Arad's Sword

Chapter 2 Past and Present
In 984 of the Arad calendar, 20 years before the fall of Midi, the Principality of Belle Mare located in the southern part of the mainland was still in a peaceful and peaceful atmosphere.

Although the animals and plants have undergone changes to varying degrees in the past three years, the threat they bring is at most similar to the level of running robbers and bandits, and it is far from the point where it is worth panicking.

In addition, Belle Mare has always had fertile land, and it has never been at war with any country in the recent period, so naturally it will not deliberately pay attention to military strengthening.Even the Royal Academy of Magic with a long history is increasingly filled with the children of nobles who are not doing their jobs properly, instead of the conscientious elites of the principality.

However, Midi, who has the memory of rebirth, knows that soon, many crises like a storm will follow one after another, smashing the entire principality to pieces.

In 985, along with the devastating fire in Grand Forest, came the reappearance of Sky City and the intensification of abnormal phenomena.At that time, Belle Mare, which only relies on a few small knight orders and mercenaries to maintain order, will fall into chaos.

In 986, the invasion of the Delos Empire will deal a fatal blow to the crumbling princely royal family.

Most of the nobles living on this land will die in that war, and their land, property, and even their wives and daughters will all become spoils of war for the Delos Empire.

Among them, of course, also includes Fina's Hamilton family, and Midi's own Asrex family.

The joy brought by rebirth and the happiness of a lover resurrected from the dead still linger in her heart, but Midi is not overwhelmed by it.Having tasted despair before, he knows very well that now is far from being the time to express his feelings and enjoy life. On the contrary, he must become stronger as soon as possible, so as not to repeat the same mistakes.

He remembered very clearly that the greatest danger in this academy trial was not monsters, but assassins!

The Principality of Belle Mare is currently divided into two hostile factions, the Queen's Faction and the Councilor Faction. The struggle between the two parties has lasted for decades, and various open and secret fights have emerged in an endless stream.

However, since Fina, a magical genius, was admitted to the hospital, she has been suppressing many noble children with her impeccable performance, which has made the influence of the Queen's faction continue to increase.Because of this, the leader of the Parliamentarian faction, the Grand Duke Seth, thought of using this method to wipe out the future mainstay of the Queen's faction in advance.

Even being a dude like himself became a member of Fina's team, it was a clever plan arranged by the councilor faction long ago - let the little nobles without any background join in, even the Queen's faction can't say anything, otherwise it would be tantamount to It's special care.

And in the previous life, I, who was holding back, did bring a lot of trouble to Fina.

In the end, when the assassin appeared, Midi also implicated her, causing Fina, who was able to survive the dangerous situation, to be accidentally injured. Not only did she fail to get the first place in the trial, she even had to rest for several months afterwards.

It was also from then on that Midi began to pay attention to her savior, and finally began to work hard to get her approval.

But, it's still too late.

Neither of them caught up with the use of the principality's large-scale strategic circle to complete the job transfer, and they were forced to become exiles. Only after that did they realize the hardship and pain of being helpless.

But this time is different.

From the very beginning, Midi knew who her enemy was and what she should protect.

This time, she will never lose her again.

For this reason, Midi must find ways to improve her strength before the academy trial, so that she can play a sufficient role in the trial.

He remembered that the ghosts and gods contracted by him in his previous life are now sleeping in an uninhabited canyon not far from the family territory. If he can prepare well and obtain and become a ghost swordsman in advance, it will definitely be of great benefit.

In addition, and more importantly, bit by bit, patiently and carefully, he rebuilt the trust and bond between himself and Fina.No matter what kind of battle it is, having a partner with a good heart and a reliable and strong team is the best guarantee.

However, when Midi secretly made up his mind, the "lover" opposite had a look of disdain in his eyes.

The red-haired girl looked at Midi's outstretched hand with extremely cold eyes, snorted softly, and then shook it back as if meeting a challenge.

The cold numbness coming from the palm made Midi realize that Fina had activated her magic in an instant and wrapped her whole hand with ice.In other words, she had no intention of having skin-to-skin contact with herself at all, and was planning to express her anger in this way full of rejection.

Midi couldn't help but smile wryly in her heart, but there was no other way.

Who is the current self, or the notorious dandy in the college?

It's a ghost that I can get the good looks of the future queen of magic bullets for myself like this.

"Then, Miss Hamilton..." Midi coughed, breaking the silence.

"You don't have to be so troublesome, just call me Fina. I don't like to be complicated. Besides, haven't you already called me just now?" The future queen of magic bullets shrugged and said in a casual tone, and then said coldly. He added coldly, "However, please don't make any delusions on your own, otherwise you will bear the consequences."

For Fei Na, what she saw in front of her was just an inconspicuous dude who relied on the shadow of his parents to do his best. There was no need to be polite at all. It is entirely possible to refuse to accept Midi as a member of the team.

Originally, whether it was tactful, city mansion, or sophisticated and sophisticated, in Fina's view, it was just a trick of the nobles, and she never had compromise and politeness in her body.

However, this familiar style made Midi feel nostalgia and nostalgia in her eyes—even if it was Girls' Generation, Fina was indeed that Fina.

Midi thought about it, and then replied without hesitation: "Then, Fina, in the same way, you can call me Midi. All in all, since we want to form a team, let's try it on the practice field first." ?”

Trust cannot be achieved overnight and needs to be cultivated slowly. Midi intends to prove her own strength first.

The red-haired girl originally thought that this dandy with half-skilled swordsmanship might shirk, but unexpectedly, the other party offered to practice it for real.

Doesn't seem too boring.

Thinking of this, Fina couldn't help but raise the corner of her mouth slightly, and finally showed her first smile today: "Very well, I didn't expect you to have this kind of awareness. The arrangements have been made over there, let's go now, and the battle will be settled quickly. .”

The training ground on rainy days is very deserted, most of the open-air facilities are deserted, and only a few indoor shooting ranges are still shooting.From a certain point of view, this also reflects the current situation of the Principality of Belmar from the side - a hazy winter rain is enough to make the principality's top students give up training that should have been done without any change.

But even so, the arrival of the Queen of Storms still caused quite a commotion.

And Midi, who followed that head of bright red hair, immediately became the focus of everyone's eyes.After all, there has never been a male student who can get so close to the Storm Queen.

This is not because Midi has received any preferential treatment, but because he has been familiar with his lover's personality over the years. Midi can understand what kind of mood Fina's gestures represent.

For example, holding your arms with your hands means "don't bother me".And that cold but charming smile means "a little interest".As long as you give an appropriate response, you can get a little closer to her.

Ignoring everyone's eagerness to move, Fina led Midi straight into one of the training grounds.

A blond boy and another cute girl with freckles were already waiting here. There is no doubt that they are the other two members of Fina's team. It was only at this moment that Midi understood that the girl's so-called What does "arranged" mean.

In Midi's memory, when Fina was conducting the test in the previous life, the two people didn't show up because of the delay for several days due to her pushing back and forth.He was even secretly happy because of this, but he didn't know that he had already disappointed Fina, and he had missed a chance to truly gain the other party's approval.

But now, Midi will not let the great opportunity presented to her slip away from her nose.

"He is Sigmund, the shooter. She is Lilian, the priest." Fina briefly introduced.

In fact, even if no introduction is needed, Midi is very familiar with the two backbones of the future "Falcon Group".

It's just that this pair of men and women with outstanding strength doesn't have the slightest affection for a dude like Midi. If the current Midi is just a stone on the roadside to the proud Fina, then in the eyes of these two people, they are the same Downright dragging.

Even though they knew they couldn't kick him out of the team directly, the two of them still showed disdainful and contemptuous expressions, looking at Midi as if they were looking at a pile of rubbish.

Ordinary teenagers must have been furious long ago under such naked provocative gazes, but Midi just introduced herself calmly, without any emotional fluctuations.

"This kid can hold his breath, but what about his real strength?" Sigmund thought to himself, and exchanged a glance with Lilian.

"Let's use the six intermediate-level automatic dolls as opponents." After greeting her teammates, Fina turned her head, still holding her arms coldly.

On the training ground, the easiest way to test actual combat strength is to use the automatic puppet made by the puppeteer.After being entered into a specific program, the puppet can simulate various actions of the mutated monster, and it can also stop instantly when an accident occurs, and the delay will not exceed half a second, which can be said to be a very safe method.

As for the mid-level puppet, its strength is only at the level of a level 14 minotaur, which is really nothing to those college students who have reached or exceeded level 16 and are about to change jobs.

Just like what Fina promised Dean Linde at the beginning, she didn't mean to make things difficult.

"Even with this retarded person, I can still get the first place in the trial." The girl with bright red hair seemed to be declaring loudly and confidently.

Midi believed in this, but he didn't want to do another delay.

"Six intermediate automatons are meaningless, why not replace them with 'Flame Challenge'." Midi suggested.

Fina aside, in Midi's memory, both Sigmund and Lilian have reached level 19 at this time, and they already have the strength to sweep the flame challenge.

Whether it's six dolls or ten dolls, in the eyes of these three people, they are probably holding back.In fact, the attitudes shown by Sigmund and Lilian have already explained everything. If you want to get their approval, you must be on the same level as them.

Therefore, Midi chose the "Challenge of Flame" when he came up.

This is one of the most famous challenges of the Royal Academy of Magic and Magic in Belmar, consisting of one magic doll, two advanced dolls and eight intermediate dolls.

A mid-level doll is equivalent to a level 14 Tauren Herald.The superior doll is equivalent to a level 16 fluorescent cat demon.The magic doll is equivalent to a level 17 flame mage.These puppets together form a complete adventure team. If the formation is fully deployed, even with the intelligence of the puppets themselves, it is enough to strangle any opponent below level 20.

Although this dandy's body lacks exercise and can barely be regarded as a level 16 swordsman, Midi has 20 years of combat experience on the edge of life and death, and has the most top-notch vision and broad vision after the second awakening. Use technology to make up for the lack of strength.

However, it was obvious that the three of them, including Fina, only felt that the kid in front of them was completely messing around.

"If you lack self-knowledge, you will die very quickly." Lilian's voice was clear and crisp, but the irony could not be concealed. "Do you think it is safe to stop the puppet at any time? Inertia can't be stopped. At that time, if you hit it one by one, you might turn into a puddle of meat."

"The six intermediate dolls are very suitable, and it's better to proceed step by step. As long as you don't delay, we won't do anything to you. If you die on the training ground, Miss Fina will be in trouble, why bother?" Sigmund De Ze kindly reminded that this kind of kindness is full of pity for the weak by the strong.

However, the red-haired girl felt the persistence hidden in that thin body from Midi's serious expression.

In fact, this guy named Midi seemed very weird from the very beginning—he was obviously just an incompetent dandy, but he was always calm in front of him; Disgusted, but felt a long-lost familiarity and tenderness from those eyes.

And now, this guy who said in the data that he could barely reach the strength of a level 16 swordsman actually threatened to challenge Lie Yan?
Fina couldn't help feeling irritated by the unpredictable and even illogical situation.

But faintly, she felt that the young man with black hair and black eyes in front of her seemed to be able to pass the challenge.

"Since you asked so, let's try." For the first time, the Queen of Storms agreed to this random proposal.

Both the blond gunman and the violent priest were taken aback, but Midi seemed to have expected this answer a long time ago, and nodded calmly without any surprise.

"It's just that the ugly words are up front. If you fail, I won't give you a second chance." Fina looked into the other party's eyes and said coldly.

"One chance is enough." Midi replied quietly, as if saying to herself, repeated, "It's enough."

(End of this chapter)