Ch 313: Entrance Exam.

"Hi, everyone." smiled Ryouko as she met Noah and his companions at the base's security checkpoint.

"Hi, Commander." nodded Noah. "I hope we're not being too much of a bother. The people from Cassell College are coming because of my presence."

"Not at all. This isn't the first time they have sent a scouting party to evaluate potential students from Tengu City. Actually, this is an opportunity for us as well. One of my soldiers qualifies for admission, and she's now old enough. She would have traveled all the way to Chicago to attempt the admission test if not for them already coming here."

"Someone who qualifies? I haven't seen any of your members use a supernatural po… Oh, the girl who accompanied Shuiruo back home? Her silvery-white hair is a sign she's a descendant of the Silver Dragon?"

"The White Tiger, actually, but yes, it's her.' nodded Ryouko. "Origami is a hard worker and very talented. I'm confident she will do well at Cassell College."

"I see." smiled Noah. "I hope she does, too. Do you want me to keep an eye on her over there?"

Ryouko's lips twitched.

"…Well, since you proposed it, if anyone tries to bully her, I'll count on you to protect her."

"Sure. Shuiruo has a good impression of her. I do not doubt they'll become friends." nodded Noah. He wasn't a fool, and considering the timing, the odds were pretty good that the Japanese military wanted to keep an eye on him. But he was perfectly fine with that. He would let her see what he didn't mind the Japanese military knowing, and nothing more.

Well, aside from him openly having two slave girls.

"Huh?" frowned Ryouko, confused. Why did Noah talk as if his female friend was going to accompany him? Was she actually the daughter of a big shot who could afford to pay a billion dollars donation to the College to get her in?

"On that matter, I am truly sorry, but only those who are about to pass the test are allowed inside the base, so…" apologized Ryouko as she looked at Shuiruo and the two maids.

"We understand." nodded Karen. "We will wait at a café in the city until you need us, Liliana-sama, Erica-sama."

"Yes, thank you, Karen, Arianna." nodded Liliana.

To Ryouko's slight surprise, Shuiruo didn't leave, and she saw it as a confirmation that his father was paying her way to the College. She would have to make certain to treat her politely from now on.

"Please follow me. Some of the other examinees are already there. The people from Cassell have called us from the airport. They should be there within ten minutes."

Noah nodded and followed her deeper inside the base with the others. He smiled and nodded to the other AST members, and they returned the greeting.

She led them to a small group of people dressed as civilians, standing in the middle of the training field, none seeming to have any willingness to get to know each other. Origami Tobiichi was also there, stoically waiting and watching them walk closer.

"Hey, Tobiichi-san." smiled Noah as they stopped close to them. "Your Commander told us you were going to Cassell College too. She asked me to look out for you and help you if anything happens. Feel free to ask if you need anything from me."

Origami tilted her head slightly as she considered his word and glanced at Ryouko, who nodded with a victorious smile, then nodded to Noah.

"I will, thank you for your concern."

"Do not mind it. Although I do not really think you're going to need any help, since I think you're quite capable. That doesn't mean we can't be friends."

"Yes." nodded Origami.

A few minutes later, Ryouko returned with a girl with long, straight hair that he couldn't quite decide were black of a very dark shade of green, and emerald eyes. She wore a black army officer uniform with gold trims, with a tight skirt stopping just above her knees and black tights, and a katana hung from her waist.

As the girl approached, she looked at each candidate for an instant before staring at Noah, and she smiled slightly. Ryouko left to return to the base's entrance, and the girl walked over to them.

"Greetings. I am Rikka Akigaze, a Chevalier of the Imperial Army. Are you perhaps the Fake Spirit that is the target of so many rumors?"

"That's me." smiled Noah with a node. "I am Noah Enfield. It's nice to meet you, Rikka-san. But I never claimed to be a Spirit. That is a label people put on me. What kind of rumors are circulating around?"

"They say that you neutralized a squad from the AST like they were children. That you come from a parallel world where there is no Sacred Beasts or Spirits."

"That's true enough for the parallel world thing, although there is a lot more than one such world, and some have their own supernatural beings. And to be fair to the AST, during that fight, my reflexes and speed were many times greater compared to those of a normal human being. Their undeniable skill simply couldn't be leveraged when their opponent moved faster than their eyes could follow."

Origami nodded, a bit happy that Noah was taking their defense instead of disparaging them.

"Is it something similar to the blessing us Chevaliers have been granted by the Sacred Beasts?"

"I do not know anything about that blessing, so I wouldn't presume to compare the two."

"I see." nodded Rikka. "I guess I will have my answer soon, since the entrance exam for supernatural users is all about combat. But why did you come into our world, Noah?"

"There are several reasons. I do not think I will reveal them all, but I will give you two of them. First, I want to fight strong opponents to hone myself, and the Goddess suggested I go there. Second, my Goddess wants me to play the game Mystic Moon."

"Mystic Moon?" asked Rikka, an eyebrow raised. "Why?"

"She refused to tell me." shrugged Noah. "But she must have a good reason."

Rikka was about to ask him about that Goddess when they heard the sounds of a car rapidly approaching. A red sports car came into view, stopped not far from them, and three people exited the vehicle. One man and two girls, likely students considering they looked to be around twenty.

The man had gray eyes and neck-length black hair, and was dressed in a dark green uniform consisting of dark gray pants and vest with gold trim, a white shirt, and black tie.

One of the two girls wore the same uniform, aside from a red ribbon replacing the black tie. She had amber-red eyes and white hair whose tips brushed her shoulders.

The third girl, with an attractive face, golden eyes, and waist-long crimson red hair, was dressed in casual street clothes, with an peach hat, a white shirt, white jeans, and a peach coat hanging from her elbows.

"The guy is Ye Sheng, and the white-haired girl is Aki Sakatoku." said Erica in a low voice, smiling. "They are Assistant Executors of the Execution Bureau. They both have pleasant characters, and we get along well."

"The red-haired girl is Chen Motong, but everyone calls her 'Nono'. She's the Student Union Secretary, and the most popular girl in the college. She has a sharp tongue and is my strongest rival beside Lily, but she's not a bad person."

"Hi, Erica, Lily." happily exclaimed Aki when they walked near. "I wasn't expecting to see you there." Ye Sheng and Nono nodded in greeting.

"Hi." smiled Erica. "We were around, and we figured we might as well try to get our ranks revised."

"I see." nodded Nono. "Let's get this over with."

She turned to the candidates and started pointing her finger towards the people with unusual hair color, including Origami.

"You, you and you, are accepted. Inside the College, your potential will be awakened by using a special method, and you will get the chance to learn supernatural techniques. I will warn you, however, that you better work hard! You will start at the bottom of the barrel, and if you slack off, you'll remain behind and be quickly expelled. Go wait near the car."

Origami and the two young men she had designated nodded and walked away.

"Those were the easy ones, those who didn't need to be tested." smiled Ye Sheng. "But isn't there one more of you that we were told about?"

"Uh? Now that you mention it, that's true."

"This is Ling Shuiruo." said Noah, putting a hand on her shoulder. "She gained supernatural powers very recently, and she's strong."

Noah saw from the corner of his eyes Origami send Shuiruo and him a sharp look as she heard his words.

"We'll see about that." said Nono, looking at Shuiruo up and down. "And you are the Spirit?"

"Not a Spirit, but I am the one who entered your world two days ago, yes. I'm Noah Enfield."

"Okay. We'll start with you."

"How do you intend to test me?"

"Just give us a demonstration of what you can do." shrugged Nono. "Don't you dare touch that car, though."

"Okay. Shuiruo, how about we kill two birds with one stone with a spar?"

"Yes." smiled Shuiruo.

Noah walked out to take some distance from the onlookers, and so did Shuiruo.

"Go all out, Shuiruo." said Noah, and she activated Augment, then manifested a half-dozen Light Swords, holding one in her left hand. Noah used Augment as well, created a Light Sword and a Light shield, with a handle to hold, and with a nod to each other, they started.

…

"What the hell is this?" asked Nono, her eyes wide, as she could only catch glimpses. Shuiruo and Noah seemed all over the place, on the ground and in the air, exchanging blows with both flying swords and those they held with a speed that made a, automatic rifle firing its bullets seem slow.

After a minute of this, Noah flew, translucent wings appearing behind his back, and threw a massive beam of energy at Shuiruo, who simply teleported out of the way. The beam left a deep trench on the burned concrete.

Then, they both stopped and returned to the ground. Nono noticed that Shuiruo was breathing fast, slightly winded, while Noah didn't even seem to sweat.

"How about it, Nono?" asked Erica on the side. "Their speed alone put Shuiruo into the S-rank category. And Noah… Honestly, a new rank should be made for him. He has taken it easy."

Nono wanted to deny it, but Erica was right. She could see Shuiruo defeating some of the other S-rankers in the College. Even some of the alumni like the Campiones. Some Spirit surely had more raw power, but power meant little if your opponent could sever your head before you even noticed they moved.

"How much did you hold back, Noah?" asked Nono.

"…I'm almost twice as fast and strong as Shuiruo is." shrugged Noah. "I have also I few abilities I didn't share with her, like being able to create a temporary black hole, or various elemental attacks. That beam at the end was pretty tame, as I didn't want to cause too much damage to the base."

"You monster."

"I get told that often." smiled Noah.

"And wait, you shared those abilities with her?" frowned Nono.

"That is correct. Surely you don't think it’s a coincidence that we used the same techniques for most of the spar? I also intend to share them with Erica and Lily at some point."

"You do?" exclaimed Liliana, surprised.

"Yep." replied Noah, patting her head, and she blushed before swatting his hand away.

"Oh. I'm getting envious." muttered Aki with a grin. It was ambiguous if she was envious about the powers, or something else.

"…I'll recommend to the Principal that you both start at S-rank." sighed Nono, massaging her temples. "And I'll float the idea of creating a new rank for monsters who defy common sense. Let's test the rest of you guys."

"Thank you. Can I call you Nono?" nodded Noah.

"Yes, I don't care about formalities." said Nono before turning to Rikka.

"According to our file, you're a Chevalier. That means you're automatically accepted, but please summon your maximum number of Legions to determine your Rank.

"Understood." nodded Rikka with a smile.

She drew her katana and pointed at the sky.

"Answer my call, my loyal followers!"

Behind Rikka, the air started to shimmer as if deformed by heat waves, and huge silhouettes started to become visible.

A lot of huge silhouettes. Well over a hundred eight-meter tall Legions, looking like robotic version of old Samurais.

"I can summon 157 Legions." proudly said Rikka.

"That's impressive." nodded Erica. Noah remembered her saying that moderately talented Chevaliers only could summon around 50 of them, and he could only agree with that assessment.

Noah created ten overlapping Light shields on the side.

"Rikka, would you mind asking one of them to fire on those shields, please? I'd like to get a feel of their firepower."

Rikka glanced at Nono, who shrugged.

"Sure, I don't mind." smiled Rikka. One Legion took a step forward, and in a fluid motion, aimed and fired. The first shield layer didn't break, but was almost entirely depleted. The legion fired four more times, and three layers had been destroyed.

"Thank you, Rikka. That's some pretty serious power they pack. And I heard they have magnetic shields? Are they powerful enough to stop shots from other legions?"

"Not individually." replied Rikka. "But when many Legions are in a tight formation, their shields overlap and reinforce each other, and they will stop maybe nine out of ten shots from an equal number of Legions. This allows for a number of tactics and formations to use in battle!"

"That's very interesting. I'd like to know more about Legions later, if you don't mind." said Noah.

He indeed wanted to learn more about Legions, their strengths and weaknesses and typical strategies.

And he also wanted to know more about the Chevalier herself, already wondering if the number of Legions she could summon would increase once she benefited from the MAG attribute.

"I don't! I'm quite proud of them!" grinned Rikka.

"You'll definitely be a S-rank as well, Rikka." declared Nono. "There probably isn't more than twenty Chevaliers who can summon that many Legions… Seriously, three S-ranks in a single trip. Do they grow like cabbage in this country?"

Nono suddenly looked at Noah with determined eyes.

"You, if you are going to share your powers with Erica and Lily, share them with me as well, okay? I'll repay the favor."

"…I'm open to the idea, once we know each other better." nodded Noah.

"Ah? Are you perhaps jealous, Nono?" teased Erica.

"It wouldn't be fair if you gain that kind of power. How am I supposed to compete without having it as well?"

"Yes, I want you to have those, too. Me defeating you is meaningless if we don't have the same opportunities." nodded Erica with a fearless smile.

As hey were chatting, and Nono turned her attention to the candidates who had yet to be tested (and now looked much more nervous after feeling outclassed), Shuiruo walked closer to Origami and spoke with a low voice.

"You have witnessed it, Origami-san. This is the kind of power that Noah can grant you, if you desire it."

Origami slowly nodded. If she could more and fight like this, she truly would be able to fight against Spirits, and kill them.

But she was also aware that there was no such thing as a free lunch.

"What do I need to do, to have him give me power?" asked Origami in a low voice.

"You need to make him fall in love with you." replied Shuiruo with a warm smile.

"Should I help you with it?"

…

Shiori, eldest daughter of the Fujinomiya family and Imperial Princess of Japan, read the notification that had just appeared on her College-Issued smartphone, and her eyebrows shot up. She had to reread it several times to convince herself that she wasn't dreaming.

Three people classified as S-rank were about to enroll for the next semester.

This was going to cause turmoil, as there were currently only two S-rank students, Caesar Gattuso and Chu Zihang. The two of them each led their own factions, the Student Union and the Lionheart Society, both of equivalent size, power and influence.

If those newcomers all joined a single side, the balance would be broken.

But times of turmoil were also rife with opportunities, and Shiori intended to seize any that would come her way!

"Hime-sama!" excitedly shouted Hatsune Tachibana, her roommate and attendant, as she burst into the room, her hand gripping her smartphone.

"Have you seen the news? Three S-rankers are coming! Three!"

"I have seen it." nodded. Shiori. "I will call the few contacts I still have to try to learn what I can about them. Can you do the same with your family?"

"I will." nodded Hatsune.

The Tachibana clan had been a retainer of the Imperial family for centuries, producing superbly trained attendants and servants with unshakable quality. They still had a lot of contacts with the Japanese government.

In the old days, they were a clan of shinobis and onmyojis, dealing with both covert operations and the occult.

Hatsune was a prime example, showing a demure and modest temperament in public settings, as was expected from the lady-in-waiting of an Imperial Princess, and was a lot more extrovert in private. She was also an exceptional Chevalier, able to summon no less than 126 Legions, but had kept this part of her identity a secret and joined the College only on account of her being part of Shiori's attendants.

In a sense, she was the Princess's secret trump card and bodyguard.

"If we can get even just one of them in my service, they will be an invaluable help for our plans moving forward."

…

Caesar Gattuso was driving his convertible down a mountain road, his long blonde hair swept by the wind, when the smartphone in the passenger seat displayed a notification. Slowing down just long enough to read the message, he smiled and accelerated again.

Some lesser people would see the arrival of more S-rank student as unwelcome, making them less "special" in the eyes of others.

Not Caesar.

He hoped for a challenge. On his very first day in Cassell College, he raised his voice in the courtyard during a break and issued a challenge to everyone.

"I am better than you. Try to prove me wrong."

Many had tried, during the first few days. And only Chu Ziheng had proven to be his equal. Some had been very close, Like Nono, Erica and Liliana, but they still hadn't managed to defeat him, while Ziheng won against him about as often as he lost.

Enjoying the wind and fresh air on his face, Caesar accelerated further.

He looked forward to the new semester.

…

Chu Zihang read the notification, and shrugged. He would have to evaluate the three new S-ranks, and try to invite them into his Lionheart Society if they were good people, if only to preserve his current members and stop the Student Union from pressuring them.

But he had no particular intention of using them in any way, and simply hoped they wouldn't stand out too much and bring chaos to the College.

Unfortunately for him, his hope held no weight beside the whims of a certain Goddess.