Bit Hot-Headed

Niara was absolutely furious at those idiots. They were the ones who needed the most help, barely able to use the blessing — yet they were the first to run. They were seriously willing to sacrifice everyone else just to survive…

Someone like that couldn't be trusted; at the first chance in the future, they might even side with the Risen. That's why she didn't show any mercy.

Only eighty stayed in formation. Twenty ran off, and within minutes, they paid for it with their lives — by her hands.

In the formation, everyone was giving it their all, but now, fighting together and not alone, everything started to shift.

"Why the hell are you just running away?!" Darian yelled, while Niara flew overhead, circling back toward the formation. "I already told you — those who can defend, don't retreat. Hold the enemies in place! The rest of you, find your chance and strike fast!"

Everyone listened, tense. Then, a few of the Summoners activated their martial arts and shouted as they attacked.

Just like the blessings, martial arts were also split into types — defense, speed, or offense. The type depended on your partner's blessing. If your partner was offensive, the Summoner picked a defensive art, and vice versa.

The Spiritual Guardians couldn't really use their blessings under pressure, but the Mannaz could — and they obeyed the command.

Seconds later…

The Risen couldn't push through or deal real damage — the Summoners held them off. Then the ones in the back struck, forcing the Risen to turn around in rage.

"NOW!" Niara shouted.

When the Risen turned their attention to the backline, the Spiritual Guardians with offensive blessings — the ones whose partners had just defended them — let loose.

Even though their powers were still weak and unstable, dozens of attacks rained down on the Risen. A coordinated strike like that hit way harder — nearly half of the enemies were wiped out in an instant.

"Good. Now you get it?" Darian asked, and everyone nodded.

The tactic was simple: take advantage of how dumb the Risen were. When they couldn't kill something and got attacked from behind, they switched targets — giving the Guardians a moment of calm to focus and unleash their blessings.

They finally understood and kept improving the strategy. That way, everyone could take turns practicing their blessings without having a blade an inch from their throats.

Of course, not all the Risen were that stupid. That's why Niara didn't stay in the air too long — she kept diving and attacking solo in one direction at a time.

Darian could easily sense where the stronger, smarter Risen were. He'd just point, and she'd kill them.

Time passed — surprisingly, not a single person in the formation had died. The ones who hadn't joined them at the start, though… they were being hunted down, one by one.

The ones in the center, recovering, were soon able to return to the fight. Then Darian gave the order to start rotating them in and out in an organized way.

Niara stopped midair, thoughtful. Darian caught what she was thinking: 'If they ask to join and agree to follow the rules, it's fine. It's not a crime to be arrogant — but dying for no reason definitely is.'

With that, she flew toward the few still fighting alone. Some of them quickly bowed and begged for help. She nodded and brought them safely into the formation.

'This group tactic really works… once again, that book seems flawless…' Darian murmured in his mind. He wasn't experienced in battle, but he'd read about it the a book and tried to make it work his own way — and it actually had.

Summoners never fought in groups. Not because they were dumb — it was just that the Spiritual Guardians were sent to that universe to train and grow stronger.

Everyone, aside from their own partner, was a potential enemy — competition for resources. It was a small-minded and stupid mentality… but the Summoners couldn't do anything about it.

In the past, there'd been attempts to get Summoners and their partners to fight in groups, like the Guardians did in their own universe. But it always led to too many problems. Eventually, it became clear that solo fighting was more efficient.

What Darian was doing was commanding them to fight together. It wasn't magic or anything — it only worked because, inside the nest, he could accurately read the Risen. Paired with Niara's power, they could create the perfect conditions for the weakest ones to grow.

Three hours flew by just like that.

At that moment, Niara was floating in the sky above the formation — and she didn't need to fight anymore. Everyone down below could hold their own now, using their blessings properly. Hardly anyone was getting hurt.

Under pressure, they'd all evolved insanely fast — all they really needed was someone to protect them and give them the chance to practice without constantly risking death.

Quietly, the whole time, Darian had been pulling in and absorbing the karma of the enemies they killed. Luckily, that karma wasn't visible to anyone else, so he could do it without drawing attention.

Niara landed in the center of the formation. Darian immediately spotted three standout Summoners and called them over.

The first was the Summoner covered in white fur, with cat ears. Her partner was a small orange swallow.

As soon as she noticed she was being called, she turned and ran over with a bright smile. Her eyes sparkled when she looked at Niara, like she was someone amazing.

"Yes, big sis?"

Niara blinked, startled. No one had ever called her that before. Ever since she and Darian started helping and guiding everyone, people had begun to see her differently. They didn't fear her anymore — just felt gratitude and admiration, recognizing the kindness in her actions.

A rush of emotion hit Niara. Darian chuckled to himself at the sight, then started talking with the girl.

The Summoner's name was Zibia, and her partner was Artesia.

Her blessing was called *Crushing Lightning Spears*. It was a Fighter-class blessing, specialized in short-range damage — it created and controlled lightning in the shape of spears.

Darian then called another Summoner — his name was Cali. He had white wings, like a bird. His partner was a girl named Shecil — she looked like a tiny red humanoid fairy, with small yellow wings.

She had a fire-based blessing called *Magical Flame Prison*. It was a Mage-class blessing, made for trapping and killing enemies from a distance inside a cage of fire.

Last, he called a tall, slender woman who looked like a regular human, except for the long, furry gray tail behind her. Her name was Ronan. Sitting on her head was what Darian could only describe as a purple slime — a male Spiritual Guardian named Tarn.

Her blessing was support-type, called *Mind Puppet*. That one immediately caught Darian's attention — clearly a blessing that targeted the enemy's mind.

It didn't have any direct offensive power. It was considered support because it could affect enemies from a distance, weakening them. It slowed their energy flow down drastically, making it a nightmare to fight under its effect.

In very rare cases, when the enemy's mind was completely vulnerable, the blessing could invade their consciousness and control them. But pulling that off was almost impossible under normal conditions.

To do it, you'd need to completely drain the enemy's energy in battle, then injure them so badly that their mind collapsed and they had no energy left to resist.

And honestly — why go through all that trouble? It was way more practical to just weaken the enemy and kill them before anything unexpected happened.

Once they were called, the three of them bowed in front of Niara and thanked her. Then they introduced themselves and explained their blessings. There was no reason to hide them — they were mid-tier blessings, well-documented and easy to look up at the academy.

Niara stayed quiet the whole time, unsure how to react to the way they looked at her.

"Well, you get it now, right? She's not so bad after all," Darian said, and the three nodded. "She's a bit hot-headed, sure, but she's kind to people who deserve it. Anyway, take care of her when I'm not around."

Darian spoke casually to the Summoners, but he knew how much that meant to her. Niara often acted without thinking and gave off the wrong impression. But now, she could stay at the academy while Darian went back to Earth — and she wouldn't be alone.

He waved a hand and said, "Alright, let's get to the point. You three are in charge here. The two of us are going to—"

Suddenly, a furious roar echoed in the distance. The miasma in the air thickened all at once, and everyone's expression changed immediately.