Alitia: Welcome to Millenia

XI: Legends of Starlight

Luce took her seat back on the ground after finishing up the tasks Gensai had put forth. She had gone through five tests, each one meant to explore a different aspect of physical ability, whether it be stamina, flexibility, strength, speed, or technique. Luce had done well in all subjects due to her previous experience with all these topics. Her life as a mercenary was already turning out to be more helpful than she ever could have anticipated. In the running test meant to explore stamina, Luce had gone on for longer than anybody else in the class, leaving countless people staring with wide eyes. It was nothing to her, but it seemed to impress the others.

S.M. and Iris were just as impressed when Luce returned to them. "Damn," S.M. said simply. "I had no idea you had that in you."

"I guess my years of training are starting to pay off," Luce laughed. "Anyways, it's time for one of you to head up."

Sure enough, both of them were called to take part in the next group. There was a large gap in surnames between G and L, so both S.M. and Iris were in the testing set to follow. S.M. had an unreadable expression on her face, but Iris seemed determined. The latter stretched one arm above her head before bending backwards and placing her hands against the wall. S.M. watched blankly. She didn't seem to be looking forward to this examination.

It was over before they knew it though. Iris had done incredibly on the speed, technique, and stamina tests, nearly matching Luce's high score on the running segment. Her time with a lighter blade meant that her strength was lessened, but she was faster than Luce was because of it.

S.M. seemed to be the opposite of Iris. She was much more flexible and had high strength levels with solid technique as well. She seemed to be able to throw a pretty decent punch, as the sound from when she hit a training dummy echoed throughout the gymnasium. It caught Luce off guard, as she never would have anticipated S.M. to be the type to have such a strong arm.

As the third group got up to do the test, S.M. and Iris sat back down with Luce. "That was fun, I suppose," Iris shrugged. "I didn't like the flexibility thing though. I suppose it's a curse that I never stretched much in gym as a kid."

"You're pretty fast though," Luce pointed out. "Everybody has different strengths. It's fine."

"I somehow get the feeling that we're going to be the most physical capable out of the three of us," S.M. commented. "I mean, Sylvia spends all her time sleeping, and the twins are on the scrawny side."

"I would have to agree. Tanith and Sophia are lacking in muscle as well," Iris nodded. "Maybe we can be each other's sparring partners. It sounds fun to me, assuming you two are up for it."

"I don't do swords," S.M. told them bluntly. "I've never been good with them. If I had to pick a witness, I would go with brass knuckles or something. I might as well capitalize on my good arm."

"Axes are larger weapons that, while not quite as accurate, they're good for high strength levels," Luce pointed out. "My father is pretty good at using them, though I think he prefers using swords at the end of the day. I can't blame him. It's his manifestation to be good with the blade. Why would he bother going away from that when it's his natural ability?"

"Did you learn how to use that at all?" S.M. asked.

Luce shook her head. "He said he would teach me one day, but we never got around to it. I'm terrible with them anyways. Besides, it might be for the best. I'll have to put all my time right now into mastering this picky light magic of mine. I can't have it spontaneously combusting for much longer if we want to get out of this school alive," she sighed. "I can't be focusing on another weapon when my magic is being as difficult as it is."