Kino
"HEY DAWN YOU there?"
"Yes Bob. What's up?"
"I don't know why, but we have an unknown person running around in the woods. Your team is closest to them."
"Copy that. We're on it." Dawn replies.
"Also please remind Lilly that as team captain she should be answering when I call her."
"Bye Bob." Dawn cheerfully said.
****
Twin siblings Kiyomaro and Kino Kurosaki have left Leo Blackbriar—their new friend and party member -- back in Snapdragon Village and traveled to their respective schools.
𝐻𝑚𝑚, 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑒 ℎ𝑎𝑠 𝑠𝑜𝑚𝑒 𝑛𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝑠𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑦.
Kino is currently up at the top of a tree having a look around.
"To the east are more trees. To the north is a mountain. The South has what looks like a town, but it's a ways off. And to the west is… wow, I didn't expect to see that. Looks like I'm heading west."
"𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑓𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑐ℎ𝑟𝑖𝑝."
"𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 ℎ𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑤𝑎𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡?"
"𝑇ℎ𝑟𝑒𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑟𝑝."
"𝑊ℎ𝑜 𝑖𝑠 𝑡𝑎𝑙𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑒?" I look around for who's speaking. "𝐼'𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑛𝑙𝑦 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑢𝑝 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒. 𝑊𝑒𝑙𝑙 𝑤ℎ𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑟 𝑚𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑎𝑠 𝑤𝑒𝑙𝑙 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑒𝑒 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑤𝑠 𝑢𝑝."
"Lee, you go right."
"Got it." Whispers Lee.
"ChiChi you go left, and I'll go in from the rear."
"Okay Dawn you got it." ChiChi answered, having acknowledged Dawn's orders.
"𝑂𝑛𝑒 𝑜𝑛 𝑦𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑙𝑒𝑓𝑡 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑟𝑝."
"𝑂𝑛𝑒 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑟𝑝."
"𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑡 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑏𝑒ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑑 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑟𝑝."
"𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑘𝑠, 𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑜𝑚 𝑣𝑜𝑖𝑐𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑚𝑦 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑑. 𝐻𝑚𝑚…ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝐼 ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑙𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠? 𝑂ℎ 𝐼 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤.
As the three silently approach they get within a meter of Kino's position and then she disappears.
"What! where is she?"
"Where's who?" I asked.
"Dawn behind you!" Yells ChiChi.
"What! no she's behind you ChiChi!" Dawn yells back.
"She's too fast. Is she even human?" Questions Lee.
"She might be a beast-kin, demi-human, or a demon."
"Nope I'm human." I say right into Dawn's ear before vanishing.
"Back to back now!" Orders Dawn.
With their backs to one another, Dawn, ChiChi, and Lee keep their eyes peeled for the slightest bit of movement.
Luckily the forest isn't too thick and all three have excellent kinetic vision acuity.
"Does anyone see her?"
"No." Lee responds.
"Nope." Answered ChiChi.
"Maybe she left." I said.
Two of the three scattered the moment Kino spoke. Lee is the only one who attempts to fight her.
He throws a punch. Kino deflects the incoming punch, steps inside the punch range, grabs Lee's arm, turns her back and drops her center of gravity, loads Lee's momentum over her shoulder and drives him to the ground. Knocking the wind out of him.
Kino had pulled off a perfectly timed soei-nage. (Judo shoulder throw)
𝘞𝘏𝘖𝘖𝘚𝘏!!!
"Ack!"
Dawn, seeing an opening, lined up a shot with her blow gun and fired.
"How the hell did you do that?" A surprised Lee asked from his backside.
The instant Dawn fired the dart from her blow gun, Kino used her speed to grab ChiChi and use her as a human shield.
The tip of the dart that struck ChiChi's neck was dipped in a paralytic. Kino gently places her on the ground.
"Can you tell me where the Assassin School is please?" I asked.
"Why should we tell you anything?" Responds Dawn.
"Because I'm a new transfer student, and you four are no match for me."
"Four?"
"She's up in that tree right there." I point her out.
Dawn looks in the direction I'm pointing.
"Your perception is very good for a human. I'm impressed you noticed me. I was even concealing my presents."
"Thanks."
"My name is Lilly Nova. I'm a demi-human cheetah."
Lilly drops down from the tree.
(𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑩𝒊𝒐)
𝑵𝒂𝒎𝒆: 𝑳𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝑵𝒐𝒗𝒂
𝑨𝒈𝒆: 𝑼𝒏𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒏
𝑺𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒔: 𝑫𝒆𝒎𝒊-𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏 𝑪𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒕𝒂𝒉
𝑮𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓: 𝑭𝒆𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒆
𝑯𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕: 1.67 𝒎
𝑾𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕: 53 𝒌𝒈
𝑯𝒂𝒊𝒓: 𝒀𝒆𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒉-𝒃𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝑭𝒖𝒓
𝑬𝒚𝒆𝒔: 𝑩𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒏
𝑩𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝑩𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅: 𝑺𝒍𝒊𝒎, 𝑷𝒐𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒖𝒍
𝑫𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝑭𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔: 𝑩𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒌𝒔 𝒓𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒓𝒐𝒎 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒆𝒚𝒆𝒔 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒉 𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒌
𝑱𝒐𝒃: 𝑺𝒕𝒖𝒅𝒆𝒏𝒕
𝑪𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒔: 𝑨𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒏
𝑺𝒖𝒃𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒔(𝒆𝒔): 𝑼𝒏𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒏
𝑹𝒂𝒏𝒌: 𝑼𝒏𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒏
𝑮𝒆𝒂𝒓: 𝑩𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝑳𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝑪𝒐𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒕 𝒘/ 𝑷𝒂𝒖𝒍𝒅𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒔, 𝑩𝒓𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝑳𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝑺𝒌𝒊𝒓𝒕, 𝑩𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝑪𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒓, 𝑺𝒊𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝑪𝒖𝒇𝒇 𝑩𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒆𝒍𝒆𝒕𝒔, 𝑩𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝑺𝒖𝒆𝒅𝒆 𝑩𝒐𝒐𝒕𝒔
𝑷𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝑾𝒆𝒂𝒑𝒐𝒏: 𝑩𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝑾𝒉𝒊𝒑
"You claim to be a new transfer, and yet your actions contradict that claim."
"How so?"
"For starters you fight like a trained professional."
"I had excellent teachers."
"There's also how fast you move. Either your gear is enchanted, built around enhancing your speed, or you have the ability to teleport short distances. Otherwise you couldn't have used ChiChi as a shield against Dawn's attack.
"The first one." I said.
"You have enchanted gear built around speed?"
"Sure, let's go with that."
Lilly's about to say something when Dawn interrupts her.
"Hey Lilly, Bob is annoyed you didn't respond to him."
"Did he forget I placed you in the team leader slot for the day so you can get field experience in that role?" Lilly asked.
"Did you tell him that?"
"I left a note."
"You do realize your handwriting sucks right?" Dawn points out.
"Well whatever, Bob can bite me." Lilly remarks. "Now explain yourself."
"How about introductions? My name is Kino Kurosaki."
"I'm Lee."
Lee is about Kino's height with amber eyes. He's the only one dressed head to toe in all black. Like a shinobi, or a better term would be the classic ninja look everyone knows.
"The paralyzed one on the ground is ChiChi." Said Lee.
ChiChi looks oddly similar to the black haired girl from that one popular anime. The one where Earth's mightiest martial artists take on intergalactic villains, cyborgs, and magic wielding monsters. Even her clothing practically matches.
"Dawn, it's a pleasure to meet you."
Dawn has green hair that's braided into a bun, pink eyes, and is dressed similar to Lilly. Only she has a red mesh shirt under the corset and black fishnet stockings.
"Are you faster than Lilly?" Lee asked.
"Hmmm, I don't know, maybe."
"I'm a demi-human cheetah, no human is faster than me." Brags Lilly. "I'm literally built for speed. Whereas you humans are not. I also have skills that help me run even faster."
"Let's race then." I say.
"Oh I know, why don't you two race to the school. The first one there is the winner." Suggests Lee.
"That's a good idea, but the school is where exactly?"
"It's this way."
Just like that Lilly takes off thinking she has the advantage because not only does she know the school's location, but no one at the school, especially humans can outrun her. Kino just stands there still smiling.
"Hey Kino, you gonna go after her?" Asked Dawn.
Kino doesn't answer her. Sensing something was off Lee walks up to her and reaches out his hand to touch her arm only to have it pass right through.
"It's an after image of her." Remarks a surprised Lee, his eyes sparkling.
"Alright guys let's get back to patrolling the area." Orders Dawn.
"Shouldn't we remove ChiChi's paralysis first?"
"Oh right, I guess we should do that first.
Dawn and Lee look down at their paralyzed comrade.
****
𝑆𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑐ℎ𝑜𝑜𝑙. 𝐼𝑡 𝑙𝑜𝑜k𝑠… 𝑓𝑎𝑚𝑖𝑙𝑖𝑎𝑟.
Kino is now looking at a castle with gothic architecture. It reminds her of a similar castle she saw in Scotland when her family visited. She's standing just inside the archway with a row of hedges on both sides. Up on top are a row of birds sitting like sentries watching everyone's comings and goings.
𝑆ℎ𝑒'𝑠 𝑏𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑟𝑝.
"How do you like it?" This question comes from an old woman standing beside Kino.
She is one point fifty-two meters tall. Has short white hair with baby blue eyes. She's wearing a dark green dress, with black ladies loafers.
"It's very impressive. What type of hedges are these?" I asked her.
"Leyland Cypress."
"They're what, nine hundred and fourteen centimeters tall?"
"Just about, they'll exceed one thousand and sixty-six centimeters by the end of the year." Replies the old woman.
"Wow."
"Most freak out when an old lady suddenly appears beside them, but you answered me like you knew I was already here. So how did you know?"
"The voice in my head."
"So who brought you here?" The old woman asked.
"Lilly tried too."
"Oh, and where is she now?"
"Back that way somewheres."
"Are you by chance the SS-ranked I was informed about?"
"Yes, my name is Kino Kurosaki."
"I'm Headmaster Nemo, and I welcome you to the Assassin School."
"NO! NO! NO! NO! There is no way you got here before me!"
"Hey Lilly, what kept you?" I cheerfully asked her.
"Who the hell are you?"
"Kino Kuroski, remember I already told you this back in the woods."
"I know your name, damn it!" Roars Lilly. "I want to know how you beat me here. I'm not only the fastest at this school, but I'm A-ranked."
"I'm SS-ranked."
"Liar!"
"Lilly dear Kino is a unique individual."
"So what! That doesn't mean anything to me, headmaster! I want to know how she beat me!"
"I'm an overpowered human from another world. Who was given speed shoes by a God."
"More lies!"
"Think about it Lilly, how else do you think I beat you?"
"Fine whatever, don't tell me. I'm outta here."
Lilly takes off back into the woods.
"Huh, who knew telling the truth would make me a liar."
"Lilly takes great pride in being the fastest one here. Give her time, she'll come around." States the headmaster.
"Can I ask you something, headmaster?"
"Ask away."
"Your name Nemo, it's Latin isn't it?"
"It is."
"Nemo then translates to mean no one or nobody."
"Correct."
"You're also a shapeshifter aren't you?"
"Right again. You're very perceptive; only a handful of people know this about me." Replies Nemo.
"You wouldn't be the headmaster of an Assassin School if people knew what you really look like."
"Very true."
"So this old lady look really isn't what you actually look like is it?"
"No. It's only one of the many looks I have. I appear like this mostly while I'm here at the school.
"So what now?" I asked.
"I see great potential in you, so I will take you on as my apprentice. You'll be the second human I've personally trained."
"You're going to teach me headmaster?"
"Like I told Lilly you're a unique individual, and there's no one better to teach you than me."
"Thank you Headmaster Nemo." I say bowing to her.
"You're welcome, now let's go have some tea and chat a bit."
****
Enrollment Office
Following the headmaster in, Kino takes in her surroundings. A reception desk, a board with keys hangs behind it. A hallway to the right. Bookcases along a wall. Large picture frame windows. A map of the school grounds and its surrounding lands sits on an easel.
Standing behind the desk is a well dressed man.
"Bob, this is Kino please see to her enrollment and assign her to room zero."
"Understood headmaster."
"Kino, your training begins in one hour. I'll be at the training grounds."
The headmaster heads out.
"Welcome, as you heard my name is Bob."
(𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑩𝒊𝒐)
𝑵𝒂𝒎𝒆: 𝑩𝒐𝒃
𝑨𝒈𝒆: 𝑼𝒏𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒏
𝑺𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒆𝒔: 𝑯𝒖𝒎𝒂𝒏
𝑮𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓: 𝑴𝒂𝒍𝒆
𝑯𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕: 1.21 𝒎
𝑾𝒆𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕: 𝑼𝒏𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒏
𝑯𝒂𝒊𝒓: 𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒕, 𝑩𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌
𝑬𝒚𝒆𝒔: 𝑺𝒊𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒓
𝑩𝒐𝒅𝒚 𝑩𝒖𝒊𝒍𝒅: 𝑼𝒏𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒏
𝑺𝒌𝒊𝒏 𝑪𝒐𝒍𝒐𝒓: 𝑩𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌
𝑫𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒄𝒕𝒊𝒗𝒆 𝑭𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔: 𝑾𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒂 𝒑𝒂𝒊𝒓 𝒐𝒇 𝒈𝒐𝒍𝒅𝒆𝒏 𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒆𝒅 𝒈𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒆𝒔, 𝒃𝒍𝒖𝒆 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒊𝒏 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒍𝒆𝒇𝒕 𝒆𝒂𝒓, 𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒈𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒅, 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒐𝒕
𝑱𝒐𝒃: 𝑬𝒏𝒓𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝑺𝒑𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕, 𝑮𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝑴𝒐𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒐𝒓
𝑪𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒔: 𝑨𝒔𝒔𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒏
𝑺𝒖𝒃𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒔(𝒆𝒔): 𝑼𝒏𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒏
𝑹𝒂𝒏𝒌: 𝑼𝒏𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘𝒏
𝑪𝒍𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈: 𝑾𝒉𝒊𝒕𝒆 𝑺𝒉𝒐𝒓𝒕-𝒔𝒍𝒆𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝑫𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝑺𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒕, 𝑩𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝑫𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝑷𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔, 𝑩𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝑳𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝑩𝒆𝒍𝒕 𝒘/ 𝑺𝒊𝒍𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝑩𝒖𝒄𝒌𝒍𝒆
𝑷𝒓𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝑾𝒆𝒂𝒑𝒐𝒏: 𝑺𝒎𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝑫𝒂𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒓
"Hey Bobby what's up?" I cheerfully asked him.
"It's Bob."
"What about Bobby-O?"
"No."
"How about Robert, Bobbie, Babette, Boris, Robbie, Rob."
"It's Bob."
"What about Robin, Rupert, Bert, Rahbert, Roberts, Hob, Dob, Nob, Bobo."
Kino keeps listing off different names that can be associated with Bob.
"Just Bob and are you done yet?"
"I could keep going, but I won't."
"Thank you."
"So what do you do here, 'Just Bob?'" I say making air quotes.
"I handle a variety of tasks from enrollment to gate monitoring."
"How can you monitor the Rainbow Gate from here when it's way out in the woods?"
"No, it's actually right outside this building, under the pavilion. Just look out that window there." Bob points to his left.
Heading over to the window Bob is pointing at, I take a look.
"Well damn there it is."
"Do you always just take off like that?"
"Pretty much yeah."
"You have enchanted gear built around speed don't you?"
"Sure let's go with that."
"That explains how you got so far in a short amount of time." Said Bob.
"How do you know how far I got?"
"I have the tamer subclass. My familiars are scared all over the place."
"What kind of familiars do you have?"
"Trade secret."
"You're no fun."
"Shall we get the enrollment process started then?"
"Sounds good Boba."
"It's Bob. Please place your hand on the Blue Mirror and leave it there until I tell you to remove it."
"Blue Mirror? Where's the Black Mirror?"
"That's used only by the guilds and Templars who guard entrée points in the bigger cities."
"What's the difference?"
"Blue Mirrors are used strictly at this school, and by its staff. Any achievements or failures at this school are sent from this mirror and noted in the Black Mirror."
𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝐵𝑙𝑎𝑐𝑘 𝑀𝑖𝑟𝑟𝑜𝑟 𝑠𝑒𝑒𝑚𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑓𝑢𝑛𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒 𝑎 𝑚𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑏𝑜𝑎𝑟𝑑.
"Do all the schools have their own colored mirror?"
"They do."
"And they all communicate with the Black Mirror?"
"Yes. Now please place your hand on the mirror.
I do as instructed. After a bit my skills are now displayed.
(𝑵𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒍 𝑺𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒔)
𝑺𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒅 𝑴𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒚: 𝑳𝒗 𝑴𝒂𝒙
𝑫𝒂𝒈𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝑴𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒚: 𝑳𝒗 𝑴𝒂𝒙
𝑺𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝑴𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒚: 𝑳𝒗 𝑴𝒂𝒙
𝑩𝒐𝒘 𝑴𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒚: 𝑳𝒗 𝑴𝒂𝒙
𝑺𝒉𝒊𝒆𝒍𝒅 𝑴𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒚: 𝑳𝒗 𝑴𝒂𝒙
𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝑴𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒚: 𝑳𝒗 𝑴𝒂𝒙
𝑪𝒍𝒖𝒃 𝑴𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒚: 𝑳𝒗 𝑴𝒂𝒙
𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒇𝒇 𝑴𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒚: 𝑳𝒗 𝑴𝒂𝒙
𝑨𝒙𝒆 𝑴𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒚: 𝑳𝒗 𝑴𝒂𝒙
𝑾𝒉𝒊𝒑 𝑴𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒚: 𝑳𝒗 𝑴𝒂𝒙
𝑯𝒂𝒏𝒅-𝒕𝒐-𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒃𝒂𝒕: 𝑳𝒗 𝑴𝒂𝒙
The list goes on.
"Hey Bob, What does ERS mean?"
"Extremely Rare Skill. That means one, maybe two people will have this skill at the same time.
Depending on what the ERS is, the user can have a greater advantage in battle. However some are not solely for combat it all depends on what it is."
"So what does Converse do?"
"I don't know, I've never heard of that skill before, but I can make some inquiries about it if you like." Offers Bob.
"No, that won't be necessary. I think I know what it does."
"Alright you are all set. Here is your room key, and a map of the school grounds. This is a list of the school rules and a list of the subclasses that are taught here. Any questions?"
"What's with the blue earring? I saw a similar one in Dawn's ear and the headmaster also had one."
"These are called Lapis Stones. It's an enchanted item used as a way to communicate by channeling a bit of mana into it.
Once you do that, think of the person you want to talk with. Of course that only works if they also have one."
"Do they have to be earrings?" I asked.
"No, they can be fashioned however you like. Anyone at Four Anvils can make 'em. Is there anything else I can help you with?"
"Tell me how the ranking system works."
"Of course. I'll use our school as an example. Once you arrive here you have a mandatory year of training before you can take the D-rank promotion test.
"If you pass then you may begin taking on quests equal to your rank. If you fail then you may try again, however, you need to wait one month before doing so."
"Does successfully completing quests lead to rank promotions?"
"Yes. Successfully completing quests through the adventurers guild is one way that'll help with your promotion for advancing in rank.
Another way is a massive tournament that is held every four years known as Rank Wars. It's there that you can show off your skills against other schools."
"Is it possible to go down in rank?"
"Yes, failure to complete a quest. Picking unnecessary fights with other adventurers or civilians. Committing theft or murder.
Those are a few examples. Any guild can give you a more detailed list if you'd like to know more."
"Can you tell me about room zero and why the headmaster wanted me to have it?"
Bob just smiles at her. "I could, but I won't."