Chapter 211: Miki Nightingale
"Hmm…"
Furrowing her brows, Ria wasn't sure.
"Maybe it's because it's lost a part of itself? I'll be pretty sad if I lost an arm ya know? Could be similar to that." She shrugged.
"True…" Turning her head to look towards the Inverted World once more, Alice couldn't help but feel herself being drawn towards it ever since she first laid eyes on the orb.
It was a strange curiosity but now the feeling has grown stronger. Perhaps it's her curiosity growing stronger or perhaps it was the reaction between Cayla, the crown and the Inverted World.
"But all of this theory and all this talk is making my head hurt. I thought we were just going to enrol and punch some things not do all of this fancy stuff with the Abyss." Ria lamented.
"I mean you mentioned that it's one of the most popular Academies right? It's only natural that they're on the more Academic side. That and we've only been talking to people that are focused on the theory side. Well… Not exactly theory side but they're more focused on matters other than just fighting." Alice chuckled.
If they wanted to talk about fighting it was better to talk to the Combat Department students or teachers.
"Ah speaking of fighting… Did we even ask if we could take the exam as a duo or is it strictly solo?" Ria blinked her eyes and turned to Alice.
"That… I don't know. I assume it's probably solo only right?"
"Well, I guess we'll find out on the day. Surely it's not that hard right? If Luke can pass it we should be fine. He never managed to beat me in a spar when we were younger hehe~" Ria grinned as she flexed her arm jokingly.
"Xinbei did say that his Sigils are supportive until his Resonance. Maybe you'll have a harder time beating him now." Alice chuckled since one Sigil could make all the difference.
'Since he's probably going out to get his fourth Sigil, Ria will probably get a chance to fight him once he's back. It'll give me a chance to see what kind of supportive abilities he has access to.'
Allura had mentioned that Luke would make for a great third party member for their group since his fighting style compliments theirs.
Right now, Ria served as artillery and melee hybrid while Alice considered herself a control type fighter that's focused on offence.
"I mean… I don't know until I fight him. But considering my speed and power, I should be able to overwhelm him pretty quickly. Naturally, I'll have to hold back since it's just a spar and not a battle to the death." Ria shrugged.
"So you're confident that you'll win?"
"About 80% confident. Might have a little trouble depending on what his supportive abilities are like when stacked but I'm sure it'll be fine~" Ria reassured.
She didn't even need to ask if Alice would since she was basically the bane of everyone. No matter your defence or supportive ability, once you're affected by her blood it all becomes useless. At that point, only your physical body will be able to help you.
Ria could practically imagine it.
In the future, should someone be overconfident in their defensive capabilities and show off in front of Alice, they'll be cut in half before they even realise what had happened.
"Say Alice..." Ria called out as Alice glanced over curiously.
"What do you say we go for a spar first? It's been a while since we last sparred since we've been focusing on developing the new technique."
Hearing this, Alice thought for a moment before nodding her head.
They haven't sparred properly since she got her third Sigil and Resonance.
Naturally, that was out of fear of what she could do without a proper understanding of her own strength.
Now that some time had passed and she had better judge of her own abilities, a spar wouldn't be an issue.
"Sure let's go for it. Though do we even have enough money to rent a place to spar?" Alice asked curiously since their spar would definitely, without doubt, leave lasting damage on their surroundings if they were not careful.
Without a specialized facility, it was too dangerous to fight.
"Nope. But we're at the Academy, aren't we? I'm sure we can borrow a few facilities. They're not that stingy right? It's just borrowing a room for a bit after all." Ria shrugged but Alice guessed that it was probably going to be more complicated than that.
"If you're going to spar you need to be a student here first. Outsiders aren't permitted to use the facilities nor are they allowed to enter this far. I don't believe I've seen you around the department before. May I see your ID's?" A voice rang out as Alice and Ria glanced back and saw a woman staring at them.
She had short pink hair that reached around her shoulders and a pair of purple eyes.
Much like Luke, she had a grey jacket draped over her shoulders with the collar being linked together by a golden emblem. Beneath the jacket, she wore a white shirt with a black tie. A pair of well fitted suit pants and polished black boots.
Adorning her waist were several belts, each with an array of different contraptions and gadgets.
However, the most eye-catching feature of her appearance was no doubt the twin blessings bestowed by the Gods themselves.
Two large melons hung off her chest, each practically the size of Ria's head. Each melon looked as though they weighed around 15% of her body weight as Ria glanced down at her own chest and felt the sheer chasm of potential.
As for Alice, her reaction was similar yet also different.
She also looked down at her own chest before turning to Ria.
And finally, she looked towards this strange girl with a single thought floating in her head.
'Are those the side effects of Abyss Blood?'
"Hello? Did you hear me?" The Girl asked once more, furrowing her brows after seeing the two looking down at their chests.
"Ah yes sorry. We're not students yet. Our friend brought us here to meet the Department Head and we've just finished talking to him." Alice explained as the girl thought for a moment before nodding.
"Can you let me know who brought you here? They should know the rules of the campus. No outsiders are allowed to be left alone before they become students. If they can bring you to see the Department Head, it means they're probably an Advanced Student. Yet they left you alone is not something I can overlook."
Looking at one another, Ria scratched her hair before turning to the girl.
"Well Luke's not an Advanced Student. He's a Special Class."
Widening her eyes in surprise, the girl took a moment to digest what the two had just said before opening her mouth.
"Luke Isander?"
"That's him." Ria nodded.
"Ah…I see you're friends of Senior. Did the Department Head send him away on an errand before he could guide you out of the campus?" The girl smiled as the serious aura around her disappeared in an instant.
"The Department Head said that Luke will be away for a week or so and had us leave on our own."
Hearing this, the girl sighed before massaging her eyes.
"Department Head is always like this. Leaving all the annoying tasks to Senior while he gets to laze around. Please let me guide you out so you don't run into more troubles. My name's Miki. Miki Nightingale." She bowed slightly.
"Ah… No wonder you have pink hair. So you're from the Nightingale family." Alice muttered in realisation.
Pink hair wasn't a common colour by any means but a few of the Noble families had this genetic trait. A rather dominant one at that.
While they're not the most famous, the Nightingale family was still a competitor to the Zenia family and one of the noble houses that got effected once the Zenia took over the market.
"You know of my family?" Miki blinked her eyes in surprise.
After the Zenia's took over the market, few took notice of them as they practically disappeared from the public eye and became a family focusing on the distribution of Abyss Engineering instead.
"Kind of but not really. Just some whispers from the past." Alice shook her head as there was no reason for her to say more.
"But my name is Alice Agnelia." Alice bowed back in courtesy.
"Ria. No surname. Pleasure to meet you." Ria followed up.
"So you mentioned that we can't use the facilities without being a student. Is there anyway for us to use it just for today?" She asked as she was now fired up to spar with Alice.
Not doing it was practically pouring cold water all over her and dousing her fighting spirit.
"Well since you're friend's with Senior it would be possible. But I'll still need to get permission from the Department Head first since Senior is not here." Miki nodded her head.
Asking the two to wait for now, she jogged towards the Xinbei's house while Alice and Ria could see her body swaying from the motion generated by her large assets.
"They look like a pain to handle in a fight. Not for the opponent but for herself." Alice mumbled.
"Mnm. But what they lack in practicality during a fight grants her boons of seduction through everyday life." Ria nodded.
"What did she eat to even get that large? I'm thinking it might be Abyss Blood side effects."
"Possibly… If I had boobs that big just trying to punch would be a pain." Ria sighed.
Turning their gaze to one another, specifically their chests, the two shrugged. At least they won't have back problems or be thrown off during a fight.