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"Student Qing Yue...

" Song Qian Long murmured, staring at the person in question while rubbing his chin.

"Blessing, Psychic, and Light Elements, huh...I see. So you are a support-type mage.

"

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"Yes sir!

" Qing Yue gave a cute little salute accompanied by a wink.

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"Heh...

" Song Qian Long chuckled, then glanced at me discretely.

nWhat? Why are you looking at me? Just because you are my godfather doesn't mean you are Qing Yue's as well, you hear me? Don't even think about laying a single finger on her. I know she's cute, but you aren't allowed to touch her.

nThe principal cleared his throat and feigned a cough as he saw my murderous glare, and averted his gaze quickly.

"Now then...I wonder, do I have any support-type artifacts...?

"

nAs he opened his Space Locket once more and began rummaging through it, I sighed. He was so unprofessional...in events like this, wasn't the one to hand out the rewards supposed to have all of them already prepared beforehand? Well, to be fair, it was pretty clear he was being excessively nice to the five of us and giving us the best rewards possible, probably because I was present. If another team had won, I doubt he would've given them Divine Weapons or the Cloak of Invisibility.

n

"Oh...

" Song Qian Long murmured, his eyes landing on something in particular. He took out what looked like a silver necklace, with a beautiful porcelain amber hanging from it. All of our gazes were immediately grasped by the dazzling piece of jewelery. Song Qian Long handed it to Qing Yue, who took it without a word, eyes glued to the necklace.

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"It's so pretty...

" she murmured in awe.

n

"It certainly does look nice, but...

" Feng Mian began.

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"Is it really just a normal necklace?

" Yu An Yan asked in curiosity.

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"Of course not,

" Song Qian Long declared with a chuckle.

"That necklace is nicknamed The Golden Fortress, and cost me quite a fortune.

"

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"The Golden Fortress?

" I raised an eyebrow.

"In other words, it's a defense-type Magic Artifact?

"

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"Precisely. It can deploy an invulnerable golden shield in a large radius around the user at will,

" the principal replied.

nHuh...amber and gold are pretty similar in color, I guess. Was that how it got its name? Well, no matter...more importantly...

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"How do you activate it then?

" I asked.

nSong Qian Long rubbed his beard.

"Hm...that, I am not too sure myself. I have never used it before, after all.

"

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"Oh, I got it,

" Qing Yue interrupted.

nI turned around to look at her, and there she was, surrounded by a brilliant golden bell-shaped shield. Since it was translucent, we could all still see through it, and I assumed Qing Yue could see us as well. But still...

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"Woah...how did you do that?

" Yu An Yan asked in surprise.

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"I don't know, I just kind of, willed it?

" Qing Yue answered, slightly confused herself.

"It's hard to put in words...

"

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"Huh, it seems you and that artifact are indeed quite compatible,

" Song Qian Long murmured, pleased with his own work, it seemed.

nI sighed, and moved closer, planning to knock on the shield for good measure.

"In any case, how sturdy is this- Woah!

"

nContrary to all expectations, the shield was almost like a mirage, and I passed straight through it. Not expecting the lack of resistance, I accidentally used too much momentum and tumbled into the shield - and into Qing Yue. Fortunately, she didn't fall over from my weight, and supported me as I regained balance.

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"Goddamn...uh, is that how it's supposed to function?

" I asked skeptically, to no one in particular.

nYeah, right. A shield that serves as an illusion and nothing more. What, was it planning to make enemies slip and fall inside from the momentum or something? Gee, what a powerful artifact...

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"I assure you, it is functioning correctly,

" Song Qian Long responded to my question calmly.

"You see, one of the redeeming features of this artifact is that it is able to discern between ally and foe, based on the user. Allies can pass freely through the fortress, while enemies cannot whatsoever.

"

nI glanced at Qing Yue. She beamed at me as usual, and I sighed.

"I guess I was just set to 'ally' by default, huh...but hey, tell me something like that beforehand, principal.

"

nThe old man shrugged.

"What can I say, it just slipped my mind.

"

nSlipped your mind my ass, you just wanted to see me slip, didn't you?

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"Hm...does that mean we can enter freely as well?

" Feng Mian steered the conversation back onto something useful.

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"Uh, try it out, I guess?

" I said from within the golden fortress, scratching my head.

"Oh, but be careful not to-

"

n'Don't worry, we won't mess up like you did~

" Yu An Yan cut me off with a brilliant smile.

nReally? Yeah, you're hilarious. Congratulations, why don't you go become a comedian? Oh, but spare me the trouble of becoming your paid actor, thanks.

nIn any case, the three other girls were able to enter the golden fortress with no problems. However...

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"Um...this is a bit of a weird position...

" Feng Mian murmured, blushing deeply.

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"Mm...this is kind of...cramped...

" Yu An Xue agreed, cheeks flushed a deep pink.

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"I-It's really kind of getting hot in here...

" Yu An Yan remarked uncomfortably.

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"I-Isn't there any way to make this bigger?

" I managed to muster out, trying my best not to focus on the softness being pressed onto my body from every angle. Indeed, the golden fortress was way to small to fit five people in it at once. I didn't even know where to put my hand now, lest they accuse me of groping later...so, I just had them shoved in my pockets, sweating profusely.

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"Oh, yeah, I can do that, I think,

" Qing Yue replied with a carefree tone.

nDamn it, little sister, if you could've done that then do it earlier! Man, this is soawkward...I know I said I don't want to drag anyone into my life, but I'm still a 14 year old boy! I have urges too! They are so lucky I more or less have good self-control...

nAnyway, the golden fortress soon expanded, and I sighed in relief at being able to have my personal bubble to myself again. The girls did the same, and we all separated from each other. Hell..who was the idiot that proposed we should try getting in the fortress together again?

nOh, wait...that's me. Er...well, now this is awkward.

nThankfully, none of the girls seemed to mind, and Feng Mian began asking some more useful questions again.

"Whew...come to think of it, is there a maximum size to this thing?

"

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"Yeah,

" Qing Yue replied.

"This is about as big as it can go.

"

nSaying that, she expanded the golden fortress once more, until it could just barely fit inside the room, width-wise. Luckily, Qing Yue seemed to have registered the objects laying around the room as 'allies' before doing so, or else we were going to be paying a ** ton of property damage reimbursement.

nStill, the maximum size of the golden fortress was quite a bit. It could probably fit 15 to 20 people with room to spare. But just that doesn't say much about it's actual defense capabilities, so I decided to bring up the matter.

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"Sure, its size is impressive, yeah, but what about its strength?

"

nActually, I'm pretty sure I brought up this question earlier, but was disrupted by a certain incident. Whatever though.

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"This is a Advanced grade artifact, so it should be able to block attacks ranging anywhere from Level One to Level Three,

" Song Qian Long replied.

nLike mages, artifacts had different tiers as well, and they were corresponding with the mage hierarchy system. For example, a Novice grade artifact would be able to stand against a Novice Mage, or rather, Level One spells. An Intermediate grade artifact would be able to stand against an Intermediate Mage (Level Two spells), and et cetera. The whole list, ranging from weakest (most common) to strongest (rarest), went like this: Novice, Intermediate, Advanced, Ancestral, Monarch, Emperor, Saint, Divine.

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"Just for reference, what grade are the Six Divine Weapons?

" I asked.

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"Despite their name, I believe they are Saint-Tier at best,

" Song Qian Long answered.

"However, with the level of strength you all have currently, you obviously cannot use the weapon to its full potential. So to answer your question...it would be around Monarch level right now.

"

nThat made sense. If a Magic Artifact couldn't be used to its full potential, it's obvious it would be weaker and couldn't be classified as a higher tier artifact. In the hands of a more powerful mage, though, the weapon would be exponentially stronger.

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"Huh...I see,

" I murmured to myself.

nSong Qian Long then clapped his hands together, and looked at Qing Yue.

"Well, Ms. Qing Yue? Do you accept this reward?

"

nQing Yue tapped her new necklace, and the golden fortress around her disappeared.

"Yeah! Thank you, principal Song!

"

nShe pumped her fist into the air, and puffed out her chest confidently. Hmm? Is it just me, or are they growing? Wait, what am I thinking about, **...

nSong Qian Long, seeing this sight, smiled warmly. However, his expression quickly grew stern as he turned towards me.

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"And now...at last, the final member of The Chaotic Tranquility, and the team leader - Xuan Kai. Hmm...what shall I give you?

"

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