A long while later, there were only three students who still hadn't exited the simulation.
Enverna, the man with the bird, and the girl with the odd drawing on her face.
The bald man had chosen a crossbow as his weapon, while the girl had chosen a whip.
Enverna glanced down at her spear, breathing heavily.
Around her were the bodies of many different Fiends. All of which had been slain by one student or another, all of which Enverna had merely helped deal with.
She hadn't actually killed any of them herself, though.
As the next Fiend attacked, Enverna showcased why that was. She was simply a little overwhelmed. The formless nightmarish creature attacked, aiming a ring of teeth in her direction that came so quickly all Enverna could do was avoid it. She looked to get a counter-attack in, but the girl with the whip slashed straight through the Fiend before Enverna could even get close.
[They're just... So fast. So rabid,] Enverna thought, breathing heavily. [Is this what a real Fiend is like?]
Perhaps if she pushed herself, Enverna could get some damage in.
Therein lay the problem, however.
She was already so tired she could barely move without her muscles screaming in pain.
[Is my conditioning truly this awful!? I am the third-ranked recruit! Is that... Is that only because of my Instinct?]
She wanted to give up. But, as dejected as she was, she could almost hear her father saying: "If you give up now, that's 100 laps around the house!"
That was Enverna's life. She wasn't allowed to underperform. She wasn't allowed to be normal. Her standard was perfection.
And, even though she hadn't done anything yet, maybe, just maybe, she could show why she was Rank 3 in the next fight.
[... Besides,] Enverna thought, smiling to herself. [It would be nice if I could boast a little to Lianna about being the best fighter in my class.]
With that bit of self-encouragement in her heart, she set her eyes on the next Fiend that charged at her.
The monster leaped into the air, looking like a bag of flesh flying toward her.
Activating her Instinct, Enverna's spear gave off a trail of water that followed the blade as it intercepted the Fiend mid-flight, bisecting it in one swing.
Both halves fell behind Enverna as the girl's eyes widened.
[What?] She thought. [It was... It was that easy?]
She missed another Fiend that was coming in, though, and that Fiend's gaping maw devoured Enverna in a blink.
Enverna took her headset off.
In a couple of seconds, the bald man and the green-haired girl took theirs off as well.
"Um, ma'am," Enverna called out to her teacher, "is that truly the level of power Fiends operate at?"
"The weaker ones, yes," she answered. "You're probably wondering how you could have frozen up like you did when the enemy was so weak, right?"
[She was watching us? How?]
"Well," Vara continued, "that is why we do these simulations. Better to get your 'first fight freeze', as we call it, out of the way in VR than to go through it in the real world. Next time we do a simulation, I want you to perform at your best. Got it?"
"Yes," Enverna replied. "I will."
"As for the rest of you, I believe I have a general idea of how strong you all are. This will allow me to tailor my lessons to you on a more personal level. With that out of the way, let us begin this course properly. First things first," she joined her hands together, "can anyone here tell me what a Fiend is, exactly?"
Enverna certainly couldn't. Even now, after having seen them in VR, she only knew they were dangerous monsters found in the wilderness, but didn't know what they were "exactly".
The bald man raised a hand, the bird in his other hand chirping away happily.
"Some say Fiends are descendants of Saren's disgraced angels. The 11 traitors. The pets of demons, to put it differently. Others believe they are the product of mana storms, akin to children of mana and half-fiends."
Enverna blinked.
[What? Doesn't that mean you'd be categorizing Lianna as a Fiend herself?]
"Preposterous," Enverna couldn't help but speak up. All eyes went to her. She could even feel their blindfolded teacher's eyes on her as well. "I am sharing a room with a child of mana. If she was anything like what I saw in that simulation, I would have noticed."
"..." Everyone remained silent.
Maybe Enverna had been a bit rude just now, but, still. The idea that her roommate was in any way connected to Fiends was just offensive.
"In terms of what is objectively true, however," the boy continued, "all we know for certain is that they are beastly, ravenous monsters who feed on any and all living beings. From trees to humans to even each other, sometimes. Though, they prefer humans above all else."
"You're well-read," Vara noted. "Indeed. Objectively, all we know about Fiends is that they appear out of nowhere and are incredibly dangerous to everything around them. Also, that the stronger Fiends' bodies do tend to follow a certain structure. An exoskeleton," she began to list, "a weak spot, acidic saliva, and the ability to breathe underwater. It is because the Fiends you all just faced were among the weakest types that they appeared like massive slugs. Because they were missing their exoskeleton. On stronger Fiends, those fleshy sections are their weak points. So, remember, no matter how large or intimidating a regular Fiend is, you can always kill it. You need only figure out how."
The rest of the lesson was mostly discussing history.
The first Fiend sightings. Their connection to mana storms, the same storms Lianna had been born from. The existence of Great Fiends.
"You will likely not run into any Great Fiends in your lifetimes, but if you do, run. Do not try to fight them, just run."
Someone raised a hand.
"How do we know if we're looking at a Great Fiend or a regular one? What are their characteristics?"
Vera responded:
"The System will outright tell you." Everyone was surprised by that.
The System was always quiet, except on special occasions. A Constellation choosing a Follower, a global announcement of some sort. Hearing that the appearance of a Greater Fiend was enough to make the System speak up was unsettling.
"That is how dangerous they are," Vara concluded.
---
{Lianna}
The night arrived a lot faster than Lianna had expected it to.
She returned to her room with sunken shoulders and an almost traumatized look in her eyes.
[I didn't know packing bags efficiently was that complicated... Holy crap.]
Slipping her shoes off, she became immediately grateful for the fact that all she had to do to get more comfortable was take her sweater off. The rest of the uniform may as well have been house clothing.
[Maybe the uniform was designed with that in mind?]
Turning on the TV, Lianna lay down on the couch, skipping through channels.
The news, a soap opera, and commercials, she passed by many different pieces of passable entertainment until she landed on Telvan's local music channel.
A woman sang into a small microphone as she played an acoustic guitar, and Lianna closed her eyes, letting herself relax.
Even as the door opened, she nearly allowed herself to remain that way. However, as Enverna walked in, Lianna grinned over at her.
"Welcome back. Damn, feels weird having someone to say that to."
Enverna smiled at that, but she looked even more exhausted than Lianna, unable to even produce a couple of words. She dropped her spear by the door as she moved forward.
[Right, she probably did a lot more than pack bags.]
The woman slowly, gracefully, collapsed like a sack of potatoes at the foot of Lianna's couch. The most regal sack of potatoes Lianna had ever seen.
Her head nearly touched Lianna's leg. Enverna closed her eyes, letting out a deep breath that looked so comfortable it nearly put Lianna to sleep.
"... If it weren't for the buff I received the moment I got close to you, I'd probably fall asleep for the next 12 hours."
Lianna giggled, fixing her eyes on the ceiling and adjusting herself to give Enverna more space.
"Yeah, my day was probably nowhere near as exciting, but it was pretty tiring too. We'll get used to it, though... Hopefully... Maybe."
Enverna didn't say anything for a while. Lianna looked down at her, wondering if she'd fallen asleep but, almost as soon as she glanced at her, Enverna opened her own eyes and suddenly, Lianna was looking back into a sea of silver.
[... Why the hell does she need to be so beautiful?]
"I need to find a way to get you in those classes with me," Enverna stated. At that, Lianna grew confused. "I... I was placed into my courses due to the fact that I have a powerful Instinct," she told Lianna. "My actual attributes feel subpar, though, without you."
Lianna sat up and then laid down again, the opposite way, so that she could better look into those silver eyes.
"You'll be fine once you get some more training in, right?"
At that, Enverna began to say something but stopped herself. She looked like she was considering telling Lianna a dangerous secret.
Only to say something far less world-breaking when she told Lianna:
"My potential isn't too good, unfortunately."
Lianna did not freak out. She did not respond as negatively as it appeared Enverna expected her to. Instead, she just said:
"Hm. That sucks. Well," Lianna closed her eyes. "If you can get me in there somehow, I wouldn't mind coming with you at all. Heh..."
"What?" Enverna asked.
"Nothing, nothing."
Enverna adjusted herself, sitting up a little straighter and placing her elbows on the couch.
"What?"
Rolling her eyes, Lianna said:
"You know... I wouldn't mind 'coming with you'," LIanna smirked. "Thought it was funny."
Enverna blinked.
Her cheeks gained the most faint red hue possible as she pouted, pressing her chin to the couch.
"Ugh. Childish."
"Well, you asked."
"..." Enverna shifted a little, asking, "how was your day?"
"We literally just packed bags."
"That was all?"
"Yep. Several hours of high-speed bag-packing. Because, apparently, that's the main thing the recruits at my rank will be doing on missions. I don't know," Lianna shrugged. "Seems like we're literally just going to be your servants."
At that, Enverna grinned.
"I do quite miss having servants."
"I'd rather just keep being your fiance, thank you."
"... Hmph."
After that, the two of them remained in silence for a while. After some time, Enverna closed her eyes again. Lianna, however, kept staring at that ceiling.
Today had been her first step in this next phase of her life. It was mostly quite boring, but, still, she wondered where this would all lead.
[Wherever I go, I might just have Enverna there with me, huh? That still feels so weird to think about.]
Minutes ticked on by. The Constellation's words came back to Lianna's mind.
[We're in this together,] Lianna thought. [I'll try to make the most of it... Even though I seriously doubt I can do anything about all that wild shit The Lover said was going to happen.]
Even more minutes passed and, looking back at Enverna, Lianna noticed that the other girl's eyes did not open.
[... Wait a second.]
Tentatively, Lianna reached forward and poked her cheek with her middle finger.
Nothing.
[Yep. She's knocked the hell out.]
Lianna almost barked out some laughter but she held back, for fear of waking the girl.
For a moment, she just looked at her. Enverna's face had turned so unguarded all of a sudden, and when it took this form, she looked even cuter than normal.
[She really is that unfair type of beautiful. If I was straight, maybe I'd hate her out of sheer jealousy.]
Setting those thoughts aside, Lianna decided that, maybe, the girl would rather sleep back in her bed than here, on this couch.
So, she got up, took the girl under her legs and her back, and picked her up.
[Wow. I can actually carry her. There's that buff at work, I guess.]
Walking over to the bedroom, Lianna deposited the sleeping beauty on the bed, covering her body with her sheets.
[I... I would go to sleep too, but, I don't know. I'd rather hear Enverna tell me it's okay than just have her freak out the next day when she wakes up and finds me next to her.]
Sighing, Lianna nodded to herself.
[Back to the couch, I go!]
She had been just about to turn and walk away when she remembered that quest.
[Oh, right, what was it again? I have to kiss her on the cheek before the day ends.] Lianna glanced over at her. [Hm. Good thing she's asleep, I guess. She'd probably go feral if I did this while she was awake. Though, I don't like that this quest has me acting like some sort of creep. Oh well.]
Lianna casually walked over and placed the lightest, most feather-like kiss she could on the girl's cheek.
Claiming her reward in the form of those relationship points, Lianna walked out victoriously, heading back to her couch.
---
{Enverna}
Enverna had been awake the whole time.
From the moment where Lianna poked her, to when she picked her up and brought her to the bedroom, to when Lianna leaned down and kissed her cheek.
She'd simply been tired, however, so she hadn't complained. But, right now, all she could think was:
[She- she DOES like me like that!? Was my sister right about the women here all being...? But, up until now, Lianna has been so... I... But... This... I...?]
The sleep she got that night wasn't quite as good as she thought it would be earlier.