~NRK~
Two hours later, they left their portals with far lighter expressions.
Well, all of them save for Amaryllis who gave Snapdragon back his shield before she shivered, rubbing her biceps with a frown.
"Alright, you all did well today," Caraway said with a smile as Sage sighed in relief. "Come on now, they were only low-level apparitions. Why, several years back, I ended up fighting on a team of Guardians and we fought a ghost demon! It was fun!"
The mage students groaned.
Snapdragon let out a sigh of relief as he sat down on the ground, rolling his shoulder. "Tigers. There were tigers," he moaned and grumbled.
"Y-Yeah," Rosemary swallowed as she brushed off her skirt, a bit at the side bitten through. "Vampire tigers."
"Don't remind me," Cal rubbed his neck and looked off to the side. "Why did they also spit poison?"
"It was stupid," the two said in agreement. "Why did they spit poison?"
"You guys certainly went through an experience," Naruto said with an exhausted look, a notebook and a smaller leather-bound book underarm. "Still, I bet you got good training out of it."
Parsley chuckled beside him, the dwarf holding onto a pair of black bars over her left shoulder while a similar leather-bound book sat in her opposite arm's hand.
Over her forehead, a pair of goggles sat as she looked at Thyme.
The elf had a bandaged-up bicep while sporting some sweat compared to her drenched comrades.
"You alright?" She asked as Mint walked off. "That looks a bit rough."
"Yeah, well, I got scratched by a poison-spitting vampire tiger," the elf said with a straight face as Naruto and Parsley's faces twisted into confusion. "Don't… Please don't ask."
"Al… A-Alright," the dwarf grinned nervously before nodding. "Come on, let's go clean-up."
The group left like that, the walk to the locker rooms, that they'd started going to to keep close to their classes, allowed them to decompress and groan.
Walking down a set of stairs by the door leading towards the yard, the boys and girls parted at a pair of locker rooms.
With them being the first ones there, Naruto, Cal, and Snapdragon could disrobe in comfort.
"O-Owww," Snapdragon rolled his shoulder. "I'm more sure now than ever that I need that shield."
"You tanked it like a champ, don't be a bitch," Cal said as he dropped all his torso armor before pulling off his top. "You might want to come without one more often. Seems like you'd learn faster."
Snapdragon groaned before blushing a bit, muttering as he kept his back to Naruto and Cal while depositing his armor into his locker.
He zipped down the front of his jumpsuit and stepped out in his white shirt and gray boxers.
The sound of rustling behind him caused the lanky boy's head to turn a bit to see his blonde friend.
Naruto put his combat wear away into his locker and Snapdragon could see his body in full save for his green boxers.
Lean, defined, and strong were the words that came to mind when he saw him.
His tail moved slowly behind him as he picked up his weapons from the bench and put them away as well before running over to the wall opposite of the lockers to grab a trio of towels from the shelf.
He came over before tossing his friends one each. "Hmm," Naruto stretched before getting rid of his boxers and tossing them into his locker.
Snapdragon had turned around before that happened, shaking his head. 'God, that's not it!' He took off his shirt slowly, lifting his chest a bit for more surface area… before looking at Cal and choking as the other boy walked behind him naked as the day he was born with his towel over his shoulder.
The boy was defined as much as he could be for his age yet not as rippling as Snapdragon remembered his father being, Cal's frame more natural to his form like Naruto's muscles had been. Powerful thighs, biceps, and a powerful core, his musculature fit his image of the boy's fighting style… and, of course, he saw his junk.
He turned back around, feeling embarrassed and inadequate. 'No wonder he's…' Snapdragon blushed harder before shaking his head as he heard the telltale sounds of rushing water. 'You're not on that side of the fence,' he reminded himself as he heard the sounds of the other students. "Shit," he whispered in horror and potential embarrassment.
He disrobed and ran into the shower on Naruto's left side, Cal occupying the one in front of the blonde's stall.
Quickly closing the curtain and turning on the water as loud as he could, the feel of the heat getting a jump out of him before he quickly changed the temperature.
He sighed in relief.
"So, Snap, how are you holding up?" Naruto asked him as the ginger heard the sounds of scrubbing.
"... I-I'm trying my best," Snapdragon responded as he picked up a nearby sponge and lathered it up with a bar of soap. "It's… it's so scary," he said as he began to scrub his arm. "I… I-I cut into something's head a-and its head juice got all over my face a-and-!"
"Snap."
The orange-haired boy jumped, snapped out of his reverie. "S-Sorry."
"Hmph," Cal scoffed. "You're dealing with the literal fact you took another living being's life… hell, you did that today," he said as Snapdragon shivered.
"I-Is it supposed to be like this? I-It was just an animal, one that was going to kill me! So, w-why?"
"It's because you understand what it means for something to lose its life," Naruto said softly as a soft crack reached their ears. "Ahhh… Sss, not wanting to kill isn't wrong but when it's down to the wire and you know you've done nothing wrong… you had to come to the decision of its life or your own. It's not wrong to want to live."
Snapdragon's head fell as he felt warmer around his eyes.
"... I…"
"... Don't be a baby, it's going to happen," Cal inserted. "We're going to kill one day, I'm sure of that. Because we're here to protect. You can't protect without getting your hands bloodied, it's been that way for my family for generations."
"Cal."
"Nope, do not get mushy on me. I'm not here to talk about feelings and rough shit… you just need to grow up. Go out there and actually experience life… go get laid."
"Cal?!" Snapdragon blushed bright red, choking on the oncoming water as Cal cackled.
"Seriously, are you two even attracted to women?"
"I-I am, I just don't go around talking like that," Naruto said with a slight stutter. "Besides, I have way too much stuff on my plate and it's our second week. I'm really not thinking about that."
"Fair… so, how about this?" Cal leaned over the stall so they could see his wicked smirk, a wet rag over his eyes as he snorted. "Out with it, ya cowards, which one do you think is the hottest?"
Naruto burned bright red along with Snapdragon. "W-Wait, d-dude, come on."
"Nope. Out with it, Uzumaki. I want to know which part of the spectrum you're on."
Snap burned brighter. "... I-I don't really know?" He said unsurely as Cal 'looked' at him with a raised brow.
"How do you not know? Dude, it's liking girls not a fucking formula."
"I-I just don't, alright? I've… f-for me, I never really had a crush-and I'm not gay!" He said before Cal could open his mouth. "O-Okay?! I know I like women, generally. I see them a-and get embarrassed sometimes. L-Like when you were talking about Rosemary's… s-skirt," he burned like a candle.
"Huh, would you look at that, what about you?" Cal's head turned back to Naruto who huffed. "And don't try that 'I don't know' shit, I can sense it on you. Out with it."
Naruto grunted, rolling his arms as he washed his golden cuff. "... This never leaves this room."
"Fuck yes! Deets, my dude!"
"... T-Thyme's got nice long legs," Naruto said quickly as Snap gasped a bit. "... S-Sage, too."
"Go on," Cal said with a growing grin as the blonde blushed more.
"D-Dammit, Cal… tsk. O-Okay, so, Rosemary's energy? I do like that. Amaryllis has such a powerful personality, Snap, it's interesting."
Snapdragon considered that. "Yeah… she does."
"Hell yeah, she's a woman who knows what she's after," Cal said with a perverted grin. "Come on, that last one."
Naruto sighed the hardest on this one. "... A-And Parsley's just… incredible, in a weird way," he admitted quietly as they heard the boys in the locker room. "Okay? She's confident, funny, good with family, kind, a-and…" He tucked in closer to the corner of his staff. "Her chest guys, it's hard to not look at it."
Cal whistled while Snapdragon remembered that body part and burned as the visual bounced in his head.
"O-Oh, God," he whispered in awe as Naruto nodded.
"Yeah. That's how I am, alright?"
"I see, I see, we learned a lot today," Cal grinned as he snickered. "Take pointers, Snappy, this is what a lust-filled goon looks like."
"Oi! Are you one to talk?!" Naruto said as the other boys came into the room.
"Hmmm~ What happened?" Came a familiar slow tone of voice, Naruto blinking as he peeked out of his curtains to see that one guy he caught in his arms that one time. "Hiya, bud~ How's life?"
"... Sorry, I don't know your name."
"Hmm, it's Slime Boy."
Snapdragon peeked out of his curtain in confusion. "Slime Boy?" He asked in confusion.
"Y-Yeah, it's what everyone calls me, you know, I like it. 'Slime' and 'boy', it's concise."
"You sound like you're on good shit," Cal said as Parnelle hid to the side, looking at him with a tilt of the head. "You holdin'?"
"My family runs a Terrasphere shop."
"Not what I meant but you do you," he said before going back down into his stall. "For now, I've got egging material."
Snapdragon and Naruto groaned in unison.
~NRK~
The group found themselves, not just the Warrior course students but all Freshmen, under the care of Hakone, the group wearing their gym uniforms.
"Take up a weapon of your choice. Whether it be your own or one you want to try out from the rack," the black man said as the groups went to it before he found Naruto in front of him, his combat uniform's gauntlets on. "Oh?"
"It's been a while since we went at it in hand-to-hand combat," the blonde boy said as the man nodded, the two walking off to the side.
"It'd be a nice refresher to spar with you again. Let's set everyone else up and then we'll have at it."
Naruto grinned before father and son went about coaching the students, some to the weird acceptance of Naruto.
"... Amaryllis, it's a rapier, not a sword," Naruto said with a sweatdrop as the girl hacked at her straw dummy with the rapier, time and time again.
"I'm VENTING!" She declared as she whipped it across the dummy's torso, scoring a light cut. "S-See!" Amaryllis gasped for a bit.
Naruto chuckled. "So, you were trying to slash it?"
"Yeah! Nothing deters a bastard like good cuts!"
"R-Right," Snapdragon said from beside her with a nervous smile, the boy slicing into a wooden dummy only for his ax to be caught on the shoulder of the puppet. "Hmph! HMPH!" He pulled back on it with as much strength as he could muster before tossing himself backward, Naruto catching him in the nick of time. "A-A bit too much?"
"Way too much. You're going too hard. Remember, you don't have chopping strength yet so work on slicing for now," Naruto said as he borrowed the ax. "It's all about arcs, slash speed, and pull-back," he said as he demonstrated with seemingly little effort, Snapdragon's eyes watching how the tougher boy's arm swept back with the ax to return to an at-the-ready battle stance. "See what I mean?"
"Y-Yeah! I think I do," he nodded with vigor as Naruto handed him his weapon. "Okay… Arcs, speed, pull-back."
He tried and smiled as the weapon slashed against the dummy's chest before getting stuck.
"Sorry!" He said but Naruto chuckled.
"You can pull on it," he said and Snapdragon blinked before doing so, finding the weapon dislodging with ease. "It's all about the stroke," Naruto said as Amaryllis cackled pervertedly.
"I bet it," the two blushed before the blonde rolled his eyes.
"Come on, do you want to use a rapier? Or is it just what you picked up?"
"The latter."
A quick trip to the racks and Snapdragon's skin fell a color as Amaryllis returned with both a shortsword… and a whip.
"Heheheheheh," she giggled maniacally. "YES."
"Are you sure about that?" He asked Naruto who chuckled nervously.
"It's the best suited to her… style," he found the words as Amaryllis put down the sword first. "Of course, she would," Naruto realized in horror before the sound of rapid whipping had him and Snap stepping back on principle.
"Yes! Yes! YES!" She cackled like the witch she was. "I FEEL ALIVE!"
"... Good luck with that," Naruto said with a fake grin as he slide out of 'frame'. "She's all yours."
"W-Wait! No! Don't leave me with-!"
"Snappy~"
Snapdragon's balls jumped into his throat.
Oh shit.
"So, Sage, what kind of weapon do you want to use?" Parsley asked the mage who huffed as she stabbed forward with her spear at her plush target before grunting as she stabbed in a bit.
"I-I'm fine?" Sage said unsurely as she tugged on the weapon's shaft before sighing as it only moved a bit. "I never…considered it," she admitted as Parsley nodded, coming over and ushering her to the side.
She wound up her hammer and brought it on the back of the spear, perfect shot, knocking out the other side of the dummy gently.
"There."
"Everything going well over here?" Naruto asked as he came over with a wave, Parsley waving back.
"Yeah! What about you? You just helpin'?" Parsley asked and Naruto nodded.
"Well, for now. Me and ossan are gonna be sparring after we check on you all. So, what's going on?"
"N-Nothing!" Sage said, embarrassed.
"Sage doesn't know what weapon she wants to use," the dwarf chimed in helpfully as the mage's form turned to her in disbelief. "Hey now, it's not wrong to help every now and then."
"I-I didn't need help!" The girl squeaked before blushing a brighter red as Naruto considered her. "I-I'm fine."
"... Then how about you see about trying to hit me?" Naruto offered as Sage looked horrified. "Come on. You might as well try. It won't hurt you."
"How do you know that?" She pouted as he and Parsley laughed. "... N-No laughing," Sage blushed as Naruto grinned.
"Not a chuckle in sight. Come on," he said as he crossed his arms, leaving Sage concerned. "Any time, Sage."
"W-Where's your weapon?"
"I don't need a weapon to stop yours. Now, take your best shot."
Sage looked concerned as she got into a textbook-perfect stance for the soldiers in their kingdom, inching closer.
Naruto simply smiled as she got close enough for her spear to reach his nose and tried to prod it.
Sage quickly found herself flat on the ground as Naruto held her spear in his hand. "So, obviously, someone isn't all that experienced," he said as he crouched down to her level, the mage's cheeks puffed up like a flustered bird. "... Sorry, sorry, you just need to learn to accept help sometimes. Rosemary isn't the only one who wants to help you, you know?"
Sage saw his held-out hand and took it, feeling calloused fingers and a palm that easily engulfed her own hands, smaller slender digits barely covering Naruto's.
'It's different compared to my dad's,' she realized as Naruto pulled her up and she was steadied by Parsley. "T-Thanks," Sage said as he nodded.
"... ya know? There was a weapon I just changed out for Amaryllis."
Minutes later, Sage gasped time and time again as she stabbed through several parts of the practice dummy with awe, exhilaration, and a form of happiness she didn't know she'd wanted.
"Heh, got her," Naruto said as he and Parsley observed Sage from the side, the rapier in the mage's hand doing its work. "What 'bout you? Decided to mix things up? Want tips? Good?"
"I'm good for now," Parsley said. "Go on, go and get your spar in. It'll be interesting to see."
Naruto chuckled before nodding, hurrying off to find Hakone.
Minutes later, the tired class found themselves on the bleachers surrounding the mats, all the dummies put away on the sides as Naruto and Hakone walked to meet one another in the middle of the ring.
"Right now, all who know close-quarters combat should pay the most attention," Hakone said as he undid his gi top and dropped it to the ground a bit away. "Likely, as you battle instructor and a Guardian, you know that I'm strong, it's simple maths," he said as he breathed out.
Then Hakone breathed in and the students blinked at the sight of some silverish-looking streams flowing around his body and then into his mouth.
"Ah, that's good," the man said as he stood with his hands behind his back.
And the 'change' that took place was surprising, to say the least.
"Huh?" Rosemary blinked. "W-Wait, uh, what happened?" She asked as sat up, her friends, sans Thyme, looking at her oddly. "Don't you guys see it? That silvery stuff? It's all around him!"
"What are you talking about?" Sage asked, confused, as Hakone chuckled. "Sir?"
"Well, I'm a bit surprised she can see it," the man said as he cupped his chin, one eye closed. "Though, I'm sure Thyme should also see it."
"Y-Yeah, I do," Thyme said. "What… is that?"
"That's essentially the spirit if you will," he said and the students looked surprised. "Come now, magic may be what everyone sees because it's flashy, it provides versatile benefits while this is strictly meant for combat, a skill that I've honed to gain my top spot in the Warrior-class Guardians."
"Hmph," Naruto chuckled as he got rid of the blue top of his gym uniform, leaving him in his blue shorts, a white tunic, and shinobi sandals. "Spiritual power, those commands I told you guys about. Those mental commands you use to use magic for mages. That's it in its pure form," he said. "Though, I'm surprised Rosie can see it."
"She seems more in-tune with nature than we thought."
"Ah, that explains it," Naruto said with a grin before he breathed out. 'But it's not important right now,' he thought.
He breathed in and his energy was visible.
Golden energy slipped around him in a familiar multi-directional fashion to those who knew but the boy wasn't creating his favored technique.
Naruto brought his hands together into a hand seal and the energy stopped, forming a flaming haze around him before sinking into his flesh.
The boy grinned as he released the seal. "Alright, ready whenever," he said as the air around him seemed to distort.
"Well, that we could see," Parsley said as Amaryllis blinked.
"That was a ridiculous amount of magical power," she said in shock as Thyme and Sage nodded. "You warrior-only folks don't get it but he made his energy visible without a spell, that's big."
"I don't get it, why?" Snapdragon asked.
"Because you don't normally see energy, do you? Outside of spells, when have you ever seen it?" Thyme asked and the group hummed in thought.
"I never thought about it like that," Cal said.
"Well, he's using it to fight, right?!" Rosemary grinned. "Oh, man! I wonder what they're gonna do!"
"Fight," Sage emphasized. "Still, Professor Hakone was right, he is Guardian. How does Naruto really compare?"
"Maybe we'll see if he's all-talk from yesterday," Cal said with interest. "I wanna see it. If this guy our age could really beat that Crabbe thing."
Snapdragon's eyes locked onto Naruto as he took a wide stance with his torso leaned forward along with his arms, one tucked at his side while the other was out, both open-palmed.
"We're about to find out," he whispered.
"The first to land on their back, yes?" Hakone asked his adoptive child who nodded, the blonde's eyes determined as he wore a neutral expression. "Hmm, attack when-"
The blonde vanished from his spot, shocking his friends save for Parsley who looked around.
And then there was a loud crack and the breeze that gently tousled the students' hair caused them to focus on its origin.
Naruto's leg was rebuffed by the instructor whose one arm came out to block him.
The moment the boy's feet touched the ground, he was already up in front of the teacher's face.
A palm strike was blocked by a raised forearm and Naruto's own forearm came up to block the kick that aimed for his head.
He widened his stance and locked in before rotating with a backhand at Hakone's stomach.
The man caught it with his palm and grinned as Naruto's feet left the floor, an upside-down kick aimed at the Guardian's temple.
He blocked it with his hand palm only for Naruto's other leg to swing around.
It slammed into his guard followed by another kick before the boy kicked off the older male's body, skidding to a stop a bit away on the mats.
"Hmm," Hakone flexed his palm and chuckled before walking towards the blonde, arms at his sides.
Naruto barely crossed his arms as Hakone's fist slammed into them, the meters between them crossed in a blur.
The blow wasn't small, not in the least, the boy was sent sailing for a bit before he backflipped into a crouch the moment he felt the floor-
Blue eyes shot to their owner's side as Naruto combat rolled away from Hakone's downward swung fist.
The fist didn't hit the floor but the wind pressure blew his hair back as the blonde got back to his feet.
He resumed his stance before backflipping over a Hakone's blurring form, kicking out at the man's headspace only for him to catch the blow and send the teen into a spin.
With a raised fist, he stepped in and attacked only to find his fist caught by both of Naruto's hands, the boy's leg slamming down onto his knee.
Naruto tossed the both of them into a roll that the blonde quickly found himself in control of, grasping the instructor's ankles at some point and turning their rolling into a rolling throw.
Hakone sailed through two straw puppets before his flats hissed against the mats, eyes on the approaching Naruto who vanished into a blur once more.
There was an impact and the area where Hakone was exploded into dust and stone.
"Whoa!" Rosemary's mouth fell along with her friends'. "T-That was awesome!" She squealed as Snapdragon and Cal nodded rapidly.
"Damn right it was!" The purple-haired boy said with a wicked grin. "That was sick!"
"I-It was so cool," Snapdragon realized even as the dust cloud cleared and they saw the damage. "W-Wait. D-Did he do that with his bare hands?!"
Naruto had stood up from his crouched, fist in the floor, position, removing his limb from its place as his father appeared behind him.
Their eyes met and the man was quickly jumping back, blocking punch after punch, blow after blow, from the blonde, the force of Naruto's impacts ringing out into the air.
"I-Isn't he harmed?" Sage asked in concern as Parsley rubbed the back of her head.
"Okay, so, like. For me, it's weird how much strength Naruto actually has but I can tell ya, that's not nearly as painful as it looks," the dwarf said as she raised and flexed her fist. "When you've got super strength, things are a bit different."
"It's deadly!" Amaryllis said with shining eyes as the others grew concerned. "YES! Hit a giant thing with those fists of death!"
"We lost her again," Snapdragon considered but his attention went back to Naruto and their instructor. "How much training did he have to do to reach this far?" He wondered out loud as Naruto reacted to their, impossible to see to him, professor.
The blonde's reaction time seemed almost god-like as he reacted time and time again to hits that Snapdragon felt he really shouldn't have been able to.
But he had and that was inspiring to the young lad.
"..." Thyme considered the sparring duo. '... He was telling the truth, most likely,' if she combined this current strength with the so-called incredible speed Naruto had, Thyme was sure that Naruto probably could have beaten that Crabbe on his own. "... It's insane. Really, what kind of training could he have done?"
"Well, Naruto's trained for years," Rosemary said. "Right? Always doing wicked training and stuff. I mean, he literally did 500 push-ups yesterday, right?"
Thyme nodded, cheeks reddening slightly, almost impossible to see… and should have known better than to allow it to show as Amaryllis and Cal's mouths set into wide smirks.
"Hehe, something happened?" The short girl asked with a perverted grin. "I mean, you were sitting on him."
Thyme flinched as her cheeks reddened some more. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Cal, meanwhile, considered what he'd learned earlier and what was before him. 'So, either he made his move or she's getting into his vibe,' well, well, well, good for Naruto to actually be proactive… maybe.
'He's as tough as always!' Naruto thought as he hopped over a low sweep before throwing his body back into a flip to dodge his father's other leg.
He lunged at the instructor with a kick at his hand on the floor only for Hakone to push it and land behind him.
A kick sent the blonde sailing before he crashed into the wall, a web of cracks spreading behind him as he chuckled nervously, hitting the floor.
"My loss," he said as he got up slowly stretching his back until he heard that crack. "Oohhh."
"You did better than three weeks ago," Hakone said with a chuckle. "To think, you're progressing so fast though it's to be expected, yes?"
"I definitely wasn't weak before all this," Naruto said before the two walked over to the bleachers. "So, uh, yeah, I think class is either done or we're doing this outside," he added with a nervous grin as the others blinked.
"Why? I mean, the craters give character," Amaryllis observed before Hakone scratched his cheek nervously.
Getting off the mats, father and son crouched before pulling a section out of the floor.
And then the students realized what they meant as they all balked at the destroyed ground beneath the mats.
"Y-Yeah, uh, that," Naruto said with an embarrassed grin. "So, uh, let's move this outside, yeah?"
"You go way too hard, sometimes," Amaryllis realized as Cal's mouth opened. "I'll emasculate you until you're a female."
He made the smartest executive decision and stopped.
"Heh, damn right."
~NRK~
With Hakone going to find the school's magical janitor, Naruto stretched along with the others, the blonde leading the charge.
"Okay… and we're good!" He declared as he kipped up, the others getting up in their own, less-acrobatic, ways. "... Rosie," Naruto sweatdropped as the girl tried to do as he did.
All that happened was she flopped onto her back with a groan, Snapdragon chuckling at her 'misfortune'.
"It's probably not something you can do out of nowhere," he said as Naruto walked over, helping the girl up. "What will we be doing next?" Snapdragon asked, curiously.
"Well, I think now you guys can either train some more with me or relax," Naruto said to the students, many of whom relaxed or collapsed onto the cool grass. "Geez, well, some of you are up for it."
The willing students followed after the blonde's short, for him, exercise routine.
Including most of his friends bar Sage and Amaryllis, Naruto grinned as their run came to a stop, most of them on their knees, leaning forward on them, or flopped down.
Snapdragon was in the last state while Thyme, Cal, and Rosemary were in the second category. Meanwhile, Parsley, on the other hand, looked fine.
"Alright, you guys did great!" The blonde said with a chuckle and light sweat as the group groaned. "Go hit the showers, I'm pretty sure it's almost time for our next class."
The gathered students nodded before dragging their heavy-feeling bodies to the locker rooms.
"Ugh," Cal stretched and heard a satisfying crack. "Nice… haaa, God. You do that all the time?"
"No, not really," Naruto said as the boy sighed in relief. "Mine are way tougher than this."
"Fuck off," Cal ran for the showers. "D-Dammit!"
The male blonde chuckled as Parsley wiped her forehead. "Hehe, he's suffering," Naruto said as he looked at the laughing Parsley.
And then his gaze went down at 'powerful chest muscles' before his face grew neutral and he robotically went over to throw Snapdragon over his shoulder like a sack of thin potatoes.
"See ya in class."
He exploded towards the school building, overtaking the other rushing students with his face as red as possible.
"DAMMIT!" The blonde shouted as Cal caught sight of him… and grinned.
"Get back here, you blonde bastard! Give me the deets!" He rushed after him, gaining his second wind.
Parsley raised a brow along with Rosemary as Amaryllis whistled, walking over with Sage and cupping her chin as she 'observed' Parsley. Thyme huffing with red cheeks as she stalked off.
"... Yeah, I get it," she said with some red on her own face, the dwarf looking confused. "Hah! I'm gonna ream him for this!"
Sage looked embarrassed as she crossed her arms to cover her own chest. 'B-Boys!' She blushed harder at the idea of having her chest looked at.
And then she compared herself, mentally, to the others and slumped in defeat.
"T-The gap's too big."
"?" Rosemary and Parsley raised their brows at her. "Weird," they said in unison.
Amaryllis cackled.
~NRK~
"So, gals, what'd ya think of the boys?" Amaryllis asked the room as the females changed. "No big spikes in estrogen?"
Many blushed at that while others muttered.
And some grinned like perverts.
Her people.
"Well, Naruto really showed his stuff today," one of them said as Rosemary blushed a bit, Sage's head hiding beneath a hastily wrapped towel. "Like, man, that boy's arms could make a girl melt."
Thyme rolled her eyes with a small blush. 'God, this isn't happening,' please tell her this wasn't.
"He moves so wildly, he's like an animal barely capable of controlling himself!"
"That sounds interesting~," One of them said with a suggestive tone as Amaryllis snorted before she grinned slyly, eying her friend group out the corner of her eye.
Thyme had blushed a bit more while Parsley chuckled nervously, covering her mouth with a blush.
'Hahaha! There it is!' What great material!
~NRK~
Naruto raised a brow as he and his entire friend group found themselves in the second day's fourth class.
Guardian Activities and Geography.
"You guys think we'll be learning about different quest types today?" Naruto asked as they walked in, the blonde looking around before he saw a familiar face. "Sup, Mint!" He said with a grin as the girl in question huffed, shooting him a look with a bit of red on her face.
"I see."
"Hmph, I get it," Thyme said as the group looked at her like she was weird. "... What?"
"I guess strong silent types would get one another," Amaryllis noted as they walked in before Naruto led them into seats by the glasses-wearing girl. "So, how'd you like your daily dose of blondes?" She asked cheekily as Mint's eyebrow twitched.
"Troublesome," she declared while adjusting her glasses, Amaryllis cackling as their teacher, Ms. Bay Laurel, came into the room. "Hmph."
"Welcome, students," she declared as the group greeted her back. "Now, I hope we all got used to our curriculum over the last week because now we'll be handling our work with more consideration," Bay said as she presented the blackboard. "Today, there won't be any more small lessons, this will be the start of a month-long lesson for you all," she said as she paced back and forth in front of the group. "From here on out, the assignments of this class will be far more exploration-specific or test your knowledge of our kingdom."
"What do ya think she means?" Cal asked the group.
"Doesn't it mean we'll be looking at maps?" Snapdragon offered with a frown. "... No, not unless we're going in-depth on these specific places."
"Think we'll go on trips?"
"Most likely."
"For today's class, we'll be surveying several popular locations for adventures of Guardians or notable locations of guilds in Scarborough," the teacher said as she snapped her finger, a Terrasphere on her collar's bow glowing as an astral map shot into the air, open for all to see. "We'll handle the second notion first and foremost. The guilds."
Four shining lights formed on the map, one of which was in Lyngarth, one in Witch Country, one near the Fairy Woods, and another to the south, four specific guilds in four different directions.
"Is there anyone who can name every guild we know of?"
Mint raised her hand.
"Yes, you."
"It would be the Hunter's Union, Witch's Covenant, Mythical Cove, and Dragon Tribe," she ticked off as Bay nodded.
"Correct. You'll note, each one of these guilds is easily identifiable due to their namesakes," Professor Bay explained to the class. "The Hunter's Union, mostly composed of humans with several other races as the minority, is situated in Lyngarth. The base of the union is made up of mercenaries, Guardians, and traders who travel the lands."
Rosemary blinked. "U-Um, do Guardians have to go into a guild?" She asked, nervously.
"No, every Guardian is a noted and qualified entity of the Academy, you don't need to go into a guild but following our rules of conduct is important."
Rosemary sighed in relief. "Um… d-do you know what Lavender did?" She asked as Bay Laurel looked surprised for a moment before cupping her chin.
"... Ah, yes, well, in her case, she traveled the world as a sort of contractor if you will," the students looked confused. "She was rather odd in that regard. She would report to whatever guild was in the area of her travels, it's rather unorthodox but I can't very well deny it had its benefits in letting her become well-known."
Cal hummed at that. "Interesting."
"Following that, the next guild to consider is the Mythical Cove," the centaur continued. "This guild is composed mostly of multiple races with beastkin being of the majority. They do have a base of operations but the Cove is more of a nomadic organization than an established building or notable location. I have it in the northern sector because it most occupies that location."
"Hmph, I've… heard of them, a bit," Thyme said as she and Naruto locked eyes. "They're supposedly exploration experts and chart out the areas around my home."
"Huh, sounds like they're good folk," Parsley said as Thyme shrugged.
"I only heard of them, don't know if they're good or not."
"From there, we'll cycle around to Witch Country's Witch Covenant," Bay said with a huff. "Despite our issues between both countries, it should be noted that there are relationships between us and them. They're the very reason we even have Terrasphere's as a concept. The moldable material from the earth itself, it's not wrong to say, they made the magic system of the past two decades."
Amaryllis frowned. "Yeah but we can find Terraspheres, it's just a matter of them getting the monopoly first," she countered and Bay hummed.
"You're from Witch Country, are you not?"
"Debatably."
"Hmph, quite. The thing is, for most of you who don't know, Terraspheres that come from the earth are, as their name implies, earth-born magic. It's wildly unpredictable, hard to ascertain if it's a viable Terrasphere or not, and not easily accessible," Bay told them all as the map changed into a 3-dimensional view of a Terrasphere.
Several points on it had lines shot out and come with small explanations.
"A raw Terrasphere isn't usable, it's pure magic in a form most beings, almost none, can use. The only ones likely even capable of using that would be an elf due to how potent those are," Bay said. "Next, to use one, you need a specialized magic process which condenses the magic within, ascertains it, and tries to maintain the power. We've learned how to, in Lyngarth, but the witches control the most effective method that leads to the most potent Terraspheres. Finally, the rarity of natural Terraspheres isn't to be underestimated. Heavy magical areas, intense pressures, powerful specific magical elements, and proper tools are needed to mine them. In the world, there are likely only a hundred natural Terraspheres."
"Wait, really?!" Sage said in shock.
"Yes, most Terraspheres are manufactured by compressing either old magic or the power of more powerful Terraspheres that can handle the loss in energy."
"R-Really? But doesn't that mean they'll just keep getting weaker?" Snapdragon asked as Parsley frowned.
"It's like shaving off metal, it'll only get more brittle," she said as Bay Laurel nodded.
"That's why we import from Witch Country often. With their magical knowledge, they can make quality Terraspheres that don't lose their quality," she explained as Amaryllis huffed. "Now, with that said, let's move onto the last guild."
The map returned and it zoomed in on the last guild.
"Dragon Tribe, for lack of a better phrase, are the world's greatest dragon tamers or dragon beastkin," Bay Laurel said with a grin. "Honestly, I've met quite a few of their members, residing near a school of merpeople, they're some of the most fierce individuals in all of Scarborough. Should you meet one, though, you'll find yourself tested almost immediately, their very auras can cow a regular Guardian even if the Dragon Tribe member isn't one."
The class looked surprised.
"Even a Guardian is scared of them?"
"That's crazy!"
"Do they teach?" Snapdragon asked with his hand raised. "I-It's just if they're as tough as you said, they could probably teach some amazing skills, right?"
"Hm-hmm, well, that's not wrong. The issue is, you'd have to get in to become someone worthy of teaching to them," Bay said. "As far as many people know, you have to prove yourself as a dragon tamer which isn't an easy feat. It's either that or you must kill a dragon itself."
The group swallowed sans Naruto who looked intrigued.
"Huh… If I was gonna go, I'd probably just tame one," he said as Rosemary nodded.
"I-I don't want to just kill a dragon! That's not cool!" She said. "Definitely taming one."
"Is that how last week went?" Cal snorted as she blushed, Naruto and Parsley chuckling. "Because you might want to work on your strategy."
"I-I can handle 'em! I-It's just, uh, I didn't have a good grasp on him!"
"Right."
"Hmph, with those four identified, let's explain what they do," Bay chuckled. "The guild in Lyngarth is one for exploration, mining, and the processing and trading of materials. Farmers, hunters, traders, merchants, all of them play a part in our guild," she explained as she regained the group's attention. "The Mythical Cove are pure explorers. They've braved some of the most dangerous tombs and horrid spaces. Their beastkin members make them excellent navigators with their extra qualities. Next, the Witch Covenant mandates the greatest of magical items, Terraspheres, tomes, and even normal magic. Within that same vein, they also are the center of magical knowledge in their most amazing magical libraries."
Amaryllis looked down in thought.
"Finally, the Dragon Tribe are, plain and simple, warriors. They don't care for exploring lest it matters to getting stronger or lead to better ways to tame dragons. Despite that, though, the greatest dragon knowledge can't be found anywhere else. Very few of them really interact with those outside their Tribe but we have books, reports, stories, myths, and more that we can all learn from."
"Sounds like there are tough bastards all over," Cal said. "Still, what about the relations between the guilds and their notable kingdoms?"
Bay nodded, smiling sadly. "You all know of our history with Witch Country, there's thankfully a connection there but it could definitely be better. The Dragon Tribe are… well, they're not friendly nor hostile to most kingdoms but they don't allow themselves to belong to anyone or other."
"And the Mythical Cove?" Naruto asked and the woman grinned, embarrassed. "?"
"They're… tentative when it comes to our connections. The thing is, they're like the Dragon Tribe in that they don't really interact with other nations… or, really, humans," she muttered as Naruto and Thyme blinked in confusion at her words. "For now, all we know about them is from personal observations. Now, open up your books. It's time to go over some geography."
~NRK~
Two hours later, they remained in their classroom, waiting for the Triad to show up.
As they did, most of the students relaxed, sitting on desks, the floors, leaning against walls, or were just chatting in the middle of the floor.
Naruto and his friends were resting on the steps down towards the floor by their seats. "So, that was pretty interesting until we started talking about the history of places."
"You should try to pass even if I get it," Cal said with a groan. "No, seriously, I get it… I think but why is it so damn boring?"
"Don't complain. Besides, will you even be out there like that?" Amaryllis asked him as he huffed.
"I'm still gonna adventure a bit before taking my post. I'll probably adventure every now and then so I don't die of boredom. It's good money, though, and I might get an in with the king. Can't let that pass me by."
"Oh, so you don't want to explore and stuff?" Snap asked and the other boy shrugged.
"I'd rather stay in a place where I know where everything is. The last thing I need is culture shock."
"You really don't wanna travel the world and fight the bad guys?!" Rosemary asked with stars in her eyes as Cal rolled his. "Come on! Think about it! We could be a whole team and everything!"
"Then I hold down the fort."
"Ugh, meanie," the rosette pouted. "What about you, Rylls?"
"Hmm?" Amaryllis considered the idea. "... I'd need to, I want to make a good legacy in Lyngarth. Though, I know it's not forever," she said as Parsley hummed.
"I get you, I…" She blushed a bit. "I guess I also want to start a big family one day, like my parents, though I question how long that'll take when it comes to magic swords."
"Why not just take a break?" Snapdragon considered with some red on his own cheeks. "A family… I-I never considered the idea before."
"I-It's probably a big change in one's life," Sage considered with a frazzled look. "Rosemary and I got to babysit a lot in Pebble, babies are scary."
"Hehehe, I bet they are," Naruto chuckled. "Only ever met one baby, sadly. It was pretty cool, though," he added, reminded of Asuma's child, as Thyme hummed, crossing her arms.
"They're disgusting," she said as he laughed. "Ugh! They keep on drooling, running into things, and making messes."
"Yeah, they're great," Parsley said with a chuckle as the elf shot her a flat look. "Hey! I've helped raise quite a few babies, they grow on you."
"Like a fungus."
"Exactly!"
Snapdragon chuckled while Rosemary giggled.
The Triad slipped into the room moments later, the group of students getting back into their seats.
"Hmm, you all are getting along well," Mature Triad chuckled as she and her fellow Triad members came into the room before being followed by Hakone and Caraway, the former pulling in a familiar rack of weapons. "Today, we'll be learning to apply our Vows, alright?" She asked the students who grew excited.
"Nice!" Cal grinned. "Time to shine," he said.
"You know already, don't you?" Naruto asked him and he nodded.
"Of course, I've known how to do this since I was, like, six. My parents taught me all about this school years ago."
"R-Really?" Rosemary looked embarrassed. "W-Well, um, I don't know."
"Neither do I," Sage said as the group looked surprised. "... I don't know, maybe our parents didn't think it was important at the time. Cal's family seems traditionally centered on Guardianship."
"Well, that makes sense. Maybe they didn't know if you'd be Guardians or not. It's not like you could see the future," Parsley said with a nervous smile, Naruto raising a brow at it. "Parents… ya know?"
"It makes sense," Sage considered. "I'm more surprised my mom even let me come here."
"Why?" Cal asked.
"She's not a fan of New Magic, she believes it'll have a negative effect on things."
"Hmph?" Thyme perked up. "How so?"
"I-I don't know, she always seemed nervous about it," the mage said. "But she said balance was being messed with and it really shouldn't."
Thyme's eyes narrowed at that.
"So, for today, you'll be given a small bit of aid," Caraway said as he formed several Runes in the air. "Unless some of you can call on your Vows already?"
"I might be able to," Cal said as he focused.
"Then, please, go right ahead. For many of you, you don't know how to enact a Vow, that's the truth," the magic professor said as Cal's eyes closed. "To enact a Vow is about as simple as looking inward and calling on the words that you used to create your pact with the Guardian Well. Though, this requires you to pull on the Vow as a source of energy."
Cal's eyebrows twitched as he began to glow purple, much to the surprise of the friend group.
"Hmph," Mint huffed a bit as she looked at Cal's grinning visage. "You're like him, then," she said, pointing at Naruto as Cal balked.
"Hold on, what?" He looked to Naruto for an explanation, the blonde shrugging.
"Making things simple, my Vow activated when we were in the Demon World," Naruto said as Cal frowned with crossed arms, form glowing softly. "I've never tried to call it out before."
"Well, there's no time like the present," Hakone said as Naruto nodded before he focused inward.
He recited his Vow before he felt that source pulse in resonance with it.
Gold began to flow up his form before flickering a bit, Naruto's eyebrows furrowing as he focused more.
He let out a breath as the gold energy settled around him, his glowing form releasing small flecks of gold light.
"Whoa!" Rosemary grinned as Cal grunted, crossing his arms.
"I saw that difficulty," he said hotly as Naruto rubbed the back of his head. "And, honestly, that was pretty wasteful."
"Yeah, sorry," Naruto said with a nervous chuckle, fox ears flicking up. "Honestly, I…" He stopped, hand between two ears? "H-Huh?" Both his hands went to his head and he felt the new shocking additions to his biology. "The hell?!"
"Y-You've got ears to match, now," Snapdragon said in surprise as Hakone hummed with a raised brow.
"... They might have told you all before but Vows can come in a multitude of ways. Not just abstract ones or ones based on your skillset. Physical changes can take place, though rare, in specific races," the combat instructor said as Naruto huffed, ears flopping against his head.
"So, what? I'm gonna end up an actual fox?" He whined as Parsley tilted her head at them, the way they twitched in rhythm with his emotions getting a small giggle out of the blacksmith. "Guhh… I can hear more stuff now, at least."
"Curious, we don't have much experience with your type of Vow Skill," Young Triad said with a tilt of the head. "That could be worth examining if you don't mind."
"... I-I guess."
"Hm, hm, hm, this is a momentous occasion," Caraway said while gesturing to the two boys. "Notice, the changes are different. Cal, do you have any inkling of what your Vow does?"
"Huh?" The boy blinked. "Oh, uh, I get more strength so far," Cal explained as Sage hummed.
"Oh, right, it might not be the full version yet," she said softly as she wrote it down in a notebook. "Naruto's Vow is more biological which could relate to his beastkin genes while Cal's might relate to his weapon."
"Hmm, I wonder what mine does," Rosemary said as she looked down at her hands before closing her eyes and holding her head. "Focus… focus…"
Snapdragon chuckled while Amaryllis snorted. "It's not the worst way of trying," she said before focusing along with the other students.
Out of a class of, say, forty, only three more could get it to happen.
And, surprise, it was within the nine sat-together students.
Mint adjusted her glasses while Thyme looked at her fingers.
Amaryllis looked down at her glowing hand with a neutral expression, crossing her arms once more and ignoring it altogether.
Cal's mouth fell at them all. "The hell?! Isn't this supposed to be hard?!"
"Hm, hm, hm, yes but that doesn't mean there aren't those who can't navigate to it. Notice, it's only really the students who know how to use magic," Caraway explained. "Mages are simply better at using energy so it's not impossible. Ms. Mint is from a notable mage family, Thyme is an elf, Naruto's shown powerful energy in your combat class as I'm told, and Amaryllis is from Witch Country."
Having it spelled out for him, Cal wilted in his seat. "Dammit."
"Now, for the rest of you, as I was saying earlier, here's a little help," the man said as he finished the symbols in the air.
They flew out at the students and slapped themselves onto each one's chest before the group began to glow softly.
"That's a spell for allowing limited use of one's Vow. It limits the effects but it also allows you to apply it normally. Today, we'll be having you all learning the base of your Vow Skill," Young Triad said with a smile. "With that in mind, you'll apply it to yourselves."
"W-What do you mean?" Sage asked with a raised hand. "Isn't activating it… the point?"
"Don't just take things at face value, this is why you can't even predict what the final form of your Vow will be!" Elder Triad said with a smirk. "There's a lot of things about Vows you'll never get until you are using them during combat, everyday life, or even crazy ideas you're sure won't work!"
"That seems…" Sage looked annoyed. "Right."
"So, at the moment, simply try out your Vow Skills. Maybe you'll be able to help one another figure things out," Mature Triad said with a chuckle. "Stay within the classroom but staying in your seats isn't necessary. Come and talk to us if you have questions or want tips."
The students moved about, many against the walls, some at their desks, others already speaking to the Triad, and many facing one another while testing out their Vows.
Naruto's group was in the last camp. "Alright, so, what's everyone's 'idea' on their Vow?" Naruto asked the others as his fox ears twitched.
"Hehehe, you're more foxy now," Amaryllis snorted. "And, for your information… I just get better at using old tools," she admitted with a huff as the group blinked. "Well, that and I'm sure magical anything so that's some kind of upside."
"Oh, wait, so like Flowering Thorn?" Rosemary asked as Amaryllis nodded, the rosette grinning. "We should totally try when we get back to the dorms!"
"I still have to teach Whiskers, ya know."
"Oh, hehe, right."
"What about you, Pinky?" Amaryllis asked curiously. "Anything to do with swords?" She smirked as Rosemary chuckled.
"Um, well, I don't really know," the girl admitted. "Let's see…" she looked at her hands before hurrying over to Hakone. "Hey, teach! Do you think I could get a sword?" Rosemary asked with big eyes as Hakone chuckled.
"These are here for you all, it's not just to look at," Hakone said as he stepped out of the way and gestured to it. "Perhaps you all should take some to see if your Vows work with them?"
The group did, Rosemary grinning as she held a bastard sword over her shoulder. "So, uh, my Vow allows me to use my sword in my left hand," she explained as she passed the weapon to her left hand.
She went through a wild put-together set of forms before switching hands time and time again, Snapdragon looking impressed.
"You could switch it up in combat," he said with a smile as Rosemary blinked at him. "You can confuse your opponent on the fly if you can pass between your hands easily."
"Really?!" She said in excitement as the ginger chuckled nervously. "What about you, Snap? What's your Vow Skill?"
"Oh, well," he smiled at his ax. "It's basically quicker reactions to danger," Snapdragon said as Naruto perked up.
"Danger perception?" He offered as Snapdragon blinked before blushing.
"O-Oh, uh, I didn't expect… you know, yes?"
"We didn't think you had that kind of language in you," Cal said with a smirk as Naruto huffed.
"Bite me, I just don't like using the ones I know," the fox boy huffed as Thyme smirked. "What 'bout you, Thyme? Pars?"
"Nature Communication," Thyme said as the blonde blinked at her, the elf nodding. "I can use nature itself to ascertain new facts or hints of a situation. I'm sure there's more to it that I don't get," she added as she looked at the grinning blonde and then his fox ears. 'I wonder…' Could she learn more things about Naruto if she used it on him?
Nature, in her general interpretation, included animals. So, would his 'nature' become more clear to her?
"Pars?"
"I think I can withstand more heat now," Parsley said with a chuckle. "Which is kind of perfect when you get down to it. Demon World smithing isn't easy, it's far hotter when it comes to its effort. You can only make the best things in an active volcano."
"That seems absurd," Mint said in disbelief.
"Hehe, what about you and Sage?" The dwarf asked as Sage swallowed while Mint adjusted her glasses.
"It's simple, I can handle the 'laws' that govern my magic," the girl said simply as Sage balked, Amaryllis looking impressed.
"Damn, that's, like, ridiculous," the short girl said.
"It's workable," Mint nodded.
"Then it's time for Sage!" Rosemary grinned as her childhood friend blushed and choked. "Come on! Hit us with something super magicky!"
"U-Um, well," Sage blushed. "I-I can use both New and Old Magic in tandem," she admitted as Snapdragon's head tilted.
"Wait, what does that even mean?" He asked as she blushed harder. 'So cute,' no, wait, focus! "T-That is, um, how is that different?" Snap asked with red cheeks, Cal and Rylls smirking at him.
'Gotcha, bitch,' they wouldn't let him live this down.
"W-Well… I-I don't really know," Sage admitted as Naruto hummed before chuckling reached them, Caraway walking up to the group. "P-Professor Caraway?"
"Can I shed some light on this?" He asked as the group nodded. "There's a good chance you might be able to apply Terraspheres in a way that most people can't. For example, what if you can use them in arrays?"
"... Hmph, can we switch?" Amaryllis asked as Sage messed with her fingers.
"It sounds… interesting," she admitted with interest. "Still, I don't… I-I've never had a Terrasphere so…" Then she blinked at Caraway's smirk.
"Well… I'd say it won't be long before you have one," he admitted as the group of students raised their brows. "Some friends of mine have a gift for you," Caraway said.
"Wait, why?" Rosemary asked. "I mean, I'm glad people know how great Sage is but this seems out of left field."
"Yes, well, you'll figure it out. I'm pretty sure you'll know eventually," he said with a smile. "For now, practice."
"Thanks, teach," Naruto said and the man nodded before helping some other students. "Alright, how should we try this?"
"W-Well, I can't really do anything," Sage said as Amaryllis nodded.
"I'm of the same sitch. Need magical items," the short girl said.
"I could just touch the walls… or see what I'd glean from Naruto," Thyme said as the blonde grinned nervously. "... Walls it is," she said apologetically as he smiled with a nod.
"Thanks. Me… I guess I'll just practice around the room," Naruto said as he kicked off his shoes before dropping his blazer, hopping in place. "Anyone know anything about foxes, specifically?"
"They're flexible."
"Thanks," he grinned.
He shot off the floor towards the wall before bouncing off that to sail above the chandelier and landing on the other wall.
He grinned as he kept going.
"Well, that explains a lot," Snapdragon said as he held his ax. "Um, R-Rosemary-?"
"Let's do this thing!" Rosemary grinned as she hefted her bastard sword. "Come on, Rylls, let's make Snapdragon work!"
The way the short girl's mouth set into a horrifying grin as the ginger began to sweat.
"Sounds like an idea!" Amaryllis said as she grabbed a whip.
"Not again!"
Cal snorted before sidling up to Sage. "So, uh, how about you and me try out this whole magical weaponry thing?" He asked with a smirk as she blushed a bit before pouting. "I could-"
"Come along," Parsley said as she grabbed him by his blazer and dragged him away. "Let's see how you handle a bunch of stuff! We can do some workouts!"
"No, wait, dammit!"
Sage tilted her head before looking at Mint. "Um, you don't happen to have a-" Mint brought out her Terrasphere in her face. "O-Oh, um, thank you? Mint, right?"
"Sage, correct?"
"Yes."
The group applied themselves the best they could for the rest of class, Naruto's form coming in and out of 'sight' for Snapdragon, causing him to react as best he could to his sudden 'ambushes'.
A few minutes later, they were all told to stop.
Naruto landed next to Thyme, the fox boy grinning as he crossed his arms, his shirt untucked and the top three buttons on his dress shirt undone, allowing his lack of a vest and tie to be more obvious.
The elf's eyes snapped to his exposed clavicle before she facepalmed with a groan.
"You alright?" He asked, concerned.
"I'm fine," she huffed a bit, looking forward, leaving Naruto to fold his arms behind his head.
Her eyes snapped back to his clavicle. 'Dammit. And what happened earlier isn't helping,' Thyme groaned.
"For this week, we'll be doing nothing but using our Vows during class time," Young Triad said. "During, you'll be tested on the actual increases you'll get. Despite what we've said, you do get a bit stronger when you enact your Vow."
"Hmph, next week, prepare well, we'll be trying to push your Vows to their limits!" Elder Triad said with a ferocious grin that had the students flinching. "You'll be having your Vows tested."
Naruto's eyes narrowed at that, a grin on his face. "Not bad, we'll do our best," he said.
"Hmph, get out. You all have more to do this week."
With that, they were dismissed, leaving the group of friends to hurry back to their dorm.
~NRK~
Naruto focused as he sat cross-legged in his sleeping wear, Amaryllis sitting in front of him while the others were all around on the nearby recliners, couches, or on the carpet with them, the rest of the group in similar nighttime clothing.
Sitting in the dorm's living room, the group was watching Amaryllis teach with interest.
The carpet in the middle of the room where the two sat had four items on it.
A pair of metal bars, a leather shoulder pad borrowed from Snapdragon, and Flowering Thorn.
"So, for the sake of making this simple. Let's make sure we know the basics," the short girl said as Naruto nodded. "There are three parts to doing Rune Enhancements. One, the Runes themselves, you need to know what you're putting on the thing in the first place," Amaryllis said as Naruto nodded. "Two, the ability to engrave can be done in two ways. One way is during the whole smithing process," Parsley perked up from behind Naruto.
"Right, I heard about that," she said.
"Yup, engraving Runes during the smithing process is pretty popular due to how much easier it is. Though it's pretty obvious. you need to be very careful. One wrong mark and your evil-destroying sword will become a sword of skunk-repellent which is still pretty useful," Naruto snorted as Rylls grinned. "Finally, you need the proper material. Not all material is the same. If you look at Flowering Thorn, it's not made of normal still, it's Pink Mithril. Mithril is some of the toughest material known to mankind, it's basically legendary."
Rosemary's eyes shined in awe. "That's AWESOME!"
"It makes sense," Cal said. "Though, I don't really know that much about magical swords. I know that Lavender had traveled to some of the most valuable places and returned alive. If she found that mithril from somewhere, it'd be in a dangerous location."
"Most likely, it's that rare. Though, that doesn't mean you can't get what you need without such a rare metal," Amaryllis continued. "Now, for now, is there any word you'd want to put on something?"
Naruto considered the question. "... When I saw you do that thing with Snap's shield, I knew I wanted something to do with that," he said with a hum. "A-And, well, with Rune Words… I think the one I'd want to make is one that reflects damage, ya know?"
"That sounds amazing!" Snapdragon perked up as Sage nodded. "If you can handle the blow, throwing it back at your opponent sounds insane!" He said excitedly as Amaryllis chuckled.
"Well, do you know how to form the word? We only got ten words of the Sacred Rune Language."
"I could use most of the letters we got from teach," Naruto said as pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket. "These are the letters, yeah?" He offered it to her.
Looking it over, Amaryllis nodded. "These are the letters but, uh, remember, the letters don't have normal sounds, you know. Runes can work in two ways. Phonetically or spelling-wise. It's what helps give them so much utility."
Naruto rubbed the back of his head as Parsley grinned nervously.
"I don't like the sound of that," the dwarf said as Thyme hummed.
"It's just like sounding out a word. You can figure out something's meaning that way, Runes are no different," she said, flipping through a book. "Though, I don't think there are many people who use Runes so extensively."
"Nope, Runes are that hard to master," Amaryllis said as Sage nodded.
"My mom can use them, sort of," she said as Rosemary grinned.
"Yep! She helped make some really shiny fire for our Stone Festival!" The rosette said with a chuckle. "It was so cool."
"She likely removed the destruction element from the fire," Amaryllis considered. "For now, let's focus on the task at hand. Let's start by using these," she gestured to the objects in between her and Naruto. "Let's start with something that might work in the future. Flowering Thorn, for example, is a magic sword but you'll notice that it can't have Runes on it."
She pulled the blade over before her finger swept across its side with perfect symbols.
When Amaryllis pulled her finger away, the magic sparked before the sword pulsed, the Runes breaking apart.
"Is that part of the immutable nature of Flowering Thorn?" Sage asked and the other mage nodded.
"Exactly. The thing is, Flowering Thorn has been enchanted to never change or be altered. That's why it's such a sturdy sword. It likely has that Rune Word as the core of its creation, making it impervious to damage."
Sage was intrigued the more she heard about Runes. "Amazing."
"Now, you'll know that this is different. Just because this weapon can't handle on-the-fly enchantments doesn't mean most others can't. Remember, Flowering Thorn is special," she said before putting it down to the side. "Next, the shoulder pad from Snap."
Picking it up, she applied a Rune Word onto its surface before chucking it at Naruto.
He made to catch it but blinked as it bounced off his raised hand.
The shoulder pad bounced around for a bit before Thyme caught it without looking.
"You dropped this," she said as she tossed it at Parsley gently. "It's got a bouncing quality, hm?" Thyme said as she closed her book.
"Yep. Right now, what Naruto needs for his shield is 'Reflect', 'Damage', and 'Double' if we can fit it on his weapons," Amaryllis said. "Though, right now, we don't even know how many Rune Words the metal making his equipment up can even take. Pars, what did you make his weapons out of?"
"Hmm? Well, it was regular old steel and iron," Parsley said as Amaryllis nodded. "That any good?"
"Iron is usually pretty potent," Thyme said as she sat properly in her recliner, looking at the group. "It's not wrong to say, it should be the most 'magically adept' material."
"Yeah, steel, meanwhile, is supposed to be the next step up but it's not as effective at holding magic. Trading in sturdiness for less magical capacity."
"Hmph, so, maybe we can do two words, hopefully," Amaryllis said. "Right now, Whiskers, you'll need to learn the two words."
"Can't do it before a week's up?" Naruto asked and Rylls's eyebrow rose.
"Okay, I'm sick of the pussyfooting around, why the hell are you two always bringing up the end of the week?" She asked as the others blinked in surprise while Naruto and Parsley looked slightly guilty. "It's like you're learning all of this to fight something," Rylls accused with squinting eyes.
"... We are," Parsley said as Thyme frowned.
"What?" She asked. "You seem awfully concerned about whatever this thing is. What is it? Is it that dangerous?"
"Hopefully not," came another voice as a familiar glasses-wearing girl entered the room. "And, unfortunately, the Triad thought this was the right thing to do," she said.
Wearing a red shin-length nightgown and cap along with some white fuzzy slippers, the group saw Mint's neutral expression as she crossed her arms.
"So, is someone going to just say it outright?" Snapdragon asked before Naruto sighed.
He, Parsley, and Mint retold the story and situation, from the beginning of their exploration down to the last things they did before coming back earlier that day.
With all their dirty laundry aired out, the two winced as Thyme's eyebrows began to twitch as a dark aura rose around her.
"WHAT?"
"I-It was the right thing to do! Trust me! If there was another way, we'd have done it!" Naruto said quickly, bowing to the angry elf. "I'm sorry!"
Parsley followed suit as Thyme's gaze went to her, the pale dwarf's bow a trembling one.
"T-Thyme's kind of super scary," Rosemary whispered with a pale face, everyone else, san Mint, following suit. "Yikes."
"Snnnn…" Thyme's aura fell as she took in a deep, calming, breath. "... YOU IDIOTS!" She shouted without remorse as the two blondes choked before scooting back. "IF YOU DON'T TELL US THE NEXT TIME, OHH-HO-HO, I'M KILLING THE BOTH OF YOU!"
Snapdragon hid behind Sage as the 'blue' mage's face puckered inward, hiding the entire of it.
Amaryllis chuckled nervously while Cal flipped behind his recliner, looking horrified.
Rosemary swallowed in her seat next to Sage. "H-Hey-epp!" She squeaked as Thyme's eyes turned to her. "Nothing! Nothing!" Blue eyes looked away from burning red ones. 'Why is she so scary?!'
Moments later, the heat chilled… hopefully.
"... I'm seriously sorry," Naruto said as he and Parsley sat in a trembling embrace. "Totally sorry!" The pain wasn't even in his mind.
These women were terrifying!
An amused black cat sat at a window, smirking all the while.
~NRK~
The days passed by with improvement that Naruto was thankful for his friends for.
Still, come Friday, Naruto, Parsley, and Mint were left standing by their portal as Wyverna Dretch chuckled, patting the three on their shoulders.
"Good luck out there," she said with a knowing nod as Naruto and Parsley looked a bit guilty. "Oh, come now. It's not wrong to want to protect people. You'll just need to keep true to your words."
"... Yeah," Parsley nodded with a grin. "Sorry, you know, for taking everything into our hands."
"Same, it's mostly my fault anyway," Naruto admitted with a bow as Wyverna waved it off.
"Sadly, you likely would have been sent anyway," she said as Mint huffed. "There's no way to protect those people in time, we'll just have to rely on you three," the demoness said, shooting Mint a look with a tutting finger. "As you know."
'Testing them?' Well… Fine, she'd not say anything about their watching professor. "Still, this thing is honestly going to be big, you know? I've told you all that I could dig up."
"Dark magic, wood magic, and sturdy," Parsley listed off as Naruto stood to his full height. "For each of those, Naruto has Hei Flamma, his sword, and powerful blows along with me," she noted as Mint sighed. "O-Oh! And you can do your red light magic! Though, I know you'll be helping the tribe."
"Yes, well, I won't be doing too much if you two do your jobs," Mint said as the two's friends came over. "Hmph, I'll be waiting. We need to go and prepare in under an hour."
"Gotcha," the two said as she walked over to wait by the portal. "Hey, guys."
"So, you're really about to go and do Guardian work, damn," Cal huffed. "Man, I would have loved that. All we're doing is basically beating a crab thing."
"So, you're all deciding to fight the Crabbe?" Wyverna asked with a grin as the Warrior students nodded.
"We've studied it for long enough," Snapdragon said, a thin book, but with notes sticking out, on his belt. "Now's the time before we lose the chance."
The group had to fight horde after horde of new monsters seemingly every day. From centipedes to tigers to vulture-eagles to rhinos.
That last one had required a ton of repairs that the group didn't look like they'd recover from… until Naruto had Mint use his 'healing water' on them. Oh, she'd been pissed and Naruto had to do a lot of apologizing but he didn't regret it, seeing as his friends, even if it was only them, were up and ready.
Of course, they now had a few smaller scars. Rosemary's arm did from some of the flying monsters, Cal had broken two of his fingers, Thyme had even gained a scratch on her leg from a passing rhino.
But Snapdragon had gained the most, unfortunately. A scar on his cheek from some of the flying creatures, his arm had been wrapped up beneath his clothes over the week, and he'd gotten a pretty big bruise from the day before.
With his healing water, Thyme's healing spells, and some medical aide, he was up and ready but it wasn't wrong to say he had the most worrying condition.
Still… the boy looked determined. "You're prepared?" He asked, worry written on his face. "... Don't take any hits you shouldn't, please," Snapdragon said as he and Naruto raised their forearms.
They rested against one another with the two boys nodding.
"No failing allowed, we're gonna come back with a freaking win!" Naruto said as he turned to Thyme, the two of them quickly shaking hands. "Don't try and take too much responsibility on yourself," he added cheekily as the elf's eyebrows lowered. "... Don't kill me."
"I'm thinking about it," she said flatly as he began to sweat. "... We'll work together, you, on the other hand, need to behave," Thyme said as he slumped, the elf turning to the chuckling Parsley. "In under two weeks, we all know how he is. Don't let him take a job he thinks he can do."
"Gotcha!" She said with a chuckle, the two of them tapping knuckles. "But Naru's right, we're in this to win it."
A pair of knives hung off her waist while her hammer had gained an odd set of symbols on its faces. Naruto, meanwhile, had his book of notes while his shield's face was scribed with a symbolic phrase on its golden borders.
"You've gotta take it home!" Rosemary said as Naruto smirked, the two of them knocking knuckles. "Then we can all trade stories! Oh, man! We'll have stories to tell!" She squealed as he laughed, fistbumping Cal.
"She's a hoot."
"Yeah, she's something alright," the purple-haired boy said as they locked eyes. "Don't die on us now. The last thing I need to tell my family is that one of the people I chose to hang with died."
"Feelin' the love."
"Don't push it."
Sage and Amaryllis nodded. "You've got one of them on there, it's the best we can do," the purple-haired girl said with a grin. "With that and your blade, it should be a shoo-in but know we'll clown on you if you lose."
Parsley laughed while Naruto paled along with Snap.
"R-Right-"
"You'll be my 'sparring' partner."
"Oh God," blonde and ginger choked in unison.
"Right, um," Sage shot Amaryllis a look of concern before shaking her head. "You all take good care of yourselves, you'll both be dealing with the worst situations."
"Right but aren't you guys getting close to something?" Rosemary asked and Rylls nodded.
"I can feel something's down there. Call it a hunch or sixth sense but there's something weird down there and we're finally by the door that I know has it," she said. "Man, we're all cutting this close. Well, I mean, we don't need to say that, for most of us."
"Yes, it seems you all have your goals," Caraway said. "Focus, plan, be active and claim victory. There's not much more to it," he said.
"Understood!" The group said as he smiled.
"Then it's time to go. Let's all come back with something good to say."
~NRK~
And that's the next installment. I'm sure I'll probably do another chapter of something else before coming back to this one.
For now, enjoy the chapter.
Words: 13.2k+
~NRK Out~