Chapter 13: No More F-Rank Guide!

Lydia was surprised to see Rishe standing inside the Faculty Office when she arrived.

The Head Principal was there with her, along with several professors who seemed to be discussing something important.

"Fancy to meet you again, Lydia. Were you summoned by the professors as well?"

Before Lydia could greet Rishe, however, something caught her attention. The Head Principal was holding a neatly folded red uniform.

"Lady Arestionne, since your Sentinel awakening has already been confirmed, you may officially wear the Sentinel uniform from today onward."

"Thank you, Head Principal."

Sure, Rishe had mentioned it before. She was a Sentinel. But she never told Lydia about her grade.

The Head Principal then reached into a small case and took out two golden stars.

"Your current rank is confirmed as SS-Rank."

Lydia had known that Rishe was talented, but somehow, seeing the official uniform made it feel much more real.

Two golden stars! An SS-Rank Sentinel.

Her mind immediately connected the pieces.

Ephraim was an S-Rank Sentinel, while Rishe was an SS-Rank Sentinel. That meant Rishe was stronger than Ephraim.

And I was just an F-Rank Guide. I was nothing compared to them.

For some reason, Lydia felt a strange little sting in her chest. But she quickly pushed it aside.

Everyone has different strengths and weaknesses. No need to feel inferior just because someone was stronger. I didn’t want to be like my old self again.

"Lydia!" Rishe approached her merrily. "I didn’t expect to see you here."

"Neither did I," Lydia admitted.

Rishe tilted her head curiously, her gaze shifting toward the Head Principal standing nearby.

"What brings you to the Faculty Office?"

"I came to report my Spirit Animal," Lydia bowed politely toward the Principal.

"I just awakened it recently, but I still need to have it officially confirmed. I was told this might be a reason to reconsider my Guide Rank."

The Head Principal gasped at the revelation and fell silent for a moment.

"This is great news, Lady Valendorf. But according to protocol, we must first confirm your newly awakened Spirit Animal before we can reevaluating your Guide Rank."

Lydia nodded politely, and the Head Principal smiled in response.

"I am glad to see that you have finally awakened your Spirit Animal, Lady Valendorf. This is an important step for any Guide."

"Thank you."

"Since this is your first manifestation, I will personally oversee the examination."

The Head Principal turned toward Lydia and gestured for her to stand in the center of the room.

As she took her place, the silver floor beneath her lit up, thin blue lines forming a circular pattern around her feet.

A soft hum filled the room as several small displays activated around the examination area.

"Don’t be nervous. There is nothing complicated about the process."

The professors gathered around her, watching closely. Rishe remained nearby, quietly observing with an encouraging smile.

Why did I suddenly feel like a deer caught in the headlights? Especially when all eyes were upon me now.

The Head Principal explained the process.

"We’ll start by manifesting your Spirit Animal. Tap into your Guide power and summon forth your Spirit Animal. Call their name."

"Call her name?" She hesitated. "I never knew her name. I just met her once."

Sure, Lydia had seen her Spirit Animal once. But they had never properly introduced themselves.

How was she supposed to call someone whose name she didn’t even know?

Just thinking about it made her nervous.

What if she couldn’t summon her again?

What if the first manifestation had been nothing more than a coincidence?

Before Lydia could let her anxiety grow any further, she felt a warm hand slip into hers.

"You don’t need to worry about it too much." Rishe gave her hand a gentle squeeze and smiled warmly at Lydia. "A Spirit Animal is just another facet of yourself. Focus on your mental power. Just like when you want to guide someone. She’ll answer you."

Her soft voice was enough to calm the nervousness in Lydia’s chest.

"I believe in you."

I never knew she could be this sweet.

"Thank you."

Lydia closed her eyes and focused on the familiar warmth within her, slowly drawing out her Guide power.

At first, there was only darkness. Then she felt it.

A gentle warmth began spreading through her body.

Lydia imagined her Guide power flowing through her entire body, warm and gentle, surrounding her like a comforting embrace.

The warmth grew stronger.

The professors watched in silence as faint white motes began gathering around Lydia. They flickered softly like tiny fireflies, their gentle glow dancing through the air.

Flower petals appeared among the lights.

A soft gust of wind swept through the Faculty Office, sending the tiny lights and flower petals swirling around Lydia.

The firefly-like motes danced among the petals before gathering into a bright glow. A magnificent white deer emerged from it, her fur shining softly like pale moonlight.

A strange sense of familiarity filled Lydia’s mind. She didn’t know how, but somehow, she already knew the deer’s name now.

"Priphea..."

The white deer bleated at Lydia.

Several professors exchanged surprised looks. The Head Principal’s expression brightened as he examined the deer.

"Excellent."

He stepped forward to observe the creature more closely.

"Your Spirit Animal has manifested successfully."

Somehow, knowing her name now made the connection feel much more real.

The Head Principal nodded toward one of the Guide professors.

"Proceed with the confirmation."

The Guide professor tapped a command on the floating display. A thin blue beam scanned Priphea from head to hoof, while several lines of data appeared across the screen.

He studied the readings for a moment before making a few adjustments.

"The Spirit Animal’s form, mental power pattern, and Guide signature all match."

The professor nodded toward the Head Principal.

"Confirmed. Lady Valendorf’s Spirit Animal is a White Deer. Spirit Animal confirmation complete."

One problem solved. Unfortunately, the next one was waiting for her.

"Now we can proceed with your Guide Rank reevaluation."

Let’s put an end to my F-Rank Guide era. Hopefully the new rank will be much better.

The professor began examining Lydia’s Guide energy. He tapped a few commands on the floating display, and a translucent blue panel appeared beside him.

Thin lines of light swept across Lydia’s body, measuring her Guide energy and mental power pattern.

At first, his expression remained neutral. A moment later, his brows slowly furrowed. He checked the readings several times again.

"Is something wrong?"

The professor didn’t answer immediately.

He continued examining the flow of her Guide energy as though he had encountered something he couldn’t quite understand. Finally, he pulled his hand away.

"This is... unusual."

"Unusual in a bad way?"

The Guide professor frowned thoughtfully. "Your Guide energy isn’t particularly weak. However, its flow fluctuates constantly."

"Unstable?"

He searched for the right words.

"It’s almost like the ebb and flow of the sea. Your Guide energy rises and falls in waves. It shifts constantly, but the changes themselves are strangely smooth."

He paused and swiped across the floating display, bringing up a larger graph of Lydia’s energy readings. The lines rose and fell in gentle waves, almost perfectly overlapping one another.

"If you deliberately focused your mind on that aspect of your Guide power, you could probably calm almost anyone."

"What?"

"You possess an unusually tranquilizing Guide energy."

Lydia’s face twisted in disbelief.

"What?! Am I a walking lullaby? Human tranquilizer?!"

A snort nearly escaped Rishe before she quickly covered her mouth with her fan. One of the professors coughed awkwardly, trying to hide his laugh.

"Your raw Guide power is not especially weak, but your compatibility pattern is abnormal. We need to test your synchronization with several Sentinels before determining your rank."

Lydia nodded.

Several Sentinel students were called into the Faculty Office for the compatibility test.

One after another, they stood beside Lydia while the examination system measured the compatibility between their Resonance and her Guide power.

The readings remained disappointing—17%, 8%, 20%, 24%.

Several Sentinels from different ranks were tested, but none could establish compatibility with Lydia beyond 24%.

Is that really all?

"These compatibility results are far below the standard expected for a higher-ranked Guide."

"So... what does that mean?"

The professor gave her the answer she had been dreading.

"Based on your current evaluation, you will be classified as a C-Rank Guide."

After everything she had gone through, she had somehow ended up with a C-Rank. Lydia didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

"However, these results are unusual enough that we cannot simply leave them unreported."

"Why?"

"Based on Article 30 of the Sentinel and Guide Act, we are required to report this matter to the Imperial Authority and your family, Duke Valendorf."

Lydia’s face went pale.

"My family? Can we just skip it and call it a day?"

"Yes." The professor nodded. "Your abnormal compatibility results and your reevaluation Guide Rank will be formally reported to your family now."

He swiped across the floating display and selected Lydia’s examination records. A confirmation window appeared before the data was transmitted through the Faculty System network.

"The report has been sent to House Valendorf."

Oh, no. Brother Sylvain had never been fond of surprises. Unfortunately, this was exactly the kind of surprise he hated.

Lydia could already imagine Sylvain’s reaction.

He might cut my monthly allowance again. I can’t survive that. Anything but that, please!

A few moments later, Lydia’s bracelet vibrated with a new pop-up notification. Lydia barely had the power to peek at its content.

[Go home immediately. And don’t even dare think about ignoring this letter.]

"I’m doomed."

Brother Sylvain was furious.