Trails of Eastern Steel

by TF1990

This a rewrite of the first Cold Steel game, with some twists concerning Rean Schwarzer, the rest of the story will mostly follow canon. -Instead of training in Ymir, Rean left with his Master to travel the eastern part of the Continent. -Emphasis on Rean/Alisa -A more experienced, but still as dense and insecure (maybe a bit more than canon) Rean. -Can somewhat control his Power

21. The fourth Free Day part 2

Hello everyone here is the next part for the fourth free day, I hope you all enjoy it and I wish you all a very Merry Christmas!

Like always some info:
Spoken words are between " "
Thoughts are between ( )

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Not having expected that the Higher Elements were in play, Rean had to rethink their approach for this new floor, "Well, nothing that we can do about this now besides adapting to it. Group A has already experienced the Higher Elements in play back in Nord which means that we will have to somewhat change the link pairs. Gaius you are with Laura, Machias you are with Emma, Elliot you are with Jusis, leaving Fie to pair up with Alisa. This way you are paired with someone who has the experience in dealing with this. Concerning the quartz setup for the backline we will have to change them to also include the Time, Space and Mirage elements. Anyone got any question?"

After Rean was done explaining the changes and answering questions from Group B regarding what they had to watch out for with the Higher Elements, he started to hand out the quartzes that he had on hand for said elements much to the amusement (Sara) and displeasure of the others who slightly scolded him for having bought so many quartzes that he wouldn't use himself again. Making sure that Rean would get the amount of sepith for all this back later, they started to change the quartzes and asking what they had to watch out for here again to make sure that there wouldn't be any nasty surprises waiting for them. "Rean, you are the one with the most experience here with this phenomenon, got any idea how this is possible? After reading about it in your report, I went to the library to research this phenomenon myself, but I couldn't find out much since this it is apparently extremely rare to come across."

"Honestly, I have no idea how this is possible, Machias. Normally this is only happens in ancient ruins or when the Spirit Veins are active to a high degree…..Wait, I don't remember sensing this when we came down." A certain thought emerged in his head midsentence, deciding to see if that was really the case Rean took the elevator back to the first three floors to test his theory after he was done with that, he answered the unspoken question of his classmates, "The Higher Elements are only active starting here and not on the other floors which is honestly weird but then again what about this place isn't?"

"Perhaps we can research why this happening later or rather I am certain that Regnitz will hole himself up in his books to research this, for now I think we should start with our investigation who knows what is waiting for us inside." Quickly intervening before Machias could respond to Jusis, Rean clapped his hands to get everyone attention, "Then let's get started, we already have everything ready that we need for this but let me remind you just because Instructor Sara is here, that is no reason for us to relax. She will only act in case any of us are in mortal danger and not before, so we will proceed like planned and just ignore her presence for now." Getting a nod back from Sara at that reminder, Rean looked at each of his classmates who looked ready to start and gave the signal to start.

The monster on this floor were stronger than the ones on the third floor which was expected especially with the Higher Elements in motion, but they didn't pose much of a threat to Class VII who went through them like a knife through butter thanks to their combat links and new quartzes even the tension between a certain pair wasn't enough to slow them down. The two girls had already learned their lesson last time when they got Rean into trouble with the Ice Wolf though they didn't form a combat link they at least had no problem in forming one with the rest of their class, not even three hours later, Class VII plus Sara arrived at the door that would lead them to fight the floor boss.

"Alright class, got to admit that wasn't a bad display of teamwork back there, of course a certain pair could use some improvement." Both Laura and Fie ignored the look Sara was sending them, "But all in all I would give this a solid B+, though I hope that you won't stop trying to improve since after seeing this I can turn up the difficulty of the upcoming practical exam without worrying that you aren't ready for that level." Some groans and dirty looks were the answer to her proclamation which were promptly ignored by the older woman, "Guys, just ignore her. We should concentrate on the upcoming fight, from what I can sense this one is stronger than the wolf but luckily it seems to be alone. We will take a thirty-minute break to rest and check on our equipment before going in."

"If it is stronger than the other one does that mean it's also a in that Spirit Class of yours?"

"Just because it is stronger doesn't mean that its one, what sets apart the Spirit Class from normal monsters is the fact that they can use some special abilities without delays. It's like they can instantly cast Orbal Arts at any time they want to, but knowing my luck I most certainly sure that it is one." Chuckling at the swordsman statement the rest of the group relaxed while waiting for the time to pass leaving Rean to his thoughts about the last two hours of walking through the floor, (Hmm, I can't sense that presence from before, but I still get the feeling of being watched. At first, I thought that it was just my imagination, but the feeling got stronger the longer we are down here, anyway for now I should just concentrate on the upcoming fight. In the worst-case scenario, Instructor Sara will have to intervene, and I will have to use my power to get the rest of them out of here.)

A certain archer noticed that Rean was thinking about something too hard, though she had a guess that she knows what he was thinking about, approaching him she poked his side to get his attention. Raising his eyebrow as a question he got just a look in return that said, he should stop thinking about the worst-case scenario which got her a small smile and a shoulder shrug in return. The silent conversation didn't go unnoticed by the rest, but they didn't say anything and let the pair 'talk' in peace though from the smirk on Fie's face she would try to tease these two later, the minutes passed by until it was time for them to enter the boss room.

Hanging back from her students Sara watched for the first time how the so-called floor boss appeared, the monster this time was three arge tall lion with sparks of lightning around his body. Like they had planned the frontline team charged forward to get the monster's attention, Rean and Gaius started attacking from the sides while Laura launched a frontal attack, the middle line was Fie and Jusis whose task was to either use arts or in Fie's case bullets to support the front fighters. This left Alisa, Emma, Machias and Elliot in the back to give the team the necessary support with their arts and to attack from a distance. (Called it, another Spirit Class. The presence of this one is far stronger than the wolf which means that it will be harder to deal with. Given the sparks of electricity around it, its elements should be lightning which comes from the wind type, luckily for us that means that it doesn't use a higher element because those are far trickier to deal with.)

With a roar the lion stopped Rean's thoughts as it unleashed a dome formed of lightning around itself driving the three front fighters back and it managed to even stop even the bullets and arts from the others meaning that it was a defensive field. Though it didn't last long, and the monster used that opening to attack Rean with its claws shrouded with lightning, using his sword to block it seemed to be a bad idea, so the swordsman dodged the attack by jumping back at the last moment. Narrowly evading the claws, Rean counter attacked with an Autumn Leaf Cutter appearing behind the lion after his attack, not to be outdone Laura and Gaius used their own crafts to attack, but unfortunately its hide was very though lessening the effects of their attacks.

"Sorry everyone, it's like the last time, I can't analyse it with my staff." Elliot shout was confirmed by Emma whose staff also didn't manage to get anything out of their opponent. "I though Instructor Makarov had managed to upgrade their functions to deal with this."

"He tried to, but it seems without sufficient data of this type of monsters he can't make it work, he also warned us that this could be the case, for now we should try to attack it with Earth Arts since it seems to of the Wind type." Following Emma suggestions Machias used both the Earth Needle and Earth Lance to attack while Alisa tried to hit the eyes of the lion with her arrows but every time it was going to happen the energy field from before averted her arrows and pushed the others back. "Geez, that field is getting annoying, the moment we seem to have the advantage it appears and forces us to start from the beginning." The lion avoided Laura's attack by a hairbreadth and counter attacked by trying to bite the swordswoman with his fangs but was thwarted by Gaius using his spear to stab its side. Growling in pain the monster used its tail to hit Gaius back causing him to fly through the room breaking the fall with a roll the lancer didn't seem to be hurt, not leaving anything to chance Elliot throw a Tear Art at him.

(Laura is right, we must deal with its Energy Field if we want to win this, but the question is how? Perhaps if we are fast enough to hurt it before it can deploy it, we can finish it off? No, the only ones fast enough to pull that off are Fie and me but we won't be able to inflict enough damage to kill it unless….. It's risky but it could work we just have to time it right by forcing it to use its field. Just to be sure that we can kill it in one go we should also make use of Art attacks.) Going over his plan while the fighting continued Rean was sure that it was possible, now he had to convince the others to go along with it, "Guys, I think I have a plan to deal with, but the timing will crucial, so we have to make sure to time it right."

"And how reckless will your part in it be?" Already having expected that question from Alisa, he was ready for it, "Can't deny that it will be a bit reckless, but I won't be the only one to do it Gaius and Laura will help with that part if they are willing of course."

"It can't be that bad if you want us to help you out, if it was, I am sure that you would have insisted on doing it alone, so what exactly are you planning, Rean?"

"Geez thanks for the vote of confidence there, Gaius." The lancer gave his friend a wide grin while attacking the lion, "The biggest problem in this fight is the dome that appears every time we drive it in a corner making us back down from attacking it further, so we have to deal with it and this how we are going to do it." Sara watched how Rean explained his plan to the others while some weren't sure about it, they also knew that at the moment it was their best option and like he had told them timing was important in this plan. Making Fie and Jusis move to the front line to help deal the finishing blow, Rean and the rest got ready to begin.

The moment the Art Users had charged their Arcus to the maximum, the front line exploded with their attacks, Gaius and Laura used their Rush attack while Rean used Gale to attack at various body parts at the same time. Like planned the monster used the dome to defend itself, but this time the front line didn't retreat but stayed right where they were to use their crafts to attack the dome forming a triangle with monster inside of it. Rean used the third form while raising his sword up a fire dragon appeared on it to further enhance the attack, with a downward swing that landed on the dome spreading flames across it slowing its advance while Gaius used his Craft Gale Stinger to attack and Laura her Craft Earth Breaker.

They had managed to stop the dome from spreading out making it seem like the lion was contained in it, enraged at their actions it roared out loud while pouring more power into its lightning field, it was at that moment that Fie sprang into action launching a flash grenade right into the eyes of the monster. Of course, it didn't do any physical damage thanks to the field but that wasn't the goal, the moment the flash appeared it blinded the lion making it release another roar but this time in pain from being blinded. With that it lost control of its defence resulting in the disappearance of the dome, moving quickly both Jusis and Fie used their strongest attacks on it while having their combat links on, first Fie used her strongest attack, "Sylphid Dance!" hitting the monster in several places at nearly the same time with the sword part of her weapon, done with that she used her swiftness to shoot as many bullets as could while circling around the monster as if she was dancing, which was followed up by Jusis also using his strongest craft.

Gathering all his Craft points in his sword causing it to glow brightly, done with that he charged forward where the monster was and stabbed his sword at it but before it could hit the target the sword released a bright light that created a barrier that entrapped the monster inside, the barrier was pulsing with power that seemed ready to be unleashed and not hesitating Jusis gave it the last push. Slashing twice quickly he created an X shaped energy attack that he pushed forward with another slash at the middle of it while yelling "Crystal Sabre!"

The moment that attack met the barrier it was absorbed but it disturbed the already unstable energy balance inside causing it to explode inward with countless small slashes aiming at the monster. This wasn't enough to kill it, but it was at that moment that several Earth Lances appeared stabbing it from below, followed by Elliot and Emma attacks the Hydro Canon and the Ethereal Edge and to end it Alisa fired her Rosetta Arrow. Compared to the one she used in the Highlands this one seemed even more powerful as it managed to evaporate part of the lion's head leaving no doubt that it was death.

Watching how the monster's body started to disintegrate the students started to slowly let their guard down, "Eh, Alisa? Perhaps it is just my imagination but did your Rosetta Arrow become even stronger than before?" Nodding at Rean question, Alisa gave him a small smile before grimacing a bit, "Yeah, thanks to George's help I was able to regulate the output of the orbal energy but like you can see, my bow isn't able to handle it at higher levels." Raising her bow the others noticed that some tiny sparks could be seen on it, "But don't worry, I can still use it to fight and fire another Rosetta Arrow at that level or weaker at least one more time."

"Alright! Very well done, I guess I can raise your grade for this investigation to an A-. Anyway, you weren't joking when you talked about their abilities, Rean. Just out of curiosity, how would you rate this one danger level?" Hesitating for a moment the swordsman glanced at the archer, who noticed it and just rolled her eyes at him while giving him a signal that he could answer it and not get into trouble with her though their interaction didn't escape the notice of Sara and the others, "Fie is right, you are whipped and thoroughly at that."

Ignoring the quip and the snickers of the others, Rean gave his honest answer, "On a scale from one to ten, I would say around six? Not to downplay the danger but compared to the ones in the East both the lion and the wolf weren't really that dangerous."

"Oh? And yet you asked for my presence for this level of danger? Didn't know you were such a worrywart, Rean." Rolling his eyes at his instructor remark, the swordsman explained it further, "I said compared to the ones in the East, if these monsters were out in the wilderness, both the provincial and imperial would move out to kill them as quickly as possible or am I mistaken?" Conceding that point Sara nodded, "Yeah, can't deny that. Still, putting aside its abilities they aren't that different compared to normal monsters but there is nothing wrong with being a bit cautious, especially in your case Rean. I guess all that scolding is finally starting to pay off, eh Alisa?"

"Please, they only reason why he even asked for help was because he was worried that he won't be enough to protect the rest of us on his own and not because he is being cautious." Not bothering to defend himself against that, much to the amusement of the rest the swordsman tried to pinpoint where the feeling that he was being watched was coming but before he could spread out his senses, a loud noise followed by a short tremor in the room distracted him. Acting fast, Rean assumed his stance while looking around the room, the others followed his actions, "What was that?! It sounded like something really heavy fell down on the ground."

"Judging from where the sound came, I would say it came from the floor entrance; just to be sure this hasn't happened before, has it?" Seeing her students shake their heads was enough as an answer for Sara who was frowning at this new development, (Wasn't expecting all this to happened when Rean asked me if he could train here and now, we have some new floors with dangerous monsters inside, can't deny that it makes for good training but I would have preferred it, if I could have more control on what they are facing. Oh well, at least for now on I am here in case this goes sideways.) Not finding any new threats the students relaxed their guards while looking at Rean waiting for his orders, taking a moment to think on what to do he decided that for now they should investigate the sound and since it came from the direction of the elevator room, they used the now functional teleporter back to the start of the floor and stepped inside the room.

The first thing they noticed was that the room was a lot bigger than before and the second was the big red door with an crest that was composed of what appeared to be four leaves put together at the end of the room, "I will be the first to say this but I am pretty sure that this wasn't here before, it is nearly impossible to overlook something this massive, do you guys think that the appearance of this door was the reason for that tremor back there?" Wanting to take a closer look at the door, Alisa stepped forward, "Well, I wouldn't be surprised if that was the case here, Gaius. Nothing seems totally impossible in here. Either way, this could be a clue that will perhaps lead to some answers about this place."

The group began investigating the mysterious red door, though they searched the surrounding area thoroughly, they couldn't find the sign of a keyhole or any other unlocking mechanism. As a last resort, they even tried brute force, assailing it with their weapons to force it open. However, in the end nothing worked, be it Laura's great sword, Sara's Gun and Sword, Machias Shotgun or even the Orbal Arts nothing managed to even scratch the red door. "I get the impression that this door is made out of some material we can't even manufacture today. I think it's safe to say that destroying it or prying it open isn't an option. Seen anything like this during your travels, Rean?"

"Not really, I encountered some though doors in some ruins but nothing like this and if you listen carefully, you can hear the sounds of cogs and springs coming from it too, maybe the door itself is some kind of giant Orbment? (But the weirdest part must be that I can't sense anything behind this door, the moment I try to spread my senses beyond it, they disappear completely like a stone falling into water. First time this ever happened to me.)" Putting his hand on the door to try to extend his radius, Rean immediately let go and gripped his chest right where his biggest scar is because the moment he touched the door that scar began to heat up, "(…..Nnnnngh…! My scar is…..!)" As fast as the heat came it also disappeared as fast but in that short window the swordsman swore that he heard something in the back of his head, his movements didn't go unnoticed by his classmates, "Is everything alright, Rean?" Turning around he saw the worried looks that were being sent his way, "…It's nothing but it looks like we have done all we can here for now, how about we go back to the surface to give our report to the principal?"

He could see that no one believed him, but they let it go for now since they were sure that a certain archer would get to the bottom of it and given the dirty looks she was giving him, he was sure that she didn't miss the fact that he had gripped the side of his chest where that particular scar was, already dreading that conversation Rean gave her a smile that he hoped was calming but going by the return glare he got, he has failed. With nothing else to do they followed his suggestions and made their way towards the elevator leaving the black-haired first year for last, who looked at the red door one last time before he began walking towards the rest when it happened.

"FOURTH LOCK RELEASED…INITIALIZATION COMPLETE! POTENTAIL AWAKENER WAVEFORM CONFIRMED WITHIN FIFTY ARGE! COMENCING THE FIRST TRIAL!"

Words resounded inside his head and to his astonishment the door they had tried to pry open before started to unseal itself at the same time light started to appear around the elevator forming a barrier around it, separating Rean from his class and not only that, it seems like even the sound was cut off since he could see the others moving their mouths, but no sound came from them. Rean didn't have any more time to think about what was going on because he could sense that he was no longer alone in the room, turning around he saw something come out from the now fully opened door and seeing what stepped out of there made Rean's mouth drop and he wasn't the only one, his classmates plus instructor were also completely stunned at what they were seeing.

Blinking his eyes rapidly, the swordsman was sure that he wasn't hallucinating, standing several arges away from him was a copy of him, wearing both his clothes and his appearance making him think for a moment that he was looking at a mirror, but that assumption was shattered the moment the copy of him disappeared in a flash. Acting fast Rean drew his tachi to block the attack aimed at his waist, recovering from his surprise he managed to block the following attacks perfectly and managed to shove his opponent away from him gaining enough time to adopt his normal stance and go on the offensive himself.

Behind the barrier of light Alisa and the others could just watch the fight between the two Reans unfold without being able to help their friend, "Damn it, this barrier isn't budging at all! Fie, any chance that you have any explosives with you right now?!" Hearing the archer's question, the silver-haired girl started to take out the portable high-powered explosive she had used in Bareahard but was stopped by Sara, "Wow, easy there! No need to take that out, yet. Alisa, first calm down before you start using explosives in this small room, you won't help Rean by blowing yourself up." The archer glared straight at the older woman but conceded that she had a point, she started using the breathing method Rean had taught her by taking several deep breaths, "Sorry, I am calm now. So, what can we do to get out of here?"

Not really believing that the blonde was really calm now, but Sara let it go since she didn't want to use the explosive anymore, "We look for a way to break out of here by calmly analysing what this barrier is and if we can find a weak spot to break through and go help Rean. Anyone got any ideas?" Thinking fast Alisa looked around to see if anything was powering the barrier, "Emma, Elliot you two try to see if you can use your Orbal Staffs to analyse whatever this light is. Laura and Gaius try to attack the barrier with your weapons to see if we can break it with brute force while Jusis and Machias will use their Arcus Units to attack with Orbal Arts but just use the minimum of energy since we don't know if this barrier will reflect Orbal Arts. Fie, how small a bomb can you make with that powder of yours?"

At the beginning Sara was nodding with approval at her orders but frowned a bit since she still hasn't given up on using the explosive though she at least was going to start with the smallest amount possible so she let it go and concentrated on what was happening outside the barrier, (Was it just a coincidence that whatever that thing is choose Reans appearance or did it chose him because he was the one who remained outside of the elevator when this barrier formed? Or was Rean the target from the beginning?) Keeping a cool head while her students tried to destroy the light Sara watched the fight, though it didn't take long before she noticed something was off with both the original and the copy.

Parrying an overhead strike with his sword, Rean let it slide to the side using the opening form that to counterattack, but his opponent evaded it by jumping back by moving in a way that he was most familiar with, (No doubt about it now, he doesn't have just my appearance, he also uses the Eight Leaves One Blade techniques or rather he is using my moves. The way he attacks, evades and moves is the same as me, so can I assume that it knows every one of my techniques or is it just imitating what it has seen of me until now? Only one way to find out, let's see how he reacts to a form I haven't used until now in this fight.)

Sheathing his tachi he assumed the Eight Form for unarmed combat, from the corner of his eye he could see that his classmates were trying to get out of the barrier, but he somehow had the feeling that until this fight was over that barrier wouldn't disappear no matter what they did. Taking a deep breath, he banished those thoughts from his head and focused only on the opponent in front of him, not wasting anytime Copy Rean attacked using the Autumn Leaf Cutter. Knowing the range of that attack, Rean used that to intercept it by moving faster than his opponent and stopped that attack with a palm strike at the sword handle making it impossible to draw it out. Before he could follow up with another attack, Copy Rean let go of his tachi and gripped Rean outstretched arm with his hand pulling him forward while at the same time using his leg to swipe Rean of his feet.

Recognizing what was going to happened, Rean used his free arm as a shield to block the upcoming attack, the moment Copy Rean had swept Rean in the air he used his momentum to spin around and launch an attack with the same leg it used before to kick its opponent stomach in though its attack was blocked by Reans arm. Utilizing that force to get his other arm free, the swordsman flew for a bit but with a simple somersault in the air he landed on his feet with just a tingling on his arm and none the worse for wear.

(I guess that answer my question that was a move belonging to the Eight Form and one I haven't used at all since coming to the academy. I better assume that it can really use every technique of mine which is actually not so bad when I think about it. Never thought all that image training while using the ogre as my opponent would ever come in handy like this. Hey, perhaps this is a good opportunity to test out my Anti Ogre moves; in that case I must thank whatever created this copy of me.) Unknown to him, Rean was grinning at his copy before he disappeared like the wind and was right behind it using Gale as an attack.

Behind the barrier Alisa was nearing the point how going crazy, no matter what they tried the barrier wouldn't budge at all, be it brute force or with Orbal Arts nothing damaged it and no make matters worse neither Orbal Staff could analyse it. Since it could withstand even Laura's Blade Dance at full power, Alisa gave up on using the bombs to get out of here meaning that the only thing she and the other could do was watch Rean fight against his doppelgänger, though it didn't escape her that Sara seemed to have caught onto something with the fight, "Instructor Sara, care to share with the class what you have discovered?"

"Well, from what I saw until now that copy of Rean seems to use the same way of fighting as the original. Heck, if its eyes didn't appear so soulless, I couldn't tell which one was the original because everything is identical from movements to stances and to make matters worse it doesn't seem to just copy Rean but also know moves that he hadn't used until now. Though from the look on Rean's face, I would say that he is enjoying this?"

The students followed their instructor's eyes and saw the same thing that she did, a grinning Rean seemingly enjoying the fight against his copy, not understanding why that was they could only watch as the fight continued getting faster and faster until the two fighters were just a blur to most of the class. However, a certain detail didn't escape the notice of neither Sara, Laura or Fie who were able to follow the fight without any problems, "Sara, am I imagining things or is he fighting better than normal?"

"That is still Instructor Sara to you, Fie. But you are right; he is fighting far better than usual, makes me wonder why? Normally he fights holding back no matter who or what his opponents are."

"I wouldn't say that he is fighting at one hundred percent, it is fainter now, but fear is still weighing his sword down, perhaps he is fighting at eighty, ninety percent?" The rest of the class was stunned by what they were hearing, Alisa, Jusis and Gaius were the only ones beside those three that were able to somewhat follow the fight while the rest could only catch glimpse of the two Reans sometime when they stopped moving for a short moment, "Let's put aside the fact that Rean is fighting better than usual, I think that we can all agree that for now we have no chance of getting out there to help him, right?"

Grinding her teeth at that fact Alisa could only pray that nothing else would happen that would endanger the swordsman any further, noticing that Emma tried to calm her down, "Perhaps we will get out of here after Rean wins this fight, I mean this light only appeared shortly before they started fighting so perhaps that means that he just has to win?" Alisa didn't have anything else to go on so she hoped that Emma theory was right but that meant that Rean had to win from them to get out and what would happen if he lost? Shuddering at that possibility she tried to think positive like the fact that according to their teacher and best fighters in their class he was fighting better than usual though that did throw up the question, why on earth was he fighting better against a copy of himself than against monsters or other people.

Now that she was really watching him, she noticed that he was indeed moving faster than she had seen him move before, perhaps it was the fact that she was the one who spend the most time with him training that she made her notice something else, (That can't be right, why would he back away, if he had just followed up with the fourth form he would have won?...Oh, you have got to be kidding me, what does he think he is doing?!)

Warding off another Iai strike with one of his own, Rean forgot that his classmates were watching him or the simple fact that he should be doing his best to end this fight quickly and not prolong it for his own training proposes thanks to that he didn't even realise that was fighting at his best, nearly comparable to that time from four years ago if his master had been present he would have congratulate him for having achieving this, alas not one of the people present could have known the meaning of Rean Schwarzer fighting like that. Rean could foresee any movement or technique that his copy made it thanks to fighting every day with the ogre inside his head, the slight positioning of his feet indicated its next attack which was parried perfectly thanks to knowing what was coming.

(Image training is one thing but using this way of fighting against a real opponent gives better result than I could have hoped for, now if only it was a lot faster and stronger like the ogre than this would be even better training. Pity that I can't just ask whatever created it to make such adjustments.) Avoiding a Gale by a hair breadth, he attacked by using the first form Helix giving his copy several deep cuts on its torso and arms, he would have followed with the third form if a shudder hadn't travelled down his spine when he looked at his copy eyes. They were slowly turning blood red with split pupils in the middle, realizing that it was going to use Spirit Control managed to wake Rean up from his training high. (Crap, if it really can use my ogre power and change its form the others may get suspicious about me and if that happens then I will have to leave the academy, Class VII and Alisa….)

Using the tiniest bit of his power to heighten his perceptions made it look like time was slowing down around him, using that extra time Rean unleashed his strongest anti ogre technique, (Eight Leaves One Blade Seventh Form: Void Slash!) Coating his blade with Ki like he does with his Flame Slash though this Ki was completely dark in colour Rean moved his body and positioned his tachi at his waist and slashed at his adversary in a simple manner. The moment the blade encountered the body of Copy Rean it cut through it like a hot knife through butter leaving only part of the upper torso and the legs, the midsection had completely disappeared like it had never existed, not even one drop of blood could be seen from the wound.

To the others it only looked like Rean had just used a dark coloured tachi for a moment before he moved so fast that even Sara wasn't able to see him move, the moment he reappeared the copy had been cut in two pieces, before it started to disappeared like a normal monster though Alisa noticed that its eyes and hair had started to change colour but it was gone so fast that she thought that she must have imagined it. The barrier around her and the others started to disappear alongside the monster much to her relief though that relief was short-lived when she saw the swordsman kneeling on the ground grasping for air.

"Rean!" Running towards him with the others right behind, Alisa started looking for any injuries she could have missed but Rean tried to calm her down, "No need to worry, Alisa. I am fine just a bit exhausted after using that technique, nothing more." Not believing him at all, she looked at every part of his body to make sure that he wasn't hiding any wounds though the deep breaths he was taking seemed to support his statement at being exhausted. Still, she made place for Elliot to examine him, after making sure that he was alright Alisa looked at the now opened door but to her disappointment there was nothing behind it, no new floor just a small space with nothing inside it. Sara, Fie and Machias searched every corner of it, but they also found nothing.

"Geez, the old schoolhouse doesn't stop surprising us at every turn now does it? Putting that aside, you feeling any better Rean?" Nodding at Sara's question, he got to his feet and stretched his arms, "Still a bit exhausted but nothing that an hour or two of rest can't cure. No idea if the next floors will have something like this though I won't complain if it does since this type of monster makes for an excellent sparring partner."

"Oh? Care to explain what you mean by that Rean?"

"This type of monster is rare, but I have heard of them, they completely copy their opponents everything from movements to technique and used it against them, so they make for the best training partner in honing your techniques." Seeing the confusion on Laura's and the others faced he went further into detail, "Just imagine, if your opponent uses the exact same technique as you do, how do you defeat such an adversary?"

"Hmmm, you would have to either move or act in an unexpected way to catch it off guard or you would have to be faster than it but if its physical abilities are the same as yours then it would be impossible to that. Which meant that you have to either improve your technique mid combat or you have to target the weak point of it….." Rean watched how Laura was slowly coming to understand why those mimics were such good sparing partners, "That's it! Since they use the same techniques, you can see how and where you can improve it yourself or you can see where the weak point of it is and then improve it. And not only can you improve your techniques since everything else is the same you can also see where you need to better yourself."

With that explanation the other understood the benefits of facing that kind of monster which prompted Alisa to ask a certain question, "Is that why you were dragging that fight out instead of ending it as soon as you got a chance?" Wincing slightly at the accusation in her tone, the swordsman could only sheepishly rub his neck while avoiding eye contact with her and the others who were looking at him with displeased eyes, "You noticed, huh?" At her nod, he could sigh to himself, "Sorry, I couldn't help myself. This was a rare opportunity to see how I could improve so I kind of forgot about defeating it?"

A shaky smile could be seen on his face as he explained his behaviour during the fight but the glares from the others were just getting stronger, "Since it was copying me, I was sure that I could defeat it anytime I wanted, now if it has chosen another person to imitate, then of course I would have done my best to defeat it quickly." That statement made at least Alisa stop glaring at him, "Anytime you wanted? Heh, don't know if that means that you have either a high or low opinion of yourself since it was a copy of you but I will let it go this time since you managed to find win without even having a scratch on you, I guess that does prove that you could win anytime you wanted."

Relieved that this wouldn't end in a scolding for him thanked Aidios for her mercy with this though it didn't escape him that the archer specifically under toned the word 'this time', but he would worry about that if he had the luck to encounter a similar situation again in the future. Seeing that Alisa was done, Laura asked a question that had been on her mind since she saw Rean's finishing blow, "Speaking of that fight, that move you used at the end what was that? You never used it before in our sparring matches or in fights against monsters."

"And I never will use it, Laura. Unless I have completely mastered it which by the looks of it will take years at the rate I am going and that is if I will ever master it. That technique is one my strongest but since I can't really control it the slightest mistake against a human opponent means death and against a monster, I am still too slow at unleashing it. The only reason why I was able to hit it was that I could predict its movements and knew where he was going only thanks to that was I able to hit it, against a normal monster I won't have that chance."

"I see….nonetheless its power was really incredible but I couldn't but notice that it somehow resembled your Flame Slash."

"It's the other way around, Laura. The Flame Slash is the one that resembles the Void Slash since it is a copy of it but using Flame Ki instead of Void Ki." From that point the two swordsmen feel into a discussion concerning the different types of Ki and it would have gone on, if the others hadn't reminded them that it was time to give the principal their report concerning the new floor and the red door. "You are right, Instructor Sara. Let's also not forget about that voice who talked something about a fourth look and potential awakener and so on." Silence descended after he was done talking, looking around he saw his classmates and instructor looking at him with a mix of confusion and worry in their eyes, "Is something wrong guys?"

Exchanging a look with each they left it to Alisa to ask, "Uhm, what are you talking about Rean? What voice are you talking about? We didn't hear anything like that." Now it was his turn to act confused, "What? Didn't any of you hear a voice saying something a fourth look, potential awakener and first trial?" The looks on their faces was enough for an answer, (Ok….one more point for this building on the weirdness scale.)

"Could it that 'voice' have appeared while we were inside the barrier because we couldn't hear anything that happened outside of it no matter what kind of noises you made, Rean?" Listening to Machias suggestion he could only shake his head, "Sorry, but I am certain that 'voice' appeared before the door was opened or even before that barrier appeared in fact both of those events started only after I heard it." Raising her hand like she was in class, Emma gave her own theory, "I have heard that sometimes in old ruins that originated before the Great Collapse people heard voices that were transmitted directly inside their head. Perhaps that is what happened here?"

(Oh, hell no! I already have an unwanted guest inside of me, I don't need any more voices in my head!) Looking at Rean grimace, Alisa moved to his side, "Perhaps there is a logical explanation for this?"

"As much I want to believe that Alisa, our experiences with this place have shown that logic has no place in here. Maybe I just imagined it that voice?"

"Yeah, right. The look on your face says a different story, Mister. Should we go to Instructor Beatrix for a check-up?" Thinking about Alisa's suggestion for a moment, he shook his head in the end, "No need to bother her with something like this for no, though if it happens next time, then I am definitely going."

"Wow, so there are things that scare you, if you are willingly suggesting that. Good to know."

"What, did you think that I am fearless or something? Please, while there isn't much that scares me there are certain people and events that I am afraid of. In fact, I am looking at one of those people right now." Narrowing her eyes at him since he was looking directly at her, she quipped right back, "Oh, really? Then maybe I should try to be even scarier perhaps then you will listen to me and stay out of trouble." Watching these two, poking fun at one another made the tense air disappear, after shooting one more quip at the archer he addressed the others, "I think we have spent enough time here, we should get ready to leave but before we do we have one last thing to do."

"And what would that be?" Giving Emma a smile, he pointed to one of the stone beams above them, "Why, we have to take that black 'cat' that is hiding right there with us because if not who knows if it will wander inside the floors and get eaten by a monster." The others looked up and to their surprise there really was a black cat there, though no one was more surprised than Emma though it turned quickly into anger, (So the reason that door opened was because of you, Celine! You and I are going to have words when I get my hands on you.)

Schooling her face back to a surprised one, she watched how Fie used her grappling hook to get Celine out of there into her waiting arms though if she used more force than necessary to hold her in place than necessary the cat had just deal with it. Outside Emma had no choice but to release her since she couldn't appear at the principal's office with a cat in her arms, but she gave her a glare that told Celine that they would talk about this later before joining the others in the main building.

Unfortunately, the principal had left the campus for the capital regarding a sudden summon from the Emperor in the morning, so they left it to Instructor Sara to give him their report the next morning or when she saw him next time. Done with Class VII split up to recover from their investigation of the old schoolhouse, leaving Rean with a stern warning not to overdo it while playing gopher since Alisa could see that he was still a bit tired, she was tempted to stay with him to keep an eye on him but decided against it since she was sure that even he couldn't get into trouble now that the exploration for the day was done.

Rean wandered the campus to see if someone needed help and he found someone that did, the Janitor Gyler. He had found a well-kept brush near the school fountain but after asking around the campus to see if it belonged to either a student or an instructor, he had come up empty. Taking a closer at it, Rean recognised it as an eastern calligraphy brush, but he couldn't think of someone who it could belong to, that is until he remembered something. In the morning while he had been running around searching for Rex, he had seen someone sitting near the fountain polishing something, trying to recall it he thinks that it could have been this brush. Mentioning that he had an idea on who the owner could be and that he could try to return it to him, Gyler gave him said brush and thanked him for his help in this.

Going back inside the main building, Rean talked with the receptionist to ask if she had any idea when the principal would return, luckily for him Vandyck was already back, in fact he had just come back mere minutes ago. Thanking her for the help, Rean made his towards the principal's office where after knocking on the door, he was called in. "Good day, Mister Schwarzer. I take you are here to report the results of this month's investigation?"

"Not exactly, Sir. Though now that you are back, I can do that too. The reason why I came here in the first place was because I thought that this here belonged to you." Taking out the brush from his pocket, he presented it to the principal, "That it does! I was just lamenting its loss earlier." Handing it back to its rightful owner, Vandyck gave Rean a grateful look, "Where did you find it? I searched everywhere in my office but couldn't find it."

So Rean told him that it had been Gyler who had found it near the fountain and had been searching for the owner of it since then, Vandyck thanked him again and said that would also give the janitor his thanks as soon as he saw him, "This brush was a gift from an old friend of mine, in our younger days we were constantly sparring with each other, both to improve our skills and to motivate one another to achieve greater heights in our skills. He was the one who urged me to take up the art of Eastern Calligraphy; I suppose it's been around ten years since I last saw him. Though something tells me he has been in good health, drinking sake and teaching the next generation." At that he smiled at Rean who was a bit confused at first but soon an idea popped in his head, (Wait, could it be that he is talking about Master Ka-Fai?)

Adopting a more serious expression, Vandyck put the brush away and looked straight at Rean, "That is enough reminiscing for now. How did this month's investigation go, Mister Schwarzer?" Setting his thoughts in order, the swordsman gave his report mentioning the new changes on the fourth floor with the addition of the Higher Elements, the red door that had appeared out of nowhere, the mimic that had been inside of it and the mysterious voice only he had heard. Sighing Vandyck could only resign himself that apparently the old schoolhouse wasn't done surprising them, pulling himself together the principal thanked Rean and Class VII for their work today and told him that he would ask Instructor Makarov and George to take a look at that red door, perhaps they would be able to find something that could help them better understand the mysteries of that place. Not wanting to dampen the principal's optimism Rean could only nod though inside he had a feeling that it wouldn't be that easy, after talking some more about their investigation Rean left the room and resumed walking through the campus.

Passing by the Gymnasium he saw that Laura was inside using the Fencing Club room for her practice, even looking from afar he could see that her form wasn't up to her usual standard deciding that a short visit to see if he could help her, wasn't a bad idea. He entered the building and took a seat inside the room she was training in; she was so focused on her training that she didn't even notice his presence until he called out to her after she was done, "Ah, Rean. I didn't see you coming in. Is there something that I can help you with?" Thinking for a moment Rean decided that perhaps a workout was what she needed to clear her head for a bit, "How about we spare for a little while, Laura?"

Surprised at the sudden offer Laura hesitated for a few moments before shaking her head, "Thank you, it is kind of you to offer but in the state that I am right now, I wouldn't be a good sparring partner and I know that you are skilled enough to see that. Even my performance in the old building today left a lot to be desired perhaps I am the reason that Instructor Sara gave us just an A- for a grade." It was an unusual sight, seeing the normally confident Laura like that, "True, compared to our earlier investigation your performance has dropped somewhat but I for one think that it is a good thing."

"What?! What makes you think that?" Going to the benches Rean patted the seat next to him to invite her to sit down, "Both of us know what caused your recent slump, I won't claim to know what is going between you and Fie, what I do know Laura is that for the first time in your life you are unsure what to do, am I right?" The swordswoman hesitated before she nodded, "In my opinion that is a good thing, and do you also remember our talk back in Celdic when we talked about my swordsmanship?"

Another nod came and Rean went on, "I told you back then that your view of the path of the sword was narrow and that if you can expand your view that you would also grow immensely from it. This struggling with Fie may help you grow as both a swordswoman and as a person but, and I want you to really listen to this, you don't have to force yourself to take that step."

Laura looked at him with wide eyes but remained silent, "Laura, you are a student here in part to learn how to BE an adult and that is something that you can't force. It's like swordsmanship, no matter how hard you train, you can't rush mastery. These things take time and that is why I don't think that you should force yourself to deal with whatever is between you and Fie like that. Take your time to analyse your feelings and what is causing this, don't rush anything just to try to be what people call an adult or because you still feel guilty about what happened with the Ice Wolf."

She looked away as he mentioned that event, "I will say it again what happened back there was just bad luck, neither I nor the others don't blame you two for it. So, try to take things one step at the time and don't rush. If you need to talk about it or something else me and the rest of Class VII are here for you and if you need to clear your head with sparring, just give me a call or perhaps call Gaius. The two of you have spent a lot of time together during the last weeks sparring together."

Perhaps it was a trick of the light, but Rean could have sworn that Laura blushed at the mention on how much time she and Gaius had spent together before she turned her head away from him, putting that aside he waited until Laura looked back at him, there was still some gloominess in her eyes, but it was less than she had before, so he counted that as a win. "Perhaps you are right, I shouldn't rush anything but take time to look at myself before I do anything, though I have to say that speech would have been better if I didn't know for a fact that it also could apply to you. It seems like you are good at giving other people advice but are bad at following it yourself."

A grin appeared on her face as he saw how embarrassed he got as she pointed that out, "Well, as much I want to deny it, you do have a point, Laura. Perhaps I am bad at following my own advice, it is something that I am trying to work on myself. Still do think about what I said and try to take it easy, ok?"

"You do realise the irony that you, of all the people, are saying that, right?"

"Believe me, I know. Are you going back to the dormitory?" Shaking her head, Laura picked up her sword and returned to the centre of the room, "No, I still want to train for a bit but don't worry I will take it easy for the rest of the day." Exchanging grins with each, Rean left her alone and noticed that the sun was starting to come down signalising that perhaps it was time to go back to the dorm, shrugging his shoulders he decided that perhaps he too would also take it easy for the rest of the day. At the gate he ran into the remaining members of Class VII minus Laura and Fie, "Hey there guys. You all on your way back then?"

"Yeah, I am feeling a bit bushed today, besides I do have something to do later on that will require quite a lot of energy, so I thought to myself why not go back and rest for a bit. On the way, I ran into everyone and since they were also going to the dorm we decided to go together." Given the look she is giving him, he had a good idea what she was planning on doing later though he also knew that there was no escaping it. "Sigh. To be honest, I was hoping to get some more studying in, but since everyone else was going back, I had no choice but to bow to peer pressure." The other joined in ribbing Machias drive for studying, grinning at the scene before him made Rean grin until he heard someone call his name, "There you are Schwarzer, we have been looking for you." Turning in the direction of the voice he saw Patrick and Elise approaching him, "Elise?! What are you doing here and with Patrick no less?!"

The duo approached Class VII, "Lady Elise, arrived earlier at Thors looking for you and since she didn't know the layout of the campus, I offered to be her guide until we found you." Elise bowed in traditional noble fashion to Patrick, "Thank you for your help, Lord Hyarms. I would have been lost without your help." Returning a bow on his own Patrick remained polite to the younger girl, "No need to thank, Lady Elise. It was my pleasure to help you out, besides it seems like you also helped me in a certain way." Glancing at the members of Class VII Patrick remained there though he felt a shudder running through his body when looked at Rean. Somehow the way Patrick was talking to Elise managed to call forth his overprotectiveness as an older brother but before he could act on it and question the young Hyarms on why he was together with his little sister, Elise started speaking.

"Hello everyone from Class VII, it is a pleasure to see you all again. It has been a while since our meeting in Heimdallr, though I can see that some are missing, I hope that you all have been well. Hello to you too, Rean." With years of living together and the tone of her voice let Rean know that he was somehow in trouble with his sister though why that was he had no idea, the rest of Class VII picked up on the tension between the two siblings and besides greeting Elise back they remained quiet watching the two. "Hello, Elise. It has been some months since we last saw each other, still what are you doing here and this late in the day too?"

"Look deep in your heart and you will find your answer to that question." Looking at the confused look on his face, Elise knew that he wouldn't get it, so she took out a letter from her pocket and showed it to him, "This is the last letter that you sent me, is that answer enough for you?"

"Oh, that. I see, perhaps we can talk about this someplace else?"

"Certainly, I apologise for cutting in, but would it be possible for me to borrow my brother for a while?" The others could only nod at her request, the Schwarzer siblings left together in the direction of the main building, Class VII didn't know what to do at the moment since they could see that Rean had somehow gotten himself into trouble with his sister, "Class VII, a moment of your time, please?"

As one they looked at Patrick who was still on the same spot as before, "Wow, did you just use please with us, o esteemed member of the Hyarms? I didn't think that it was possible that you know that word or how to use it." Grinding his teeth together a sharp retort was on his tongue to use against Machias, but he held himself back from speaking since that would be counterproductive against what he was trying to do, "What do you want, Hyarms? Either say what you have to say or leave some of us still have plans for the rest of the day." Now it was Jusis who spoke to him in condescending voice, taking a deep breath Patrick spoke up, "It would have been better if Claussel was also here, but it seems like I will have to track her down another day. Reinford, Worzel." He could see Class VII narrowing their eyes at him, but it didn't stop him from speaking, "Regarding my behaviour after our sparring match, I want to apologise I went too far with the things I said and for that I am sorry."

Bowing deeply in their direction Class VII was astounded at what they were hearing and seeing, "What?" came out of Machias who couldn't believe what just happened even Jusis was surprised at what he was seeing, "I already apologised to Schwarzer this morning and will repeat what I said, the words I said were beneath one of my station and should have never have left my mouth, I let my pride and anger get the best of me and for that I am sorry!" No one could say anything they were still too stunned by what was happening, for a while the silence continued until Patrick stopped bowing, "I also told Schwarzer that while my conduct was unbecoming of me, this apology doesn't mean that Class I is giving up its rightful place as the number one class. So, prepare yourselves Class VII because we will beat you in both academics and on the battlefield, we are after all nobles. Once again, I apologies for my behaviour last time and I will also do the same when I see Claussel. Goodbye"

They could only watch Patrick walking quickly away without making a sound, "Did this just happened, or did I fall asleep in the library, and I am dreaming this? Can somebody pinch me please?...OUCH! What was that for, Albarea?!" Smirking at him Jusis just shrugged his shoulders, "What, you did ask if somebody could pinch you, didn't you?" The two fell into their usual routine of bickering shaking the others awake, meanwhile the Schwarzer siblings were steeping into the roof of the main building.

"It has been a while, huh? Must be …six months since I last saw you? Seven? I heard from the others that I missed you last time we were in Heimdallr, so how have you been? Is everything ok with you?" Not looking at him Elise continued starring at the town bathed in the colours of the setting sun, "After you told us that you would attend at Thors, I thought we would have a chance to meet up but nearly four months later besides those three letters from you there was no contact at all and those letters didn't contain a single request to meet."

"I….. I am sorry. I wanted to meet you out here too, it's just…. I have been so busy lately that I…Besides it's not easy to get permission to leave St. Astraia's campus, is it?"

"That is entirely beside the point, the capital is just thirty minutes away by train and from there it is just twenty minutes travel time from the Central Station to my school, which is in total only fifty minutes of your time. But I suppose that you are so tied up that even fifty minutes is too much time to spare for a little visit." Elise drove her point relentlessly in until Rean was consumed with guilt, "…..I am sorry! I really am, I kept being hit with classwork, exams, field studies, the investigations…..But you are right. I probably could have made time, if I had just made that a priority. It is just that….No, those are just excuses, I am truly sorry Elise!"

Bowing to her, he remained like that until he heard a soft sigh, "Since it seems that you are truly reflecting, I will forgive you for now, but can I assume that you know what to do now?"

"Yes, I am going to clear up some time to come to the capital to visit and see you, I promise. And you are always welcome to come visit me here, too. Though I would prefer a heads-up that way you don't have to deal with the boys here." Raising an eyebrow at that Elise let it go since her brother seemed to have reflected on his behaviour, "Really?! ..E-erm, I am glad to hear it. After growing up together, you are the last person I would want to feel distant from." Looking at the smile on her face Rean was sure that she had forgiven him, but he thought that going the extra step would be better, "You are right, by the way I brought you a cute souvenir from the Nord Highlands, I think that you will like it."

"Really?! I mean thank you for the souvenir and while our lack of meeting has been on my mind lately it isn't the true reason why I came here; this here is, and I think you know which part of this letter has truly upset me." Taking out the same letter as before, he knew that there was no way to avoid this conversation, (Can't say that I wasn't expecting some type of reaction from her, still I didn't think that she would come here directly.)

Opening the letter, she began to read a part out loud, "The possibility is small right now but there is a chance that after I graduate, that I will join the army. Even if I don't, I doubt I will be coming back home to live. I really want to repay Mom and Dad for all they have done for me, so I would appreciate your help with that at some point of course I also want to repay you for being there for me. I am looking forward to catching up with you. Hope you are doing well." Folding the letter, she put it away and looked straight at him, "What did you mean by 'Even if I don't, I doubt I will be coming back home to live'? Or by wanting to repay us, you make it sound as though you intend to sever ties with us…of course you aren't going to, right?"

Elise may have started strong but in the end her voice was getting quieter, "Sigh, Elise. I could never completely sever the ties that bind us together as a family neither do I want to, but I want to put some distance between me and the Schwarzer Barony." Shocked at what she was hearing she nearly started shouting until the first part of what he said sank in, "You can't honestly be thinking that you are going to quietly bow out of succeeding Father as head of the family, are you Rean?"

"That is exactly what I am thinking." Seeing that she was going to protest, he went on explaining himself, "I have no intention of becoming the head of the family or the next Baron Schwarzer. No need to look so surprised about it, think about Elise. What am I? Just a kid that Dad found abandoned in a blizzard all alone. I wasn't born into a nobleman's life; I was adopted and as such I have no right to succeed Dad as Baron. The best thing would be for you to marry a good man and take the role of Baroness Schwarzer."

Not holding back any longer Elise shouted at him, "That makes no sense at all! You might not be related to us by blood, but you are still Father's only son and as such you are eligible to succeed him and the right of adopted children to succeed their family name is recognized under Imperial Law!" Remaining calm Rean tried to calm her down, "You are right if the adopted child is of noble blood. At least that is how it's gone in most cases, and I am not of noble blood." That made her look down on the ground, smiling gently he used his hand to raise her head to look at him, "Elise, I have no intention of disappearing from our family, the only thing that I want is for you to be able to hold your head high among your peers."

Tears were starting to form on her eyes, "Really, you aren't going to leave us?" Chuckling he brought her into a hug putting an arm around her back and one hand on her head to pat her as he had done when they were children, "Just because I won't live in Ymir, it doesn't mean that you will get rid of me. You, Mom and Dad are my family, in the eyes of nobility that may not be the case but who cares what they think. The only thing that matters here is that to us four we are a family, and I wouldn't change it for nothing in this world." Now Elise really started sobbing in his arms, "I was..sob… so worried that you would leave us and… and.. never appear before us again!"

"To be honest, there was a time I thought like that, whoa easy there Elise, I said I thought like that, past tense." The moment he said those words her head had snapped right up to stare at him, "During my travels I saw a lot and experienced a lot, those years taught me that one doesn't have to be blood related to be a family what matters is that we ourselves accept that we are one. ….Still, I won't change my stance regarding the matter of succeeding Dad."

"Why? You said it yourself we are a family so what is wrong with a son picking up the mantle from his father?" Rean tried to explain his thoughts to his little sister, "Do you remember what happened after Dad adopted me and made me his heir?" Elise had been too young to really understand what had happened during that time but as she grew older, she had heard about the rumours that had been going around since then. The nobles who heard of Rean's adoption had accused her father of being unfaithful to his wife and that Rean was his bastard and other hurtful things had been said about them, in the end Theo Schwarzer didn't leave Ymir anymore and started to be isolated from his peers but the man himself didn't care at all about that, he was just happy that his family had a new member.

"Who cares what they say?"

"By the way, the others told me that you had reacted rather harshly to them after hearing that had I used 'Spirit Control'." Not sure why he had changed the conversation Elise still tried to defend herself, "I know that I shouldn't have reacted like that, but I was worried how they would view you afterwards; you have already suffered greatly because other people don't want to understand you." He took a step back and lowered his head to look directly into her eyes that were somewhat red from her crying, "So does that mean only you, Mom and Dad are allowed to worry how others view me?"

"Of course not, you are …..also…allowed….." It finally dawned on Elise what he was trying to say to her, like she wanted to defend him from other people he also wanted to defend his family in the same way, "But still that doesn't mean that you can't live at home with us and regarding the matter of being an heir, I am sure that we can find a solution for it." Glad that she finally understood why he wanted to distance himself from them, that it was because he loved his family and nothing else, made him relax considerably, "If you read the letter carefully you will see that I wrote 'that I doubt' and not 'I am sure', I wanted to talk about this with Mom and Dad next time we are together and you are more than welcome to join us in brainstorming ideas on how to deal with this. Just remember the goal here is to make sure that you, Mom and Dad are treated with the respect that you deserve."

The look she gave him in return told him that he should also be included in that sentence, but he brushed it aside for now, "As for the matter for me being the heir, I think we have to give up on that. No, Elise hear me out. There are already rumours about me circulating among the nobles, even here at Thors rumours about me are going around. Heck, one of them is that they will bring up this matter in this year Provincial Council just to make sure that I don't succeed Dad."

"What?! You can't be serious! What right do they have to meddle in our family business?!" Patting her head again, he tried to calm her down, "No need to get so work up, it was just a rumour that I heard going around." Elise was pouting at that until a certain idea popped into her head, narrowing her eyes at him a suspicious light was in them, "You aren't telling me this just to distract me, aren't you?" Rolling his eyes at her, he gave her a grin, "Nope, didn't even think of that one besides you can just ask Jusis if it is true or not."

"The son of Duke Albarea? I don't think I could just go up to him and ask something like that."

"Don't be fooled by his stoic façade, he may look like he is indifferent to everything but inside he is just a big softie. Now that I think about it everyone in Class VII is a big softie though they may try to project otherwise." Steeping back from him, Elise focused back on the sight of the town, "Let's put aside this matter aside until we are back in Ymir and tell me about your time here at Thors. I am sure what you haven written in your letters is just the tip of the iceberg and not to mention I am certain that you must have done some pretty reckless things since coming here." Chuckling at that accusation Rean just shrugged his shoulders, "Well, as much as I would like to deny that last part, there are people that would say otherwise. So how about you ask them?"

"You are talking about your classmates, right? Perhaps I should talk with them, they are sure to tell me the whole truth about your actions." The smile she had now on her face told Rean that the mood of his little sister had improved, "Of that I have no doubt Elise, especially if you talk with Alisa. She won't hesitate to sell me out in that regard and let me tell you she can even be scarier than Mom sometimes." The moment he mentions the archer, Elise's smile seemed to dim somewhat but returned to normal a heartbeat later, "Oh, really? She can be scarier than Mother and yet you don't change your reckless ways at all? Sigh, what will it take for you to start taking care of yourselves?"

"Probably the same thing that it will take you all to believe me that I am not really reckless?" That got her to glare right at him, "Seriously? Do I need to remind you how you got all those scars or rather since she is so scary should I tell Alisa about it? I am sure that she will be thrilled to hear about that event?" Sweat started to appear on Rean's body as he imagined that happening, suppressing a shudder he tried to get that idea out of her head, "Let's not be hasty here, Elise. If that story got out, I think my only option would be to leave the country because I am pretty sure that Alisa would tear me into pieces for it."

From that point on the conversation between these two remained light-hearted while he told her in more detail about his days at the academy and she in return told him about hers. During the conversation he had convinced her to spend the night in his dorm since it was getting late or if she didn't want to, he could escort her back to her school, not wanting him to go to the capital and back she reluctantly accepted his offer after he made sure that his instructor also agreed to it.

The evening went on with Elise and Class VII spending time together telling each other stories about Rean much to his chagrin those included some rather embarrassing stories about his childhood and from his travels. At the beginning the younger Schwarzer had been hesitant but as the evening went on, she started to come slowly out of her shell and started to interact more with girls from the class, if there was only one truly bad thing that Rean point out of the evening was that the cold war between Sara and Sharon seemed to intensify.

The maid from the beginning had frowned upon Sara's intake of alcohol in front of the members of Class VII, add to that Sara inexplicable dislike for the maid and let that stew for a few weeks, you will get a highly tensed situation between these two. At least they managed to keep the students out of their cold war and tried to avoid showing it in front of other people, but it seemed like Sharon wasn't that far from her boiling point when Sara didn't even stop from drinking beer in front of Elise, who thankfully remained unaware of it.

The next day Class VII saw Elise off at the station where she reminded her brother of his promise to visit her and said goodbye to the others, before she boarded the train she looked back and saw how Rean was being teased by his classmates, she could only hope that he had finally found people who would accept both him and his power, even if the thought left her feeling a bit lonely. The morning after the visit of his sister, Rean and Alisa were outside of Trista doing their usual morning routine, the archer was quickly shooting her arrows at the approaching swordsman but to her frustration, he had once again managed to reach her without her landing a single hit at all.

Sighing to herself Alisa took a towel and cleaned the sweat from her face, done with that she took the water bottle offered by Rean, "Thanks…. Be honest with me Rean, am I improving at all? It has been over two months since we started training together and until now, I haven't been able to hit you at all." Taking a sip of his own water, Rean looked at her with amusement dancing in his eyes, "You know, every time I asked my master that question, he always told me that training can't be rushed and just because you can't see an immediate improvement doesn't mean that you aren't improving. From my point of view, you are constantly improving, just compare your archery skills when you just started at the academy, and you will notice that you have greatly advanced your skills since then."

Alisa did just that and found that he was right, "You are right, I did improve but I don't think that it isn't enough. Perhaps I should up my training regime? Hey what are you laughing at?!" Mid-sentence Rean had started to chuckle out loud, waving his hands he tried to calm her down, "Sorry, sorry. It was just, you made me remember the times I said the same thing to Master Ka-Fai."

"Let me guess, he told you that you should have more patience and not to overwork yourself?"

"Yep, so you know what you should do, right?" At the smirk on his face, Alisa could only pout but relented that perhaps she had been a bit hasty, nonetheless now that the two were alone she could finally approach that topic she had been burning to ask him since yesterday, but the arrival of Elise made her wait until now. "Fine, we still have some time until we have to go back to the dorm, so let's take a break now." The smirk on his face disappeared quickly at that perhaps it had been something in her tone that made him suddenly wary of what was going to happen, the archer noticed that so she gave him a sweet smile that made it clear to him that he couldn't get out of this no matter what.

Taking a seat on the ground, Rean leaned back against a tree and waited until Alisa made the opening move which didn't take long, "Let's cut to the chase, yesterday when you touched the red door, you also grabbed the same side of your chest like you did back in Nord. So, what happened?"

"My scar started suddenly to itch so I grabbed it out reflex that is all that happened."

"(He didn't even hesitate as he answered, did he prepared an answer beforehand or is he being honest right now? Hmm, why is that I get the feeling that behind that scar is something that Rean doesn't want to tell me or anyone else? He already told me that he doesn't remember how he got, that he had it since he was a small child, so why am I so bothered by it?) I see." Rean could see that she was thinking rather deeply about his scar, so he tried to distract her with something else, "You know, I was thinking that you were going to ask me about what Elise, and I said on the roof yesterday?"

That managed to snap her out of her thoughts, "What? Well, of course I am curious about it but…..eh… I mean what are you talking about? What did Elise say yesterday?" Grinning at her the swordsman just waited until she finished speaking, "Alisa, you do remember that I can 'sense' my surroundings, right?" The archer opened her mouth to defend herself but when she recalled what he had told her about his Sensing ability she facepalmed instead, (I can't believe that I forgot about that ability of his, so he knew that we were there listening to him and Elise talking about their problems with the other nobles.)

He patted her shoulder to get her attention, "Don't worry about it, if I didn't want you guys to know about what we were talking about, I would have asked for privacy from you all. There is no need to be embarrassed." Alisa cheeks were red from having been caught eavesdropping at their conversation, "Sorry, we shouldn't have but our curiosity got the better of us and the way Elise was looking so seriously at you made us think that something was wrong. I already know that if that was the case you would have tried to solve it on your own without asking for help, so I and the others wanted to give you a hand in case you needed help."

Touched that they were just trying to help, Rean had to hold himself back from patting her head like he had done yesterday with his sister, "Thanks, Alisa. I guess I will have to thank the others too when I see them, but like you heard this situation isn't easy to resolve. I especially don't want to drag you guys into it since nothing can be done with it. I never really thought about becoming the next Baron Schwarzer and since this is just giving grief to my family, then I don't mind if Elise takes my place."

"I won't say that I understand all that stuff about nobles, but I am pretty sure that either Jusis or Laura wouldn't mind helping you out with that and the rest of us are here to listen to in case you need to vent."

"Thanks again, Alisa, I mean it. But right now, I want to just concentrate on the upcoming practical exam and the field study that matter can wait for later. Should we go back?" Standing up he offered her his hand, taking it, she pulled herself up, "Yeah, we should if we don't want to arrive late to class, by the way my offer still stands if you just want to talk about it." A look at him was enough for her to know that he wouldn't take her up on her offer even if he didn't say it out loud, so she changed the topic to something else, "Speaking of the next field study, you didn't forget our little bet did you?"

"You mean the one where we will see if Instructor Sara will just add me to the other group? Of course, I didn't after all if I win, I can get out of a scolding from you one time and if you win…."

"I will get to choose a story about you during your travels and it doesn't matter how recklessly you behaved you will tell me every single detail, though you may choose the time and place to tell it." Alisa finished his sentence for him, both believed that they would win though unknown to Rean, Alisa was one hundred percent sure that she would win this bet, "And don't worry I already know which story I am going to choose. (Seems like you didn't notice that Elise let something else slip during your conversation yesterday, I can't wait to hear that story that you would say that I would tear you into pieces for it.)" A bit surprised that she already knew which one she wanted to hear he tried to get it out of her, but she successfully evaded his questions.

Wednesday arrived quickly and with it the practical exam, like usual Class VII was at the Academy Field waiting for Sara to tell them what kind of exam that would have this time, "All right, it is the time you have all been waiting for, your next practical exam! I won't let you wait any longer, this time you will pair up in teams of two to face each other in combat and I will choose the teams and the matchups. First, we will start with our strongest Combat Links user, Rean and Alisa come up here." Rolling their eyes at her theatrics the duo approached the middle of the field and waited for Sara to announce their opponents, "Your opponents today will be….let's see….How about Laura and Fie? Yeah, that is a 'good' combination, let's go with them."

Leaning closer to Rean, she whispered softly so that only he could hear her, "A little on the blatant side but I can't say that I am surprised, I was half expecting her to do something like that." Sighing Rean watched how the two girls made their way towards them, "Well, this should make for an interesting battle, if nothing else since these two have a clear advantage in terms of strength and speed over us. Now we just have to see if that will be a good thing or a bad thing." The girls took their position in front of them, "Got any ideas on how to do this?"

"They are both formidable opponents on their own, but I think we have a good chance of winning this one. We just have to make good use of our combat links to win this which could be the reason why the instructor choose us to fight against them." Snorting at his theory Alisa couldn't hold back the sarcastic undertone in her voice, "You think? Anyway, we just have to give our best in this fight, Rean." Nodding at her he took out his tachi and she her bow and got ready to start, Laura and Fie did the same and now all they were waiting for was the start signal of Sara, "Take your positions….and GO!"

Rean and Alisa immediately activated their combat links while the other two didn't do the same, Rean went forward to intercept the girls who were sprinting in their direction, at the same time Alisa jumped back to widen the distance between the three though she didn't forget to attack Fie with her arrows at the same time. Alisa managed to slow down Fie enough for Rean to reach Laura and to start exchanging high speed strikes with each other. (I have to make sure that their attention is focused on me, leaving Alisa free to support me with her arrows and arts. First, I have to draw them into close combat which will be to my advantage since they don't have a combat link on.) Deflecting a strike from Laura, he used that opening to attack Fie with an Arc Slash stopping her from attacking Alisa with her bullets, using that momentum he followed up with the second form Gale to attack both of them at the same time as he had done months before against the second-floor bosses.

For a few moments they could only defend against his slashes which bought Alisa enough time to cast the Space Art, Dark matter. Rean used his speed to leave the radius of that art, he watched as the girls were drawn even closer together, the moment the Orbal Art ended he made his move by using the fifth form to attack both of them again at the same time, Rean tried to attack again but he noticed the flash grenade that Fie had thrown his way. He closed his eyes as it went off but that didn't stop him from attacking, spreading his perception as best as he could he 'saw' two blurry shapes of energy in front of him added together with his link to Alisa he could sense that she was going to use her Craft 'Molten Rain' to attack so he chose Autumn Leaf Cutter as his next attack which managed to unbalance them though Rean and Alisa choose not to follow up with a 'Rush Attack' instead opting for Alisa's craft.

After he was done attacking, he appeared behind them just as the rain of arrows arrived pinning the two girls in place with their defence up, the light of the flash grenade was gone so Rean opened his eyes, noticing that he now had a window to charge his next attack he communicated with his partner through their link to inform her of his plan, back came a feeling of approval. Getting in position he called out, "Flames gather on my blade!" Several strands of flames coiled around his tachi setting it on fire, controlling the temperature of the flames he attacked just as the rain of arrows stopped. His flurry of slashes managed to disarm Fie, but Laura managed to keep one of her hands on the great sword though it didn't last long since the moment he was done, a flaming arrow managed to finish the job of disarming Laura making her weapon fly from her grasp. The Arseid heir realised that it had been Alisa's Flamberge who did it as she looked at the archer's stance, "All right, that is enough! Rean and Alisa managed to score this victory, well done you two!"

With Sara's declaration Fie and Laura realised that they had completely lost, it may haven take a bit to describe the fight but in the eyes of the rest of the class it was quickly over they saw only parts and bits of before it was finished. "You two are getting more and more in sync after each fight, I don't think it will take long before you reach Link Level Four. As for you two…I don't even think that I need to say anything, do I? But in case it wasn't obvious enough you lost because you didn't have a combat link on while your opponents were fighting as one. Each of their moves connected to the next until all you could do was defend which gave them the time, they needed to finish you off."

The frustration was clear on their faces, but they had no way to refute Sara's criticism as they knew better than anyone else that she was right, dejected they returned to the others with Rean and Alisa, the following fights were longer but nonetheless showed the progress each member had made after the last exam. "All right, that brings this month's practical exam to an end. You are all improving quite nicely, especially Elliot and Emma. Compared to how you two were at the beginning of the year, you two made quite a leap. Well done! Next, it's time to announce this weekend's field study location. Please come forward and take the paper containing your group."

'Field Study: July

Group A Location: Heimdallr, the Vermilion Capital

Group A Members. Rean, Machias, Laura, Elliot, Fie

Group B Location: Heimdallr, the Vermilion Capital

Group B Members: Emma, Alisa, Jusis, Gaius'

"Oh, it looks like both groups are going to the same place this time around. Can I assume that we will be dividing the work between our groups?"

"Well, the capital is incredible vast, so it seems like a logical solution, Emma. Still, I wasn't expecting that our next destination would be mine and Eliot's hometown."

"Yeah, you and I will have the home field advantage this time. Hehe, I guess this means I will be in the town for the summer festival after all, what luck! Can't wait to show you guys around…Rean is everything ok?" Elliot looked at his group with a wide smile on his face until he looked at Rean who wore a look of disbelief before his eyes turned ice cold as stared straight at his instructor who was now whistling innocently while avoiding his eyes. "…..That innocent whistling isn't fooling anyone, perhaps you could explain why I get the feeling that I am being used…again."

"Actually, I am surprised that you didn't knew beforehand." Sara was avoiding his question and tried to change topics, a muscle in his cheek started to twitch at her blatant attempt but he decided to humour her since this time he planned to get her to understand that while he didn't mind helping others that didn't mean that they could use him like this, "And how on Earth could I have known of this beforehand, pray tell me, my dear Instructor?"

Sara flinched a little at his tone but remained steadfast in her choice of avoiding his eyes, instead she looked at Alisa who wore an extremely wide smirk on her face, "Instructor Sara asked for my help last Saturday with some documents and scatterbrain that she is, she left the group divisions where I could see though I didn't know the location of our field study. She made me promise her not to tell anyone about it, so I kept quiet."

Rean froze when he heard that which made him recall the bet that he temporarily forgotten because of his ire at Sara, slowing turning his head to look at Alisa he could see the mischief in her eyes as she smirked at him, "What was it that you said last time we made a bet Rean? 'This here is a good lesson for you, don't bet if you aren't absolute sure that you can win'? Perhaps you should follow your own advice from now on."

"Well played, Reinford, well played. I guess I will have to pay up, so which story exactly do you want to hear?" Patting his arm, Alisa who was till grinning looked at him, "No need to be hasty, besides I didn't forget that you get to choose the time and place when you are going tell me the story I choose though I will tell you which one I want after we are done with our field study, for now I think that we should get going since our instructor has apparently decided to run away to avoid your wrath."

"What?!" Looking around Rean couldn't find Sara anywhere on the field which meant that she escaped while his attention was focused on Alisa who after shooting him a wink took Emma by her arm and left the field while humming a happy tone, the others tried to suppress their laughter after they put together the fact that Alisa had pulled a fast one on the swordsman though Machias couldn't quite suppress his laughter at his expense.

(I didn't see that one coming, gotta give kudos when its earned, Alisa. Well done. While I am curious what story she wants to hear that is a worry for a later date. For now I should think of a way to pay back a certain instructor of mine…..Ah didn't Sharon say that she could use some help in dealing with the apparent alcoholism of our dear instructor, I think I still have enough of those tealeaves to make a batch of that special tea. Perhaps I should go talk with Sharon about this?) Wearing a dark grin on his face, Rean also left the field with his friends who shuddered when they saw that look on his face, somewhere else Sara Valestein got that same shudder only stronger with the feeling that she was somehow in danger though even a battle-hardened veteran like her couldn't have imagined the inhuman torture that was coming her way.