Phoenix Flight

The TV cycled through the cameras rapidly with a click of a button. So many different fights were happening all across the simulated battlefield that it was next to impossible to watch them all.

One moment the screen showed a woman with long blonde hair and a white gown, sitting atop a pile of sleeping exam takers, and the next it would switch to a man riding on a horse forged out of solid wood, swinging the blunt part of his sword out hard enough to knock people out in a single hit.

More people appeared on the screen, this time showing a very beautiful-looking man with jagged wings made of glass coming out of his back, who was engaged in battle with a cloaked woman who was rapidly firing bullets out of the two handguns she held.

Eventually, though, the screen changed yet again and got back to a familiar fight. Ken Yuan was bathed in flames, and from her gourd a lion forged of fire twisted out, unleashing a powerful roar.

"That doesn't look like a normal construct, is that a monster?" Mermaid asked, shocked. "Did she summon an actual magical beast onto the battlefield?"

Briefcase had hooked his phone up to the TV, allowing him and the other vice captains to all watch the various fights, but the one in question that drew all of their attention was the one involving the noble from Rossum, Ken Yuan. Even Tori looked a little shocked at the giant golden lion, which had been summoned from Ken's gourd.

"It's a monster, but one under the girl's control." Briefcase said, pushing his glasses up. "I've seen this before. Mages in Rossum have mana, but their cores are blank, lacking a magic type. In order to gain a type, they make deals with these monsters and can connect their core to the monster's core. This allows them to use their mana to keep the monsters alive without the use of a dungeon, and in return, they get to use the type of magic the monster in question has."

"Making deals with monsters is outlawed, though," Whisper said, scratching at her chin.

"Only in Estiria," Briefcase pointed out. "And that's because making a deal with a monster and sharing its core will corrupt you and turn you into a Mutant in no time at all. Rossum, however, has a secret method for bonding with monsters that makes it a flawless project. This is a secret invented by the Yuan family and something only passed down to Martial Cultivators."

"So that girl is a Rossum Cultivator?" Tori questioned.

"No." Briefcase shook his head. "She wouldn't even be able to take the test if she were, since the king's mana would instantly flag her."

"So then why does she have a monster?" Mermaid demanded.

"She's from the Yuan family." Briefcase hummed. "Just like how Lady Tori never needed Haru's mana to receive the blessing, I'm sure Ms. Ken Yuan was able to skip her nation's test altogether and gain a monster simply because of the family she was born into. Not to worry, though; the scans indicate that the lion is quite weak. It's only a Grade B. All Martial Cultivators have at minimum a Grade S or, in some cases, even an E1 Grade monster as their familiar, yet she doesn't, so she can't be part of the Cultivators."

"Why would she have such a weak monster with her then?" Tori sighed. "And here I was getting my hopes up with her. Her monster is fodder trash, though."

"Would you like me to change the channel then?" Briefcase asked.

"Yeah." Tori nodded. "Go back to the silver-haired boy."

"As you wish." Briefcase clicked a button on his remote, and the channel changed to a different camera.

This camera was placed on a rocky field at the top of a mountain. The area was sloped and stained red from blood. Two boys were both panting and looked exhausted. The first one was listed as Ash Anderson, while the other was Bruno Moore.

Standing before both boys was a lone figure. One who wore a black skin-tight suit that covered them from the neck down, covering every inch of their skin. Only their head was visible, showing ashen skin and bored-looking eyes that looked like the moon itself had been trapped within his gaze. His hair was long and silver, and in his hand, he held a sword, though it lacked the handle or guard, meaning he was just gripping it by the blade.

"Is that all you two can do?" The silver-haired boy asked, sounding exhausted. "I let you both team up, yet that's it? A pity. Truly."

The name, 'Cain Lunar,' was listed next to his image.

"Whoa, Bro, you're like crazy strong." Bruno chuckled. He had sixty points now, while Ash had thirty. Cain had one hundred and seventy-two points and was the first person to gain points, as well as the person who currently held the most amount of points. The test wasn't even over yet, and at least three captains had also already voted for him.

Cain nodded and let out a sigh. "It's a pity, isn't it?" He lifted his sword up to the sky and gripped it with both hands as tightly as he could. "I'm just too strong." And then he unleashed a single downward slash that launched out a ripple effect, cutting both down and upwards in a straight line.

The way of the sky-cutting sword.

All the vice captains watched the match as Cain's perfect strike cut through the mountain and kicked up a massive wave of dust and dirt. Debris rained down, and the message of Ash Anderson dying appeared on the screen as Cain gained another point.

"He's strong." Briefcase noted. "Very, very strong."

"Well, he is from one of the five branch families." Mermaid snorted. There were many noble families that existed within the kingdom, but there were five main branch families that could all trace their bloodline back to the king, which in turn meant they could also be linked to Haru. "He's a cousin of yours, right, Tori?"

Tori shrugged. "I dunno, I don't keep track of the Lunar family; they're all a bunch of edgy weirdos."

"Like you're any better… The Helios family is just as bad."

"What was that?" Tori asked, her eyes narrowing.

"Nothing." Mermaid shook her head and turned back to the camera, her smirk growing. "As cool as that guy is, though, I'm more interested in the other guy."

"The other guy?" Whisper frowned. "What other guy?"

As if on cue, a wave of ice blasted through the dust and narrowly hit Cain, who barely blocked it. Bruno came sprinting out with a grin on his face, one hand clutching his wand and the other holding onto a massive ice sword, which he swung out. Both blades clashed, and Cain's eyes met Bruno's.

"Bro, you're like totally awesome!" Bruno laughed. "I've never felt this on edge before! You're even better than that pretty spear boy!"

"You're annoying." Cain took a step back and pointed his blade. "Row Moonlit Slash."

"Row Ice Wall!" Bruno smashed his foot down, creating a giant wall of ice just in time to block a wave of silverish light that launched out of Cain's sword.

"Why won't you die?" Cain grunted out.

"Sorry, but I just don't feel like it." Bruno shrugged. "Now come on, bro, I'm having the time of my life! Vil Ice Fist!" From his wand, a jagged arm made out of ice exploded out, going through his wall, and it actually forced Cain to stagger when the silver-haired boy blocked it.

"Vil? That's a second-level spell." Whisper said in shock. "Who is this guy? Is he a noble? I know he isn't a branch member, but for him to have second-level magic already, he's got to be crazy good, right?"

"As I said earlier," Briefcase gave a slight smirk. "This year is shaping up nicely. We have several good options." He clicked a button on his remote, and the channel changed to a new person. "I believe she's someone who will be a shoo-in for the Knights this year."

The camera image changed once more, revealing a large, jungle-like area. Dozens of trees, all covered in vines, were scattered around, and people screamed as the vines wrapped tightly around them and pulled them crashing into the trees so hard their heads would smack into the wood and knock them out.

A lone girl wandered the woods, ambling and humming a melody as she did. She wore silver and red armor, along with a blood-red cape, and her hair was fiery and long. Every now and then, she'd twist a finger, and more vines would slap at people and yank more of them into the trees.

Her name was listed at the bottom of the screen as Ruby Marsian. Current points: seventy-two.

"Another branch noble?" Mermaid questioned.

"That's right." Briefcase nodded. "Even before this test, she's been making a lot of public appearances. She even has an unofficial nickname already. The Druidic Paladin."

"Some sort of plant magic, huh?" Whisper raised an eyebrow. "That's kind of neat. Still, I'd like to see someone who's not in the branch succeed for once. Can we see someone else?" She asked.

"You're a noble also," Mermaid said flatly. "All of us are."

"Yeah, but only Tori here is part of the branches." Whisper shrugged. "I just want to see someone else who's cool and not all noble and stuff, you know?"

Briefcase rubbed his chin. "In that case, there is one guy I think you'd be interested in. Feel free to tell your captain about him also." Briefcase clicked a button on his remote, and the image changed. "Some of you might recognize this guy. It's his seventh time taking the test, but this year he's doing a lot better."

This time, the camera revealed a vast underground area that resembled a network of mines. Stone walls stretched out along with a rocky roof, and dozens of tunnels formed out, twisting in all sorts of directions. Dozens of mages were all screaming out various spells, trying to hit a target that was scurrying through the tunnels.

The figure was a blur, weaving in and out of any of the spells that came near them, and they unleashed powerful strikes to the throat, knocking all the mages out in only one hit each. When all the figures finally dropped to the ground, the blur stopped, allowing the cameras to get a clear view of them.

"Man, I'm doing super well this year! I guess my training is really paying off!" The figure was an older man in his early thirties, with messy black hair and a bit of stubble that coated his face, giving him a half-beard. He was extremely jacked, with massive muscles, and wore a black T-shirt that had some famous rock band on it and ripped jeans. Wrappings covered his palm, and his eyes were bright and filled with joy. What truly stood out about him, though, was the fact that he wasn't glowing, nor had he been glowing during the beatdownof the other mages.

His strikes and his speed had all lacked mana.

The name 'Max Power' resided at the bottom of the screen. Current points: fifty-one.

"He's been taking the test ever since he first turned of age." Briefcase explained. "Each year he fails the test and never passes, but unlike many who give up, he's shown back up time and time again, and he gets bigger each time. I'm not sure what sort of training he does, but it's gotten to the point where he's punching hard enough to knock out mages wrapped up in mana skins while he himself doesn't use any mana."

"Trash is still trash." Tori snorted. "If it took him this long just to take out some fodder, then I'm not that impressed."

Briefcase opened his mouth and was about to say something but stopped when he noticed the TV screen flicker. A moment later, the screen exploded, sending shards of plastic everywhere, causing Whisper and Mermaid to both let out yelps.

"What happened?" Whisper asked in shock.

Briefcase eyed the destroyed TV up also confused, but thanks to a special trait he had, he was able to see things others would miss. "A faulty wire."

"Huh?"

"A faulty wire," Briefcase said again. "A wire snapped, created a spark, led to a short circuit, and blew up."

"I don't think a wire being faulty would do that." Mermaid frowned.

"You're right." Briefcase nodded and let out a sigh. "It'd have to be an incredibly unlucky event for something like that to happen the way it did."

It dawned on everyone else a moment too late. The door to the room burst open as a figure entered. "Yo!" The voice announced. "What's up-" The figure slipped on a faulty piece of the raised floor and let out a loud yelp, stumbling forward. They then tripped over the couch that was perfectly in the center of the room, falling over it and twisting headfirst into the open TV, landing directly onto the faulty wires, which instantly sizzled and blasted the person with a wave of intense electricity that caused all the lights in the room to flicker and then explode, sending shards of glass raining down.

"Oh great," Tori said flatly. "A member of Phoenix Flight is here."

"Don't worry!" Slowly, the figure pulled themselves out of the TV, yanking shards of melted plastic and wires out of their flesh. "I'm a-okay—Ow!" As they were getting back up, they stepped onto the shards of glass that had rained down earlier. They lacked shoes since their shoes had been stolen by a pissed-off bird earlier, so the shards of glass stabbed directly into their foot. "I'm fine, I got it, I—" They began to hop on one foot and tried to twist their leg up to pull the glass out, but that just caused their other foot to hop up and down in a puddle of the melted plastic, which yet again made them lose their footing. This time, they went flying into a nearby fridge and slammed into it skull-first before smacking into the floor. The refrigerator then wobbled before creaking and somehow managed to tip over, perfectly landing on the downed Guild member.

An awkward silence filled the dark room as everyone stared at the person who was under the fridge.

"A-Are they dead?" Whisper asked.

The fridge suddenly rolled to the side, and the figure jumped back up to their feet and placed their hands on their hips. "I'm okay!" They announced for the third time.

Now that excitement had died out, Briefcase was finally able to get a proper look at this person. He knew they were the newest vice captain of the Phoenix Flight Guild, but that was all he knew. Since the last eight vice captains had all died so fast, one after the other, he stopped trying to keep track of them.

This new vice captain was a man. Not just a man, but a Mutant. He was lanky and extremely skinny. His clothes were mostly destroyed, burnt fabric barely clinging to his flesh, which was a deathly pale from the amount of blood loss he was likely always suffering. Since his clothes were so ruined, it made it easy to tell his Mutation. All across his skin were zippers. The kind you'd see on a jacket. Some were silver, some were gold, some were zipped, some were open, some were long, and some were short. They danced across his body, from his palms to his chest to his back. There were at least ten of them, including one directly in front of his mouth, which was open, allowing him to speak. He had jet-black hair, the tips of which were adorned with various zipper sliders, and his eyes were a dull black, with heavy bags resting under them, revealing evident exhaustion. Despite that, he still had a smile on his face and maintained his goofy pose even as smoke rolled off his burnt flesh.

"Hey!" The lanky figure said in a cheerful voice, and he waved, causing the many zippers on his body to jingle. "How do you do? My name is Pock! Ms. Paragon told me I could find you all here. I'm super excited to meet you all; it's my first time in a vice captain meeting!"

"Fucking Paragon, jealous she can't leave her captain's side, so she threw the walking disaster at us." Whisper pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed. "Hey, so it's your first time here, right?"

"Yep!" Pock eagerly nodded his head. "I just became an Arcane Knight this year! I didn't even have to take a test or anything; they just let me out of jail and told me I was the new vice captain. Isn't that cool?"

"Very, now listen." Whisper went to place a hand on the man's shoulder but decided against it in case his bad luck would spread. "You, uh," she stopped trying to think of an excuse. "You need to have permission from your captain to be here. Have you spoken with her at all?"

Pock cocked his head to the side and shook it. "No? Not since we got here? She's been stuck on the toilet all day because she accidentally ate spoiled food. And on the day of the exam, talk about bad luck, right!"

"We don't want you here," Tori said in a blunt tone.

Pock's kind smile faded, and he seemed confused. "Huh?"

"Leave," Tori grunted out. "Now. Before you bring the entire room crashing down."

"B-But this is the vice captain's meeting room, right?" Pock gave a nervous laugh. "We're supposed to sit here and watch the matches. I know I showed up late, but that's because a mean dog ate the map I had on the way over."

"You don't need to worry about the matches." Briefcase raised his hand and tried to be at least semi-respectful. "Your captain doesn't need you to report back to her either. Honestly, I'm shocked she even came this year; she skipped last year's exam. You guys don't get recruits, so just go do something else, okay?"

Pock's shoulders slumped a bit. "Is this because of the bad luck curse?"

"No," Briefcase said hesitantly, in a tone he hoped was reassuring, but it was destroyed by Tori, who was still blunt.

"Yes." The woman snorted. "We don't want to catch it. Go."

Pock gave a weak nod. "Okay. I'm sorry for bothering you." He gave a soft bow. "I'll go." He turned to leave, but since the fridge had been knocked over, all the drinks inside had come spilling out, making it slippery. Pock lost his footing and slipped, falling directly onto the table, whose legs had been getting eaten by small termites for the past month, causing the table's support to give out and shatter. Pock slammed into the floor with a grunt. Then he smiled. "I'm okay—"

The roof above him exploded and shattered, burying him underneath a pile of rubble.

"Still okay!" Pock's muffled voice announced proudly from beneath the rubble. "Also, can someone please help dig me out?"