Chapter 1, Part 3: A Quick Orientation

"Now then," Ciel sat down, "tell me everything you know, Phiz and Heg."

"Right." The two of them removed the jewel on their ear that was identical to the ambusher's. "Actually, you're already in the vicinity of our base." Phiz said.

"Wha—for real?"

"Yeah. These apartment buildings surrounding us are actually a cover for our operations underground." Heg said.

"Aha, so that's why no one told us off when we were shouting our hearts out."

"Yep. Everyone that's supposed to be here is below ground helping produce the drink. All of them get good pay for some reason, so it works out for everyone."

"We were alerted about a girl trying to find out more about Genesis, and that turned out to be you."

"The two of us always liked having money, ever since we were kids. And now that you, our Master, arrived, we've got a very good feeling that we'll make more money than being thugs."

"You flatter me. Anyway, we should get right in and destroy everything."

"Huh? But we haven't told you anything yet."

Ciel made a waving hand gesture that expressed her answer. "There's no need for that," she said, "I'm pretty good at guessing. I'm sure I got the gist of things with the info you gave me."

"Wow, she's amazing."

"Right? We've only met her a moment ago but I can already see how cool she is. I think we lucked out big-time, Heg."

"Definitely, Phiz. We might just make our dream a reality if we continue to follow in her steps."

(My, they're really pumped about being Apprentices, aren't they. They slightly remind me of Mangrove. I wonder where that rascal is right now.)

"Ah, before we go." Ciel turned to her Apprentices. "What are your Abilities? I can make a decent strategy while in combat if I know how you guys work."

Heg spoke. "I'll go first then. My Ability is Jack of All Trades. I can wield anything as a weapon as long as it can cause damage."

"Interesting. Care for a demonstration?"

"I mean I can, but, uh..."

"Oh, don't worry. You can demonstrate on me. I'll live."

"Huh? Are you sure, Master?"

"Yep. Both of you are five centuries too early to fight toe-to-toe with me."

"O-Okay. If you say so."

Heg grabbed the bench they once sat on. A jade green mark appeared on the back of his hands and he lifted it with ease. His Ability made the bench very light only for him, but to a different person, the bench is extremely heavy. Swinging it carelessly and hitting the opponent's head can cause the victim to go into a coma. Despite this impressive destructive potential, it has heavy limitations. Heg can use a weapon for three seconds and must switch to a different one, otherwise the current weapon will explode, which also puts him at risk of harm.

This may also explain the three scars on his face and his left eye patch.

"Here I go, Master!" Heg charged at Ciel with his bench being wound up from his left. He released a battle cry of some sort and swung it onto Ciel's side.

At the last split-second, Ciel suddenly pulled a yo-yo out of nowhere. She wielded it with her right hand. Still holding the yo-yo, she crossed the bench with it and jumped to safety.

Ciel's attempt at a counterattack seems to have failed.

Heg's full swing was so strong that it created a gust of wind. He quickly let go of the bench and sent it flying to the right in great speeds.

Combining Heg's wind-up, and his attack, the total time he wielded the bench was a just a bit short of three seconds.

Before the bench could hit anything, anything at all, it became suspended... in mid air. Nothing was damaged, but now it is ominously floating. What the hell is this bench?

"Wha—?!"

"What the—Master, are we being attacked by an enemy?!" Phiz asked, looking around warily.

"Ah—sorry. Sorry to bother you. That's one of my Abilities."

Ciel's second Ability is Binding.

She can bind two things together as long as she can see or perceive it. In this case, she bound the surface of the bench and the air together using her yo-yo, rendering it unable to take lives and cause damage to property. Unfortunately, Delayed Effect applies to it and cannot be used instantaneously.

On a side note, all individuals are supposed to only have one Ability each. But due to a certain unique Ability long before the Great Safruth War, creating Abilities by themselves became possible, although very taxing. This ultimately helped Alter win against its invaders.

Creating a new Ability requires Life Force, a riskier and more powerful alternative to the common Mana, which is primarily used to cast magic spells and create bounded fields. Life Force drains "time" from its user, making them older and older in appearance and making them weaker in spellcasting. Additionally, their age does not change; only their appearance and spellcasting. It is a source of power closely tied with Necromancy, and is hence shunned by society.

Ciel, having her Immortality, can use Life Force as much as she wants. Her cells will only restore her timeless beauty instantly.

Ability creation was not successfully perfected by its inventor because he died during the war. To this day, Abilities that are created are randomized in effects and class, and no one has been able to recalibrate it to create what exactly its creator desires.

Now, back to the current event.

Ciel explained her Abilities and demonstrated them as the author explained the existence of multiple Abilities in an individual.

Now, it is Phiz's turn to show.

"It's my turn? Okay, my turn then. Master, my Ability is Barrier Slide."

Phiz's Ability allows him to materialize barriers by doing any motion. For example, doing a tackling motion materializes a barrier towards the direction his motion is going. This applies to any part of his body except for a few parts. You may speculate what those exceptions are. His barriers can stay up to two seconds after reaching the end of his movement.

Phiz charged at Ciel, winding up a punch. "I'm sorry in advance, Master!"

"Ah, don't be. We're just doing this for the sake of an easier invasion."

He closed them gap between them in four seconds sharp. Ciel readied her yo-yo, but not in a stance that allows her to unwind its string.

She assumed a countering stance like what she did with Heg. Eventually, Phiz's wound-up punch cut through the air and made a beeline for Ciel's face. She raised her yo-yo hand and blocked with it. She noticed an obvious gap between her weapon and Phiz's fist.

"Oh? Is this your Ability?" Ciel asked.

"Yeah. It's protected me my whole life. This Ability of mine is my second-best partner after Heg."

"How nice." Ciel flashed a smile. "Well, then, I guess that's that."

They halted the demonstration. Ciel cleared her throat to catch Phiz and Heg's attention.

"On to the next one then. Are you guys capable of casting spells?"

Her Apprentices looked at each other, than at Ciel again. "Well, we do, but I'm afraid we only know one each. We never really got into the Arbeau Academy to study because of poverty." said Heg.

"I see. What are the spells you know then?"

Phiz spoke. "I know how to cast Igni: Harness."

Heg spoke. "I know how to cast Tempo: Harness."

(Huh, the basics. That's okay.)

"I see. They'll prove useful. We can use them later when we go underground."

Spellcasting has been around a hundred years after the war. They originated from an Ability, and he somehow taught people of every race about how to use the abundant amount of Mana in the world. Mana is a byproduct produced by Alter's plant life alongside oxygen, and for thousands of years this energy source remained untouched, making the environment extremely rich in Mana.

Magic spells were connected to the control of the various elements; Igni, Aqua, Terra, Tempo, Lumina, Umbra, and Void. Each element has their own uniqueness aside from usage.

"You two are my Apprentices now, which means my orders are to be obeyed. Are we clear on that? That's how the Master-Apprentice rule goes."

The Master-Apprentice rule states that the Apprentice/s shall obey their Master unless they think their Master is straying from good. Additionally, the Master can call their Apprentice/s whatever names they want, while Apprentice/s are to refer to their Master by that title and not their name, for as long as they live.

Surprisingly, Phiz and Heg are aware of this rule.

They put on a competent smile. "Heh, easy. We've been doing that for years. Now's not that different." Heg said.

"Right, then. Shall we?"

"With pleasure. Allow us to lead the way."

"Very well. After you, then."

Ciel's Apprentices walked towards the apartment building in front of them. She followed suit. They ended up in the reception booth where a carpet was clumsily placed on the floor.

(Man, they're too careless about this...)

Phiz took the carpet off with one quick swipe and revealed a trapdoor. He opened it, and a staircase going down was revealed.

"Hey, isn't this a bit too obvious for such a dangerous business?"

They climbed down the stairs lined with lit torches. The torch sconces cast dark shadows on the stone wall, swaying as the flames flickered.

"I'm afraid we're not all familiar with what's in there. We were hired as thugs outside of the facility in case a trespasser comes, but we were informed about the location. And now, we're overthrowing their business and made a contract with you."

"I see. That's fine, we can make do with what we currently have."

"Resourceful. Nice, Master."

"Believe me, it took a great deal of time before I got the hang of doing things on the fly."

"Master, we're here." said Phiz.

Before them was a checkpoint. Three guards were stationed there and were napping.

"Please play along for now. We've got a plan." said Heg.

They grabbed Ciel by the shoulders. They slightly tugged at her garments to make her appear like she struggled against them.

"Aha, I get it. Okay, I can do that. I'll act as needed."

"Okay. Let's go."

They proceeded towards the checkpoint and hollered to the guards. "Yo!" they cried.

Surprised, all three guards flinched and struggled to get back in position like nothing happened. They caught sight of Phiz and Heg dragging a trespasser.

"Who goes there?" one of the guards asked.

"We caught this girl roaming around. She might be a spy so we caught her." Heg explained.

"Where's the boss? We'll take her to him. See what he wants to do with her."

Ciel glared menacingly at the guards. They wore the same armor and uniform as the ones above ground.

(Careless. Too careless. This boss of theirs is stupid.)

"Oh, she's quite the beauty. Okay, you're good to go. Get us a bottle of Genesis on the way back, yeah?"

"Righto. We'll be back with the good stuff."

They passed the gate and ground to a halt immediately.

"Hm? Something wrong?"

"Yeah," Phiz said, "I think our captive just escaped."

Phiz and Heg let go of Ciel and assumed an offensive stance. On the other hand, Ciel moved in right away and slugged the nearest guard with a strong right hook to the jaw. Before they could point their swords at them, she immediately closed the gap with only a few steps and grabbed the faces, then pushed them to the gate and held them there for a few seconds.

Delayed Effect activated and knocked the first guard out before he knew what was happening. The other two were bound to the gate with their lips shut tight with that same Ability.

"Uh... there's enough for each one of us but..."

"...She singlehandedly knocked everyone out before we could act."

Ciel smiled at them.

"Since you'll be learning from me from now on, here's Lesson 1; Move and think efficiently."

Phiz and Heg stayed in their poses for a few seconds, processing what she said.

"See, if you two stood there all day trying to take in what's happening slowly, you'd die in the first ten seconds. Practice quick decision-making and how to achieve victory in the fastest possible way."

She tapped them both on the shoulder twice and moved along.

"Chop chop, you two, we're tackling Lesson 2 when we encounter more danger."

Phiz and Heg looked at Ciel as she walked away, then at each other.

Phiz spoke. "Hey. Isn't she all kinds of..."

Heg continued his sentence. "Intense? Definitely. We're in for an ass-whooping everyday until our asses reshape. Figuratively."

Ciel looked back at them, a smile on her face, oozing with malicious intent.

Feeling this frightening aura, Phiz and Heg sprinted towards their Master.

"W-we'll be right there!"