Perfect Avatar

Chapter 18: Odd Encounter

An awkward silence settled in, we stared at each other like animals in different cages in a zoo, Iris noticed this strange tension and broke the ice.

"Good to see you Thomas, I see you've already brought Cid"

"Oh, good to see you, Miss Iris, and yes, I brought back this rascal but... What a hassle."

"Hey, watch your mouth, I'm not getting ordered around by a subordinate. And what are those beggars doing here? You're not here as cooks or something right? Even this would be too much for the likes of you."

Thomas facepalmed and sighed while Iris was giggling.

"I see, I heard the Avatar enlisted by Dean Candace was quite the character, You seem to live up to that name."

"Hm, Yeah, and You should tell loudly to this fool who enlisted me, we don't have the same value."

Hope fixed his collar, a smirk on his face.

" Oh? Is that really all you have? For your information, the one who enlisted us is the captain of the Royal Guards, MY sister. The strongest woman in the country saw potential in us and asked us to join the elite."

"So what? This academy is the treasure of this country, the future depends on here, so the dean is more important for the Kingdom than your sister, and she chose ME! Therefore I am more important than you!"

They struggled, forehead to forehead, before our bored eyes.

"How troublesome... Miss Iris, please leave them to me, I'll escort them to the area."

"Fine, thanks... Oh! I forgot to tell you about the test."

"Don't worry, I'm your right hand, I'll take care of it."

"Ah, then thank you a lot, you really help me. Do your best guys, I know it will be nothing for you, and remember my proposal."

She walked and aside, Thomas headed inside the arena so we followed him.

"She's so nice, isn't she? She's one of the few people who possess not only a great name but has also worked her way to the top."

"Ah? So she's really important?"

"'Really'? Ah, as expected from commoners, you know nothing about the politics. Miss Iris is the second daughter of the Avalons, a famous family of knights defending the kingdom depuis des generations. She's the most beautiful girl in the academy and despite being a noble, she doesn't hesitate to lower down to your people's level. You should really be careful of what you're saying to her, Cid."

Barron grunted in response. We walked through several hallways and stairs and entered a large room.

This room looked like a sports locker room, with rows of lockers along the walls, 2 long benches in the middle and others in front of each locker as well as weight machines and Crystal balls on one side.

"This is the locker room. You will pass the test one by one, and you will wait here. Now for the test: You will face a golem created by one of the teachers and depending on your performance you will be assigned to special classes. It's that simple actually."

"What are we waiting for? I can't wait to break everything! I'm good at fighting!"

"Pff, so noisy."

"Hey, when an elder gives you instructions you're not allowed to speak until I allow you to, understand?"

Barron and Hope grumbled at the same time, what a strange alchemy between them.

"So as I said, you'll fight a golem, but as you are E-rank, the golem level will be revised, so you shouldn't encounter any difficulty. Also for the special class, as you are Avatars, you will be put in a class according to the level you will show, there are several classes ranked and where the students are trained by level, from E-rank to C-rank. For example, if you show a potential to easily be over D- rank, which means utter crushing the golem..."

"We will be in a C-rank class??"

Thomas gave a burning gaze to Hope who quickly put his hands in front of his mouth.

"You will be in a C-rank class, but your tutor will be B-rank... This is the moment you're supposed to ask me what is and why you should have a tutor."

"I-I know... Ely taught me everything. Do you allow me to explain?"

Thomas sighed heavily in annoyance, while Barron grumbled more and more loudly.

"So, we get tutors to guide us in our training, they're supposed to be stronger than us as they will always be one rank above and will guide us in our daily life."

"Wait, So we're still under surveillance?"

"Not exactly bro, They will be like our private teachers, interesting right?"

"...Really?"

This was quite bothersome, I was prepared for many things but the idea of ??having after classes was a big no.

"If we get above D-rank, we might even have Iris as a teacher. Can you imagine? I can't wait to train with her!"

"So you're already expecting to get the maximum points? How cute."

We turned towards the origin of the voice. In front of the door leading to the field, a young lady had appeared without anyone noticing.

Long disheveled green hair, skin so pale that it seemed white, a nurse's outfit, and above all green eyes whose slit irises were reminiscent of those of a snake. She looked a bit younger than Elizabeth, but since I've met the Dean I've stopped judging people by their looks.

"Miss Midgard? What are you doing here?"

She smiled sinisterly and opened the door behind her.

"Why are you surprised? Isn't it normal for a staff member to take a look at her future students?"

"No... Well... Anyway, I suppose that the Dean and you have already had a prior talk about a few things, so I shouldn't be worried, right?"

"Ah? Is this a threat?"

The tension had suddenly risen in this room. I could feel a wave of invisible and very strange energy coming from this woman.

When I looked around, I noticed that even Barron was sweating profusely.

"Ah, why are you always protecting yourself from me? I'm only here to bring the Avatars to the battlefield, it took forever."

"... Is that true? So all right, We're coming."

"The one named Hope can come, he'll go first."

"Huh?! Why are you..."

"Hey? Me? For real?!"

"Of course, you're the brother of everyone's heroine, right? There's a huge crowd just to see your performance so let's not waste time."

She smiled at him and led the way, Hope began to shake frantically again.

"It's... It's going too fast... Everyone is talking about me... Iris will be my teacher... A beautiful teacher is coming to pick me up personally... Dora if it's one of your illusions, I won't forgive you."

"... Dude, leave me out of your shenanigans."

How could he feel so relaxed? This woman was giving off a dangerous amount of aura, and it wasn't the strongest I'd ever felt, but there was something very unpleasant about it. I couldn't explain it.

Hope rushed to the door, her final step to glory, and screamed with otherworldly energy.

"Get ready, world, Hero, Hope is coming!!!"

Thomas looked at him intrigued.

"Does this guy live in his own world?

Hope joins Midgard in the tunnel, the noise of the spectators is already heard.

"Oh my God... I can feel them... I can feel their energy... I'm going to destroy everything!"

"So energetic, I don't understand the meaning of showing off all your power here, There is no need to rush, everything will come in its own time."

"Don't you understand? What do you mean? This is my first step to realizing my dream, I'm going to become the strongest in the world! Do you know how much I've trained? I'm burning with desire!"

"... It's good to be young, I suppose, but if your goal is to be the strongest, you better think of a way to hide your greatest feats. Hero Avatar, Legendary Sister, aren't You quite the protagonist?"

"Hehe... Stop that, now I feel really embarrassed... What an entrance."

"Indeed, but not everyone wants what is best for you, Some people would hate to see a stranger perform incredible acts, they will try to interfere with your growth, and you seem to be a very big talker so... Do me a favor."

She stopped suddenly, Hope turned around and noticed the look of the young woman whose irises had narrowed.

"Don't show them the system."