smiled.
"Thanks Arlene, I think I get it" Mitsuki said as Arlene continued to analyse the data flowing into Christopher.
"I'm going to up the torrential force of my technique by a bit" Mitsuki warned Concordia.
Concordia's arrows had begun to melt under the intense heat. Mitsuki stretched her hand forward.
"TORRENTIAL PUSH OF THE MOON'S GRAVITATIONAL FORCE VER. BLACK HOLE!" Mitsuki roared.
All the flames flowing from Keiran's hands were weighed to the ground. Fortunately, because of the iron panels that covered the ground, they didn't start a fire. Concordia's defense wall parted to reveal Mitsuki and herself.
"You weighed my flames down with gravity?" Keiran seemed surprised.
Mitsuki smirked.
"Black holes have the power to strip stars off the burning gases that sustain them. They are also powerful enough to absorb light rays through their torrential gravitational pull. You know what that means don't you Keiran? Elemental attacks are now useless against us" Mitsuki said seriously.
"Wow, it's amazing how this battle quickly evolved from a simple training session to a battle between rival teams and finally pulled into play the forces that sustain the universe" Arlene said expressionlessly.
"Interesting, you've nullified my elemental attacks with your gravitational field. I didn't think your field could be this strong" Keiran said with an impressed look in his eyes.
"You're pretty sly. You say all that yet my field has no effect on your team cousin. You're also nullifying its effects through magnetism though I doubt magnetism could have an effect on raw elements. Its effects are pretty specific" Mitsuki said with a smirk.
"In that case, I suppose it all comes down to who's stronger in hand to hand combat" Keiran challenged.
"You sure you want to bark up that tree?" Mitsuki challenged.
"Saito, we really should go with the 'Spider' battle style" Keiran said with a smirk.
Saito shook her head in disbelief and disagreement.
"Keiran, there are some lines we shouldn't cross regardless of how desperate the situation becomes" Saito said.
"What's this 'Spider' battle style you talk of?" Concordia asked.
"When my Dad uses it, it's all about connecting people. When Keiran uses it, it's a Nightmare bordering on Zanfar's territory. We'll forfeit for now. We got enough practice and learnt quite a lot. Thank you for training with us Concordia, Mitsuki" Saito said with a respectful bow as Keiran's elemental field around Ariel dropped.
"I didn't get to use my abilities" Ariel grumbled.
"Your abilities are more suited to dealing with foes that utilise debilitating attacks as well as foes that are generally evil. Concordia and Mitsuki did resort to debilitating terrain alteration techniques however their attacks cannot exactly be categorised as curses" Keiran said.
"To be honest, if we had battled any longer...I don't quite know what the outcome would have been. Saito, Keiran and Ariel are probably much stronger than they're letting us see" Concordia admitted.
"Well...we were just about to go all out too. We might be a match for them. Of course if I could use my abilities freely, then we could have overpowered them relatively easily" Mitsuki said with a smirk.
Concordia smiled.
"I suppose so" she said.
"It's getting kinda late. Let's head home. Ciella, your training commences tomorrow" Arlene said.
They all walked towards their homes together till their paths began to diverge, then they all headed to their homes.
That night, Ciella lay in bed reflecting on everything I'd told her about the Dream World. Then she recalled the battle that occurred in the old library.
"It's all real. I saw it for myself today. I can't believe I might actually become a Dream Knight" Ciella smiled to herself.
The following day after classes, everyone met in the old library.
"You can leave the initial stages of Ciella's training programme to me" Arlene said.
"Whoa! You came up with a fully blown training programme?" Concordia asked in surprise.
"We'll use the second floor so feel free to rampage all you want" Arlene said. "But you should probably sound proof the place with your abilities Keiran to avoid causing a ruckus outside and to avoid distracting Ciella" Arlene said seriously.
"I'll keep that in mind" Keiran said with a smirk.
"Ciella, follow me" Arlene called.
Ciella obeyed. They ascended the stairs and opened the door to the second floor's main hall.
Ciella looked around the place. Arlene pulled out two chairs from a corner and they both sat down. Arlene summoned a mini representation of Christopher.
"Let's start with a few simple questions. What are your likes and dislikes?" Arlene asked.
"I like tons of things. Staring at the horizon at sunset, the effects of the moon on the Lunar Flowers, stuff like that" Ciella said.
Arlene stared at Christopher. There was a menu with Ciella's profile. A rating for optimism appeared and another for open-mindedness. They were relatively high ratings. Arlene smiled.
"It appears she might have a colourful personality" Arlene thought.
"Any special skills?" Arlene asked.
"Cooking perhaps? Aside from that, I haven't really thought about any special skills I might possess" Ciella admitted.
A high rating appeared for support and a low rating for proactiveness.
"She has the character traits necessary for becoming a support type but isn't very self-motivated" Arlene thought.
"Your motivation for becoming a Dream Knight?" Arlene asked.
At this question, Ciella blushed and hesitated.
"You don't need to say anything. I can pretty much guess why" Arlene said as a rating for love appeared on Christopher.
"Ironically, that was San's Dad's motivation for becoming a Dream Knight as well. Can't make fun of this when he beat Zanböngfar" Arlene said.
The rating for love was a very high rating.
"Then there are other ratings I obtained about Ciella from Saito concerning things San had told her about Ciella" Arlene scrolled down to reveal high ratings for perceptiveness, a comprehension of identity and wisdom in general.
"Ciella appears to possess great leadership qualities as well, most of which are currently latent. Her stats almost rival Saito's" Arlene thought seriously.
"Is there any point to this?" Ciella asked nervously.
A fifty-fifty rating for self-confidence appeared as well.
"I'm done. Concerning your answers, these are the stats my sigil assigned to your profile" Arlene showed the data to Ciella.
"Your strengths lie in leadership and support" Arlene said.
Ciella looked excited.
"Your weaknesses lie in proactiveness and confidence" Arlene said.
Ciella looked slightly downcast.
"Don't worry, weaknesses are not permanent character traits. In fact, by comprehending them, they can be transformed into strengths" Arlene said with a reassuring smile.
"So when will my training commence?" Ciella asked.
"It has already commenced. The first stage was to determine what sort of person you are and in so doing discover your strengths and limitations. With this data, we can now guide your training programme effectively" Arlene said. "Now I'll explain certain details about Dream Knighthood. We'll begin with elemental affinities" Arlene said.
Ciella paid close attention.
"Every Dream Knight and in fact, every human possesses an elemental affinity. Certain things they naturally excel at. In ordinary terms, you could liken it to a talent. These traits exist within each individual and do not necessarily require tools to manifest them. For instance, Concordia and I have range which in a sense connotes our capacity for multitasking. Keiran for instance can control multiple elements connoting open-mindedness. Do you understand? An elemental affinity is in a sense a natural character trait" Arlene explained.
"I think I get it" Ciella said.
"That brings me to the topic of sigils. You can think of sigils as tools that allow Dream Knights to channel their elemental affinities or character traits, to manifest them, to focus or amplify them or to customise them. For instance, in ordinary human terms, a musician's sigil could be a microphone that amplifies their voice. An archer's would be a bow and stuff like that" Arlene explained.
"It sounds so simple when you explain it like that" Ciella said.
Arlene smiled.
"For now, we'll focus on determining your elemental affinity. To be able to summon a sigil, you will first need to understand the full range of your current ability, then decide the manner in which you want to direct the development of your ability" Arlene explained.
"How do we begin?" Ciella asked.
Arlene sighed.
"I'm afraid there's no simple way to do this. We're just going to have to keep exploring till you find something you excel at or have a special interest in" Arlene said. "That was why I recorded your stats with my sigil. To at least guide that process" Arlene said.
Over the next few days, Arlene helped Ciella explore various subjects related to her strengths in hopes of finding themes that caught Ciella's interest. At the end of the week, Concordia received a summons from the Nightmare King.
"A summons? What's that about?" Saito asked.
"I am to help San in the next phase of his training" Concordia said.
"You're going to San? Can I come?!" Ciella asked excitedly.
"Not until you master summoning sigils and have had a bit more training as a Dream Knight" Concordia said.
Ciella looked downcast. Arlene noticed her sadness.
"Concordia, take this. This way, we'll be able to speak with San from here" Arlene handed Concordia a mini representation of Christopher.
"We can?!" Ciella appeared to have cheered up.
Arlene nodded.
"Fine then" Concordia said as she donned her blue tailcoat and picked up her briefcase.
"I'm off" she said and disappeared in a brilliant flash of light.