Lotus smirked at the group, sure that she was one of the few who could actually tell what had happened.
“He’s got Royal Rank [Offensive Adaptation] active on him. Rae advanced, right? That means Rae advanced, it has to. Can we see her now? Did she get big? Is she shiny?” The little Cleric rambled.
Karl held up his hand for a high five. “Right on the first try. But she is still the same size, and I’m not sure why you would think she became shiny. But she did do a fine job grooming her carapace, so her fur is in pristine condition, and her legs are an extra bloody red.”
[I want to do my grand reveal on the line.] Rae informed him.
“Rae says she wants to show everyone at once, so she’s not coming out until our shift starts. That way, everyone can see how glorious a full-grown Bloodbath Spider can be.”
Doug laughed. “Well, at least she didn’t lose her sense of drama when she advanced. It would have been a shame if Rae became all boring and serious just because she was the only Royal Rank around at the moment.”
Bob snorted in amusement. “I’m just glad to hear that she’s the same size. I’ve gotten used to that level of Giant Spider, I’m not sure my heart could take an even larger version.”
That morning, they decided to eat in the fort and let the clerics cook for them so that they could surprise the others when they got to the line and brought Rae out.
Everyone knew that Lotus was not built for keeping secrets, and if she had to sit all the way through breakfast, she would totally blurt it out.
So, they left just in time to head to the line for their shifts, while doing their best to avoid attracting attention from those with sharper senses until they arrived.
[Offensive Adaptation] was a passive skill that Rae shared with Karl, and he couldn’t really turn it off. But that meant that it was pretty obvious that he had a Royal Rank skill to anyone who was around him and paying attention.
Heads turned as they approached the line, but Karl didn’t say anything as he walked to his spot and relieved the team on duty, who didn’t actually leave, they just stepped back a bit so he could take his spot.
Only once they were in position and the whole section of the line was watching did Karl call Rae out for everyone to admire her beauty and glory.
As soon as she appeared, the whole line went silent, before the Command Channel of the radio began to blow up with panicked comments.
[Who has eyes on the Royal Rank Threat?]
[No Threat Detected.]
[Nothing on the scope.]
[Fuck, it has to be close, I can feel it. Right flank, do you see it?]
[Right Flank reports no incoming threats.]
[There is a Royal Rank beast here, we can all sense it.]
[Copy that. Royal Rank Beast located. Currently, playing kickball with the clerics.]
[Gods Dammit. KARL!]
The absurdity of the radio confusion broke the tension, and everyone on the right flank turned to watch Rae playing with Lotus and Doug.
Karl could see the teachers storming their way, intent on chewing him out for not informing them that he had advanced. But the joke was on them, he hadn’t advanced yet. Only Rae had.
“Do you enjoy causing chaos on the lines?” One of the warrior class teachers was shouting as he approached the spot where Rae was playing with the Nature Clerics.
The Bloodbath Spider nodded emphatically, and the students burst into laughter.
He hadn’t been speaking to her, but Rae was so clearly proud of her prank that nobody had the heart to tell her they should have at least warned the people in charge.
The teachers had gathered around, trying to decide what the actual situation was, and if Karl could be considered to be Royal Rank, which would require a notification to the government, as he would need to be reassigned to lead a more powerful team, or join another team of Royal Rank and higher combatants.
Most of the strike team who had faced the last assault had come running, in case there really was a Royal Rank threat here, and Karl could see that most of them were amused to see that it was actually just Rae.
They had all suspected that she was halfway into the Royal Rank during the last battle, with some of her skills already advanced, but now they had clear evidence that there was a Royal Rank monster on Karl’s team.
But that was the problem. The Elites were measured by their own power. Rae was Royal Rank, but that didn’t mean that Karl automatically was as well, unless he could exert that level of power without relying on her.
“When were you planning to announce this advancement of the Academy?” One of the Professors demanded before Karl could reply to the first one.
Karl shrugged. “I thought we just did announce it to the whole Academy at once. I mean, everyone knows, so mission accomplished, right?”
Doug and Lotus nodded in agreement, while Dana looked over at Morgana.
“Remind me again, what was it that made you want to be a student advisor?”
The Witch Doctor sighed. “I don’t recall students in my year being this problematic. They were kind of douchebags, and liked to form cliques, but I definitely don’t recall us giving teachers this many headaches.”
Tank looked back and forth between Rae and Karl. “It looks like you’ve got at least one of her skills. Did you gain access to any more of them as she advanced?”
That was an excellent question.
[Status]
[Name] Rae
[Species] Bloodbath Spider
[Rank] Royal
[Shared Skills] ⇒ [Offensive Adaptation] [Lacerate] [Earth Shield]
“Rae, when did you learn Earth Shield?” Karl asked out loud, startled.
[Watch this.]
Rae encased herself in a dome of stone, then suddenly appeared right behind Tank, with her mandibles resting on top of his head.
“Dammit, I knew the students weren’t just messing with me. She learned how to shadow step, and she learned to make her own shadows to step into.” A Rogue Class Professor cussed.
The other Rogue in the area laughed. “Oh, that is priceless. I didn’t know that she learned to make her own shadows. I was teaching the class yesterday when she vanished for the first time. She went from the edge of the training grounds up into the trees.”
[He saw me? Oh, he’s good. I totally thought he didn’t notice.] Rae informed Karl, then vanished again to reappear standing on top of her stone dome.
Tank tapped his fingers on his chin. “Can someone explain in a way that a Berserker can understand why Rae is using Earth Magic? The vanishing act makes sense, but not that.”
Karl smiled at the huge man. “Her advancement process includes cycling a lot of higher rank blood through her body, a literal bloodbath. She used Hill Giant blood, and they can all use Earth Magic. So, she gained an ability from them during her advancement. If she had used something else, it would have been a different ability.”
“So, she learned to make stone shields? That’s impressive as a defensive ability, but she’s an assassin type attacker.” One of the warriors asked, confused.
Rae threw a stone baseball at him.
