"How is this possible?" Alix asked with a frustrated groan while Mo was cackling in the background. She had gone throughout the entire day trying to find ways to even one rank so that she could transfer to the Spellcaster's University. That was the whole reason she came here after all.
Yet, each time without fail she managed to impress instructor after instructor with her martial prowess. She wasn't even doing anything too impressive. She would just call out ways that she would engage combat situations or show a bit of her Lis control but that was enough to wow the entirety of the faculty.
And the worst part...
Each and every one of the instructors said the exact same thing.
"You really are Sala Ren's daughter!"
"BAM!" Alix punched a nearby wall as hard as she could putting a large dent in it and sending cracks climbing up the wall.
"Wow! You must be Sala Ren's daughter!" Alix turned her head slowly. She met eyes with a man holding a push broom that was staring at her with a big smile.
"I heard that she was attending the academy this year but I didn't believe it until I saw you nearly break down a wall made of mana-infused cinderblock!" Alix yanked her fist out of the wall and turned to fully face the man.
"Don't say that name." The supposed janitor raised an eyebrow or at least what would be an eyebrow as the man did not possess any hair above his eyelids. Though that did not lessen the sentiment of his gesture.
"Lexi, let's not lash out on some guy that's just doing his job." Mo tried to reason with Alix. "He may just be talking about the gossip that's been floating around the staff. And no one's trying to insult ya by comparing you to yer mother."
Alix heard Mo's words but she chose not to understand them. Honestly, she wasn't as much frustrated by people comparing her to her mother. Her anger was more centered around her failed attempts to fall in rank and she was just taking out that anger on whoever she first ran into.
What could she say? She liked picking fights with people.
Alix analyzed her target from top to bottom. He was very well built, had brown hair, and eyes that reflected that color of Trouler. Alix noticed that the push broom was also abnormal bringing her to the conclusion that the person before her was no normal janitor. And he had hair on his head so his baldness definitely wasn't natural.
Was the eyebrow thing a choice?
Alix steeled herself and started to walk over to the man. She prepared exactly what she was gonna say to get this fight started.
"Say that again you-"
"NOW!"
Suddenly, a small grey ball flew in front of Alix and exploded. Smoke poured out from the explosion blocking Alix's vision and the force of the explosion pushed her back slightly as she blocked the attack.
"What the-"
"I think yer being ambushed?" Mo speculated.
"Really? I hadn't noticed!" Alix snapped annoyed at the fish which only served to embolden his approach.
"I'm sorry, but ya seemed to be a blinded by yer rage at the moment, so I assumed ya'd need me to point out the obviousness of this situation seeing as you clearly can't!"
"Alright, I get it!" Alix clapped her hands triggering the effect of her gloves. Wind swirled up her arms like small twisters ready to be unleashed. Just as she was going to let them, however, a strong gust of wind arose from somewhere else.
The wind sent her hair billowing back and made her eyes tear up. She closed her eyes and covered her face.
"What is it now!"
"No idea, but can I just say that this is such a well executed ambush!" The wind died down after a minute allowing Alix to open her eyes. The wind had blown away all of the smoke but also kicked up a little dust from it's strength.
Alix looked back to where the janitor was. Standing there was no longer just a janitor but instead three figures donning tanned cloaks.
"F-class! Why the hell am I getting ambushed by the rejects!" The shortest of the cloaked figures, clearly Alisa, stepped forward.
"Alix Ren!" the figure pointed out at Alix aggressively. "Your friend with the seaweed hair insulted the fantasticness of Alisa Normandy. And for that, YOU SHALL BE PUNISHED!!"
"Why?" Alisa stood with her finger still extended out but was made no further movements.
"W-what do you mean why?
"I told you this wasn't a good plan, Alisa!" Nasak whispered firmly.
"Shut up Nasak! This isn't about you!" Alisa responded without whispering.
"Ahem!" Alisa refocused on Alix. "W-what do you want now, heathen!"
"Oh, so now I am a heathen? And what sort of act of blasphemy did I exhibit to be labeled as such?" Alisa put down one arm and switched to the other for dramatic effect.
It wasn't because her first arm started to hurt a little from holding it out for so long.
"You're friends with that mean, guy!" Alix tilted her head to the side.
"You mean, Holiday?"
"That's his name?"
"That's what I call him. Also, we are not friends by any means." Alisa slightly dropped her arm confused.
"But you have nicknames for each other? How are you not friends?" Alix shook her head.
"We do not 'have nicknames for each other' he just refuses to call me by my real name so I treat him with the same sentiment, Alice."
"Who's Alice?" Alisa looked back at Nasak and Denver. Both boys shrugged.
"I think she's talking about you?" What say you Denver?"
"A name is like-" Before Denver could finish speaking Nasak cut him off.
"Nevermind! Geez, I don't know why I even bothered asking for your input?" Denver drooped his head in disappointment.
"Also..." Alix continued speaking getting the attention of the fools. "...even if me and Holiday were friends, which I feel the need reiterate that we are nothing of the sort. Why would you come for me instead of just going for him directly?"
Alisa smirked from beneath the hood but quickly realized that the hood was making it hard for Alix to see the smile so she ripped the hood off exposing her smirk and continued.
"Obviously, it's to attack his heart! Bad guys do it in stories all the time. They attack the Princess Knight's maids or parents to hurt her emotionally or to use them as bait so they can trap her. It's common battle strategy against an opponent you loathe."
Alix stared at the girl before her in disbelief. Utter shocked at how idiotic this kid was.
"You, do realize that in those stories the villains take weaker targets to trap the stronger one right?" Alisa nodded proudly, blissfully ignorant to the mistake that she had made.
"I just told you that! You must be so stricken with fear that you can't even process your own thoughts! HAH!" Alix rubbed the bridge of her nose.
"This girl must not understand the concept of knowing yer enemies strength before fighting them." Mo smiled at the girl with pity.
"You deal with them then. I can't waste my time on this Triad of Buffoons any longer." Mo nodded while Alisa stood confused.
"Who are you talking to?" Mo didn't even leave his bowl. He just raised his fin in the air summoning a mass of Abyssal Sea above the fools' heads and then waved down making it drop.
"Abyssal Sea: Waterfall Consumption."
Alisa, Nasak, and Denver were not prepared for the influx of pain that flooded their systems. They wanted to scream but the pressure from the water was almost as suffocating as the water entering their lungs.
Alix watched the scene with cold eyes. 'This school is so much more boring than I thought it was going to be. Maybe coming here was a mistake after all?" Alix started to turn away from the fools when she saw something moving within the darkness of the waterfall.
It was hard to make out but Alix could swear that someone was...dancing? But that shouldn't be some sort of simple feat under the pressure of the Abyssal Sea. Especially for a student to pull off. Alix decided that she must be seeing things.
Besides, what sort of person would dance while drowni-
A thought suddenly occurred to Alix.
'Release the waterfall, Mo." Mo did as he was instructed and released the waterfall. Once the water was gone Alix could see it. There was an opaque emerald colored barrier shielding the fools.
And Alisa was dancing.
Each movement she made was connected while she seemingly flowed freely about. Every time that she finished a move the barrier, of what Alix could now tell was wind, moved with her strengthening. She was controlling the wind to form a barrier.
No spell.
No artifacts.
She was simply in control of the wind mana in her surroundings. Alix smiled, sinisterly as Alisa stopped dancing and the wind died down.
"Looks like I've stumble across a Spirit Savant. How- HEY!" Before Alix could finish speaking Alisa had fully dived at her and embraced Alix.
"What are you doing?!" Alisa looked up at Alix with tears in her eyes but she was smiling.
"I can't believe that theirs another Savant here!" Alix's face twitched as Alisa was now digging her face into the girl's stomach.
'It seems that there has been a grave misunderstanding here."