My F-Rank Sagea is Secretly an EX-Rank Calamity

Chapter 17: A Different Kind of Battle

>>>>> UMBRAX TRAINING FIELD <<<<<

Asher collapsed onto a bench, utterly spent. Next to him, Kaito was curled up lazily, actively using his Radiant Nuzzle skill to transform himself into a sleek, warm radiator against Asher’s side.

’Special training, huh?’ Asher thought, his gaze fixated on the artificial sky above the academy. ’Against the Order of the Veil... and a tournament between the ten of us. How am I supposed to pull this off?’

DING!

[NOVA VESTA NOTICE]

’What is it now?’ Asher groaned mentally.

[YOUR CHARM SENSE IS CURRENTLY BEING HEIGHTENED.]

"WHAT? WHY?!" Asher yelled out loud.

The sudden outburst startled Kaito, who jumped a foot in the air, and drew weird looks from a few other students scattered across the training ground.

Before Asher could compose himself, a familiar voice cut through his panic.

"Hey. I can see you’re taking this seriously, ginger head," Remi said with a soft smile.

She sat down next to him, keeping a respectable, polite distance. But Kaito had other plans. Without a shred of loyalty, the white fox immediately stood up, trotted over, and plonked himself right onto Remi’s lap.

Asher’s brow twitched. "What the hell?"

The fox wagged its tail dismissively, letting out a soft purr as it curled into a ball on her thighs. Remi couldn’t help but laugh at the sight, gently scratching behind the creature’s ears.

Asher was entirely dumbstruck. "No. Absolutely not. That’s not happening!"

He lunged forward and snatched Kaito off her. The fox immediately resisted, snapping playfully at Asher’s fingers. Remi stood up, completely bewildered by the sudden, chaotic tug-of-war between master and companion.

With a bit of effort, Asher managed to pin Kaito to the grass. The fox let out a defiant, low growl.

"Listen to me right now..." Asher whispered frantically, leaning down close. "You’re being utterly annoying to both me and Remi. Her thighs are not your personal pillows. They’re mine—"

"Huh? What is?"

A sharp voice from behind made Asher’s soul nearly leave his body. He spun around to see Marnie standing there, her arms crossed.

"And what exactly are you doing to that innocent fox?!" she demanded.

Asher let out a heavy sigh, instantly dematerializing Kaito into thin air before standing up straight. He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "We were just... having a tactical discussion."

Remi felt a sharp, sudden pang of jealousy at Marnie’s sudden arrival, but she stepped forward to join them anyway.

An agonizingly awkward silence descended over the trio.

"Hey, Marnie," Remi said, forcing a half-hearted, tight smile.

"Hey, Remi," Marnie replied, matching the exact same forced energy.

Asher’s eyes twitched. ’What the hell? Why do I feel incredibly guilty all of a sudden? I didn’t even do anything!’

"Asher!" both girls called out at the exact same time.

They instantly glanced at each other, their expressions darkening with mutual displeasure.

Remi quickly cleared her throat, stepping closer to Asher. "There’s something I need to speak to you about... privately," she emphasized, throwing a pointed look at Marnie.

Asher nodded numbly, completely out of his depth. He then turned fully to Marnie, trying to salvage the situation. "And, uh... was there anything you needed, Marnie?"

Marnie took a step back, a flash of genuine hurt crossing her features. "You’re clearly busy right now. Maybe another time," she said quietly. Before Asher could even utter a word to stop her, she turned on her heel and walked away.

"Wait!" Asher called out, reaching a hand out. But it was too late. He watched her retreating figure vanish past the training field gates and let out a defeated groan. ’What the fuck am I supposed to do now?’

"Come on!" Remi snapped suddenly. She grabbed his hand, her fingers locking tightly around his, and began dragging him away.

Asher was thoroughly confused. ’Nova Vesta, analyze!’ he commanded internally.

DING!

[NOVA ANALYSIS COMPLETE!]

[HOST IS CURRENTLY ENGAGED IN A VERY DIFFERENT KIND OF BATTLE.]

’A battle?! With who?!’

[HMM.]

’Did you just scoff at me, you stupid system?!’

Before he could argue with the voice in his head, Asher found himself being led through the dormitory halls and pushed straight into Remi’s room.

The heavy wooden door clicked shut behind them.

A heavy, suffocating silence filled the space. Asher’s eyes widened, his chest tightening. His breath quickened, stopped entirely, and then quickened again.

’I’m in a girl’s room! A GIRL’S ROOM. Okay, calm down, Asher. Just breathe. We’re just having a discussion. What’s the worst that could happen?’

He tried to consciously relax his rigid posture, looking around to distract his racing mind.

The room was surprisingly simple, sharing the exact same layout and dimensions as his own dorm, but the personal touches changed the atmosphere entirely. Her bed was neatly made, draped in a soft, pastel-yellow comforter that radiated a faint scent of vanilla and lavender. A pristine wooden desk sat in the corner, and on the small bookshelf above it, nestled tightly between historical magic texts, sat a locked, leather-bound black diary.

"So, um... Remi," Asher cleared his throat, standing as stiff as a board by the door.

Remi let out a long, slow sigh, turning around to face him with a soft, slightly nervous smile.

"Sorry. I just... I couldn’t wait until later to tell you." She walked over and sat on the very edge of her bed, smoothing down her skirt. She looked up at him, tilting her head. "Are you just going to stand there like a statue?"

Asher forced a nervous chuckle. "Of course not."

He quickly scanned the room and opted for an empty wooden chair sitting right next to her wardrobe, pulling it over to sit down. "Okay. I’m listening."

Remi exhaled deeply, puffing out her cheeks as if she were mentally preparing to deliver a massive speech.

’Oh God, is it a confession?’ Asher’s heart rate spiked violently, his pulse drumming in his ears.

"It’s about that night," Remi began, her voice dropping into a serious register. "When we hunted the Pyropex Griffin."

"Yeah. I remember," Asher said, the phantom memory of the freezing air flashing through him.

Remi’s eyes locked entirely onto his, stripping away all the previous awkwardness. "That night, you completely lost control after making direct contact with the Griffin. You jumped right out of the window. I knew why, because I read in a book later that it was one of the beast’s hidden abilities—hypnotizing its opponents through localized psychic mana."

"Oh. So that explains why everything went completely blank for me in that moment," Asher replied, mirroring her serious expression. The sudden rush of plot-heavy information instantly tossed his romantic adrenaline right out the window.

Remi nodded slowly before continuing. "However... while I was panicking and trying to force myself out of the Griffin’s paralysis spell, I saw something. I witnessed a dragon save you from the fall. A fall that absolutely would have ended your life. It... it literally obliterated the Griffin mid-air."

Asher’s jaw dropped. "WOAH. WOAH. HOLD ON. A DRAGON?!" He was completely dumbstruck. "Are you serious?!"

"Yes," Remi said, her voice barely above a whisper as she delivered the final blow. "And it was Ignifax."

Asher went completely silent, his brain stalling as he tried to process the weight of those words.

’Wait... so the Ignifax Inferno skill from the system is related to the actual legendary dragon, Ignifax? No, that’s impossible. I don’t believe it. That’s a legendary, mythic-tier dragon. It has absolutely nothing to do with a regular Umbrax student like me.’

He let out a forced sigh, shaking his head. "Well... what can I say? I mean, it’s a crazy world. Anything can happen out there," he said casually, reaching up to scratch the back of his neck.

"What?!" Remi countered, snapping forward, clearly thrown aback by his dismissive, casual tone. "Asher, this is incredibly important! Ignifax came for you!"

"Look, even if a dragon did show up, it might have just done that to hunt the Griffin, or to save anyone else who was falling. You can’t really be certain it was there for me," he said, his voice dropping as he tried to deflect the attention away from his anomalies.

"I know what I saw, Asher," Remi insisted, her eyes narrowing stubbornly. She didn’t back down an inch.

"Well, I can’t exactly believe it if I didn’t see it myself. For all we know, it might have been some other Sagea or a high-tier illusion that took on the physical form of Ignifax," Asher shrugged, pushing himself up from the chair.

Remi went quiet, her head dropping slightly. A heavy shadow of disappointment crossed her face at his blatant refusal to trust her words. Asher stood there, the silence stretching between them.

’Damn it, is she upset now?’ he thought, a wave of guilt hitting him.

He slowly approached the edge of the bed, softening his tone. "Hey, listen, Remi—"

"Do you like Marnie?" Remi blurted out.

Silence. Absolute, terrifying silence.

"What?!" Asher panicked, practically tripping over his own boots as he took three massive steps back.

"Do you like her?" Remi asked again. She couldn’t bring herself to look up at him this time; her hands were visibly trembling against her yellow comforter.

Realizing that the conversation had taken a sudden, sharp turn into deadly serious territory, Asher felt a warm, faint blush rapidly creep up his cheeks. He stood there for a second before swallowing his nerves.

Slowly, he walked back over to her. Instead of sitting on the chair, he knelt down right in front of her, bringing himself to her eye level, and gently reached out to hold her trembling hands.

"Look at me while I say this," Asher said, his own face growing incredibly hot.

Remi stubbornly kept her gaze averted, her face flushing pink.

"Then I’ll just hold back my answer," he teased with a soft chuckle.

Hearing that, Remi’s head snapped up to glare at him. But the moment their eyes met, her blush intensified tenfold, turning her face a brilliant, radiant crimson.

’Oh my God,’ Asher cursed internal, his heart doing a backflip. ’She looks so fucking cute like this!’

He squeezed her hands gently, offering her a genuine, reassuring smile.

"I don’t like Marnie."