"That's the guy, right?"
"The one Rowan beat?"
"Is this some sort of joke? He made it into the guild?"
"Wait! Look at what's around his neck."
"That symbol… It's—"
Davi glanced down at his hands and frowned slightly. He was the same as when he entered the gateway. He had been expecting some sort of power-up or a form of enlightenment. Nothing seemed to change, though, other than the annoying cloth wrapped tightly around him. It draped over his shoulders and sported the same symbol the leader of Phoenix Flight had on her sleeve.
Pretty Face remained seated on the gateway and watched him with critical eyes. "Aren't you going to remove it?" She finally asked.
Davi looked up, confused by her words. "Am I supposed to take it off? Isn't this my guild symbol?" Olis had made a big deal about them and said Knights carried them as a way to show which guild they were in. Gray also mentioned they were important, so why would he take it off?
Pretty Face let out a small laugh. "Yes, if you were in a good guild, I could see why you wouldn't want to take it off, but young man, that symbol belongs to Phoenix Flight."
"I know."
"So, I assume you want to quit the guild and forfeit?"
Davi cocked his head to the side, and his confused look grew. "Why would I do that?" He lifted his arm and pointed up to the captains. Specifically, he pointed to Laer. "She's the only one up there I've taken a liking to. I decided if I had to be stuck in a shitty guild, I'd like to be part of hers."
That managed to catch everyone off guard, and the entire arena, along with the captains and every other Arcane Knight that was present, now looked at Davi as if he were insane. In a way, they were correct, as no sane person would ever willingly join Phoenix Flight. Davi had done so, though, all in hopes that its string of bad luck would somehow result in him finding his dragon. Of course, no one else but the test of the soul understood that, and it was his resolve and desire to reach that creature that the core placed him within this guild.
It wasn't that Phoenix Flight was the best guild suited for Davi; instead, it was the only guild, as the core was able to read his heart and knew that if Davi were to be placed into any other guild, he would simply leave the Knights, having no reason to serve them. As he was now, Davi was nothing special, but the core knew that if given the time, it would have a diamond. A diamond that would eventually shatter and break since it was in Phoenix Flight, but still a diamond nonetheless.
"Why would he want to be in that guild?" Olivia face-palmed. "Why didn't I see this coming?"
Bruno frowned and, for once, was speechless, unable to say anything to lighten the mood.
Ash was just as baffled. "How was it that he got stuck in that guild? I thought that when I made it into Pantheon, someone like Davi would likely be put into one of the higher-up guilds? That's a waste of talent for him to end up there."
"Oh dear." Irene sighed. "He had such a lovely-sounding voice as well. I'm sad that this is his fate."
Ken glanced at the others, raising an eyebrow. "It's just a guild. Who cares which one he ended up in?"
Their group wasn't the only one muttering about Davi, though. Lots of other people had something to say.
"Rowan, look!" Ashley said in glee. "He's in that cursed guild. He'll die for sure."
"Yes!" Sera eagerly nodded. "Isn't that great?"
Rowan wasn't smiling, though. "Damn it." He cursed and turned away, unable to look at Davi. "What the hell. How am I supposed to get a rematch now? I wanted to make him pay, not watch him die."
Over with Cain, he let out a sigh of relief. "I figured he'd end up in that cursed guild. It's where the freaks belong after all."
"D-Davi." Ruby had the decency to look a little conflicted.
Even the captains were getting in on the whispering. Father's face was twisted into a deep frown, and the man looked extremely annoyed. "A member of the Mordheim country made it into a guild? This is the worst possibility. How did he bypass the test?"
"Maybe he's not a spy?" Crow shrugged. "Could he just be some rich brat who wanted to leave his shitty home and came to our great kingdom?"
"He's insulted Estiria every chance he's gotten." Dark Star snorted. "I don't think he finds this place great."
"I wish we knew what happened in his test." Dye hummed, tapping his chin with a paintbrush. "Not even we can view the final exam, though. There's no way of knowing what the king's core saw in him."
The core of the king was the core that connected everyone together through the grimoire app. It wasn't the king himself and was instead its own separate entity, but it did survive off the king's mana and knew everything the king knew. The king was far too busy to look at a couple of squires, and so the core made choices on his behalf, since in a way, it was a second him. If the king's core placed someone in a guild, then the rest of them just had to accept it.
"How does it feel now that you have three new guildmates, Eman?" Gorgon asked teasingly.
Laerton's frown grew, and the blonde girl's arms clutched tighter around the plushie she was holding. "He won't stay long. He's being cocky right now; the fear will get to him, though. As soon as he sees the guild base, he'll break down and leave my guild. Of course, by then it'll be too late. The curse has already clung to him. He's a walking corpse, just like I am."
"It's a shame." Myth let out a soft sigh. "I still don't agree with throwing innocent people into the guild. What was the core thinking? This is hardly fair."
"Don't tell me you're feeling soft on the boy." Laer gave a slight smirk. "What happened to being scared of the big bad Ebony Knight?"
"He's just a boy." Myth grunted. "Practically still a kid. I don't agree with the way my guildmate treated him, and I don't agree with him being in that guild at all."
Father's look of rage faded, and something else appeared in his eyes. He gave a mild smirk and stood up. "I'd like to have a word with him." He hummed. "Just to make sure he didn't use any tricks to make it past the core. Perhaps I can also convince him to leave the guild and return home while he still can."
"Sit back down." Father went to take a step, but a sudden voice made him pause. His entire body froze up in shock. He wasn't the only one, either. All the captains jumped up and turned, staring in shock. Paragon's eyes were wide, and she stared at the wooden throne in amazement. Grampa Green's eyes finally held clarity, and they stared directly ahead at the Shining Sentinels guild leader. "Do I have to repeat myself, boy?" Grampa Green's voice came out, broken, yet somehow strong and intense. "I won't ask again. Sit. Down."
"G-Green? You can talk?" Father asked in shock, all thoughts of Davi Hawker totally gone.
Grampa Green was more corpse than man, with wooden skin that was attached to his throne and various vines and branches that grew out of him. No longer was he staring blankly ahead, and his frail body was somehow moving again, as it pushed up on its elbows and leaned forward.
"What's done is done." Grampa Green croaked out in a weak voice. "Don't stand in the way of fate. The core has spoken. He's in the guild he is meant for. Whatever happens is now out of all of our hands, save for Lady Rin. Let it be."
Laer opened her mouth to say something, but she quickly closed it. The truth was, she really didn't want any new guild members. The curse of Phoenix Flight was one no one could escape, not even her, yet due to her power, she had been able to survive it for longer than most. Sooner or later, though, her time would run out and she would die. Would that be before or after the new members, though? That was the question. She was tired of seeing people die.
There was still a tense moment, but after some time, Father let out a defeated sigh and took a seat at his throne once more. "You're right. Forgive me, I let my despair blind me for a moment." He grunted. "I don't like the idea of anyone from Mordheim being in this kingdom, though. All they bring is ruin and disaster. I suppose it doesn't matter now, does it? He'll die all the same. His fate is sealed."
Grampa Green didn't say anything else. The man's eyes closed, and if not for the fact that he was snoring softly, Paragon would have thought he was dead. Hesitantly, she wiped some drool and blood from her captain's lips. "That was spooky. It was the first time in a long time I heard him speak."
"He has a habit of only saying what is needed." Myth spoke up once more. "If he talked here, then perhaps all of us made a mistake."
"What mistake?" Gorgo asked, frowning softly.
Myth nodded his head down toward the boy with raven black hair. "None of us bothered to notice him till the very last test when he pulled that cursed armor out. It makes me wonder. How many other noteworthy people have managed to slip through the cracks? This year is turning out to be very interesting."
Meanwhile, in the room with the vice captains, Lady Tori, also known as the Lance of Victory, looked like she was about to lose it. Blood was trailing down her lip from how hard she bit it, and her phone exploded due to how hard she had gripped it. The few remaining vice captains who were in the room looked very nervous.
"That armor that boy had," Mermaid began. "Isn't it the same as the Knight you captured—"
The entire room shook, and the wall exploded as Tori's fist smashed into it, blowing a hole through the room as well as the other three rooms that were on the other side. "Why, Haru! Why would you put him in that guild? How am I supposed to get my fight now?"
Her precious Knight, the one she dreamed of doing battle with and putting down one day, had now been placed in the worst guild ever. Her dream of slaying the next Ebony Knight was quickly going up in smoke because he'd now likely die from something else before ever reaching his true potential.
Back in the arena, Pretty Face hopped off the door and landed on the ground next to Davi. She reached out and gripped the man by his chin, turning it and looking into his eyes. "No, you're not under the effects of a mind-altering spell." She muttered quietly. "If you were, the test would have spat you out, but you passed? Tell me, does mental illness run in the family, because why in Haru's name would you ever want to be a member of Phoenix Flight?"
"Fire is the opposite of cold," Davi said flatly.
"You're gonna die." Pretty Face responded, just as flat. She let go of his face and flew back up to her spot. "Whatever, your funeral, I guess. Go spend time with your friends and family; who knows how much longer you'll get to see them for?" Then she addressed the crowd. "Alright, people, forget about the dead man walking; let's keep these names rolling! I'd like to get done with this sooner rather than later!"
Davi looked around, and instantly he noticed the looks people were giving him. Some were full of fear, others rage, and some pity. Eventually, he spotted his friends, and they had the same looks as everyone else—pity, rage, sorrow, and, in Ken's case, boredom.
"Davi!" As soon as he reached them, Olivia grabbed his hand and squeezed it. "Are you okay?" She asked.
"Why wouldn't I be?" Davi raised an eyebrow.
"You're in Phoenix Flight," Ash grunted. "The bad luck guild, remember?"
Davi nodded and looked at Ash, noticing his guild symbol. "So, I guess since we're in different guilds, you want to fight me now, huh?"
"I feel less bummed about the guild you ended up in now." Ash sighed.
"Seriously, bro," Bruno reached out and placed a hand on Davi's shoulder. "I know you're tough, but even you gotta know this isn't good."
"Good, bad—does that matter?" Davi asked, looking away. "We're all dealt a hand in life. Some of us have good hands, are blessed with money, and have a strong magic type. Some are dealt bad hands, having nothing, and a type of magic looked down on. We all play the game to the best of our ability. Joining a guild is no different. If I don't join, I'll be hunted down for the rest of my life by the Knights for being a criminal, especially now that they've all seen me in my armor. If I do join the Knights, then it means sticking around with the worst guild in the world. Both hands are bad, but this is the hand I have been dealt and the one that I'm going to play."
"Stick to your guns." Ken gave a nod of approval. "These people are all just cowards anyway. They didn't see your Vil Shadow Armor like I did. I'm sure that could help you stay alive."
"Vil Shadow Armor?" Olivia raised an eyebrow at that.
"It was the spell I used in the last exam," Davi explained.
"You've had that up your sleeve the entire time!" Olivia demanded, suddenly annoyed. "Now that I think about it, didn't you also have Vil Shadow Vault too? Why didn't you bring those spells out earlier?!"
"More importantly," Ash's eyes narrowed slightly. "How were you able to use a Vil-level spell? I'm guessing you were in a double dungeon, right? Don't get me wrong, I get you're strong, but your mana isn't as deep or plentiful as the mana the branch families give off, and I saw Nori struggle to cast a Vil-level spell. For you to be able to cast a Vil-level spell while under those constraints would be an incredible feat. Don't tell me, can you use Ril-level magic?"
Davi shook his head. "Sadly, no. Both Vault and Armor are only at the level of Vil, and the last time I looked at them, they weren't close to evolving. The reason I don't use Vil Shadow Vault that often is because it's a waste of mana in my eyes. All it does is drag me and the enemy into my vault so we can fight. Before I fought Gray, no one had ever been able to escape my vault before, so I never saw a point in using it. When Gray did escape, I was low on mana due to the beating I took and wasn't able to use it any longer. Especially since I hadn't been at full strength before that fight either due to being poisoned."
"I guess that explains not using Vault, but why didn't you ever try to bring your armor out?" Olivia asked. "Surely it would have helped in a lot of earlier fights? The snake or even the fight with Gray could have gone completely different if you used a higher form of your strongest spell."
"Well, it's simple. I can't use Vil Shadow Armor." Davi said casually.
This time it was Ken's turn to frown. "Now hang on, I'm sure I heard you say Vil."
"You did; I used Vil Shadow Armor in the exam." Davi nodded again. "But I can no longer use it."
"I'm at a total loss." Bruno chuckled. "You could use a high-level spell in a double dungeon, but now that you're out of the dungeon, where it should be easier to cast spells, you can't?"
"He used an enchantment," Irene spoke up, catching everyone off guard. The blind girl nodded her head after a moment. "That's how you did it, right? An enchantment."
"You mean like the school?" Olivia asked.
Irene frowned and let out a soft hum. "Not exactly. The school of enchantment is very unique, as it involves programming magic and spells, allowing them to do things they otherwise couldn't. People with a high grade in the school are called Enchanters, and they can use enchantments to tweak and alter their spells, allowing them to greatly change."
"You talked about something similar to the method, Olivia," Davi stated. "After the first exam, I asked you if you could make a sword, and at the time, you said you couldn't because a spell that changes its fundamental formula becomes too unstable. You were still able to change your spell up, though, like when you created the flying snake. The reason I asked about it is because I've changed how my spell works before and never had an issue with it, though I also didn't know it was an enchantment; I just sort of did it and assumed anyone could."
Irene shook her head again. "Anyone who has the school of enchantment can use it to tweak their magic, but the lower the school's grade is, the less they can do. Suppose a spell is changed too much to where it becomes a different spell entirely. In that case, it'll become far too unstable, but if a mage keeps the spell at its base but adds onto the spell, they can give it multiple additional effects, such as increasing its size, its power, or even causing it to activate other spells in a chain sequence."
Ash gave a slight nod of his head, seemingly following along. "So, enchantments can change spells. I do something similar with my falcon, which lets me double cast, but how did the enchantment help Davi with his armor? He still shouldn't have been able to cast a Vil-level spell."
"If I had to guess, he set a condition."
"A condition?" Bruno frowned.
"Oh, I get it." Ken suddenly perked up. "Where I'm from, we have something similar. We call them Wills. Think of it like a contract, but you make it with qi. You make a vow or promise, giving up something but gaining something in return. Some people in my homeland do this. They'll give half their life force in exchange for mastery over a type of martial arts, or they'll give up the use of a limb in order to exchange that for more attack power. Medora, the one I told you of earlier, used a Will to give up pieces of her humanity in exchange for power."
"It's sort of the same as that." Irene rubbed her chin, a little surprised. "When using an enchantment on a spell, there's always a give or take. If the thing you're trying to add is too powerful, it'll require you to give something like a restriction. For example, a mage with fire magic could use enchantment to greatly boost the strength of his fire spells beyond what they normally are, but he'd have to put a restriction on it equal to the benefit of what he is gaining. Since he's getting a lot of power, this restriction could be something like he can only use these enhanced fire spells when the sun is up at its highest peak. By putting a restriction on his spell, it's able to be added onto with enchantments."
"If enchantments are that powerful, why haven't more mages used them?" Olivia asked with wide eyes. "And why didn't I learn about them?"
"We likely didn't learn about them because the school we went to was shitty." Ash snorted. "As for why nobody else uses them, it's because it's hard. I don't get it fully, but I can tell you this: creating my bird and getting it to cast the same spells I did was a pain in the ass, and it costs a crap load of mana. I imagine that's a form of enchantment as well, and the restriction would be the price, though I still don't know what Davi did for his."
Everyone turned to look at Davi, and he sighed. Finally, he held up three fingers. "There are three effects that are placed onto my Vil Shadow Armor, and they all are connected to the same two restrictions. The first effect is that the spell is as cheap to cast as the tier of school below it. So if I ever use it at the level of Ril, it'll have the mana cost of a Vil-level spell. This also means that when I use the Vil level, it costs as much as a Row level. The second effect is that it will be powered up half a stage higher than it should be, with the exception of Row. Row is unaffected, and this only pertains to Vil. The final effect is that it will automatically use my Shadow Vault spell at the level of Vil, which is also affected by the first two effects while in this state."
That last effect was how his body could keep moving even after it was dead. The hands from his vault would force him forward.
Irene frowned as she heard all the effects. "Those are quite powerful sounding. What in Haru's name did you have to do to make that work?"
"It was easy, really." Davi tapped his brain. "I just needed to give it two big restrictions. My first restriction is that Row Shadow Armor can't be tweaked or boosted the same way the others can. It can only be improved the way all other spells get improved, which is just making myself stronger, rather than increasing its power or durability with an enchantment. The second restriction is much bigger and was the one that made it possible. I put a lock on the spell. Vil Shadow Armor and all higher-level versions can only be used if a certain condition is met. The mana of a particular enemy has to be touching me. If that condition isn't met, then I simply can't use the spell."
"That's kind of a bad oversight, isn't it?" Bruno snorted. "I mean, if it has to be that specific mana type, then you'll only be able to use it once, right? Why not just keep the spell how it is and only put the enchantment on it once you're done?"
"I didn't make it and because of that, I don't know how to undo it." Davi awkwardly scratched his chin. "I guess I can enchant my spells, but the one who taught me how didn't do a good job. She made the spell for me based off what she needed and never explained it."
Shadow Armor was a spell Evelyn made just for him. Through trial and error, it was a spell that in theory would let him match up to the dragon slightly better. Her goal had been to make something grand with his lack of talent.
"You can't undo it." Irene sighed. "When an enchantment is put in place, it's permanent. Again, think of spells as a computer code. You're jamming new lines of code into it and also altering how the rest of the code works on a fundamental level. Once it's added, it becomes a part of it. If you wanted to remove it, you'd have to take the entire code apart piece by piece and rebuild it from the ground up, and that would require a master enchanter. I doubt even an S grade could do it easily."
"So, basically, Davi fucked up." Ash nodded.
"I did not." Davi shook his head. "My spell will help me beat the thing I care about. That's all that matters to me. Besides, I can still use Row just fine and have no issues. Row Shadow Armor grows stronger the better I become. As long as I improve, so too will it, which in turn will make the higher-level versions even stronger as well."
Olivia was silent while the others talked to Davi about his armor and whether it was a good or bad idea. She had a pretty good idea what the enemy he spoke of was. It had to be a dragon. That meant if he had used his armor like Ken claimed, then the creature they fought was a dragon. Why hadn't he told her? Why didn't Ken tell her? The two had kept it secret for some reason.
In the end, it didn't matter. If Davi wanted to tell her, he would. Her attention soon turned back to the test as more names were called up. Finally, nobles started to be called, and unlike before, where it was sparingly that someone got placed into a guild, the nobles began to instantly get sorted.
One ended up in Pantheon like Ash, and another in Hydra Storm. More nobles kept coming after that, one ending up in the Wandering Coin, another in Oak Watchers, and once again another ended up in Pantheon. Over and over again, they kept coming, and they kept ending up in one of those four guilds. None of the nobles ended up in any of the top three, nor did they end up in Phoenix Flight.
Eventually, though, a branch noble was called. One she instantly recognized.
"Nori Jupitar."
The Helios family should have been the next one, and a member would have gone after Davi, but strangely enough, this year had no Helios clan members who were taking the exam. Because of this, Nori was the first branch noble to saunter toward the gate.
No one was shocked when the man entered and then stepped out, wearing a cloak that bore the symbol of Umbra Mortis upon it. The branch families always ended up in the three best guilds and almost always went on to take up captain positions for other guilds at a later date or even start their own brand-new guild.
Commoners were lucky to get in any guild at all, while nobles always got in at least one of the bottom four, but for main branch families, they always made it into the best of the best, and this was no different.
The arena exploded in cheering for Nori, who looked smug and formed his glass wings, flying over the crowd like some sort of angelic being.
More names came after that, as other Jupitar members took the test, being placed in either the Shining Sentinels, Umbra Mortis, or Mourning Stars. Each member of the family looked confident and entered with an air of smugness around them. Soon, though, the Jupitar family ran out of members. The next branch family would be the Lunar, but before Cain or Irene's name could be called, once Pretty Face reached the Ls, another name was said first.
"Mary Lot."
Olivia remained standing in place. Her legs didn't want to move. Bruno pressed her forward, but she still didn't move.
"Mary Lot?" Pretty Face called out again.
"That's you, right?" Bruno gave her a grin. "Come on. Step forward."
"I-I know but…" Olivia stopped. It suddenly felt so real. This was the moment. It was pass or fail. Either she'd be a Knight or she wouldn't. "What if I don't make it?" Silence filled the air. She hadn't done the best in the previous tests. What if that all came to bite her in the ass here and she failed? She had wanted to ask Davi about the tests, but got distracted.
"Maybe you'll fail." Ken nodded. "Or maybe you won't. You have to try at least, right?"
"I know…"
"Olivia." Davi looked toward her. "You got this. Just do your best. That's all you can do."
"Mary Lot? Final chance." Pretty Face yelled out.
Olivia took a deep breath and she stepped forward. "I'm here!" She called out. People looked to her as she began to walk to the gate. "I'm ready to take the test."