20 One Star.

As everyone knows, a Guardian-type Angel is sought after and will definitely have an influence on the frontlines. It doesn't matter if they're in medicine or have joined the war of reclaiming.

Someone who possessed or gifted the partner of an Angel their life will be blessed because a Guardian Angel would bring nothing but fortune.

This kind of appearance was considered rare in the surrounding area, leaving only the person himself, a descendant from a renowned family or maybe just some lucky boy who awakened an Angel as a Guardian.

Whoever that was and whatever background surrounded the boy, Cain, who got a disturbed feeling about the boy, reminded himself to act cautious near him.

{Noir, let's be careful around that guy!}

{Woof!}

"...Um, Sir, instructor?".

The military man gawked for a few seconds before Rinda brought him back from his own thoughts to seeing an Angel-type Guardian. This was his first time seeing the thing; he had heard about the rumour of someone possessing it, but seeing it before his eyes was truly fascinating.

"Enough, you can come back. I await your success in the frontlines".

"Thank you, instructor".

Rinda bowed his torso, followed by the Angel's disappearance. Everyone, including the instructor, sighed in resignation after seeing the Angel disappear, but dismissing that, the instructor began to instruct the girl who came as a three.

The girl, who is tall and has a good proportion of her body, had a weird hairstyle, with two colours of black on top and blonde under, straight down reaching her shoulders. Regardless, her appearance could be described as beautiful, and many male candidates are attracted to her.

Under everyone's gaze, she was unconcerned with her surroundings and focused her attention on the tools in front of her.

"My name is Lisa, and my Guardian is, come out, Ling!".

After Lisa uttered those names, a golden circle began to emerge behind her back and turn clockwise. Then, a beast appeared in the form of a long snake clad in brilliance, with sleek golden scales coiled around Lisa's neck.

Relief came from the candidates around as if thanking the heavens not to give two exceptional things to a person with a gorgeous look she has, and mixed in a Guardian type that is also identical or even more powerful than the earlier Rinda, that would make every candidate behind her gazed down in shame.

However, looking at another picture, seeing a beautiful girl with a beautiful golden snake coiling around her body, amplifying her curves, was also one of the things that pleased them, and it made them glad to have the same year as her.

When everyone around him sounded spirited for some reason, Cain, on the other hand, sounded himself shrouded in a sense of unease. It was like something dangerous was coiling around their neck, and when he looked closely at the snake, he found it a bit strange to call it a snake.

'This was the first time I saw something like that, but I also wonder why my gut feelings tell me to keep my act around her, too. ' Cain placed his palm to cover his mouth, deep in thought.

{Woof!}

This time came a warning from Noir itself that shook Cain's core and took it to his heart.

{Okay, brother. Thanks for the warning!}

{Woof!}

Lisa began her test by standing casually in front of the test tools while letting her right hand be coiled by the snake's body. Later, everyone found that it was not just coiling but it is a form of transferring power between the two.

"Okay, Ling, that's enough!".

As the snake growled, it retracted its body part and disappeared from the place, leaving Lisa alone facing the tools. She stood imposingly while her right hand radiated golden energy and small crackles veins that sometimes jumped out.

She prepared her stance, and without further ado, she thrust her fist forward. Unlike any other sound that had been heard, it was a loud 'bang' that startled even the military man.

Every candidate's ears ring from the sound vibration and their vision is blurred by the intense dizziness that assaults their minds.

Cain, who saw the event happening, opened his eyes wide, for he felt intense familiarity with the aura surrounding Lisa. 'This was the same at that time. Don't tell me she is…?'

"How was it, instructor?".

"...Are you a ranker?". The military man asked hesitantly.

However, Lisa nodded her head confidently, flexed her charming smile and loudly clarified her rank.

"Not long ago, I luckily achieved my One-star".

"I see…".

Everyone around Cain began to buzz in humming whispers. They began to speculate just what kind of background she had, and probably later in time, they would have some chance to get her attention.

"Impressive! Okay, your score is 16.0; that is more than enough! Next!".

When Cain decided to take a step forward, other candidates beat him to it. Somehow, a line had already formed, and as someone who stood in behind, he ended up in last place.

The test itself goes smoothly, and when there is a surprise as someone reaches her one-rank Star, every other candidate after her is considered good enough with an average score of 8.3 - 9,2.

That was the norm, considering every Resonator who awoke their power had no chance to test their limit in battle. But, not all of the candidates have the opportunity to stand proudly in this place, as some of them score below the average point.

The limit of acceptance in this test is 8 > below that a Resonator would be deemed unsatisfactory and sent to another facility that would train them for something other than standing on the frontlines.

There is also a matter about what type of Guardians and abilities they have, so even though someone fails to join the academy, they would be further allocated to another place that would suit them better than here.

Cain, who likes to observe others, truly has his eyes opened wide by a wide variety of guardian types. There is a monster type that resembles a half-human with a pig head, and there is also a spirit type of Guardian.

After waiting for how long, Cain's turn had finally come. He stood in front of the tools while glancing at the military man.

"Okay then, introduce yourself and show me what you got?".

Is it only Cain who thought that the man was becoming more and more casual about all of this? He even dared to bet that the man had forgotten his duty and only wanted to finish this fast and have some rest already.

He cast his gaze around, and once again, he met gaze with the girl named Lisa. But now, unlike earlier, she flashed her white teeth blatantly and made some male glare dagger at Cain.

"Fuuh, My name is Cain, and my partner is; come out, brother!".

Everyone stood in silence when Cain mentioned his Guardian with the term "brother," and even he called it a partner, not a Guardian.

Then, not surprised until that, below Cain's feet, his shadows began to flicker, and they oozed out from their slumber, revealing Noir, who was clad in jet-black fur covered in a dark aura that made people scowl in wariness and disgust.

Only Lisa saw the black dog with shimmering interest and glittering stars in her yellow eyes.

"Areh? It's a Dog".

With an eerie entrance and darkness that had been shown, everyone thought that something like a Demon or something dangerous would come out, but after hearing a cute comment from Mina, everyone stood frozen.

"Bwahahaha, a dog".

"Hihihi, ahaha, don't scare us like that".

"Pfft, kuhu, it's a dog, Kuhu, hahaha".

"Come here, little puppy; I have some bones for you to share".

"Tch, What a letdown!".

Every person who was secretly born from some renowned family scratched their stomach in loud and satisfied laughter that enveloped the area with a warm and cosy atmosphere. Even the white-haired boy named Charon spat disgustingly, for he knew that a dog was an inferior version of his Guardian beast.

Mina, who accidentally blurted out her naive remark earlier, now cowered from the intense guilt she felt in her chest for doing something inappropriate. Behind her, Rinda supported the staggering Mina while checking her pale complexion.

Lisa, who also felt guilty about what her best friend had said, gazed at Cain's eyes only to find her body shook. Her instinct told her to get away from the place, but soon, that oppressive feeling faded as Cain turned his gaze toward the military man who saw everything with a frown.

"Can I continue?".

"Go ahead".

No further words were needed, and Cain just casually muttered something inside his mind.

{Brother, let's go all out!}

{Woof!}

[Link Skill Activated]

[Summoning Soul Armament]

A jet-black darkness began to manifest as Noir disappeared into Cain's shadow. It completely baffled everyone in place. The darkness started to wrap around Cain's limbs and turned itself into a black cloth that devoured even the light.

Cain prepares his stance and faces the tools with a calm but intense emotion boiling under his poker face. He retracted his fist backwards and let the black cloth tightly wrap around his hand.

{Lend me your strength, Brother!}

{Woof!}

{Fuuh…! Haap…!}

In a single motion from Cain, the ground began to shake.