Sapphire led the way towards a waiting area for the training ground but instead of going towards one of the seats, she took us into a room off to the side before pressing a button beside the door. A green light flickered into existence above the door and Sapphire took that to mean whatever she was doing was done.

  I let her lead unsure what she was doing as st time I'd chosen a guard we just walked into the training grounds.

  Noticing my confusion Sapphire pulled me into the corner pcing herself between the door and me. "Last time you did this you were assisted by Liliana. Now I can hold my own in a fight pretty well but against a room full of potential guards and with you cking proper training... I'm taking precautions and this is actually what this room is for."

  "Oh?"

  "It's a waiting room of sorts for Acolytes looking for new guards. I've let whoever is in charge know we're here so they can prepare."

  That is a far cry from Lilianas approach of just walk in and make them scramble but hard to dispute this.

  The door clicked open a few minutes ter and a centaur woman walked through. "You the Acolyte?"

  "Umm yes?" I answered.

  "They are going to eat you alive out there young man." The centaur let out a chuckle after giving me a once over. "Good thing you have a friend then to help you out."

  Popping out behind the centaur Ra'ray the orange mia from breakfast came around, this time instead of wearing basic clothing and a pistol at her hips she'd sling a rifle across her back as well.

  "Amethyst said to help you out once she got word you were here. Well we were kind of forced when Liliana just appeared but same, same." Ra'ray filled in coming up beside Sapphire.

  "Permission to join you guard Sapphire."

  "Granted." Sapphire said back tasting the air with her tongue.

  "Good. That makes my job easier. My name is Sargent Giln I'll be taking you through the training ground just try to stay close to the walls. Don't want to give the girls too much temptation." The centaur said pulling out a tablet that everyone but me seemed to poses.

  Ra'ray got into position on my right side mirroring Sapphire on my left. Giln nodded and turned around to leave the room. We followed close behind.

  Our group of four took another set of doors that were very simir to the ones leading to the seventh training grounds where I got Sapphire so I presumed they were all designed simirly. This time however instead of someone calling out 'mage on deck' like they had then we were mostly ignored.

  Mostly.

  Giln instantly hooked a right when we entered putting the wall on the same side. This allowed Ra'ray to drop back to cover our rear while Sapphire acted as my barrier between the potential guards as simirly to css almost everyone in the room seemed to find me.

  Both Sapphire and Ra'ray held their weapons a little tighter but kept them aimed at the floor. It was only now I'd realized both girls had drawn their weapons instead of having them on their sides or back.

  "Are you looking for anything in particur?" Giln asked not at all bothered by the attention we were receiving. This was probably not new to her but I was well and truly out of my element.

  We'd got around to a part of the training grounds that had a track intended for running and a lot of the potential guards seemed to want to exercise using that particur method now that we were close. Sapphire didn't really give me any indication she was going to participate in this conversation about our new guard and from breakfast this morning I wasn't expecting her to talk much while in 'guard mode' so this was on me.

  "Probably someone more suitable for the front lines. Someone who can hold aggro." I stopped myself. That sounded so stupid, I mean it would make sense if I was talking to someone online but in real life? Kind of different.

  Giln didn't bat an eye however. "What type of front line are you looking for? Bruiser, tank or more of a heavy gunner?" She said this very loudly and I noticed a few of the girls running track tisk under their breath and step more to the center of the track.

  I don't know what I expected but they were already filling themselves out as we were talking but staying close in case I changed my mind. Impressive.

  "That's a good question. Tank I guess. Someone that can hold the line while Sapphire picks off important targets but I wouldn't be opposed to a heavy gunner if they can do something simir. Need someone that can stay close so not a bruiser." I responded watching another portion of the potential guards section themselves off from the group running the edge of the track.

  By now everyone in the training ground was running around this track either in the middle or on the inside. The mix of creatures still threw me off as they passed and I held in a blush when I noticed they slowed down considerably as they came close only to speed up to do the same thing on their next loop. Probably due to my choices a lot of the girls on the outside were bigger than the girls on the inside with a few wearwolfs's and sasquatch's but also I saw a cyclops girl.

  "Understandable. And species you have a preference for or that you don't want?" Giln asked.

  This time I was stumped. There was a very rge part of me that wanted to find some beautifully hot women and create a space harem but I very much doubt my survival would be very high if I did that. The next question that I forgot to ask Sapphire was if there was any species she wouldn't work with.

  I gave her a look out of the corner of my eye and while she didn't turn around her tongue came out to taste the air before she responded.

  "Your protection is more important, but I would prefer not to work with a Sewalyn."

  I had no idea what one of them was but sure if she doesn't want to.

  Giln nodded and I noticed two of the shadow women duck out from the group. I didn't even notice them with how much the blended in but it was good to have a name for them now so I could stop calling them shadow women.

  "Well you have eighteen options avaible for what you're looking for. Would you prefer to interview them personally or have their profiles sent to you?"

  Well since I didn't have a tablet yet that was an easy option.

  Just as I was about to respond the cyclops guard came around again and this time something in me went into high alert. Unlike the other cadets who all tried to smile and throw winks as they passed she seemed... Focused on something.

  I tried to simmer the feeling of unease but it seemed to get worse as she got closer. This had to have been her third of fourth pass so what made it so different? She looked like she could be a tank so why was I getting a really weird feeling?

  The answer came rather quickly as she held her arm towards me right as she was the closest she could be on the track. It was a good three meters but underneath the palm of her hand I saw the unmistakable shine of metal.

  Sapphire was first to react, her tail coming up between the two of us just as the fsh went off. The sound caught me first, the boom riverbeated through my ears before the impact of small buckshot bounced off my shield. I was stunned. Someone just shot me!

  Sapphire on the other hand didn't hesitate, before my assaint could get off another shot she had her sniper aimed and firing. The second boom was much louder as the cyclops guards eye exploded, painting the cadets behind her with it's gore. The bullet continued past nicking a sasquatch woman on the way before coming to rest in the ceiling.

  Ra'ray slithered up to my side and quickly pulled my ass down into her own coils and out of sight and creating a body bunker with only her scales. My blue mia let out a hiss that sounded more like a snarl and the thundering of feet stopped.

  "I thought cadets weren't allowed to carry guns until they were bound to an Acolyte?" Ra'ray shouted at Giln as I herd a shuffle of footsteps move away from us.

  "They're not." The centaur quietly said before using a louder voice on the remaining cadets. "Attention! All of you bitches strip now! And if I find any more of you holding a weapon of any sort this mias going to give you a new twat!"

  Not a single compint was made but I could hear a lot of shuffling.

  Sapphire didn't look away from the room but the tip of her tail snuck it's way under Ra'rays to touch my shoulder. "Are you alright John?"

  That shook me out of my stupor. "Yeah shield works. Just a bit shaken. Can't say I've ever been shot at before."

  "Hmmm."

  "We should retreat Sapphire. Find another training ground when Johns in a better mind." Ra'ray said as I pulled myself out of her coils.

  I felt a little distant from my surroundings and a little voice in the back of my head said I was in shock. This feeling of distance stopped me from appreciating that there was a ton of naked flesh right in front of my eyes. I tried to push it into my find for ter 'study' while the two mia pulled me away.

  "Good. The rest of you dumb bitches ain't fully stupid enough to challenge a Acolyte and their guards but why didn't anyone notice she was hiding a gun? Half of your training is to be vigint not stare at the males ass!" Giln roared as she passed through the naked guards.

  The door we first came through opened up ahead of us and my mia instantly pivoted her gun to aim at the new arrivals. An elf with charcoal skin and abaster hair who was quickly followed by five others in full suits that stopped any way of telling them apart stepped thought. The lead elf locked eyes with Sapphire but made no move even with the my mias gun aimed at her.

  "Easy. Just station security. Here to start the investigation and clean up." The elf stated raising her hands.

  Sapphire motioned for them to go and the elf nodded.

  "Give them a wide birth. Her guns still warm and I don't want to give her another reason. I'll have enough paperwork already."

  For some reason the thought of an alien elf from my fantasy games doing boring paperwork shook most of the haze from my mind. Well I might have snorted slightly trying to hold in a ugh. No one commented and I busied myself before I got too embarrassed.

  My Mana hummed happily in my chest having recovered the little bit my shield had taken blocking the buckshot. If I had to guess I'd lost fiveish percent so having that recover in a few minutes was pretty good. That being said I didn't really have anything to base that on yet so maybe it was slow? Liliana didn't seem to struggle teleporting around but then again she had a lot of time to practice and she did say it was like a muscle, the more you use it the bigger it would get.

  Just as we were about to leave my Mana gave a familiar lurch in the direction of the cadet guards that were getting chewed up by Giln. Sapphire noticed this instantly.

  "What is it John?"

  "My Mana did the same thing it did when I picked you." I replied.

  Ra'ray gave a nod. "We are taught to listen to our Acolytes, especially when it involves their Mana."

  Sapphire didn't seem as happy with that but she returned the sniper rifle to her back but kept her left hand on the pistol on her hip. Her other hand came around to rest on my shoulder.

  "Stay close. But if I think there's even a chance another one of them attacks we leave."

  I wasn't going to argue. I was honestly a bit surprised she was still doing this after the cyclops.

  Ra'ray followed but kept her gun out.

  Giln noticed us quickly as we approached the group giving us a confused gre. "Best you leave Acolyte. An investigation needs to be done and I doubt you want to be caught up in it."

  "Far to te for that Sargent. Just following my Mana for a second then I'll be out of your hair." I called back with a bit more bravado than I felt.

  The centaur gave a knowing smirk. "Alrighty then. Up straight dies the Acolyte is still interested but if one of you makes a move I'll put you down myself!"

  The cadet guards all stood with straight backs and their arms by their hips but easily visible. We made our way around the edges of the guards, keeping a two meter distance as Sapphire wasn't too keen on going into the middle of them and I did my best to follow the trail like feeling of my Mana until we reached a rather rge woman with pointed elven ears and rge white wings that were almost the same size as she was. I was also given a good view of all she had to offer and I tried to remain professional when I noticed the carpet matched the brunette brown drapes. Key word tried.

  Giln came up beside us and wordlessly held out her tablet. I gave it a look but it was all gibberish to me. I'm guessing Liliana had the group I was deciding from first already transted because I remember Sapphires character sheet.

  Ra'ray took it and read it aloud. "Name, Aria.

  Species: Angel.

  Favorite weapon: Quintuple barrel / Deployed bastion.

  Mutation: Storage."

  "Is that a front line load out?" I asked.

  Aria stayed silent her eyes darting between Sapphire and Giln.

  "Yes." Sapphire replied. "Do you want her?"

  I could tell she was still unsure about being out here and really wanted this to be over, I was inclined to agree with her but she was the one who wanted another guard. My Mana was also a solid point as it hadn't started me wrong yet.

  "Yes. Aria would you like to be my next guard?"

  Again I was met with the same bnk stares that I got when I said the same thing to Sapphire. Should probably learn the correct way of doing this.

  "I would be honored Acolyte." The angle finally spoke.

  Well that was easy. Maybe my way works just fine.

  "Well don't stand around there girl! Go get dressed you're a guard now!" Giln shouted causing the angel to blush while grabbing her gear and running to what I presumed was the changing rooms on the other side of the room to where we came in.

  Sapphire didn't wait any longer and began to drag me out of the room no longer caring to stay. Ra'ray took the lead checking the next room over and I saw the benefits of having a second guard instantly.

  But now I have an angel. I wonder if any of the religious stories from earth had a bit of truth to them?