Isekai Journey Of The Magic Archer

[OP: ]

It was the day after the familiar summoning event of the academy. The campus was bustling with students and their new familiars, their partners whom they would be spending the rest of their lives with.

It was a lovely atmosphere all around them.

Some students were already on close terms with their familiars, some were having difficulty properly understanding their partners so they weren't fine, some were holding a dominating position in this relationship while some were equals, friends, or like a family.

Some were doing well, some were already on bad terms with each other. 

There were manly attributes to these relationships and, it was just the start. They had just come together, there was a lot for them to learn about each other and how the other felt or liked being treated.

The start is rough sometimes, however, their journeys will be a fun thing unique to only them.

And, there were people in this place to help them with their new partner's needs, wants, and no-nos so they would be alright going forward.

The campus was filled with mages and their partners, some knights, and other students who did not have a familiar, which was more than sixty percent of the students who attempted the summoning. 

However, statistically, there was a greater number of students who managed to summon the familiars than in the previous few hundred years.

It was a very good number from the academy's perspective. And, the credit for it all undoubtedly belonged to Eon and his contribution of the great high-quality ingredients.

If not for him, perhaps this event would not have been as good as it was, the headmaster and a few others in the academy knew it very well. And for that, they were all grateful to him. Even though the boy was plotting something by doing so, they were happy to have received his help in this manner.

However, well, that was the task and the event of yesterday. The day had passed and a new morning had greeted them already.

The classes started as they usually do, though there was a change where instead of doing their usual study in the home room, they all talked about the newly bonded masters and their familiars and thoroughly examined, and analyzed them, helping them understand the other, and the class ended with a little less than half of the students with new familiars being able to win a new understanding of their new partners.

The students were all happy after the class the homeroom teachers told them they would continue this certain activity for the following three days and also that they would show them their own familiars or partner beasts on the last days.

The students were happy to have known this, there was a new excitement in the air, and the atmosphere of the academy was livelier than usual in the morning.

Everyone was doing good, including the house captains and others in the house. They all were doing pretty great, totally unexpected of what some of the teachers had predicted it would be on such an important day.

Even the normal house members were in the light and usual chills and there was no conflict or anything like that. 

It was as if no one knew anything about the meetings that were after their classes, however, that wasn't true. They were all informed of the meeting in the early morning so it wasn't certainly like they did not know about it.

They all also knew about the house scoreboard and how some of the houses had already started gaining points somehow. 

They all knew about it and still, there was no different thing going on in the campus.

The house captains, at least the group of Lucifer, Uriel, and their other friends that was comprised of more than half of the house captains and more also had their lunch together like they sully do. There was no change or problem.

Some teachers found it strange. Very strange actually. However, some of the older teachers who had been in the academy for a few hundred years were all happy, overjoyed actually, to witness this form of control over their group after such a long time.

Those who knew and had good senses all knew that it wasn't like the students didn't know or didn't care. No, that was not the case. However, instead of that, the control the house captains of this time had on their house members, the level of authority they could have over that large of a group after just a week of the academy, was just like what it used to be in the old times.

This had become an unfamiliar sight in the previous years, even during batches of the current president and vice president, the house captains were nothing like this, at least not all of them.

Even the two of them were surprised to see how well they were managing their houses, and, as their presidents, they were proud to be the ones guiding this talented bunch of people.

The house captains of all the houses, not some certain house but, every single house this time around had at least one person who knew how to handle the students, their subordinates, their assets, their chess pieces, or their weapons of the war that was on the horizon.

Fascinated Mages had Lizzy who possessed the understanding of the human mind and this world better than Alf while Alf was there as a figure of authority, and, she knew very well how to make use of his standing in this society and the school.

Chry and Eternal Tiger's house captains were beasts with hidden claws. Beasts who were more than strong enough to hunt down prey far stronger than themselves however, they were both proficient enough to know how to gather a pack and hunt in a group large and strong enough that it would pose a threat to anyone eyeing it from anywhere.

They were dangerous already but, the raw individual strength that the Eternal Tigers possessed was perhaps greater than any other house. 

Dark society had its ultimate sovereign power, Uriel. The strongest, smartest, and most capable one was already proving to be one of the best house captains this academy had ever seen. And, Nebula followed her like a knight following their divine god, unconditionally, without showing any doubt about anything she decided. 

Fusion stardust of this time around was visibly an unfathomable force with a witch and a wizard as their vice captains and a fairy of high lineage as their captain. Just their natural influence was so dominating that there was no need to debate over their Human Resource handling. 

All three of them were from a royal family so, they knew better than most others how the humans could be controlled so thoroughly that there would not even be a question popping up about any move they were making, or any orders they were issuing.

The true dragon had Alpha, a charismatic figure that the academy sees rarely every few centuries. Someone with so dominating raw charisma that, the others don't even need a reason to follow him on their own.

Aqua Mirror had the best young swordsman of their era as their vice-captain, and the girl that the entire school recognized as the 'thank you' girl or 'the girl who summoned an egg'. 

The status quo was set there already because of Carla's presence alone however, Quin's abundant talents made the workings of the house far easier than it could have been with Carla doing everything on her own. Quin was a very reliable person, and amazing as well. Carla had learned that much over the course of this week. And, they had Araxie, a master when it came to being the 'brain' of any kind of operation. 

So, the Aqua mirror of this time was also stronger than it had been in the previous years. 

Turtle defenders, well, from the outside perspective, this house was the weakest one of all eight houses this time around. However, all the other house captains knew better than any other student just how dangerous this house was for them.

They had Prince Alpheus as their captain, the 'human' with the pinnacle skill of wisdom, the one who arguably possessed one of the strongest defensive abilities. He knew how to use the weakest pieces he had to do as best as someone possibly could. He had hidden cards of a certain pink-haired boy and a certain possessed one that could see into the future.

He knew the resources that were at his disposal, and, he would make sure to use them as best he could so that he himself never had to step in and reveal what he possessed himself.

He had a bodyguard with him, his vice-captain who, well, wasn't much special, but, he was a 'specialist' so, there was no way Alph was going to miss this special opportunity.

And, well, lastly, there was Wisdom pheonix, the last standing house of the academy, a house that had been in the last place for more than a thousand years now.

"Alright."

It was the last standing house, which had been last even after having some of the world's smartest people as its captains over the centuries. 

Every new student in the academy and outsiders knows that 'Wisdom phoenix is cursed to stay as the last place house.' It was a strange phenomenon that had become like a (Minor truth) in this academy.

However, the house captains of this batch unanimously agreed to a single proven fact.

"The [Wisdom phoenix]. We have to watch out for every single person and the familiars belonging to that house."

They knew Lucifer, the one who defeated Carla on their first day. The same person who had earned the most class points in the past week. The one that almost all the academic professions favored for different reasons.

The one who made potions better than the potions of the best prodigy of the era, the one who was smart enough to know nearly every single language that existed on this campus, the one who was perhaps also the best cook on this island.

Not everyone knew him very well however, for the people close to him, which included captains of all the other houses, he was a person known so well that there was no way they would worry about anyone else before this bastard.

"But, captain. Why do we have to watch out for Wisdom Phoenix?" Many of the house members asked this question to the captains even while knowing about all the great feats of the person known as Lucifer. 

They knew he was a threat and all but, what can a single person do? They were all ignorant so this question was valid from their point of view.

However, there were three more things that the house captains told their house members unanimously during the house meeting.

The first of which…

"Vice-captain Lucifer. He is the greatest threat individually. That much is undoubtedly true, however, his greatest power is not his individual skills and powers, but instead, his ability to 'see', 'infer', and 'nurture' a being to the near top of what they could ever achieve."

Alf, Chry, Rein, and Carla had been with him for many years now so they knew how he could turn a weak and into any who could hunt down an elephant. They were the best examples of his phenomenal nurturing ability. 

They could not have been what they currently were if it wasn't for him. So, they knew he could also turn his entire house into an individual impenetrable fortress that would be much, much more difficult to breach.

Prince Alpheus knew Lucifer was in fact Axion of Heliox so, he knew about this threat as well as these four. 

However, even though they had been together for only a week, they all had been with him. And, he had given them pointers that had helped them improve individually unlike anything in the past few years.

They knew about his ability to read, analyze, and temper the current state of something. 

They had witnessed it themselves therefore, they knew it.

So, that was the first point. The second…

"In every single field and game including 'Material resources', we have already lost the battles. And, if we want a playing chance, then we will need to maintain an impeccably good relationship with him."

He was an ocean of resources. They all had seen him create dishes that were impossible to create without ingredients which were considered a global scarcity over the past week. They had known about his abundant money and 'unknown' special identity. 

They knew just how resourceful of a person he was, so, there was an absolute need to maintain a good relationship with him. 

Offending him would mean cutting off a precious source of rare resources that they might not be able to secure from anywhere else in this world.

Alpha was an amazing detective to have out Lucifer's resourcefulness, and, his house should thank him for it.

The resources, that was the second point. And, the captains knew Lucifer was a good bastard who loved fair competitions if he could have them. But, he wanted to be the one to win against all of them as well, so, depending on the situation, his 'goodness' might not come in handy someday.

That's why they also had to keep a lookout for other sources of necessary resources. 

And then, there was the third and most important thing every single person in every single house aside from Wisdom Phoenix had to keep in mind.

"The greatest threat in the Widom pheonix is not the vice-captain Lucifer."

They all were friends, or at least close enough to have shared many dialogues with each other in the past week. And, through these interactions, they knew one fact better than anything else.

"The greatest threat to all of us, in any of the competitions and games, to any house individually or as a whole… the greatest threat is not vice-captain Lucifer or any other of their house member but, the house captain of the Wisdom phoenix, Lady Zoe."

All the captains possessed a unique sixth sense, and, whenever they looked at this person, at Zoe, they all felt nothing. Like, absolutely nothing at all. Something they only felt from some of their teachers, the headmaster, and true authoritive figures of this world.

She… was strange. She was a lovely lady, a very good person, and one of the best people one could ever become friends with, however, she possessed secrets deeper than any other person in this place. 

She was unique, so unique she was the most threatening person by default.

Even Carla and Alf knew little about her, however, they knew she was, at any time of any day, a better master of their own fields.

If she wanted, she could cast a (tier-9) spell just by her will alone. If she wanted, she could become a [Rank-6] swordsman within days. If she wanted, she could become anything she wanted. However, she had chosen to become a 'creator' and, even just as a creator, she was a threat greater than even Lucifer.

She loved her calm, happy, quiet lifestyle, she was happy just playing around and staying alongside her friends. The competitions, the race, all this war stuff was unrelated to her. 

She loved her peace. And, it was better this way.

She was out of the competitions and, it was a blessing for them however, the day she decided to step into anything related to this house competition, it would be the day they all would lose the first place.

Lucifer knew this fact as well as all the other things that were addressed in the meetings today. However, what he wanted to address to his house member was very simple and very straightforward…

"Alright everyone~. Starting tomorrow, we will be starting our trainings~!"

He believed in actions rather than elaborate speeches.

His house was weak as is, so, he needed to bring it up to a plausible level first, and, only after that… would he start the one-sided domination.