The Mysterious Black Magician

The two most beautiful girls in the academy of Zone 7 came together with their deities. It made the people inside the barracks go hyper. They were staring at them like staring at two exquisitely made figurines.

Yman reluctantly asked, "Uhm, Miss Almina, why is she here?" he beckoned with his chin towards the girl beside her.

Never did he expect that Almina would arrive together with the blonde."S-Sorry, but it\'s a long story. C-Can we bring her with us, Y-Yman?" Almina said bashfully while staring at him with sorry eyes.

\'So cute!\' the people around them shouted in their minds when they saw her begging eyes. Ultima was no exception.

As per his habit, he scratched his face before opening his mouth. "Uh, hmm, Erm...." Yman was a little hesitant. But when he took a glance at the girl with Almina, he was being skewered by her piercing gaze. Like that of a predator staring at her prey.

He gulped.

Then he noticed her mouth twitched and said, "What? You are unwilling? I didn\'t come here because of you. So please don\'t fantasize over me," she said coldly while raising a brow at him when she noticed his gaze over her.

He frowned. |What is this girl talking about? Grr, she got on my nerves. On the contrary, having her in the party is a big addition of strength and this is what I really need right now. With Miss Almina\'s help, I could fully use this girl\'s ability. Maybe, probably, I hope so.| Yman thought.

"M-Maena?! What are you talking about \'fantasize over you?\' in any case, d-don\'t say bad things to him, eh, eh, sorry about her behavior, Y-Yman. B-But she\'s not bad -- actually," Almina was flustered.

Yman was surprised to see Almina like this. The people around them were whispering of how cute Almina\'s reaction was when she was flustered. Some of them secretly took a picture of her and made it as their Cyber Screen wallpaper.

A sigh departed from his mouth when he nodded in defeat and said, "Hah, well, the more the merrier I guess. As long as she doesn\'t do any unnecessary things."

"Hmph!" Maena snorted to him before she asked, "So, what mission are we getting?" Maena asked.

Yman looked at her with a grin and thought, |Hehe. Let\'s see how this sophisticated beauty\'s reaction after seeing the gross mission.|

"Hehe, asking someone with the nickname of Rat Slayer," he said with a smug.

Maena\'s countenance turned grim and uttered, "Gross," then he glanced at Almina with doubt.

Almina looked away from Maena while a bead of sweat appeared on her smooth jade-like skin.

Yman introduced Ultima to the others then they ordered some coffee.

After warming their stomach, without wasting time, they immediately left the barracks. 

Vortex and the others left hanging their mouths down to the floor. Never did they imagine that Rat Slayer was known by those two beauties.

"Did Rat Slayer actually an awesome person?" Vortex asked himself.

"Did you see how friendly Miss Almina was while talking with him? I even heard that she\'s a stoic beauty. She was even showing a flustered face in talking to that guy," a man beside Vortex said.

"Damn it, I should have been friendly with Mr. Rat Slayer Sir from the start!" Vortex exclaimed.

"Yeah me too!" His friend seconded.

"I will send a friend request to him in the Facepalm.com account." Vortex uttered.

"I will too! I also wanted to get close to the two beauties!"

"Damn, that Ultima bastard was so lucky to go on a mission together with two beauties!" Vortex finally howled.

Thankfully, Almina was a party leader, if not, making a party like this together with other trainees that were not part of mercenary would never be allowed.

But since Almina was a party leader of her own team, she had the right to issue a party mission together with other trainees.

Yman and the rest went first to the smithing shop. He needed to get the items he ordered from the other day.

"Look, who we have here," said Mister Sar Smith.

"Mister Smith, I\'m here for the item I ordered," Yman directly states his intention without pleasantries like usual.

"What—" Ultima was surprised that Yman was casually conversing with Mister Smith.

"Why Sir Ultima?" Almina asked in puzzlement when he noticed a surprised expression on the junior\'s face.

"Uh, it\'s nothing," Ultima was flustered being questioned by beauty, and that beauty was no other than the most popular Almina Amulet.

Seeing the two beauties staring at him with doubt, he quickly opened his mouth, "In truth, this wasn\'t the first time that I came here. However, whenever I came here, Mister Smith wouldn\'t bother conversing with me."

"Maybe he just doesn\'t like talking with you," Maena butt in.

"No, actually not only at me but the others also. None of the customers who came here was able to converse with him as casual as Yman. There were even some that afraid to come here."

"Maybe they didn\'t like the equipment that was being sold here," Maena flatly stated.

"That can\'t be true," Ultima disagrees.

"Mister Smith was a popular smith. He was getting offered by the empire and other kingdoms to work for them. But weirdly he always flatly declined to their offers," Ultima explained.

"Really, then what\'s the reason, Sir Ultima?" Almina asked curiously.

"What — we didn\'t know as of yet," Ultima said in a can\'t be helped expression.

"So seeing him how friendly he was conversing with Yman was out of his character. That\'s why I was surprised to see it with my own eyes," he added.

"I-I knew it, Yman was awesome!" Almina\'s admiration towards Yman leaps no bounds. After hearing the senior trainee\'s words, she felt so proud of Yman. A strong surge of feeling wanted to explode within her.

"Fufu, I don\'t know how you get this item like picking them on the street, Kid. Did you have a factory for this?" Sar Smith amusingly asked. Pinched in his fingers was another Magic Cryst. He certainly could not believe it, this kid was easily getting this super rare item. Not just that, it was hard-fought to get this. Since it could be looted only from a Wanderer Class beast/monster.

"Just lucky, Mister Smith. Haha!" Yman laughed gleefully.

Sar Smith sighed. This kid probably won\'t tell his secret of how he was able to get this item so quickly.

"Magic Cryst?!" 

Yman glanced at his left side out of reflex when someone exclaimed in surprise. He saw the blonde with wide-eyes, but since he was a little shorter than her, he had to glance a little higher to see her face.

"As you can see," he replied.

"How did you get it?" She asked.

"Eh, why should I tell you?" Yman said with a smug.

Maena stared at him before annoyingly said, "Then don\'t!" She said with pursed lips.

He giggled. Finally, he was able to make her annoyed.

Before Yman could celebrate his success,

"Okay, let me excuse myself first before the two of you go into a lover\'s quarrel. Hehe, I\'m so excited to inlay this material. Let\'s see how this thing will come up," said Mister Smith disregarding the gulping Yman with beads of sweats trailing at the back of his head.

Yman froze into a block of ice when he sensed a burst of dense energy at the blonde. That energy seemingly formed an entity like a goddess of snow, wielding a huge crystalline bow that shines brightly like a star.

Her eyes gleamed into a cerulean glow.

Inside his mind, |Mister Smith you idiot! Take back your words! Take back!!!|

"Don\'t ever think I have a feeling for you!" The blonde said in a ticklish cold overbearing voice.

"I-I-I didn\'t. I swear I didn\'t. Hey, Blonde, calm down, calm down..." yet another surge of energy burst from his back, melting the block of ice encasing him. But for some reason, it was burning his flesh, like he was swimming in the magma.

Yman was sweating profusely.

He deliberately glanced behind him, and saw a burning sexy suited goddess, with burning in crimson eyes and protruded long crimson horns that curve to both sides forming like arcs. Huge crimson wings similar to that of a dragon fluttered at the back of that goddess of hell. The source of this was Ms. Almina\'s energy!

"M-Ms. A-Almina, y-you are b-burning. You are burning!" Yman said in a hush.

"Say, what\'s the relationship you have without me knowing?" Her voice was melodious and enticing. But yman felt a bone-cracking pressure bore towards him.

Ultima at the side had a surprise (Pikachu) face.

"Eh? Relationship? We don\'t have any. We\'re not even friends," Yman said, but briefly covered his mouth when he realized that Ms. Almina was angry at him because he was not friendly to her friend.

"No, you look suspicious!" Almina\'s overbearing voice stunned him.

"I\'m so dead," he thought.

He was trapped between two goddesses. Yman stood still and shouted in his mind, |Mister Smith, you idiot, your shop will be destroyed sooner!!|

On the contrary, their deities were shaking their  heads while thinking about how childish their owners.

A moment later,

"Fufufu, you\'re still at it, ah — you\'re two-timing the two beautiful lads?" Sar Smith who just came back after inlaying the Magic Cryst said without consent.

When the energies from the two beauties surged towards the sky, Yman\'s countenance immediately turned into that of a dead fish. 

|I don\'t want to come back here again!| Yman screamed inwardly.

A minute later, the atmosphere finally calmed down.

"Wow, what an exquisitely made gauntlet," Almina, who was peeking from his back, said when Yman lifted the black gauntlet.

Yman grinned. This gauntlet also had a tiny red chip embedded in it. The same as the Magic Cryst on the glove, it also was of strength category. Yman wore it on his right hand together with the glove. He felt that his right arm was exuding with strength the moment he wore it. With this, he could break a boulder with a punch.

"It looks good on you," Almina commented, which made Yman a little bashful.

Maena thought the same. But she wasn\'t showing openly her true feelings of admiration towards it.

Mercenary Ultima was telling Yman of how cool the item and praising it.

<Partner, give it a name.> Sistela who was sitting on his shoulder suggested. 

The group next went to their destination.