《Luminary Institute》 1: Dont Soil Your Pants On The First Day Of School ¡°Don¡¯t be nervous, you¡¯ve been to the academy many times before,¡± Nyssa repeated to herself as she brushed her hair in the mirror. Today was her first day of... well, actual class. Unlike every other time she had gone to the academy with her father, she was now dressed in the institute¡¯s white and blue uniform. Slipping on her shoes, Nyssa looked around a couple times before cracking the door open. Seeing no one outside either, she spun on her heel and stood by the door while pulling out her phone. It was still two minutes before she and her father had agreed to leave... A long two minutes later¡ªthat she spent scrolling through social media¡ªNyssa looked up to see her father, Kaiser Ravenstein, walking down the stairs. Dressed half-formal, black suit, he, as always, walked with an unusual amount of purpose. To Nyssa, whose favorite activity was napping in the sun, Kaiser¡¯s perpetual ¡®I¡¯m about to walk into war¡¯ walk was almost unnerving. ¡°I still think you need to wear a larger suit,¡± Nyssa tapped her chin as Kaiser sat down to put on a pair of shoes. ¡°It¡¯s practically ripping from your muscles. Wouldn¡¯t it be awkward if it ripped in the middle of an assembly?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry. I can move however I want.¡± Kaiser chuckled as he stretched upward. ¡°See? My suits are rated with durability similar to high-level flexible armor.¡± ... Well, Nyssa knew that. Obviously. She felt like Kaiser mentioned it every other day. She just felt it was a little awkward for him to show off his muscles so much! He was old! He had a head full of white hair and enough wrinkles to pass as an expired fruit! ¡°Let¡¯s get going,¡± Kaiser patted her on the back. ¡°Don¡¯t be so nervous. I¡¯ll walk you to class, okay?¡± ¡°... Thank you,¡± Nyssa murmured as she followed Kaiser out to their car. Clutching her school bag as they walked, she ran through her little introduction a few more times until they sat down in the car. Disturbed from her thoughts as the car¡¯s engine roared to life, Nyssa shook all the thoughts out of her head. With the car roaring down the driveway, she clung on for dear life as Kaiser drifted the car onto the road before racing down the street towards the academy. Why was she nervous anyway?! She knew the academy like the back of her hand already! She had wandered its campus more than anyone else... Of course, she had done it from the perspective of a cat, but she had wandered nonetheless! ¡°You¡¯re nervous because you¡¯re meeting new people.¡± Kaiser interrupted as they came to a stop at an intersection. Holding Nyssa¡¯s fidgeting hands, Kaiser accelerated once more as the light turned green. ¡°Your thoughts are clear as day. Painted across your face like a master artist¡¯s canvas. We¡¯ll be there in ten minutes or so. Just take some deep breaths and appreciate the scenery. Connect your phone and play some music if you¡¯d like.¡± Taking him up on his offer, Nyssa queued a couple of her current favorite songs before sitting back and sinking into the seat. Zoning out as they zipped through the streets at dubious speeds, she made some idle conversation with her dad until they pulled up at the huge gates of the academy. Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. With a sign labeling it as ¡®The Luminary Institute,¡¯ Nyssa patted her chest as the butterflies in her stomach threatened to turn it inside out. Was this how new students felt? If so, she felt bad... What a horrendous feeling! Skipping the line of cars carrying students, Nyssa and Kaiser drove through the staff entrance, curled down the ramp into the underground parking garage, and made their way up the stairs and into the main academy. With what felt like crowds of students trying to find their classrooms, Nyssa remembered why she never enjoyed coming on the first day of a new term. Well for one, she was lazy. Going outside was hard! Therefore, every time a break ended she had to ease herself back into life. Because general education was all done through artificial intelligence now, it wasn¡¯t like she had to go outside. But the main reason she didn¡¯t enjoy the first day of new terms was well... the crowds! If she wandered around the school as a cat¡ªher favorite ¡®avoid all interaction¡¯ style of traversal¡ªthe crowds would always push her around!! And the one year she decided to wander around as a tiger to avoid getting pushed around didn¡¯t work too well either... For obvious reasons in hindsight. Keeping her bag close to her, Nyssa stuck next to her dad as if she was glue. Yet, as people cleared the way for him to move forward, she realized it wasn¡¯t as necessary as she thought it was. Navigating through the huge complexes of hallways, they first made a stop at the headmaster¡¯s office. Once Kaiser had put his stuff down, he patted himself down. ¡°I was going to say luckily the Class 0 building is right next to the administrative building. However, I put them there on purpose so it¡¯s not really a lucky coincidence.¡± ¡°Why? Don¡¯t you say they don¡¯t cause much trouble?¡± Nyssa fiddled with her bag as she shifted on her feet. ¡°Well, that¡¯s compared to both my expectations and how much they did in the past. Many decades ago Class 0 was causing huge amounts of damage and trouble on the regular. Now? Not as much. It¡¯s like the people have mellowed out over the years.¡± Kaiser chuckled while cracking the door open. ¡°After you.¡± Nodding in thanks, Nyssa walked along Kaiser as they made their way down the stairs, past another group of students trying to find their classroom, and through a breezeway. Of the Luminary Institute¡¯s buildings, it was probably the smallest, but it was still equipped with all the training areas, rest areas, meal areas, restrooms, and the rest of the utilities. What made it the smallest though, was the fact it only had one true classroom. Entering the building, Nyssa felt Kaiser back off a few steps. Getting a few pats on the back, Nyssa stumbled forward as Kaiser smiled. ¡°I¡¯ll let you lead the way. No need for me to guide you right?¡± ¡°... I mean, yeah, I have been here a lot before...¡± Nyssa looked around with a nervous edge creeping into her voice. Whispering to herself, she fidgeted with the strap of her bag. ¡°Where to first... probably the classroom right? But should I use the restroom first?¡± Frozen in her thoughts, Nyssa stood in place as she fought the urge to find a corner to nap in. Life was a lot easier when one was asleep. That was the motto she lived by. ¡°Headmaster, didn¡¯t expect to see you here today,¡± A cheery voice interrupted from behind them. ¡°Well, I thought I¡¯d walk her to class on her first day,¡± Kaiser shook the woman¡¯s hand with a smile. ¡°Good morning though.¡± ¡°G-Good morning! Yes!¡± Nyssa whirled around on her heel as her brain rebooted itself. ¡°Oh wait, Angelica? Why are you here?¡± ¡°Oh, did you not know? I¡¯m the teacher,¡± Angelica reached out and shook Nyssa¡¯s hand. ¡°Welcome~ I¡¯m looking forward to teaching you! Let¡¯s get going shall we? I¡¯ll introduce you to everyone!¡± With Angelica¡¯s statement, Nyssa felt herself get dragged forward as Angelica guided her up the stairs and towards the classroom. 2: Rampant Enthusiasm Stopping outside of the door with Kaiser by her side, Nyssa fidgeted with her bag and stared down at her feet as Angelica did a mock salute. Placing a hand on Nyssa¡¯s shoulder, Angelica grinned. ¡°Just remember me as the kind older sister who sometimes comes by to your house, mkay? Not as the teacher. Nothing¡¯s going to change, alright? I¡¯ll just get everyone to calm down and call you in, okay?¡± ¡°I mean... you¡¯re more like an aunt, but sounds good,¡± Nyssa trailed off as she kept her eyes bolted to the floor. Feeling herself get rocked a little by Angelica¡¯s playful push, she felt a bit of a teasing smile flit across her lips before the nervousness came crashing back down. Seeing Angelica walk into the room, Nyssa felt her heart rate spike as the door shut with a soft click. With the bustle leaking through the classroom¡¯s walls disappearing within seconds, she bit her lip as Kaiser gave her a couple of reassuring pats on the back. Seconds later however, a huge cheer shot through the wall as Nyssa jolted her head upward. Hearing the chants of ¡°New student! New student!¡± coming through the wall, she felt her hands clam up. Studying the gleaming metal walls to preoccupy herself, Nyssa couldn''t help but nod at the... general quality of the building. Every waist to ceiling window was just as spotless as she remembered and the gleaming strips of light running down the ceiling and floor were, as always, just so... futuristic. Thank the heavens she was standing out of sight from those windows though. ¡°Nyssa?¡± Angelica¡¯s voice broke through her thoughts. ¡°Come on in.¡± ¡°A-Ah- huh? Ah yes!¡± Nyssa stammered as she clung to her bag. Taking a deep breath, she felt herself get pushed forward by Kaiser as she made her way into the classroom. Stopping by Angelica¡¯s desk in the front of the room, Nyssa let out a couple awkward coughs. ¡°H-Hi... I¡¯m Nyssa Ravenstein, nice to meet you all!¡± Cheers. With the final words of introduction still on the tip of her tongue, the entire class had erupted into cheers. Feeling her ears and cheeks get warm, Nyssa couldn¡¯t help but let out a sigh as relief washed over her in waves. It... It went well! Social debut, success! Resisting the urge to tear up a little, she shook her head to banish the thoughts before scanning the room. There... weren¡¯t as many people as she had expected. Only five of them. ¡°I¡¯ll be heading out now, Angelica,¡± Kaiser poked his head through the door while giving the students a wave. ¡°And everyone, nice to see you. Thanks for giving my daughter a warm welcome.¡± ¡°Wait, Ravenstein! No wonder that last name sounded familiar!¡± A boy with blond hair bolted out of his seat as Kaiser closed the door. ¡°Headmaster wai...t... Too late.¡± Yet, he among the others, had launched into conversation by now. Whether it was theories about Nyssa¡¯s identity or powers, the classroom had, once again, devolved back into its chaotic, but warm, atmosphere. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°Alright everyone! Calm down, calm down,¡± Angelica waved with her hands to get everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°As you can see, everyone, Nyssa is our newest student. We¡¯ll do some more general icebreakers and break catching up in a second, but I need to fill out this roll sheet. Also, Nyssa, feel free to just take a seat wherever right now. There¡¯s enough desks to go around.¡± Stammering out a ¡°Y-Yes,¡± in reply, Nyssa took a few hesitant steps forward as she looked around. Well, everyone had... sort of congregated towards the desks in the center... ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we move around a lot anyway, so your desk doesn¡¯t matter too much,¡± A brown-haired girl whispered towards her while patting the desk next to her. ¡°Come on, just sit right here for now if you want.¡± Bobbing her head up and down a couple times, Nyssa took a few quick steps over and sat down before sliding down into her seat. ¡°Thank you...¡± ¡°No worries,¡± The brown-haired girl laughed while covering her mouth with a sleeve. ¡°Nice to meet you though, Miss. Ravenstein~ what has made you grace us with your presence?¡± ¡°J-Just call me Nyssa! I¡¯m really not that important...¡± Nyssa reassured while sitting back up in her seat. ¡°I know, I know, I¡¯m just teasing,¡± The girl smiled as she reached over and gave Nyssa a pat. ¡°I¡¯m Celeste by the way. Just turned seventeen a couple months ago. Used to be the youngest here, but I¡¯m assuming you¡¯re younger?¡± ¡°Just by a bit,¡± Nyssa confessed as she floundered with her hands before deciding to return the pat. ¡°I¡¯m turning seventeen in a month, though that would put me in a whole grade lower than you.¡± ¡°Yeah, but that doesn¡¯t really matter here,¡± Celeste shrugged, ¡°Everyone here is under twenty, there¡¯s not really enough of us to make a specific class for every year. So it¡¯s kinda divided into the over twenties and the under twenties.¡± ¡°Where are the over twenties then...?¡± Nyssa looked around. ¡°Still on break?¡± ¡°Nah, they went on a trip to get some hands-on experience. They¡¯ll be back soon enough, or well... maybe a month or so? I don¡¯t know,¡± Celeste leaned back in her chair. ¡°We can talk more in a second though. Angelica¡¯s done with the roll sheet.¡± ¡°Sorry that it took so long, everyone! I¡¯m a little rusty after the break,¡± Angelica scratched the back of her head with a sheepish laugh. ¡°Welcome back from break though. Let¡¯s clear out a space though and sit on the floor in the center of the room to get a little more informal, shall we? Just some quick catching up on the first day back~¡± ¡°See? Told you we moved around a lot,¡± Celeste grinned while covering her mouth to hide the faint laughs slipping through her lips. ¡°Angelica, I¡¯ll get the floor cabinet from their drawer.¡± ¡°Thank you, Celeste!¡± Angelica gave a thumbs-up before moving three desks at once with a light push. Strong... Struggling to just push one desk towards the side of the room, Nyssa couldn¡¯t help but feel her jaw drop at Angelica¡¯s strength. She had forgotten what a force Angelica was... Language omniscience and body maximization. An interesting set of powers if Nyssa had to say so herself. The strength was obviously amazing, but Angelica¡¯s ability to hyper-focus and enter the zone whenever she wanted was what really made Nyssa envious. Yelping as a pillow smacked her in the side of the head, Nyssa caught it before it fell to the ground. ¡°Sorry, Nyssa!¡± Celeste cried out before rushing over, ¡°It didn¡¯t hurt you right?¡± ¡°No, no, I¡¯m totally fine, just a little surprised,¡± Nyssa nodded while moving to the cleared out space in the center of the room. ¡°Totally fine, it¡¯s just a pillow after all.¡± ¡°Right, right,¡± Celeste let out a sigh of relief as they put their pillows down to complete the small circle in the center of the room. ¡°You never know though. Some people¡¯s powers make them very fragile.¡± ¡°True...¡± 3: Post-Break Icebreakers In a cross-legged sitting position, Nyssa kept quiet as everyone else took their places. With only seven people¡ªthe five original students, Angelica, and her¡ªit was an intimate circle. The lights too, were dimmed by Angelica to a cozy yellow. ¡°I just want to make it a little more comfortable for a Monday morning, is this alright?¡± Angelica asked the group. With each person nodding in gratitude, she leaned over and grabbed her laptop. ¡°I¡¯ll just take some light notes as we all talk. I have to keep this class moderately productive after all. Sounds good?¡± With a chorus of ¡°Sounds great¡±¡¯s and ¡°Yep¡±¡¯s coming in from everyone, Angelica began typing as her hands flew across the keyboard. ¡°As for our general plan today, we¡¯ll ease into the morning, take a short break, then I¡¯ll give you all a solid five hours or something to do your daily general education, then we¡¯ll reconvene and decide our plans from there, any questions?¡± Looking around and seeing everyone staying quiet, Angelica shrugged. ¡°I¡¯ll take that as a no. We usually wouldn¡¯t do this, but let¡¯s just go around introducing ourselves for Nyssa, alright?¡± With the floor open, an awkward silence fell onto their seven person circle. It wasn¡¯t until a couple seconds later when the blond boy who had an orange streak through his hair from earlier cleared his throat. ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll start. Down to me to save the day as always.¡± Striking a stylish pose, the boy snapped his fingers. ¡°I¡¯m Ryker! I¡¯m currently nineteen years old. I¡¯m quite the energetic lad if I say so myself.¡± ¡°Energetic lad?¡± A different boy with pale-blue hair snorted until he got jabbed in the side by the purple-haired girl. ¡°Sorry, continue.¡± ¡°Thank you, my kind gentleman,¡± Ryker wiggled his eyebrows while returning to his seated position. ¡°There¡¯s not much I can say about myself. I come from a pretty normal family. My father is a hero while my mother is a hunter. As for my powers they¡¯re... pretty simple. I have one of the best regenerative factors you¡¯ll ever see. I can come back from pretty much nothing.¡± Tapping his chin, Ryker grinned before snapping. ¡°Yep that¡¯s about it-¡± ¡°No way you¡¯re stopping there,¡± The purple-haired girl snorted as a few sparks traveled down her hair. ¡°We don¡¯t hide things here. Be upfront with Nyssa.¡± ¡°That¡¯s... true, yeah.¡± Ryker sighed while leaning back against the leg of a desk. ¡°Sorry, yeah, I should follow our own rules. By the way, rule one is, since we all have dangerous powers, we try to be open with each other so everyone is aware of the potential dangers. We¡¯ll fill you in on the rest later, but, anyway, my main power, actually, is the ability to blow up any part of my body.¡± Shaking her head and doing a double-take, Nyssa raised a finger and opened her mouth before deciding to shelve her question. ¡°Everyone always asks, but yes, it¡¯s pretty much just like my body is a bomb. No blood does not go everywhere. Thank the heavens.¡± Ryker shrugged while letting out a small yawn. ¡°Depending on how much I decide to blow up by myself the explosion gets bigger. Quite important to have the regenerative powers because of that.¡± If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. ¡°For sure,¡± Angelica agreed while adding a couple of notes to her document. ¡°You phrased it differently this time, quite nicely if I say so myself so I¡¯m writing it down. Anything else you want to share?¡± "No-pe," Ryker snapped his fingers once more. ¡°Electra, you¡¯re up next since I said so. We¡¯ll just go from oldest to youngest.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Electra,¡± The purple-haired girl from earlier introduced herself. ¡°Not much I can say about myself either. Unlike Mr. Ryker over here, I¡¯m the child of two heroes, and my powers are quite simple: Electrokinesis. So, for context Ryker was put in this class because he used to just blow up completely when he lost control of his emotions, but for me I used to discharge dangerously high levels of electricity when I lost control.¡± ¡°How... much? If I may ask?¡± Nyssa ventured with a hesitant crack in her voice. ¡°Don¡¯t share if you don¡¯t want to.¡± ¡°Like enough to power the whole city for a while,¡± Electra shrugged, ¡°Also, not a big deal, don¡¯t hesitate to ask questions, I¡¯m open about everything. On a kind of unrelated note, I also have extreme control of electricity too. Especially because of bad past experiences, I don¡¯t discharge much, I usually use electricity to shock myself into having super speed instead.¡± ¡°You should¡¯ve just become a doctor with all your anatomical knowledge,¡± Celeste teased with a faint smile. ¡°You¡¯d be award winning. Finishing the procedure before the patient could get knocked out.¡± Rolling her eyes, Electra just shrugged. ¡°Maybe one day. I like fighting too much though. Anyway, Albion, you¡¯re next.¡± ¡°Nah, it¡¯s me, Titus,¡± A red-haired boy waved with one hand while giving Albion a pat with his other. ¡°Ah- sorry, my bad,¡± Electra coughed while glaring at Ryker who was clutching his stomach trying to not laugh. ¡°Shut the hell will you, Ryker? I can¡¯t stand your ugly-ass face.¡± With Ryker breaking into full on laughter, Titus cleared his throat as Electra pounced on Ryker. ¡°Anyway, ignoring those two... I¡¯m Titus! Eighteen years old. I¡¯m noticing a trend but I also don¡¯t have much to say. I¡¯m from a household of famous fire-users, and, well, you wouldn¡¯t be able to guess it but I also have fire-related powers.¡± Getting an ¡®elaborate¡¯ hand motion from both Electra and Ryker¡ªhaving both calmed down by now after getting a stern glare from Angelica¡ªTitus sighed. ¡°What else can I even say? Well, Albion and I come from rival households. We¡¯re also practically the same age, so we¡¯re pretty much friendly rivals. I¡¯m older by half a year though, so that¡¯s a win in my book.¡± With Titus chuckling with a good-natured smile on his face, Nyssa couldn¡¯t help but ask. ¡°Are you an older sibling?¡± ¡°Oh! Yeah, that¡¯s something,¡± Titus flashed a pair of finger guns. ¡°Albion is the youngest of four, and I¡¯m the oldest of three, so perhaps that contributes to our difference in demeanors. I think of myself as quite laid back.¡± ¡°You still never elaborated on your powers.¡± Albion sighed as Titus leaned back as well. ¡°I... begrudgingly... respect him because he does some straight up magic with his powers.¡± ¡°They¡¯re not that special,¡± Titus stretched with a carefree smile. ¡°Okay, they¡¯re kind of hard to explain though. Pretty much, beyond having the normal pyrokinesis power package, I can also do something I like to call fire shaping. It allows me to create constructs of fire. These constructs too sometimes get blessed by the heavens and become pseudo-divine artifacts, which is... well... a little problematic sometimes.¡± ¡°Pretty much he can also sometimes make very powerful cursed weapons.¡± Albion finished Titus¡¯s sentence with a grumble. ¡°Very cursed, but very powerful.¡± ¡°That sounds about right.¡± Titus scratched the back of his head. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it too much. Albion, would you like to go?¡± 4: A Protagonists Dramatic Entrance Cracking his knuckles, Albion looked around the room. ¡°Sure. Surprised Conrad isn¡¯t here though. He¡¯s next and... should be here right?¡± ¡°Yes, he is not marked to be absent today like the upperclassmen,¡± Angelica answered while typing away on her laptop. ¡°He¡¯s not often late. So... Well, we¡¯ll see, won¡¯t we? You all know as much as I do.¡± Spinning his fingers as ice traveled down his hand, Albion¡¯s pale-blue hair crystalized over. ¡°I¡¯m Albion. Eighteen years old. Just like Titus. I¡¯m the youngest of too many siblings. My powers are... quite simple. Cryokinesis. More than just control, I can also turn things into ice. For people it¡¯s kind of energy dependent though. But for objects, yeah, I can turn anything into ice. Alchemist style.¡± Watching a faint, misty-white breath leave Albion¡¯s body, Nyssa raised her eyebrows as she felt a chill run up her spine. He was cold¡ªboth in body and in personality. As for his body, she could feel it even though he was sitting opposite to her. His natural body temperature must have been around freezing at all times! Making a mental note to avoid casual touches with his skin, she gave Albion a faint thumbs up as everyone else felt a wave of cold wash over them. It didn¡¯t help with the energy. For a Monday morning with warm, but dim lighting, feeling cold made everyone lethargic. So... lethargic. Nyssa, herself, couldn¡¯t help but feel the urge to nap begin to claw its way back into her mind. It certainly didn¡¯t help, of course, that there was a perfect cat-sized patch of sun on the windowsill... Slapping her own cheeks with a faint laugh, Celeste gave a quick double-thumbs up to Albion. ¡°I¡¯ll go next, stay alive everyone! We¡¯re almost done with introductions.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not the introductions, it¡¯s Albion¡¯s air conditioner for a body,¡± Ryker sneezed while rubbing his body with dramatic hand motions. ¡°Early January is not the time for his perpetual aircon to be going.¡± ¡°I think it''s quite fine I¡¯ll have you know.¡± Albion grumbled while looking away. ¡°Of course you do,¡± Electra clicked her tongue before motioning towards Celeste. ¡°Continue, sorry.¡± ¡°No worries,¡± Celeste smiled as she hid her hands into her sleeves. ¡°So, Nyssa, as mentioned before, I¡¯m seventeen. I¡¯m more mundane than these other people perhaps. My father was a hero, but retired, and my mother is normal.¡± Bobbing her head up and down a few times while acknowledging Celeste¡¯s words, Nyssa furrowed, then raised an eyebrow as everyone else chimed in with a chorus consisting of: ¡°She¡¯s rich.¡± ¡°She¡¯s absolutely loaded.¡± ¡°Normal my ass.¡± ¡°... Yeah, that¡¯s not the point though. Everyone here¡¯s pretty rich,¡± Celeste looked away while speaking through her sleeve. ¡°My powers though are a little more complicated. I have what the doctors? Experts? Call a star engine for a heart. Let¡¯s say I lose control of my emotions, or I activate it, it begins to pound through my chest and glow. It then does something like a forced ascension.¡± ¡°It¡¯s scary,¡± Ryker chimed in with a shake of the head. ¡°Quite unfair to fight against too.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that unfair. It just gives me flight, enhanced strength, Ryker levels of regeneration, and energy blasts. A kind of basic set of skills if I do say so myself. I¡¯m not super great at controlling it though...¡± Celeste trailed off with a faint downtrodden look. ¡°Sometimes when I¡¯m in that form, energy uncontrollably starts shooting through my eyes and mouth.¡± If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Offering Celeste a high-five, Nyssa felt a faint laugh slip through her lips as Celeste took her up on her offer. ¡°Fancy powers. Is it... uh... my turn then?¡± Craning her neck towards the door, Angelica shrugged. ¡°I guess so? Conrad isn¡¯t here ye-¡± Footsteps... With the faint sound of running and shouting bleeding through walls, Nyssa, along with everyone else, perked up to look through the window. Watching a black-haired boy sprint across their vision, come to a screeching stop by the door, and throw it open, everyone fell silent. ¡°I¡¯m HERE! My sincerest apologies, Angelica. I decided to take on a side-quest this morning and it ran a lot longer than expected!¡± The boy saluted before bowing and doing a flourish towards their little circle. ¡°Never fear though! Everyone, your class president and protagonist has returned!¡± ¡°I... Is that Conrad?¡± Nyssa leaned over and whispered into Celeste¡¯s ear. ¡°I... didn¡¯t expect him to be like this.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s him, he¡¯s interesting to say the least,¡± Celeste smiled as Conrad slid his way towards the circle as Angelica gave him a silent death stare. ¡°Al...righty then. Nice to see you too, Conrad. Please show up on time next time.¡± Angelica sighed before motioning towards the rest of the circle. ¡°We¡¯re doing introductions right now because we have a new student, Nyssa. She was about to begin her introduction. Would you like to go first since we skipped you? Or listen to hers first?¡± ¡°I¡±m fine with anything,¡± Conrad nodded while sliding over a pillow. ¡°As the class president I¡¯m usually one to keep order and moderate these types of activities. Yet... I have failed. So, I think I have ceded my right to speak about this situation.¡± ¡°We never gave you the right anyway,¡± Albion hummed as he made some space for Conrad. ¡°Nyssa. You should go first. That way Conrad can see what he needs to do.¡± ¡°S-Sure!¡± Nyssa nodded before going pink from her stutter. Clearing her throat, Nyssa fixed her posture and straightened her back. ¡°I¡¯m Nyssa! I¡¯m uhm... sixteen right now. Though I¡¯m less than a month away from being seventeen! I¡¯m the third adoptive child of Kaiser Ravenstein. I wanted to come here to make some friends...¡± Trailing off as she confessed her motivation for coming to the class, Nyssa felt a cough of embarrassment slip out as she made eye contact with Celeste and her teasing smile¡ªshe tried to hide it with her sleeve, but it was clear as day! ¡°As for my powers,¡± Nyssa traced her fingers along her necklace. ¡°I can pretty much transform into any animal I want. Fictional or real.¡± ¡°Fictional?!¡± Ryker bolted up from his half-laid down position. ¡°Ayo... what?¡± ¡°That sounds very overpowered.¡± Albion murmured as the others chimed in with their own voices of agreement. ¡°There¡¯s a limitation, don¡¯t worry, don¡¯t worry!¡± Nyssa panicked as her hands gestured with wild motions in an effort to articulate some feeling non-existent in any language¡¯s dictionary. ¡°Energy mostly, mass I guess contributes to that, but so does unbelievability and power.¡± ¡°Interesting,¡± Conrad tapped his chin while staring off into space. ¡°I shall have to add you to my database.¡± ¡°Database?¡± Nyssa tilted her head as Conrad continued to murmur to himself. ¡°Why don¡¯t you do your introduction right now,¡± Electra jabbed Conrad in the side. ¡°So you can also explain your database.¡± ¡°Ah, yes,¡± Conrad pushed his glasses up. ¡°Both of my parents are business people. Many say I¡¯m quite ordinary, but in fact, I¡¯m quite extraordinary. I hold myself to a high bar of excellence at all times.¡± ¡°Evidently not this morning, though,¡± Angelica murmured as Conrad coughed and looked away. ¡°My power is as follows. I can view the world as a system most often seen in games. My health is a bar, my energy and stamina is a bar, and my various physical capabilities are numerical stats. I can level up and continue to become stronger while taking on quests designated by my system.¡± Conrad raised a finger, explaining his system in full detail while what Nyssa could only describe as pure nerd energy began to waft off of him. Of course, she had nothing against nerds, she was probably one herself, but watching Conrad made her realize exactly why ¡®nerd¡¯ was a derogatory term in the past. 5: Nap-Driven Learning Having wrapped up their introductions, everyone broke into smaller conversations as Angelica finished up whatever notes she was taking. Though only taking a handful of minutes, Nyssa felt the introductions had taken... a while. Too much time. She was thankful Angelica was now just letting them talk though amongst themselves. Instead of a larger share out, Angelica was going through and joining each of the smaller conversations one by one. After asking a few questions to catch up, she¡¯d then move onto the next person. Not the worst strategy in Nyssa¡¯s opinion. Though she didn¡¯t have any sort of qualifications when it came to pedagogy. Plus, when Angelica had joined her and Celeste¡¯s conversation, she had reassured her ¡°Yes, just call me Angelica, don¡¯t worry about formalities, we¡¯re such a small class anyway. I¡¯m here to help you all and be a mentor of sorts, you get me? Why would I forcibly put more space between you and me?¡± Having bobbed her head up and down while stammering out a ¡°Got it,¡± Nyssa couldn¡¯t help but stare down at the floor once Angelica had moved on. ¡°Nervous?¡± Celeste asked while patting her on the shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, Angelica¡¯s a truly nice teacher. Not one of those who banter with you then grade you as if every point they can take off feeds another starving child in the streets.¡± ¡°O-Oh, I uhm... I know that,¡± Nyssa facepalmed while laughing. ¡°I don¡¯t know, I just... I just got nervous, yeah. I shouldn¡¯t get nervous around her though, she¡¯s come over to my house a lot since she¡¯s close to my older sister. Or well, my older adoptive sister.¡± ¡°Well, you never know with those types of things,¡± Celeste mused while shifting into a more comfortable position. ¡°You don¡¯t seem awfully nervous around me though...¡± ¡°No, I totally am. I¡¯m pretty much mentally soiling myself as we speak,¡± Nyssa let out a cough of embarrassment, ¡°Honored that you can¡¯t tell though.¡± ¡°I can¡¯t tell at all,¡± Celeste observed while looking towards the others. Tapping her chin, she beckoned Nyssa to lean in a little closer. ¡°Okay, let me tell you a fun fact then, perhaps it¡¯ll put you a little more at ease. You see Conrad right there? The one who looks like your generic anime protagonist.¡± Waiting for Nyssa¡¯s acknowledgement, Celeste snorted and used her sleeve to hide her giggles. ¡°He¡¯s only class president because none of us wanted to be class president. He volunteered with so much energy, expecting some... well, expecting what I can only assume to be the classic student council anime experience. Instead he just does all the paperwork. It¡¯s quite unlucky on his end to be honest. He was so downtrodden when he realized he didn¡¯t even have someone to run against, let alone a vice president.¡± Clinging onto Celeste¡¯s shoulder for support, Nyssa felt her lips break into a smile as a few laughs slipped out. With Conrad, Albion, and Titus all looking over from their attention, she hid herself using Celeste¡¯s body as a shield while laughs continued to slip out. Celeste, on the other hand, waved off the three boys, hugged Nyssa closer, and stuck out her tongue. ¡°Nothing¡¯s happening, stop being so nosy.¡± Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Composing herself after a couple seconds, Nyssa thanked Celeste for being a human shield as they continued their conversation. Asking each other some random questions, they passed the time until Angelica called for everyone to quiet down. ¡°Alright, we¡¯ve set out to do generally what I wanted us all to do this morning, I didn¡¯t miss anything right?¡± Angelica pondered out loud while leaning over to grab her laptop and look over her notes. ¡°Yeah, so from here until lunch, as usual, you all are free to spend your time however you¡¯d like. You do need to get your daily amounts of general education done though, and I will be checking that.¡± Waiting for the collective groans to pass by, Angelica raised her hands. ¡°It¡¯s not my fault, but you all do need to finish your education. I¡¯ll also give you all an hour after lunch to wrap up if you need to. Afterward we¡¯ll do some training... or hanging out. We¡¯ll see how we¡¯re all feeling on the first day back. Sounds good?¡± ¡°Yep!¡± ¡°Of course!¡± ¡°Yes ma¡¯am!¡± ¡°So we¡¯re free?¡± ¡°Yes you all are free,¡± Angelica nodded before raising an eyebrow at Conrad. ¡°Don¡¯t think I didn¡¯t miss that ¡®yes ma¡¯am¡¯ either. I¡¯m not some brutal prison warden, alright? No need for those antics on Monday morning.¡± ¡°I told you he¡¯d do it.¡± Albion turned to Titus as a faint smile tugged at the corners of his lips. ¡°I also told you Angelica would react like that.¡± ¡°God darn it...¡± Titus sighed, slapping the floor as he stood up. ¡°Point to you then.¡± Ignoring Angelica¡¯s face palm and sigh, Conrad pumped his fist. ¡°I¡¯m not a wuss, I¡¯m not going to chicken out. Suck it, Titus.¡± By now, though, Albion and Titus just shook their heads. Everyone else was already filing out of the room to find some secluded space in which they could complete their general education for the day. ¡°Anywhere¡¯s fine right?¡± Nyssa leaned over and asked Celeste, ¡°I assume people have their regular spots already though, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, pretty much everywhere is fine.¡± Celeste pulled out her laptop from her bag. Pausing, she tapped her chin. ¡°Okay, off the top of my head, Ryker usually takes one of the sparring rooms, Electra¡¯s usually in the gym, Conrad is usually in... uh... the third stall from the right in the second floor men¡¯s bathroom, Albion told me once, just to be clear, and I¡¯m usually on the rooftop. I don¡¯t know where the other two are though.¡± Shaking her head with an exasperated laugh, Nyssa couldn¡¯t help but... marvel at the existence that Conrad was. Third stall from the right in the second floor men¡¯s bathroom? Why? He was one of those people who was... funny not from their humor but from their natural state of being. He almost had a pitiable state of existence if anything. Clasping her hands together, Nyssa nodded and thanked Celeste a couple times before grabbing her own bag to find a spot. Just... where to? What was she even looking for? Tapping her chin and taking a second to categorize her thoughts as she walked, Nyssa made her way up the stairs as she came up with a few pieces of criteria. Somewhere with the sun. Maybe outside with fresh air, if possible? Definitely somewhere warm. So, as far from Albion the Human Air Conditioner as possible. Somewhere soft as well, where it was nice to lay down... ¡°Wait a second,¡± Nyssa trailed off before facepalming. Realizing she was just describing her perfect nap spot, she shook her head. ¡°Stay focused, you want to learn!¡± ... But comfort would help her learn better... right? For example, she¡¯d learn better in a cushioned chair than a hard one! Deciding to ignore all the flaws in her logic, she powered forward! Nap spot it was! If she fell asleep, so be it! 6: Taking Advantage of the Cat Bias Nyssa was back in her favorite form: a pure white-haired cat. She wasn¡¯t quite sure why the cat¡¯s hair was a pure white, but perhaps it was because it mirrored her human hair. Or did her human hair mirror her cat form¡¯s hair... Questions for the ages indeed. She didn¡¯t care though. To her, the cat form was superior for one simple reason: it was optimal for napping. It was built as heaven¡¯s perfect form to enjoy every nap position! The apex predator of naps! Sprawled out on her stomach against a picnic table she had found on one of the third floor¡¯s balconies, she had set up her laptop so it provided the perfect amount of shade for her eyes. For learning of course! Not for napping... totally. Over the course of the next few hours, having chosen the perfect position, Nyssa managed to blaze through her general education requirements for the day. There wasn¡¯t much to it in all honesty. She used to have approximately... zero friends, so she had put probably a little too much time into making sure she was solid on everything she needed to learn. In all honesty though, there wasn¡¯t much to general education these days anyway though. She wasn¡¯t planning on becoming a doctor, a professor, or any other intensely academic job anyway. Therefore, the artificial intelligence style general education did its job. Her specialized classes necessitating in-person instruction were well... what she was going to get at the Luminary Institute. Whoever invented the AI run general education system deserved all the awards. Plain as that. It made life so much easier. Or, well, that¡¯s what she had heard, anyway. Growing up she had always had the AI run general education system. Checking the time, Nyssa broke out into as wide of a smile a cat could break out into as she realized she had about a half hour left before they had planned to meet up for lunch. Setting an alarm, she rolled over into the sun and let herself be taken by the warm, cozy, and inviting embrace of sleep. Oh how sleep was nice... it was just a shame that she could no longer continue her five naps a day sleep schedule... Like always, however, the nap ended far too soon. With her alarm blaring, she forced herself to stretch out before closing the laptop. Biting the strap of her bag, she dragged it on top of her bag before wandering off. It was safe enough anyway. The Luminary Institute didn¡¯t have a stealing problem¡ªor a bird problem for that matter. Leaping off the table, Nyssa, too lazy and too sleepy to transform back, wandered off towards where their meeting spot was. Taking her time, she realized she had come in contact with her greatest enemy once more: stairs. Deciding to just be late by a minute or so, she took her time meandering down the steps. After all, breaking her neck on the first day of class did... not seem like a great start to her school career. Coming across a walking Celeste, Nyssa ran up to her before launching herself into the bag of Celeste¡¯s legs. One meow later, and she managed to catch a ride in Celeste¡¯s arms. Victory! As always, no one could resist the cuteness of cats! Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Basking in the warm Celeste radiated, Nyssa couldn¡¯t help but appreciate the supposed ¡®star engine¡¯ in her chest. She hadn¡¯t noticed earlier because of Mr. Air Conditioner¡¯s presence, but Celeste gave off heat like... well... a star! An intense battle to not fall asleep once more later, and they arrived at the meeting spot. Cuddled up in Celeste¡¯s arms, Nyssa let out a few contented meows as they met the others. ¡°Look what I found everyone! Luminary Institute¡¯s elusive cat!¡± Celeste nodded downward to the cat in her arms. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever seen it in this half of the school. It usually only roams the administrative building, right? And sometimes the cafeteria building?¡± ¡°You''re right about that,¡± Angelica stifled a couple laughs. ¡°This is the first time I¡¯ve seen her during my time at the Institute. I¡¯m not surprised you found her though. She does have quite the distinct coat of white fur.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± Celeste tilted her head as a faint spark of enlightenment tickled the back of her mind. ¡°Wait a second, Nyssa?¡± Looking left and right, Nyssa gave a few slow nods as the rest of the students stared at her. Saddened by the reveal, she leapt down from her warm perch before transforming back into a person. Blushing as she recalled the cat antics she enjoyed while Celeste didn¡¯t know her identity, Nyssa stared at the ground. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m the rumored Luminary Institute cat, dad used to bring me here a lot so I wasn¡¯t too lonely at home...¡± ¡°Ah... no wonder. I probably should have put those two together sooner,¡± Celeste sighed while facepalming. ¡°Okay, sorry for holding everyone up though, let¡¯s get going.¡± Waving over a couple of the others who were returning from using the restroom, Angelica led the way as they left through the front double doors instead of the breezeway. Making their way across the stone-paved pathways, the eight of them drew an interesting picture. The eight students were dressed in white and light blue school uniforms while Angelica was wearing a black, and quite formal, suit. Drawing a picturesque scene, the eight of them contrasted against the gray pavement, green bushes, and, overall, bright scenery from the noontime sun. ... It was still chilly though. ¡°Why do you radiate cold all the damn time,¡± Ryker grumbled as Albion let out misty breaths one after another. ¡°Do you feel cold?¡± ¡°No.¡± Albion breathed into his hands. ¡°I think it''s quite warm right now actually. The sun is out.¡± ¡°We all disagree with you, literally all of us.¡± Ryker rolled his eyes as everyone else murmured in agreement. ¡°Titus, can you radiate heat? I know Celeste does naturally, but she can¡¯t outcompete Mr. FREEZE here without putting herself in danger.¡± ¡°Unlike most of my family, I don¡¯t radiate abnormal amounts of heat actually. Unless I¡¯m consciously doing something with fire, of course¡± Titus chuckled while shrugging. ¡°You''d be better off asking Electra perhaps. Electricity, heat? Who knows, there¡¯s some sort of connection there.¡± ¡°No, Electra can¡¯t,¡± Ryker sighed while staring at his hand. ¡°Too bad I can¡¯t detonate a body part slowly...¡± ¡°Now, I¡¯d prefer if you just didn¡¯t detonate body parts at all,¡± Angelica raised her eyebrows from the back of the pack. ¡°It would certainly not help this class¡¯s reputation with the rest of the school. Just look at those students from... what, the Class One track over there.¡± With everyone pausing their various conversations and looking over... they couldn¡¯t help but agree with Angelica¡¯s point. Nyssa, from what she could see, noticed there was a whole mood board¡¯s worth of emotions. Some were envious, some were afraid, and others were standoffish. It didn¡¯t quite seem any were ¡®amicable¡¯ though. She had overheard various rumors about Class Zero because of its small size. With only a single class of students after combining multiple years, it was dwarfed by the various other class tracks. Class One, the premier track for the normal person, consisted of what... five classes per year? Some years it went all the way up to seven of eight. Then there was the Class Two track, built a little less prestigious, but more accessible and still a great education opportunity nonetheless. It had a minimum of about ten classes per year? If Nyssa was remembering correctly. It did make the Luminary Institute very large though. She didn¡¯t wander too much usually though because she didn¡¯t want to get caught and relocated outside the school by an overambitious security guard... 7: Murmurs of the Future Ignoring the gazes of the various other students, the group of eight continued their conversation filled journey through the common paths. Because they were eight people, the conversation always split after a few moments. Oftentimes it was Ryker and Electra talking together, Albion, Titus, and Conrad, and, well, now, Celeste and Nyssa. Angelica, on the other hand, participated in any conversation she felt like participating in. She had rapport with everyone, so it didn¡¯t matter too much to her. Getting to the main path, Nyssa couldn¡¯t help but crane her neck as she looked upward. The main path was equipped with luminescent archways instead of lamps¡ªgiving the institute its namesake. At the same time, walking along this path gave anybody a true grasp of the academy¡¯s grandiosity. Spires from several of the tallest buildings stretched far into the sky as the ornate architecture of the academy¡¯s oldest buildings painted a picture of the academy¡¯s momentous wealth. Feeling the wind blow through her hair, Nyssa swiveled her head and took in the views as Celeste talked with Angelica. It was... so different as a student. She really felt like she... belonged? It wasn¡¯t as if she had taken any entrance tests, so it definitely wasn¡¯t an overwhelming sense of accomplishment. ¡°How has your first day been?¡± Angelica folded Nyssa into the conversation. ¡°Has it lived up to your expectations?¡± Startled, Nyssa blinked conscious thought back to herself. ¡°I-I... mean... I think so. I don¡¯t... really need that much training with my powers, so I think the afternoon probably won¡¯t matter to me as much. But I¡¯m still looking forward to the fun activities we might all participate in.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a nice attitude,¡± Celeste smiled while nodding towards the towering cafeteria hall peeking through the buildings. ¡°Are we going to the main one or one of the smaller auxiliary halls today?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go to the main one, I¡¯m sure there¡¯ll be a private interior balcony somewhere we can all settle in. We¡¯re not a large class today anyway.¡± Angelica shrugged before asking a follow-up question to Nyssa. ¡°Have you found some friends then? Or at least found some people you want to become friends with? You seem to have hit it off with Celeste here at least, yeah? Seems she¡¯s no longer stuck talking to me alone or dealing with the antics of the three boys over there!¡± With a faint teasing tone slipping into her voice, Angelica laughed as Celeste sent a faint glare in her direction. Celeste, deciding to not launch into full-on banter with Angelica though, pulled Nyssa closer to her. ¡°Indeed we have hit it off though. Or, well, I¡¯ve hit it off with her at least.¡± ¡°No, no, no, I¡¯ve uhm... yeah, hit it off with you too,¡± Nyssa trailed off as a faint blush climbed onto her cheeks. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m bad at articulating my thoughts...¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry~¡± Celeste laughed while squeezing Nyssa a little closer. Covering her mouth as she broke into a wide smile, Celeste leaned over and whispered a couple reassurances. ¡°You¡¯ll get better. It just takes some time. Don¡¯t fret too much about it!¡± You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. With Celeste¡¯s encouragement though, Nyssa felt her heart warm as they continued on their way. Blending in with the other crowds of students once in the large cafeteria, they all agreed to get their food and meet back up by the staircase. Surviving her very first lunch rush, Nyssa grabbed herself a tray full of fruits, salad, porridge, and a little bit of pasta. One awkward moment later, where half the group went to one staircase and the other half to the other, they managed to meet up and find a place to eat. Because of the overwhelming noise from a fight breaking out downstairs though, they ate and left without making too much conversation. ¡°Is everyone done with their general education for the day?¡± Angelica asked the group as they made their way back to the Class Zero building. Seeing everyone else nod, she shrugged. ¡°Then we can start the afternoon plans a little early, alright? Don¡¯t worry about the missed break we won¡¯t be doing too much today. Though, I do need to check off and certify that you all did in fact do your general education requirements, so get your stuff and show it to me, okay?¡± One chorus of ¡°Sounds good¡±¡¯s later, everyone split off to retrieve their bags from their morning studying spots before returning and showing Angelica the completion of their general education requirements. Gathering back in the classroom, everyone moved the desks back to their original positions. ¡°So, how are we feeling,¡± Angelica laced her fingers together while propping her chin up. ¡°What are we feeling like doing today?¡± ¡°I mean... we can go to the training room and hang out there?¡± Ryker shrugged before kicking his feet up on a desk. ¡°Or we could hang out. We¡¯re pretty much just a relaxed school club aren¡¯t we?¡± ¡°The f¡¯ around and find out club,¡± Electra saluted while a yawn slipped through her lips. ¡°Sorry the post lunch food coma is waging a war against me right now.¡± ¡°Evidently you¡¯re not alone in that,¡± Celeste laughed while covering her mouth with a sleeve. ¡°Our newest club member is already fast asleep.¡± Looking over, Electra and Ryker paused before chuckling. A white cat was curled up on the windowsill, napping, and unaware of the argument transpiring between Conrad, Albion, and Titus right next to her. ¡°I mean, we could do nap time,¡± Angelica proposed with a faint smile dancing across her lips. ¡°Though at some point we do also need to talk about logistical training information. I need to see how you¡¯ve all improved over the break and we should probably start planning for the school-wide tournament in a couple of months.¡± ¡°Oh wait, we do really need to clutch up for that,¡± Ryker crossed his arms. ¡°Our carry moved up to the graduate division...¡± ¡°Hey, you alone could probably carry us through the battle rounds,¡± Electra interjected while suppressing another yawn. ¡°In fact, anyone here probably could solo carry their way through the battle round.¡± ¡°I¡¯d caution Albion and Celeste from doing it though,¡± Angelica offered with a shrug. ¡°They both could get disqualified from losing control of their powers.¡± ¡°Well, yeah, but they still have the potential, by the time they¡¯re our age they could probably do it,¡± Electra tapped her chin. ¡°They still have us this year, so it doesn¡¯t really matter, does it? I¡¯ll do the race as always. I won last year and I think I''ll be able to win again?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not even a question,¡± Ryker stretched out before flipping back over the chair and onto his feet. ¡°Well, actually it might be but I have faith in you. Angelica, let the others hang out for a bit, Electra and I can show you our progress first.¡± ¡°I need to wake up a bit anyway,¡± Electra agreed as purple sparks fell down her arms like a faint waterfall. 8: Power Checkups, Like Doctor’s Checkups, But For Powers Letting the other students know they could take a break and just enjoy themselves, Angelica, along with Ryker and Electra, left for the training room. Making their way downstairs, they passed through a pair of sliding double doors. Kicking some dust up from the training room¡¯s floor, Ryker did a few stretches before jogging to the center of the room. ¡°I¡¯m calling first, Electra, sorry but I¡¯m not really that sorry.¡± With Electra just sighing, Ryker grinned and did a flip as he made it to the center of the room. ¡°Angelica, what type of random stuff do you want me to show off? I didn¡¯t do too much practicing over the break.¡± ¡°Whatever you think you improved on,¡± Angelica pulled out a clipboard before flipping through the pages. ¡°Let me see what metrics we decided on... There¡¯s regeneration rate? Explosion force per one finger and per hand. Any general progress on a more controlled release of an explosion?¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s always just concentrated in one instant of time,¡± Ryker squatted on the ground. ¡°I have some ideas for remote detonation though. But I¡¯m not going to share those right now since well... secrets gotta stay secret. If I figure it out I¡¯ll let you know.¡± Taking some notes and transcribing a few quotes from Ryker, Angelica took a seat next to Electra who had pulled over a couple of chairs. ¡°You¡¯re free to begin whenever. You¡¯re fine, right Electra? No danger on your end?¡± ¡°I should be fine, my electricity won¡¯t flare up into overdrive since, subconsciously, he¡¯s well-recognized to not be a danger.¡± Electra reassured while tying her hair back. Ryker, getting the go ahead, raised his hand. Making sure his hand was in view, he detonated his index finger. BANG. With a shockwave rocking the room, a wave of air exploded outward as Angelica¡¯s hair blew backward. Ryker¡¯s finger, having disintegrated from the explosion, regrew at a speed visible to the naked eye. It didn¡¯t take more than ten seconds before his hand was spotless and healthy. Winking towards Angelica and Electra, Ryker busted out a couple dance moves as Angelica took some notes. Ignoring the ¡°You¡¯re cringe!¡± from Electra, he stuck out his tongue before doing the worm on the ground. Angelica, on the other hand, entered the zone for a couple seconds and blazed out a paragraph-sized note of observations before calling out to Ryker. ¡°Feel free to continue! I estimate there was a three percent increase in explosion force. Let¡¯s see if the trend continues!¡± ¡°Got it!¡± Ryker shouted back before motioning for them to cover their ears. Throwing his loose jacket to the side, he rolled up his sleeve before raising it upward. Looking away and doing his best rockstar impression, he did a fake mic drop with his other hand before detonating his entire hand. With a huge fireball swallowing his body, Ryker used his still existent hand to brush his hair back as the fireball faded. Beads of sweat began running down his forehead due to the sheer heat and his clothes fluttered from the resulting shock wave. As always, he counted his lucky stars¡ªhis explosions didn¡¯t affect him after all. ¡°Clothes fine. Body fine. Estimated power increase... two and a half percent.¡± Angelica tapped her pen against the clipboard while dumping another paragraph of notes. ¡°Please come closer Ryker! I¡¯d like to inspect your clothes. If there are any tears or singe marks I¡¯ll place an order for more durable outfits with the wardrobe department.¡± The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°They look totally fine to me,¡± Ryker grinned as he did a spin, picked up his jacket, and struck a pose. ¡°How do I look Electra? Sexy as always?¡± Rolling her eyes, Electra shook her head. ¡°Ugly as always to me.¡± ¡°Peh, your standards are too high,¡± Ryker shook his head while letting Angelica check over his clothes. ¡°They look fine, yeah?¡± ¡°Indeed, they look fine to me,¡± Angelica murmured while tapping her pen against the clipboard. ¡°Alright, I don¡¯t have many other tests for you. Your powers are quite straightforward after all. Anything out of the ordinary you¡¯d like to report? And have you had any moments where you¡¯ve lost control since we¡¯ve last talked?¡± ¡°No to both,¡± Ryker smiled while putting his hands behind his head. ¡°My powers have been quite cooperative! I¡¯m just really learning to channel energy better. It¡¯s not a linear process, but it¡¯s a quite smooth process that slowly increases the size of the explosions.¡± ¡°Sounds great,¡± Angelica noted down while clicking the end of her pen. ¡°I¡¯m still amazed at the lack of odor though. No smoke or anything. Angelica, would you like to go up? Ryker, you can either stay and watch or go check on the other students.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll just watch, it¡¯s the least I can do,¡± Ryker kicked back and smiled. Cupping his mouth, he leaned back in his seat all the way until the chair creaked. ¡°Wooo! Electro girl go! I¡¯m your number one biggest fan! Please shock me!¡± Sending a bolt of purple lightning crashing down at his feet, Electra raised her eyebrows as a jackal grin tugged at the corners of her lips. Watching Ryker cough on the dust, she apologized to Angelica before turning back to Ryker. ¡°I¡¯ll do it, explosion boy. Don¡¯t test me too much. You¡¯ll survive anyway, so I won¡¯t hold back.¡± ¡°Uhm, actually,¡± Ryker clarified while holding back laughs. ¡°Uhm, actually, I don¡¯t think sending a reactor¡¯s worth of energy through my body would do me many favors! It would be much more beneficial to the economy if you redirected that energy into the power grid. That way you could alleviate the burden of energy bills on people all over the ci-¡± With a bolt of purple lightning crashing down on his head, Ryker just shook his head as Electra sauntered off to the center of the training room. --- ¡°What are those shockwaves...?¡± A sleepy Nyssa asked as she rolled over on Celeste¡¯s lap. ¡°Is there an earthquake?¡± ¡°No, just Ryker and Electra doing a power check-up with Angelica,¡± Celeste ran her hand through Nyssa¡¯s hair. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it too much, everything¡¯s alright. You can go back to sleep if you want.¡± ¡°I will...¡± Nyssa¡¯s voice trailed off as she rolled over. ¡°You¡¯re very warm and nice to sleep on...¡± With Nyssa¡¯s proclamation, quiet laughs slipped through Celeste¡¯s mouth as she used her sleeve to muffle the last bits of sound. Nyssa was cute. Even when she wasn¡¯t a cat. --- ¡°Yeah, man, you¡¯re done.¡± Albion murmured to Conrad as they watched Nyssa doze off on Celeste¡¯s lap. ¡°Just give up, bro. Nyssa¡¯s made more progress in a single day than you¡¯ve made over the past year. You¡¯re done.¡± ¡°I... am inclined to agree. I don¡¯t think your chances are looking too great.¡± Titus lamented while giving Conrad a couple pats on the back. ¡°I believe in you though, keep trying if she¡¯s really the one.¡± ¡°Guys, don¡¯t say this,¡± Conrad fell onto his hands and knees. ¡°You have to believe in me, she¡¯s the one! She¡¯s my female lead!¡± ¡°This is exactly why you have zero chance with any girls.¡± Albion¡¯s cold voice cut through Conrad¡¯s desperation. ¡°Absolutely lost any time a girl is within sight.¡± ¡°Hey, don¡¯t be so mean,¡± Titus lifted Conrad back up to his feet. ¡°Maybe Conrad can turn it around. Maybe Conrad hasn¡¯t discovered that one... uh... what did you call it, Conrad? Dialogue option? That¡¯ll ¡®unlock the route¡¯?¡± ¡°He¡¯s done. Don¡¯t give him hope like this. Don¡¯t feed his ego.¡± Albion shook his head while crossing his arms. ¡°Are we next though for power check-ups?¡± ¡°I think so...¡± Titus stroked his chin. He wasn¡¯t going to say it out loud, but he cheered for those two! They reminded him of the first little sister he had¡ªthe older one of the two. She was trying to woo this girl in her class too! 9: A Childhood Obsession With Heads With everyone¡¯s so-called power ¡®check-ups¡¯ not taking too long, Nyssa was the last to go. She had watched Celeste go and knew what to expect, but it was... still a little nerve-wracking. After all, everyone decided to stay and watch¡ªthey wanted to, in their own words, ¡°to know what the newest member of the f¡¯ around and find out club was capable of.¡± Standing in the center of the expansive training room, she dragged her foot against the dusty floor. Feeling, and hearing, bits of dust crack and break apart under her foot, Nyssa looked up to see everyone had settled down in a seat. As far as Nyssa could tell, they were in a slight semi-circle formation, but it was so far it might as well have just been a line of chairs. ¡°You can start whenever!¡± Ryker shouted out while pumping his arm. ¡°We¡¯re looking forward to the show!¡± ¡°What am I supposed to do?¡± Nyssa shouted back while hoping her voice could reach them. ¡°Like, you already saw my most used transformation!¡± ¡°Could you actually come back for now?¡± Angelica apologized while looking down at her clipboard. ¡°Sorry for making you run out there! I¡¯ll ask some questions first. Plus, most of your demonstrations can probably be done here, right? They¡¯re not immediately dangerous.¡± Jogging back while shaking her head to try and shake off the awkwardness, Nyssa came to a stop in front of the entire panel. ¡°Uhm... well, ask away.¡± ¡°Any limitations in what you can transform into?¡± Angelica started off while crossing her legs. ¡°You mentioned fictional and real, yeah? But are there limits to how fictional? And, or other metrics? Such as size and such?¡± ¡°Well, I don¡¯t know, I can usually transform into whatever I feel like. I guess the more out there it is, the more energy it consumes. Especially if I have to supplement energy to uh... survive as the creature. Bigger takes more energy, which I think is obvious. It¡¯s not a debilitating limitation though,¡± Nyssa shrugged before turning to her favorite cat form. ¡°I can also talk in these various forms too.¡± Getting hoisted up by Angelica, Nyssa batted at her with her paws until Angelica murmured a ¡°Hold still. I just want to memorize all the various features you have. Healthy fur. Healthy weight. Very active with the paws.¡± ¡°Haven¡¯t you seen it enough...¡± Nyssa complained from her suspended position in the air. ¡°You¡¯ve come by a few times...¡± ¡°Well, not in this context, I should pay attention to a couple more things now that I¡¯m your teacher.¡± Angelica clarified while setting Nyssa down, ¡°Okay, you¡¯re free to go.¡± Scampering off, Nyssa transformed back into a human as everyone else began clapping. ¡°What a transformation.¡± ¡°Never seen such a cute cat before!¡± ¡°Truly a transformation for the ages.¡± ¡°My STEED!¡± ¡°Shut the hell up, Conrad, don¡¯t make jokes like that.¡± If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. Giving Electra a thankful nod for her chastisement, Nyssa spread her arms to open the floor to everyone to ask questions. Ryker, with his hand shooting into the air, grinned as he was almost hopping out of his seat. Getting permission to talk, he couldn¡¯t help but begin to laugh. ¡°Can you, uh... transform into a goat?¡± ¡°Baaa,¡± Nyssa replied in a normal voice while transforming into a goat. ¡°Satisfied?¡± ¡°That¡¯s why she¡¯s the GOAT!¡± Ryker burst out laughing before falling off his chair. ¡°Sorry, yeah, I¡¯m satisfied.¡± ¡°What are some other go to transformations you have?¡± Titus asked with a curious smile. ¡°Or is it the cat only?¡± ¡°I mean... some of them are kind of weird...¡± Nyssa coughed into her hand. ¡°Let me think of some of the more normal ones.¡± Doing a quick demonstration, Nyssa paused on each of them long enough for Angelica to take notes on whatever she wanted to write down before shifting to the next. First was a phoenix, then a unicorn, then a moose, then a bear, and so on it went. As the transformations went on, Nyssa noticed how they became more and more mundane¡ªespecially as she mixed in a few requests from the audience. ¡°What are some completely fictional ones then?¡± Angelica asked as she checked the time. ¡°Well, the first one that really clued in my dad was uh... this one,¡± Nyssa explained before transforming into a five headed chicken. ¡°I called it the Hydra chicken and he... erm... didn¡¯t like it as much as I did back then.¡± ¡°I can see why...¡± Albion trailed off as his seat iced over. ¡°It¡¯s a little unsettling to have five chicken heads speaking at once.¡± ¡°I... see, I think I remember hearing about this,¡± Angelica got out of her seat. Crouching down to take a closer look, she scrutinized the hydra-chicken from all sides. ¡°Nothing too out of the ordinary though, especially since this chicken is so small.¡± ¡°I mean, yeah, what made him sit down and talk to me was a different one...¡± Nyssa transformed back into a human while tapping her chin. ¡°I don¡¯t like using it though nowadays since I find it disorienting. It¡¯s just so far from humans.¡± ¡°Can you show it to us for a second? Or would you rather not?¡± Angelica asked while patting Nyssa on the shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s definitely fine either way, since he mentioned you don¡¯t need explicit training from me.¡± ¡°I might as well,¡± Nyssa shrugged, ¡°I¡¯ll go a little farther since this one¡¯s a little dangerous. Do you have any uh... protection you all can hide behind?¡± ¡°... No?¡± Celeste piped up for the first time in a while, ¡°What type of animal are you transforming into...? We can get up and be alert on our feet though? Unless it''s really serious, then we¡¯ll use the observing room instead.¡± ¡°You¡¯ll see for the animal, I don¡¯t think it¡¯s that dangerous, I¡¯ll just adjust the energy beams to be weaker, I¡¯d still recommend getting on your feet though,¡± Nyssa looked away before transforming into a raven and flying to the center of the room. ¡°Energy beams...?¡± Conrad asked as he, along with the others, got up out of their seats. ¡°Any ideas, Celeste? ¡°Don¡¯t ask me, I¡¯m not the ¡®energy beam expert,¡¯¡± Celeste raised her hands. ¡°I¡¯m just as confused as you are.¡± ¡°You literally are the energy beam expert though.¡± Albion mused while moving past them two to get to a more secluded area. ¡°I¡¯m going to stand farther so I don¡¯t die or something from a stray beam.¡± ¡°Alright, whenever you¡¯re ready!¡± Angelica shouted out to Nyssa. ¡°Okay! So, uhm... for some context!¡± Nyssa shouted back while doing some stretches. ¡°I had a weird obsession with heads and unicorns at that time!¡± Ignoring everyone¡¯s confused murmurs, Nyssa took the moment to transform into a huge, floating ball of unicorn heads pointing in every direction. With the plethora of heads facing in every direction, each head blinked and looked around on its own before all the heads opened their mouths at once. An instant later, high¡ªwell, now adjusted to be low¡ªpowered energy lasers came shooting out from each unicorn¡¯s mouth. With everyone scrambling to dodge the lasers, a collective sigh of relief filled the room as Nyssa stopped as soon as she began. ¡°What the hell was that...?¡± 10: The Journey People Take for ‘Romance’ Stopping as soon as she began, Nyssa transformed back into a human while patting her chest. Jogging back over, she let out a long sigh. ¡°Sorry I¡¯m not as used to spreading my consciousness over so many entities as I used to be.¡± ¡°Used to be?¡± Angelica asked while combing her hand through her hair. ¡°It seemed to go quite smoothly to me.¡± ¡°Yeah, at one point I was pretty comfortable doing it,¡± Nyssa tapped her chin. ¡°I feel like you can see it with the amount of ungodly headed creatures I dreamt up while I was young.¡± ¡°I can... see that,¡± Ryker shook his head while hugging his own body. Playing up the drama, he threw his head back. ¡°I was in so much danger! The danger! Heaven bless me!¡± ¡°Shut the hell up, Ryker,¡± Electra groaned while getting back into her seat. ¡°Where do your clothes go, Nyssa? Your outfit looks the exact same as it did pre-transformation.¡± ¡°They all get stored into my necklace,¡± Nyssa pulled it out from under her shirt. ¡°I don¡¯t know how it works, but dad gave it to me when I first started transforming. I guess he didn¡¯t like me running around naked once I transformed back into a human...¡± ¡°A very smart move,¡± Angelica noted while taking a closer look at the necklace. Making a note to herself to ask Kaiser about it the next time she met with him, she flipped the papers back down on the clipboard. Covering Nyssa¡¯s check-up with the others, she stored her clipboard in her bag before motioning for everyone to gather around. ¡°Okay, I¡¯m sensing a bit of fatigue in the room though, yeah?¡± With everyone nodding, she nodded as well. ¡°Me too, friends, me too. So, what are you all in the mood for this afternoon? We¡¯ll try and dive into some more... actual training starting tomorrow or the day after. We¡¯ll ease back into it, sounds good?¡± ¡°Sounds good to me,¡± Ryker cheered as he slung an arm over Electra¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Want to spar with me, Electra?¡± Replying with an ¡°Only if you do a workout with me first,¡± Electra nodded and walked off with Ryker after he agreed. Picking up their chairs as they left, they said goodbye to Angelica before the doors closed behind them. ¡°What... now then,¡± Nyssa murmured to herself as she looked around. Angelica, by now, had somehow already picked up all of the other chairs, so she couldn¡¯t help there. Celeste, on the other hand, the person she was closest to so far, was talking to Conrad. Hesitant, Nyssa took a few slow steps and slid up next to Titus and Albion. Staying quiet as the two made some idle conversation, she waited a couple seconds until there was an opening in the conversation. ¡°S-So... hi, yeah, uhm, how are you two?¡± ¡°Doing quite well today,¡± Titus chuckled while shifting his body to make a triangle with Nyssa and Albion. ¡°Albion?¡± ¡°Fine enough,¡± Albion murmured while sitting on a desk. ¡°I¡¯m tired as hell. How are you, Nyssa? Enjoying your first day?¡± Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°It¡¯s been great!¡± Nyssa gave a double thumbs-up as she looked over towards Celeste. ¡°I was gonna ask Celeste if she wanted to go get some milk tea with me, but she seems busy.¡± Answering with an ¡°Oh I¡¯m sure she¡¯d love to,¡± in the driest voice she¡¯d ever heard, Nyssa just tilted her head as he followed it up with a ¡°Nevermind.¡± ¡°We were thinking of going in that direction too,¡± Titus changed the topic with an awkward smile. ¡°Albion has a crippling ice cream addiction, so mind if us three tag along?¡± ¡°No, of course not!¡± Nyssa nodded before furrowing her eyebrows. ¡°Crippling? And by three you mean Conrad too, yeah? Or is there someone else I¡¯m just blind to...¡± ¡°Just Conrad, yeah. I don¡¯t know, he¡¯s a fine person even if he¡¯s... awkward. And, I¡¯ll have you know my relationship with ice cream isn¡¯t one of a crippling addiction. I can quit at any time. I¡¯m totally in control of my ice cream eating habits,¡± Albion shrugged while a yawn slipped through his lips. Clearing his throat, he checked the time. ¡°How long are they going to keep talking?¡± ¡°Well, it might be a while,¡± Nyssa trailed off while shifting from foot to foot. ¡°They seem very close after all.¡± With both Titus and Albion immediately snorting and doubling over while trying to suppress a flurry of laughs, Nyssa looked around while trying to soothe them. ¡°D... Did I say something?¡± ¡°We¡¯re just admiring your optimism,¡± Albion wiped a tear from his eye. ¡°If the world was filled with people like you, I¡¯m sure we¡¯d be in a utopia by now.¡± ¡°Ah, youthful optimism,¡± Titus also wiped a tear from his eye. ¡°Trust us, Nyssa, Conrad and Celeste... don¡¯t have the closest relationship.¡± Just as Titus¡¯s words left his mouth, Nyssa watched as Celeste pat Conrad on the shoulder. With the most awkward, fake smile in the world on her face, Celeste nodded a few times and gave Conrad a thumbs-up. Jogging over to Titus, Albion, and Nyssa, she picked up her bag as she made her way over. ¡°Ha... ha, hey friends, how are you two? Nyssa! Hey~ Nice to see you, want to uh...¡± ¡°I was thinking we could go get some milk tea together?¡± Nyssa trailed off as she felt her voice hitch. ¡°I-If you have time of course.¡± ¡°I¡¯d be honored!¡± Celeste laughed. Grabbing Nyssa¡¯s hand, she pulled her forward and out of the classroom. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± Dragging Nyssa along until they had made a few turns outside of the classroom, Celeste slowed down and let go of her hand once they had descended down the stairs. ¡°Sorry, my situation with Conrad is... kind of complicated. I just wanted to get out of there.¡± ¡°Understandable,¡± Nyssa bobbed her head up and down as she tried her best to reassure Celeste. ¡°E... Everything alright?¡± ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s fine, I¡¯m not in danger or anything,¡± Celeste sighed while rifling through her bag. Pulling out her water bottle, she took a sip before motioning forward towards the door. ¡°C¡¯mon, we can talk as we walk.¡± ¡°O-Oh sure! Wait... talk about what?¡± Nyssa followed along as Celeste used a window as a mirror to fix up her hair. ¡°About you and Conrad?¡± ¡°I probably should¡¯ve mentioned that, yeah, about the whole situation. Sorry, do you want to hear about it in general? We can always talk about other things,¡± Celeste hid her mouth as a smile danced across her lips. ¡°You¡¯re refreshingly genuine. I hope you know that. Much more so than Conrad.¡± ¡°W... why thank you,¡± Nyssa thanked after a moment of pause. ¡°I mean, I¡¯d be happy to listen to whatever you¡¯re willing to say. It¡¯d be nice to learn about how things were before I came. I¡¯m kind of a weird interloper right now...¡± ¡°No you aren¡¯t~ you¡¯re fine, you¡¯re fine, don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m quite thankful you joined our class,¡± Celeste reassured while pulling Nyssa in for a half-hug. Making her way through the double doors, she paused the conversation for a second to avoid a wet spot before reuniting with Nyssa on the path. ¡°Where to begin though. There¡¯s so much to say. Conrad¡¯s just such a... such a funny fellow.¡± 11: A Protagonist’s Romance Troubles Closing her eyes as the wind blew through her brown hair, Celeste spent a couple seconds sorting through her thoughts. Opening her eyes after a moment, she waited for Nyssa to catch up. Shading her face with a hand, she pulled her jacket a little tighter as another gust of wind swept through the pathway they were on. ¡°Well, to start,¡± Celeste laughed as she saw Conrad, Titus, and Albion a fair distance back also exiting the building. ¡°I want to clarify I have nothing against Conrad. He¡¯s a good guy, but perhaps doesn¡¯t know how to talk to women he¡¯s interested in without getting on their nerves a little.¡± ¡°A... common problem I¡¯ve heard,¡± Nyssa murmured, clasping her hands and doing a short mental prayer to the heavens¡ªshe hoped she didn¡¯t suffer from similar symptoms. After all, her experience in talking to people was quite sparse. ¡°It is quite a problem,¡± Celeste massaged the bridge of her nose. ¡°Anyway, yeah... I¡¯m starting to feel bad for ending the conversation so forcibly earlier. We can go back and join them once I¡¯m done doing this whole explanation if you want.¡± ¡°... S-Sure,¡± Nyssa gave a shaky double thumbs-up while pausing mid-step with her legs spread. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m very awkward. Yes, whatever you¡¯re saying sounds good.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, it¡¯s cute,¡± Celeste laughed while covering her mouth. Looking away and changing the subject before Nyssa could react, she nodded her chin back towards the three boys behind them. ¡°So, before you came.. Well, that¡¯d be before today, so until the end of last term, I spent most of my time hanging out with those three. I¡¯m pretty close with Electra since she¡¯s the girl I''m closest in age to, but well, I¡¯m sure you can kinda guess why I don¡¯t hang out with her too much.¡± ¡°Ryker?¡± Nyssa asked as she moved to the side to pass another group of students. Once the students were past, she leaned in close to Celeste. ¡°Is there something between them?¡± ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure they¡¯ve been dating for a while...¡± Celeste whispered back. ¡°It¡¯s really ambiguous to be honest. Maybe it''s a more complicated relationship? Who knows. Anyway, that¡¯s beside the point. Well, I guess that¡¯s part of the reason why we¡¯re having this conversation. Useful nonetheless, yeah?¡± Watching Nyssa bob her head down once more, Celeste couldn¡¯t help but feel warmth begin to blossom in her chest. A cute mannerism indeed... ¡°Anyway, as I mentioned, I used to just hang out with Conrad and the others,¡± Celeste held open a door for Nyssa as they entered one of the cafes on campus. ¡°And, the thing is, Conrad... How do I say it? Sees a lot of himself in popular media. Especially in things like anime. He has black hair, he has a good backstory, a strong set of powers, and his powers are very game-like.¡± ¡°He has something like a system, right?¡± Nyssa confirmed as she and Celeste walked into the cafe and began perusing the menu. ¡°What are you thinking of getting?¡± ¡°I¡¯m in the mood for a sorbet, but I¡¯m not completely decided yet,¡± Celeste scanned the menu hanging on the wall up above the register. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s like one of those in-game systems. It¡¯s obvious when he uses it at least. Blue and red panels begin manifesting themselves around his eyes as he scans things.¡± If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. With Nyssa already done scanning the menu, Celeste asked for her to wait a second. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯ll wrap up both my ordering choice and this little... anecdote of sorts really quickly. So, he¡¯s an only child unlike Albion and Titus. Both of those two also have sisters, so they have some experience talking to women, but I think I was Conrad¡¯s first female friend so he¡¯s... sort of interpreted it as fate giving him a female lead. Which has then led to his pursuit of me. It just feels a little objectifying at times to be honest which gets on the nerves.¡± ¡°I... see, yeah that¡¯s awkward,¡± Nyssa¡¯s voice quieted down as she saw the three boys come into view. Leaning over and giving Celeste a hug. ¡°Sorry, I don¡¯t quite know what to say. I¡¯m glad he has good intentions as you said.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s the saving grace, otherwise I¡¯d have reported his ass to the administrators,¡± Celeste laughed while returning the hug. ¡°Let¡¯s go order now and not block the doorway.¡± ¡°O-Oh yeah, for... for sure, yeah, totally,¡± Nyssa stammered out as she looked around. Feeling her ears get hot, she felt bad for involving Celeste in such public skinship. ¡°What are you thinking of getting?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just going to get a sorbet, orange flavored though,¡± Celeste tapped her chin as they walked up to the register. ¡°I was thinking about ice cream, but I can get as much as I want from Albion.¡± ¡°As much as you want?¡± Nyssa questioned as the store¡¯s chimes sounded from the three opening the door. ¡°You¡¯ll see,¡± Celeste chuckled as they came to the front of the line and placed their order. Reuniting with the three boys after everyone finished picking up their orders, they moved up to the second floor and took a seat on the balcony. ¡°Why did we choose to sit outside...¡± Titus shivered as he took a sip of his steaming hot coffee. ¡°Especially when we knew Albion was with us.¡± ¡°T-The view and privacy,¡± Conrad¡¯s teeth chattered as he pulled his coat tighter around himself. ¡°I don¡¯t know what you all are talking about,¡± Albion retorted with a dry smile. ¡°I think it''s quite warm right now.¡± ¡°Of course you think it¡¯s warm, you¡¯re the one sapping all of our heat,¡± Celeste shook her head as her heart began pounding to make up for the lost temperature. ¡°Also, Nyssa, see what I meant?¡± ¡°... Yes, I see why Titus said you have a problem Albion,¡± Nyssa murmured while looking up and down the hill of ice cream cups Albion had. He couldn¡¯t even get a tub either! He had ordered a cup of each flavor. ¡°Is this a regular occurrence?¡± ¡°Mhm, it is,¡± Titus nodded with a long sigh. ¡°He¡¯s been doing this since we were children.¡± ¡°I can stop at any time, I¡¯m telling you, I just choose to get this much for my own personal happiness,¡± Albion picked up his spoon. ¡°Now, which to start with.¡± ¡°Perhaps the one that¡¯ll get you to rehab,¡± Titus raised an eyebrow while taking another sip of his coffee. ¡°If you were one of my younger siblings this habit would be gone by now. Then again your older brother and sister have both tried to stop this and have both failed.¡± Nodding along, Nyssa just took in the conversation. She couldn¡¯t help but feel it was a little hard to participate with so many people, but... then, again, she didn¡¯t know what she expected for a first day. It was good enough that she was friends with Celeste... 12: Interclass Dynamics Passing the afternoon with the four Class Zero students, Nyssa returned with them to get her bag. Even though she hadn¡¯t talked too much, she was still quite satisfied with the bonding she had managed to do so far! Of the four, she, without a shadow of a doubt, considered herself closest to Celeste, but among the three boys, she had meshed surprisingly well with Albion. His humor just seemed to always land well... Now, though, the rest of the Class Zero students had returned back to their dorms while Angelica had returned home. Standing alone in the lobby with her bag slung over her shoulder, Nyssa felt like a stranded potato. The sun was setting as its last rose flares dyed the sky a brilliant pink orange hue; yet, she could only see slivers as rolling dark clouds had rolled in and blanketed the sky. With the sound of rain pounding against the tall glass windows, she stood there while staring into space. Posing like a gremlin¡ªwith her arms in a downward ¡®U¡¯ shape and her legs spread wide¡ªfor absolutely no particular reason, she murmured an ¡°Unga bunga¡± to keep herself entertained. In any other situation, this weather would be perfect for a nap! But she was at school, not at home... Plus, she was waiting for father dearest to text her and let her know he was ready to leave. Bright. Wait what? Perking up, she saw as a couple jets of flame blazed to life in the distance. Disappearing as soon as they appeared, the flames were accompanied by the distant sounds of shouting. Both of them, to Nyssa¡¯s dismay, though, came closer and closer. Backing away from the window, Nyssa took a seat on one of the cushioned benches and pulled out her phone while pretending she hadn¡¯t seen anything. Concentrating for a moment, she transformed her hair into a shorter, shoulder-length cut from its usual waist length and changed its color from white to black. Caution never hurt anyone, after all. ¡°WO~OW, that¡¯s a lot of rain,¡± A gray-haired boy shouted as he walked through the automatic double doors. Wiping his shoes, he threw his bag forward onto a nearby bench. With another mint-haired girl following suit behind him, she dried her shoes before also tossing her bag onto the nearby bench. ¡°So, who are you?¡± The boy asked while taking a seat next to Nyssa. ¡°I haven¡¯t seen you around. You one of those Class Zero students?¡± Blinking as she tore her eyes away from her phone, Nyssa pressed her lips into a thin line as she scooted just a little away from the boy. A little apprehensive after hearing how the boy phrased his question, she shook her head. ¡°N-No, just... just taking shelter from the rain...¡± ¡°Ahh, us to, us too,¡± The boy leaned back while laughing. ¡°Sorry, I¡¯m just making some conversation while my friend uses the restroom, but nice to meet you. I¡¯m Troy.¡± Nodding back and giving Troy a fake name in reply, Nyssa made no effort to continue the conversation. Itching to pull out her phone and pretend to get a call from her father, she resisted the urge as Troy, with boundless amounts of energy, carried the conversation on his own. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°I don¡¯t know, it¡¯s always nice to see new faces around,¡± Troy put his hands behind his head. ¡°I¡¯m nineteen so I¡¯m about to enter the graduate division, but I¡¯m glad I¡¯ll still be able to stay around and just... see the youth.¡± Keeping her mouth shut, Nyssa couldn¡¯t help but retort in her head. It was a weird line, but okay. He hit her with ¡°youth¡± in the same way someone twenty years older might say it... ¡°And, just a secret between you and me,¡± Troy leaned forward and whispered in her ear. ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re not one of those Class Zero people.¡± ¡°Hm? Why?¡± Nyssa tilted her head as the urge to ask clawed its way out of her throat against her better judgment. ¡°Well, okay, nothing wrong with them, but,¡± Troy looked around to make sure there was no one else in earshot. ¡°I just think there¡¯s nothing special about them. Us Class One students have just as much potential as them. They don¡¯t need a whole building for themselves.¡± ¡°I thought, uh... wasn¡¯t it something about powers with high destructive potential? Or something?¡± Nyssa asked, trying to toe the line without exposing herself. ¡°Sorry I¡¯m a new student so uhm... I¡¯m not too familiar with it all.¡± ¡°You¡¯re totally fine!¡± Troy laughed while patting her on the shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it so much, your pretty face will get wrinkles. These are just some ramblings from an older student. To be more specific about what I¡¯m trying to say though, the class is defined as people with powers that have high destructive potential, especially in cases where the powers can go out of control and cause destruction.¡± As if he had just delivered the most ground-breaking dissertation in the history of mankind, Troy just spread his hands. ¡°To me, that just sounds like excuses. You can¡¯t control your powers? Here, let¡¯s give you a bunch of bonus privileges. Backward isn¡¯t it?¡± Raising his hand, Troy flexed his fingers as a column of fire shot out from the palm of his hand. Nyssa, on the other hand, seeing a column of fire appear right in front of her face, backed off in panic. ¡°Ah, sorry about that,¡± Troy extinguished the fire with an apologetic smile. ¡°But, I just want to share that I¡¯ve always been among the top Class One students. Because of that, I used to think I deserved to be Class Zero, especially when Titus got admitted. What¡¯s so special about him?¡± Shrugging while rolling his eyes, Troy ignored Nyssa and kept talking. ¡°I think, personally, we¡¯re just as good as those Class Zero weirdos. You¡¯ll see in the class tournament later this year, we¡¯ve been training our asses off!¡± ¡°I¡¯m done, Troy,¡± The girl walked out from the bathroom. ¡°Want to get going?¡± ¡°Ah, sure!¡± Troy smiled while pushing himself up off the cushioned bench. ¡°Anyway, what I¡±m trying to say is don¡¯t feel bad you¡¯re not in Class Zero. Everyone at this school has their own merits. Your position doesn¡¯t matter. Your work will define you.¡± Picking up his and the girl¡¯s bag, Troy gave Nyssa a mock salute before walking off. Now carrying both of the bags, he laughed as the girl tried to take hers back before running off. ¡°I¡¯m going to hold both, you can¡¯t make me! Let me do something for you!¡± Watching the two disappear and turn a corner, Nyssa couldn¡¯t help but sit there in silence for a couple minutes. He was... unique to say the least. Troy was a name she wanted to remember. Interesting. A bit of a conflicting vibe she had gotten from him. He was well-intentioned... probably? Had a wholesome, supportive message, for sure. But there were also a few too many creep vibes mixed in there... Feeling her phone buzz, she looked down to see the long awaited text from her father had finally arrived. Picking up her bag and walking off, she took the same breezeway from the morning as she made her way back towards the administrative building. With the rain still slamming against the windows, Nyssa¡¯s quiet steps echoed through the hallway as she stared out into the now-dark sky. Maybe this was a situation to ask her father about... 13: Home Sweet Home, Nap Lovely Nap Returning home with Kaiser, Nyssa couldn¡¯t help but feel a sense of relief wash over her as she reunited with him. He was... safety. The person she knew the best. Staring out the window while mulling over her thoughts on the car ride home, she debated whether or not to ask him about his thoughts on the situation. ¡°Something on your mind?¡± Kaiser asked as the car accelerated forward after a stoplight. ¡°I¡¯m free to talk about whatever, as you know.¡± ¡°Yeah... I don¡¯t know,¡± Nyssa sighed as she propped her chin up. ¡°Maybe we can talk during dinner?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Kaiser pat Nyssa on the shoulder. ¡°Same as usual? I¡¯ll work out and you can have some free time before we cook together? If you¡¯re too tired from school though, I can cook.¡± ¡°No, no! I¡¯m totally fine with cooking as well,¡± Nyssa laughed before thanking Kaiser for the offer. ¡°The usual works, I¡¯m just going to take a nap so wake me up when you¡¯re ready to start cooking.¡± ¡°Sleepy as always I see,¡± Kaiser joked while keeping his eyes on the road. ¡°Didn¡¯t get your daily five naps in?¡± ¡°No... only one,¡± Nyssa shook her head. Feeling Kaiser slow down for another red-light, she took a moment to thank the heavens for Kaiser¡¯s much safer driving style in the rain before returning to her zoned scenery-viewer mindest. Rain was made of water... yes... --- Once home, Nyssa felt her priorities, thoughts, and humanity fly out the window as she transformed into a cat and wandered to the cat bed next to the heating vent. Having also put a space heater there long ago, she turned it on before snuggling up. Drifting off to sleep, she felt the warm lull of dreamland call to her once more. Back in heaven, she only stirred from her slumber as hand rubbed her stomach. Blink. Blink. ¡°... Good morning?¡± Nyssa murmured as she sat up. Still in a cat form, she drew an almost unnatural image. ¡°No, good evening,¡± Kaiser answered with a towel draped over his neck. ¡°I just finished a shower, want to come cook?¡± Escaping from her warm corner of sleep heaven, Nyssa transformed back into a human before realizing she was still in her school uniform. ¡°Give me a couple minutes to wake up and change. I¡¯ll be out in a second.¡± ¡°Sounds good,¡± Kaiser patted her on the shoulder before standing up. Making his way to the doorway, he turned back towards her while cracking open the door. ¡°I¡¯ll start prepping the ingredients. So, take your time.¡± Closing the door behind him as he left, Kaiser left Nyssa to sit alone in her room and wake up a little. Nyssa, moving to sit on her bed, yawned as she rubbed her eyes. Her nap did not feel restful enough. They never did... Staring off into space for a minute or two, she spent the time digesting the fact that she was, in fact, actually alive and awake. Pulling off her school uniform she changed into a warm set of thick clothing. It wasn¡¯t the prettiest, but it got the job done, and who cared about looks when she was at home anyway? The all-gray outfit ruled! Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Grabbing a pair of socks, Nyssa began doing the weird hop in the middle of her room while trying to pull them on. Succeeding after a couple minutes of stubborn hopping, she made her way out of her room and towards the kitchen. The house was... small. Which was nice. Dearest papa was quite rich, but he didn¡¯t have many material needs. So beyond an expansive, underground home gym, their house was still quite modest. Sliding her feet against the wooden floor like an ice skater, she turned the corner with world-class elegance and speed before tripping over absolutely nothing. Face planting, Nyssa picked herself up with an awkward cough before deciding to walk along like a normal person. Arriving in the kitchen with a nonchalant slide through the doorway, she ignored Kaiser¡¯s raised eyebrow. ¡°What are we making tonight? Also, I¡¯m not too hungry so no need to take out so many ingredients...¡± ¡°Ah, Slade¡¯s coming home tonight. I¡¯m thinking of some steak? Any thoughts? I¡¯ll have some lighter dishes as well if you¡¯re not feeling it,¡± Kaiser pointed to his phone. ¡°Did you not see the text from your brother?¡± ¡°... No,¡± Nyssa murmured while pulling her phone out of her pocket. Skimming the texts, she shrugged, nodded, and put the phone on the counter. ¡°I see... Well, I¡¯m glad he¡¯s coming back! Woot woot, we can gossip about Roxanne then. Since she doesn¡¯t text me that much these days.¡± ¡°Indeed, it is nice he¡¯s paying us a visit. He¡¯s wrapped up an extermination mission recently, and since he missed the holidays, I think that¡¯s why he¡¯s coming back,¡± Kaiser chuckled while preparing a seasoning. ¡°Would you like to chop the vegetables I laid out by the cutting board over there?¡± ¡°Sure!¡± Nyssa bobbed her head up and down a couple times while making her way over. Rolling up her sleeves, washing her hands, and tying her hair back, she pulled open the drawer to grab a chef¡¯s knife as the sound of the front door opening made its way into the kitchen. ¡°Slade! We¡¯re over here in the kitchen! Welcome back though!¡± ¡°Nyssa!¡± Slade laughed. ¡°Give me a second, I¡¯ll be right there!¡± One ¡®clunk¡¯ later, as he tossed his shoes onto the ground beside the rack, Slade and the sound of his hurried footsteps made their way through the hallway. Doing a slide through the doorway not dissimilar to the one Nyssa did moments prior, he spread his arms as he came through the doorway. ¡°Nice to see you two! I come bearing gifts! These are to make up for missing the holidays!¡± ¡°Oh, wow, thank you,¡± Kaiser¡¯s eyes widened as Slade came over and gave him and Nyssa a hug. ¡°Just put them in the living room for now, we can open them after dinner.¡± ¡°Sounds great to me,¡± Slade chuckled while making his way over to the living room area. Setting his bags down onto the couch, he walked back and took a seat by the island in the center of the kitchen. ¡°So~ how are you two? I heard that a certain someone started their first day at the Luminary Institute today!¡± ¡°I did! It was... it was interesting,¡± Nyssa nodded as she focused on not slicing her fingers off. ¡°Angelica¡¯s a really nice teacher!¡± ¡°Angelica, huh,¡± Slade murmured before shrugging. ¡°I can¡¯t quite comment on that part really. She got that position long after I left... Oh how time flies, listening to you having her as a teacher makes me feel so old.¡± ¡°Just think about how I feel,¡± Kaiser shook his head. ¡°She went from coming over to hang out with Roxanne to now being one of the teachers under me to... well, teaching one of my children.¡± ¡°Yeah, now that you mention it, that is kind of crazy,¡± Slade laughed while tapping his lips. ¡°She is, what, four years older than me? Same year as Roxanne, right? But now she¡¯s teaching Nyssa! I mean, perhaps that speaks more towards the huge gap you had between adopted children two and three.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t expect to ever adopt more than you two,¡± Kaiser raised his hands as he paused mid-seasoning of the steak. ¡°You all know the complicated situations back then.¡± ¡°True...¡± Slade trailed off before standing up. ¡°Anyway, let¡¯s change the topic. Nyssa, why don¡¯t you tell us a little more about your day? And, what can I do to help?¡± 14: Evening Catchup Recounting the various events and conversations of the day, Nyssa answered each of Kaiser and Slade¡¯s questions to the best of her ability. She found it comfortable too, they didn¡¯t ask anything too invasive which was always a plus. Slade, now helping her cut the vegetables in a two-man industrial manufacturing line, had also helped her speed up her work by many times. Once the main part of the day was done though, Nyssa hesitated as she got to her conversation with Troy. The two of them, seeing her pause, just stayed silent and let her work through her thoughts while continuing their various cooking endeavors. This pause, Nyssa felt, was the most invaluable part of her family. They... really understood how much of a social trainwreck she was. Instead of a social butterfly she was more of a social caterpillar¡ªand they accommodated her for that... Thanking and blessing the heavens once more for their kindness, Nyssa decided to just say it. Sure, the whole situation didn¡¯t feel right, but there probably wasn¡¯t going to be a perfect situation ever either. Slade was in winter clothes, Kaiser was in a muscle shirt with a towel still draped over his neck post-workout, and she herself was still fighting the lullabies of sleep to keep control of her consciousness. Everything was a little mismatched, but it was her family nonetheless. Describing her whole conversation with Troy in as much detail as she could recall, she didn¡¯t notice as her vegetable cutting speed dropped off a cliff. Shrugging as she got to the end of her story, she paused before resuming her vegetable cutting journey. ¡°Aha, the classic,¡± Slade laughed while taking a sip of water. ¡°I ran into these types plenty during my time at the Luminary Institute. Granted, I was more ingrained in the Institute than you. Roxanne probably had it worse than me though.¡± ¡°Yes, it is a sentiment quite uniform across all eras of the academy,¡± Kaiser agreed while searing a steak on the pan. ¡°Even before I took over as the headmaster, there have been issues regarding this as well.¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t worry about it too much,¡± Slade chuckled while leaning over to nab a bit of a vegetable with a mischievous grin. ¡°The message is true, one-hundred percent. All of the classes at the Luminary Institute are tailored quite nicely towards getting people a job that fits them in the future. In fact, in my team right now, I work with a fair amount of people from each of the classes.¡± ¡°It¡¯s just that people from lower classes are often dissatisfied with the lack of immediate prestige they get...¡± Kaiser shook his head. ¡°Yet, we allocate resources accordingly to meet all the students¡¯ needs to the best of our ability.¡± ¡°Also, they¡¯re probably just a little delusional. In my time there wasn¡¯t a single person in Class One who should¡¯ve been in Class Zero,¡± Slade explained while tapping his chin. Turning towards Kaiser he shrugged. ¡°Dad, are people moved much?¡± The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°One in my time at the academy,¡± Kaiser shook his head. ¡°An interesting case where more powers manifested later though. To be honest, addressing this issue isn¡¯t much of a priority among the administration. Very few people are in the lucky position to even feel this way. Only ten each year among the Class One students. A small subset in the grand scheme of things considering maybe half of them will actually end up with those types of feelings.¡± ¡°And it''s those who aren¡¯t as successful usually,¡± Slade shook his head. ¡°We can talk more about it later, let¡¯s focus on getting this meal done. I¡¯m feeling the hunger pangs ricochet around my stomach.¡± With murmurs of agreement coming from both Nyssa and Kaiser¡ªespecially since Kaiser had just finished a grueling workout¡ªthe three of them focused up and finished cooking dinner while Slade went through and updated them about what he had been up to over the past several months. Plating the food and bringing it to the dinner table, the three of them set the table and sat down. Slade, having participated in very few interesting activities over the past several months, finished catching both of them up. ¡°That reminds me, Dad, do you still want me to come to the school and give a talk? I¡¯m free for the next couple weeks so if we can squeeze something in I¡¯d be down.¡± ¡°Oh, really?¡± Kaiser raised his eyebrows. ¡°Perhaps Nyssa agreeing to come to the institute has been its lucky charm. Roxanne let me know yesterday that she was also able to come visit the students in two months.¡± ¡°She really copied me before I even decided on it, what an underhanded tactic to be first,¡± Slade huffed with a smile tugging at his lips. ¡°Great minds think alike then.¡± ¡°Wait, that reminds me,¡± Nyssa perked up and changed the topic with a quick apology, ¡°Do you know why Roxanne doesn¡¯t respond to my texts as often as of recently? I feel like I haven''t heard much about what she''s... up to.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Slade waved his hand while covering his mouth to let out a burp. ¡°Pardon me. Anyway, yeah, it¡¯s just that she¡¯s back in the general area for the first time in a while. So she¡¯s been spending as much time with Angelica as possible.¡± ¡°Oh. Yeah. Should¡¯ve expected that.¡± Nyssa shook her head as a robotic tone slipped out from her mouth. ¡°Alright, yep, that¡¯s the end of that thought. I don¡¯t want to think about my sister being with my new teacher...¡± ¡°Yeah, maybe don¡¯t do that,¡± Slade lamented with a few sympathetic pats on the back. ¡°You think she¡¯ll come back to grab a meal one of these days?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll try and get her to come back soon for a meal. Even if it requires a little bit of stern talking to. I think it¡¯d be quite nice to see her in-person again. Perhaps for one of the spring holidays? One that you have off, Nyssa?¡± Kaiser proposed while cutting his steak. ¡°Wait, wait, wait,¡± Slade interjected with a faint grin. ¡°Make sure to count me in. I¡¯d love to see her too, it¡¯s been a hot minute since we¡¯ve last exchanged blows. Both physical and verbal. I¡¯d like to see how I match up to her these days.¡± ¡°Ohh, that¡¯d be interesting,¡± Nyssa took a sip from her cup as a faint grin spread across her lips. ¡°Could I try and spar with you two a bit too?¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Slade laughed while pointing a pair of finger guns. ¡°You better be prepared for my best though. I won¡¯t go easy on you!¡± ¡°Trust me, I¡¯ve been practicing with Dad, you can¡¯t be worse than him,¡± Nyssa grumbled while pushing some of her food around. ¡°It feels like a team of chiropractors used me as a practice dummy every time I''m done sparring with him.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s what you signed up for,¡± Kaiser just chuckled while sipping from his glass of wine. 15: Morning Troubles Passing the rest of the evening with Kaiser and Slade, Nyssa was overjoyed when she opened her presents. Slade, having brought a set of workout clothes for Kaiser, bought Nyssa her dream presents: Sleep items! To start, there was a cat bed to add to her already expansive collection of napping spots. As for her actual human bed, he had gotten her a new pillow, a new set of sheets, and a new set of silk woven pajamas! Heaven on earth... Yet, with the first day of school¡ªand her severe lack of naps¡ªwearing on her though, she headed off to bed not long after the presents were opened and presented. Of course, she wanted to talk longer to the two of them, especially Slade since he hadn¡¯t come home for a while, but the magnetic attraction between her bed and her ass was just... too strong to resist. Having annoyed Slade and Kaiser with that imagery once more, she scampered off to bed before the two could retort. Bed dearest! She was coming! She was on her way! --- The next morning. Groggy. Eugh... she was so groggy. She wasn¡¯t built for a life outside of the warm comforts of her bed... Lamenting her life choices, Nyssa slid out from under her pile of blankets and onto the ground. One shiver up her spine later, she reached for her sock drawer. Deciding to pull on a warm pair of socks for the day, she spent a few seconds groping around the interior of her sock drawer to find the perfect pair. Once the socks were found, she grabbed her uniform and put on each piece one-by-one before grabbing a jacket. If only she had a ¡®star engine¡¯ in her chest, maybe then she could leave her bed for extended periods of time... Combing through her bag to ensure all her school materials were inside, she nodded in satisfaction before slinging it over her shoulder. Meeting up with Kaiser, she grabbed a small cup of yogurt for breakfast before heading to the doorway. With Slade still asleep, she and Kaiser slipped out through the front door like a pair of assassins so as to not wake him up. Clambering into the car, they made their way out and back towards the school. ¡°Do you think I should start living in the dorms?¡± Nyssa asked while staring out of the window with a long yawn. ¡°All the others do, right?¡± ¡°Many of them split their time between the dorm and their house. Most live quite close by after all. Though some are always in the dorm.¡± Kaiser answered while keeping his eyes on the road. Plus, with the roads still quite wet, his driving was much safer than the morning before. ¡°I¡¯d ask them for more details though. I¡¯m not very informed.¡± ¡°Alright, I will...¡± Nyssa sighed while propping her chin up. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, if you do decide to get a dorm I¡¯m sure we have enough space heaters, bedsheets, and cat beds for you to live the same lifestyle you do at home,¡± Kaiser chuckled with the most dad face in the world. ¡°And it¡¯s fine for you to split your time between both.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll think about it,¡± Nyssa nodded before zoning out. That was an issue for ¡®later her.¡¯ For now, she had to wake up and be ready for a day of classes... --- Nyssa yawned as her footsteps echoed down the empty hallway. She held her still-unopened yogurt cup in one hand as she used the other to cover her mouth. Passing through the breezeway between Administrative and the Class Zero building, she squinted her eyes as the blinding light of the morning sun seared an imprint onto her eyeballs. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Closing her eyes¡ªsince they were useless anyway¡ªshe tried her best to navigate through her sense of hearing. One step... Two steps. The coast was clear. With her confidence building after each step, her posture began straightening and her steps began lengthening. Her hubris, however, punched her in the gut just a few seconds later. Literally. Having walked into a water fountain, Nyssa crumpled to the ground like a wet square of toilet paper. Curling up on the ground, she clutched her stomach while cracking her eyes open. Turns out, they weren¡¯t so useless after all. With her yogurt on the ground next to her, she pulled it closer before rolling over. It hurt. It hurt so bad... Swearing to always keep her eyes open while walking, she spent the next minute waiting for the pain to fade. Who designed the water fountain anyway? Sharp corners? While also built like a solid hunk of metal? Sure, it was the classic design honed over¡ªprobably¡ªcenturies of expertise, but in this particular moment, it was horrendous. Was she biased? For sure. Did she care? Not at all. After spending a couple minutes reflecting upon her poor life choices, Nyssa picked herself up and made her way to the classroom¡ªthis time, with her eyes wide open. Sliding the door open with a sad sigh, she looked left, then right, then down as she realized no one was there. Of course. Kaiser had decided to come late on the first day of the term since, well, it was her first day and he wanted to stay with her. Very kind move, by the way. Yet, he couldn¡¯t just come in late every day because he was the headmaster, he had work to do! Thus, they had come an hour before the start of classes... Unlucky. Walking over to a desk by the windows facing the outside, Nyssa plopped her stuff down with a long sigh. Taking a seat, she rifled through her bag for a spoon while tracing her finger along the edge of her war veteran yogurt cup. It had survived a beating over the course of the morning... ¡°... god darn it...¡± Nyssa sighed to herself as her search through her bag had been unsuccessful. Prying open the mouth of the bag with two hands, she looked through it with careful eyes while trying to find her spoon. Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Did her morning grogginess make her forget to bring it? ... At least she had a fork... Shaking her head, she took out the little case her fork was in, took out the fork, and set her bag onto the floor with a glum face. Unwrapping her yogurt cup, she began the long process of eating. ¡°At least it tastes good...¡± Staring off into space as she ate the yogurt, listened to the clock tick second after second as the world fell to a quiet standstill. She had no motivation to pull out her phone, even though watching something while she ate the yogurt would make the pain sting a little less... Sliding down in her seat as she ate her yogurt, Nyssa dismissed every warning Kaiser had given her about indigestion until she was practically horizontal. Spooning the last bits of yogurt into her mouth she laid there with a sad sigh of defeat once she had finished. Prying herself back upward, she made her way to the restroom to wash her fork before returning to the room. The facilities were nice, that was for sure. It was... modern, sleek, and innovative. She could already imagine the commercials! They belonged to a sci-fi movie¡¯s laboratory for sure. Each hallway had windows into the rooms, and each room had windows outside, yet there was just something... unique about it. There weren¡¯t any lightbulbs, which was one thing. Instead, there were lightstrips inlaid with the metal that changed their intensity and color as the day went on. Along with it, large screens acted as interactive directories showing maps of the campus... It also helped though that there were a myriad of plants dotting every area to break up the color and metal though. A splash of green here and there really kept the place... alive. Pun intended. Snickering to herself, Nyssa pat herself on the back before pausing. Slumping back onto the desk in realizing she was now one step closer to her dad, she rested her head against her arms with a long sigh. The scenery and interior design did get boring after a while. She could, after all, only look at the same plant for so long. In fact, how long had it been? Glancing at the clock, Nyssa deflated as she realized it had only been fifteen minutes since getting out of the car... 45 minutes to go? Forty-five? At this rate, she was going to rot before class started... 16: Brain Cell Reduction Celeste felt like her eyes were going to fall out of their sockets. With Conrad, Albion, and Titus deciding to play games together into the wee hours of the morning, the number of hours she had slept fell far below average. Plus, having to listen to the three guys cuss each other out for hours just... didn¡¯t help. It felt like the fastest way to lose brain cells and she felt they, more than anything else, had grinded away at her. She had woken up early too. Against her will of course. Her body had just decided to revolt. Trudging along towards the classroom after having cut her losses and prepared for the day early, she was hoping someone else was there... Maybe Electra? Though, more likely she was getting in an early morning workout... Climbing the stairs, Celeste rounded the corner and slid the door open. Freezing mid-door slide as she noticed a certain sleeping girl, she tiptoed into class while inching the door shut behind her. Making her way through the maze of desks, she set her bag down on the desk next to the girl¡¯s before taking a seat. Unsure as to whether she should wake up Nyssa or not, she ended up sitting there for a while in silence while twiddling her thumbs and scrolling on her phone. As someone who was tired herself, she understood the glory of getting a nap in¡ªand Nyssa seemed especially in tune with this particular joy. With class starting in fifteen minutes though, no one else had shown up. Yet, Celeste knew people would come trickling in any minute now. Nudging Nyssa, she leaned over and gave her a couple of backrubs. ¡°Good morning Nyssa, sorry to disturb you but you should probably wake up now...¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Nyssa yawned back as she rolled her head over. Rubbing her eyes as a few years came forth from the yawn, she nodded a few times before reaching out and grabbing Celeste¡¯s hand. ¡°You¡¯re very warm...¡± ¡°Indeed I am,¡± Celeste smiled while covering her mouth with her other hand. ¡°If there¡¯s anything you can rely on me for, it¡¯s that.¡± ¡°That¡¯s nice...¡± Nyssa sighed while pressing her face against Celeste¡¯s hand. ¡°I need another space heater at home.¡± ¡°Another? How many do you have?¡± Celeste raised an eyebrow while pinching Nyssa¡¯s cheek. ¡°Also, your cheek is very soft by the way.¡± ¡°I moisturize like I''m trying to drown my skin,¡± Nyssa smiled with a self-satisfied nod. ¡°I only have three in my room right now. One more and it might get too cluttered though.¡± ¡°I-... see,¡± Celeste paused before raising an eyebrow. ¡°Three is quite a lot already. I won¡¯t judge though.¡± Pushing herself back upright, Nyssa peeled Celeste¡¯s warm hand off of her cheek with a sad sigh. ¡°It might be a lot. Well, probably, uh... yeah it¡¯s definitely a lot. I¡¯m just always cold though.¡± ¡°Couldn¡¯t you transform into a warmer person? Or animal?¡± Celeste asked with a curious lean forward. ¡°Well, I could,¡± Nyssa shrugged, ¡°It just feels weird to do those types of things though. I try and not live in a transformation too long to make sure I remember what I look like. Because of that I also don¡¯t do that many humanoid transformations...¡± A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. ¡°Interesting, that¡¯s a... unique problem to have,¡± Celeste tapped her chin. ¡°Have you met anyone else with powers similar to yours? Do they have similar issues?¡± ¡°Yeah, my older sister,¡± Nyssa shrugged, ¡°Uhm, do you know her? I think she¡¯s mildly well-known, Roxanne Ravenstein?¡± ¡°Mildly well-known? Of course I know her, she¡¯s crazy famous these days,¡± Celeste facepalmed while shaking her head. ¡°How could I forget that you¡¯re siblings with her. The entire Ravenstein household is stacked to the nines.¡± ¡°Eh... I guess... I don¡¯t really know the whole hero or hunter side of things though,¡± Nyssa confessed while scratching the back of her head. ¡°I don¡¯t think many people even know I exist.¡± ¡°Yeah, you have a very low-key presence,¡± Celeste agreed while tapping her chin. ¡°There are a lot of famous families, yours definitely is one, but you didn¡¯t make the same splash that Roxanne and Slade did.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t really care to,¡± Nyssa stretched out across the desk with a yawn. ¡°They both wanted to become heroes and hunters, Roxanne more of a hero and Slade more of a hunter. Which is kind of ironic considering they both specialize in the opposite. Anyway, because of that, they both really tried to make a name for themselves at the Institute.¡± ¡°Yeah! They¡¯re both legends,¡± Celeste nodded as an enthusiasm began to burst forth. ¡°Everyone in this class treats them as idols, legends of the F.A.F.O. club. You didn¡¯t have as much of a dream though? What did you spend your younger years doing then?¡± ¡°That¡¯s chill,¡± Nyssa smiled and nodded while a few laughs slipped through her lips. ¡°I¡¯ll make sure to let them know. As for your questions uh... I didn¡¯t really have any big dreams. I just came here to make some friends since I got really lonely over the past half-year. I¡¯ve primarily spent all my time just napping... and sleeping. Also, maybe learning how to sleep better.¡± Pausing as Conrad, Titus, and Albion walked into the room, Nyssa leaned forward. ¡°Actually, also, keep this on the downlow, okay? But last night Slade agreed to come in... soon-ish and do an event with the whole school.¡± Leaning in as well, Celeste felt her jaw drop as Nyssa shared the piece of confidential information. ¡°Wait really? I mean... I¡¯d prefer Roxanne to come over Slade, but Slade is definitely amazing already. I¡¯m not one to complain at all... Soon too?! I swear I¡¯ll keep this secret!¡± ¡°T-Thank you,¡± Nyssa stammered as she was faced with an utterly fascinated and awed Celeste. ¡°It¡¯s not that big of a deal, he just agreed to it during dinner... Also, another thing, Roxanne is apparently coming soon too. Dad and Slade mentioned it. I think I remember she mentioned it during the holidays but I didn¡¯t really care at that point.¡± Falling to her knees and clasping Nyssa¡¯s hand, Celeste¡¯s jaw continued to drop. ¡°R... Really?¡± Flabbergasted, Nyssa could only nod. ¡°I love nepotism...¡± Celeste sighed with a grin. ¡°Life is so amazing. Oh my god. I can¡¯t resist smiling...¡± --- ¡°You¡¯re so toasted, just give up,¡± Albion shook his head while patting Conrad on the back. ¡°Nyssa isn¡¯t even trying.¡± Falling to his knees, Conrad just knelt there with a despondent depression emanating off of him. ¡°It¡¯ll... it¡¯ll work out.¡± ¡°Celeste¡¯s fallen to her knees, have you ever done that?¡± Titus questioned while patting Conrad on the shoulder. ¡°That sounds dirty, why did you say it like that?¡± Albion furrowed his eyebrows. ¡°But yeah, I don¡¯t think you¡¯ve achieved anything close to that level... She¡¯s practically crying from joy!¡± ¡°It¡¯s unfair... I¡¯m not a Ravenstein...¡± Conrad crumpled as his voice quieted down. ¡°She has the power of the entire institute on her side. I bet Celeste is biased towards her because of that.¡± ¡°Severely doubt that,¡± Albion retorted while trying to pull Conrad back up to his feet. ¡°One, you¡¯re rich. Richer than her. Two, you¡¯re kinda a creep and can¡¯t talk to women. Three, you¡¯ve known her way longer. You¡¯ve known Celeste like... for three years now.¡± ¡°Yeah, you¡¯ve honestly got the looks, I don¡¯t know man, just like... stop being so... yeah, I don¡¯t even know what to say,¡± Titus sighed while joining Albion in supporting him back up to his feet. ¡°I believe in you though, you got this. There¡¯s always more time to improve yourself. We¡¯re here for you.¡± ¡°Thanks... I won¡¯t let you down! I have to assemble my super team in the future after all!¡± Conrad hyped himself up while flexing. ¡°Thank you!¡± Albion, raising his eyebrows, just shook his head. ¡°This is exactly why this isn¡¯t working.¡± 17: The Institute’s Rumored Cat Conrad, after a couple moments, recovered from his pseudo-depressive episode. By this point though, Electra and Ryker had also arrived with Angelica right on their heels. Diving into their seats, the two avoided being marked late by just a couple of seconds. With everyone gathered, Angelica launched right into a couple of morning logistical announcements before dismissing everyone to get their daily general education curriculum done. She didn¡¯t have a particular plan for the morning, so her goal was to let everyone get through their mandatory work for the day sooner rather than later. Plus, it¡¯d let everyone go to lunch before the huge lines swamped the cafeteria. Nyssa, wandering off to the same balcony as the day before, grinded through her general education requirements with laser focus. Though she was lazy to no end, for the sake of having more nap time, she could turn it up. So, after close to an entire morning of hard work, her focus paid off as she had an entire hour of free time before the class¡¯s agreed upon meeting time. She was just built different! She could just work faster! She was the type of girl who could make minute rice in fifty-eight seconds! Cheering to herself, she did a random spin on one foot before bowing to an invisible audience. Seconds later, with the sun peeking through the clouds in the sky, she transformed into a cat and leapt onto the table before curling up into a prime nap position. Warmth... Sleep was just so warm... Living it up in dreamland, Nyssa didn¡¯t notice as she rolled around on the tabletop in her sleep. It was this movement though, that caught the eye of a certain eagle-eyed observer from the rooftop: Celeste. Having been sitting against the fence lining the rooftop while working through what she had left, Celeste had noticed a certain white ball of fluff rolling around on the balcony below her. She, as someone who wasn¡¯t driven by an ever-present, primal urge to nap, still had a decent amount of work to get through, but... it was a little easier while watching a cute cat down below her. A few quick snaps of the camera later, and Celeste was recharged. Saving the cute cat pictures to her camera roll, she refocused her attention back to her laptop. Maybe one day if she finished early, she too could take a nap... Napping, however, did cause time to pass like it was water tumbling down a waterfall¡ªwhich meant it passed fast. For Nyssa, her hour of napping disappeared in what felt like a blink of an eye. In fact, considering she had only closed her eyes once, it might as well have been just a blink... Dragged out of heaven by her alarm, Nyssa transformed back into a human and packed her bag before leaving for their meeting place. Leaving her bag, like the day before, she wandered off as yawns clawed their way out of her mouth one after another. Nodding towards Celeste as they bumped into each other near the stairs, she tried her best to keep her head up as they walked. ¡°Sleepy?¡± Celeste asked with a slight laugh, ¡°I can carry you if you want. Though I wouldn¡¯t be able to get you food that way...¡± This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°No, it¡¯s fine,¡± Nyssa covered her mouth as another tear-inducing yawn escaped her mouth. ¡°I need to wake up...¡± ¡°Well, good luck, I believe in you!¡± Celeste cheered as the faint light of amusement danced behind her eyes. ¡°Since we¡¯re all eating separately today, do you want to find somewhere more secluded so you can sleep on me once you¡¯re done eating?¡± ¡°You devil...¡± Nyssa sighed as the urges to nap began clawing at her once more. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t... but now that you¡¯ve proposed it, it really does sound good. I feel bad just using you as a pillow though, isn¡¯t there anything I can do for you?¡± ¡°I... think you underestimate the joy and fulfillment people get from having a cat nap on their lap, Nyssa,¡± Celeste raised an eyebrow while brushing some of Nyssa¡¯s hair back. ¡°It¡¯s an invaluable experience! Especially considering you¡¯re the elusive, yet legendary, Luminary Institute Kitty.¡± ¡°I¡¯m the what now?¡± Nyssa shook her head as alertness returned to her eyes. ¡°Wait what?¡± ¡°Wait, you didn¡¯t know?!¡± Celeste broke out laughing. ¡°There¡¯s even a page online where people will post pictures where they see you...¡± ¡°Holy...¡± Nyssa shuddered to herself. She didn¡¯t mind, of course, it was just taking pictures of a cat. But she hadn¡¯t expected to be so popular! A nightmare indeed for an introvert like her... No wonder so many people gave her treats and took a picture whenever they saw her! Shaking her head, she agreed to Celeste¡¯s proposal as they met up with everyone else. Because Angelica wasn¡¯t tagging along today though, they didn¡¯t do much beyond nod towards each other and walk off in their own little groups towards the cafeteria. Albion, Titus, and Conrad in particular though, were chatting up a storm as they walked down the pathway. Conrad, Nyssa felt, was a miraculous human being. His mood had turned back around and, like any old protagonist, he was over his morning defeat like it had never happened. She was curious about what they were all talking about though. Getting their attention with a few strategic waves, Nyssa couldn¡¯t help but ask. ¡°Anything interesting going on? You three seem to be chatting up a storm.¡± ¡°We¡¯re planning a training... or well, sparring session this afternoon.¡± Albion shared while spreading his hands. ¡°You know, for the challenge.¡± ¡°Challenge?¡± Nyssa tilted her head. ¡°Want to share?¡± Albion turned towards Titus. ¡°Otherwise I won¡¯t say much.¡± ¡°They¡¯ll know soon enough anyway,¡± Titus shrugged while scratching the back of his head. Kicking a pebble on the ground as they walked, he watched it bounce down the path. ¡°Troy wants to challenge me to a fight again. He¡¯s done it at the start of every term.¡± ¡°Troy? Oh... wait... Troy? Pyrokinesis powers?¡± Nyssa tapped her chin as her conversation from the day before resurfaced in her mind. ¡°The one in Class One a year above you?¡± ¡°Yeah! Wait... how do you know him?¡± Titus blinked as a splash of astonishment was clear across his face. ¡°We¡¯re honestly quite close in terms of skill always. He¡¯s just a little... antagonistic per se? But still beneficial. He recognizes it helps both of us so he¡¯s continued to do it year after year.¡± ¡°He¡¯s almost purposefully playing the villain,¡± Conrad tapped his chin. ¡°Perhaps I need someone like that in my life.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know how ¡®playing¡¯ it is...¡± Nyssa raised an eyebrow in worry. ¡°I ran into him yesterday and he seemed to have some strong words about Class Zero. Are you sure it¡¯s not just a pure dislike?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think so, I¡¯ve known him since we were both a lot younger. He got taken in by my family¡¯s pyrokinesis academy before we both came here for further training, so we¡¯re kind of... half-rivals. We¡¯ve never been friends I¡¯d say, but we have a begrudging sort of respect for each other,¡± Titus mumbled while trying to sort through their relationship. ¡°It¡¯s complicated. But, do you two want to come watch, or participate in our sparring session this afternoon?¡± ¡°Alr...ighty, then.¡± Nyssa shrugged before turning back to Celeste. ¡°And, sure, I¡¯m down. How about you Celeste?¡± ¡°Only if I can get some spars in,¡± Celeste smiled while wrapping an arm around Nyssa¡¯s waist. ¡°I have to show off at least once to our new friend, don¡¯t I?¡± 18: It’s Nice To Pet A Cat Who Won’t Bite You The conversation with the three boys ended not long after they decided on the afternoon plans. In particular, the three boys wanted to go to one of the smaller cafeterias, so they split off to... as they said: ¡°Face their own destiny.¡± Deciding to not go along with the boys, Celeste and Nyssa made their way to the main cafeteria, grabbed some food, and left with it to find a more secluded place to eat. Their search, though, placed them back near the Class Zero building. Shading her eyes as they sat outside under the sun, Nyssa poked at her food with her food as a sigh slipped through her lips. She wasn¡¯t... hungry. Her nap had caused her appetite to fall to a minimum. The food looked good though. Drenched in a bowl of broth, pieces of meat decorated a background of rice noodles. Even its seductive aroma did nothing to her slumbering stomach. Sipping from her cup of steaming tea, stared at the food with sleepy blinks. ¡°I¡¯m too sleepy to eat...¡± ¡°You should eat,¡± Celeste squinted, reaching over and booping Nyssa¡¯s nose. ¡°Think about it this way, if you eat quickly, you can nap sooner.¡± ¡°But if I don¡¯t eat, I could also nap sooner. In fact, I could nap right now,¡± Nyssa tilted her chin up while miming a biting motion to chase off Celeste¡¯s finger. A few seconds of pondering later though, she sighed again. ¡°No, you¡¯re right. I¡¯ll eat...¡± Noodles were good... Her monkey brain enjoyed the warm slurping. They were just very soft and very flavorful. What more could she want? Food like this was the one advantage of being human. Cat life was great for napping, for getting random people to dote on her, and for easy stealth travel, but cat food was infinitely worse than human food. As a random plus, the vegetables in her noodle soup tasted amazing for some reason. Maybe because they were fresh? Dismissing her thoughts, Nyssa continued eating while trying to hold a conversation with Celeste. Struggling through the meal, she put her tray of bowls and utensils away before transforming back into a cat and returning to heaven. Snuggling up on the perpetually-warm lap of Celeste, she dozed off within a couple minutes. Celeste, finishing up the last bits of her food, couldn¡¯t help but enjoy herself a little and run her hands through her new lap occupant¡¯s fur. Scratching its chin, she felt her heart flip as Nyssa rolled over and followed her hand. Soft... It was nice to pet a cat she knew wouldn¡¯t bite her. Pulling out her phone, she snapped a couple more pictures before opening the Luminary Institute¡¯s cat page dedicated to Nyssa¡ªnot that anyone knew the white cat was a human. Saving her pictures from the morning to keep Nyssa¡¯s identity anonymous, she posted the pictures she had just taken. People were going to be jealous! She just knew it! It was rare to get Nyssa to come close to you, let alone have her fall asleep on your lap! If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Watching the page blow up with new comments, Celeste grinned and put her phone away. What now though? She was done eating and her plates weren¡¯t going to put themselves away. Yet, she couldn¡¯t quite stand up to put them away due to her new obligation as a pillow... Stuck between two choices, Celeste sat there for a couple minutes before deciding to bunker down and just spent the next hour sitting there. She could put her plates and utensils away later. For now, she could just have as much fun as she wanted with the little kitty on her lap! She really needed to remember it was Nyssa though... Otherwise she¡¯d start cutesy-speaking to her and... well, that¡¯d be both embarrassing for her and a little dehumanizing for Nyssa. Scaring off her newest friend or only seeing her as a cat would be a horrendous situation. Zoning out as she pulled out her phone and scrolled through some social media, Celeste continued to pet Nyssa. Reading through the comments on the cat page, she responded to a couple before returning to social media. Zombie-like scrolling was Celeste¡¯s speciality. Whenever she was stuck in a conversation with the boys and they started talking about... random abstruse topics, she would whip it out. Nothing against them of course, but she really did not care about the newest tank that so and so country had begun to use to fight monsters. Who cared that it used the new impact absorbing what-what armor made of something or another ceramic plates and boom her ears had fallen off at that point. Just as she lamented her past conversations with those three boys, Celeste¡¯s head perked up. Speak of the devil. There they were! Waving them over, she apologized while making a shushing motion. ¡°Why quiet?¡± Titus asked while jogging over with Albion and Conrad trailing behind him. ¡°Oh, I see now.¡± ¡°What¡¯s up? Oh,¡± Albion came to a stop. Grabbing Conrad and keeping his mouth shut, Albion pointed at the sleeping cat on Celeste¡¯s lap while staring at Conrad. ¡°Understand? Yes, okay, we¡¯re gonna be quiet, okay? Understand? Nod twice if you do.¡± Nodding like a bobblehead, Conrad took a seat where Nyssa had been sitting as Titus and Albion filled the other two sides around the square table. ¡°You three were heading back already?¡± Celeste asked while stroking Nyssa. ¡°It¡¯s a bit early isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°We were thinking of checking back in with Angelica early,¡± Albion shrugged. ¡°We could then get down to the training room before Electra and Ryker and begin sparring a little earlier.¡± ¡°Oh, sorry I won¡¯t hold you then,¡± Celeste apologized before pointing down at Nyssa. ¡°I¡¯ll probably be late then to your sparring session.¡± ¡°No, don¡¯t worry. We can hang out here for a bit,¡± Albion checked his phone for the time. ¡°We¡¯re not in a rush anyway. My guy Titus is still going to whoop ass, as usual.¡± ¡°Good... to know,¡± Celeste shook her head as she turned towards Conrad and Titus. ¡°So what¡¯s the schedule for fighting then this afternoon? Are you going to fight anyone other than us three, Titus?¡± ¡°Not sure,¡± Titus murmured. ¡°I want to start hosting more widespread sparring sessions during our afternoons. Especially maybe with Class One people. But they usually have lessons during the afternoon until three or three-thirty.¡± ¡°Plus, we¡¯d need Ryker and Electra¡¯s support in organizing it, we won¡¯t be able to sway the Class One elite with just us,¡± Conrad pitched in. ¡°Oh that¡¯d be interesting, I¡¯d support,¡± Celeste gave a thumbs-up. ¡°Fighting is always fun. Best way to improve as they say.¡± ¡°For sure.¡± Albion agreed as he drummed his fingers against the table. With faint patches of the table being transformed into ice, he unfroze the table in a hurry as Celeste glared at him. ¡°Sorry, habit overtook me.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Celeste shrugged as their conversation shifted. ¡°I¡¯ll just let Nyssa nap a little longer, then we can head back. Are you three okay with waiting with me?¡± ¡°Yeah, we have nothing urgent to do, as you know already.¡± Albion breathed out a faint cloud of mist as he slumped against the table. ¡°Though a nap does look nice... Nyssa looks like she¡¯s in heaven right now...¡± 19: Where’s My Entertainment, Peasants? Stirring from her nap, Nyssa blinked her eyes open only to realize she was being carried downstairs by Celeste. Twisting, she turned to look at Celeste while batting at her chin. A couple seconds later, as Celeste stopped at the bottom of the stairs, she leapt out of her arms and transformed back into a human. ¡°Where... are we?¡± ¡°Near the training hall,¡± Albion yawned as he walked past Nyssa, ¡°You tempted me into taking a nap as well. A life decision I sorely regret.¡± ¡°Why would you ever regret a nap?¡± Nyssa raised an eyebrow while stretching and walking along with the group. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ve ever regretted one in my sixteen years of existence.¡± ¡°Yeah but you¡¯re... different, I think you¡¯ve spent more of your life sleeping than you have spent it awake,¡± Albion shook his head while sliding the door open to the training area. ¡°I, on the other hand, as a normal person with a normal sleep schedule, haven¡¯t.¡± With her brain still too sleepy to think of a response, Nyssa just shrugged as she followed everyone into the training room. It... looked a little different. Instead of having a smooth floor of packed dirt, the room¡¯s floor was pockmarked with scars from Electra and Ryker¡¯s battle. More than anything, the huge craters in several parts of the room made it clear where Ryker had detonated explosions. Grabbing enough folding chairs for everyone from the cabinet, Conrad and Titus laid them out for everyone before walking to the center of the room. Titus, a few steps out, clasped his hands together as a few sheepish chuckles left his mouth. ¡°So... Thank you, everyone for coming. I really need the help to train for my upcoming duel with Troy. As agreed earlier, I think Conrad and I are going first. But I think it¡¯d be nice if we all just took turns fighting and kept this informal.¡± ¡°Sounds good to me, woop, woop,¡± Albion cheered in what felt like the most deadpan tone possible. ¡°Start fighting you two already then. Where¡¯s my entertainment, peasants!¡± ¡°Oh shut up,¡± Conrad snorted as he flipped off Albion. ¡°You¡¯re the next peasant up for dueling anyway.¡± ¡°Wait, should we do a rotating system then?¡± Albion drummed his fingers against the chair''s armrest. ¡°So that no one person has to run the gauntlet. We have five people, so we could do it so the next two people to fight are always resting.¡± ¡°Nyssa, are you okay with fighting?¡± Celeste leaned over, jostling the half-dozing Nyssa from her slumber. ¡°Huh? Ah? Sure, sounds good,¡± Nyssa coughed as she choked on her own spit. ¡°Sorry, yeah, still sleepy... If it¡¯s alright I¡¯d rather not be in the next fight though. I want some time to wake up.¡± ¡°Sure, I¡¯m happy to fight,¡± Celeste rolled up her sleeves while wiggling her eyebrows towards Albion. Spreading her palms, Celeste fell silent to give the floor back to Titus and Conrad. ¡°Any spar rules you two want to establish?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t hit the head?¡± Conrad proposed while draping his blazer on his chair. ¡°I know we¡¯ll all heal from it soon enough, but it just hurts a lot and can be a little disorienting.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine with that,¡± Titus shrugged, ¡°I¡¯m the one with the hammer after all, not you.¡± Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s exactly why I say that,¡± Conrad squinted while pursing his lips. ¡°Oh wait, I should get my sword shouldn¡¯t I? Can we reconvene in a second so I can get my sword?¡± ¡°Damn, look at this man! So unprepared for the fight,¡± Albion shook his head with a disapproving click of the tongue. ¡°You¡¯d be dead by now in the wild. Eaten by monsters. Rest in peace, I¡¯ll write you a good obituary.¡± ¡°If you have so much time then, why don¡¯t you make yourself useful instead of sitting there like a bum,¡± Conrad retorted. ¡°Why don¡¯t you take that go getter attitude and go get us the other stuff we¡¯ll need like a table, towels, and water.¡± ¡°Alright, alright, sure.¡± Albion raised his hands while shaking his hands. ¡°I see you have to resort to asking me. I¡¯d be honored to be your water boy.¡± ¡°You¡¯re practically a literal water boy, anyway,¡± Celeste laughed while covering her mouth with a sleeve. ¡°You do ice stuff.¡± ¡°Oh shut up.¡± Albion shook his head while walking off. ¡°Let¡¯s reconvene in a bit. I¡¯ll change into actual fighting clothes while I''m at it. We can make it a little more official.¡± ¡°Ohh! That¡¯d be fun,¡± Celeste smiled before turning to Nyssa. ¡°Wait, do you have one? A like... costume or any accessory equipment?¡± ¡°I mean... I transform,¡± Nyssa stared back with blank eyes. ¡°I... I can¡¯t use a costume. I just use my necklace to store my clothes.¡± ¡°... Yeah, I should¡¯ve realized that,¡± Celeste laughed while clinging onto Nyssa¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Okay I¡¯ll be right back, you can help Albion or watch our stuff.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll help Albion,¡± Nyssa yawned while pushing herself out of her seat. Transforming into a bird, she flew off as everyone left to do the preparation they forgot to do earlier. --- About ten minutes (and one awkward conversation with Angelica later), the group reconvened. ¡°I can¡¯t believe we forgot to check back in...¡± Titus facepalmed with an embarrassed blush tinting his cheeks. ¡°Sorry about that guys.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry! She... she didn¡¯t seem to mind,¡± Nyssa nodded while trying her best to reassure Titus. ¡°Though now that she knows, do you think she, along with Electra and Ryker will join?¡± ¡°Maybe, probably not for Ryker and Electra, I think they have other plans today already,¡± Celeste shrugged. ¡°I remember asking them if they wanted to hang out and they said they made some plans with some friends from Class One.¡± ¡°Oh, interesting,¡± Nyssa answered as the thought left her mind. She didn¡¯t care too much if they joined, it was just her habit to make some conversation... The Luminary Institute had some fancy training outfits though. Conrad, the most boring, was in what looked like traditional adventuring gear. His sword though, pulsed with the light of technology. What set Conrad apart from the average medieval warrior who¡¯d die of dysentery though were the screens, circles, and random other fancy looking manifestations he had going on around his eyes as his powers were running at full tilt. As a plus though, his tighter clothing revealed very defined muscles A real sleeper build. Of course, everyone was toned, but he was built. The ¡®protagonist¡¯ training style really paid off... Everyone else had cool outfits too though... Celeste was in a classical superheroine outfit, it had some empty lines running across her body, but Nyssa wasn¡¯t quite sure what they did. She¡¯d probably find out soon enough though. Titus was in a tighter tank top made of a sleek material and a pair of baggy pants. They weren¡¯t too special, from a glance, but Nyssa assumed it was some expensive lightweight body armor. In fact, it was almost reminiscent of off-duty firefighter clothing. Last came Albion, his outfit was similar to Conrad¡¯s. There was what looked like traditional armor and easy to move in clothes. On one side though, the sleeve was missing. Instead of being in danger though, Nyssa... wasn¡¯t quite sure what to think. Albion¡¯s entire left third had become ice. His arm was ice, and it covered a decent chunk of his face. He seemed... totally fine, but it was just weird to see living ice. Cool enough though. 20: Rotational Sparring Returning to the training room, they all dragged their chairs to surround the folding table Albion had brought out. On it sat five water bottles, one for each person, along with a first aid kit, some snack bars, and a tablet in case an observer wanted to note or record something. Up first in the sparring order, Titus and Conrad didn¡¯t take a seat and instead walked back to the center of the training room¡ªwhere they had been before Conrad interrupted. Getting into ready positions after putting a chunk of space between them, they looked towards the table for a signal to start. Albion, taking a certain delightful glee in the fact he wasn¡¯t fighting first, elected to act as the judge and raised his hand. Turning his right hand into ice and augmenting its length to make it more visible, Albion paused before swinging his hand downward. Smashing the tip of his ice spike into the ground, he yelled a ¡°Start!¡± before sitting down. Transforming his hands back into flesh, he put them behind his head and kicked his feet up onto another chair. ¡°Now this is the good life.¡± Nyssa, without much to say, just nodded along and gave Albion a quiet thumbs-up before turning her attention to the fight at hand. She could tell both Conrad and Titus were much more... experienced than her. Conrad stalked around the circle of flames gushing out of Titus in liquid-like waves. With his sword unsheathed, he scanned every inch of Titus as his muscles were tensed and ready to leap off in any direction. Titus, on the other hand, was wreathed in flames. His eyes glowed orange as he reached into the pool of fire at his feet. Grabbing clumps of fire, he began shaping them in his hands to form a hammer. The flames, after a couple seconds of shaping, took on a form indistinguishable from any other hammer¡ªwell, other than the fact the head glowed red-hot of course. ¡°Oh, so that¡¯s why he¡¯s in this class...¡± Nyssa murmured to herself as she felt the heat emanate all the way to where she was sitting. ¡°Hammer of Hephaestus, I call upon thee,¡± Titus whispered as his voice, nonetheless, echoed through the room with supernatural force. His protective disk of flames faded as he rushed forward to meet Conrad head-on. Wincing as the sound of clanging metal echoed through the room, Nyssa watched with interest as the two began their duel in earnest. Flames trailed behind each of Titus¡¯s hammer strikes and engulfed Conrad in¡ªwhat she presumed to be¡ªscorching heat. Conrad, though, put his ¡®protagonist¡¯ energy on full display. Rushing through the flames, his aggressive sword strikes met, and even pushed back Titus¡¯s hammer strikes. He was strong, there was no doubt. Titus, like any oldest brother, was strong, but he couldn¡¯t withstand Conrad¡¯s neverending onslaught of pure swordsmanship. One step. Two steps. A leap back. Titus was outmatched. That¡¯s what Nyssa guessed. The supernatural hammer Titus had, though powerful, was a poor match for Conrad and his meticulous style of fighting. Armed with nothing but his body and an unbreakable sword, Conrad stomped into the ground, creating a dent, before shooting forward like a bullet to close the gap. Titus, to his credit, leaned back to let Conrad sail over him, but Conrad¡¯s system had already realized Titus¡¯s intentions long before any physical movement was made. You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author. Grabbing Titus¡¯s hammer midair, Conrad torqued himself midair and flipped behind Titus, and... before Nyssa realized it, the duel was over. Conrad stood behind Titus¡ªwithstanding the flames¡ªwhile holding his sword at Titus¡¯s throat. ¡°I concede,¡± Titus sighed as his hammer, along with flames, dissipated into air. ¡°I can never beat you Conrad.¡± ¡°Yeah, you match up badly against me,¡± Conrad grinned while pushing his hair back. Patting Titus¡¯s back, he walked along with Titus as they made their way back. ¡°Whew, those flames were hot though. If I didn¡¯t spend the break training my heat resistance I don¡¯t think I could¡¯ve lasted through that. Your flames got hotter, didn''t they?¡± ¡°By a decent bit,¡± Titus nodded with a smile. ¡°What type of ridiculous heat resistance do you have to survive the heat of fire like it¡¯s nothing?¡± Activating his system, Conrad scanned his own stats for a second. ¡°Just got it to level nine.¡± ¡°Wild...¡± Titus shook his head. Grabbing his water bottle, he took a long drink before taking a seat. ¡°Who¡¯s up next again? Albion and Celeste, right? Also, hand me the tablet please, we should write down the fights and the results.¡± ¡°One and ¡®O¡¯ baby,¡± Conrad laughed and grabbed his own water bottle. ¡°How does it feel to start the new term ¡®O¡¯ and one, Titus?¡± ¡°It feels fine,¡± Titus smiled, ¡°I learned a little more about hammer combat from that duel so it was worth it.¡± Nyssa too, didn¡¯t feel like the win or loss defined the situation. Well, it was clich¨¦ to say, but she had learned more from the whole spectacle. It was like a hero fighting through a storm of fire! Plus, it gave her some insight into who she¡¯d be fighting later, Conrad. She was pretty sure her first match was against Conrad... if the fight after hers was Albion and Titus, it should be him, right? Dismissing the thought, she refocused to watch Celeste and Albion. Albion, once more, had frozen over half his body. Celeste though, was the more interesting one. She could now hear Celeste¡¯s heartbeat from where she was sitting! Celeste was in the center of the training room! Accelerating, Celeste¡¯s heartbeat became a drum as her own body was forced through ascension. The empty lines on her suit filled with glowing energy as her hair and eyes turned to a translucent, starry look. Floating into the air, she stood back as Albion took his place. Urged to speak by Titus and Conrad, Nyssa stood up and copied Albion. Transforming her hand into a longer, carapace-covered appendage, she raised it up before slamming it against the ground. On the sound of it colliding with the ground, she shouted ¡°Start!¡± Sitting back down and transforming her hand back into her normal human one, Nyssa watched as Titus and Conrad made eye contact with each other before both shivering. Titus, turning back to Nyssa, chuckled and gave her a pat on the shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you didn¡¯t do anything wrong, just... we were a little surprised.¡± ¡°Yeah, no offense, it¡¯s just a little more unsettling than Albion¡¯s ice pike.¡± Conrad pat Nyssa on the shoulder as well. ¡°No, I understand,¡± Nyssa bobbed her head up and down. ¡°I don¡¯t like bugs either, I just couldn¡¯t think of anything else to transform it into.¡± ¡°I hate them too, all''s good though...¡± Conrad trailed off as he turned back to face the fight. Nyssa, taking a mental note of Conrad¡¯s supposed dislike for bugs, also turned back to watch the fight. Go Celeste! Warmth should always beat cold! 21: How A Star Melts Ice From what Nyssa could tell, everyone fighting was holding back a little. Instead of trying to overwhelm each other with power, everyone was, instead, trying to use technique. Of course, she couldn¡¯t say for sure, but that¡¯s what her gut told her. Albion had a body with some pretty crazy physiological changes¡ªit was near freezing and could change into ice, all while seeming normal with all its necessary functions. Given these changes, Nyssa assumed he could cover the entire training room with a layer of ice in his sleep. Now, however, he only froze a pool-sized patch around him. The fight was unfolding with much more acrobatics than the previous one. Albion skated around on ice as he both summoned more ice while also transforming the walls and floor into ice itself. Sending an unending barrage of ice spikes towards Celeste as he skated, he grimaced as nothing he did could land a hit. Celeste, on the other side, chased Albion through the air. Energy blasts lasered their way out from her eyes and from her hands, deflecting and destroying every ice spike sent her way. Occupied by Albion¡¯s neverending attacks, she could only muster up a couple stray shots every couple seconds. Up the walls, along the ceiling, and back to the floor. Albion traced a looping path over every surface of the training room¡ªbar the area where spectators were watching. Waving his hand upward, he summoned a wall of ice to block a stray shot before leaping down from the wall to run along the floor. ¡°He¡¯s stuck, not unexpected,¡± Conrad analyzed as various scanning panels swirled around his eyes. ¡°He can¡¯t hurt Celeste, but he¡¯s using a lot more energy than her.¡± Tilting her head, Nyssa motioned for Conrad to elaborate a little if he could. Conrad, happy to continue talking, began pointing towards fighters. ¡°If you look closely, Albion¡¯s hands are both ice right now. If he could make contact with Celeste, he could end it by turning her to ice, but I¡¯m pretty sure he¡¯d get absolutely blasted by energy beams the moment he got close. I¡¯m quite sure both recognize the situation so Celeste is putting on the pressure by just chasing while conserving energy.¡± ¡°So, Albion needs to do something, but doesn¡¯t have much he can do,¡± Titus summed up with a shrug. ¡°We¡¯ll see, he¡¯ll probably try some deception tactic soon which¡¯ll mark the end of the battle, no matter if he¡¯s successful or not.¡± Settling back down in her chair, Nyssa kept quiet as she watched the battle unfold. It was... just nice to watch. Very colorful. Albion had gone from ice spikes to entire columns large enough to belong in a museum about ancient civilizations. Celeste, on the other hand, kept up her bright energy blasts as she coasted along behind Albion. A couple minutes of colorful, high-speed dueling later, Albion came to a stop. Digging his heel into the ice, he turned and launched himself towards Celeste on a pillar. Before she could respond, he summoned a plethora of other pillars as well. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. One smashed him downward, another pushed him back forward, and over the course of ten seconds he zipped around the floating Celeste. Having surrounded Celeste with a cocoon of pillars, he made a feint forward before traversing downward and leaping upward towards Celeste. Celeste, to her credit though, saw through the feint and whirled around midair. Sending her foot deep into Albion¡¯s side, she blasted him into the wall of the ice pillar cocoon and sent him clean through. Falling towards the ground, Albion converted his entire body of ice. Summoning pillars to carry him away, he tried to to rescue himself to no avail as Celeste rushed forward and grabbed his face. ¡°I concede. I¡¯m not escaping an energy blast to the face.¡± ¡°Whew, you ran for a long time,¡± Celeste floated downward before setting Albion down on the ground. ¡°I¡¯m beat. Good job.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± Albion groaned as he did a couple stretches. ¡°I wasn¡¯t going to beat you head on after all.¡± ¡°Yeah...¡± Celeste agreed while patting him on the back. ¡°Good fight, you match up better against Titus, so good luck for that fight.¡± ¡°Mhm, I don¡¯t mind losing much though.¡± Albion shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m a volume fighter, so I¡¯ll perform better when I don¡¯t have to hold back as much.¡± ¡°True, I don¡¯t have to hold back that much,¡± Celeste walked along with Albion as they made their way back to the table. ¡°Water please!¡± Tossing a pair of water bottles towards the two returning fighters, Nyssa gave Celeste a high-five as she took a seat next to her. ¡°You were very cool! Sorry, I don¡¯t really know what to look for when I watch, but you looked very bright. I like the... show of it all.¡± ¡°I mean, that¡¯s pretty much all there is to it.¡± Celeste leaned back in her seat as a long sigh left her lips. ¡°Damn I¡¯m tired. Albion is in much better shape than I am.¡± ¡°Does your whole star ascension thing not help?¡± Nyssa asked as Celeste¡¯s hair faded back to brown and her eyes cleared up. ¡°Nope, it makes it harder to be honest,¡± Celeste confessed. ¡°I have a lot of raw power right now, but not a lot of control. So it¡¯s like dragging a heavy weight around. Or a super high pressure hose. I don¡¯t know how to describe it, really. But it makes me out of breath really quite quickly.¡± Covering her mouth as she laughed, she flashed a peace sign with her other hand. ¡°I¡¯m glad you thought I was cool though.¡± Answering with an ¡°Of course,¡± Nyssa reached over to grab a sip of water only to notice Conrad motioning towards the training area. ¡°Oh yeah, we¡¯re up next aren¡¯t we?¡± ¡°Indeed we are,¡± Conrad answered as he got up and out of his chair. ¡°We still have a lot of duels left to go though. Especially Titus.¡± ¡°Especially Titus?¡± Nyssa asked as she did a half-jog for a couple steps to get next to Conrad. ¡°This is for him, right? So is he fighting more people?¡± ¡°Yeah, he wants to fight everyone at least once,¡± Conrad stretched his arms while doing a couple basic warm up exercises. ¡°Anyway, we have so much time that everyone can spar to their heart¡¯s content.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m... not much of a fighter, but sounds good to me,¡± Nyssa extended a hand towards Conrad. ¡°Hope we have a uhm... pleasurable spar?¡± ¡°Likewise,¡± Conrad returned the handshake. ¡°Perhaps this can be a duel for her- I mean the heart?¡± ¡°Heart? The? What? Who?¡± Nyssa furrowed her eyebrows as Conrad walked off. ¡°What...?¡± 22: Post-Spar Bonding Time Conrad and Nyssa walked out to the center of the training field. As they walked, Titus took a second to take some notes about Albion and Celeste¡¯s battle before giving the tablet to the two of them. After letting them note down anything they wanted to remember, Titus tapped on Albion¡¯s shoulder while nodding towards the now-ready Nyssa and Conrad. Not long after they took their positions, Nyssa and Conrad were given the ¡°Start!¡± signal by Albion. The battle, though, had a very different start from the others. Conrad started it off by stomping through the ice and into the ground. Sending chunks of the training field flying outward, he bent down before blasting himself forward. As he drew a horizontal line across the battlefield, he drew his sword and sent a cut towards Nyssa. His hope, though, to end the fight within seconds, was dashed by Nyssa transforming into a bird. Soaring into the air, Nyssa, the sparrow now, floated in the air as Conrad tracked her with sharp eyes. Her strategy, though, could now debut itself: transforming into a giant beetle, she came crashing to the ground. With a gleaming chrome exoskeleton, Nyssa, the beetle now, curled up into a ball and rolled away from the chasing Conrad. She... honestly didn¡¯t need to roll away though. Given she was the size of a small car, her plan was to overwhelm Conrad through sheer mass. Doing a quick few loops around the training field she plowed her way towards Conrad. Conrad, with a giant beetle barreling down on him, hunkered down while sheathing his sword. Opening his hands towards Nyssa, he grunted as the chrome cannonball slammed into him. Having used his system to analyze the best angle for a possible stop, Conrad was dragged along as the beetle just... kept... going. His legs dug into the ground and carved two jagged ravines through the ground. Letting out a guttural roar, Conrad managed to slow Nyssa down a little. Realizing his efforts were futile though, he leapt away while unsheathing his sword. Landing a few slashes as he leapt away, he grimaced as his sword only made some surface-deep cuts. This exchange, however, defined the rest of the fight. Conrad¡¯s movements were tinged by a faint hesitation while facing a bug the size of a car. Beyond the hesitation, he also had no real means of stopping a wrecking ball of a creature. So, before long, the battle was over as Conrad threw his sword aside and conceded. Nyssa, transforming back into a human, pumped her fist. Offering Conrad a high-five, Nyssa jogged back over after exchanging a couple of words with her opponent. They were, of course, warm and friendly, though. ¡°What a bad matchup,¡± Albion shook his head as Conrad and Nyssa returned. ¡°Good fight though.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Nyssa nodded while scratching the back of her head. ¡°What¡¯s the plan now? Break? Or are you and Titus jumping right into it?¡± ¡°We¡¯re going now,¡± Titus chuckled while stretching in his chair. ¡°No way us rivals are waiting. Are you ready to lose Albion?¡± Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions. ¡°No sir, because I¡¯m about to win,¡± Albion snorted while pushing himself up. ¡°Let¡¯s go now, fire boy.¡± Following their little exchange, the two walked off as Celeste passed Conrad and Nyssa the tablet for taking notes. Nyssa, for one, didn''t have too many notes to take. Scribbling a small note to herself about taking better initiative in the fight, she passed the tablet to Conrad. Conrad, though, activated his powers before beginning to scribble paragraph after paragraph of notes. Replaying every moment, every action, and every decision from the spar, he dissected the reasoning behind why he made every choice, what worked, and what didn¡¯t. Once done¡ªsomehow after only a couple minutes¡ªhe summarized a couple important pointers for himself before setting the tablet on the table. From there though, the spars really picked up. Titus edged out Albion, Nyssa lost to Celeste, Albion whooped Conrad, Celeste lost to Titus, and so on and so forth. By the end, everyone had dueled against everyone else and it was... for the most part, even. Throw in a few rematches as well and they were a fair bit past dinner time. Celeste had won, overall, but there wasn¡¯t much to it. She matched up well in the limited duel setting against most people and she hadn¡¯t won in a dominating fashion by any means. With all their chairs, tables, water bottles, and more, packed up, the five of them were spent. Feeling sweaty, stinky, and dirty, they agreed to go all take showers before meeting for dinner. For Nyssa and Celeste though, they requested the boys be patient before leaving. --- Twenty minutes later, Titus, Conrad, and Albion were sitting around in the lobby of the Class Zero building. Changed into new sets of clothes, they sat in a row along a cushioned bench and made some idle conversation. Titus, with a smaller towel draped around his neck, leaned back against the wall. ¡°What are we thinking for dinner boys?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± Albion yawned while mimicking Titus¡¯s movement. ¡°Let¡¯s just wait for Nyssa and Celeste.¡± ¡°True,¡± Titus stretched before leaning forward. ¡°Conrad you okay?¡± ¡°Yessir,¡± Conrad yawned while pushing his glasses up his face. ¡°Just tired. How long do you think we¡¯ll be waiting here? Any bets? Over under another fifteen minutes?¡± ¡°Bro, what?¡± Albion raised an eyebrow. ¡°Does it matter? And... I don¡¯t know, it just feels a little weird.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Conrad shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t mean anything by it.¡± ¡°Well, it comes off wrong, that¡¯s the problem. It¡¯s not the intentions, it''s the action.¡± Titus sighed while facepalming. ¡°It might just be us though. Rubs kind of wrong. Just like... don¡¯t be so weird with girls, my guy.¡± ¡°I¡¯m trying...¡± Conrad looks towards the floor while shaking his head. ¡°I just don¡¯t know, I guess. Anyway, for now I''m trying to make some conversation, so like... I don¡¯t know, yeah. What do you all want to talk about?¡± ¡°Not... much,¡± Titus shrugged before thinking of some random conversation topics. Drawing the other two into conversation, they just hung out for a bit, caught their breaths, and relaxed while waiting. After another twenty minutes, Nyssa and Celeste met up with the two boys in the lobby while apologizing for taking a little longer. Having changed and got their stuff together though, they were ready to go. Leaving their stuff in the lobby with Albion, Titus, and Conrad¡¯s stuff, they motioned for everyone to get going. With only a few of the campus¡¯s cafeterias still open, they decided to just talk over where they wanted to go while walking. It was, well, late night party time then. Or, more accurately, late night dinner time! 23: The Sub-Twelve Hour A Day Sleep Schedule D: Deciding on one of the more secluded cafeterias, the five of them stuck together as they walked through the now dark campus. Keeping near the incandescent streams of light¡ªalong with the lamps¡ªinstalled by the Luminary Institute on each of the walking paths, they took a few shortcuts to try and get there sooner. They had fought until quite late so everyone was starting to feel the pangs of hunger. After arriving, ordering, sitting down, eating, and hanging out for a bit, they wrapped up their little hangout before bidding each other good night and heading off. Their last few hours had been... quite relaxed and Nyssa had enjoyed it. Of course, she hadn¡¯t enjoyed it when they realized they chose the same cafeteria as a huge group of staff and administrators, but it was life. She just pretended to not see Kaiser¡ªeven though he was, objectively, impossible to miss with his stature and musculature. It had sparked some conversation about her home life though, stuff she was happy to talk about. Although, she did feel a little bad because most of the answers ended up being ¡°Well, I was napping so I don¡¯t really know sorry...¡± Meeting back up with Kaiser, Nyssa hopped in the car and headed back home. It had been... quite a nice day, and before she realized it a couple weeks had passed. By now, Troy and Titus had finished their duel (with minimal fanfare) and Titus had come out on top. Beyond the informal fighting tradition though, not much else transpired during the starting few weeks of the term. Nyssa had begun hanging out with Celeste more after school, Angelica had done some more testing of her powers, and everyone had settled back into the term. Nyssa, in particular, had begun to adapt to the sub-twelve hour a day sleep schedule. A true challenge... Now, however, anticipation was boiling throughout the entire school. One week prior, Slade¡¯s event had been announced to the school. Given Slade¡¯s position as a top hero¡ªplus his charismatic iron-grip over the media¡ªmade the school explode with excitement. It was because of this widespread idolatry though, that information about Slade¡¯s relationship with Kaiser had resurfaced. Nyssa, herself, didn¡¯t find the reappearance of this information too surprising. Instead, she just spent her time praying¡ªand then thanking¡ªthe heavens that her own relationship to Kaiser hadn¡¯t exploded as well. Keeping her head low, she had made it to the day of the event! Safe and sound! After reporting to the Class Zero classroom as ordered by administration, she made sure to report she was present with Angelica before taking a seat next to Celeste. ¡°Good morning,¡± Nyssa nodded as a yawn left her mouth. ¡°Are you excited?¡± ¡°Of course! How could I not, this is a really big deal, you know?¡± Celeste brightened up as the cold morning seemed to have no effect on her. ¡°Everyone¡¯s excited, you know? It¡¯s not everyday you get to interact with these people.¡± Stretching across the desk and resting her head in her arms, Nyssa gave some agreeing murmurs while trying to resist the urge to nod off. The classroom¡¯s heater was... very warm... Turning her head to look up at Celeste, Nyssa reached out and fluttered her fingers towards Celeste. ¡°I believe in you though. You¡¯re part of this class. You¡¯ll get to a point where you¡¯ll be interacting with those types of people on the daily.¡± Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°I mean, maybe,¡± Celeste shrugged, while leaning back in her chair. ¡°I hope I can get to a point like that one day. But it¡¯s still so far off that it doesn¡¯t feel real, you know?¡± ¡°I guess...¡± Nyssa murmured as the urge to sleep began clawing at the back of her mind. ¡°I believe in you...¡± With the conversation falling into a lull, Nyssa, before long, dozed off on her desk while enjoying the warmth of the heating vent above her. A couple minutes later, however, she was tapped awake by Celeste. ¡°I think the talk is starting,¡± Celeste pointed towards the screen Angelica had fired up. ¡°Do you want to listen?¡± ¡°I should...¡± Nyssa murmured between yawns. ¡°It¡¯s the least I can do to support Slade.¡± Opening her mouth to reply, Celeste was cut off by Angelica who waved everyone to silence. ¡°Good morning everyone, we¡¯ll be watching a live online broadcast for a couple minutes before heading off to the largest training field. Please quiet down for a minute and watch along.¡± Without even having to say another word, the room fell quiet as the video broadcast came to life. Nyssa, blinking herself awake, grinned as she saw Slade and Kaiser¡¯s smiling faces. Slade, with an arm around Kaiser¡ªeven though he was smaller by a decent bit¡ªwaved to the camera before walking closer and taking a seat on the couch. Furrowing her eyebrows, Nyssa felt the urge to facepalm. That opening scene was... so... AWKWARD. It was totally a Kaiser move. Or well... probably? She trusted Slade wouldn¡¯t open with a scene straight out of a marketing video like that... At least they didn¡¯t hold it for long... Kaiser, following along behind Slade, took a seat beside him before clearing his throat. ¡°Good morning Institute students. I¡¯m pleased to announce the arrival of my son, Slade Ravenstein. Today, we¡¯ll be hosting a full day event exclusive to all of you. I won¡¯t go into too much detail though, I¡¯ll let the man of the hour explain himself.¡± ¡°Thank you, thank you,¡± Slade laughed while patting Kaiser on the shoulder. ¡°As you know, I¡¯m an alumni from this very academy. Many years ago, I was just like each and every single one of you. I sat in the same chairs, used the same classrooms, and sparred on the same training fields. Therefore, I wanted to come back here and... well, pay it forward. I hope in the future when you all graduate you have a similar attitude.¡± Pulling over a piece of paper, Slade stroked his chin. ¡°That day is not today though. Today, you all are still the learners. I see here on the schedule it says I have a keynote speech. I did prepare one... but I think the allotted time is a little much so we¡¯ll see. Afterward is a panel where I, along with many of my teammates, are going to just talk through our own experiences with the life of being a hero and hunter. Many of them are alumni of this very institute just like you all, so, it¡¯ll be useful I hope. It should be fun! We¡¯ll also spend some more time on it should I finish the keynote early.¡± Chucking the paper aside while whispering a ¡°I will definitely finish early¡± to the camera, Slade leaned back while patting Kaiser. ¡°Do you want me or do you want to tell them about the more anticipated events? You were the one who proposed them after all.¡± ¡°Feel free to say it, I¡¯m unbothered,¡± Kaiser chuckled while urging Slade to continue, ¡°You¡¯re the star today.¡± ¡°Well, well, well,¡± Slade laughed while rubbing his hands together with a mischievous smile. ¡°The plan for the afternoon is a dueling session. I, along with a couple of my teammates will first do a couple of show matches. However, after that, we¡¯ll open up the floor to you all! Yes! You all will get the chance to fight us! We¡¯ll give you some pointers and some areas of improvement! And, well, who knows, maybe some of you extraordinary students will manage to overpower us!¡± Getting a look from Kaiser, Slade just raised his hands. ¡°Well, fine, the chances are very small. Close to zero. After the initial dueling sessions though, we¡¯ll let you all form teams and we¡¯ll do a team against team head to head! It should be an action packed day, so make sure to hydrate well and bring your A game! See you all out there!¡± Following his last statement, the video broadcast was cut off. Not even a second later, a voice came over the speakers instructing everyone to file out to the largest training field where the keynote would be held. 24: When You’re Not Known For Lasting Long Walking out of the Class Zero building with everyone else, Nyssa ambled along the pathways while trying not to get dragged along too much by the crowd. Everyone, the rest of Class Zero included, moved as if there was a lion chasing them. Well, it wasn¡¯t ¡®running away from a lion¡¯ fast, but it was still a lot faster than Nyssa¡¯s normal walking speed. Sticking along with Celeste, she just kept quiet as she listened to the various conversations bursting out all around her. ¡°Did you see the small jokes? Like about the keynote? I don¡¯t know... it just makes him feel a little more chill to me. Most of the time I feel like those keynotes just... drag on so... so much.¡± ¡°Yeah, for sure. Have you seen his clips? No way someone that crazy with it is gonna be so uptight. I¡¯m still not over the fact he¡¯s like... actually letting us duel him! Most people are too worried about losing face in case they lose, or even struggle in a battle.¡± ¡°I know... kinda crazy. I hope I can last more than a couple seconds with him.¡± ¡°You better. Though, I know you¡¯re not exactly known for lasting long.¡± ¡°Oh shut up with the innuendos.¡± ¡°Fine, fine. On another note though, then, I didn¡¯t realize he was chill like that. He¡¯s just like the interviews! I feel like he could be my older brother or something.¡± Sweating as she eavesdropped on a nearby conversation, Nyssa ducked her head away while making eye contact with Celeste. Shaking her head and whispering a ¡°nope, I don¡¯t exist,¡± she did a mock glare as Celeste broke out laughing. Getting pulled in for a hug, she returned it while keeping up her fake glare. It was after Celeste booped her nose though with a joking apology, that she dropped with a laugh of her own. Walking along, the two of them followed the rest of Class Zero to the main pitch. Once at the main training field, she and the others filed into a place on the bleachers marked as ¡®Class Zero Seating.¡¯ Next to the staff seating, their small section led the way as Class One¡¯s gargantuan section crammed up right beside them. As a whole, the ¡®main training field¡¯ couldn¡¯t quite be considered a training field though. If anything, it was more of a small stadium. It was open to the air, and was, as a whole, a training field. Now, however, in preparation for the event, large bleachers had been put up. Anchored to the ground, they surround the center of the training field in a huge looping curve. The bleachers too, had a smidgen of padding to them to make sitting on them just a little more comfortable. The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Slade, by now, was already in the center of the training field where they had rolled out a stage. Standing in front of the podium, he was sipping some water while waving to students calling out to him. Every minute or so though, he would lean into the microphone while motioning towards the bleachers. ¡°Please try and cram yourselves into this half of the bleachers please, the ones I¡¯m facing.¡± Doing a weird air hug motion, he tried to outline a cone in front of him. ¡°I know it''s a little bit of a tight squeeze, but, you know, I can¡¯t have you all studying the back of my head for a bald spot, after all! In all honesty though, I¡¯d prefer to be able to look all of you in the face. So please make do. You can all spread out across the bleachers later when we start doing the show matches!¡± Nyssa, from her vantage point, thought it would be... possible. It didn¡¯t feel like there were that many students in the Institute. It¡¯d be like a normal school assembly or whatever where they¡¯d all sit next to each other, but not squashed like sardines. It would be fun to see how everyone spread out though once the show matches started... Waiting for another couple minutes, she fought the urge to doze off as she leaned against Celeste¡¯s shoulder. Fighting with every fiber of her being, she dozed off a few times for a couple seconds before getting tapped back awake by Celeste. ¡°Thank you, keep me awake... please... yes...¡± It took another fifteen minutes for everyone to get seated and ready. Emerging from a long war against herself¡ªbarely victorious at that¡ªNyssa perked up as Slade began clearing his throat and waving towards the crowd to get their attention. Sitting upright, she thanked Celeste once more for her hard work and patted her cheeks a few times to wake herself up. ¡°Gooood morning everyone,¡± Slade laughed while calming the crowd down with a few hand motions. ¡°No need to reply, since that¡¯s my biggest pet peeve when it comes to these types of speeches. It is Friday though, so I will say, it is quite a nice morning.¡± As his words left his mouth, a few cheers began and, within seconds, spread through the crowd drowning out his voice. ¡°Alright, alright, calm down,¡± Slade chuckled while making a quick glance down to his watch. ¡°I¡¯ll try and keep this quick okay? The goal is to have a nice, relaxed, and, hopefully, fun Friday for all of you. My team and I plan on staying quite a while today, to make sure anyone who wants to fight can get a turn in.¡± Anticipating the cheers this time around, he only smiled while letting everyone let out their energy. ¡°I¡¯m glad you all are so enthusiastic! It¡¯s great to have such a welcome crowd, thank you, thank you. My team and I are, for sure, just as excited as you all.¡± Taking the microphone off its stand, he walked away from the podium. ¡°Now, let¡¯s get this show on the road. Who am I? I¡¯m sure you all know this already, but I¡¯ll give a quick rundown on who I am before opening the floor for a couple questions. Quick and simple. As all speeches should be.¡± Pulling at his tie a little, Slade shook his head. ¡°Sorry, random side note, but I¡¯m really not a fan of these types of formal clothing. Anyway, to start, I¡¯m sure most people are quite familiar with my life story, but we can run through it once more. I¡¯m... adopted. Big surprise, I know. Kaiser and I look like doppelgangers after all. I¡¯m just as much of a hulking mass of muscle as he is.¡± Letting the crowd let out its few chuckles, he walked across the stage with slow, but powerful steps. ¡°It may be a little out of the norm, but me, and my two siblings, are all adopted and though we grew up in a single parent home, we all felt loved. It¡¯s been... a nice environment all things considered.¡± 25: Keynote Speaking Retelling the broad arcs of his life story, Slade went through a couple major times in his life: his troubled youth, his time at the institute, and his burgeoning career as a hero and hunter. At his current level of fame¡ªplus the fact that modern technology existed¡ªthough, most of the information was already quite well-known. After around half-an-hour to forty-five minutes of talking, he wrapped it up with a nice little end cap. To Nyssa, the talk consisted of only basic information but¡­ she did have a very different bar after all. She had grown up watching it all happen first hand. With tha main portion of his speech done though, Slade opened the floor for questions. Staff members began walking around with microphones as a wave of hands shot into the air. The first to ask a question was a young woman from Class One in Ryker and Electra¡¯s year. ¡°Hi! First of all, amazing to hear from you, Slade. I¡¯ve always looked up to you ever since I entered the academy. I just wanted to ask if you could elaborate on your personal journey with your power and any tips you have for improving your power¡¯s output and control?¡± ¡°Ohh interesting question indeed. A little sad that I¡¯m old enough for you to have admired me for so long, but I guess it¡¯s life¡­¡± Slade chuckled while stroking his chin. ¡°I think I¡¯ll try and have my teammates answer this question too in the later panel because everyone has their own journey with this type of stuff.¡± After taking a sip of water from the bottle provided at the podium, he walked back in front of the podium to face the audience. ¡°My journey is quite complicated. Unlike many, where control and power develop together, my powers broke the progression a little and a lot of power came first and very little control. Therefore, I was put in Class Zero, a bit of a weird case, yeah? But over the years, the control of my powers progressed at a decent rate. What helped me personally, a lot of the time, was to try and make it into a game. Though I try to be easygoing, I can get quite obsessed with optimizing something. So, I made my practice into a game of sorts where I¡¯d unwittingly dump hundreds, if not thousands, of hours into it.¡± Continuing on with a few more small tips, Slade finished and apologized for blabbing on and on. Motioning towards the staff, Slade stood there as the next person asked their question. The next person, a young man, again, from the Class One section stood up with a microphone in his hand. ¡°Hello, I¡¯d also like to thank you for coming to talk to us. Really enjoyable so far, and I¡¯m looking forward to the rest of the itinerary today. I just wanted to know if you could share any details about your family? There seems to be a lot of conflicting information online about whether you have one or two siblings, and there¡¯s no information about anyone other than you and your elder sister Roxanne.¡± ¡°Hmm...¡± Slade trailed off as a certain air of anticipation spread over the crowd once more. ¡°A complicated question indeed. I guess the easiest answer I can give is uh... hmm. Well, I don¡¯t know what information you¡¯re looking at my guy, but I can start with the easy stuff. In any interview over the past fifteen years, Roxanne and I have always been consistent, it''s just the interviews we did when we were younger that don¡¯t line up. This is quite well-known I¡¯m pretty sure.¡± The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Looking over to Kaiser, Slade did a subtle eyebrow raise before walking over and whispering a few questions in his ear. Turning back to the audience, Slade raised the microphone back to his mouth for a second. ¡°Sorry, I just want to ask real quick, one second friends.¡± Watching as Slade and Kaiser exchange some hushed whispers, Nyssa leaned over and hid her face behind Celeste¡¯s. Suppressing the urge to laugh, she also suppressed the urge to transform into a cat and run away. The jig was almost up! She hadn¡¯t expected it¡¯d come today, but she knew it would happen sooner or later. It was fine though, she had already prepared for this eventuality when she decided to ask Kaiser if she could attend the academy. She had also given permission already for the information to be made public. With everyone else in Class Zero knowing about her situation¡ªand what was about to transpire¡ªthey all kept quiet and snuck a few glances towards Nyssa out of the corner of their eyes. Celeste, though, just hugged Nyssa and laughed along with her. Keeping their laughs quiet so as to not attract too much attention, the two of them watched as Slade got the thumbs up and walked back to the center of the stage. Cheers began breaking out as they watched Kaiser return to his seat as well. ¡°Alright, as you just saw, I got the thumbs-up.¡± Slade laughed as the crowd settled back down. ¡°So, Roxanne and I actually have another younger sister. She doesn¡¯t quite have the same aspirations as we both do, to become world-class, world-famous hunters and heroes. Instead, she¡¯s more of a ¡®house cat¡¯ type of person. So there¡¯s pretty much no information about her.¡± With the crowd still sitting at the edge of their seat, Slade sat down on the stage while letting his legs dangle over the side. ¡°What else do you all even want to know?¡± ¡°Age!¡± ¡°Powers!¡± ¡°Name!¡± Shrugging and shaking his head while listening to the various shouts coming at him, Slade let out an exasperated sigh. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s calm down now. I¡¯ll just be brief. She¡¯s currently sixteen, about to be seventeen, so she¡¯d fall on the younger end of the non-graduate division.¡± Pausing, Slade just let the crowd take their time with digesting the information. Just let everyone gossip it out for a few seconds. Hesitant to continue, he wanted to wait until the crowd had calmed down before he dropped his last bombshell. Another handful of seconds later, he cleared his throat as a smile blossomed across his face. ¡°In fact, she¡¯s actually sitting among these very bleachers right now. So, I hope you¡¯re enjoying yourself, Nyssa!¡± With the crowd exploding into both cheers and gossip, Nyssa just shook her head while watching Slade push himself back up and walk back behind the podium. Unable to resist the wry smile tugging at her lips, she ignored the chaos in the Class One section adjacent to theirs and just leaned against Celeste. Slade, at this point, just fielded a couple more basic questions before calling his team up for the next part of the agenda: a team introduction, a light questionnaire, and then... show matches! 26: Nap Heaven It was a bit of a shame, but only a small portion of Slade¡¯s team could make it to the event. In the grand scheme of things though, it didn¡¯t matter because Slade¡¯s ¡®team¡¯ was more like a ¡®guild¡¯ if anything. Plus, he was centerstage here, everyone else had come of their own volition. Among the people he had brought, the vast majority of them were Luminary Institute alumni. In total, Slade had brought along four of his guild members. Nyssa, from her distant vantage point, couldn¡¯t quite tell if she had met them or not. For the most part, whenever she met one of Slade¡¯s friends, they weren¡¯t in their hero costume... It also didn¡¯t help that she had zoned out while they introduced themselves too. They were all recognizable heroes. The woman in the traditional hero outfit¡ªarmor, hood, cloak, and more¡ªwas in all white. Her hood was down and Nyssa was pretty sure she was the famous ¡®Moon¡¯s Apostle.¡¯ To her left was a tall, muscled man. He was someone at the level of her dad, Kaiser. Wearing a visor over his eyes, he had long mint-green hair. Furrowing her eyebrows, she used a hand to shade her eyes while taking a look at the other two. One was wearing all black and was in a motorcycle helmet. That was the hero ¡®Accelerator,¡¯ Nyssa was sure of it. They were pretty cool. Some reason they never took off their helmet, even when she had met them in private settings... The last person was what... who? Squinting some more and craning her neck to try and look around Slade who was blocking her vision, she did some weird shuffling in her spot before spotting the last person. Aha! Projection! Nyssa wasn¡¯t sure if that was her actual hero name, but that single word summed her powers up quite well. She looked quite normal though. Brown hair in a bob cut, normal¡ªbut nice¡ªlooking hero suit, and a wide smile. Zoning back out as they continued talking, Nyssa yawned as she leaned against Celeste. Letting herself drift off to dreamland, she slept through the rest of the question and answer session while they set up the show match setup. Nap heaven... One great nap later, Nyssa yawned herself back awake as hushed murmurs and half-cheers filled her ears. Blinking and nodding consciousness back to herself, she turned to look around. ¡°Everyone spread out? All gone?¡± ¡°Yeah, the three stooges are behind us to the right in a kind of diagonal direction,¡± Celeste cupped Nyssa¡¯s face. Pinching Nyssa¡¯s cheeks she nodded towards the pitch. ¡°They¡¯re about to start the first showmatch to wake up. Pretty much everyone has just spread out. I think Ryker and Electra are nearer to the bottom of the bleachers but still over there below us.¡± ¡°I see,¡± Nyssa yawned, resisting the urge to pry Celeste¡¯s hands away. ¡°Are my cheeks soft?¡± ¡°Yes, most definitely so,¡± Celeste teased as a smile danced across her lips. ¡°Want me to stop?¡± Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡°I don¡¯t care...¡± Nyssa trailed off as another wave of sleepiness began washing over her. ¡°Your hands are really warm. Like a perfect pillow...¡± ¡°Okay, I¡¯m stopping then,¡± Celeste laughed while pulling her hands away. ¡°I can¡¯t have you falling asleep again.¡± ¡°Boo, who are you to deny me the simplest pleasure in life,¡± Nyssa puffed up her cheeks while reaching down to grab her water. ¡°You¡¯re right though, I should stay awake.¡± Refocusing her attention towards the stadium down below, she rubbed her eyes a few times while studying who had walked up. On one side was Slade. Now changed into his hero outfit, he looked a lot... more... composed. Opposite to him was Accelerator, the motorcycle helmet wearing hero. As both parties did some stretches, a palpable tension eased its way over the stadium. The faint creaking of bleachers peeked its way through the hushed whispers of the audience. The smell of snacks and breakfast was tossed around by the breeze weaving its way through the training field. Nyssa, herself, felt her palms clam up for no reason at all. Her stomach turned as she worried about Slade. There wasn¡¯t even a reason to! It was a showmatch! He was a guildmaster! Nothing here would have any long term impact on his life! Perhaps... perhaps it just came from a deep-seated admiration latent somewhere from her childhood... ¡°Any thoughts on this upcoming battle?¡± Nyssa leaned over and whispered into Celeste¡¯s ear. In part it was to make conversation, in part it was to just clear her head. ¡°I¡¯m cheering for Slade, but I¡¯m a little biased.¡± ¡°Understandable,¡± Celeste laughed back while covering her mouth. ¡°I think Slade holds the advantage. Accelerator matches up quite well with most people in a one versus one situation, but Slade¡¯s power really messes with the viability of Accelerator¡¯s.¡± ¡°For sure,¡± Nyssa bobbed her head up and down while keeping her eyes glued to the pitch. Falling quiet as a referee walked onto the pitch, she, along with the rest of the stadium held their breath as the starter gun was pointed towards the sky. BANG. Before anyone could react, the battle had already started. Accelerator had disappeared from their position. With super speed faster than Electra¡¯s they left afterimages while whizzing around the battlefield. Behind them they left a trail of superheated rock. Some of it began cooling down while other bits destroyed themselves from the sheer amount of energy injected into them. Slade, on the other hand, took slow steps towards the center of the training pitch. Step... step... step. Keeping his eyes peeled, he whirled around and blocked an incoming strike from Accelerator. Accelerator, backing off before Slade could land a solid hit, kept at a solid distance. Slade just raised his arm before plunging it into the ground. A couple seconds later, the entire stadium began to quake due to Slade¡¯s power: Resonance. The ground around him began to crack. As the ground rolled outward in waves, a huge sinkhole in the center of the pitch began sucking everything around it downward. Accelerator, zipping from block to block, sent a huge number of these chunks flying towards Slade at high speeds. Accelerating their own body, they appeared next to Slade and began pounding down on him with an endless flurry of blows. Slade, falling to the ground, used it as an opportunity to plunge his other arm into the ground. At this point, Accelerator''s battle took a turn for the worse as Slade folded the entire training pitch inward into a giant dome. With each subsequent quake compressing its volume, he eliminated the space Accelerator could use one section at a time. A minute or so later... the battle came to an anticlimactic close as the dome of rock fell apart to reveal Slade clenching Accelerator by the collar. 27: A Hope To Be Introduced As A Partner One Day Letting Accelerator down, Slade grabbed a microphone from a nearby staff member. ¡°I apologize, I just realized that making a dome of rock around the battle doesn¡¯t make for a super great showmatch...¡± Using one arm to hug Accelerator, Slade talked while tapping the ground with his foot to use his powers. His powers, causing faint rumbles to echo through the stadium, helped the various staff members repair the pitch. Bowing with Accelerator, Slade walked them to the side of the stage before calling over the next two combatants. Getting called over by Slade, the one Nyssa had identified as the Moon¡¯s Apostle Lady something or another and Mr. Bulked Up like Kaiser hair dude walked to the center of the stage. Standing in the center with Slade between them, the two of them waved to the audience and gave a few choice words to the students before taking their positions. Sitting back, Nyssa just enjoyed the rest of the show matches while making some light conversation with Celeste. There wasn¡¯t too much to see. Or, well, there was a lot to see? But not a lot at the same time... Each battle was filled to the brim with real life visual effects. They were all... beautiful. A huge spider-like hair mech, a blackened atmosphere where a moon shone through, and bright projections, copies of the body streaming down the battlefield. In terms of substance though, there wasn¡¯t too much. It was clear no party was going at one-hundred percent and each battle ended within a minute or so. ¡®Aesthetically pleasing¡¯ was pleasing nonetheless though. Grabbing a morning snack from a passing snack cart, Nyssa enjoyed herself as the battles came to a close. ¡°Anddd, we¡¯re into break,¡± Slade chuckled while walking across the again-ruined stage, ¡°Feel free to come down from the bleachers. We¡¯ll reconvene in about fifteen minutes to start some one versus one matches.¡± Pausing before handing off the microphone, Slade pulled it back. ¡°Don¡¯t rush us, though, please, we¡¯re human just like you all.¡± Giving the microphone back to the staff member, Slade smiled and waved to the students while walking towards the bleachers. Meeting up with Kaiser, he walked along with him towards the Class Zero bleachers. ¡°What do you think so far dad? Any thoughts?¡± ¡°I think you¡¯re doing quite well,¡± Kaiser nodded while patting Slade on the back, ¡°Planning on catching up with Nyssa?¡± ¡°Nah, I don¡¯t want to expose her and force her into an awkward spot. I¡¯m about to get mobbed anyway,¡± Slade laughed while nodding his head towards the students rushing towards him. ¡°I¡¯ll just catch up a little with Angelica.¡± ¡°That sounds good, I¡¯ll leave you to it,¡± Kaiser chuckled before walking off with a wave. ¡°I¡¯m going to go check up on your friends, I¡¯m sure they¡¯re surrounded by students by now.¡± ¡°For sure,¡± Slade laughed while jogging off towards Angelica. Getting to her before the students could get to him, he gave her a handshake hug before sitting down next to her. ¡°How are you doing? Long time no see!¡± ¡°Indeed,¡± Angelica smiled while watching the students rush forward. ¡°It¡¯s quite a pleasure teaching your, and, well, Roxanne¡¯s, younger sister. She has quite the different demeanor from you two though.¡± If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°Of course! I haven¡¯t seen someone sleep as much as her in all my life! She¡¯s quite content just having a bed, a nice life to live in all honesty,¡± Slade sighed. Shaking his head with an exasperated sigh, he drummed his fingers against his legs while making some idle conversation. Getting swarmed after a minute or so, Slade apologized to Angelica before beginning to field some questions from the students. Nyssa, sitting halfway up the bleachers directly behind Slade, just leaned back and kicked her legs up. Half-concealing her face behind Celeste¡¯s, she put on a nonchalant expression. ¡°I don¡¯t know who that is... mhm. Who¡¯s that?¡± ¡°You don¡¯t know him, hmm~?¡± Celeste teased while poking Nyssa on the nose. ¡°I understand though. I won¡¯t expose you. Though, I¡¯m sure some of the more eagle-eyed observers down there will wonder who¡¯s the new girl sitting with the Class Zero students.¡± ¡°Yeah, but like... you know... you all are quite low-key too, aren¡¯t you?¡± Nyssa murmured with a quiet cough. ¡°They, for sure, know us though. Don¡¯t you know who we are? We¡¯re practically half celebrities in the school. Considering there are cold streaks where there are years with no new Class Zero students. Right now you and I are the tail end of a hot streak. It¡¯s the most Class Zero students in like... a decade or something.¡± ¡°Boohoo...¡± Nyssa shook her head before letting out a faint yelp in surprise as Albion, Titus, and Conrad plopped down next to them. The bleachers screamed in pain due to their ¡®aggressive¡¯ impact onto the bleachers, but, to Nyssa¡¯s relief, only a couple people took a half-glance up to where they were sitting. ¡°Damn, there¡¯s a lot of swarming going on...¡± Titus sighed as he opened up the conversation to everyone. ¡°I was planning on going down and trying to talk to some of them, but it seems like they¡¯re really being mobbed.¡± Mobbed they were... Nyssa felt like there had to be at least thirty people around each of the heroes... ¡°Are you two planning on going to see people?¡± Conrad raised his eyebrows towards Nyssa and Celeste. ¡°I assume you¡¯re not Nyssa.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll go if Celeste goes,¡± Nyssa shrugged, ¡°If you have any specific questions for Slade, though, or maybe even the others, you can pass them to me. I can ask for you later tonight at dinner.¡± ¡°Are they going to your house for dinner?¡± Albion shook his head with an exasperated sigh of his own. ¡°The connections are unreal... I think the main thing people are really chasing are just like... getting some face recognition with these people in the industry? But I don¡¯t know how much it matters.¡± ¡°I¡¯m bad with faces so it wouldn¡¯t help with me at all,¡± Nyssa nodded before getting pulled backward by Celeste. ¡°There¡¯s no way you¡¯re just so confident in that,¡± Celeste laughed while hugging Nyssa. ¡°If you become a hero you, for sure, are never going out in public without a secretary or something at least.¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s true...¡± Nyssa shook her head. ¡°We should probably not just sit here though.¡± ¡°Probably not indeed,¡± Albion agreed while pushing himself onto his feet. ¡°Let¡¯s stretch. I want to talk to a couple people.¡± Everyone, as Albion made his way down the bleachers, followed along. Titus, slinging an arm over Albion¡¯s shoulder, nudged him in the side. ¡°Who are you thinking of talking to?¡± Nyssa, over hearing the question, looked towards Celeste as Albion answered. ¡°What about you? Who do you want to see?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know...¡± Celeste murmured while her steps slowed. ¡°Maybe Slade? I¡¯d like to meet him formally. Preparation for when I, hopefully, end up meeting him informally.¡± ¡°Meet him informally?¡± Nyssa tilted her head. ¡°What do you mean by that...¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it,¡± Celeste chuckled. ¡°It¡¯s just me making jokes to myself.¡± 28: Is It Really Just A Crush? Splitting up with Nyssa once they got to the busy training floor, Celeste wandered around while looking around. Picking up a drink from the nearby snack stand, she sipped it a few times before blinking and taking a look at it. ¡°Not bad...¡± It was hot out, so the icy drink gave some nice temporary relief while also waking her up from the sleepiness Nyssa had infected her with. Yawning, she shaded her eyes with her free hand while searching for the particular person she wanted to talk to: the Moon¡¯s Apostle, Amaris. Well, there was one random clump of people just in front of her. Wandering over, she craned her neck to try and look into the center where there was a neater line. Seeing a distinctive black motorcycle helmet, she realized it was the hero Accelerator and moved on. A couple minutes of wandering later, she ran across Titus, asked him where the Moon¡¯s Apostle was and was well on her way. Joining the line, Celeste sighed as she realized she was quite literally, in the very back. Sure, everyone when joining a line would be in the back for a second, but given how popular these people were, oftentimes it was an unending stream of people rushing to form the line. Like a school lunch line almost. If you¡¯re staying in the back for more than a minute, you¡¯ve come late. It seemed her lack of urgency had come back with a vengeance this time around. She had considered forcing an ascendency and flying around to search a little faster, but that seemed a little... out of touch. No one else was using their powers after all. There was a bit of an unspoken agreement going on and she didn¡¯t want to break it. Scrolling on her phone, Celeste just stood back while waiting for the line to inch forward. She didn¡¯t mind, she was planning on having¡ªor, well, trying to have¡ªa decent conversation of her own once she arrived at the front. As the line shifted forward though, a couple people did end up filing in right behind her. After baking under the morning sun for another while longer, she made it to the front of the line. Relaxing her nose as the sweaty person in front of her finally peeled away from her, she let out a sigh of relief under her breath. Walking forward, she extended a hand outward while flashing a smile. ¡°Nice to meet you! I¡¯m Celeste. Currently seventeen, and in Class Zero.¡± ¡°Celeste, a nice name,¡± Amaris smiled back while returning the smile. ¡°A pleasure to meet you! Class Zero, hmm? That¡¯s a rarity. I¡¯ve only met one of your classmates so far today, what was his name... Titus? Glad to see you all are still alive and kicking. I¡¯m Amaris, I used to be a part of Class Zero too. My younger brother is part of the graduate division right now, but I¡¯m sure you¡¯re well aware of that. I¡¯ll stop blabbing, anything you want to talk about?¡± Ending off her little statement with a laugh, she shifted on her feet and sat back on one leg. Celeste, getting the go-ahead, just shrugged while covering her mouth with a sleeve. ¡°I, in all honesty, wanted to just introduce myself and get my face out there. I guess, if I have to ask a question, what¡¯s your advice for maximizing your time at the Institute?¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Ah, the classic,¡± Amaris tapped her chin. ¡°I¡¯d say to just enjoy your time here. It may seem with the graduate division and everything you have all the time in the world. Plus, it¡¯s always easy to focus on the hero or hunter industry and chase that dream. But your time here will be over before you even know it. Just have some fun, make some friends, and fall in love. Many of these people are the ones who will stay with you for the rest of your life.¡± Thinking of Nyssa¡ªimmediately¡ªCeleste coughed and nodded while listening to Amaris¡¯s words. With Albion, Titus, and Conrad coming to mind afterward, she tried her best to keep a poker face before Amaris. It was just... a little uncomfortable. Because of her powers, Amaris¡¯s eyes were always bright. Her two piercing silver-white irises drilled through anything they looked at. But, for Celeste, she felt exposed. Like Amaris saw right through her. Almost as if her most shameful secrets were open Amaris, to her credit, noticed the slight change in expression. Raising an eyebrow as a knowing smile ghosted its way across her lips, she chuckled and gave Celeste a couple pats on the shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t be afraid to open up a little. Be vulnerable if it fits, it¡¯s those moments that¡¯ll let you form a bridge of connection to those around you. Not just being agreeable and kind. Being human.¡± ¡°... Thank you,¡± Celeste murmured as her eyes clouded over a bit. With thoughts swirling behind her eyes, she gave Amaris a half-hug before moving off to the side to let the next person in line go. Wandering off with her fruit drink still in her hand, Celeste fell into her thoughts as she wove through the crowd. Shading her eyes, she looked up and stared off into the sky. Feeling the wind tickle her neck as it brushed by her with gentle caresses, she let out a long sigh. She was such a... such a... fool, for lack of a better term... Biting her lip, she resisted the urge to cuss herself out. Her heart threatened to rip itself out of her chest as her stomach tossed and turned. Trying to quell the deep-seated loneliness welling up in her heart, she shook her head and trudged forward with a grimace. ¡°I¡¯ll do it later. I¡¯ll think about it tonight. It¡¯s fine.¡± After walking back up the bleachers, she took a seat once more. Staring off into space, she bit the straw of her drink as images of a certain someone named Nyssa flashed across her mind. It didn¡¯t make sense. Why was love like this? Why did her heart flutter at every small action Nyssa did? Why was it so easy for those feelings to punch their number into her heart? It wasn¡¯t even real... probably. Love at first sight wasn¡¯t a thing. That was just physical attraction. Mild infatuation. Maybe a supposed ¡®crush¡¯ or whatever, the type middle schoolers always gossiped about. Noticing Nyssa walking back up the bleachers towards her, Celeste pinched her leg to clear her mind. She needed to compose herself. She didn¡¯t need her weird feelings getting in the way of this blossoming friendship at least. Once she was laying in bed all alone, she¡¯d have all the time in the world to ponder, contemplate, and overthink everything. Shelving her thoughts, she took another nonchalant sip of her drink while waving to Nyssa. ¡°Hey Celeste!¡± Nyssa waved back while taking a seat beside her. ¡°How was it? Get a lot from whoever you talked to?¡± ¡°It was fine,¡± Celeste smiled. With a whole mixture of emotions swirling behind her eyes, she covered her mouth with a sleeve while looking away. ¡°I just used it as a chance to get my face out there a little more. Not much to it really.¡± 29: An Ideal School Life Nyssa, having just wandered around and said hi to a couple of the heroes, had come back once she noticed Celeste sitting alone on the bleachers. Climbing up with careful steps, she had tried to keep the creaking to a minimum before sitting down. Leaning against Celeste, she let out a long sigh while watching everyone else begin to file back to their seats. By now, various students had queued up at the sign-up sheet to grab a spot for a one-on-one training spot. Others, however, began forming teams in preparation for the later group battles. Without an urge to show-off, Nyssa just sat back and pretended she didn¡¯t exist. She didn¡¯t quite feel the urge to show off and reveal her powers to the wider school for a spar she could¡ªdepending on the person¡ªget in private whenever she wanted. Closing her eyes, she took a few moments to just bask in the sun. Before long, however, she slumped and fell asleep against Celeste. Enjoying her impromptu nap, Nyssa slept through the entire one-versus-one showmatch section of the morning. Startled awake when everyone broke for lunch, she followed along with sleepy steps as the crowds of people filed back out towards the various cafeterias. The bustle of conversation filled her ears as she just clung onto Celeste¡¯s hand to not get swept away. ¡°Good morning...¡± Nyssa yawned as she leaned in close to Celeste to make her voice heard. ¡°Where are we going for lunch?¡± ¡°I¡¯m just following the rest of Class Zero, I think they¡¯re just planning on going to the main cafeteria though, want to go elsewhere?¡± Celeste murmured back as they slipped through the crowd to make their way forward. ¡°No, I''m fine with anything, let¡¯s just follow them,¡± Nyssa answered with a few sleepy nods. ¡°The food is good everywhere after all. We just need to move fast to get a decent seat.¡± Following their little exchange though, the two of them decided to put their conversation on hold as they continued forward. Getting squished around as they walked, they tried their best to get to the front of the pack. One tense battle through the crowd later, the two of them caught up to Ryker and Electra. Joining their two upperclassmen, Nyssa and Celeste waddled along as Ryker and Electra decided where they wanted to sit. The center. Nyssa really had to praise the audacity of the upperclassmen. Even if all the Class Zero students¡ªgraduates included¡ªsat at the center table, there would still be around half the table left empty. Sitting across from Ryker and Electra, Nyssa and Celeste made some quiet conversation as everyone left their food untouched. Sure, they were hungry, but because all of Class Zero was all gathering together for once, Ryker proposed for them to all wait and eat together. Nyssa, for one, didn¡¯t mind. Her stomach was still fast asleep and food didn¡¯t seem very appetizing at this point in time. So, as they waited, they caught up with each other. Celeste and Nyssa spent most of their time with the three other non-graduate division students, Albion, Titus, and Conrad. Given the fact that those three were quite the... raucous bunch, there wasn¡¯t much social energy left for Electra and Ryker most of the time. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ¡°You two enjoying yourselves?¡± Ryker grinned while propping his chin up on his hands. ¡°Living your ideal school life?¡± ¡°What¡¯s an... ¡®ideal¡¯ school life?¡± Nyssa questioned as confusion seemed to waft off of her. ¡°I mean, I¡¯m having fun. Coming to the institute everyday is much more interesting than napping five times a day. Albeit a lot more tiring.¡± ¡°Of course it''s more tiring,¡± Electra facepalmed as an exasperated sigh left her face. ¡°Ideal as in... feeling joy I guess. I¡¯m not too sure either though.¡± ¡°Like in ANIME!¡± Ryker winked while firing off finger guns. ¡°You know, watching movies, getting involved in drama, creating a secret hideout, or maybe fighting off a secret villain society!¡± ¡°I... feel like that escalated quite a bit,¡± Celeste shook her head with a faint sigh. ¡°No, we have not been doing any of those things though. Honestly we¡¯ve just been staying on campus for the most part. Just... talking? Sitting around and talking, yeah. Sometimes doing sparring sessions with each other.¡± ¡°How boring, pweh,¡± Ryker flapped his lips while wilting over. ¡°You all need to live a little more!¡± ¡°I mean, we didn¡¯t do any of that stuff when we were at that age,¡± Electra countered while patting Ryker on the back. ¡°Yeah, but look at us now,¡± Ryker shook his head. ¡°We¡¯re so boring! We should be giving them wisdom as their seniors! Telling them how to not become bums like us!¡± ¡°Uh huh, so we¡¯re bums now,¡± Electra nodded with an unimpressed eyebrow raise. ¡°I don¡¯t think becoming us is all that bad, but that¡¯s my opinion.¡± ¡°Ah, you just don¡¯t understand,¡± Ryker crossed his arms while leaning back. ¡°The sublimity of youth! There¡¯s so much they¡¯re missing out on!¡± ¡°Well... are there uh... ¡®secret villain societies¡¯ around here?¡± Nyssa ventured while gesturing upward with her palm. ¡°I¡¯m not aware of any secret villain societies we can fight off in the first place. All the teachers are quite nice and there¡¯s no... cults or anything? What are they going to do? Worship a giant crab or something?¡± ¡°... True,¡± Ryker furrowed his eyebrows and pursed his lips. ¡°Well, then make one! Yes, yes, I, the expert with many credentials, say this with full confidence. Trust me.¡± ¡°Sure...¡± Nyssa nodded as Celeste copied her actions. ¡°We¡¯ll get on that soon, yeah. Yep, next time you see us we¡¯ll be heads of a multifaceted crime syndicate.¡± ¡°Good, good, I look forward to it,¡± Ryker laughed while waving over Albion, Titus, and Conrad. ¡°Make sure to hook me up with the good stuff, if you know what I mea-¡± ¡°Don¡¯t do that. You two aren¡¯t dumb enough to actually consider that, but Ryker, don¡¯t make that joke,¡± Electra shook her head. ¡°I don¡¯t know, it¡¯s just... a little distasteful. There are better ways to be funny.¡± ¡°... Yeah, my apologies,¡± Ryker shook his head while patting Electra on the back. Before Ryker could change the topic and before Albion, Conrad, and Titus could make it over though, a group of people walked up and crowded up right behind where Ryker and Electra were sitting. There were... a lot of them. It wasn¡¯t just all guys either, and they all seemed to be... well, around Ryker and Electra¡¯s age. But, of course, with age, it was a lot harder to tell. Or maybe it wasn¡¯t. Nyssa, herself, found it quite the challenge though. Forming a half-circle of sorts, they all stood there with crossed arms as one leader¡ªor maybe a sacrificial lamb, Nyssa didn¡¯t know¡ªstepped forward and tapped both Electra and Ryker on the shoulder. ¡°We, as the top students of Class One, would like to issue you two a challenge.¡± 30: Random Beatboxing Keeping quiet, Nyssa tried to erase her presence. Hesitant to say anything, she decided to observe and just let Ryker and Electra handle this ¡®challenge¡¯ of sorts. Fidgeting under the table she reached over and, with her mind guided by an unconscious instinct, grabbed Celeste¡¯s hand. Getting a squeeze and comforting smile back from Celeste, she blinked a couple moments while processing what she had just done before smiling back. Ryker and Electra, by now though, turned in their seats to face the conglomeration of ¡®ambassadors¡¯ gathered by their table. Too lazy to even stand up, Ryker dragged another chair in front of him and kicked his legs up. ¡°So, what¡¯s up? What challenge are you all proposing?¡± ¡°One for the team battles,¡± The spokesperson elaborated with a faint edge of animosity creeping into their voice. ¡°We¡¯d like to do a head-to-head this afternoon where whichever group can both last longer, but also inflict more damage on the heroes will win.¡± Following his statement, echoes of agreement sounded out among the other Class One students in the semi-circle. Unlike the main spokesperson though, there wasn¡¯t an air of animosity in many of the other students. For many, the tone of their voice was more of ¡®friendly rivalry¡¯ than anything actually malicious. Others though, just let their natural propensity for competition take over. The fire and drive to tear down Class Zero was clear in their eyes. One person, in particular, Troy, seemed to waver between the two. To a certain extent there was a respect and amiability clear in his eyes, but there was also a faint fire of loathing burning behind his eyes. ¡°Sure, I don¡¯t mind doing it, I¡¯ll have to ask the rest of Class Zero if they want to participate though,¡± Ryker shrugged, as if to say ¡®it¡¯s out of my control,¡¯ ¡°It does seem a little unfair though. Look at how many of you there are, and look at how few of us there are. Doesn¡¯t seem very honorable for you all to use the strength in numbers to prove you''re better than us.¡± ¡°Yes, we already considered that aspect of it. Our proposal is that we¡¯ll only send our best six forward,¡± The spokesperson wove his fingers together before shooting a look towards Nyssa. ¡°Though... it does seem you all have another student here.¡± ¡°Indeed, we do have another student now,¡± Electra smiled while motioning towards Nyssa. ¡°So, you can send seven people if you want.¡± ¡°Will do,¡± the spokesperson nodded before turning on his heel. Doing a half-head turn back towards Ryker and Electra, he stressed a ¡°I look forward to hearing back from you soon¡± and walked off. As he walked off, the rest of Class One followed suit and disappeared further into the cafeteria to get some food. The situation, having resolved itself for now, ended with quite the anticlimactic sigh as Ryker and Electra turned in their seats and faced the two girls once more. Albion, Titus, and Conrad, having watched the whole exchange from a distance, walked over and all took a seat. With all of Class Zero together once more, everyone began eating as the hustle and bustle of the cafeteria amped up bit by bit. Making some quiet conversation, everyone ate while dodging around the just-transpired event. It wasn¡¯t as if nobody wanted to talk about it, but everyone who wasn¡¯t named Ryker or Electra didn¡¯t feel like they should bring it up. Those two were the de facto leaders of Class Zero, and they¡¯d bring it up when they were ready. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. After a couple minutes of quiet eating, where Nyssa wilted under the gazes of what felt like the entire school, Ryker cleared his throat. ¡°So, are all of you okay with getting involved in this? It might be a little tough, since I assume only people in Electra and I¡¯s year will participate, but it¡¯d be a good experience nonetheless.¡± ¡°If you all don¡¯t want to participate just Ryker and I will go and we¡¯ll just let them know to only send two people as well,¡± Electra clarified while reaching over. Putting one hand on Celeste¡¯s and one hand on Nyssa¡¯s, she patted them a few times. ¡°Just choose happiness. Go fight a villain syndicate or something if you want as Ryker said earlier.¡± ¡°I mean... there really isn¡¯t a villain syndicate around to fight,¡± Nyssa trailed off while looking around. ¡°I¡¯m fine with uh... with participating. It seems... interesting.¡± ¡°You¡¯re definitely not fully awake right now aren¡¯t you?¡± Electra raised an eyebrow after hearing Nyssa¡¯s half-coherent answer. ¡°Are you sure? Aren¡¯t you trying to keep your identity a bit more on the down low?¡± ¡°The doowwwwnnnn low,¡± Ryker interrupted while making some random beatboxing noses. ¡°Okay, sorry, continue.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not that awake,¡± Nyssa shook her head before leaning down and resting her head against the table. ¡°Just lump me in with Celeste.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m totally down to participate,¡± Celeste shrugged while reaching over and ruffling Nyssa¡¯s hair. ¡°Is it too late to register though?¡± ¡°Nah, it should be fine, most people are forming their teams right now,¡± Ryker pulled his phone out from his pocket. ¡°I¡¯ll go register later so don¡¯t worry. I¡¯m going to text my friends in Class One right now though. It¡¯ll be fine.¡± ¡°How about you three then, Albion, Titus, and Conrad?¡± Electra asked while turning towards the three boys. ¡°Sorry for not asking sooner, but you three usually are quite onboard to participate in these types of fights. Want to hop in on this one?¡± Getting a chorus of ¡°For sure¡±s and ¡°Absolutely¡±s from the three boys, Electra just nodded and nudged Ryker letting him know to include the consent of everyone in the class. ¡°This should be a fun time then.¡± --- Overall, lunch was... relaxing. Not that Nyssa remembered all of it. Having taken a nap¡ªalbeit accidentally¡ªshe thought life was near its peak. After all, for her, life quality and napping time were two metrics that were directly correlated. Once back awake, she asked Celeste to catch her up as they walked back towards the stadium-like training field. Ryker had sent the text, everyone had just finished eating, and, more interestingly, a scuffle had broken out in the far end of the cafeteria. Having slept through the fight though, Nyssa could only live vicariously through Celeste¡¯s brilliant retelling. There were punches thrown, food thrown, and a couple people were sent to Kaiser¡¯s office. Wait a second... hehe... Making a note on her phone to ask Kaiser about the situation once she got home, she thanked the heavens for her father before also making a note to ask Slade about his thoughts on it all. Slade, after all, was the son of Kaiser, so... though the faculty might all give them ¡®the talk¡¯ about how they were ¡®so disappointing¡¯ and everything, Nyssa wondered if Slade could relate. Plus, it didn¡¯t matter too much to him, his opinion on the school wasn¡¯t going to change. 31: A Challenge Between Classes ¡°Welcome back everyone!¡± Slade called out to the crowd while standing in the center of the training field. Putting his hands behind his back, he walked a few slow circles around the center of the training pitch while waiting for people to finish filing into the stadium. Shading his eyes, he turned towards the entrance and raised the microphone back to his lips. ¡°Almost done? It seems like the crowd is thinning out so I¡¯ll start talking again. That way we can get back to the action as soon as possible. Everyone fine with that?¡± Nodding along to the cheering, Slade laughed and waved at his teammates, calling for them to join him onstage. Watching his teammates walk over to him, he couldn¡¯t keep quiet. ¡°So, I don¡¯t know if you all know this, but I¡¯ve heard a couple things... a couple very interesting things.¡± With his teammates raising their eyebrows, tilting their heads, and stroking their chins, he just shook his head with a light-hearted sigh. Raising the microphone back to his mouth, he motioned to the crowd. ¡°Indeed, we¡¯re doing team battles next. Us versus all of them. We¡¯re clear on that, correct? I¡¯ve heard certain groups are doing some betting between themselves, some friendly competition one could say.¡± Nodding as his guildmates¡¯ eyes all seemed to light up, he turned back towards the crowd. ¡°That means we can¡¯t let up on any of the rounds!¡± Murmurs began spreading through the crowd like wildfire as cheers began to pop out like corn kernels in a microwave. Most conversations were brimming with speculation and excitement as Slade just let them talk it out¡ªthese were the most fun to listen to anyway. Walking a little closer to the edge of the stage, he eavesdropped on a conversation happening between a couple of the students right near the edge. ¡°Wait, really?¡± ¡°Yeah? Haven¡¯t you heard? It¡¯s crazy! Class One challenged Class Zero! That¡¯s probably the main one he¡¯s talking about!¡± ¡°I know about some other groups. The upper division third years in Class One and Class Two are also doing a challenge! They¡¯re definitely not going to be as flashy as the first one you mentioned though...¡± ¡°It might amount to something, who knows? Any predictions though? We should set up a betting pool. Think about it, this could be lucrative!¡± ¡°Wait, you¡¯re totally right, let¡¯s set something up. They¡¯re going last, right? I looked at the schedule. We have plenty of time though. I think Class Zero¡¯s going to win, just think about it. They¡¯re called Class Zero for a reason. Have you seen Ryker fight? Bro¡¯s like a nuclear bomb! ON COMMAND!!¡± ¡°You¡¯re absolutely glazing Ryker, shut up my guy. You¡¯re underestimating Class One.¡± ¡°Why Class One then? Why? I see no reason they¡¯d be able to edge out Class Zero.¡± ¡°Just use your brain for a second, use it! I dare you! Rub those brain cells together for a spark of a thought one of these days. Class One is sending out just as many people as Class Zero.¡± ¡°Yeah, so? Ryker and Electra far out-class anyone in Class One right now.¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter! That¡¯s the point! That¡¯s how they¡¯re going to win. Class Zero right now is sending out all their people. I heard it''s seven because they have a new student this year. But if you think about it, Class One is only sending out people in their fourth and final year in the upper division. Class Zero is way more spread out. Therefore, even though Class Zero has two hard carries, the rest of them are outmatched by the Class One juggernauts.¡± If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Eh... I don¡¯t know about that. I think you¡¯re a little delusional. A little lost in the sauce. Even the youngest people in Class Zero have the raw firepower to outclass the Class One elite.¡± ¡°And? Who cares? They can¡¯t use it! That¡¯s why they¡¯re in Class Zero! If even one of them loses control they¡¯re disqualified. That¡¯s an instant victory for Class One!¡± ¡°Well, let¡¯s just... agree to disagree then. You know? Let¡¯s just focus on setting up the betting pool.¡± ¡°Bruh... ¡®let¡¯s just agree to disagree,¡¯ real original. But, fine. What a boring way of saying ¡®I¡¯m wrong but I don¡¯t know what else I can say to defend my point.¡¯¡± Snickering, Slade shook his head while walking back to the center of the stage. The crowd was calming down, bit by bit. It was taking a little long, but... that was fine! The joy of youth! They were excited! He would¡¯ve been just as excited back in the day too... ¡°I still do have another announcement to make though,¡± Slade raised his eyebrows while getting the crowd¡¯s attention. ¡°Because I managed to find out about all this betting quite early, I did manage to pull some favors. I know, I know, that sounds really suspicious. But I just asked around and got some... judges!¡± Watching the crowd break out in cheers again, Slade waved towards the faculty section. ¡°In advance, I just want to thank all the teachers who agreed to form the panel of judges today. I tried to keep it impartial as well. But these are all teachers who have been teaching here since all the way back in Roxanne and I¡¯s time. Thank you for all your hard work. It doesn¡¯t go unappreciated.¡± Muting the microphone, Slade walked back to his guildmates who had formed a half-circle in the middle of the training field. Joining them, he made some subtle hand motions to ensure they knew the microphone was off. ¡°Alright, thank you so much for coming out. I just want to check-in on all of you. How are we feeling?¡± Happy to hear everyone replying with ¡°Amazing¡±s and ¡°Great¡±¡¯s, Slade spread his hands. ¡°So, obviously, we¡¯re not actually going all out. It¡¯d be a little sad. But we¡¯re going to go just long enough for them to feel like they¡¯re getting a bit of a fight in. Pace yourselves, we have a lot of fighting to do.¡± ¡°I mean what, it¡¯s not that bad, you used to make us go on month-long expeditions back in our primary hunting days. An afternoon of fighting isn¡¯t going to do anything to us.¡± Amaris laughed while stretching her arms. ¡°The most interesting one is at the end though, Or is it the other one before them, Class One?¡± ¡°No, no, Nyssa¡¯s in Class Zero. There¡¯s no way she was going to be put in Class One,¡± Slade shook his head. ¡°She does have good control over her powers though, doesn¡¯t she? She had more control than a lot of us back when we visited your house as students,¡± Accelerator trailed off while tapping the chin of their motorcycle helmet. ¡°Yeah, but she¡¯s just... so powerful, you know? Kaiser wanted to put her with people she¡¯d, later in life, find more camaraderie with. Also the other classes have so many people she might¡¯ve just shut down if she was put with them... she¡¯s a bit of an antisocial cat,¡± Slade scratched the back of his head with a chuckle. ¡°Anyway, do you all have predictions on who¡¯s going to win between the two classes? I, obviously, have my biases. Though perhaps we all do. Since, other than Amaris, the three of you were all in Class One, right?¡± ¡°Nope, Class Two,¡± Caesar, the huge-man with long hair replied. ¡°Prehensile hair didn¡¯t strike the fancy of the admissions officers.¡± ¡°Ah, I remember now,¡± Slade nodded before motioning for Caesar to continue. ¡°You¡¯re the least biased one here then. What do you think?¡± ¡°Well, just thinking back to my time here, Class Zero absolutely DOMINATED us. So... I¡¯d have to give it to them. Nyssa will probably help a lot, but I¡¯ve heard the current Class Zero is really no slouch, so... why not them?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve just heard they¡¯re very polished,¡± Amaris shrugged. ¡°Class One is being looked at really positively this year from a bunch of guilds. We¡¯re not really recruiting right now so we only extended offers to Electra and Ryker, but I¡¯ve heard a lot of very good things about Class One.¡± ¡°Huh... well, I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll realize the moment they start fighting then.¡± Caesar shrugged before letting his hair grow down into the ground. Using his hair like spider legs, he walked off while chuckling. ¡°Let¡¯s get this show on the road, shall we?¡± 32: Unga Bunga Big Dragon The group duels, though less in number, each took longer. Each time, more than four people would go up at a time. Sometimes it was five, sometimes seven, and sometimes it was seventeen. Sure, each group was still dismantled due to the coordination between Slade and his four guildmates, but it just... took a while. Nyssa just felt it was a little unfair to gang up on the heroes. She couldn¡¯t say much though, considering she was in a group of seven about to gang up on them in just a couple rounds. A bit of an important fight for her in all honesty. In a way, it was her debut to the rest of the school. As much as she wanted to push it back a little, her awkward ass wasn¡¯t going to just opt out of a group activity like this duel with Class One... She didn¡¯t want to seem uncool! She just became friends with these people! It¡¯d... It¡¯d be weird to hide away now. ¡°Slow down...¡± Nyssa murmured to herself while trying to banish the unending stream of thoughts marching through her mind. Leaning back in her seat, she sighed while staring up into the sky. The afternoon¡¯s breeze brushed against her neck and wove its way through her hair while the crowd¡¯s cheering filled her ears. She wasn¡¯t sleepy. What a miracle in its own right. Lunch had done its job for once and, instead of putting her into a food-coma, it had woken her up. ¡°Are you thinking about something?¡± Celeste leaned over and whispered as her eyes stayed glued to the showmatch down below. ¡°Overwhelmed?¡± ¡°A little,¡± Nyssa confessed while taking advantage of the situation to brush up against Celeste. ¡°Just nervous I guess? Not even because I¡¯m afraid of the worst. Like, sure, it¡¯d suck, but... but I think I¡¯m more afraid of the uncertainty.¡± ¡°That¡¯s understandable,¡± Celeste smiled while sliding a hair closer. Her hand, while sliding forward, brushed up against Nyssa¡¯s. Pausing for a half-second, her smile faltered for a moment as she looked down. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, we... we all get those types of nerves. I can say now that I¡¯m past it that it¡¯ll be fine. But I understand, it sucks. There¡¯s... not quite any advice I can offer except to push through it though.¡± Nyssa, unaware of anxiety about her was tearing its way through Celeste¡¯s heart, just felt the contact on her hand disappear after a moment of contact. A faint half-glance downward revealed Celeste had pulled her hand back to leave a faint crack of separation between them two. Glum towards Celeste¡¯s hesitation, Nyssa kept it in her heart and kept a poker face. Making a business decision to not ¡®risk it for the biscuit,¡¯ she kept her hand in place and looked back towards the pitch. ¡°Yeah, I think I¡¯ve kinda recognized that. I¡¯ll... I¡¯ll push through, don''t worry too much about me. We have a plan and I¡¯ll follow it. It¡¯s the least I can do.¡± Their cooperative battle plan as a class was simple, and, to an extent, heartwarming. In an effort to make Nyssa¡¯s debut as smooth as possible, they decided on a plan where she was the center. She was the youngest, not even close to the most powerful at this point, so the fact they did it to help her... warmed her heart. As a whole, the plan could be summed up in one easy phrase: Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings. Unga bunga big dragon hard to beat. RAR! She¡¯d transform into a dragon, let everyone get onto her back, and just fly around in the air. It wasn¡¯t just because dragons were cool, there was actual thought behind it! Dragons, as is well-known, have the ability to fly! As is also well-known, earthquakes... do not fly. Slade, the guildmaster, was the centerpiece of his team¡¯s offensive output. Whether it was because he was the most powerful, or because he was the star of the day¡¯s show, Nyssa wasn¡¯t sure. His resonance-based shockwaves, however, didn''t fare too great against flying animals. She knew this from past experience, but it was still quite the obvious conclusion to come to after a bit of logical thinking. Therefore, they¡¯d force him to either hand off the reins to someone else in the team more equipped to handle this type of situation¡ªany of the others bar Accelerator¡ªor they¡¯d force him to expend energy in trying to bend the ground upward to get to them. It wasn¡¯t anything Slade couldn¡¯t do, he¡¯d done it against Accelerator, but it was an inefficient use of energy. Thus, either option would force the hero team into a less than ideal situation. For their side, after transforming, she could do the classic dive bomb or breath attack, or she could sit back and let the rest of her teammates do their work. The main limitation, though, fell down to the powers everyone had. Most people didn¡¯t do so great from a range. Conrad¡¯s bread and butter was a classic duel, Ryker¡¯s specialty was running up and battle of attritioning it out, and Albion¡¯s ice infection powers were limited to traditional cryokinesis if he couldn¡¯t make actual contact with anything. Well, they¡¯d figure it out. For now, they just needed to figure out what they were up against. Nyssa, at this point, reengaged with the show matches at hand, not because they were any more or less interesting, but because the stakes were now affecting her on a more personal level¡ªit was Class One¡¯s turn. The stomping of feet against the bleachers, the bated breath, and the subsequent roar of cheers. With an entrance befitting a professional sports team, the top seven students from Class One¡¯s fourth year strode their way out to the training field. Nicknamed the ¡®seven heavenly stars¡¯ for this event, they were even greeted by a flurry of applause from the hero team¡ªthough, their applause was probably more out of politeness rather than anything special considering they clapped for everyone. Squinting while shading her eyes, Nyssa spotted a certain familiar face down below standing at the edge of the supposed ¡®seven stars¡¯: Troy! He had lost in close fashion to Titus just a bit ago, so she was a little surprised to see him there... From her understanding, weren¡¯t the seven stars all stronger than everyone but Ryker and Electra? Maybe he was the last minute addition though? The seventh ¡®star¡¯ to match the member counts between the two teams? In the end, Nyssa didn¡¯t care. She was more interested in seeing him fight as part of a team. Though his confidence was perhaps... a notch or two lower than it was in his duel against Titus, he still looked as comfortable as a fish in water. Still there were the crowds, the opponents, and the pressure! So, accounting for those factors, he was pretty much unaffected! They didn¡¯t have all day though. With another match lined up after this one, the hero team and the challenger team both moved into position to get the fight on its way. Once in position, a hush fell over the training field¡ªor, more fittingly, the arena. Judges checked their pens and their clipboards one last time, combatants did their last stretches, and Kaiser, serving as the unofficial referee, raised a starter pistol towards the sky. 33: A Methodical Disassembly The battle started, as many do, with the BANG of the starter pistol. The Class One students took the initiative, fanned outward, and took as many strategic positions around the training field as they could¡ªhigh-ground, chokepoints, and fortified positions, anything that could give them an advantage. Slade and the others, however, stayed still with calm smiles. Content to let Class One launch the first attack of the battle, they made some light conversation while keeping their opponents within view. Once in position, the Class One team prepared to launch their assault. One to the left began pulling the ground up and around herself, forming a metallic cocoon jutting into the sky. Another, on the right side, plucked his hairs, then blew them into the wind to form a legion of clones. The captain, in the center, opened her palms out towards the sky while materializing a huge scroll in the sky. Among the fighters, Nyssa also took note of Troy as he surrounded himself in a sea of fire. His fire took on a distinct shade of crimson¡ªa tone much darker than Titus¡¯s flames. With their preparation complete, they launched a wave of attacks towards Slade and the others. Over the course of a few seconds, the battle devolved into a full blown mess as the hero team left their spots to engage the students. The projection hero engaged the student who had spawned clones of themselves while the other three worked together to fight off a group of four students. Slade, however, the combatant she cared about the most, took on the captain and the metal bender. ... Nyssa really didn¡¯t know anyone¡¯s name. A big problem, but not one she had the intention to change. ¡®Projection hero,¡¯ ¡®clone person,¡¯ ¡®hair hero,¡¯ and ¡®metal bender¡¯ were all viable names! Right? It was a little disrespectful but the names just didn¡¯t stick... Plus, Class One not getting introduced didn¡¯t help. They just assumed everyone in the school would know these supposed ¡®superstars¡¯! She, in a situation similar to those slugs that sat on the same rock for thousands of years while not getting a hint of sunlight, was seeing these faces for the first time in her life. Even more, it wasn¡¯t like they were making a good first impression. Mr. ¡®I can make clones of myself¡¯ was getting whooped by the Projection hero. They both could make copies of themselves, but he was fighting with traditional weaponry¡ªbadly too. The hero, on the other hand, had more traditional... powers. Light emanated from her chest as projections blossomed outward. Giant fists, copies of herself, and sharp projectile constructs all made out of hard light hammered down on the small army of clones. Troy too, fought with what felt like more aesthetics than actual attacks. Maybe he was trying, but Nyssa couldn¡¯t tell. Each of his columns of fire, fireballs, and mild explosions just... seemed to bounce off of the spider-like mech made of hair he was facing. BOOM. The crowd erupted into gasps, cheers, and murmurs. Having seen the entire event transpire, Nyssa could only wince. Troy, after getting close to the hair mech, got sent flying after an ancient pillar worth of hair trucked him. Drawing an arc through the air, he wove flames around him¡ªshooting jets of it outward as well¡ªto slow his descent and guide his path through the air. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. She had to admit though, it was nice to put a face to some rumors. In particular, the captain of Class One. Both Ryker and Electra highlighted the captain for her unique powers, and, now, seeing her fight made it clear why she was so famous. As of now, she was one-on-one dueling it out with Slade. Her teammate, the metal controller, hadn¡¯t fared too well against Slade¡¯s resonance. She¡¯d tried to mount both an attack and a defense, only to get everything disassembled over the course of a half-minute. A brush against the metal was all Slade needed to pulverize any metal with his powers. However, the captain was still holding her own. Every few minutes, she¡¯d wave her hands in the air and a huge scroll would unfurl itself. Behind her, a demon-like entity would then appear. The demon towered in the sky and would grab the scroll to announce ¡®the terms¡¯ to a new demonic contract. Each one would send chains wrapping around both Slade and the captain. It¡¯d then provide a strength boost to both parties while also imposing a limitation onto both of them as well. Something very annoying in Nyssa¡¯s opinion. She, for sure, didn¡¯t want to ever fight this lady and her demon... Slade still had the advantage, and chipped away at the captain¡¯s endurance. Sweat poured down the captain¡¯s face as she tried to hold on against Slade for as long as possible. They both knew Slade would win, but they also both knew every moment she could drag out the battle was another point that¡¯d help their score. Before long though, the battle came to a close as Slade buried the captain into the ground and leapt off to aid his teammates¡ªhis aid, of course, only accelerating the already inevitable end of the battle. --- ¡°And we¡¯re done!¡± Kaiser announced to the school as a raucous round of applause sounded out across the training field. ¡°Staff, well, judges, I should say, what are your thoughts on this process? I think our students fared quite well against the hero team plus that Slade kid.¡± With Slade just shaking his head while laughing and sighing, Kaiser walked through the battlefield while giving a few of his own thoughts. Helping to pull the captain out of the ground, he gave her some words of encouragement before turning to the judges who were now holding their overall ratings. ¡°Amazing job! The judges, accounting for your situation, and your inevitable loss, have given you all a... NINETY! Congratulations!¡± Chuckling, Kaiser shook everyone¡¯s hand before turning off his microphone to let the judges speak their minds. The judges, themselves, were patient. They took their time writing their notes and gathering their thoughts while letting the cheering calm down on its own. After a couple minutes, the judges began standing up one by one and sharing their thoughts. ¡°I thought everyone performed quite admirably. If I had to point out something on my mind, I¡¯d point to the very beginning of battle. I think this is a textbook case of how seizing the initiative of battle doesn¡¯t always guarantee success. It¡¯s because of this rushed start that allowed for Slade¡¯s team to choose the matchups instead, and they... countered you all quite handily.¡± ¡°Again, I¡¯d like to commend you all for your fearlessness. It takes a lot to be able to perform like you all did when you know the ending is predetermined. I, of course, agree with the previous advice, but to highlight something else, I¡¯ll bring up the lack of penetration. The spread out strategy you all adopted didn¡¯t allow for a very powerful frontal attack. Of course, it¡¯s a strategic choice but I think in hindsight you all would¡¯ve done better to stay together.¡± Zoning out as the next judge began giving his thoughts, Nyssa yawned. What... verbosity. Sure, it was insightful, but... how were they so good at fluffing up their words... ¡°Stay awake, Nyssa,¡± Celeste interrupted while reaching over and patting Nyssa¡¯s cheeks. ¡°We¡¯re on next.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, you¡¯re right,¡± Nyssa yawned once more while replying with a few sleepy nods. ¡°I¡¯m awake. Very much so.¡± 34: Younger Sibling Revenge Called to the center of the pitch after a couple minutes, Nyssa followed the rest of Class Zero down. They didn¡¯t have anything like a fancy entrance planned¡ªit was just ¡®walk down and don¡¯t trip.¡¯ A true high standard of excellence if she said so herself. ¡°Welcome, welcome,¡± Slade smiled while walking down towards the Class Zero students, ¡°Nice to see you all. In fact, there are some familiar faces.¡± Once in front of the Class Zero students, he began moving down the line and shaking everyone''s hand while ignoring the murmurs breaking out due to the ambiguity of his statements. As for everyone in Class Zero, they knew of Nyssa¡¯s family situation, but, out of consideration for her nap-filled school life dreams, they kept their expressions neutral. Nyssa, herself, gave Slade her best ¡®youngster sister scowl¡¯ while squeezing his hand as hard as she could. Shapeshifting her arm to have an extreme density of muscle fibers for just a moment, she broke into a bright smile as Slade grimaced. In the stands, those who could see her smile broke into fierce murmurs. ¡°Woah... the new Class Zero student is smiling so brightly...¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t she pretty beautiful?¡± ¡°Maybe she¡¯s not crazy like the other Class Zero students?¡± ¡°Bro, you have no chance, can¡¯t you see the admiration just beaming off of her right now? It''s clear Slade is the only man in her eyes. You¡¯re not even a tenth as handsome as him!¡± After Slade made his way through all the students, he rejoined his crew. Under Kaiser¡¯s guidance, both groups began backing off; they had to keep the show on the road after all. Nyssa, surrounded by everyone else in Class Zero, tried to feign innocence as Celeste leaned into her ear. ¡°You weren¡¯t really showing Slade a smile of admiration weren¡¯t you? Do you know why he was grimacing in pain?¡± ¡°No... not at all,¡± Nyssa coughed while looking away. ¡°Maybe he¡¯s developed some sort of illness.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯d know if he developed an illness though, Ms. Ravenstein,¡± Celeste teased while getting into battle formation. ¡°A... Ah... yeah...¡± Nyssa shook her head before looking down at her feet. ¡°I may or may not have transformed only my arm to be extremely strong for a second.¡± Covering her mouth with a hand, Celeste broke out into breathy laughs after Nyssa¡¯s confession. The others, who had also been curious¡ªand eavesdropped¡ªalso felt laughs escape under their breaths. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s focus up though,¡± Ryker cleared his throat as everyone gathered around him in battle position. A serious expression appeared on his face for the first time in what everyone felt like forever. ¡°Stop talking and calm your thoughts. We have a period of chaos coming up. Let¡¯s dazzle everyone who doubted us.¡± ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure no one doubted us,¡± Electra retorted while lowering herself to the ground. ¡°It¡¯s just some friendly competition.¡± ¡°Hey, let me have my inspiring leader moment,¡± Ryker harrumphed while crossing his arms. After a few more whispers though, everyone did quiet down. In fact, everyone in the stadium quieted down. The afternoon sun shone onto the pitch, its intense rays sparing no one as a referee named Kaiser walked to the center of the pitch. He raised the starter pistol towards the sky as both groups gathered together. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. As the headmaster, he, of course, knew about the bet between the two classes; he, a ¡®neutral¡¯ party, held no stake in the fight, but how could he not cheer for Class Zero deep in his heart? Dearest Nyssa had just enrolled. Between Slade and Nyssa, he had no true preference though. As much as he liked to dote on his youngest, he loved all three of his children with every corner of his heart. Today Slade would win, his experience and power far outstripped the students, but it¡¯d be a fun to see how it might change in the future... Nyssa has an undeniable amount of potential; ultimately, more than both Slade and Roxanne... She has far less drive though, does anything but her bed drive her forward? Mystified as alwaays by his youngest daughter¡¯s skewed life goals, Kaiser realized he¡¯d drawn out the dramatic silence for a few moments too long. Turning in a slow circle, he scanned the crowd. With bated breath, the ocean of statue-like students¡ªand faculty¡ªhad their eyes bolted to the starter pistol. ... BANG! Shooting the pistol and disappearing from the stage, Kaiser chuckled as cheers began pouring in from all directions. ¡°All the planning is worth it for moments like these.¡± The battle itself, though, got off to a slow start. Like snails in the sand, both sides kept in their groups. Slade and the others were content to let the others have the first move while Class Zero seemed to be... waiting? Ryker had run forward. He then... slid and began laying on the ground like a dead fish long before he made it to the opponents. Face-down on the dirt pitch, he... just laid there! The others had backed away as well, leaving a certain white-haired girl in the center alone. Nyssa, once given a wide berth, spread her arms, closed her eyes, and began glowing. Her eyebrows furrowed before the light swallowed her. It grew. The light kept expanding. Slade, on the other side of the pitch, began laughing. His teammates turned towards him, worried he had lost the last screw in his head. ¡°She¡¯s doing it! Watch! This is the younger sister I keep bragging to you all about!¡± After about ten seconds of blinding radiance, the light faded. A gleaming white dragon stood in its place, towering over a section of the pitch. Though gargantuan, the dragon didn¡¯t fill the stadium¡ªbecause Kaiser¡¯s predecessors had too much money and built an intensely oversized pitch. ¡°Hop on,¡± Nyssa¡¯s voice came out of the dragon, now loud enough for everyone in the stadium to hear with clarity. Electra, Celeste, Titus, Conrad, and Albion all hopped onto the back of the dragon. ¡°MY GLORIOUS STEED! FLY FORTH!¡± Conrad roared, swept up in the moment. Thump. Conrad now laid face-down on the ground. ¡°Let¡¯s go,¡± Electra sighed, patting the dragon below her. ¡°Sounds good,¡± Nyssa leapt off the ground, her wings pumping through the air as they soared first forward, then upward. As she ascended, she grabbed Ryker in one claw and Conrad in the other. Kamikaze time. ¡°Are you ready, Ryker?¡± Nyssa asked as they soared through the clouds. ¡°Ready as ever,¡± Ryker cackled as he looked down at the stadium beneath him. ¡°I was born ready. This is my dream.¡± After taking a banked turn through the clouds, Nyssa broke into a wide grin of her own¡ªone unsettling in her dragon form. Swooping downward, she hurtled back through the clouds and down at the pitch. She crashed through the weak attacks sent up in the air towards her as the crowd¡¯s frantic shouts¡ªand Conrad¡¯s screams¡ªentered her ears. ¡°Oh my god...¡± ¡°A DRAGON??¡± ¡°Who is this new girl...¡± ¡°A... Are we safe here?¡± ¡°SAVE MEEEEE... WHY COULDN¡¯T I BE ON THE BACK? I¡¯M SORRY FOR WHAT I SAIDDDDD...¡± She tuned out the sounds as they neared the ground. Her now-golden eyes squinted. Once close, she let go of Ryker, like a plane would to a bomb, towards Slade¡¯s group. And Ryker soared. His adrenaline junkie shouts filled the stadium as he neared the ground. Before any attacks from Slade¡¯s group could connect with him though, he raised two middle fingers, shouted ¡°TAKE THIS,¡± and let loose an explosion using his entire body as fuel. 35: A Human-Shaped Bomb The explosion rocked the stadium. A fireball enveloped a quarter of the pitch¡ªand it all centered on Slade and his guildmates. Swooping upward, Nyssa and the rest of Class Zero avoided the explosion. Her wingbeats had sent gusts of wind downward, pushing the flames away. Ryker¡ªafter detonating his entire body¡ªbegan reforming near the edge of the explosion site. All the regeneration started from his head, but even before his legs regenerated, he began crawling away on his arms. A moment of foresight, if anything; because, not a moment later, a tremor sank the area into the ground while prehensile hair began crashing down from the sky. ¡°They¡¯re still unharmed? What is this...¡± Ryker muttered to himself, picking himself up and running off after his legs regenerated. A string of expletives left his mouth as he dodged beams of energy coming from Amaris, the Moon¡¯s Apostle. He flipped, he laid flat on the ground, and he ran. Putting on a show, Ryker sparked cheer after cheer from the crowds in the stand. Smiling, he just waved to the crowd. ¡°I¡¯ll be here all week, no need to worry! I¡¯m also available for autographs at any ti-.¡± Unable to finish his words, he looked down only to see a spike of hair coming through his chest. ¡°Oh.¡± Dragged backward towards Caesar, Ryker began screaming ¡°HELPPP¡± before blowing his head up to dodge a blow from Accelerator. Here, his saviors came. Nyssa, the huge dragon, came swooping down while bathing the pitch in fire. Helped by Titus, she blanketed the pitch in flames while Albion, Electra, and Celeste sent precise attacks towards Slade¡¯s group. Nyssa snatched away the tatters of Ryker¡¯s body before retreating back into the sky. To give Ryker time to regenerate, she began a slow loop in the sky. Meanwhile, the four on her back sat back while Conrad went to work. Rings of blue and red began expanding out from Conrad¡¯s eyes as panels of information popped up in every part of his vision. Activating his powers to the fullest, he began acting as the surveyor and updated everyone on the situation. ¡°Caesar¡¯s begun expanding his hair outward. He¡¯s transforming into his signature giant spider-like form. Like us though, Slade, Amaris, Leora, and Accelerator have climbed onto his back. It looks like it¡¯ll be a battle of the gian- SWOOP LEFT!¡± Rolling in the air and banking towards the left side, Nyssa felt her stomach turn as a beam of energy from Amaris tore through the space her right wing had just been occupying. This Apostle of the Moon title was no joke... And this dragon transformation took a lot of energy... ¡°Ready for round two?¡± Nyssa asked once done with her loop. To her delight, a resounding yes came from everyone. ¡°Alright let¡¯s go.¡± Repeating the same tactic from earlier, she soared downward and dropped Ryker like a bomb. Another explosion later, she smiled. They had done damage this time¡ªCaesar¡¯s spider had lost three legs. Of course, the hair grew back in moments, but they had chipped away at their opponents nonetheless. Instead of retrieving Ryker though, she swooped downward on a far steeper trajectory. She rolled midair and flipped all the other students off her back while throwing Conrad downward. Now free, she kamikazed herself into the giant hair-spider to the utter surprise of the audience. ¡°Oh my god, she bit the spider!¡± This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°That¡¯s... ew, I''m shuddering just imagining that.¡± Ignoring the feeling of hair exploding and stabbing the inside of her mouth, she persisted through the blows from Slade and his team. It was... fire time. Letting loose a torrent of flames, she exhaled as much fire as possible¡ªburning through her huge stores of energy like it was oil. A second later, as the attacks from the rest of Class Zero came pouring in, the pressure on her lightened up. ¡°It¡¯s just you and me Caesar.¡± ¡°You¡¯ve grown plenty since we last fought,¡± Caesar praised, a relaxed smile on his face as he continued pumping out hair. ¡°But. While this is a smart strategy, you¡¯re still far too young to win an attrition war against me.¡± As his words left his mouth, an explosion of hair threw Nyssa backward. Midair, she gave up on the dragon form and retreated as a hawk. On the ground, she morphed into a snow-white panther and ran around the battlefield to avoid Caesar¡¯s chasing hair. Up. Down. Left. Right. Rapid-cycling through animals, she put her transformation powers on full display in front of the entire school. Panther to phoenix. Phoenix to unicorn. Unicorn to cheetah. Cheetah to mouse. Mouse to... weird, spike-covered turtle. Turtle to eyeball-laden octopus. Octopus to griffin back to panther. Exhausted after the frenetic chase, she transformed back into a human to catch her breath... only to get hoisted into the air by a smiling Amaris. ¡°Got you,¡± Amaris pulled Nyssa into a brief hug before letting her down and patting her on the shoulder. ¡°You did well. You¡¯ve improved so much since the last time we fought.¡± Nyssa, without the energy to respond, just sat onto the ground. Watching Amaris disappear from her spot and begin to let loose a barrage of energy attacks, she could only sigh. Maybe in the future, Celeste would reach a similar level... Right now, though, Nyssa could only watch as Celeste got absolutely dominated. Her beams got drowned out, and her physical capabilities couldn¡¯t hold a candle to Amaris¡¯s martial arts. And so... the battle came to a quick close. Slade¡¯s team began double-teaming the remaining Class Zero students, packing them up without too much effort. ¡°And that¡¯s the end,¡± Kaiser¡¯s voice came over the speakers. Ryker, in theory, could still fight, but he could do little while surrounded by the entire opposing team. ¡°Well done Class Zero, I¡¯m sure Slade and the others have plenty of praise for you all. However, as always, it¡¯s time for judging. Shall we ask our judges for thoughts?¡± ¡°I thought the initial tactic was quite ingenious. Taking to the skies is an effective way to avoid the most powerful combatant on the other team, Slade.¡± ¡°In addition, I¡¯m sure everyone felt quite the shock when you all carried out dive bombing tactics with Ryker.¡± ¡°The main problem though, is that you all could never mount a full-fledged attack. The dragon biting offensive was certainly one way to do it, but unlike the previous group, there wasn¡¯t a great amount of organization going into it.¡± ¡°Instead, you all set yourselves up for a chaotic battlefield where no one could support each other, and while that can be a veritable strategy at times, it sets you up for failure in this case. A chaotic battlefield allows for the much more powerful, and much more experienced group under Slade to fully exert their advantage.¡± ¡°Well said, judges. Class Zero, I commend you all. A fine effort that came with a great amount of creativity,¡± Kaiser nodded, clapping his hands before spreading his arms and turning to the rest of the stadium. ¡° That wraps up our sparring for the day, can we have the crowd give everyone who fought today a round of applause and some cheers?¡± The roar of cheers came bursting forth, and, among them, Nyssa could hear people shouting about her... ¡°She can transform into so many things, is there anything she can¡¯t transform into?¡± ¡°Your girlfriend, so stop being such a fangirl, dude.¡± ¡°Hey, there¡¯s nothing wrong with being a fangirl! Let her transform into the mature, goth mother figure of my drea-¡± ¡°Shut the hell up. She¡¯s a student like us. A FIRST YEAR. Don¡¯t be creepy like that, uncool, dude.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, you¡¯re right. I¡¯ll send an apology sometime and give some flowers...¡± ¡°Just... just stop.¡± Shivering, Nyssa rubbed her arms. Unsure as to how to feel, she just wanted to not think about anything... She was exhausted after that battle anyway... so... maybe a nap was the answer to this all. 36: Napping Spots Exist Everywhere Nyssa, to her own surprise, managed to stay up through the closing remarks. After dismissal, Slade and his guildmates announced they¡¯d stay around to answer any questions¡ªand sign any autographs¡ªbut Nyssa decided to just leave. Anything she could get here, she could also get... at home... without waiting. Because the others in Class Zero wanted to stay behind for some autographs, though, she ended up leaving alone first. Transforming into a hawk and soaring into the sky, she looked towards the exits. Eh... She probably could¡¯ve stayed as a human... It seemed like most of the school had elected to stay behind for one reason or another... She shook her head and dismissed the unnecessary thoughts. She spread her wings under the afternoon sun, diving and swooping through the air. Adept with her aerial control, she flipped and rolled like a hyperactive jet plane pilot through the air¡ªto the amazement of the students on the ground. Unbeknownst to her, everyone had etched her feats into their mind from the previous battle. ¡°I¡¯m alone... do I go back?¡± Nyssa pondered out loud as she glided through the air. School ended when Kaiser had dismissed everyone, leaving her free as a... bird, literally. Safety had never been an issue at the Luminary Institute¡ªat least theft hadn¡¯t been¡ªso she had no reason to worry about her stuff being stolen. Stored in the Class Zero building, she could probably leave it there until graduation. A moment of hesitation followed. Awake brain battled the sleepy brain, and, as usual, the sleepy brain won out without too much effort. She redirected her flight path, curving through the air as she descended towards the Class One buildings. Why Class One? Well, here was where her expertise as a napper¡ªher quadruple degree while also graduating with top honors awarded by dreamland¡¯s finest¡ªcould shine through. While Class Zero had a building, Class One had an entire complex to itself. It needed to support a much grander swath of students. Between the main Class One dormitory and their private library sat a sculpture. Nyssa, herself, never cared for the ostentatious explanation plaque nor did she mind the ¡°Do not climb¡± sign sitting next to it. After all, she never ¡®climbed¡¯ it per se. The sculpture depicted a titan, holding up a giant hourglass on its shoulders as grains of sand ¡®fell through.¡¯ She came to a stop atop the hourglass. As a round, flat, surface basked in the sun¡¯s rays, Nyssa ranked it in her personal top ten campus spots. Sure, for a normal person, it¡¯d be impossible to mount the statue, but she could just fly up! Poof. Transformed back into a cat, she splayed out in the sun¡ªstarfish-style¡ªand dozed off without a second thought. Heavenly... --- ¡°Thank you for the autograph,¡± Olivia shook hands with Slade. ¡°I really appreciate you taking the time out of your day to come back and help us. Fighting against you was an invaluable experience.¡± Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Of course! Part of our responsibility as heroes is to help inspire the next generation,¡± Slade smiled back. ¡°Your powers too, are... very interesting. I look forward to seeing you develop. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll become a great hero or hunter one day.¡± ¡°... Thank you,¡± Olivia nodded before walking off with the autograph in hand. The crunch of gravel filled her ears as she walked off alone. By now, the crowd had thinned and she could live in her own world of solitude for a few moments while walking back towards the dorms. Olivia... couldn¡¯t quite figure out what she wanted to do in life. She¡¯d gotten scouting offers from both hunting groups and hero groups. Both had their pros and cons, and she knew she¡¯d thrive in both environments, but she felt a little... listless either way. If only she could just become an animal photographer... Well, she could, but she also wanted a job utilizing her talents. Why was I born with this power to invoke demonic contracts? I know it''s been passed down my family tree, by why... me? Why me in this generation? She¡¯d lost count of how many times she¡¯d asked this question. Hundreds? Thousands? Millions of times? With this power, she¡¯d become the leader of Class One, the person ¡®closest¡¯ to becoming a Class Zero student for a decade or something. In the end, she didn¡¯t care. Long ago, she¡¯d been obsessed with entering Class Zero, but now she realized its restrictive nature¡ªalong with how Ryker and Electra were in a different world than she was. ¡°It¡¯s stupid,¡± Olivia shook her head, walking up some stairs. [What is~?] An elegant but playful voice echoed through her mind. ¡°How Ryker can just blow himself up and nullify the contract I place on him,¡± Olivia pursed her lips. ¡°His regeneration factor is crazy, I mean... otherwise he¡¯d be dead by now, but yeah. How does he even discover that he can just blow himself up?¡± [Some audacious risk taking as a child I¡¯d guess. Children have a way of doing that. I wouldn¡¯t envy his parents.] The voice laughed in her mind. [Though, with all my contractors, I¡¯ve never seen someone who could escape the imposed terms and conditions like he does. He¡¯s truly a rare one-of-a-kind.] ¡°Who isn¡¯t in that class?¡± Olivia snorted, picking up her book bag from the fountainside she had left it at. Bag over shoulder, she began speed walking back to her dorm, passing by the giant and its hourglass before entering the lobby. [I¡¯d argue there are only a few truly unique individuals in that class. Haven¡¯t we discussed this before?] The voice teased before continuing on. [Electra¡¯s powers are only worth discussing because of the sheer amount of output she can create. Titus¡¯s powers, though impressive, are hereditary, and have a vast amount of documentation.] ¡°Yeah, and Conrad¡¯s powers are also hereditary,¡± Olivia continued without a beat, taking the elevator up to the top floor. ¡°It¡¯s lack of ceiling though makes it worth treasuring, even if he¡¯s not the most powerful right now.¡± [Exactly,] The demon in her mind agreed. [So, why feel bad? Albion¡¯s power is a mutation of his heritage, certainly a very interesting one in my opinion, but nothing insurmountable. You and I can reach that height one day. Just continue working.] ¡°I will, I will,¡± Olivia shrugged, walking down the hall and unlocking the door to her room. Slipping in and closing the door behind herself, she set her bag down and stretched. As a faint sigh of relaxation slipped through her mouth, she ignored the demon¡¯s tease. She sat by the windowsill, and, to her surprise, noticed a white cat napping atop the hourglass. After snapping a picture and posting it to the shared forum, with a caption saying [The cat is back!], she redirected her attention to the demon in her mind. ¡°Anyway, back to what I originally wanted to ask, how about the new Class Zero student? What are your thoughts on her?¡± Silence. After a moment of hesitation, the voice sighed. [She¡¯s... worrying. Summon me first, it¡¯s easier to talk in person.] 37: The Student At The Top Of A Different Class Olivia snapped her fingers. The demon appeared after a faint ¡®pop.¡¯ Unlike before, the demon now took on a smaller, human-like form. She kicked her legs back and sprawled out on Olivia¡¯s bed. Shuffling the blankets around as she got comfortable on top of Olivia''s bed, the demon brushed her fingers against her red lips as a sultry smile appeared on her lips. ¡°... Why are you like this, Alecto?¡± Olivia groaned as she watched the demon get into a... suggestive position to say the least. ¡°I don¡¯t get to venture out in this form much, so I have to get the most out of it while I¡¯m here,¡± Alecto sang while raising a leg into the air. ¡°You, dear Olivia, are just too much of a prude. How did I get stuck with you as my contractor this generation?¡± ¡°Don¡¯t ask me,¡± Olivia looked out the window, wholly unfazed by Alecto in front of her. ¡°It¡¯s because you¡¯re so... forward, that I don¡¯t summon you out like this...¡± ¡°Aww, why not?¡± Alecto sang, flipping up and out of bed. She hugged Olivia from behind. ¡°It¡¯s only us two anyway, why not reciprocate my affections.¡± ¡°... Anyway,¡± Olivia peeled Alecto off of her with a sigh. ¡°Shall we continue our conversation from earlier?¡± ¡°The white-haired girl who recently joined Class Zero?¡± Alecto sat down on a chair beside Olivia. The playfulness behind her eyes disappeared as a frown replaced her smile. ¡°She¡¯s quite... unique as far as I can tell.¡± ¡°Why is that?¡± Olivia stared at the white cat napping in the sun outside the window. ¡°Well... she has a transformation power,¡± Alecto tapped her chin while crossing her legs. ¡°Except, unlike most, I see no real... limit to it. She can transform into anything she wants, whenever she wants. Even fictional things.¡± ¡°Fictional?¡± Olivia pursed her lips. ¡°That doesn¡¯t sound like a real power. What¡¯s the limiting factor then?¡± ¡°Energy? As far as I can tell, that¡¯s about it.¡± Alecto¡¯s eyebrows furrowed as she tapped the desk beside her. ¡°But energy will increase naturally as she grows. Not to mention the fact that she¡¯ll train it to extraordinary levels here at the academy. Just think back to how much your energy increased, Olivia.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m... glad I won¡¯t be fighting her then,¡± Olivia shook her head. ¡°Or, well, any chance after this year. I think I can manage against her for now.¡± ¡°Many are able to handle her right now,¡± Alecto agreed. ¡°As far as I can tell, her transformation is what takes most of her energy right now. She has, through what must¡¯ve been years of practice, optimized her energy usage while transformed¡ªto the point that it¡¯s negligible.¡± ¡°... Well, I¡¯m glad she has a kind heart, I¡¯ve only heard good things about her from Ryker and Electra,¡± Olivia shrugged and yawned. With her eyes still on the cat outside, she couldn¡¯t help but admire its... resourcefulness. How did it get on top of the hourglass? ¡°I¡¯m glad she has a kind heart too,¡± Alecto agreed as she hugged Olivia from behind once more, pressing her chest against her contractor¡¯s arm. ¡°Not as kind as your heart though I bet.¡± This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. ¡°You¡¯re just biased since I¡¯m your contractor. I have quite a few ambitions deep down within me,¡± Olivia ignored Alecto¡¯s affection. ¡°Heavens, you¡¯re such a prude, why didn¡¯t you contract the angel of the family? Actually, she¡¯s worse than me,¡± Alecto groaned as Olivia remained unfazed. ¡°What are you so busy looking at anyway?¡± ¡°Just a cute cat,¡± Olivia pointed out the window, a faint smile appearing on her face. She raised her phone and took a few more pictures. ¡°Also, it¡¯s not like I got to choose, I¡¯ve been contracted with you since birth.¡± ¡°True, I guess I can¡¯t blame fate. It just speaks to our great compatibility. You¡¯re the first contractor I¡¯ve ever made a contract with before they were born. The earliest contract I made before you was five-years-old,¡± Alecto shook her head. She rested her head against Olivia¡¯s shoulder. ¡°But, yes, that is a cute cat.¡± ¡°I know right...¡± Olivia leaned her head against Alecto¡¯s. ¡°Why have you become so touchy anyway? When I was a child all you did was give me hugs and let me sleep on your lap.¡± ¡°Well, of course I wouldn¡¯t do any of this stuff while you were a child, who do you take me for? A heavenly agent? They¡¯re the ones who are into minors, not me,¡± Alecto puffed her cheeks out, wrapping her arms around Olivia¡¯s waist. ¡°... A surprising amount of decency,¡± Olivia admitted, scratching the back of her head. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect that, thank you.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Alecto grinned, winking at Olivia before leaning in for a kiss. ¡°But now that you¡¯re an adult, I can do stuff like... thi-¡± ¡°No?¡± Olivia stopped Alecto by pressing a hand against Alecto¡¯s mouth. ¡°We¡¯re just contractor and contractee. Not... you know.¡± ¡°Hmm~ I don¡¯t know,¡± Alecto teased, only to receive a harsh pinch on the side from Olivia. ¡°Okay, sorry, sorry, I apologize. I¡¯ll be serious, don¡¯t send me off!¡± ¡°Good,¡± Olivia smiled. ¡°You know, to change the topic, since you have the knowledge of hundreds of years at your disposal, do you know how that cat got there? On top of the hourglass statue? I¡¯ve been thinking about it for a few minutes now, and can¡¯t think of any way a cat could get up there.¡± ¡°Huh? You¡¯re really confused about that?¡± Alecto raised an eyebrow. ¡°After the entire conversation we just had?¡± Silence filled the room. ¡°What... do... you mean?¡± Olivia massaged her face. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me... is it what I think it is?¡± ¡°Probably,¡± Alecto clutched her stomach as laughter began escaping her lips. ¡°It¡¯s our dear little friend who joined Class Zero. I thought you knew!¡± ¡°How would I know the Institute¡¯s favorite white cat was now a student? She¡¯s been here for the past four years! Or more! She¡¯s been here the entire time that I¡¯ve been here.¡± Olivia waved her hands out. ¡°I... see though.¡± ¡°Just keep it a secret then, it seems that she doesn¡¯t want her... nap time, disturbed,¡± Alectro shrugged as she dragged Olivia away from the window. ¡°Yeah, you¡¯re right about that. That answers another one of my questions though. I¡¯ll keep her secret, but I¡¯d be careful about investigating her too much Alecto,¡± Olivia ran her hand through Alecto¡¯s long black hair. ¡°I bet she¡¯s the Ravenstein mentioned by Slade.¡± ¡°That¡¯d... make sense. There¡¯s been no news this entire year of someone being worthy of Class Zero status. But suddenly, someone appeared at the start of the year, someone with powers that should¡¯ve been very well-known.¡± Alecto counted on her fingers. ¡°The fact she¡¯s been here for so long adds up...¡± ¡°You¡¯re just saying words to say them at this point,¡± Olivia groaned as Alecto droned on. ¡°Do you like the sound of your voice that much?¡± ¡°Mn... No I don¡¯t,¡± Alecto teased. ¡°I actually like your voice a lot more.¡± ¡°... Anyway, I¡¯m going to go get dinner, so I¡¯ll talk to you later tonight.¡± One snap later, Olivia unsummoned Alecto and leaned back in her chair. She ignored the complaints running through her mind as she leaned back in her chair. Her head hurt. Not that it mattered, but she needed some water... ¡°Oh... the other top students in Class One are getting dinner, I guess I''ll join them...¡± 38: The Hypothetical Sleep Institute If a ¡®Sleep Institute¡¯ existed, Nyssa might¡¯ve considered it over attending the Luminary Institute. Sure, the Luminary Institute had prestige, resources, yada yada yada, but among Nyssa¡¯s priorities in life, sleep ranked far higher than anything the Luminary Institute could prepare her for... Cold places, warm places, cozy places, open spaces, she didn¡¯t mind any of it! She could sleep in them all! That being said, she was experiencing a little bit of post-nap nervousness. Her paws shook a little as she rolled around on the hourglass¡¯s top. How was she supposed to leave? Earlier, she beat everyone back, allowing her to just transform and nap on the hourglass¡¯s top. Now, she couldn¡¯t just transform into a bird and fly away. After all, anyone seeing a cat become a bird would think of the girl who had just transformed into a zoo¡¯s worth of animals earlier in the afternoon... A minute of thinking later, she decided to just transform her legs to take the fall. She jumped off and scurried off into the bushes before any of the observers could run over and check on her. Transforming into a tiny sparrow, she zipped off as random Class One students ran over. ¡°Did you just see the cat jump off?¡± ¡°Is it okay?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think a cat can fall that far without breaking its bones!¡± ¡°... Wait, where is it?¡± ¡°Oh, we were too late, the Institute¡¯s white cat is known for disappearing...¡± Unbeknownst to Nyssa, who had flown off by this point, the conversation took a strange turn. ¡°I thought the cat had become nicer recently...¡± ¡°Ah, you saw the cuddling post?¡± ¡°Of course I did! Who hasn¡¯t? I wanted to recreate it!¡± ¡°I think we all do.¡± The forum, itself, dedicated to tracking the Institute¡¯s white cat allowed anonymity. As an open secret, the faculty knew and contributed to it, which kept it in line; thus, it had survived until the present day. There had been a faint uproar though, in recent days. One anonymous user had posted themselves cuddling with the cat! No one else had achieved such a feat! The cat had a reputation of running away at the mere sight of humans. Everyone wondered how someone had befriended it. Who was the rumored cat whisperer? As for the rumored cat whisperer, she had her legs kicked up on a desk in the Class Zero classroom. Scrolling on her phone to pass the time, she listened in on Albion, Titus, and Conrad¡¯s conversation while they played cards. ¡°Where¡¯s Nyssa? Any news of her?¡± Albion looked over as Titus shuffled the cards. ¡°She just disappeared after Slade allowed people to leave.¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°I mean, why would she have stayed?¡± Conrad ventured, resting a foot on the chair next to him. ¡°To spend time with friends, maybe?¡± Titus shrugged, dealing the cards to himself, Albion, and Conrad. ¡°She¡¯s been napping on the hourglass statue near the main Class One dorm. You know the one that¡¯s being held up by the titan?¡± Celeste answered, nonchalant as she kept scrolling on her phone. ¡°Ah, yeah, we aren¡¯t beating napping,¡± Titus laughed as everyone else murmured in agreement. ¡°Especially while we¡¯re waiting in an autograph line to meet her older brother.¡± ¡°How did you know where Nyssa is, though?¡± Albion organized his hand of cards, tossing one after a second or two. ¡°The cat forum,¡± Celeste turned her head to watch the three boys play. ¡°The institute¡¯s mysterious cat is Nyssa after all.¡± ¡°Oh that thing?¡± Conrad raised an eyebrow. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you were on the forum. How popular is it even? Sounds kinda... I don''t know, weird?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not?¡± Celeste furrowed her eyebrows. ¡°I mean, you might not use it, but I think Titus does, I¡¯m not sure about Albion though.¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t use it,¡± Albion shrugged, ¡°Cats were never my thing. I don¡¯t think it¡¯s weird that you do use it though.¡± ¡°Yeah, cats are cute, I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re saying, Conrad,¡± Titus shook his head. ¡°Also, I just eliminated you. Perhaps that¡¯s just the heavens agreeing with me instead of you.¡± ¡°... I guess,¡± Conrad put his cards down with a shrug. ¡°I apologize if that came out wrong.¡± Forgiven by the other three with him, the four students continued hanging out and passing the time in Class Zero¡¯s classroom. They didn¡¯t have too much to do. Not until the sunset at least where they had planned to get dinner together. Nyssa, too, had agreed to the dinner, but she was nowhere to be found. At least, not until the growling of stomachs began puncturing the conversation every few minutes. ¡°Sorry my nap ran a little long!¡± Nyssa apologized as she burst through the door. ¡°No you''re just in time, we¡¯re cleaning up to leave right now, anyway,¡± Celeste reassured, reaching over and grabbing her bag from under a desk. ¡°We also haven¡¯t decided where to get dinner yet either, do you have any recommendations? You¡¯ve been at the academy for the longest after all.¡± ¡°... I don¡¯t really know anything about the place though, other than the good napping spots,¡± Nyssa confessed. ¡°I don¡¯t even live on campus like you all.¡± ¡°That¡¯s... true,¡± Celeste tapped her chin before turning to the others. ¡°Do you all have any preferences?¡± ¡°I heard the new pasta place that opened up on the west side of campus is really good. They also have a lot of tables so there¡¯s not a long wait,¡± Albion proposed with a yawn. ¡°It¡¯s also right next to the best ice cream place on campus.¡± ¡°And the real intentions come out,¡± Titus laughed. ¡°I¡¯m down with that though. Anyone else have any thoughts?¡± After a plethora of ¡°no¡±s and ¡°I¡¯m fine with that¡±s, the five of them picked up their stuff and left for the restaurant. Out of the classroom. Down the stairs. After a short pause in the lobby for people to use the restroom, they walked through the sliding double doors and out onto campus. With a gentle breeze dancing around them, they basked in the sunset¡¯s golden beams. Albion walked along with his bag slung over his shoulder and hands in his pockets, each breath he exhaled creating a faint cloud of mist as the temperature succumbed to the evening chill. They dodged low-hanging tree branches as they took a few shortcuts through the institute¡¯s campus. Stone-laden paths created by their upperclassmen from generations past marked each of these routes, and small notes decorated their sides from couples, friend groups, and classes who wanted to leave a mark. ¡°So, Nyssa, in the past you mentioned moving into the dorms,¡± Titus broke the silence as they all squinted their eyes while walking towards the sun. ¡°Any new thoughts on that?¡± 39: Unfortunate Restaurant Meeting... ¡°Not really...¡± Nyssa trailed off after a few seconds of hesitation. ¡°I still think having a room wouldn¡¯t be the worst idea. That way I don¡¯t have to follow my dad¡¯s schedule when going home. It also frees me up to hang out later in the night.¡± She shaded her eyes with one hand. Making a left after reorienting her mental map of the school to where they were, she shrugged. ¡°The problem is I really like my bed. A little too much probably. That, plus my natural tendency to drag my feet means I haven¡¯t made much progress with moving in.¡± Everyone ended up giving a few agreeing murmurs after she finished speaking. Because hunger pervaded their minds, each comment ended up without too much substance. Celeste, in particular, though, patted Nyssa on the shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s fine, the dorms aren¡¯t that special.¡± ¡°They really aren¡¯t much,¡± Albion stretched his arms behind his back. ¡°We live in one of the auxiliary Class One dorms, which means we do run into a lot of Class One students. One positive thing is that we all get singles.¡± Following his comment though, the conversation fell to silence once more. Nobody had anything else to say. As a group, they enjoyed the evening breeze and ventured across campus. Albion had called ahead to make a reservation¡ªjust in case¡ªso they kept their walking speed brisk to make the time. Once the sun disappeared behind the horizon, taking its last rays of light with it, they arrived at their destination: one of the square plazas on the left side of campus. Establishments of all sizes dotted the plaza. Students and a few select staff streamed in and out of every store¡¯s doors, while even more sat around the plaza. Young couples cuddled on the grassy area and friend groups unwilling to use restaurant seating congregated around the public tables. The pasta restaurant Albion had recommended saw the most amount of foot traffic. Two stories tall, it boasted an exposed terrace dotted with tables. ¡°Our reservation is not up there,¡± Albion clarified before anyone could ask. ¡°It¡¯s being reserved for a birthday party right now. I still got one upstairs though because I¡¯m antisocial.¡± ¡°Glad you have that self-awareness,¡± Titus chuckled while patting Albion on the back. Ignoring the glare he got from Albion as they walked through the double doors, he came to a stop by the podium. A hostess came over a couple seconds later and Titus, deciding to help Albion out a bit, glanced back at the party. ¡°Group of five, reservation¡¯s under Albion.¡± ¡°Ah, I see, follow me,¡± The hostess nodded and checked off the name before picking up menus and leading them upstairs. ¡°So... efficient,¡± Nyssa murmured to Celeste as they followed the three boys. ¡°I wonder how much memorization they have to do...¡± ¡°For tables, menus, reservations?¡± Celeste tapped her chin. ¡°I guess so. I¡¯m not too familiar with how much work goes into it though. I¡¯d assume a fair amount though.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not too familiar either, but... yeah, I¡¯d guess a decent amount too,¡± Nyssa agreed as they began walking through the partitioned areas in the upper floor. As they walked, she let her eyes wander through the gaps in the partition. Unlike full walls, these half partitions allowed for airflow while still providing a semblance of privacy. Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. After a half second of looking around though, Nyssa froze up and dearly wished for full wall partitions. In the corner sat two men, one much older than the other. Enveloped in their own world, they seemed blind to the outside world. To her dismay though, both of these men had familiar faces... ¡°Oh... oh no,¡± she whispered to herself, hiding behind Celeste for a few seconds. ¡°Hmm? What¡¯s up?¡± Celeste looked back, surprised to see an unfamiliar face behind her. ¡°Nyssa?¡± ¡°Shh!¡± Nyssa glanced forward with her eyes as her hair dyed black. ¡°I¡¯m... uh... uh... Nyx.¡± ¡°Nyx...?¡± Celeste raised an eyebrow as she turned her attention back forward. Following her new friend Nyx¡¯s gaze, the light of enlightenment dawned on her. ¡°Headmaster and Slade, I see, now.¡± ¡°How are you not nervous...¡± Nyssa¡¯s quiet voice came from behind Celeste. Now morphed into a different person, she had even shrunk to become a little shorter. ¡°I... don¡¯t know? They don¡¯t feel like real people to me,¡± Celeste shrugged, ruffling Nyssa¡¯s hair as they continued to walk closer and closer to Slade and Kaiser. ¡°Maybe you should stay at this height more often, Nyss- Nyx. You¡¯re so cute!¡± ¡°Hey!¡± Nyssa glared at Celeste in mock anger before shrugging. ¡°I don¡¯t like being mistaken for a middle schooler. So my actual appearance is good enough.¡± ¡°True, true, that is a valid concern,¡± Celeste agreed, whispering a ¡°don¡¯t worry about it¡± to the confused Albion, Conrad, and Titus as they paused. The hostess began checking tables, leaving them to stand there¡ªlike fish laid hung to dry. ¡°It¡¯s our friend, Nyx,¡± Celeste winked before pushing Nyssa forward. ¡°I assure you, although she¡¯s very cute, she¡¯s a high schooler. Yep yep.¡± ¡°I¡¯m just trying to avoid Slade and Dad,¡± Nyssa trailed off as she used her thumb to point towards the two in question. ¡°It¡¯s embarrassing to like... be seen with you guys. Well, to be seen with you guys sounds wrong, but like... it''s harder to be myself when I know they¡¯re right there. I just... yeah, I don¡¯t know...¡± Getting a few understanding pats on the shoulder... and, for some reason, a few understanding pats on the head, she gave them a quiet thank you¡ªalong with a light glare to those who patted her on the head. After their conversation wandered away to discussing plans after dinner, the hostess had returned. Passing the menus to everyone in the party, she motioned for them to take a seat... next to Slade and Kaiser. ¡°This will be your table, especially near the corner for a greater amount of privacy,¡± The hostess smiled. ¡°I understand groups like you all prefer something a little more secluded, so I specially chose this table.¡± Nyssa just wanted to cry. Or... maybe pull her eyelids down. GAH! Why... Why did the heavens have to toy with her like this... Celeste, very much so not oblivious to her struggles, just giggled while covering her smile with a hand. ¡°It seems luck has not been on your side today... Nyx.¡± ¡°It hasn¡¯t...¡± Nyssa grimaced, choosing the seat furthest away from Kaiser and Slade. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ll be back in a few moments to take your order,¡± The hostess bowed before backing off. As she left, she cleared her throat. ¡°Take your time though, and I¡¯ll be returning with some water and bread to get you all started.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Conrad nodded while motioning a thumbs-up with his hand. After perusing the menu for not even a second though, he leaned in and gave the worst demonstration of short-term memory in the history of mankind. ¡°So... Nyssa, how does it feel knowing your family¡¯s right here?¡± 40: The Consequences of One’s Actions Not even a second later, Conrad suffered the consequences of his actions. One of Albion¡¯s and one of Celeste¡¯s hands covered his mouth. His body hit the wall with a ¡°BANG¡± as they pushed him back and turned away from Slade and Kaiser. ¡°Oh?¡± Slade laughed as the commotion grabbed his attention. ¡°How are you all, Nyssa¡¯s friends correct?¡± ¡°Y-Yes...¡± Titus scratched the back of his head. As his hands tapped against the table, he crossed and uncrossed his legs a few times. ¡°Nice to see you again, Mr... Ravenstein...s.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, just refer to us by our first names,¡± Slade leaned back and laughed. He patted Kaiser¡¯s arm. ¡°Look at us go, never would¡¯ve thought I¡¯d be put in the same category as a legend like you.¡± ¡°You deserve it,¡± Kaiser chuckled, turning in his seat to face Titus as well. ¡°I¡¯m just a headmaster these days, not many still know my past.¡± ¡°A shame really,¡± Slade shook his head. ¡°Those recordings are crazy. I don¡¯t think Roxanne or I could beat you.¡± ¡°... Anyway,¡± Kaiser cleared his throat after a pause. A faint hint of red tinted his ears as he scanned the table of five. ¡°Apologies, Titus. We¡¯re just a little too talkative. How¡¯s Nyssa?¡± Titus, left alone to deal with both Slade and Kaiser, tensed every neck muscle he had to not glance at the others. As sweat began appearing near his temples, he coughed a few times before a stammering chuckle left his lips. ¡°Y-yeah, she¡¯s doing well. We¡¯re just... you know. Having dinner... yeah.¡± ¡°Indeed, what is youth but hanging out with your friends,¡± Slade winked at Kaiser as they shared a knowing glance. ¡°I wonder, though, who that fifth person could be. She¡¯s not part of Class Zero, since I met all of you this afternoon.¡± ¡°Well, she doesn¡¯t look like a student,¡± Kaiser added, as he drummed his fingers against the table. ¡°I¡¯ve memorized every student¡¯s face, and that¡¯s an unfamiliar one...¡± ¡°Ah! Must we call security then?¡± Slade exclaimed while making a fake scared expression. ¡°How could there be an intruder?¡± ¡°I know right, what a shame,¡± Kaiser shook his head, unable to suppress the laughs slipping through his lips. ¡°Hmm... where¡¯s the security phone numbe-¡± ¡°Fine IT¡¯S ME! Happy now?¡± Nyssa grumbled, crossing her arms as her body untransformed back into her normal form. Her hair dyed itself white once more as her body grew. ¡°What is this weird prank you¡¯re running?¡± ¡°Well, it wouldn¡¯t hurt, you know?¡± Slade clutched his stomach, smacking the table while laughing. ¡°We both saw you long before you saw us. We watched the transformation with our own eyes!¡± ¡°Ack...¡± Nyssa stretched across the table, grabbing onto the now-laughing Celeste¡¯s arm. ¡°A failure...¡± ¡°It was already over when Conrad said what he said,¡± Celeste pat Nyssa¡¯s head. ¡°Don¡¯t feel bad.¡± ¡°Hey! Hey, hey, trust,¡± Conrad motioned with his arms. He puffed his chest out. ¡°It wasn¡¯t me, it was the slam more than what I said. Plus, they knew about it already anyway! I know I might¡¯ve lacked a little subtlety-¡± A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°A little?¡± Albion retorted as everyone¡ªincluding Kaiser and Slade¡ªlooked at Conrad. ¡°... Okay, I know I might¡¯ve lacked a lot of subtlety,¡± Conrad cleared his throat. ¡°But it¡¯s fine!¡± ¡°Alright, sure man, whatever helps you sleep at night,¡± Albion shook his head. As murmurs agreeing with what he said came from other people, he nodded towards them with a laugh. As the conversation settled though, he looked towards the others with an awkward smile. Mouthing a ¡°do we invite them?¡±, he waited for the others to answer. One awkward situation later, where nobody could understand what he said¡ªbecause no one could read lips well¡ªfollowed up by him texting the group chat to clarify, they did get an affirmative from everyone. Nyssa included, even if hers was laced with a scent of despair. Another stammering invitation from Nyssa later, and the two tables combined into one. Sat in the corner of the restaurant, they hadn¡¯t disturbed any other party during the move. Bar the waitress who laughed when she came with water and bread, every other party continued on with their own conversations none the wiser. The waitress took their order, scrawling down each of their requests on a small notepad before walking off. Left to their own devices once more, they made some more... awkward conversation. Kaiser and Slade kept quiet to not disturb the students too much. Their actions though, left Albion, Titus, Celeste, Conrad, and Nyssa fidgeting. Their conversation stunted as their brains struggled to come up with anything of substance. ¡°So... how¡¯s class...¡± Conrad nodded his head, motioning to everyone else. ¡°Great! I¡¯m having a wonderful time learning, I just learn so much every day,¡± Nyssa added with a frozen smile. ¡°It¡¯s just such a great time being at this institute, wouldn¡¯t you agree?¡± Titus gave a thumbs-up, looking towards Celeste, ¡°I just can¡¯t wait to see you all every morning.¡± ¡°Totally, our teacher is just so great at explaining,¡± Celeste followed up behind Titus, flashing a thumbs-up of her own. ¡°There¡¯s no time where I ever worry about going to her for help or support when I need it. It¡¯s just such a great learning environment.¡± ¡°What is this goofy-ass teacher evaluation sounding conversation you all are having?¡± Slade facepalmed while laughing. ¡°I¡¯m not that old, just treat me like... an older brother.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a little hard,¡± Celeste confessed, lacing her fingers together. ¡°You¡¯re quite famous, you know? We all look up to you. It also doesn¡¯t help that you''re the child of the principal, and you¡¯re sitting here with him.¡± ¡°Ah, yes, I¡¯m quite familiar with the effect I have on students,¡± Kaiser mumbled as he stared at his plate. ¡°A shame, really.¡± ¡°It¡¯s because you¡¯re built like a tank, and are a war hero, dad,¡± Slade reached over and patted his hand. He turned back to the group of students and pointed to Nyssa¡ªwho had now looked away while pretending she had no physical body. ¡°But how am I any different from Nyssa?¡± ¡°Beyond the fame?¡± Albion raised an eyebrow. ¡°I mean... a lot?¡± ¡°She doesn¡¯t quite give off a very pressuring atmosphere,¡± Celeste answered with a diplomatic smile. Memories of a certain cat napping on her lap made it hard to harbor any sort of fear or hesitation when it came to Nyssa. ¡°What can I do then to close the gap a little between us?¡± Slade drummed his fingers against a plate. He stared off into space for a few moments as Kaiser elected to stay quiet. Age and fame made it hard to close the gap¡ªbut what kind of brother would he be if he didn¡¯t try to get close to his younger sister¡¯s friends? ... Probably an average one, but he wanted to be a good brother. ¡°How about this,¡± Slade sat up after a few seconds, ¡°How about I retell some stories about Nyssa from childhood. I¡¯m sure she hasn¡¯t told you all anything. An easy way to get to know your classmate better.¡± ¡°Not interested.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not much of a child person.¡± ¡°I¡¯m not inter... Well, actually,¡± Celeste paused, ignoring Nyssa¡¯s pleading hand tugging at her sleeve. ¡°Albion, let me switch seats with you, I want to hear this.¡± 41: The Graduate Division To Nyssa¡¯s relief, the dinner passed without much issue. Slade and Kaiser told a couple stories from her childhood, avoiding the mortifying stories that¡¯d leave Nyssa in irreparable embarrassment. Because the stories they told stayed in good spirits, the atmosphere of the table opened up as well, and conversation flowed. The dinner as a whole, though, finished after a couple hours. With the sky already dark, Nyssa bade her friends goodnight after the dinner and followed Kaiser and Slade back home. Frowning while in the car, she couldn¡¯t help but feel a certain tug of loneliness in her heart. She¡¯d get a dorm room soon, so she didn¡¯t have to leave every time they hung out... Like that though, life eased into a rhythm once more as several weeks flew by in a flash. --- Far from the Luminary Institute. Deep in the forest, five students from the graduate division sat around a campfire. Everyone sat on logs. Their tents sat behind them in a circle to form a protective wall from the elements. Bundled up in layers of clothing, the five of them ate their dinner under the blanket of night. In the distance, a scene of carnage unfolded as an entire section of the forest had been razed. Splintered and fallen trees decorated the ground while the entrance to tunnels pockmarked the surface. A small mountain of centipede corpses sat in the center of the clearing, disassembled for their most valuable parts and magic stones. ¡°So, what¡¯s the plan now?¡± A man with gray hair started the conversation. Deep circles sat under his eyes as he seemed starved of energy. ¡°We technically completed our mission to destroy the centipede infestation.¡± ¡°Why were they so large though! Ugh...¡± A woman with wild black hair propped her chin up with her hands. ¡°I thought they¡¯d be like... dog-sized at most. But here they were, the size of CARS! No wonder we were sent out to kill them.¡± ¡°That¡¯s beside the point though, Thalia. That¡¯s not my question since we¡¯ve already beaten them,¡± The man sighed as he looked towards the others. ¡°Do we try to investigate the cause behind the size increase? After consulting with my terminal, I did indeed find that this species of centipede, if we identified them correctly, has no way of growing to this size.¡± ¡°Ohhh, so that¡¯s what you were doing, Ashe,¡± A taller orange-haired man clutched his stomach as he burst out into belly-aching laughs. ¡°I just saw you mindlessly playing that brick-laying game or something?¡± ¡°I mean, I was doing that too,¡± Ashe sighed. ¡°Though it''s an underground game that practically no one I know plays, it¡¯s still a fun time. I digress though. Thoughts, Orion?¡± ¡°Nope, I¡¯m fine with anything, ask Isolde and Scarlet, they¡¯re the thinkers of the group other than you,¡± Orion shrugged, looking back down to continue inhaling his rations. ¡°We have plenty of supplies either way after all.¡± ¡°True,¡± Ashe assented before turning to the other two girls who had been engaging in their own conversation. ¡°Isolde, Scarlet, what are your guys¡¯ thoughts about the situation? Though I may be our leader, you two probably have been thinking about this more than them. Did you two notice anything unusual when we were disassembling the centipedes?¡± Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! ¡°Mutated stones, they¡¯re all... sharp,¡± Isolde pushed her glasses up. Her brown hair cascaded down her chest, flowing out from her hood. ¡°Unlike classical magic stones that we see which have more spherical or ovaline shapes, these ones featured growths jutting outward. Usually they¡¯re seen in growth periods where the creature is transitionary from one stage of life to another.¡± ¡°Interesting,¡± Ashe shook his head as a long sigh left his mouth. ¡°But weren¡¯t these centipedes already larger than the... uh... well, largest they¡¯d get?¡± ¡°Correct,¡± Isolde shook her head. ¡°That¡¯s why Scarlet and I were theorizing that this is artificially stimulating growth. Someone, or something, was doing that. After all, though all currently in nascent stages, most artificial growth research is centered around the mana stone. People wonder if the shape of the mana stone is a result or side effect during growth, or an actual stimulator of growth.¡± ¡°Isolde¡¯s really been researching this stuff. She¡¯s far more knowledgeable than me,¡± Scarlet smiled, her blond hair giving her an almost angelic-like appearance. She reached over and patted Isolde¡¯s back. ¡°Give yourself more credit, I just nodded and listened while you worked through your thoughts.¡± ¡°Well, that means we should probably investigate this shouldn¡¯t we...¡± Ashe grumbled and slouched. ¡°I wanted to go home and sleep.¡± ¡°We definitely should investigate it,¡± Isolde agreed, eliminating most of the debate. ¡°Judging from the battle, we shouldn¡¯t be in any danger. We should just go through and explore the tunnels more carefully. Along the way we may discover treasure or eggs that should also be taken care of.¡± ¡°Treasure...¡± Ashe¡¯s eyes lit up a little more. ¡°Money... Alright, it''s decided guys. Sleep well tonight. We¡¯ll try and get most of the investigation done tomorrow. Sounds good?¡± ¡°Sounds good.¡± ¡°Yep.¡± ¡°¡°Sure.¡±¡± With their planning done, the team of five returned to their idle conversation. They cleaned up their trash from dinner and pulled marshmallows, chocolate, and crackers to make some smores under the moon¡¯s gentle glow. ¡°Did you hear?¡± Thalia changed the topic as a mischievous grin appeared on her face. ¡°Our Class Zero got another new student this year!¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s a surprise, were they transferred from Class One?¡± Scarlet leaned forward to try and get her marshmallow into a better position near the fire. ¡°I¡¯ve heard about a lovely girl called Olivia who¡¯s been rumored to get transferred for the past few years.¡± ¡°No, it wasn¡¯t her,¡± Thalia shook her head. ¡°It was a girl named Nyssa. She was admitted as a first year student.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a surprise,¡± Orion paused mid-bite, with marshmallows spilling out the sides of his cracker sandwich. ¡°I thought there wasn¡¯t going to be anyone this year, or for the next few years. There hasn''t been anyone really forecasted for a while. The name somehow rings a bell though, I just don¡¯t remember where I heard it.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s because she¡¯s been kept on the down-low, only the people in Class Zero are really allowed to know right now,¡± Thalia shrugged before leaning in. ¡°She¡¯s the youngest daughter of the headmaster.¡± ¡°Ohhhh, that makes sense,¡± Orion slapped his knee. ¡°I remember now, my older sister Amaris mentioned her. Uhhh... she said she was a cute kid. She met her when she went over to the Ravenstein household with Slade.¡± ¡°Do you think she got into Class Zero because of connections, you know, the whole parent thing plus siblings? Or do the powers justify it?¡± Ashe tapped his chin as a faint glimmer of curiosity appeared in his eyes. ¡°I assume she has strong powers though.¡± ¡°She has transformation powers,¡± Orion answered. ¡°Probably the best in the world. Because she can transform into anything she wants, imagined or real. Amaris mentioned she has quite the exceptional control over it though, so she probably won¡¯t need Class Zero as much as Slade or Roxanne.¡± ¡°Ah, that makes sense,¡± Ashe shrugged before dropping the topic as everyone else shrugged as well. No one had any more information... ¡°Wait, I¡¯ll text my brother, Ryker. He¡¯s in class with her every day, he has to have more information,¡± Scarlet perked up before sending a message through the terminal on her wrist. ¡°We should go pay the school a visit once we¡¯re done with this mission though! We¡¯ve been doing so many missions back to back, it¡¯ll be nice to meet everyone and catch up with Angelica.¡± 42: A Sister’s Guild of Hunters At the edge between a towering mountain range and an expansive set of plains, a pseudo war had broken out. On the right, in the distance, a massive dragon torched the waves of misshapen monsters rushing towards it. The rider atop the dragon wielding a lance made of light cut down the survivors. Near the pair sat a bear. By now, it had grown to a size comparable to the emperor dragon. It swept its paws and cleaned up any stragglers attempting to escape. On the left side of the battlefield, two people sat in meditative-like positions. Behind one sat a mystical gate reaching into the sky. Its doors sat wide open as a random assortment of spirits came rushing through. The other, acting as a guard, manipulated the ground to send waves of nature cascading into the enemy lines. Wooden spikes, poisonous seed bombs, carnivorous flowers, and more. Their attack covered all the bases. Together, these four kept the two flanks under control. They funneled as many monsters as they could to the center of the battlefield. Here, in the centermost section of the battlefield, a storm of glimmering lights and carnage filled the scene. Roxanne stood in the center of the battlefield, an orchestra conductor as she remained unarmed. Green light flooded out from her eyes and wreathed her hands. Her mouth, though, murmured orders to the twelve spirits she controlled. ¡°It¡¯s rare to see Roxanne go full out,¡± The woman manipulating nature sighed. She sent a wave of vines forward, wrapping, then throwing a wave of enemies in Roxanne¡¯s direction. ¡°How are your spirits doing, Deuce?¡± ¡°They¡¯re doing well... I think,¡± Deuce grimaced as a bead of sweat rolled down his forehead. ¡°The mental load of hundreds of spirits is nothing to scoff at, even if they¡¯re all weak.¡± ¡°I mean, among the hundreds, there¡¯s got to be some strong ones, yeah?¡± The woman scratched her chin. ¡°So far, no, I think some of the stronger ones might¡¯ve been scared off by Roxanne¡¯s spirits,¡± Deuce shook his head. ¡°Not that I really know though, I only control the gate, it''s random what comes out.¡± The woman raised an eyebrow before focusing back on her job. ¡°Well, just let me know I guess. I¡¯m just here to guard you. Close the gate if you need to rest, the battlefield is under control, even though we¡¯re probably losing against Gideon and Alara.¡± ¡°No, no, here¡¯s what you don¡¯t understand, Hazel,¡± Deuce shook his head. ¡°I can¡¯t close the gate now. I¡¯ll push through. It¡¯s only a matter of time before a stronger spirit comes out. It¡¯s as they say, most people quit right before they hit it big.¡± ¡°... Worrying, but you do you,¡± Hazel let out an exasperated sigh. ¡°I just want to go home...¡± Meanwhile, on the other side of the battlefield, Gideon and Alara began wrapping up. Gideon, the bear, flopped forward onto the ground, crushing several monsters beneath him. Tensing all four of his limbs, he shouted ¡°BEAR VACUUM!¡± before transforming to expand his mouth by several magnitudes. Once transformed, he rushed forward and shoveled any enemies in his path into his mouth. After a few laps around their section of the battlefield, he had cleaned up most of the enemies. Standing up onto his hind legs, he shouted ¡°BEAR VOMIT!¡± and regurgitated the enemies in a huge mass, sending them flying towards Roxanne in the center of the battlefield. ¡°Where does everything even go during... ¡®Bear vacuum¡¯? I¡¯m still so confused,¡± Alara mumbled as she walked up to Gideon¡ªwho had now returned to his human form. ¡°And must you shout out these moves?¡± This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°I must, who else will represent the bear population?¡± Gideon flexed his arm before patting his stomach. ¡°I¡¯m also confused as to where things go during ¡®bear vacuum.¡¯ The running theory is just... a pocket dimension, but I¡¯ve never cared enough to find out. I could just do it one day so I¡¯m not gonna question it.¡± ¡°... Cool, remind me to uh... not get bear vacuumed,¡± Alara used a hand to shade her eyes as she looked over to Roxanne¡¯s chaotic battlefield. ¡°Glad I¡¯m not over there.¡± ¡°Me too...¡± Gideon rubbed his arms before looking around. The red dragon had disappeared into thin air. ¡°Surprising to see you not with Cael though, where is he? Did you unsummon him?¡± ¡°I sent him to fly around a bit,¡± Alara shrugged. ¡°Let him do some reconnaissance while we clean up things here. The rest of the team is also investigating the abandoned lab we found, so I sent him in their direction in case a fight broke out over there too.¡± ¡°Very smart of you, admirable as always,¡± Gideon crossed his arms and chuckled. ¡°What do you want to do now then?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s just wait, I don¡¯t feel like helping the gambler,¡± Alara grumbled. ¡°Mr. ¡®I just haven¡¯t won it big yet¡¯ can keep trying to win it big, I don¡¯t care.¡± ¡°Sounds like a plan to me,¡± Gideon laughed before shouting ¡°BEAR SIT¡± and sitting down. ¡°Just sit down...¡± Meanwhile, the battle hit another gear in the center of the battlefield. Roxanne, the Zodiac¡¯s Emissary, proved once more why she deserved the title. Threads of green light connected her to twelve translucent spirits. A dog-sized rat ran around the battlefield, drawing the attention of an entire pack of animals. It ran right to an ox and tiger. The ox plowed forward, straight through the pack leaving a trail of carnage behind it. The tiger, like a surgeon''s scalpel, zipped around, taking the heads off the strongest few. A super-sized rabbit leapt around, crushing monsters underneath with each movement. A master of hit-and-run. Overhead coiled a massive dragon, sweeping through and dominating the battlefield with its size and power. The rest, the snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog, and pig all followed suit, carving out their own sections of the battlefield. Each a deadly weapon under Roxanne¡¯s control. Minutes ticked by, and after another ten minutes of fighting, everything cooled down. Deuce¡¯s gate closed with a BANG and Roxanne unsummoned her twelve spirits. Hazel cleaned up the last of the stragglers by summoning giant carnivorous plants right beneath them. Chomp. Chomp. Chomp. With chomp, another monster disappeared, never to be seen again. ¡°Good work everyone,¡± Roxanne wiped her forehead as everyone gathered around her. ¡°Brilliant strategy as always, Alara, thank you for your advice.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Alara bowed. ¡°It''s my honor.¡± ¡°No need to be formal,¡± Roxanne laughed while letting her brown hair down from its ponytail. ¡°Any updates from the investigation group?¡± ¡°I sent Cael over there after the battle ended,¡± Alara spoke up, ¡°He just let me know that they finished their investigation just a little while ago. They¡¯re packing up their evidence right now.¡± ¡°Cool, cool, so let¡¯s just meet them at our base camp,¡± Roxanne thanked Alara once more. ¡°Now, Gideon, do you still have enough energy?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± He laughed, taking a few steps back to put some distance between him and everyone else. He shouted ¡°BEAR CAR!¡± and transformed into a... large bear with an exhaust pipe. The sound of an engine revving filled the air as he smiled. ¡°Hop on!¡± ¡°What kind of bear is this...¡± Alara shook her head in confusion as she, along with everyone else, hopped on. The bear car took off the moment everyone grabbed on, zipping across the field at race car speeds. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of a bear with an engine? What is this fictional bear nonsense...¡± ¡°Just don¡¯t question it,¡± Roxanne laughed, ¡°You¡¯ve seen more crazy things from my younger sister.¡± ¡°But I expect it from her, it fits in her power! I never expected that Gideon would actually be able to recreate the random transformations she came up with...¡± Alara facepalmed. ¡°At least it helps our team...¡± 43: Student Enthusiasm The Class Zero graduate students completed their impromptu investigation mission after another couple days of work. Roxanne¡¯s hunting guild, the Wildheart Sentinels, completed their dual mission¡ªextermination of mutated wildlife and investigation of an abandoned lab¡ªjust around the same time. A few days after both groups submitted their results to the official Hunter¡¯s Society, a new long-term mission appeared on their website¡¯s homepage. [Long-Term investigation: Two groups working independently have discovered behavior attributed to artificial tampering with natural monster populations. Both group¡¯s won¡¯t be mentioned by name to preserve their anonymity; however, the location in which the two groups worked is of note. The first group was operating in the north past all developed nations in the Forest of Tears. After performing a centipede extermination they found all magic stones recovered showed unnatural growths commonly seen in metamorphosis phases. The species observed however, had already breached its known maximum size. Further investigation of the area revealed mana collectors deep in the burrows of the centipedes. These mana collectors condensed ambient mana into crystals for easy consumption. An attached image is included at the bottom of this write up. The second group operated further west. They too were past all developed nations. However, they were not in the Forest of Tears, instead they worked at the plains meeting the east edge of the Dragon¡¯s Teeth Mountain Range. Though spatially separated in terms of where their missions were, both groups found very similar results. Comparison images between the mana stones they found are included at the bottom of this write up as well. The second group, beyond exterminating a nest of monsters, also investigated reports of an abandoned lab near the base of the mountain range. Reports were correct and evidence was gathered (see bottom for images). The lab seemed well-cleaned up, however some hand-written journals and documents were recovered. The facilities pictured also seem to suggest experimentation with machinery similar to the product being tested in the Forest of Tears. This mission is open-ended and will reward anyone who comes forward with more information. Current Hunter¡¯s Society Urgency Rating: 3/10] [Image_of_mana_collector_final_v2_v3_FINAL_actually] [Comparison_Images] [Lab_Evidence_Image_Folder_v1] [Help us stay transparent! Donate to the Hunter¡¯s Society today!] ¡°That was us!!¡± Thalia cheered as she woke up the other Class Zero Graduate students sleeping in their private compartment on the train. Groggy, each of them rubbed their eyes as she kept blasting them with information. ¡°We¡¯re one of the groups mentioned in this post! We made it to the front page of the Hunter¡¯s Society website!¡± ¡°Bro... what...¡± Ashe grumbled, pulling out his phone to check the time. ¡°It¡¯s three am... why are you awake? Let us sleep...¡± ¡°You don¡¯t understand we made it to the front page! For our investigation results!¡± Thalia laughed, shaking Ashe¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Woah, woah, calm down, you don¡¯t want to hurt Ashe,¡± Orion pulled Thalia off Ashe. The sleepy stupor in their train compartment dissipated bit by bit. ¡°I mean like, he¡¯ll survive, but I just don¡¯t want to deal with that side of Ashe right now.¡± ¡°... True, me neither,¡± Thalia let go of Ashe. ¡°Anyway, everyone, we did it! What now? Do you all want to head back into the field to do some more investigating? We could try and get some more rewards!¡± Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°Let¡¯s... not talk about this right now,¡± Scarlet put a hand onto Thalia¡¯s shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s three in the morning Lia, dear. We all need some more sleep. Plus, we¡¯re all quite worn out after these few days, so let¡¯s go back and get some rest. Don¡¯t forget we want to go back to the Luminary Institute, we should visit everyone.¡± ¡°You¡¯re... so right as always,¡± Thalia grinned, hugging Scarlet who let out a cough after being squeezed. ¡°Okay so what now then...¡± ¡°Now we go to sleep then,¡± Ashe yawned, flopping back down onto the bed. He rolled over and pulled the blanket over his head as everyone else let out murmurs of agreement. In a matter of seconds, the entire compartment had quieted down once more as Thalia sat there in disbelief with only the glow of her phone to keep her company. ¡°Well... I still want to tell someone...¡± Thalia trailed off. Looking back down at her phone, she decided to open up a messaging app. ¡°Teacher Angelica here I comeee~¡± [Teacher! Teacher! Sorry to disturb you late at night! But did you know, I, along with the other Class Zero graduates, were one of the groups in the new post on the front page of the Hunter¡¯s Society? We made it we made it! We¡¯re coming back to the academy in a day or two so expect us back soon! We want to visit and have fun and see the new student! Alright have a nice night!!!] --- Angelica¡¯s phone buzzed on the counter. She reached over and checked the message while flipping the pancake on the stove. After raising her eyebrows a few times, she sent back a couple of replies. [Congratulations!] [Now go to sleep, it''s not good for young people like you to stay up so late.] [Looking forward to seeing you all at school again. I¡¯ll prepare some activities for you all. Let me know which days you all plan on being back.] ¡°Hmm? Distracted my dear?¡± A woman¡¯s voice came from behind Angelica. She walked up and wrapped her arms around Angelica¡¯s waist before resting her chin on her shoulder. ¡°Thank you for making me some food right after I got back though.¡± ¡°Of course, Anne. I was staying up to greet you anyway,¡± Angelica smiled. She turned off the phone and set it down on the countertop. Turning her head, she kissed Roxanne who had attached herself to her. ¡°I only need an hour of sleep a day anyway.¡± ¡°I¡¯m still jealous,¡± Roxanne shook her head before returning the kiss. ¡°What do you do with all that extra time?¡± ¡°... Grade and lesson plan,¡± Angelica sighed as Roxanne began laughing. ¡°Really nothing interesting. Like just now, I was texting a student. She was telling me about the new front page post on the Hunter¡¯s Society page. Apparently they were the first group mentioned. Wasn¡¯t your guild the second group?¡± ¡°Yeah, we were,¡± Roxanne nodded as a wistful expression appeared on her face. Squeezing Angelica a little closer, she gave her a peck on the cheek. ¡°You taught them so well.¡± ¡°I didn¡¯t do that much, they worked hard,¡± Angelica shook her head. ¡°What are your thoughts on this though? The Hunter¡¯s Society only gave it a 3/10 which... feels a little low. But also understandable considering the current state of... everything else.¡± ¡°The ¡®everything else¡¯ will get resolved with time, a couple other large guilds decided to join in,¡± Roxanne shrugged. ¡°So, it''s not really a big deal. That¡¯s why my team wasn¡¯t called. I¡¯d say this is... mildly worrying. It''s not like we¡¯ve never seen secret scientific experimentation so I think that¡¯s why they¡¯re rating it so low. I would¡¯ve personally put it at a four or five just because of how complete their product was but... it is what it is.¡± ¡°Interesting...¡± Angelica mumbled as she plated the pancake. Another piece of butter went into the pan before she poured on another ladle of batter. ¡°I was just thinking of taking the current Class Zero students out for it before your event in a month. Let them get some more experience, you know?¡± ¡°Not... a bad idea,¡± Roxanne ventured as her hand wandered away from Angelica¡¯s waist and to the pancake. She ripped off a piece and tossed it into her mouth. Once done chewing and swallowing, she shrugged. ¡°You know the students better than me... oh wait, well, there¡¯s Nyssa too, how¡¯s she?¡± ¡°Doing well, she¡¯s made a fair few friends, don¡¯t worry,¡± Angelica patted Roxanne¡¯s head. ¡°She¡¯s been keeping her family a secret though, so you¡¯re not allowed to talk about her when you come visit the school. Slade got away with saying she attends, but he wasn¡¯t allowed to say anything more.¡± ¡°... Phooey,¡± Roxanne grumbled. ¡°I was in the middle of writing an entire monologue about how great she was too. You know, for my keynote speech...¡± ¡°Girl, get it together,¡± Angelica raised an eyebrow. ¡°People look up to you.¡± ¡°Fine, fine, I¡¯ll write about you instead,¡± Roxanne kissed Angelica on the neck before yawning. ¡°I¡¯m joking, I¡¯m joking, don''t look at me like that...¡± ¡°I know, but I can¡¯t just let you make all these jokes,¡± Angelica kissed Roxanne back. ¡°You know, I¡¯m in charge of writing the pamphlet about you they¡¯re handing out. So you better not try something, I¡¯ll do it right back to you.¡± ¡°Not fun...¡± 44: A Family Dinner A pure-white cat stretched itself out across a bed, rolling over a couple times as it returned from the land of dreams. Having slept in until noon, Nyssa blinked her eyes awake as her brain began processing information once more. It¡¯s... the weekend! To her, the weekend represented a blissful reprise from school. Sure, she had gotten a dorm room in the past couple weeks, but she still came home every weekend with her dad. After every week, most people didn¡¯t do too much during the weekend. Ryker and Electra attended most parties with the Class One students. Albion, Titus, and Conrad often had time for ¡®THE BOYS¡¯ in which they stayed up all night, gamed, and worked out together. Celeste, on the other hand, often caught up with a couple of her Class One friends. That means I have freedom to hang out with people! ... or to take more naps... On that note... The fluffy cat ended up yawning. Rolling over, she fell asleep once more within seconds. Hunger could wait, sleeping could not. After all, she¡¯d curse herself if she missed out on the period where the afternoon sun flooded her room with warmth. Another few hours passed and... before long, the clocks ticked near four in the afternoon. Knock. Knock... Knock. ¡°Nyssa, you should get up,¡± Kaiser pushed open the door with a worried expression. He took careful steps into Nyssa¡¯s room, careful as he¡¯d seen her sleep in every possible location in the room¡ªfloor included. Seeing the white cat half-draped on the bed, half-draped over a heater, he couldn¡¯t help but sigh. Once another few steps closer, he hoisted her up into the air. ¡°Come on, come on, it''s already four in the afternoon. It''s not healthy to sleep this much. You¡¯ve already skipped breakfast and lunch.¡± Ignoring the half-asleep grumbles and protests, he kept holding her until she woke up. As consciousness returned to her eyes, he set her down. ¡°I¡¯ll leave so you can change, but I¡¯ll be back in three minutes, okay? Once I¡¯m back you have to leave your room.¡± ¡°But my sleep... isn¡¯t it illegal for a parent to sleep deprive their child like this?¡± Nyssa splayed out onto the bed. ¡°You¡¯ve slept for seventeen hours by now. I don¡¯t think anyone, using any metric, would say you¡¯re sleep deprived,¡± Kaiser shook his head. ¡°Come on now, sit up, sit up. I¡¯ll see you in three minutes, alright?¡± ¡°... Fine,¡± Nyssa assented, already beginning to plan which couch she planned on sleeping on in the living room. She raised a paw and waved as Kaiser left the room. Hearing the click of the door, she undid her transformation. A yawn left her mouth as she stumbled over to the cabinet and took a seat right in front of it. Underwear... changed. Shorts... pulled on. Shirt... pulle... pull... shir... shirt... s... Unable to resist the call of dreams, she slumped against the cabinet. Her breathing evened out as her impressive ¡®fall asleep within five-seconds¡¯ technique showed itself once more. Though contorted with her legs twisted beneath her, the cushion she had sat on had just been... a little too soft. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. A minute later, the sound of knocks filled her room once more. Knock, knock, knock... ... Knock. Knock. Knock. A loud sigh. The door creaked as Kaiser pushed it open once more. He facepalmed as he found Nyssa with her shirt half-on, her head still lost somewhere within it. ¡°Not again...¡± After helping her pull the shirt over her head, he helped her to her feet. ¡°Wake up, you know, Roxanne and Angelica are coming over for dinner. Slade is too.¡± ¡°Hu... huh? Wh... wait what?¡± Nyssa snapped awake. ¡°Wait what, I don¡¯t remember hearing about this.¡± ¡°Because they decided earlier today. If you check your phone you¡¯ll find all the details. Don¡¯t you have your phone near you when you sleep?¡± Kaiser raised an eyebrow. ¡°Yeah, I do, I just don¡¯t wake up from it, even when there are notifications. I tried sleeping on it with vibrate mode on too, but that just made it more comfortable,¡± Nyssa recounted before patting her clothes. ¡°It¡¯s on my bed stand. I don¡¯t have any pockets right now though.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll get it for you, just stay here,¡± Kaiser sighed. ¡°You¡¯re not allowed to return to your room tonight until after they leave, okay?¡± ¡°What if they decide to stay the night?¡± Nyssa raised her hand as if she had come up with a science redefining theorem. ¡°They won¡¯t, at least, Angelica and Roxanne won¡¯t. They share an apartment these days,¡± Kaiser refuted within seconds. After returning with Nyssa¡¯s phone, he handed it over. ¡°Now, you can just hang out if you want. I¡¯ll be working out. Come join if you¡¯d like, up to you. I already started marinating some stuff, and another dish is in the oven already, but I¡¯ll be cooking some more starting five, so if you want to join me, find me then.¡± ¡°Sounds... good,¡± Nyssa nodded. Her mind wandered as she began trying to visualize the couches in the house farthest from the living room. ¡°Yeah... maybe I¡¯ll consider training... don¡¯t worry about me though, I¡¯ll wake up a bit first.¡± Raising his eyebrows, Kaiser pat Nyssa on the shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, don¡¯t force yourself to come. By the way, Roxanne and Angelica are probably going to arrive within fifteen minutes too. I¡¯m sure you had no intention of sleeping more, but make sure you welcome them properly, okay? Roxanne might be your older sister, but both of them are still guests.¡± With her hopes dashed, Nyssa tried to avoid letting her ultra-mega-supreme depression show on her face. She nodded and forced a smile as Kaiser walked off. The moment after he turned the corner though, she fell to her knees. The heavens have cursed me!!! Hitting the ground a few times with her fist, she couldn¡¯t help but lament why the Ravenstein household didn¡¯t have carpeted floors. --- ¡°Oh, it says she¡¯s read the groupchat,¡± Roxanne murmured as she got into the car. Pulling her seatbelt across her body, she thanked Angelica for driving before letting out a long sigh. ¡°We have a winner! She¡¯s awake! Congratulations.¡± ¡°I knew it,¡± Angelica grinned while starting the car up. ¡°I bet it was Kaiser who woke her up.¡± ¡°I bet so too,¡± Roxanne laughed as she rolled down the window. She let the wind crash against her face as Angelica accelerated through the streets. ¡°You know, I don¡¯t know if Kaiser mentioned this to you or not, but when he enrolled Nyssa in my class, he asked specifically to make sure I didn¡¯t just let Nyssa sleep all day. He wanted to ensure she was awake enough to make some friends and... well... Keep the friends,¡± Angelica rolled down her own window too as they came to a stop at an intersection. ¡°I didn¡¯t know, but I¡¯m not surprised,¡± Roxanne nodded. ¡°We¡¯ve all... uhh... had our worries as a family over Nyssa¡¯s sleeping habits. We all worried at first that she¡¯d, you know, just... not wake up one day. We even had the doctors check it out, but they said she just... really liked it.¡± ¡°That¡¯s very her,¡± Angelica accelerated the car as a smile danced across her lips. ¡°She¡¯s been very active with her friends these days, so I¡¯m sure she¡¯s been missing sleep.¡± ¡°Uh-huh, don¡¯t defend the girl who just slept for seventeen hours straight,¡± Roxanne teased, ¡°That¡¯s my job. You won¡¯t take my place as the number one Nyssa defender.¡± ¡°I wasn¡¯t trying to,¡± Angelica rolled her eyes with an exasperated laugh. 45: An Older Sister’s Love Nyssa ended up staying awake. Curled up on the couch nearest to the front door, she scrolled her phone. Every few minutes, she¡¯d glance up and out the window. Each time, though, she only saw an empty driveway. I wonder when they¡¯ll arrive... Staring at her phone, her eyes glazed over as her shoulders sat tensed. Her phone replayed the same video over and over as she ran her hands through her hair. The babbling of a cooking video demonstrating a ¡®hack¡¯ to maximize dumpling wrapping efficiency droned on in her ears. Five minutes later, the sound of the doorbell brought her back to reality as her eyes widened. Checking the time, she couldn¡¯t help but feel her stomach toss itself like stir fry. I don¡¯t know why I¡¯m nervous all of a sudden, it''s just Roxanne and Angelica... I know them! Maybe because it''s been a while for Roxanne? Maybe because... I haven''t seen angelica in this context for a while? Why does it feel like a teacher-student meeting? She steeled her guts and clenched her fist. A pair of wings appeared out of her back for a brief second, launching her out of the chair before she jogged over to the door. Pulling it open with a creak, warmth enveloped her before she could react. ¡°I missed you, Nyssa! Your older sister is back,¡± Roxanne¡¯s warm voice filled her ear, melting away all her worries with a few sweet words. She pulled back after a second, her eyes widening as Nyssa¡¯s eyes teared up. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Everything alright? Did I hug you too hard? I¡¯m-¡± ¡°N-No, it¡¯s fine,¡± Nyssa wiped a tear while a smile spread across her lips. She pulled Roxanne back in for a hug. ¡°I uhm... I didn¡¯t realize how much I missed you. It¡¯s... it¡¯s been a while Roxanne. Sorry I was just... nervous earlier and then like... like, I don¡¯t know I just didn¡¯t expect a sudden rush of emotions, I¡¯m fine now.¡± ¡°Well, I hope you know I¡¯m happy to see you too,¡± Roxanne smiled as a hint of wistfulness entered her gaze. ¡°I¡¯ve heard a little bit about your time at school from Angelica, but I want to hear more from you, so why don¡¯t we go in and talk more?¡± ¡°S-Sure,¡± Nyssa stammered, scratching the side of her face as she motioned for the two women to enter first. ¡°Sorry for blocking the door, and hello Angelica, nice to see you.¡± ¡°So stiff,¡± Angelica teased as she stepped in through the entrance. As she slid off her shoes, she lifted a bag. ¡°This is for you by the way, a gift from Roxanne and I now that you¡¯ve started school. Also, while I¡¯m here, just forget about me being your teacher, okay? Just think of me as your older sister¡¯s fianc¨¦e.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try my best,¡± Nyssa bobbed her head up and down. She took the bag from Angelica and hugged it against her chest. ¡°And thank you for the gift, I¡¯ll open it later!¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Roxanne sang from further in the house. She had begun sliding around on the floors in her socks¡ªin a way not dissimilar to Slade and Nyssa¡¯s technique. A second later though, she returned. Her head poked back out from around the corner. With a smile on her lips, she couldn¡¯t suppress the glimmer of curiosity in her eyes. ¡°Nyssa, let¡¯s brew some tea! We can chat like the good old days.¡± ¡°Sounds good,¡± Nyssa slid over as Angelica copied her movements and followed behind. The three of them weaved through a couple hallways to the kitchen. Once in the kitchen, Nyssa slid open a drawer with a slight creak as they flipped through their different tea leaves. After a moment of deliberation¡ªwhere Angelica and Roxanne presented their top picks and played a game of rock, paper, scissors¡ªthe three of them decided on a set of tea leaves sitting in the back of the drawer. This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°Leaves of Dawn, huh, interesting, never heard of them,¡± Roxanne murmured, leaning against Angelica who had now struck a victory pose. ¡°Do you know them, Angelica?¡± ¡°Mildly, I¡¯ve heard it''s a nice luxury brand that¡¯s really hard to get your hands on. Not because of price, but because the leaves have a way of just appearing here and there,¡± Angelica shrugged, sitting down at the kitchen island with Roxanne. Together, they thanked Nyssa for volunteering to steep the tea. ¡°It¡¯s my job, you know, as host...¡± Nyssa trailed off as her legs doubled in length to let her be eye-level with the top-shelf. ¡°I¡¯ll get the nice teapot and cups too this time, since we¡¯ll probably use this throughout the night. And well... these are nice tea leaves apparently.¡± ¡°Such foresight! Such kindness! Such virtue!¡± Roxanne gushed, resting her chin on her hand. Her eyes, for a brief moment, flashed green before returning to their normal hue. ¡°Sorry, the spirits are really excited right now, as usual. They¡¯re all cheering, saying how you¡¯re their true emissary.¡± ¡°They¡¯re still doing it?¡± Angelica raised an eyebrow, leaning forward and crossing her legs. As Nyssa came over with the tea cups, she raised her glass of water out of the way and took a slow sip. ¡°Yeah, they¡¯re more excited than me to see Nyssa,¡± Roxanne sighed, shaking her head. ¡°To bad they can¡¯t match my love for Nyssa though.¡± ¡°Uh-...¡± Nyssa¡¯s voice interrupted as she carried over the teapot. ¡°This still needs a couple minutes but uh... yeah... sorry, continue.¡± ¡°Hmm, they really want to come play with you,¡± Roxanne massaged her forehead as intermittent flashes of green flooded out from her eyes. ¡°Would it be alright if we went to the training area sometime? I¡¯ll let them out and you can catch up with them a little.¡± ¡°Sure. We can go later after dinner, dad¡¯s using the training room right now, as usual...¡± Nyssa nodded as she sat down. Shifting side to side to make herself comfortable she fell quiet as no other conversation topics came to mind. ¡°H... h... hey, yeah... hey, nice to see you two again, hope you two are doing well...¡± Brain buffering at its finest. System had defaulted to outputting its most basic responses. Why did you say that, Nyssa? Why? You can surely do better than ¡°h... h... hey¡±! What are you? A horse? That¡¯s not even in your top ten forms in terms of time spent! You¡¯re no more a horse than you are a cactus! ¡°Well,¡± Angelica picked up the conversation after noticing Roxanne just sitting there admiring her younger sister. ¡°I apologize for bringing up school-related stuff, but I¡¯m thinking of bringing you all on a field trip.¡± ¡°Oh! When? We won¡¯t miss Roxanne¡¯s event at school, right?¡± Nyssa perked up, putting the mental scolding on hold as life returned to her eyes. ¡°I¡¯d really prefer to not miss Roxanne¡¯s event.¡± ¡°Yeah, don¡¯t worry, I don¡¯t want to miss it too,¡± Angelica laced her fingers with Roxanne¡¯s. ¡°Roxanne¡¯s actually taking a couple weeks off. To rest, to prep for her event, and to just spend a little more time with us. So we¡¯ll come by more often during the weekends, okay?¡± With Nyssa replying with a ¡°sounds great,¡± Angelica, with her other free hand, tapped the counter as she recalled the plans she had made earlier. ¡°I think I''ll just take all the current Class Zero students with us. We¡¯ll go do some investigation. It¡¯ll be like a class bonding retreat, low-stress, high-fun.¡± ¡°... high-fun sounds like not a lot of naptime,¡± Nyssa murmured, her eyebrows stitching themselves up in worry. ¡°But... uhm... yeah, I¡¯ll be going for sure, don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°Yeah, look forward to it!¡± Roxanne cheered, giving Nyssa a thumbs-up. ¡°I helped Angelica plan some stuff last night. Trust me, it¡¯ll be a great time! We also included a break in the middle of the afternoon for most days. So, don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll get to take your naps. As for right now though, do you want to tell us a little bit about your time at school and your new friends?¡± Nyssa¡¯s eyes brightened even further as a sheepish smile brushed across her lips. ¡°I¡¯d be happy to... So, to start, we have Ryker, the current kind of... class leader...¡± 46: Family Gaming As a whole, the evening passed without much note. Slade showed up around five, and the family cooked together before having a pleasant dinner. Once done eating, the five of them took a short break in the training room where Nyssa greeted Roxanne¡¯s spirits. After she transformed into each of the spirits one by one and hung out for around half-an-hour, they returned to the living room, booted up a gaming system, and played some party games for most of the evening. Roxanne, to no one¡¯s surprise, wrecked everyone. As the victory screen shone for her win three times in a row, she pumped her fist. ¡°I¡¯m just built different, built better.¡± ¡°Have you been training?¡± Slade shook his head. He had managed to snatch a very close second, only losing by a hair. ¡°I thought you were on a mission...¡± ¡°Well, you know how we get terminals issued by the hero and hunter associations?¡± Roxanne pointed to her wrist, where the terminal sat silenced. ¡°There was a terminal only game released a while back, some bricklaying game, it has a ton of different features, so I¡¯ve been playing that a lot recently.¡± ¡°Good to... know,¡± Slade nodded, making a mental note. ¡°Don¡¯t slack off too much during work,¡± Kaiser reminded while raising the eyebrow. He, along with Nyssa, brought up the rear in their five-person game. ¡°Angelica, you shouldn¡¯t slack off either, but I trust you more than I trust the two of them.¡± ¡°HAH! Take that,¡± Angelica grinned, leaning back against the couch to lay her head in Roxanne¡¯s lap. ¡°I¡¯ve just built up the credibility, heh.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s unfair, because you can enter the zone anytime you want,¡± Roxanne huffed, placing her controller onto Angelica¡¯s face and blocking her smug look. ¡°What do you all want to play next though? We can change games if you want.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine with anything...¡± Nyssa yawned, her head bobbing a couple times as she sat between Slade and Roxanne. ¡°Rematch.¡± Slade raised a fist while turning to face Roxanne. ¡°I¡¯ll get you this time, trust me. If Nyssa didn¡¯t accidentally sabotage me by sleepily pressing a couple buttons, I would¡¯ve won.¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯s just a skill issue. If you knew her as well as me, you would¡¯ve been able to predict that she would do that and account for that within your playing strategy,¡± Roxanne shrugged and stuck her tongue out. ¡°I¡¯m down for a rematch though.¡± With the other two, Kaiser and Angelica, murmuring their agreement, Roxanne booted up the next round. The console¡¯s screen faded to black. A small loading emblem appeared in the corner, pulsating with light. A woosh sound effect sounded out, and the game began. It marked the beginning of a long night of their little house party. Snacks and alcohol got pulled out at some point, someone took a nap at another point, and they played through an entire playlist of music. Trailing long into the night, the five of them hung out until midnight before Slade, Roxanne, and Angelica headed off back to their own homes. --- The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. A crashing sound filled the lab as several monitors buzzed to black. Torn off the wall, each monitor came crashing to the ground as exposed wires sparked in the air. A gargantuan masked figure stalked through the lab, pointing at each and every other masked figure one by one. As the figure stalked through the lab, a robotic voice came out from under its mask. ¡°WHAT. ARE. YOU. ALL. DOING?¡± ¡°W-What do you mean, supreme leader?¡± A more slender masked man bowed a couple times. ¡°Please enlighten us as to where we went wrong.¡± The leader swung his arm. A resounding slap filled the room and the slender masked man made a new home in the metal wall. He twitched before sliding down to the floor where the others tended to him. Unhurt, he touched his face while muttering ¡°I''m just so honored the supreme leader spared the effort to touch me¡± under his breath. ¡°Has nobody seen the new post on the Hunter¡¯s Society website?¡± The robotic voice came crackling through once more. ¡°How has our intelligence team allowed this to happen? Who didn¡¯t clean out the lab and who left one of our test modules unsupervised? How did our spies allow for the post to even be made? A group of STUDENTS managed to find our experimental mana module. HOW?! SOMEONE EXPLAIN THIS INADEQUACY TO ME!¡± ¡°W-Well the association home page is... well, you know, run by a lot of people, we don¡¯t have the power to just not let something get posted, after all its a very transparent organization, practically all their information is available to the public,¡± A different masked person answered¡ªfrom the back of the room. ¡°We did manage to lower its urgency rating though. So, it shouldn¡¯t draw much attention. It¡¯ll get buried soon enough and we¡¯ll be able to continue with our plan.¡± A creaking sound filled the room as the monitor in the supreme leader¡¯s hand got lowered back to the ground. ¡°Makes... sense. What about the rest. Someone answer.¡± ¡°As for the negligence with the lab, we had to... uh... we hired some contractors to clean it out and it seemed like... they didn¡¯t do a very great jo-¡± The new masked figure got cut off as a monitor slammed into them. They fell to the floor as a couple masked medical staff workers rushed in and carted the worker off. ¡°Why are WE, a PREMIER experimental organization, one that¡¯s top-secret, one aiming to change the world, HIRING CONTRACTORS????¡± The leader roared, the robotic voice broadcaster crackling and letting out static under the stress. ¡°We¡¯ll ensure such a mistake doesn¡¯t happen in the future, supreme leader,¡± A masked figure bowed. ¡°The experimental module was an unforeseen circumstance. It was buried far underground in a nest of centipedes. Unless the centipedes themselves dug it up, there should¡¯ve been no way for the machine to have even been exposed to air. Because of that, we decided to leave our guards with the other experimental modules. Rest assured, those are still providing great results and none have been discovered.¡± ¡°... Fine. Prepare a report for me of the rest. I¡¯d like to see the data,¡± the supreme leader tapped its foot. A second later, it whirled around and left the room as everyone began rushing to complete their work. The sound of its clanking footsteps filled the hallway. It wove through the gleaming lab as other masked figures filled the area. Doors slid open as it neared, allowing it further and further into the lab, all the way until it reached the heart of the laboratory. A massive reactor glowed in the darkness. Towering into the ceiling, it pulsated with life as mechanical additions dotted its surface. Tubes went in, tubes came out, screens implanted into its surface glowed, and liquids of various viscosities and colors flowed inside of its translucent body. As the last set of doors slid closed behind it, the supreme leader peeled off its mask. Instead of a human face though, the supreme leader had a faceless metallic plate. Walking forward, it sat into a cove-like depression in the side of the reactor. Within seconds, metallic and organic tendrils disassembled the supreme leader¡¯s entire body, leaving only the face plate sitting in the cove. A singular metallic arm grabbed the plate, lifting into the air before setting it against the wall. Light reflected off the faceplate, joining the array... as face plates decorated every wall in the reactor room. 47: Appearance of an Emergency ¡°Welcome back everyone, hope you all slept well over the weekend,¡± Angelica walked into the classroom with a wave. ¡°Nice to see that everyone¡¯s here on time today.¡± Nyssa and Celeste had sat by the window. They now quieted down as Angelica walked to her desk. Conrad, Albion, and Titus sat near Nyssa and Celeste in the center of the classroom while Ryker and Electra sat beside them, near the other wall. ¡°Not much I have to say this morning before I dismiss you all to complete your general education requirements,¡± Angelica tapped her lips, falling into thought. ¡°Just two announcements I have to make. The first is that we¡¯re doing a class field training activity. Since we¡¯ll be taking a new mission from the Hunter¡¯s Society, I actually have to send some forms back to your families to get their consent as you all aren¡¯t graduate students yet. So, just be on the lookout for that.¡± ¡°Even if we¡¯re legal adults by now?¡± Ryker stretched out across his desk. ¡°Yes, even if you¡¯re legal adults, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be going as well, so there should be no risk of danger, if you need help convincing your parents just let me know, I can talk to them,¡± Angelica leaned back against her desk. ¡°As for the other announcement, we¡¯ll all eat lunch together because this afternoon there¡¯s... a bit of a surprise I should say. So make sure to finish your general education requirements this morning. On that note, you¡¯re dismissed, use this time well.¡± A moment of silence. Titus and Albion exchanged a couple murmurs. The sound of chairs being pushed back and bags being gathered filled the room. Electra ended up being the first to leave. The sound of electricity crackling filled the room as she accelerated to super-speed disappearing without a trace. Conrad ended up being second as he demonstrated how his physical abilities had progressed. He vaulted over five desks at once and disappeared out of the classroom. ¡°What are they in such a rush for,¡± Ryker pushed his blond hair back. ¡°These extra few minutes aren¡¯t going to make a difference...¡± Angelica, with her arms crossed as she leaned against the desk, could only shrug before nodding. ¡°You all have fun.¡± With her words, everyone else filed out of the classroom, dispersing to their various little spots all around the Class Zero building. Two people, though, stuck together as they made their way to the third floor balcony: Nyssa and Celeste. Once on the balcony, Nyssa laid her stuff out across half a table before transforming into a cat and laying belly down onto her bag. Celeste, with practiced motions, spread her stuff out across the other half of the table. She pet the white cat next to her as, together, they started their lessons. --- The five Class Zero graduate students gathered in one apartment. Sat in a loose circle on some couches and on the ground, they had begun their planning. Ashe broke the silence first. ¡°So, nobody¡¯s told the students that we¡¯re back yet, right? Scarlet, in particular, you haven¡¯t told Ryker, correct?¡± ¡°Of course~¡± Scarlet laughed while hiding her smile behind her hand. ¡°A surprise reunion is always more wonderful.¡± Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± Ashe grinned, rubbing his hands together. ¡°How do we want to do this then? We still have time to make a run to the store if need be. So, let¡¯s make it quick just in case we need to.¡± ¡°Well, I think we should have Scarlet be the centerpiece,¡± Thalia grinned, mimicking Ashe¡¯s expression and rubbing her own hands together. ¡°I¡¯ve heard Ryker and Electra have called their class the f--- around and find out club, we have to teach them it''s still our original moniker. Can¡¯t have them stealing it now, can we?¡± ¡°True, true,¡± Isolde agreed. She pulled out a piece of paper and began drawing out a couple of ideas. ¡°What if we did something with cloaks, I know a place we can get some... then Orion you do this... and we have Scarlet here, before we all then you know...¡± --- ¡°Good job everyone, thank you for completing all your general education requirements this morning!¡± Angelica flashed a brilliant smile. She gathered everyone near her as they walked together to the largest cafeteria. As a group, they had a slow lunch. Angelica went through and asked how everyone was before sitting back and listening to their respective conversations. Once done, they all began walking back to the classroom with everyone but Angelica unaware of the prank about to come crashing down on their heads. ¡°We should do some more group practice sessions,¡± Electra tapped her chin as they walked into the Class Zero building. ¡°Roxanne¡¯s coming soon, and she might do another sparring session. It''d be nice if we could improve upon our last performance with Slade. Plus, she¡¯ll be a harder opponent than Slade because of how she matches up against us.¡± ¡°I agree...¡± Ryker put his hands on his hips as they walked. As the de facto leader of the class with Electra, they brainstormed a couple training exercises before a flash of enlightenment crossed his face. ¡°Wait, Nyssa, Roxanne¡¯s your sister, right?¡± ¡°Do you know anything about what we might want to expect?¡± Electra ran a hand through her purple hair. ¡°Huh? Oh y-yeah, she¡¯s my sister,¡± Nyssa blinked a couple times, flinching after being caught off-guard. ¡°But I never asked about it, she¡¯s been planning it though. I can ask if you want... If there is sparring though I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to participate.¡± ¡°Oh, why?¡± Electra turned back forward to pay attention to where they walked. ¡°Also, yeah, only ask if it''s not a big deal. No need to force it.¡± ¡°Ah, yeah, she¡¯s been coming home a lot with her partner so it''s not a big deal,¡± Nyssa nodded. ¡°Her spirits really like me though, and it''s really hard for them to muster any sort of aggression against me. So... yeah.¡± ¡°Makes sense,¡± Electra sighed, ¡°We¡¯ll miss you if there is a spar, but don¡¯t worry.¡± ¡°Yeah! Don¡¯t worry! We¡¯ll just have to work a little harder to pull out the win, no sweat!¡± Ryker laughed. ¡°You know, I am curious as to who Roxanne¡¯s partner is. There¡¯s been a lot of rumors over the years, but nothing confirmed. Are you allowed to share anything with us, Nyssa?¡± A nervous chuckle slipped out of Nyssa¡¯s mouth. She tensed her neck so as to not look back towards Angelica. All of a sudden, her scalp felt itchy. ¡°... Y-Yeah, I uh... I don¡¯t think I can share anything...¡± The conversation drifted away then, and Nyssa, for her own curiosity snuck a glance back towards Angelica who met her gaze with a calm smile. How is she so nonchalant... As they walked up to the classroom door and made their way in though, the group tensed up as the door slammed shut and the lights went off. Click. A spotlight came on as a hooded figure sat in the center of the room pulled down her hood to reveal Scarlet¡¯s face. ¡°Hello, my dear younger brother~¡± ¡°LET ME OUTTTT,¡± Ryker screamed as he began scrambling backward. He knocked over a couple desks and chairs as he ran towards the door. ¡°LET ME OUTTTT! SAVE ME! HELP! HELP! DEMON APPEARED! EMERGENCY LEVEL ONE HUNDREDDDD!¡± 48: The Crossing of the Graduate-Undergraduate Boundary Before Ryker could make it to the door, two other hooded figures appeared in front of him to block the way. The rest of the class, by now¡ªbar Angelica¡ªhad also gone on guard. Knees bent with their arms up. They stood in a circle as two more hooded figures walked up and took a seat beside the blonde woman who had scared Ryker. ¡°We mean you no harm, don¡¯t worry,¡± The blonde woman raised her hands up. Her eyes wandered, searching for a second before coming to a stop on Nyssa¡¯s face. ¡°I¡¯m Scarlet by the way, are you the new student?¡± ¡°Y-Yes,¡± Nyssa stumbled over her words as she looked towards the other hooded figures. Without realizing it, her hand wandered over to Celeste¡¯s arm where she clutched onto her sleeve. ¡°I¡¯m Nyssa, who are you all?¡± ¡°The graduate students,¡± Celeste sighed. She used her other sleeve to cover the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. ¡°They have a habit of pranking us... So, was this the surprise, Angelica?¡± ¡°Indeed it was. They asked me a couple days ago if they could come in. Of course, I agreed, they¡¯re still students after all,¡± Angelica laughed with her hands in her pockets before turning to the other four graduate students. ¡°Hoods off and lights on though please, now that the prank is over.¡± ¡°You got it teach,¡± The tallest figure by the door pulled down his hood while flicking on the lights which revealed his orange hair and bright smile. ¡°Orion here, long time no see fellas, has everyone been lifting?¡± ¡°Ignore him,¡± The other hooded figure by the door pulled down her hood to reveal a girl with brown-hair and sleek glasses. ¡°My name is Isolde, happy to see you all.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Thalia!¡± The woman with short, but messy black-hair cheered from beside Scarlet, having pulled her hood down at the same time as Orion. ¡°I¡¯m not used to seeing so many people in Class Zero, we¡¯re really in a period of prosperity aren¡¯t we? Lots of people to torment the other classes with.¡± ¡°Why is that the first thing your mind wanders to,¡± A man with gray-hair shook his head. ¡°My name is Ashe. Nice to see everyone doing well.¡± While his fellow graduate students gave their own introductions to Nyssa, Orion tiptoed back over to Ryker, who had now begun playing dead on the floor. He hoisted Ryker onto his shoulder before carrying him back over to Angelica who helped Orion set Ryker down in a chair with an exasperated smile. ¡°My, Ryker¡¯s not doing so great is he?¡± Scarlet put her hand on her cheek as she walked over. She came to a stop beside Ryker and looked at his slumped over figure playing dead. ¡°Angelica, do you think we need to take him to the infirmary? If he¡¯s suddenly developed anemia I can donate him some of my bloo-¡± ¡°Nope, no, no, no, definitely no need,¡± Ryker popped back to life, raising a hand and waving it in Scarlet¡¯s face. ¡°Definitely don¡¯t need a blood infusion.¡± ¡°Are you sure?¡± Scarlet smiled while leaning in closer. As the two conversed, Nyssa couldn¡¯t help but lean into Celeste¡¯s ear and whisper a few questions. ¡°Are they siblings? They look... very similar. Also, what¡¯s with all this blood talk all of a sudden?¡± ¡°Yeah, they¡¯re siblings,¡± Celeste nodded back as Orion began a conversation about hitting the weight room with Albion, Titus, and Conrad. ¡°The blood talk is because of Scarlet¡¯s powers. Everyone in this group except Orion has some... interesting powers. But for Scarlet, you know how Ryker¡¯s body is quite deadly? Because he can just... detonate like a bomb? Well, Scarlet¡¯s is also dangerous because her blood disintegrates everything it touches.¡± This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. ¡°Ah... that... does seem mildly related, I can see how they¡¯re siblings,¡± Nyssa mumbled, a little nervous as the graduate students kept looking over to her. It seemed like they wanted to start a conversation... ¡°Yeah, they also both have the same freakish healing factor,¡± Celeste shook her head. ¡°Well, Ryker needs it a lot more than Scarlet does.¡± Nyssa snorted, unable to suppress a chuckle from leaving her lips. As the others looked over, she waved them off with a ¡°Don¡¯t worry¡± as Thalia and Ashe walked over. Isolde, meanwhile, joined Orion and¡ªin a surprising turn of events¡ªbegan adding to Orion¡¯s argument by lecturing Albion, Titus, and Conrad about the best exercises, good lifting technique, and diet nutrition information. ¡°How are you two?¡± Ashe opened up the conversation with a tired, but gentle smile. ¡°Long time no see, Celeste.¡± ¡°Yeah! Long time no see,¡± Thalia winked as did a few dance steps. ¡°I¡¯m doing well, nice to see you too,¡± Celeste nodded her head as she answered with a polite smile. ¡°I¡¯ve actually been doing quite well since the start of this school year. It¡¯s been nice having another girl who¡¯s closer to me in age than Electra. Plus, it balanced out the class a little more.¡± ¡°That¡¯s important, I¡¯m glad you¡¯ve been doing better,¡± Thalia smiled, reaching over and patting Celeste on the shoulder. ¡°It really was becoming a bit of a sausage fest before Nyssa showed up. How are you Nyssa?¡± ¡°Well,¡± Nyssa bobbed her head up and down a few times. ¡°Just hanging out. I uh... am settling in. The class gave me a really warm welcome.¡± ¡°I¡¯d hope so, we tried to leave a legacy of class unity,¡± Ashe stared out the window. Before he could continue though, Thalia cut him off. ¡°You know, you all still aren¡¯t getting the true version of Ashe?¡± Thalia leaned in with a conspiratory smile. ¡°Even us graduate students haven¡¯t seen it for a month or two.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t quite consider that my true self... perhaps just a different side of who I am,¡± Ashe denied with a shake of the head. ¡°With the underclassmen, it''s better to be polite to keep a good impression.¡± ¡°What¡¯s this... true self then?¡± Celeste inquired with a curious look to Thalia, ignoring everything Ashe had just said. The candle of interest had been lit in both her and Nyssa¡¯s mind. How different could this tired-looking gray-haired man be? ¡°It¡¯s very different,¡± Thalia stroked her chin with a wise expression. ¡°Okay, you have fun, Thalia,¡± Ashe shook his head and let out a helpless sigh before turning to walk off with a wave. ¡°I¡¯m going to go talk to Angelica for a bit.¡± Thalia waved him off with a couple ¡°have fun¡±s before leaning back in. ¡°Alright, so listen carefully. Ashe¡¯s power is a strange one. To the naked eye, you wouldn¡¯t think he needs to be in Class Zero. He has a pretty classic baseline strength boost. Plus, he has an extreme natural talent with weapons that got brought out by Angelica. This is just known information, I¡¯m just giving you some background Nyssa.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Nyssa nodded before falling quiet once more to let Thalia speak. ¡°What you should know though, is that he actually has a much more powerful main power. One that allows him to get stronger the more pain he feels. He actually has a regeneration ability just a step lower than Scarlet and her brother,¡± Thalia explained while tapping her chin. ¡°So they put him in Class Zero with us because they wanted to make sure he didn¡¯t lose control and hurt himself on purpose. For the most part, they succeeded, but if his pain crosses a certain threshold...¡± ¡°He goes crazy?¡± Celeste guessed. ¡°Pretty much,¡± Thalia laughed, putting her hands on her hips. ¡°He becomes a total adrenaline junkie. Wayyyy more energy than me! And the biggest prankster of the group!¡± ¡°Good... to know,¡± Nyssa scratched the side of her face. ¡°You all have some interesting powers.¡± ¡°Yeah, there is a certain body theme when it comes to our powers,¡± Thalia shrugged. ¡°We were nicknamed the class of disgust for a reason.¡± 49: A Droopy Cat The room filled with idle conversation for the next ten minutes or so. Each of the five Graduate-Division Class Zero students took turns catching up with Angelica. Everyone else introduced themselves to Nyssa or caught up with the other students in Class Zero. Nyssa, over the course of these ten minutes, lost energy like she had a hole in her internal battery. ¡°Are you doing, okay?¡± Celeste patted the now-drooping Nyssa. ¡°How has talking to everyone been?¡± ¡°Sleepy...¡± Nyssa mumbled as a pair of cat ears poofed into existence above her head. Her head bobbed a few times as she pushed off the cat transformation. ¡°They¡¯re all very cool people... I don¡¯t know what we¡¯re doing later in the day, but I... I should stay awake.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure there¡¯ll be a gap in which you can take a nap,¡± Celeste reassured as she ran her hand through Nyssa¡¯s hair. ¡°I¡¯m glad you thought everyone seemed cool though. Even for me, this conversation was still quite novel. I think, other than Scarlet and Thalia, I, myself, have only talked to them like... four or five times.¡± ¡°You seemed like a fish in water,¡± Nyssa nodded as a tail appeared behind her. She slapped it out of existence before a faint gloominess settled onto her shoulders. ¡°I think I sleep as a cat too often. In the past when I was tired I¡¯d become a human, not the other way around...¡± ¡°That¡¯s... not good,¡± Celeste raised an eyebrow. ¡°Is that becoming your default form? That¡¯d certainly not be great in the long run.¡± ¡°Yeah, it wouldn¡¯t,¡± Nyssa confessed, stretching upward to try and wake herself up. ¡°It¡¯s just started, so if I sleep as a human for the next week it should be fine again. And as long as I sleep as a human most of the time it¡¯ll be... fine.¡± ¡°Better to change the habit now,¡± Celeste encouraged Nyssa with a few pats on the back. ¡°They¡¯re filing out of the classroom, we should... probably follow. Did you hear what Angelica said we were doing?¡± ¡°... No, I was talking to you,¡± Nyssa coughed as she grabbed onto Celeste¡¯s hand. Together, they followed along behind Albion, bringing up the rear as Angelica closed the door behind them. Reaching out, Nyssa tapped Albion¡¯s shoulder. ¡°What are we doing right now? Something I can nap through, hopefully?¡± ¡°Not something you can nap through I¡¯m afraid,¡± Albion shook his head. He clenched his fists and flexed a little. ¡°We¡¯re doing a round of dodgeball and then capture the flag! Look alive!¡± ¡°Oh I have the perfect form for dodgeball,¡± Nyssa swung the hand she had interlaced with Celeste forward. With a faint cheer she pumped her other fist. ¡°I¡¯m so ready.¡± ¡°What is it!?¡± Conrad interrupted while raising his fist into the air. ¡°Something strong? Like a wheel-like monster? So it has fast mobility? And then give it like... FIVE arms to make it a dodgeball throwing machine?¡± Nyssa waved off Conrad with her free hand. ¡°... No, it¡¯s just a very flat, very small leaf with cartoon eyes I dreamt up a couple years ago. It also has camouflage abilities. If I just lay down randomly, they¡¯ll never be able to hit me. I¡¯ll let the rest of you do the dodgeball throwing... and dodging.¡± ¡°... That¡¯s a very you strategy to employ,¡± Conrad patted Nyssa on the back after a couple seconds of hesitation. ¡°I shall be the star of the show then. As the protagonist! I¡¯ll wow the world with my immaculate dodgeball skills. I¡¯ve been doing some one-on-one training with Angelica recently to better utilize my physical capabilities, so here¡¯s a great time to show the fruits of my labor!¡± Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Uh huh,¡± Celeste nodded with an unimpressed gaze. She could do nothing but shake her head as Conrad looked at her with expectant eyes. ¡°As the female lead, I can¡¯t help but say I¡¯m swooning right now. I¡¯d rather stick with the side character Nyssa.¡± ¡°A brutal comment! Fear not, I shan¡¯t give up now, my heart will never waver! Even when faced with defeat,¡± Conrad galvanized himself with his own motivational speech¡ªa very ¡®protagonist¡¯ move if anything. Before he could continue though, Titus dragged him away with an apologetic smile. ¡°Sorry, you two, we¡¯ve been trying to get him to talk to more girls recently. It¡¯s... a slow process.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry!¡± Celeste smiled before giving her best thumbs-up. ¡°Fear not! Don¡¯t give up now, don¡¯t let your heart waver! Even when faced with defeat! I heard these words from a wise sage very recently. Can¡¯t seem to remember what their name was though.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll keep your words in mind,¡± Titus nodded, shifting his hand to press Conrad¡¯s mouth shut. ¡°Albion and I actually came up with a pretty good strategy for Capture the Flag though, so when that comes around, let¡¯s coordinate. We can use our numbers advantage¡ªand our knowledge advantage, to pull a fast one on them.¡± Both Nyssa and Celeste nodded their heads. No conversation continued though as everyone began splitting up to change into their costumes. Celeste, here, let go of Nyssa¡¯s hand and made a mock salute. ¡°I¡¯ll be right back.¡± Having swallowed back the urge to say ¡°Don¡¯t miss me too much,¡± Celeste bolted off before Nyssa could reply. She pressed a hand to her face and did a mental scream. These past few weeks had made her painfully aware of her crush on Nyssa. Why am I such a dork Why am I so bad at this wooing stuff Why did I fall so hard Why is love so painful and Why... Why is she so cute... As she changed, she faced the corner of the room as Scarlet, Isolde, and Thalia changed too. I can¡¯t let them see my face right now, I bet it''s red, it feels warm it feels... aahhhhh gah why is Nyssa¡¯s hand so soft... I should put on lotion more, I hope she doesn¡¯t think my hands are really calloused... I¡¯d really hate to let her down... she¡¯s just... so kind gah, the world doesn¡¯t deserve someone like her, she¡¯s just so genuine so... loving and accepting of us all... especially of me and my shortcomings... I¡¯m glad she¡¯s not afraid of my star powers... Unbeknownst to Celeste though, Nyssa stood in place staring at her now-empty hand with a faint crestfallen frown. Her hand opened. Her hand closed. Clenching and releasing her hand a couple times, she shook her head. Celeste¡¯s hand was so warm... She¡¯s so warm... I hope I can take a nap on her again soon... She¡¯s really nice for letting me do that, I hope I''m not being a burden on her... Maybe I¡¯ll make her cookies sometime as a thank you for all those naps Angelica, perhaps the largest mental proponent of the young love she saw blossoming between her two students... missed out on both scenes. With everyone else going to change, she had gone into the training room to set up the dodgeball match. A real shame. She flew around the pitch though. Laden with cones in both hands, she leapt off a wall to soar through the air. Rotating in the air, she threw out the cones into their various spots. The packed dust floor kicked up a faint cloud of debris as she landed. Unburdened, she spun on her heel and leapt up again to finish setting up the match area. ¡°Whew, easiest part of my job,¡± Angelica laughed, wiping her hand across her forehead. ¡°Why can¡¯t I just do this all day instead of grading their training results and writing reports to administration.¡± 50: Frog Stretches The five graduate students and seven Class Zero students filed into the training area after a couple minutes. Though Nyssa didn¡¯t need to change, she waited for Celeste before entering with her. Once in the training room though, they spread out and began stretching and warming up for their dodgeball match. ¡°Nyssa...¡± Celeste came to a stop beside the white-haired girl lying flat on the ground. ¡°What type of stretch is this?¡± ¡°The ¡®preparing to sleep¡¯ stretch,¡± Nyssa murmured, her voice muffled by the fact that her face was directly pressing into the ground. ¡°Go on, don¡¯t worry about me. I can just transform to be more limber.¡± ¡°... True,¡± Celeste shook her head. ¡°I guess I can only lament your privilege, I¡¯m going to go back to stretching...¡± ¡°Goooood luck,¡± Nyssa gave a thumbs up. ¡°I¡¯m cheering for you to carry our team.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try,¡± Celeste saluted before jogging off to build up a light sweat. She did a couple loops around the training field before Angelica gave her a few stretches to run through. The same scene replayed around the training area as Angelica gave all the students pointers... except one. ¡°Nyssa.¡± Angelica tapped her foot after she walked up beside Nyssa. ¡°Not going to... you know? Take care of your body?¡± ¡°My body demands rest, so I¡¯m, you know, taking care of your body right now,¡± Nyssa wormed a little further away from Angelica. ¡°Yep, yep no need to worry about me at all.¡± Angelica matched Nyssa¡¯s pace. She took slow steps to end up right in front of Nyssa¡¯s worming trajectory. ¡°I think you should do some stretches at least. It doesn¡¯t hurt to be more limber.¡± ¡°I¡¯m very limber,¡± Nyssa rolled over, looking up at Angelica from the ground. ¡°Tell me any movement and I guarantee I can do it.¡± ¡°Without transforming?¡± Angelica raised an eyebrow. Crouching down to Nyssa¡¯s level, she reached out and poked her nose. ¡°Roxanne said you should stretch more too. If you¡¯re not going to listen to your teacher, at least listen to your sister.¡± ¡°... Fine,¡± Nyssa grumbled before rolling over and pushing herself upright. ¡°What would you like me to do?¡± ¡°Well, you want to be dynamic most of the time, but can you do a few static stretches so I can get an idea of where you¡¯re at?¡± Angelica pulled out a clipboard. ¡°You know, can you go through the basic stuff? Touch your toes, touch your hands behind your back, whatever you can think of.¡± Raising her hands, Nyssa bent down and began her performance. Without using powers¡ªas Angelica had asked¡ªshe pressed her palms against the floor, grabbed both wrists behind her back, and aced every other test Angelica could think of. As she ran out of stretches, she decided to continue on with a few yoga poses. Pigeon pose came up first where she pressed her entire leg against the ground, no sweat at all. ¡°... Alright, you can stop there,¡± Angelica sighed as she crumpled the paper. ¡°Are you sure you didn¡¯t use your powers?¡± ¡°None at all,¡± Nyssa laid back down as a smug expression appeared on her face. ¡°What can I say, I¡¯m just... naturally limber. Everyday I aim to embody the spiritual energy of water. It allows me to sleep in any position and keep my body limber.¡± Stolen novel; please report. ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s how this works. I won¡¯t ask you to stretch though...¡± Angelica massaged her forehead. With Nyssa closing her eyes on the ground beside her, she couldn¡¯t help but murmur to herself. ¡°How did Roxanne not know this? I¡¯m so confused. She didn¡¯t use her powers for sure since she has a few obscure tells when she¡¯s using them...¡± She tapped her clipboard. ¡°I still can¡¯t let you just lay here though. You need to get at least a little bit of movement in, and before you say it, I don¡¯t care if you plan on transforming into a leaf when dodgeball starts. So, while everyone else is still warming up, do at least two laps around the entire training field.¡± ¡°Two?!¡± Nyssa lamented as looked up at Angelica with her best pleading eyes. ¡°How about one?¡± ¡°Just go before I up it to three,¡± Angelica sighed. ¡°The ground can¡¯t be that comfortable to lie on anyway. Movement will help you wake up a little.¡± Nyssa, unable to retort, just shook her head before transforming into a very rotund, waist-height frog. Once transformed, she raised her arms a couple times before murmuring ¡°frog power¡± and beginning to roll forward. Roooolll.... Roll... ¡°Angelica just doesn¡¯t understand what it means to embody the spiritual energy of water...¡± Rolll... Rooooolll... The frog made slow... very slow progress around the training field. It drew gazes from the other students, but after watching the frog roll forward like a bowling ball in honey, they returned to their own devices. ¡°So, that¡¯s Nyssa, huh,¡± Thalia crouched in the middle of the training field as Isolde and Scarlet stood next to her. The three of them had overheard the entire exchange between Nyssa and Angelica, but had continued their own warmup routines. ¡°Some reason I didn¡¯t expect someone like that... especially considering the more intense personalities both her older siblings have.¡± ¡°She seems quite mild, doesn¡¯t she?¡± Scarlet sighed with a gentle smile. ¡°Unburdened by the worries of the world. A nice life to live in all honesty.¡± ¡°Beyond that, do you two even realize the significance of that frog transformation?¡± Isolde gazed at the distant rolling frog with a frown on her face. She squinted and pushed her glasses up a little further. ¡°It¡¯s quite the powerhouse. If my estimates are correct. Something that really fits the Ravenstein household. No matter its derpy look.¡± ¡°In... what ways?¡± Scarlet tilted her head. ¡°Isn¡¯t it quite cute with how round it is? The eyes are pretty big too, and the bright green makes it seem like it''s out of a cartoon. ¡°No, no, maybe we¡¯re underestimating Nyssa,¡± Isolde leaned in closer as Thalia leapt to her feet with a serious gaze. ¡°I think that frog is actually optimized for combat efficiency. That derpy look is to make us let our guards down. If you look at the faint indentations in the ground behind it, you can assume the frog actually weighs a lot, it¡¯s able to cause the ultra-compacted dust beneath us to compact even further.¡± Isolde pointed to a few areas around Nyssa¡¯s path. ¡°Then if you look at the flattened rocks, you can see how the skin is as hard as metal armor. The liquid secreted to give it the cartoonish sheen? Acid. Look at those burn marks along the path. In fact, maybe Nyssa¡¯s doing this just to give us a warning. Like a predator circling its prey.¡± ¡°Holy... turns out she¡¯s just like the other Ravensteins,¡± Thalia gasped, putting her hands to her mouth with an exaggerated eye pop. ¡°I doubt it for some reason... but I¡¯ll... uh... take your word for it,¡± Scarlet murmured, still unable to match the picture Isolde conjured with the derpy, slow-rolling frog in front of her. --- ¡°Wheeeee...¡± ¡°Rooooolll...¡± ¡°I¡¯m certainly embodying the spirit of a frog right now, I¡¯m sure my frog ancestors are proud of me... ribbit ribbit...¡± Nyssa the frog continued on her way as she finished the first of her two laps around the training field. In fact, unbeknownst to the Class Zero graduate students who had begun worrying out of their minds, her quirks of her transformation had little to do with combat. Extreme weight? An easier time rolling, and it makes the second lap easier because there¡¯s a great path already. Skin hard as armor? Makes the rocks hurt less when they¡¯re rolled over. Acid sweat? Well... that was just to annoy Angelica and make the school have some repair costs... ¡°A frog never goes down without a fight... ribbit ribbit...¡± ¡°Wheeeee...¡± 51: Stretchy Arms! Nyssa finished her two laps around the training field after twenty minutes or so. By the second lap, she had decided to increase her rolling speed to not keep everyone waiting. Her intentions ended up not mattering though, as Angelica had used the opportunity to make the Class Zero graduate students go through a half-workout. ¡°I guess it does even the playing field a little,¡± Titus leaned against the wall as Nyssa sat beside him in frog form. Nearby, Celeste, Albion, and Conrad all sat around while waiting for the students to finish up. A couple minutes later, once the workout had finished and the five graduate students had caught their breath, Angelica corralled everyone to the dodgeball pitch. Nyssa, back in human form, stood in the back next to Celeste as Angelica explained the rules. ¡°If you¡¯re hit, you¡¯re out. Out people leave the pitch and come stand next to me. I¡¯ll be the referee in case any disputes come up. People can catch a ball to ¡®revive¡¯ one of their teammates from being out. I¡¯ve marked out a pretty large area for both teams, and you¡¯re not allowed to cross the line. However, verticality is allowed so be creative with how you maneuver. Any questions? Also, yes, using your powers is allowed for movement, not for creating a wall.¡± ¡°What if we cross the line in the air, but don¡¯t touch the ground on the other side?¡± Albion raised his hand, a clear idea bubbling in his mind. ¡°... Hmm,¡± Angelica pondered out loud as she looked to the other side. ¡°Isolde, what are your thoughts? If you allow it, then I¡¯ll let both of you do your thing. Otherwise, I¡¯ll ban it for both teams.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think we should do it, it gives us a slight disadvantage,¡± Isolde shook her head, shooting down Albion¡¯s gleeful smile. ¡°Alright, that settles that, any other questions?¡± Angelica spread her hands. She scanned the faces of all the students a couple times before motioning towards the pitch. ¡°Then, let¡¯s play. I already have the balls on the centerline. Start from the back of each of your sides. Once I finish counting down you all can rush to grab them.¡± With Angelica finishing her speaking, everyone dispersed. Yawning, Nyssa wandered to the back of their side while transforming her arms. ¡°Okay, so you just want me to grab as many balls as I can? What are you all doing?¡± ¡°Yep, that¡¯s all you have to do, once you do that you can transform into a leaf if you want. Or you can just get out. Do whatever. But grab as many balls as you can because you can out speed everyone except for Electra.¡± Conrad stretched his legs. ¡°I have the best all-around physical abilities, so I¡¯m in charge of matching Ashe.¡± ¡°I¡¯m in charge of countering my sister,¡± Ryker cracked his knuckles, unable to hide the immense amount of sweat pouring down his face. ¡°Thalia is going to force herself to evolve super speed, so I¡¯ll be in charge of matching her,¡± Electra sighed as arcs of electricity jumped across her skin and ran down her hair. ¡°We¡¯re pretty sure Thalia will do speed since that¡¯s the big weakness on their team right now. There¡¯s a chance she does something else though.¡± ¡°Yeah, so that¡¯s where I come in, I''m just in charge of helping whoever needs it,¡± Celeste shrugged. ¡°Probably Titus and Ryker if I¡¯m being honest.¡± You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡°I¡¯ll need it more than Titus,¡± Ryker clenched onto Celeste¡¯s shoulder as his legs shook. ¡°I¡¯ll definitely need it the most. Help me, yes.¡± ¡°You have the easiest job,¡± Titus laughed, ¡°You have better physical capabilities than your sister! You can use your powers to accelerate the ball and make a smoke screen while she can¡¯t at all, why are you worried? I¡¯m literally going against the Sun¡¯s Apostle, Orion.¡± ¡°Trust... she¡¯s... she¡¯s just built different. I don¡¯t know how, but she always finds a way,¡± Ryker shook his head, the ¡®younger sibling¡¯ trauma clear in his eyes. ¡°Anyway, I¡¯m in charge of Isolde, as was made clear earlier,¡± Albion shrugged. ¡°Alright, ready everyone? Angelica¡¯s about to start counting down.¡± ¡°THREE!... TWO!... ONE!... START!¡± Electra and Thalia both disappeared from their spot. Yet, because they met in the middle, they began sparring to counter each other from taking any balls. Nyssa, in the meantime, shot her arms forward like two bullets to outstrip Ashe and Conrad off the line. Standing still, her arms stretched outward like two ropes. Crack. Her arms split into fifteen branches each and swept all of the balls at once before dragging them backward for her team. ¡°Eugh... that was a little... disturbing, I¡¯m sorry,¡± Albion shuddered a touch. ¡°Why, out of all the transformations you could¡¯ve done, did you do that one?¡± ¡°That was a tame one though...¡± Nyssa mumbled as she transformed into a leaf. ¡°I kept my arms looking like arms. They weren¡¯t like tentacles or something.¡± ¡°No, I think that just made it worse,¡± Albion shook his head as Celeste tossed in her agreement too. With the balls now on their side of the pitch though, Albion reached down and pinched the stem of the leaf before shaking it a few times. ¡°Thanks for your help though, kind leaf master. We¡¯ll make you proud.¡± A mouth opened on the leaf causing Albion to leap back in surprise. ¡°You got this.¡± ¡°Maybe I don¡¯t got this...¡± Albion muttered as he skated away on ice. ¡°Why are Nyssa¡¯s transformations so horrifying sometimes?¡± The battle, though, began in earnest after Electra and Thalia disengaged. Albion summoned, then manipulated the ice on their side of the field to distribute the balls. As he did though, the other side showed their powers in full. Thalia had a... pseudo-transformation ability. She could force herself to evolve... mildly. But when faced with conflict, her body would change to fit the needs she had with inane efficiency. Even faced with Electra¡¯s electricity boosted, near-instantaneous movement, she kept up with no problem. ¡°You okay?¡± Ryker asked as Electra stopped next to him with a face full of sweat. ¡°She¡¯s... getting faster than me every time we engage, I have to get faster,¡± Electra choked out before grabbing the ball from Ryker¡¯s hand and disappearing once more. Isolde, on the other hand, demonstrated her bone manipulation abilities to their fullest extent. Her hands burst open as she summoned an entire field of bone on their side of the pitch to counter Albion¡¯s field of ice. Not a second passed before she summoned a wave of bone needles and punctured Ashe from all directions. Ashe cackled as the pain flowed through his system. Drenched in blood, he disappeared from his spot and began blitzing Conrad. ¡°What the-¡± Conrad fired his powers to life as red and blue rings and panels began appearing around his eyes. By tracing the trajectory of each ball Ashe threw, he managed to weasel his way out of an immediate elimination. ¡°The sun calls for me,¡± Orion laughed as he floated into the air. His body began glowing as the entire room brightened. ¡°I summon thee, the Spear of Iapetus!¡± Titus called out as his fire coalesced to create a brilliant silver spear. ¡°The spear of the moon from the titan of the west, I¡¯ve been training to summon this one just for you Orion.¡± ¡°Well, it won¡¯t be enough,¡± He laughed as he wrapped a few dodgeballs in fire and began rocketing them in Titus¡¯s direction. 52: Teacher Evaluations A spectacle of explosions rocked the training room. Everyone¡ªbar a certain leaf in the corner¡ªpaused for a second before continuing. Dodgeballs covered in fire, ice, bone, and more flew around as each projectile became a missile capable of destroying any common civilian. Angelica, standing by the side of the pitch with her hands on her waist, couldn¡¯t help but whistle as the battle heated up. ¡°I¡¯m glad I pulled out the reinforced dodgeballs...¡± I¡¯m still not sure if they¡¯ll be recognizable by the end of this though... As time went on, her eyes narrowed as she focused on each of the students. For the most part, she kept her attention on the current Class Zero students though because... well, the Graduate Division students had graduated. They technically weren¡¯t her students anymore. They know how to improve on their own. The current students though... hmm... Titus, for one, needed a little more work on his spear technique. In the current moment, he held his own against Orion¡ªwhich could be used as evidence to his own capabilities. However, she could also tell Orion held back a little. His deft fire control though, excelled as always. That¡¯s the problem though. Even now, Angelica could only sigh. Titus¡¯s powers made his ceiling quite high, but made his training process excruciating. Almost all his divine weapons required different fighting styles. Though his innate fire manipulations abilities made him a strong fighter, he had close to a fresh start with every new weapon he practiced with. Moving on, Ryker perhaps... needed some psychological counseling? As of now, he held on against his sister Scarlet, but she saw the writing on the wall. He wouldn¡¯t last much longer. Because of his inability to perform against his sister though, Angelica had no real grasp on his progress. The current fight could only be categorized as an ¡®extremely special situation.¡¯ Electra seemed fine as well. Fighting against Thalia brought out the best in her. Plus, it seemed like Thalia¡¯s fighting style stimulated the electricity-wielding girl. No one in the past month or so had challenged Electra in speed and it seemed this fight against Thalia had given her motivation to keep improving. And... Ryker had gotten out. ¡°Come to my side Ryker!¡± Angelica shouted out. Tapping the ground next to her with a bright smile on her face. Ryker, in fact, seemed elated. He scrambled over while catching his breath. ¡°Oh wow, thank you! I¡¯m really glad I¡¯m out. You know, I think this part of dodgeball is honestly underrated. Let the star of the team get some rest you know-¡± ¡°Just catch your breath Ryker,¡± Angelica patted him on the shoulder with a gentle smile. ¡°There¡¯s no need to bluff me.¡± ¡°... True,¡± Ryker sighed as he took a few seconds to catch his breath. ¡°In a moment of seriousness though, I want to thank you as the... perhaps informal student leader of Class Zero. Although I might not enjoy seeing my sister, this is a great opportunity. I¡¯m glad you organized it for us.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Angelica laughed. ¡°Stimulating Electra to improve again made this all worth it, not to mention the others.¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. ¡°Definitely,¡± Ryker nodded while crossing his arms. ¡°It¡¯s a shame I can¡¯t match her at all speedwise. Because of that we can only do unpowered spars.¡± ¡°There¡¯s a value in those as well. A value many don¡¯t realize in the entirety of their lives or pro careers,¡± Angelica reassured while patting him on the back. ¡°On that note, the actual star of your team, Albion, just caught a ball so you¡¯re back in.¡± A loud expletive left Ryker¡¯s mouth before he jogged back onto the field with despondent steps. On the topic of Albion and Conrad, their development seemed smooth. Albion¡¯s main improvement area, as always, fell into two different categories. For one, he needed to get better at his own maneuverability and fighting skills instead of relying too much on his powers. For another, though he could produce a crazy volume of ice, he needed to work on his fine control still. In this regard, Isolde had him... far outclassed, but they still fell even with Isolde¡¯s raw output being far lower than Albion¡¯s... He¡¯s really skyrocketed in terms of ability recently... Conrad, though. Conrad. His powers seemed simple. Undeserving of Class Zero even. Growthwise, true to his ¡®system¡¯ his growth continued on its steep, linear path. But, somehow, his inability to control his growth at times always seemed rough. Because his growth came in jumps, ¡®stat bonus increases¡¯ as he called it, he suffered in a perpetual state of getting used to his own strength... After all, the moment he got used to his strength, he¡¯d level up... In between her musings as she analyzed each of the current Class Zero students, Angelica called out whenever someone got out and whenever someone got back in. To her surprise, the dodgeball game seemed to drag on for a while. Both teams matched up well against each other. Who next... ah, Celeste. Celeste seemed fine, she still could only output about a fourth of her Star Engine heart while keeping it under control in the current moment. Her laser beams scorched across the dodgeball pitch as she played a crucial role supporting her team... Well, more specifically, Ryker. Her ability to fly came in handy for sure. It allowed for the usage of a third-dimension, and a way to fly made anyone¡¯s future prospects much easier. Even more, her hand to hand combat abilities seemed... impeccable as always. How to let her gain control of the star-engine though? She needs full control before she can start growing it... Flipping through her memories, Angelica motioned for Scarlet to return to the battlefield as Orion caught a dodgeball. What did her parents say again...? Something about emotional obstacles? After a moment, Angelica¡¯s brows unfurrowed as the information came back to her. Celeste needed to overcome any emotional turmoil or anxieties she had before she could get to half or two-thirds control. Every level of ¡®inner peace¡¯ the family had called it helped with unchaining the Star Engine. It¡¯s Nyssa isn¡¯t it? I don¡¯t want to play matchmaker, but if their pining goes on for too long maybe i¡¯ll have to step in somehow... For now, though, it''s probably fine. Celeste can still improve a little in other areas, as well as through basic Star Engine heart meditation. Somehow, Angelica had discovered, she and Roxanne were in the minority when it came to women loving each other. They hadn¡¯t had a very long pining period. They¡¯d just... asked each other out quite early, and talked things though. Overall, a very smooth romantic journey... It seemed the two girls in her class, though, might not have such a smooth time together. As for the other party in question, Nyssa, Angelica didn¡¯t have much to help her improve. Her powers already passed every test she could come up with. In fact, the power training she had Nyssa do was mostly for show. Just to keep her from getting rusty. Maybe I should¡¯ve taken more psychology classes... because her only area of improvement is becoming less lazy. Actually scratch that, she¡¯s not lazy when her bed is at the end. Her area of improvement is sleeping less... 53: A Historic Fumble The battle raged on, but as the dust settled, to no one¡¯s surprise, the Class Zero graduate students managed to eke out a victory. Though tired from a forced workout with Angelica, and though suffering from a numbers disadvantage, their superior skills and power manipulation did end up shining through... The losing team though, they couldn¡¯t help but still feel a little disappointed. One in particular, Nyssa, stood by the sideline with a crestfallen expression. ¡°How did I get hit?¡± ¡°They had really good aim, I guess... You did well though, have confidence. I think you played a good role on our team,¡± Celeste comforted while giving Nyssa a few pats on the back. Seeing the atmosphere fit it, she pulled Nyssa into a hug, and the two ended up standing in their hug for a couple minutes as the others engaged in their own conversation. ¡°UNBELIEVABLE!¡± Conrad shook his head. ¡°How did we choke our lead? I FUMBLED! Sorry about that, Albion.¡± ¡°No, you¡¯re fine,¡± Albion breathed out a faint cloud of mist. He stared off into the distance where Isolde now high-fived Orion. ¡°It¡¯s my bad too, she totally outmaneuvered me. One play and it was over.¡± ¡°Yeah, it really wasn¡¯t easy,¡± Titus sat on the ground, leaning back while using his hands to prop himself up. ¡°Orion¡¯s crazy. I had a perfect counter to him, a spear with a dusk aspect, but he just brute forced me.¡± ¡°It¡¯s understandable, he¡¯s a strong fire user,¡± Albion stretched as he looked over towards Ryker. ¡°At least we did better than him, so I don¡¯t think we have anything to really worry about.¡± ¡°Those psychological scars sure are deep huh...¡± Conrad murmured as Electra patted Ryker on the back. Meanwhile, Ryker held his face in his hands. ¡°She¡¯s a devil, a devil in human skin... no, not even, that¡¯d be slander against the devils. I¡¯m sure they¡¯d be disgusted to be associated with her. To the devil Olivia¡¯s contracted to, I¡¯m sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to lump you in with my older sister...¡± ¡°I mean... she didn¡¯t do anything really,¡± Electra pointed out the facts. ¡°She never even threw a dodgeball, how did you get out so many times?¡± ¡°I just kinda froze up, you know?¡± Ryker pulled his eyelids down. ¡°That does remind me though, we really should invite Olivia sometime. I¡¯m sure she wouldn¡¯t mind hanging out with us. It¡¯s been a while since we¡¯ve hosted a party in the Class Zero building hasn¡¯t it? She always complains that the Class One students are too stuck-up.¡± ¡°Some of them certainly are,¡± Electra laughed as a spark of electricity ran down her hair. ¡°We¡¯ve beaten them up so many times by now, and they still think they¡¯re the hot stuff.¡± Before Ryker could continue speaking though, Angelica silenced everyone with a few claps. Looking around to make sure she had everyone''s attention, she paused and pursed her lips as her gaze landed on Nyssa. Celeste, still hugging Nyssa, just shrugged. ¡°She fell asleep on her own, I didn¡¯t do anything but give her a hug.¡± ¡°... You¡¯re too warm, that¡¯s the problem,¡± Angelica sighed and shook her head. ¡°Let¡¯s just continue on, she slept through the last match anyway. The next game is capture the flag. You¡¯ll see how it''s relevant in a second, but I¡¯d like to expand on the announcement I made to the students earlier.¡± Stolen story; please report. ¡°That¡¯s everyone here,¡± Ashe countered as the five graduate students struck a pose. ¡°Redundancy! We¡¯ve caught you slacking!¡± Just as the rest of the graduate division students were going to pile on with their own comments, Angelica tapped her chin. ¡°You¡¯re right, let me adjust that then, I¡¯d like to make an announcement to my current students. Because on a technical note, all of you graduate students are now considered the headmaster¡¯s students.¡± ¡°Ack-¡± ¡°It hurts...¡± ¡°We take it back...¡± ¡°Angelica doesn¡¯t love us anymore...¡± Wiping a fake tear, Scarlet did her best delicate noblewoman gasp. She then put a hand to her forehead and did a fake faint backward into Thalia¡¯s arms. ¡°M-My goodness!¡± Angelica, unfazed, turned to her seven current students in Class Zero. ¡°So, as I mentioned this morning, we¡¯ll be doing some field exercises soon. There¡¯s been a new mission posted on the website for hunter¡¯s, and I think it¡¯d be some good actual hands-on training for you all.¡± ¡°Are we leaving before or after Roxanne¡¯s guest seminar?¡± Electra raised her hand. Ryker hopped in right after her, raising his own hand. ¡°Or are we missing it entirely? Please don¡¯t make us miss it. It¡¯d be a real shame.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry I¡¯m not going to make you all miss it, we¡¯ll be leaving after her seminar since it''s next week after all,¡± Angelica shook her head, a smile with a faint air of mystery dancing across her face. ¡°I¡¯m quite looking forward to it too after all. Roxanne¡¯s a good friend of mine, we were, in fact, students together here at the institute many years ago.¡± Pausing for a second as the seven students in front of her¡ªalong with the five graduate students behind her¡ªlet out their ¡°oohs¡± and ¡°ahh¡±s, she could only laugh while glancing at Nyssa. ¡°Alright, for the details of the mission though, we¡¯ll just be doing some investigation in the wild north. Expect to run into some beasts because we¡¯ll be venturing further north than any territory currently claimed by any country. The travel time won¡¯t be too long either.¡± As she talked, she chose to ignore the five graduate division students who had snuck around and taken a seat in the back beside Celeste and Nyssa. ¡°Now, we¡¯ll have an entire class meeting where we debrief the route we¡¯ll take and more, so I¡¯ll leave it at that. The reason I mention it right now though, is because I¡¯d like you all to work on your teamwork during this capture the flag event. Thus, I¡¯m making a rule that any move you make must be in tandem with one or more other people on your team. Get creative, got it? I know several of you have established group attacks, so feel free to fall back on those, but don¡¯t be afraid to try something new as well.¡± A second later, she also added. ¡°Tell her when she wakes up, but Nyssa has to actually participate this time. She must do a pair attack with at least four other people. If not everyone.¡± ¡°Damn the difficulty just spiked,¡± Ryker cracked a joke only to tap his chin. ¡°Well, actually with her it opens up the options a lot.¡± ¡°Chop, chop, now, let¡¯s get going!¡± Angelica clapped her hands. As everyone got to their feet, she spun on her heel and kicked up a small cloud of dust before spreading her arms to draw attention to the grandness of Class Zero¡¯s private gymnasium. ¡°I¡¯ve decided the entire training field will be the pitch we¡¯ll use as well. Unlike this small area marked out for dodgeball.¡± She pulled out the two flags she had stuck into the ground and threw one to each group and then shooed them all off to their respective sides. Everyone wandered off, setting up a small little camp on opposite ends by the gleaming metal walls. Cupping her hands to her mouth, Angelica called out one last time. ¡°You have a fifteen minute grace period to prepare and make your fortifications! Time starts... Now!¡± 54: Five More ¡°F-Five more...¡± Nyssa mumbled in her sleep as Celeste set her down in a sitting position against the training room¡¯s wall. ¡°Nyssa, you need to wake up, we¡¯re starting the new round,¡± Celeste squished Nyssa¡¯s cheeks, marveling at how soft they were. ¡°I can¡¯t let you sleep for five more minutes. We only have a fifteen minute grace period.¡± ¡°F-Five more days...¡± Nyssa¡¯s eyebrows furrowed as Celeste continued massaging her cheeks. At this moment though, Angelica set off a blaring alarm in the training field, startling Nyssa back into the land of the awake. ¡°W... What¡¯s going on? Are there monsters attacking us? Huh? Wha?¡± ¡°No, Angelica¡¯s just... trying to get you awake,¡± Celeste coughed as Angelica gave her a thumbs-up from the training field¡¯s entrance. After pulling Nyssa to her feet, Celeste took a second to explain the rules Angelica had set before dragging her to join the others, who had now begun their war preparations. ¡°So troublesome...¡± Nyssa mumbled as she kept a tight grasp onto Celeste¡¯s hand. Her eyes widened, though, once she noticed the rest of the team digging into the ground with shovels. ¡°What can I help with?¡± ¡°Hmm... do you have a transformation that can help us dig?¡± Albion asked as he directed the construction efforts. ¡°Ryker, can you blow up that area over there to soften the ground? Then Titus and Conrad go in and dig a trench. Electra, with the extra dirt can you pack it into bricks for us to build a wall? I¡¯ll use my ice to supplement.¡± ¡°I actually do have quite a few transformations good at digging, it just depends on scale and shape needed to be dug,¡± Nyssa furrowed her eyebrows as she tried to recall the encyclopedia of transformations she had created while younger. ¡°That¡¯s great, we just need something that can excavate wide trenches if possible. Keep it relatively within reason if you can to save some energy, that¡¯s how your powers work right?¡± Albion handed a shovel to Celeste. ¡°Celeste, can you help Titus and Conrad?¡± Celeste nodded and ran off as the large screen on the side wall of the training field fired up to life. It displayed, in glowing red numbers, the countdown Angelica had set. ¡°Yeah, my powers just use a steep energy tax to account for anything that couldn¡¯t exist normally,¡± Nyssa answered before asking Albion to point out the areas he wanted dug. Once clear of the area, she jogged off. It summed up to... a giant moat. Easy enough. Nyssa looked back over her shoulder to check her distance to everyone else. After taking a few more steps to move far enough¡ªat least by her own metric¡ªshe closed her eyes. One deep breath later, she disappeared, and in her place sat a car-sized worm head. Plated with metallic carapace, the worm¡¯s head gleamed under the training field¡¯s artificial lighting. It lacked a mouth; instead, its face came to a drill-like point. Blade-like appendages jutted out from its head in all directions to form a sort of flower. Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. With no time to waste, she demonstrated the most unique part of the transformation. The front part of the worm¡¯s head began spinning while carving into the ground. Starting from the ground by one wall, Wormyssa began a slow semicircle. Dirt flew outward in a constant stream as she dug forward. ¡°What the hell is that thing?¡± Ryker paused, taking a few steps back to let the bladed monstrosity rotating at blender speeds pass by him. Looking towards the others, he fell silent as everyone else seemed as stunned as him. ¡°W-Well, our digging is coming along nicely...¡± ¡°You can say that again,¡± Electra leaned on her shovel as Wormyssa made slow but steady progress in her moat. ¡°It¡¯s pretty deep too. All the loose dirt or... dust? Or whatever this training field is made of can be used to make a wall or some traps.¡± ¡°But what... what is that,¡± Ryker repeated, his eyes bolted onto the digging creature. ¡°Where did it come from? Did she dream that up?¡± ¡°Just ask her afterward...¡± Conrad patted Ryker. ¡°My system told me it''s actually only the head of a creature.¡± ¡°That¡¯s... not reassuring,¡± Ryker mumbled as everyone else let out sounds of agreement. ¡°Celeste, you gotta know something.¡± ¡°Nope, nothing at all,¡± Celeste wiped a little bit of sweat off her brow. ¡°I¡¯ve seen the same amount of transformations that you all have. The one she demonstrated when she first joined the class, the bird, a human disguise, the ones she used when we all sparred, the frog from earlier, and... obviously, the cat. There¡¯s probably a few more, but I don¡¯t quite remember off the top of my head.¡± ¡°Human disguise, huh,¡± Ryker shook his head. ¡°I don¡¯t think I was there for that one, but... good to know for the future.¡± ¡°Chop, chop, as our democratically elected leader, I say we should get back on our work, we only have eight minutes left,¡± Albion mimicked Angelica and clapped his hands. Sat atop a throne made of ice, he smirked as Conrad gave him the middle finger. ¡°Sucks to be you, but I¡¯ve already completed the foundation for an ice castle. I have it at the ready, the moment the timer ticks down, the entire thing will appear.¡± ¡°So, take the extra shovel that was for Nyssa and start digging then,¡± Titus smiled, flexing his arm. ¡°And for some reason, I seem to recall that you seized power like a tyrant... but if you were democratically elected, surely you¡¯ll listen to the voice of the people right? All of us would love to have you join us to dig.¡± Albion fell silent. He tapped his chin. He brushed his hair back. He took a quick glance at the graduate students. A haunted fortress made out of bone greeted him. They had, somehow, turned their entire side of the battlefield into something like a graveyard... ¡°Fine, I¡¯ll help,¡± Albion relented after a second of hesitation. Jumping down from his makeshift ice throne, he took the shovel off the ground and began digging. With three minutes left, their fortifications had been completed, Nyssa had finished digging her moat¡ªand transformed back¡ªand Albion had snapped his ice castle into existence. Ryker, regenerating after having detonated a hand, for everyone to sit down. ¡°Get some rest, we have a handful of minutes left.¡± The moment they all sat down though, he turned to Nyssa. ¡°So... what was that transformation though? Conrad said it was just a head. What¡¯s the whole thing?¡± Surprised at the sudden question, Nyssa blinked a couple times before shrugging. ¡°Just something I made up after a nightmare when I was younger. The full thing is a big worm. It pretty much looks like the head all the way down. Then, each segment spins in opposite directions as it burrows underground or attacks people. I don¡¯t use it much, though, because it''s a little clunky in normal combat. However, it¡¯s really good at... you know... blending up monsters.¡± The rest of the group, at this point, could only fall silent. Ryker, still stupefied, just shook his head. ¡°I can... see how that might happen...¡± 55: Creative Transformations The moment the countdown ended, both sides launched into battle. The five graduate students moved in two groups. Ashe and Isolde moved together while Scarlet, Orion, and Thalia moved together. The pair stayed back for defense while the trio moved forward to attack. Leaping out past the fortress of bone fortifications, the three sent forward a combination of attacks to stay within the rules Angelica had set. Orion blasted forward a cone of fire, enveloping Thalia¡ªwho took the chance to mutate herself into having fire-resistance. Thalia, while in the flames, first shielded Scarlet before stabbing a hand through her torso. The resulting blood that rushed out of scarlet got carried away by the flames and began dissolving the ice and dirt armaments they came in contact with. Thalia, now, pulled her arm back, letting her regeneration take over to regrow the hand she had lost within Scarlet. On the other side of the pitch, the seven current students split up into three teams. Albion, Conrad, and Titus sat back. Electra and Ryker advanced together on the left while Nyssa and Celeste advanced on the right. ¡°Careful to not get pincered,¡± Orion kept an eye on the two groups pushing up the sides of the floor. ¡°Let¡¯s back off a bit and take care of one of the groups.¡± ¡°The younger ones then,¡± Thalia laughed as she planted a foot into the ground before leaping to the side towards Celeste and Nyssa. ¡°Sorry, you two.¡± Raising her arms, Celeste took to the skies as the star engine in her heart fired to life. Her hair and eyes changed colors as she sent a warning shot towards Thalia. ¡°Nyssa, we can¡¯t seriously attack unless we do a combination one. So, which one are you thinking of? I¡¯ll match whatever transformation you make.¡± Nyssa, transforming into a bird to follow Celeste upward, dodged another attack from Orion and Scarlet as they tried to buy some time for Ryker and Electra to move into a better position. She dove, she swooped, and she twirled in the air while trying to analyze the patterns of her opponents. What to use... what to use? After a second of thinking, Nyssa spread her wings and transformed. The small bird form she had been in morphed into a giant lizard. The classic kind like the ones seen in deserts. Just with a little extra-size... and also four extra heads. Now large enough to eat horses as snacks, she reared her five heads back. Each head had been constructed from a complex array of fins as the glow of an organic reactor seeped out from the spaces between the fins. Once at the apex of her backward movement, Nyssa opened all five of her mouths and breathed out five energy beams to stave off the graduate students. Celeste soared down from above and laid flat onto the lizard¡¯s back. Having practiced this in the past with Nyssa, she smiled as the three graduate students paused in their tracks. Nyssa used the graduate students¡¯ wariness to reposition herself to face the opposing bone fortress to the best of her ability. If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Celeste, meanwhile, closed her eyes. With each breath she took, the thumping in her chest got louder. Her entire body began glowing. Letting her star engine heart go wild, she channeled all the energy into Nyssa. Nyssa didn¡¯t try to control it either. Feeling the energy run wild in her body, she spun the organic reactor in the lizard¡¯s body as each fin, each segment, and each scale on all her heads began to separate. The glow, though, only continued to brighten. And so Nyssa screamed. Five balls of light enveloped the five lizard heads. From each crack shot out a separate energy beam. The attacks didn¡¯t distinguish between friend and foe as an artillery barrage of attacks shot around the training field. Orion wove through the air letting loose a continuous stream of full-powered fire attacks to counter each laser beam near him. Thalia, like a nimble acrobat, leaned, twirled, and stepped through the laser show. Though she tried to advance, a singed pant leg urged her otherwise. Scarlet, on the other hand, braced herself on the ground and let her healing factor keep her alive as lasers sliced her up and down. A strategy also undertaken by Ryker as he exploded parts of his body to accelerate down the field with the opening Nyssa and Celeste had created. Electra, unaffected, just ran forward. She seemed to blink in and out of existence as she flitted forward to launch a frontal assault against the fortress. ¡°I¡¯m done,¡± Celeste panted as she flew back and upward, disengaging as she brought the star engine in her heart back under control. She soared off into the sky, advancing forward to cover for Electra and Ryker while catching her breath. Nyssa, on the other hand, transformed back into a bird and flew off. Sweat poured out from every pore in her body. Flapping into the sky as the three graduate students began making forward progress once more, she grimaced. ¡°How were they unaffected?¡± ¡°Because we¡¯re just a little more skilled with dodging those types of attacks,¡± Orion laughed after overhearing Nyssa¡¯s murmur. As he threw a punch, a sun-like giant appeared behind them, then mirrored his movements. Its punch missed Nyssa who had escaped back into the fortress. It, instead, hit the ground with a sizzling sound, slicing through Albion¡¯s ice like a hot knife through butter. Albion, half-covered¡ªand half made of¡ªice by now, waved his one free hand to create an ice slide for Nyssa to land on and reach Titus and Conrad with. His other hand, now gone as half his body had disappeared into the ice throne, indistinguishable. It did, however, allow him channel his power outward into repairing the damaged castle exterior. Staring upward into the sky, the still visible half of Albion¡¯s face made eye contact with Orion. ¡°You¡¯re an insect playing in a god¡¯s domain.¡± ¡°Talk your trash! Nothing though, withstands the furnace of my heat,¡± Orion roared from the air as a huge smile appeared on his face. Unable to act without Thalia or Scarlet¡ªhaving just done a solo warning strike¡ªhe floated in the air as Thalia soared up to join him while Scarlet skated across the ice. ¡°Titus!¡± Conrad shouted as he caught Nyssa. ¡°Is the bow ready yet?¡± ¡°Yessir,¡± Titus kept his eyes closed, focusing on melding the roaring flames around him. His hands swept outward as the flames rushed inward. In the span of a second, the flames turned silvery-white as his expression tensed. Grabbing the center, he tossed the still forming bow to Conrad. ¡°The bow of artemis!¡± Conrad caught the bow while putting Nyssa down. A searing sensation erupted in his palm as Titus finished the bow¡¯s creation. He grit his teeth and clenched down harder before reaching down to pluck an arrow from the back of Nyssa¡¯s arrow porcupine. Crouching downward, blue circles appeared around his eye. [Calculating trajectory] [Trajectory correction] Conrad¡¯s body moved on its own before he let the arrow loose. Seconds later, the arrow punched into Thalia¡¯s abdomen and engulfed her in a ball of silver flames. 56: Parental Guidance Safe Language Thalia let out a scream of pain as the fire scorched her from head to toe. As the spectacle faded though, she landed on the ground with a rugged set of red body armor covering her. Humanoid, but no longer human, she barreled forward, picked up Scarlet, and punched through the outermost ice wall. Scarlet, used as a human grenade in a manner not dissimilar to Ryker, sent blood splattering everywhere after being punched through a wall of ice. Her blood began dissolving more and more of Albion¡¯s ice castle¡ªtaking him out of both fights as he focused on flag-protection repairs. On the other side of the battlefield, the trio of Ryker, Electra, and Celeste mounted a... decent offensive against the graduate student bone fortress. Electra and Celeste had paired and shot a beam mixed with pure energy and lightning to blow a hole through their outer wall. Electra had then blitzed the interior with a hand clamped onto Ryker. Hammer throwing him towards the heart of the base, she let him do his magic. Flying through the air faster than the human body could handle, Ryker¡¯s eyes sharpened as he furrowed his eyebrows. Over the course of a second, he detonated five different fingers to blow a hole through five consecutive walls. At the sixth, he detonated both his legs to create a small mushroom cloud in the interior of their Class Zero training room. Skidding against the ground, he grimaced as he crashed straight into a bed of bone spikes set up by Isolde. ¡°Fu... it hurts.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay to cuss,¡± Isolde used Ashe as a hammer, throwing him on top of Ryker. Spikes may have punctured through Ashe, but it weakened Ryker further. Ashe, with his body burning from pain, stared up at the ceiling for a second. His languid atmosphere evaporated as a maniacal smile spread across his face. His body shook with silent laughter as he pushed himself up and off the spikes. Before long, his laughs became audible, then loud, then ear piercing. Isolde, grimacing as to the difficulty in dealing with Ashe in his current state, waved her hand before retreating deeper into the bone fortress. As she left to take on a role similar to Albion¡¯s, she encased Ashe in a suit of bone armor. Its interior, though, pierced Ashe with spikes from all directions. ¡°I can fight... fight to my heart''s content,¡± Ashe marveled as his muffled voice came through the bone helmet. The laughter had stopped, replaced only with a wild and repressive air. Unsheathing a glowing sword, he twirled it in the air while walking forward through the destroyed walls of the fortress. Celeste and Electra, on the other hand, elected to crouch down into combat positions rather than advance. Their eyes narrowed. They watched as Ashe crushed bone shards under each step. After a few seconds, Ashe¡¯s sword slowed its twirling in the air. It traced a slow path in the air as its owner tensed his arm. Not a second later though, the sound of bone shattering filled the air. Bone shards flew outward. Ashe reached backward and clenched down, his hand catching Ryker midair. The bone shattering though, did not come from a signature Ryker explosion; Ashe had swung his sword at his own face to break the bottom of the mask. After revealing everything below his nose, blood poured down his face from the area still obscured by the mask. Unfazed, he raised his sword up to his mouth and licked the edge with a faint smile. ¡°I savor this taste... and I hope you all will too.¡± Without a moment of hesitation, he threw the now-healed Ryker forward towards Electra and Celeste before launching off the ground and blitzing them with a stream of attacks. Electra caught Ryker and began to backpedal, she zipped across the ground as Celeste took to the air. Yet, slowed by Ryker, Electra had to fend off a flurry of sword strikes coming in from every direction. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Ashe left after images as he chased. With every passing moment, he got stronger, faster, and more fearless. Even as Ryker and Electra partnered to shock and explode him at the same time, he continued forward. ¡°He fights like Conrad,¡± Celeste murmured as she floated in the air. I have no idea how to get involved. I need to collaborate when I attack as Angelica said but... how in this situation? How do I collaborate with them when they¡¯re being suppressed by a stronger, faster, and far more aggressive Conrad? ¡°The main difference is that each of Conrad¡¯s strikes are ultra-precise.¡± Electra grunted to Ryker, who she carried on her back. Electricity flowed out of her eyes as she fended off each of Ashe¡¯s attacks. ¡°He fights like a wild beast though, driven by nothing but instinct.¡± ¡°Seems like the instinct is pretty good though,¡± Ryker reached forward, catching the sword before detonating his hand. Electra, with the opening left by where Ryker¡¯s hand used to be, sent a punch forward towards Ashe. As she punched forward, purple lightning raced down her arm as she sent a Celeste-style laser beam right into Ashe¡¯s chest. Ashe staggered and Electra backed off, leaving sparks in the wake of her footsteps. The retreat of Electra marked the start of a new phase in battle: its standstill. Neither side could make any meaningful progress towards the flag of the other. Angelica, sat in a chair on the side of the pitch, just tapped her foot while yawning. Both sides made pushes towards the other, but as it looked right now, they had achieved a sort of... equilibrium. One side needed to make a gamble. To roll the dice. Otherwise a protracted war of attrition would occur and... well... I don¡¯t have time to wait that long. I have other things I¡¯d like them to do. How long should i let it go on though? Fifteen minutes maybe? Ten...? ... fifteen sounds nice enough. Angelica leaned over and grabbed a tablet from the table sitting next to her. She connected it to the screen on one wall and reset the timer she had set earlier. Hitting start, she nodded in satisfaction as it began counting down with blaring red numbers. ¡°Fifteen minutes! Otherwise I¡¯m declaring this a draw and nobody wins!¡± Hopefully that¡¯ll galvanize them a little. And galvanize the timer did. Both sides started by pulling all their members back into their own respective sides. Everyone hunkered down for a bit as they discussed strategy and reinforced their own defenses. Flags ended up being buried a little further as new shells of ice and bone covered the flags of the respective sides. After two minutes, both sides emerged with hardened eyes, tensed muscles, and lips pressed into thin lines from the concentration and pressure now filling the room. They stared at each other, shifting as they took on various formations, jabbing, but not committing to any formal, frontal attack. When one side moved though, both sides exploded into a glittering fight, bedazzled in explosions and powers. Nyssa led off of the charge for her side. Transforming into a giant isopod encased in conductive metal, she swallowed Ryker before Electra rained a shower of lightning bolts on top of her. Electrified, she ran forward, plowing through the other team best she could, then, once near the bone walls, she rolled up into a ball and crashed through the outer layers. Now a reflective mirror of sorts, she braced as Celeste sent a barrage of energy lasers at her. They reflected off her metallic shell and¡ªthough leaving marks of destruction¡ªalso sent energy scattering into the heart of the Graduate divisions base. And... for a last step, she untransformed¡ªthis time though, in steps¡ªshe opened up her stomach to let Ryker out before shrinking and condensing her form as much as possible as Ryker detonated his legs to envelop the bone fortress in searing heat and shockwaves. Their final offensive had begun. ¡°The numbers advantage truly is helpful,¡± Angelica tapped a finger against the table. ¡°If they¡¯re coordinating like this they¡¯ll easily cross the chasm in ability, even if the graduate students stop holding back.¡± 57: A Forced Rescheduling ¡°I¡¯m still so beat,¡± Nyssa slumped against the table with a faint bonking sound. A yawn slipped through her lips as she perused the menu laid out on the table. ¡°I¡¯m glad we won though...¡± After their frontal attack, the graduate students had countered with an offensive push of their own; yet, victory had still come into their grasp thanks to Ryker pulling off a genius self-detonation to launch himself down the entire training field¡¯s length. Following their win, they returned to the classroom where they rested while Angelica went through each person one-by-one to break down their habits and areas for improvement. The graduate students, with nothing else to do, ended up leaving to see some of the other teachers and administration they had still cared for. Once done, before Angelica could give them any more assignments, they¡ªas a unit¡ªstaged a breakout and escaped to the food district of the institute to settle down and get a meal. Electra and Ryker, in the midst of the process though, suffered a grievous kidnapping from their Class One friends and had gotten dragged off, leaving their group only five people strong. Seated across from Nyssa, Celeste held her own menu in one hand and perused it with languid eyes. Her free hand wandered over to Nyssa¡¯s head and began rubbing it with absentminded pats. ¡°What do you all want?¡± Titus set down the menu while looking out the window. He cracked it open and¡ªthough they sat on the third floor¡ªthe sounds of the laughter leaked in from the window as students from Class One and Class Two brought the district to life. ¡°I¡¯ve already decided on what I¡¯m getting.¡± ¡°Just order on the tablet they gave us,¡± Albion motioned to it while giving the dessert section an intense staredown. ¡°I¡¯ve decided I¡¯m only eating from the dessert section today. We won after all, I can treat myself.¡± ¡°Treat yourself to diabetes,¡± Conrad retorted, leaning over to Titus¡¯s side and tapping a few buttons to add his own order to the tablet. Before he could pass the tablet to Nyssa and Celeste though, he paused. Celeste and Nyssa, lost in their own world once more, had started their own quiet conversation beside them. Lost in each other''s eyes, they held hands while discussing if they wanted to share dishes or coordinate their orders to try a few extra dishes. Conrad coughed, they didn¡¯t react, and he turned back to Albion and Titus. The two greeted him with solemn eyes. ¡°It¡¯s over for you.¡± ¡°Just accept it, they haven¡¯t even confessed yet, and they¡¯re already like this.¡± ¡°D... Do they even know they like each other?¡± Conrad facepalmed as he handed Albion the tablet instead. ¡°What¡¯s going on with them? Do you two know... anything about this situation?¡± ¡°Depending on the day, I feel like Celeste knows, but yeah I¡¯m pretty sure she knows,¡± Albion took the tablet with a brief nod. ¡°Nyssa I have no clue, maybe? They¡¯ve definitely both realized subconsciously, the question is... do they recognize it right now for example.¡± ¡°What a great question,¡± Titus rolled his eyes with a faint laugh. ¡°Honestly, no clue. I¡¯d say Celeste realizes, but only afterward. I think Nyssa realized but hasn¡¯t... realized. If that makes sense.¡± Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Yeah it does, don¡¯t worry,¡± Albion added one of each ice cream dessert item to the order. ¡°But yeah, just give up Conrad, it¡¯s not happening.¡± ¡°No, I know that... I¡¯ve... I¡¯ve come to terms with that,¡± Conrad pushed his hair back. After pantomiming putting a rose between his lips, he struck a half pose while calling forth his shakiest voice. ¡°The protagonist in me has moved on, my heroine will come somewhere else.¡± ¡°Glad you have the foresight for that at least...¡± Albion raised his eyebrows while fidgeting with a napkin. One snap of the fingers later, the napkin had become a thin sheet of ice he could snap with even the slightest twitch of his muscles. Crack. ...Crack. The new ice-napkin fell back to the table with a faint crack as Albion decided to double up and order a second serving of ice cream for his two favorite flavors. The moment the pieces of ice fell against the table though, both Nyssa and Celeste seemed to snap out of their own little world. ¡°Ah... sorry,¡± Celeste brushed her hair back and scratched the back of her head. ¡°Got a little distracted there, were you three saying anything?¡± Nyssa, along with her, nodded her head as a faint pink tinge appeared at the tips of her ears. ¡°Sorry, yeah, didn¡¯t notice we got absorbed in our own conversation.¡± ¡°... You¡¯re fine, don¡¯t worry,¡± Titus reassured as a faint sigh of exasperation left his mouth. His eyes twinkled in amusement as he slipped a faint glance towards Albion who just smiled and returned a head shake of his own. ¡°We¡¯re just ordering right now. So, put what you want into the tablet.¡± ¡°Sounds good,¡± Nyssa motioned for Celeste to start first. She, in the meantime, decided to check her phone which had been buzzing for the past couple minutes. As she slipped it out of her pocket, she noticed a stream of conversation happening in her family group chat. Roxanne¡¯s messages had sparked it all. [Hey dad, just letting you know that I think I have to push my seminar at the institute back. I¡¯d love to do it, but the hunter¡¯s association just issued an emergency mission so my team has to respond. Mandatory duty as you all know...] [Don¡¯t worry! I¡¯ll make mine much better than Slade¡¯s! Trust me!] [You¡¯ll have so much more fun Nyssa, of course! I¡¯ll make sure to build in a break halfway where you can sleep!] Slade, after reacting to her second message with an angry emoji, followed it up with a couple questions. [I haven¡¯t followed the association recently, what¡¯s it about? Is it mandatory for us hero teams as well?] [Maybe I¡¯ll take my team to join... we¡¯ve been considering doing some hunting work to expand our skill sets... and well, be scrutinized a little less in the media, you all have it easy.] [You¡¯re doing fine,] Kaiser¡¯s message came in. [Don¡¯t worry about the media, you''re their favorite hero right now. As for Roxanne, sounds good, I¡¯ll let the necessary people know. Don¡¯t worry this is a common situation for people we invite, you all have busy schedules after all.] [What are the details though? I¡¯m just curious. Make sure to stay safe too.] [A pod of leviathans appeared in the ocean near the Sunrise Academy... I think? It''s in that body of water, but might¡¯ve instead been encroaching on the kingdom a little more south. We¡¯ll be flying out because leviathans, not to mention a pod of them, require a lot of international attention...] [Sounds troublesome] [Good luck, I¡¯ll talk to my team to see if we can help you] [Leviathans are a pain in the ass to fight though, so its a coin toss, I¡¯ll let you know] Nyssa ended up just sending a sticker of a cat giving a hug and a sticker of a cat saying ¡°Good luck!¡± Once she had put her phone down, she took the tablet from Celeste to order her own food with a ¡°Thank you,¡± before clearing her throat to get everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°Well, I have some... news. I don¡¯t know if it''s good or bad. Roxanne¡¯s pushing her thing back because of an emergency mission. So, it looks like we¡¯ll be going on our mission within the week since Angelica doesn¡¯t want to waste time.¡± 58: Confession Plans Their five person dinner ran late into the evening. Once they settled the bill¡ªdiscounted due to their student status¡ªthey split into two groups. Albion, Titus, and Conrad all decided to, in their words, ¡°hit a huge gaming session¡± to ¡°absolutely wreck some noobs.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think they¡¯ll win much...¡± Celeste ventured as she watched the trio walk off while play-fighting and bantering with each other. Alone with Nyssa once more, her hand wandered, and after a few nervous brushes, she laced her fingers together with Nyssa. ¡°What do you think, Nyssa?¡± ¡°No, I agree,¡± Nyssa squeezed Celeste¡¯s hand as they turned and walked in the other direction. ¡°Now that I¡¯ve been living in the dorms... I uhm... understand where you¡¯re coming from. I can hear their defeats quite clearly at night, and it doesn¡¯t inspire a lot of confidence in their skills.¡± ¡°You can say that again,¡± Celeste snorted before motioning forward. ¡°What do you want to do now? We could just... go back to our own rooms, or we could go do something? I¡¯m fine with anything.¡± ¡°Do you know any events that are happening tonight?¡± Nyssa squinted her eyes as she stared off into the distance towards a gleaming display board in front of the dorms. ¡°I¡¯m... also fine with anything.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s go take a look then,¡± Celeste pulled Nyssa along as they broke into a jog. Her brown hair and Nyssa¡¯s white hair fluttered in the wind behind them as they ran. Together, as a pair of girls running along the street under the evening glow of the streetlights, they drew a couple of momentary glances before people lost interest Not even out of breath by the time they got to the board, the two squeezed by a small crowd of people buying ice cream at the adjacent stand to get a better look at the board. Nyssa, craning her neck to see the board in its entirety, tapped her chin with her free hand. ¡°Fireworks show? That¡¯d be nice...? Maybe? There¡¯s also a... self-constructed paddle boat competition at the lake too.¡± ¡°Oh wait, aren¡¯t Ryker and Electra competing in that?¡± Celeste¡¯s eyes brightened as a faint spark of recognition went off in her mind. ¡°That¡¯s why the Class One people dragged them off, right? Because they had to prepare for the competition?¡± ¡°... I was half-dozing while walking, I don¡¯t remember...¡± Nyssa confessed, hiding her face with a hand as a few embarrassed laughs left her lips. ¡°Let¡¯s go support them then, what do you say?¡± ¡°Sounds good to me,¡± Celeste agreed, her mind doing a joyful backflip. We could lean on each other during the fireworks afterward! Plus, it¡¯ll be dark and loud, so... what if I confessed? That wouldn¡¯t be too bad right? ... R-Right? But what if she doesn¡¯t hear me... that¡¯s a classic trope... Well... just going together would be nice too, even... even if I don¡¯t confess. As a similar, yet also dissimilar train of thought ran through Nyssa¡¯s mind, they walked into the dorm building, up to the Class Zero floor, and to their adjacent rooms. Bidding each other a temporary goodbye, they agreed to meet each other in a couple minutes right in the hallway before entering their rooms. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Once the door closed behind her with a ¡®click,¡¯ Nyssa fought the urge to dive into bed and, instead, walked over to the wardrobe to pick out some warmer clothes for the evening. After picking out an outfit more for comfort rather than style, she paused for a second. Well, I am going out with Celeste in this case... so... it wouldn¡¯t hurt to look a little better. She put a couple pieces of clothing back. A moment of thinking later, she pulled out a different top and jacket. I think these two match a little better... especially with the skirt and tights I¡¯m wearing right now. Speedrunning the process of changing, she cracked the door open just as Celeste did the same. But, before they could laugh and make a comment about it, their phones buzzed with two notifications. With the sound of an ¡®important announcement¡¯ coming from their phones, they paused their actions and checked. [Administration Announcement: Due to an emergency summon from the Society of Hunter¡¯s, Roxanne¡¯s guest seminar will be pushed back. A rescheduled date will be published once more details about the situation are known. We know everyone was excited, but this, sadly, is something outside of our control. And, don¡¯t worry, as her father, I¡¯ll make sure she comes. With warm regards, Kaiser Ravenstein] I expected that one... Sent out so quickly though... Screenshotting the announcement, she sent it to Roxanne through their private messages with an attached note. [I¡¯m looking forward to when you come to our school! :p] Content after channeling her inner cheeky bastard for a moment, Nyssa leaned against Celeste who had walked over beside her while opening and reading through the second announcement. [Class Zero Announcement: Angelica, here, I assume you all have read the broader administration announcement. Because of that we¡¯ll be moving our own field exercise up, especially since I¡¯ve already gotten a reply from all your parents giving permission. Tomorrow during class we¡¯ll talk over the details, what to expect, and what to pack. I¡¯ll give you the afternoon to pack and we¡¯ll leave by evening. It¡¯s a fairly long journey, so we¡¯re taking an overnight train, trying to sleep through it. Looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow. Don¡¯t wear yourselves out too much tonight. Try to relax and unwind. Angelica] ¡°Unexpected... but also expected,¡± Celeste murmured as she read the announcement from Nyssa¡¯s phone. ¡°Any idea on what its going to be like?¡± ¡°Not at all... I¡¯m a little nervous in all honesty,¡± Nyssa put her phone away. ¡°I¡¯m not very good at fighting unlike my older siblings. I kind of just... exist.¡± ¡°You¡¯re plenty strong,¡± Celeste reassured as they began making their way back to the ground floor. ¡°Plus, it¡¯ll be easier for the rest of us too, now that we aren¡¯t sparring against each other, but monsters, we can just let loose and run wild.¡± ¡°M-Maybe not fully run wild,¡± Nyssa looked at Celeste with a worried eyebrow furrow. ¡°I don''t want you to accidentally blow your heart up or something...¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry, don¡¯t worry, I won¡¯t, I have it all under control,¡± Celeste hugged Nyssa with a laugh, rocking with her in place as they stood in the elevator. ¡°I mean... I don¡¯t have it under control fully, but I have my limits under control... you know what i mean. Thank you for caring for me~¡± Nyssa, without a response, could only let out a faint, dissatisfied harumph as she returned Celeste¡¯s hug until the elevator doors opened where they returned to holding hands. ¡°To the lake~!¡± Celeste cheered, her mood floating among the clouds as she walked alongside Nyssa. Nyssa, along a similar vein, made a small cheer of her own as they, together, broke out into faint laughter, oblivious to the gazes they drew from nearby students. 59: Riverbank Chaos Sat on the grass, Nyssa and Celeste cuddled up next to each other as the riverbank filled with students from all years. Basked under the glow of floating paper lamps, yet shrouded by the coziness of a warm night, they kept to themselves, chatting and sprinkling each other with grass to pass the time. The riverbank, with the boat race drawing near, filled with the hustle of life; laughter, chatter, and cheers from the astounding number of students who had shown up dominated the air. A streamer shot across the river with a ¡°BANG¡± after a student set it off in an effort to launch an aerial strike against his friends. Screams of laughter sounded out after a wrestling match ended in a splash¡ªboth contestants striding out of the water dripping wet, but arm in arm. Both sides of the narrow river, though, fell quiet when the roar of a motor engine filled the air. A wooden barge with an elevated stage came chugging down river, carrying on it, a pair of hosts bedazzled in glimmering outfits and masquerade masks trendy in decades past. One jumped up and down while running in circles around the stage, waving his arm up and down to get the crowd cheering. ¡°ARE YOUUU READY? WE¡¯RE BACK, BETTER THAN EVER!¡± ¡°Welcome, welcome!¡± The second host smiled while striking a dramatic pose to unfurl a feathery fan. Her silky smooth voice sent a wave of cheers down the riverbank. Before anyone knew it, a human wave had begun as well, streaking down one side before racing back up the other. ¡°We chose a good place to sit,¡± Nyssa laughed, the infectious atmosphere getting her to raise her shoulders with the beat of the barge¡¯s ear-blasting music. ¡°Just a little bit off the center.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, we¡¯re practically center stage,¡± Celeste marveled as she bobbed her head up and down. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect this event to be so packed either...¡± As Nyssa opened her mouth to reply, the barge¡¯s music fell quiet once more to let the hosts speak. Now back to center stage, the first host twirled a crystalline cane in the air before tapping it on the ground, each click echoing through the air. ¡°This is our second annual riverbank race! Due to the success last year, we¡¯re ABSOLUTELY HONORED TO BE BACK! Let¡¯s hear it!¡± After pausing to let another wave of shouts and claps go by, he motioned up to the screen behind him. ¡°As you know! This is a competition open to fourth years only where they build boats in groups of one or two! Together, they¡¯ll be racing down this narrow river to see who makes it down and back first!¡± ¡°However~¡± The other host covered her mouth with the fan. ¡°We can¡¯t forget the real draw of this race, can we? Just like last year! THE USE OF POWERS IS ALLOWED!¡± An explosion of cheers rang out. Nyssa and Celeste, unaware, could only look to the other for answers. Before they could decide whether or not a question to the nearby group of upperclassmen would be worth it, the second host continued. ¡°There is an unrestricted ban on all audience members and racers to use their powers in the upcoming race. You can support, or harm, those who you want!¡± Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°We do, however, have some rules that must be upheld,¡± The first host paused his subtle dancing. ¡°In order to have this event return under official jurisdiction from the institute, we must make this clear today. The first! All racers must stay in the water unless they¡¯ve been blasted out by powers! Leaving counts as resigning... so... if any audience members see them leave, CHEER! And we¡¯ll be right over! As for power usage, only racers are valid targets, NOT other audience members! Go sort your beef out in private! We¡¯re here to party!¡± ¡°So, let¡¯s get this show on the road!¡± The second host twirled as a shower of golden sparks descended from the sky. The barge began drifting down the river once more towards the starting line. ¡°WHO IS READY? WE HAVE THREE ROWS OF RACERS LINED UP!¡± ¡°LET¡¯S MAKE SOME NOISE IF WE WANT TO GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAD!¡± The first host pumped his arms once more as the crowd began hyping themselves up once more. He pulled out a starting gun, and as screens floating in the air all the way down the river fired to life, he raised the gun towards the sky. ¡°We have to do something, Nyssa,¡± Celeste rubbed her hands together as a floating paper lamp cast a faint warm glow across her face. ¡°Do you want to help Electra or Ryker?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s... let¡¯s not help them,¡± Nyssa sat upright, copying the hand rubbing for a second before leaning forward and clinging on to Celeste as laughs escaped from her lips. ¡°They wouldn¡¯t know it''s us right? It... it can be revenge for all the times they ditched us to do cleaning duty!¡± ¡°You¡¯re so right,¡± Celeste wrapped her arms around the laughing Nyssa, pulling her into a hug. ¡°Let¡¯s do some... as Conrad would say it, let¡¯s do some trolling!¡± Celeste¡¯s smile though, twitched for a moment as Nyssa squeezed her into the hug. Her face heated up and she returned the squeeze. My face¡¯s just warm from the atmosphere, right? The cheering, loud music, and rabid crowd... right? ... Nyssa won¡¯t be able to tell I''m blushing under this light... right? Nyssa, meanwhile, had no thoughts to spare for Celeste after getting pulled into an unexpected hug. I... I hope my pounding heart rate isn¡¯t obvious... Detaching with an awkward cough, the two fell silent once more. Before any real tension or embarrassment could form though, the crack of the starter pistol drew their attention elsewhere. The crowds roared as the sound of splashing could be heard from downstream. Already, Nyssa could hear the sound of explosions, freezing, and fighting. As she scrambled to her feet and craned her neck to peek around the nearby upperclassmen, an arched tunnel of metal appeared, shrouding the first section of the river. Just as fast as it appeared though, did it begin to disappear. The roar of a phoenix, a rain of lightning bolts, a huge lance of ice, and the laughter of the spectators. Sections of the tunnel went flying, others crunched by brute strength, and others... evaporated by the onslaught of attacks from the audience. Nyssa, trembling as her jaw fell down, couldn¡¯t help but ask herself: Will there even be a river by the end of this? ¡°Will there be a river by the end of this?¡± Celeste furrowed her eyebrows after she stood up next to Nyssa. ¡°My thoughts exactly,¡± Nyssa shook her head as she took a half-step back. After bumping into Celeste though, she apologized with an awkward cough as the two made eye contact once more. ¡°... A-Anyway, do you want to talk about how we could affect the situation? There¡¯s gotta be something we can do as Class Zero students! I have some transformations that might be helpful...¡± 60: Upperclassmen Enthusiasm At some point, the hosts had begun blasting music loud enough to rattle the audience members¡¯ eardrums. Each beat clawed through Nyssa¡¯s chest and pounded against her heart. Stood by the riverside, hand-in-hand with Celeste, she rocked on her feet along with the music while watching the spectacle further up the river. A lightshow of powers illuminated the night. Every few minutes, she¡¯d see a team¡¯s makeshift boat go flying into the audience or into the sky. For the ones shot into the audience, they¡¯d skid along the ground, collapse into a heap, and rush around to pick up what they could before rushing back to the river to get back into the race. For the ones sent to meet their ancestors in heaven, they... well, they just came crashing back down onto the river¡ªunless a different person sniped them in the air and sent them flying into the audience. ¡°Can you tell who¡¯s in the lead right now?¡± Nyssa murmured while squinting her eyes. With her other hand transformed into a cute duck head, she raised her ¡®hand¡¯ upward and lobbed grenades into the chaos from their position. ¡°I think it¡¯s... some Class One student?¡± Celeste raised a hand up and let off a huge beam of energy right into the heart of the chaos. ¡°Electra and Ryker are near the front though, so... let¡¯s just keep going.¡± ¡°Sounds like a plan to me,¡± Nyssa split her hand into two different duck heads. Each one, at a steady rate of one per ten seconds, spit out a grenade from its mouth with a loud ¡°QUACK¡± sound. The grenade launched straight from the ducks¡¯ mouths, lobbed into the center and would explode while leaving behind a duck shaped cloud. The racers, though, managed to make slow progress forward. They fought back. Electra¡¯s signature purple lightning lit up the night as it came crashing down several times to delay other races or to knock out annoying audience members. Ryker, on the other hand, made full use of his regenerative capabilities. Shielding Electra, he paddled like his life depended on it. When free, he¡¯d also explode a foot or leg to propel their boat forward. ¡°They¡¯re getting closer,¡± Celeste warned as beads of sweat rolled down both her and Nyssa¡¯s face. ¡°Okay, give me a second,¡± Nyssa closed her eyes and tuned out the music. Her ducks took a temporary break and began quacking to each other¡ªas if in conversation. Multi control is... hard... I''m so rusty at it too. How long has it been since I sustained so many entities? I need to practice more. Her eyes burst open as her hand returned to its normal form for a second. One blink later, her arm below the elbow had disappeared; in its place sprouted a horrific mess of duck heads numbering in the twenties. ¡°Carpet bombing time.¡± Nyssa shifted her position and stood in front of Celeste to get a clear shot at the advancing Ryker and Electra. For a moment, they made eye contact. In the next, a rain of grenades waterfalled onto the two Class Zero leaders like droplets in a shower. After bracing for the shockwave, she felt her brain rattle as the explosion seemed to rock the entire world. Water sprayed into her face as she took a few steps back and into Celeste¡¯s waiting embrace. Meanwhile, a massive, yet cute, duck-shaped explosion cloud stretched into the sky where Electra and Ryker now resided. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. With the two figures in the air, Celeste looked up, her eyes darting around as she scanned the air for their positions. Once located, a wave of energy crackled around her eyes and raced down her hair, transforming its color into one reminiscent of the starry night sky. Then, two laser beams raced out from her eyes. They overtook the onslaught of attacks aimed towards the sky before ripping their way through Ryker and missing Electra by a hair. Now also out of breath, Celeste and Nyssa stood there as the rest of the Institute¡¯s students, all gathered along the riverbank, continued their job for them. ¡°You two are great!¡± An upperclassman from the adjacent group praised once Ryker and Electra came crashing back down into the river¡ªnow quite a few positions further back. ¡°We were just plotting how to get back at Ryker and Electra, and you two made it... trivial even!¡± As he talked, the rest of his groups also pitched in with their own praises while others asked a few questions. ¡°What MAGNIFICENT usage of powers!¡± ¡°Do you have a duck-related power?¡± ¡°Are you two part of Class Zero? Wait... are you Celeste?¡± ¡°Truly, unbelievable! We¡¯re all fourth-years, but I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if you could match us in terms of power output!¡± ¡°That¡¯s some great aim... I can tell you¡¯ve worked hard.¡± ¡°What are your names? If you want to share?¡± ¡°Want one of our drinks? They¡¯re non-alcoholic, don''t worry! We also have some food!¡± ¡°Let¡¯s work together to do something to Olivia later, she¡¯s the other one we¡¯re plotting a revenge against! The three of them have wronged the rest of us Class One fourth-years!¡± A little shocked as to how social these upperclassmen seemed, Nyssa and Celeste paused for a moment before joining them for some drinks and snacks. Some of the women in the group, one in particular, made sure to shove their arms full of food before pointing to her side of the large blanket. ¡°Come sit with us, we¡¯re the more moderate half of this group, I guarantee all the guys and girls on this more crazy side are going to get nuked at some point by Ryker.¡± ¡°Or Electra,¡± A different guy pointed out while sipping a juice box. He spun a ring of energy around his finger before flicking his hand forward to launch it into the fray. ¡°O-Oh...¡± Nyssa mumbled, still a little overwhelmed by the warm greetings. ¡°Thank... thank you.¡± ¡°Yeah, thank you so much for all this food and drink...¡± Celeste nodded her head, shrinking back a little under the curious gazes of the upperclassmen. ¡°You had a lot of questions earlier, so perhaps... one at a time maybe?¡± ¡°LATER!¡± A girl shouted as she and a couple of guys leapt to their feet from the supposed ¡®zealous¡¯ side of the blanket spread across their little section of the riverbank. ¡°Another group of Class One fourth-years has just begun bombarding Olivia since she¡¯s near some of the other Class One racers! Let¡¯s join in! SHOW THEM HELL!¡± After her call, everyone looked towards where the three people had pointed and began letting loose a barrage of attacks. Still weary from their previous attack, Celeste elected to just send a couple beams out and Nyssa lobbed two grenades into the mix. Nyssa, looking around as she lowered her hand, shrugged. The rest are trying hard enough to cover for Celeste and I anyway... Their upperclassmen put their all into the attack. Most had their teeth clenched, others had trembling limbs, and all had sweat running down their foreheads. A Break Hey friends, sorry it''s on such short notice, but i suddenly have a lot of (not fun) stuff going on in my personal life... So, for the foreseeable future, I estimate 2-3 weeks, i''m going to be taking a short break. Thanks for understanding. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. If you''d like to read ahead or just support me, please head to my patreon, I''d really appreciate it from the bottom of my heart Thank again for being with me all this time though <3 come do the discord if you''d ever like to chat 61: Helping The Enemy The relentless bombardment ended after a minute or so. One-by-one, the Class One fourth-years sat back down on the blanket after Olivia managed to get out of what they called ¡°effective bombardment range.¡± From what Nyssa could see though, the bombardment didn¡¯t achieve many results. Olivia¡¯s demon just swatted most attacks aside like they were basketballs. Even as Electra sent a wave of electricity through the water to electrocute the paddlers from the other teams, Olivia¡¯s demon, Alecto, just kept paddling. Electricity flowed into her... and had no effect. ¡°How are we supposed to hold Olivia back if her demon just paddles, and defends... and can¡¯t be hurt or hindered by our attacks,¡± One of the Class One upperclassmen grumbled as she took a seat beside Nyssa and Celeste. She turned to the two girls besides her and pointed into the distance where Olivia¡¯s boat had now reached. ¡°If one of you two can land even one hit, that¡¯s a success. We¡¯re quite sure that Olivia has sacrificed most, if not all of her senses in a contract to use Alecto like this!¡± ¡°But it¡¯s a demon...¡± Celeste raised an eyebrow. ¡°How are we supposed to get past it if you all can¡¯t?¡± ¡°Because you two seem like very capable young women! Celeste I saw you last year during the Class Zero showdown,¡± The upperclassman tapped her chin as a light of recognition began gleaming in her eyes. ¡°If you harness your powers well, I¡¯m sure you will outshine all of us Class One seniors by a mile.¡± ¡°Ah, I got identified,¡± Celeste looked away and coughed to hide the smile tingling at the edges of her mouth. ¡°Thank you for the compliment. Sadly, I don¡¯t think I could do anything right now though. The powers have gotten better, but they¡¯re still not under control. Your best bet would be Ryker and Electra. They¡¯re probably the only students who are currently stronger than Olivia.¡± ¡°Rats,¡± A guy, who had splayed out on the blanket by their feet, shook his head. ¡°Looks like we¡¯ll need to help Ryker and Electr-¡± Before he could finish his words though, someone rolled over and kicked him in the ribs. ¡°Why the hell would we do that, they¡¯re the number one enemy! Olivia¡¯s our stalwart leader of Class One! They¡¯re the annoying pests! Think for a moment!¡± ¡°No, you think for a moment!¡± The first guy returned with a kick of his own. ¡°We should help them! It might help them slightly, but it¡¯ll hurt Olivia more! We want a net negative! We can¡¯t forget Olivia rejecting to partner with all of us! Are you going to forgive those grievances so quickly?¡± As a fight seemed imminent, a third upperclassman separated the two. She pushed them apart from each other and had a few other people hold them back from each other. ¡°Come on, don¡¯t fight, we need to conserve our energy. Let¡¯s hold a small vote, why don¡¯t we? I¡¯ll cast my vote for helping Ryker and Electra.¡± With the upperclassmen holding an impromptu vote, Nyssa swiveled her neck around to get a sense of the situation. Once they wrapped up and began tallying the votes, she couldn¡¯t help but point towards the river and raise her voice. ¡°By the way, Ryker and Electra are back again, they¡¯re rowing right there, so uh... we should get moving soon.¡± Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Her words caused an entire battalion of Class One seniors¡¯ heads to snap towards the river once more. Looking over, they all froze for a second. Ryker laid stomach down facing the bow of the boat with his arms stretched out towards the sides, hanging off edges and grazing against the water. Each second, he detonated his hands to send his team¡¯s dinky raft forward through clouds of black smoke. While Ryker provided steering and a subset of their acceleration, Electra sat at the stern of their raft on top of Ryker¡¯s legs, faced backward with one hand in the water and one hand raised in the air. Arcs of purple lightning flowed out from her eyes as she sent bolts of electricity through the air to defend against attacks. From the other hand came repeating bolts right into the icy-evening waters. Nyssa, herself, couldn¡¯t help but to also pause when faced with the brilliant light show. It doesn¡¯t move that fast though... Their makeshift vessel chugged through the river, tattered by the oncoming attacks and by the aggressive acceleration methods employed by the ¡®expert¡¯ crew members. ¡°The votes are in, we¡¯re... helping them,¡± the mediator of the small Class One upperclassmen group called out before rushing off to run towards the edge of the riverbank. ¡°Come on!¡± ¡°What... Really? We¡¯re actually doing this?¡± ¡°Ain¡¯t no way you all are selling your morals like this! The degeneracy modern society has fallen to! We have to return to our steadfast ideals!¡± ¡°Just. Move! We democratically chose this!¡± With the appearance of a couple racers, people on both sides of the riverbank closed inward. Ginger steps down the gentle slope took everyone right up to the edge of the water¡ªand right into ideal attack range. Mud specks went flying as the legion of Class One upperclassmen surged forward, and as they neared the river, an announcer¡¯s voice broke through the shouting, explosion-filled chaos. ¡°Please do not step into the water! Spectators may interfere with their powers but cannot enter the water! Any spectators who step into the water will be escorted at express speeds to the Institute hospital!¡± ¡°Ryker! Electra! We¡¯re here to help you!¡± Celeste shouted over the chaos as she and Nyssa peeked their heads through the crowd of Class One students preparing to fire off their powers. ¡°No you aren¡¯t! I saw what you did!¡± Electra sent a bolt of electricity towards the shore with an adrenaline-filled laugh. ¡°I saw those beams and those grenades! Get away!¡± ¡°We need their help if we¡¯re going to catch up to Olivia though,¡± Ryker gritted his teeth, raising his hands and blasting the racers to their left. ¡°Let¡¯s... let¡¯s... let¡¯s trust them.¡± ¡°Fine, you¡¯re taking responsibility if we get blasted into the sky and lose fifteen positions though,¡± Electra groaned as she suppressed the electricity flowing out of her over the course of a couple seconds. She raised her arms into the air and stared up into the aisle of night sky visible through the trees flanking each side of the river. The smoke cleared. The stars twinkled. She took a deep breath in, and let it out with a slow sigh. Then, chaos broke loose. ¡°Group two and three, fire towards the other bank! Group one and four, propel! Hold off the attacks from the other banks while pushing Electra and Ryker forward,¡± A leader standing next to Nyssa and Celeste struck a pose while sending a sound shockwave forward to rattle the students on the other riverbank. A second later, waves of attacks whistled through the air and lit up the night sky once more as both sides engaged in bloodthirsty battle. 62: Who Cracks First? ¡°I¡¯m so tired,¡± Nyssa splayed out like a starfish washed up on a beach. Her chest rose and fell as Celeste sat down beside her, also out of breath after helping the Class One students. Having extricated themselves before the Class One students could surround them once more, they returned to their original place on the riverbank with their snacks and drinks beside them. ¡°Are you doing okay?¡± Celeste leaned over and cupped Nyssa¡¯s face. ¡°You exerted yourself quite a bit earlier, didn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°It was fun though, so I¡¯m not fussed about it, it was worth it,¡± Nyssa rolled over, resting her chin onto Celeste¡¯s hand. She looked up to meet Celeste¡¯s eyes and gave a small smile. ¡°You looked like you were having fun though, and we got snacks, so are you doing okay?¡± After freezing up for a second, Celeste broke into a splendid smile as she squished Nyssa¡¯s cheeks. She leaned down as a few teasing laughs slipped through her lips. ¡°Why wouldn¡¯t I be doing well with you here?¡± Covering her mouth and breaking into full on laughter as a pink tinge appeared on Nyssa¡¯s cheeks, she changed the subject before Nyssa could react. ¡°Want some snacks? We got a lot, so we can start dipping into it right now.¡± ¡°G-Give me something salty...¡± Nyssa mumbled, recovering from Celeste¡¯s sneak attack. She pushed herself up before leaning against Celeste. Basking in the warmth, she closed her eyes while Celeste rifled through their pile to pick out something for her. As a yawn slipped through her lips, she cracked her eyes open and tried her best to blink her sleepiness away. ¡°Can you also check if there are any drinks with some caffeine in them?¡± ¡°There¡¯s a can of caffeinated tea right here, are you sure you want it?¡± Celeste offered a bag of pretzels while tapping the can of tea. ¡°It won¡¯t mess with your sleep will it?¡± ¡°It won¡¯t, caffeine helps but wears off pretty quickly... and probably can be ignored if it really comes down to it for me,¡± Nyssa reached over and cracked the can of tea open. Downing a couple mouthfuls, she thanked Celeste before sitting back upright¡ªunaware of the slight crestfallen expression flitting across Celeste¡¯s face. ¡°That¡¯s impressive, I¡¯m weak to caffeine, makes my heart race a little too much which causes my powers to be harder to control,¡± Celeste sighed while pulling open the bag of pretzels. After stealing a couple of pretzels out of it, she handed it to Nyssa. ¡°What now? Do you want to keep watching? Or do you want to go back to our rooms? Or go somewhere else while staying out?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine with anything,¡± Nyssa munched on a pretzel. ¡°Sorry to hear about your weakness to caffeine though, if you ever have something caffeinated, feel free to give it to me.¡± ¡°Thank you, thank you, I¡¯ll keep that in mind,¡± Celeste reached over and took a small bag of crackers from their mound of snacks. ¡°I¡¯m also fine with anything, so you decide.¡± ¡°No... you,¡± Nyssa retorted. ¡°No, you choose,¡± Celeste countered with a grin while opening the small bag of crackers. ¡°Wait... these are meant for soup aren¡¯t they?¡± ¡°They are, but they¡¯re still pretty good even without soup,¡± Nyssa shrugged before another ¡°No, you choose¡± left her mouth. Embroiled in a temporary war over who would choose, she and Celeste kept going until one of them cracked. As for who cracked... It was Nyssa. You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡°Fine... how about we just stay? I don¡¯t really feel like participating more in this race event, but I want to see the fireworks show that you mentioned...¡± She washed down the dryness of another pretzel with a couple mouthfuls of tea. Moment by moment, awareness returned to her eyes as she relaxed her eyebrows. ¡°I¡¯m truly fine with whatever though.¡± ¡°We can stay, don¡¯t worry, I want to see the fireworks too,¡± Celeste reassured, wrapping an arm around Nyssa¡¯s waist. With her scalp tingling from glances coming from the Class One Upperclassmen, she leaned in close to whisper, ¡°I think we should scoot a little further down though. You, somehow, managed to not divulge your identity earlier, but they¡¯re still giving us looks. The group to our right relocated to the opposite riverbank already too, anyway.¡± ¡°Smart idea, smart idea,¡± Nyssa began picking up their bags of snacks. ¡°Ryker will probably nuke the upperclassmen when he passes by in the opposite direction too... so it¡¯ll be good to get out of the blast radius.¡± After a murmur of agreement left Celeste¡¯s mouth, the two moved a little farther from the upperclassmen. Their new position, after relocating their little setup, had moved a little further up the riverbank¡ªaway from the water¡¯s edge. They sat leaning against the low stone wall separating the riverbank from the paved walking path. Between several of the floating paper lamps, their spot had a cozy blanket of warm lighting without being too visible or bright. A few of the trailing racers paddled by them. Though gliding through the water at a pace a tad quicker than the leaders who had passed a couple minutes prior, the racers didn¡¯t even glance over at Nyssa and Celeste. Though, their attention being focused on ¡®not dying from superpowered, heavy artillery bombardment¡¯ did help with the concealment... And, so, Nyssa and Celeste sat together under the night sky, using each other for warmth as the race carried on. On the way back down the river, the commentators started commenting on the finer details, their broad commentary shifting to a play-by-play. ¡°And Olivia goes through! Unscathed as Alecto swats off a huge column of fire like it''s nothing!¡± ¡°Well, for a demon like her! It might as well be nothing! We can¡¯t forget where demons come from after all!¡± ¡°Definitely true- OH MY GOD! Is that Ryker, rocketing through the air? He¡¯s completely abandoned his raft as Electra becomes the sole person propelling it forward, will she be pushed back by the riverbank participants?¡± ¡°What is Ryker doing? He¡¯s going to get disqualified at this rate!¡± ¡°Only if he touches down on the ground! He¡¯s been talking about this technique at length, where he detonates layers of skin to propel himself through the air! Looks like its finally been mastered!¡± ¡°Mastered it, he has! Is it a bird? A plane? No! It¡¯s Ryker, gliding through the sky like a majestic ballistic missile! He¡¯s coming up on a group of spectators and... BOOM! HE¡¯S DETONATED BOTH LEGS! THAT¡¯S A REAL COUNTERATTACK!¡± ¡°THAT ONE HAS GOT TO HURT! THAT ENTIRE GROUP OF PEOPLE IS GOING TO BE SETTING OFF THE FIRE ALARMS FOR THE NEXT WEEK WITH HOW MUCH THEY¡¯RE SMOKING!¡± Ryker¡¯s antics... did not end in much progress though as he flung himself back to the raft¡ªnow a little further behind Olivia. His and Electra¡¯s subsequent frantic push forward towards Olivia... did not bear fruit as they finished second in the overall race, gliding across the line just a few seconds behind Olivia. Thus, after a quick medal scene where cheers rang out all along the riverbank¡ªloud enough to draw attention from everywhere inside the institute¡ªthe celebratory fireworks began in earnest. --- For a certain two girls, the results didn¡¯t matter much. In fact, once the ceremony ended, their faces broke into wide smiles as the fireworks began launching into the sky above. They sat in a comforting silence, arms and legs brushing against each other as the sound of fireworks filled their ears. After a couple minutes though, Celeste, staring into the sky lit up by fireworks, cracked the seal on her mouth open. ¡°I... have something to say.¡± Her heart pounded. Whether from nervousness or from the dazzling explosion of each firework, she didn¡¯t care. Before Nyssa could ask ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± she decided to throw it out there. ¡°I... like you a lot. I think I love you...¡± Another round of fireworks rocked the pair¡¯s eardrums. Nyssa, after a moment of stunned silence, slid her hand over and onto Celeste¡¯s. ¡°I... think I love you too.¡± 63: A Desolate Classroom The next morning, Nyssa and Celeste ended up arriving at the classroom first¡ªas per usual. Even after talking late into the night to sort out the ¡°are we dating now?¡± awkwardness, they seemed to have fared better than their fellow Class Zero compatriots. Angelica ended up being the next to arrive. Scanning the empty room with a disapproving click of the tongue, she thanked Nyssa and Celeste for arriving on time before retreating to her desk and filing away a couple papers. Once her desk had been cleaned from any unnecessary documents, she laid out the reports she had gathered. One by one, she stacked the documents in the order they¡¯d show up in for her upcoming presentation. As she organized though, her ears picked up the quiet conversation transpiring between Nyssa and Celeste. Unbeknownst to them, she snuck a quick glance and saw their hands intertwined under their desks. ... I see how it is. Impressive how fast they got it done. Knowing them, I expected to wait another couple years before seeing any real development. Interesting though... I¡¯ll have to update my plans. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll fight with just a little more chemistry now. Her train of thoughts though, came grinding to a halt as the door got flung open, sliding and slamming against its doorstop. In walked the classic trio¡ªAlbion, Titus, and Conrad¡ªwho, with their eye bags, yawns, and energy drinks, showed clear signs of sleep deprivation. Angelica, after a quick glance, sighed to herself. At least the regret towards their actions is already clear in their eyes. Pausing her work, she checked her watch, glanced towards the three, and shook her head while tapping her watch. ¡°Three minutes late, please try and be on time in the future, especially if I¡¯m doing a presentation like today.¡± The voices of the three overlapped as they all did their own version of a lazy salute. ¡°Yes, Angelica.¡± ¡°Sounds good.¡± ¡°We¡¯ll be more mindful of the time in the future.¡± ¡°Good,¡± Angelica returned to her work. She pulled out a laptop as the classroom began coming alive with morning conversation. While she connected her laptop to the screen to display her presentation, she couldn¡¯t help but break into a small smile as the five Class Zero students chatted about their escapades from the previous night. Not that the trio is going to notice the change between Nyssa and Celeste though... They were already quite affectionate, after all. She, herself, stayed quiet though. Once she got the screen to display the title slide, she returned to her seat and leaned back before pulling out her phone. Letting the five talk, laugh, and banter away while they waited for the two fourth-years, she sent a few quick text messages to Roxanne. [Good morning dear] [Hope you¡¯re not tiring yourself out over there] [Love you as always <3] Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. [As a side note, Nyssa and Celeste finally started dating, I overheard them whispering about it this morning] [... You¡¯d think they¡¯d be more aware of my elevated hearing abilities by now, especially Nyssa] [Not that I¡¯m complaining! Lmfao] [Take care of yourself though, make sure to eat a full breakfast, not just a yogurt, okay? You¡¯ll need it on the battlefield] [i love you as always though, lovely, so stay safe] Though Roxanne¡¯s icon¡ªand the three hopping dots to show she had begun typing¡ªhad popped up by the message window, Angelica had to turn off her phone and slide it into her pocket as the last two Class Zero students appeared. ¡°Glad you two decided to make an appearance,¡± Angelica raised her eyebrows after seeing Ryker and Electra¡¯s messy hair and tired eyes. ¡°Hope the party last night after getting second didn¡¯t hold you two up too long.¡± ¡°How could we lose to Olivia...¡± Ryker sighed as he walked to his desk. ¡°She¡¯s one, and we¡¯re two...¡± ¡°It should be cheating for her to use a whole-ass demon...¡± Electra grumbled, slumping against her desk after taking a seat. ¡°It¡¯s a high-ranking one too! The blasphemy! Our holy water didn¡¯t even work! Did the dude scam us or something?¡± ¡°He must hav-¡± ¡°Ahem, ahem,¡± Angelica cleared her throat to cut off Ryker. ¡°Let¡¯s get started, shall we?¡± She rolled back in her chair and pushed herself up before stepping to the screen¡¯s side and waving her hand. Once the conversation died down, she flashed a quick smile to the class. ¡°Good morning, everyone, how are we doing today?¡± Nodding along as everyone made a few quick comments, she turned back to the presentation with a small hand flourish. ¡°So, as I mentioned in my message last evening¡ªI apologize for the short notice by the way¡ªbut we¡¯ll be leaving this evening to go on our field exercise. I¡¯ve printed out packing lists here, and I¡¯ll pass them out before dismissing you to give you some time to pack. As for some logistical information, I¡¯ve already booked the tickets for a high speed overnight train to the north, so we¡¯ll meet up around dinner time, grab a meal, and head out, okay? Let¡¯s keep it light hearted, we¡¯re here to have some fun!¡± After getting a few subdued murmurs of agreement, she shook her head with a faint smile. She took a quick step back to her desk and grabbed her papers. With a clicker in hand, she changed from the title slide with a subtle flick of the finger. ¡°Let¡¯s start broad with our goals going into this. This is still a learning exercise so your safety is paramount¡­¡± Nyssa¡¯s head bobbed up and down as she squinted to keep her eyes open. The consequences from the previous night¡¯s extended conversation reared its ugly head, wrestling her mind and pinning her down with a move called ¡®sleep deprivation.¡¯ Words marched one ear and¡­ tumbled their way out of the other. She had to admit, Angelica had a silky smooth voice tailored for audiobooks. ¡°We¡¯ll be in the north past the bounds¡­ civilization¡­ unknown monsters¡­ investigation.¡± ¡°There might be other teams¡­ calm¡­ we¡¯re all collaborating in this investigation¡­ plus¡­ institute¡¯s influence.¡± Nyssa still felt like she had managed to get the gist of Angelica¡¯s presentation. Sure, for some reason certain words seemed to go missing, but the meaning¡­ entered her brain. I¡¯ll just ask Celeste to fill me in later¡­ Later, past her introductory section, Angelica passed out a couple printed packets to each of the students. ¡°I¡¯ve also shared these on our class page, but here¡¯s a hard copy. I¡¯ll skim over it right now, but make sure to give it a read later today when you¡¯re done packing or when we¡¯re on the train. In the first fourth of this packet I¡¯ve detailed many of the terrains and environments we might encounter. The rest of it details the currently known species of monsters we might run into. Keep in mind though, we are investigating the potential of mutations, so be guarded as we might run into creatures never seen before.¡± 64: The Deity of Sleep Angelica managed to finish her entire presentation within an hour. Thus, once dismissed, the entirety of Class Zero made a beeline for the dorms once more. Everyone dispersed like fish into the sea. Conversation blew away into the morning wind. Ryker and Electra, in particular, seemed ready to collapse at any moment. Nyssa couldn¡¯t help but smile as she watched everyone sprinting back to the dorms in front of her. For once, everyone understood the state of enlightenment she lived in everyday! They¡¯re finally opening their eyes to the glory of napping. The warmth of the bed... the gentle tickle of the sun... the soft mattresses, the cozy blankets, the chaotic dreams... She felt her own head swirl with fatigue as her own train of thought derailed itself, crashed through several buildings, and exploded. Her mind leapt from topic to topic as she stumbled along behind Celeste. As they all arrived in the first floor lobby area, she turned towards the others and bobbed her head up and down. ¡°Hope everyone has a good nap, sleep well.¡± Albion, Titus, and Conrad, though tired, perked up from this quiet cheer. ¡°Oh my god, the goddess of sleep blessed us!¡± ¡°I think I''m about to have the most restful sleep I¡¯ll ever have in my life, these types of opportunities don¡¯t come so easily.¡± ¡°Is there anything I¡¯m supposed to do to repay this divine favor?! Do I kowtow on the ground? Are we supposed to clean a shrine every day now?¡± Nyssa ignored the cheers. Drawn to her room through the magnetic attraction between her butt and her bed, her mind filled with nothing but thoughts about her bed. --- Sun shone through a faint crack in the blinds. A white-haired girl rolled over. With her arms wrapped around a pillow, her shoulders rose and fell as the sound of her slow breaths filled the room. 10:58 am. Two minutes before the phone on the nightstand reached its preset alarm time, Nyssa¡¯s eyes cracked open, still cloudy from the gentle embrace of sleep. Her delicate lips widened to let a yawn through. Stretching her arms outward, she grabbed her phone, turned off the still-yet-ring alarm, and stuck a leg out from under the covers. Shocked awake by the cold, her eyes regained clarity and her body stiffened before stretching outward to banish the last traces of sleepiness. One set of stretches later, she clambered out of bed like a monkey and pulled on some comfortable clothing. I have to get at least a little packing done before lunchtime... but also I should get dressed and put on some makeup before I get lunch with Celeste... She clenched her fist and psyched herself up with a small smile. I have to work hard for Celeste... right? Yeah.... yeah! I can¡¯t just slack off... Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel. The next hour saw Nyssa¡¯s room filled with activity. She packed a carry-on sized suitcase while following Angelica¡¯s provided packing list. Clothes-wise, several warmer outfits occupied the vast majority of her luggage. She skipped the next item on the list though: power-conforming suits. Transforming her fingernail into a graphite-tipped claw, she scratched off the item. That¡¯s... for Albion, Celeste, Titus, and the like, right? I already have some equipment from dad that makes my clothes fine... Next came some school supplies, for if Angelica wanted them to take some notes or have a lecture session. Then, she filled the remaining spaces in her suitcase with a couple snacks, a pack of cards, and a few extra articles of clothing to ensure she could maintain optimal napping temperatures at all times, in all settings. With twenty minutes to spare, Nyssa breathed out a sigh of relief as she took a seat in front of her mirror. She pulled out her makeup, set it out across the table, and steadied her hand. Pausing, she shuffled around her makeup into a few combinations ranging from a potential ¡®heavy¡¯ look to a near ¡®makeup less¡¯ look. In the end... after staring at the makeup with an intense glare, she decided on a lighter look. Enough where any onlooker could tell she had makeup on, but reasonable enough to do in the time she had. Slow hand movements... patience. You¡¯re being genuine, Nyssa, you¡¯re actually doing the makeup instead of transforming it onto your face... yeah... patience, think of Celeste. Once done, gathered her makeup, put it back in its respective drawers, and slipped a couple pens into her bag in case she needed to touch something up in the bathroom. With her bag packed and items put away, she stood in front of her mirror one last time, patting herself on the back and puffing her chest out just a touch as a faint smug smile appeared on her lips. I got a lot more done than I was expecting... Slipping out from her dorm room, she waited in the hallway by her door. She leaned against the wall and stared off into space, only checking her phone a couple of times as their agreed upon meeting time inched closer and closer. Celeste¡¯s door eased open with a slight creak, and, without realizing it, Nyssa perked up as a smile appeared on her face. Once Celeste walked over, she extended her arms out. ¡°Hug please!¡± ¡°Of course!¡± Celeste laughed, running her hand through Nyssa¡¯s hair while squeezing her into a hug. ¡°I didn¡¯t make you wait long did I?¡± ¡°Nope, barely waited at all,¡± Nyssa melted into Celeste¡¯s arms. ¡°You¡¯re so warm, I could hug you forever I think.¡± ¡°Well, I wouldn¡¯t mind,¡± Celeste smiled, enjoying the feeling of Nyssa in her arms for a moment before letting go. ¡°Sadly, we should eat some lunch, we have a long day in front of us after all.¡± ¡°You¡¯re¡­ right, yeah,¡± Nyssa sighed as she let go of Celeste. As they walked down the hallway to the stairs, she grabbed onto Celeste¡¯s hand, lacing her fingers and squeezing a couple times. ¡°Where to for lunch? You did mention a couple places, but I uh¡­ don¡¯t remember very well. But I¡¯m also fine with any place, so you choose.¡± ¡°No worries, I¡¯ve been meaning to try the trendy salad place on campus for a while now, but there¡¯s also the newly opened noodle place, and there¡¯s also the pizza place we go to as a class quite often,¡± Celeste counted out the places on her fingers. ¡°Anything that strikes at your heart? Or should I say stomach in this case?¡± ¡°How about¡­ noodles then? I¡¯m uh¡­ really not feeling a salad right now sorry, but I still could eat one if you want one,¡± Nyssa shrugged, with an awkward glance to the side. ¡°I¡¯m fine with anything really¡­¡± ¡°Noodles it is,¡± Celeste smiled, pulling Nyssa along as they switched paths. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I love noodles too.¡± 65: An Intrepid Group of Heroes Nyssa and Celeste¡¯s date ended up being interrupted by an intrepid group of ¡®heroes.¡¯ The moment they walked through the door, with the bells tinkling to signify their entrance, Conrad, Titus, and Albion all sat up straight and began waving their arms in the air like fan blades. Conrad, in particular, seemed possessed by a demon. He bounced in his chair, nearing orbital escape velocity. ¡°Celeste! Nyssa! Come over here! Come on, come on! Join us!¡± With the three of them bursting from excitement, to an unnatural degree, Nyssa made eye contact with Celeste. After passing a few non-verbal messages through facial expressions, she followed Celeste towards... the opposite side of the restaurant. Before they made their quick-turnaround though, they tapped the waiter guiding them to their seat and asked for a new seat on the other side of the restaurant. The waiter, faced with the two of them¡ªwho had dressed up and put on makeup¡ªfroze a half-second, hid a blush, and began guiding them to a new table with a cheery smile. Celeste, scrunching up her face for a second after the waiter turned back away, leaned over to Nyssa¡¯s ear. ¡°He¡¯s so innocent.¡± ¡°He really is,¡± Nyssa shook her head. A faint smug air wafted off of her as she flashed a smile to Celeste. ¡°Unlike me.¡± ¡°Oh shut up, you¡¯re more innocent than a dove,¡± Celeste rolled her eyes, squeezing Nyssa¡¯s hand. ¡°On another note, I suddenly seem to have contracted blindness, and a sudden urge to walk towards this side of the restaurant... strange development isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Truly, maybe it''s something with the restaurants or the occupants,¡± Nyssa pondered aloud as she followed the waiter up the stairs. ¡°Because I suddenly seem to have developed the same symptoms as you.¡± Celeste snorted after hearing Nyssa¡¯s quip. Before any more conversation could happen though, the waiter motioned to a small table beside the window for two. He handed them a pair of menus and disappeared with a slight bounce in his step. Smoothing out her dress, Nyssa took a seat across from Celeste. She kept her hand linked with her lovely girlfriend¡¯s, and began to peruse the menu. Once they settled down, quieted down, and in a cozy atmosphere where they could scan the food and drinks section of the menu though, they found their tranquility shattered by the neighboring table being dragged over by a certain notorious rambunctious trio. ¡°Oh wow, this is a really nice spot!¡± Conrad slid up next to Nyssa, giving Celeste a brilliant smile. ¡°We thought you two suddenly hated us, but turns out it was to guide us all to come to this nice and cozy area! Just... absolute genius. Can¡¯t praise you two enough.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a really nice area indeed,¡± Albion nodded as a faint whistle of amazement slipped through his lips. ¡°Far better than the busy first floor area we had been sitting in earlier. How did you two know to come up here? Been here before?¡± ¡°We have... not come here before,¡± Celeste sighed, feeling veins popping up in her forehead as Titus sat down next to her with a few pats on the back. ¡°This just opened didn¡¯t it? It hasn¡¯t been around for very long, how could I have come? We practically eat all of our meals together as a group.¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°That is... true,¡± Titus sighed as he began looking over his own menu¡ªone brought over from the previous table they had been sitting at. ¡°You two are dressed up though, looking good.¡± ¡°Thank you...?¡± Nyssa nodded her head, a faint speckle of curiosity tugging at her lips. Do I mention we¡¯re dating? Or do I let them figure it out...? ¡°You two do look great!¡± Conrad hit a weird pose while half-sitting in his chair. ¡°Amazingly so. The attractiveness of our entire friend group has to have gone up drastically with the addition of you two.¡± ¡°I have no clue how it happened,¡± Titus leaned back in his chair, stretching his arms out and spreading his legs. ¡°Because, Nyssa, you just joined our class, but I think you and Celeste are the closest two friends in our group as always, more so than the three of us who have known each other since our younger days.¡± ¡°For sure...¡± Albion agreed as Conrad, next to him, nodded along as well. ¡°Like, Titus and I met as babies pretty much, and we met Conrad in middle school, but somehow over the course of a couple months, you two seem to have surpassed us. But... I mean, well, you two are also girls and girls are naturally a little more touchy than us guys...¡± With Albion looking towards Conrad and Titus for their thoughts, Nyssa couldn¡¯t help but look towards Celeste. An exasperated sigh left her mouth and she shook her head after watching Celeste mouth ¡°dense as a brick.¡± The two of them though, accepted the situation and gave up the idea of their date though, electing to just unwind and have some random, chaotic fun with Titus, Albion, and Conrad as usual¡ªnever mentioning the fact they had... moved to another step in their relationship. Halfway through their meal though, the reveal behind the trio¡¯s exuberant greeting came to light. ¡°Can you please help us pack?¡± ¡°I just napped through the entire morning, and haven¡¯t even started packing. Any advice? Or like... time to lend me a hand?¡± ¡°No, no, I¡¯m the most urgent situation here, trust me, my room looks like someone bombed it, so please help me pack, will you two? I¡¯m sure you two are very good at packing, as you¡¯re both pretty neat, but, sadly, and as you all know, I am not.¡± Perhaps out of revenge for earlier, or perhaps just because they wanted to relax for a bit, Celeste and Nyssa replied to Albion, Titus, and Conrad¡¯s desperate plea with a firm ¡°No.¡± Celeste, on top of it, added a few more kind words, hiding a scary smile behind her hand. ¡°Perhaps if you two had a little more foresight with your previous night, we wouldn¡¯t be in this situation, right? Plus, you three are perfectly capable, and are all older than Nyssa and I, so I¡¯m sure you three have this in the bag, after lunch you¡¯ll still have six hours or so to get the packing done.¡± Glum, Conrad, Titus, and Albion nodded. ¡°Expected...¡± ¡°Yeah...¡± ¡°I mean you have a point, but... yeah...¡± Following this little interaction, the five of them returned to their own respective bowls of noodles. The sound of quiet slurping filled their table. Minute by minute though, Albion, Conrad, and Titus sped up the pace of their eating as the impending dread of having to pack their own suitcases began to set in. Once they finished, paid their bill, and dipped, Celeste and Nyssa sighed while looking at each other. Smiles of relief appeared on both their faces. ¡°Hey, at least we still both have about a third of our own meals... we can enjoy it slowly, yeah?¡± ¡°Of course.¡± 66: The Suffering That Comes From Packing Wind whistled through the station as the sun¡¯s last rays cascaded across the platform. Outside of the station as a whole, just before the security area, stood Angelica, tapping her foot with her arms crossed as she stared off into space. Her luggage sat beside her as she texted her students, [I¡¯ve arrived at our meeting area, feel free to come whenever]. Everyone still had half-an-hour before the absolute deadline where they¡¯d have to meet though. Scrolling on her phone and exchanging texts with Roxanne, Angelica idled away fifteen minutes until a surprising trio of students appeared in her vision. Albion, Conrad, and Titus. Faced with these three before any of the other students, she blinked a couple times before slipping her phone into her pocket. ¡°Good evening you three, how was packing?¡± ¡°Extremely tired,¡± Conrad yawned, dragging along a large suitcase behind himself. ¡°My room was so messy.¡± ¡°That¡¯s something you can only blame yourself for,¡± Angelica took off her sunglasses and slipped it on top of her head. ¡°How about you two?¡± ¡°Same story,¡± Albion grumbled, sitting on top of his suitcase. He drummed his fingers against the suitcase while nodding towards Titus. ¡°He¡¯s the neatest among us three. So he didn¡¯t suffer as much.¡± ¡°Good to know, I¡¯ll... keep that in mind? I really don¡¯t take notes about that type of stuff though,¡± Angelica shook her head. ¡°Maybe it¡¯ll come up one day, who knows?¡± ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter if you note it down or not, we all know you have a perfect memory,¡± Albion sighed as he slouched over. ¡°You know, it would¡¯ve been a lot easier if Celeste and Nyssa helped us. We ran into them at lunch, and asked, but they turned us down.¡± Raising an eyebrow as she noticed Nyssa and Celeste appearing in the distance¡ªhand-in-hand as always¡ªAngelica opened and closed her mouth a couple times as she considered her words. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m sure they have their own things to do, you know? They¡¯re busy, and do enjoy time to themselves, the same way you three enjoy your ¡®goblin time¡¯ together.¡± ¡°Ohhh, do you think we should invite Celeste and Nyssa next time we do goblin time?¡± Conrad clenched his fist. ¡°Maybe we¡¯ve underestimated their gaming skills.¡± ¡°You doofus, she doesn¡¯t mean it like that,¡± Titus slapped Conrad¡¯s arm, only to receive a slap on the arm back. ¡°She means that they probably like... I don¡¯t know, going on walks together. My sisters do that a lot. Or eating out together.¡± ¡°Just ask them, they¡¯re right here,¡± Angelica sighed, massaging the bridge of her nose to stave off the headache appearing from the mass death of her brain cells. ¡°And look at that, Ryker and Electra are here too. So, ask quickly, we¡¯ll leave for dinner soon.¡± ¡°Ask us about what quickly?¡± Celeste walked up, letting her suitcase roll to a stop beside the already present trio. ¡°Something on your mind? Is it about the packing help request we turned down earlier?¡± This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°Kind of,¡± Titus sighed. ¡°Angelica just mentioned how you two enjoy spending time with each other in a manner similar to our goblin time, and we were just curious as to how you two spend that time, since uh... we¡¯re assuming you don¡¯t do what we do.¡± ¡°Definitely not,¡± Celeste snorted as Nyssa covered her mouth and laughed. After resisting the urge to say ¡®date,¡¯ she patted Titus on the shoulder. ¡°We don¡¯t do too much during our ¡®goblin time¡¯ as you put it. Just hang out with each other in our rooms. Depending on the day maybe we read something together, watch something, get some homework done together, that type of stuff. Normal things? Go to the school events. Like the fireworks show last night.¡± ¡°And carpet bombing Electra and I,¡± Ryker retorted as he walked up. ¡°The two of you did us in, otherwise, I bet we would¡¯ve been able to beat Olivia.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think... so... maybe?¡± Nyssa murmured, ¡°We also were the ones who convinced the upperclassmen to give you a boost, so it evens out right?¡± As Ryker paused, unsure as to how to retort, Angelica cut him off. ¡°Our train leaves in an hour, so let¡¯s eat a quick meal before going through the security checkpoint and leaving. Luckily, the train makes a stop at our institute¡¯s train station, so our commute time is, well... as you can see from the fact that we¡¯re standing by it, very nice.¡± ¡°So... dinner?¡± Electra spoke through a yawn. ¡°Do you have anywhere in mind?¡± ¡°Let¡¯s get past the security gates, there¡¯s an upscale restaurant inside the station on the second floor. It¡¯s a field trip so I¡¯ll pay. As a faculty member I get a discount,¡± Angelica smiled while motioning for them to enter the station. ¡°Plus, I''m rich.¡± ¡°Praise the power of money,¡± Ryker clasped his hands and bowed before grabbing his suitcase and entering the double doors. As the last student to enter the station, he walked beside Angelica as they went through the basic security scanners. Once past the checkpoint and gathered in the restaurant, the eight of them had some quiet conversation¡ªpockmarked by Angelica lecturing them about what to watch out for and how to conduct themselves properly during the investigation. Hunter¡¯s Association, Hero¡¯s Association, they all had their own standards, and Nyssa found it... interesting to say the least to hear about the differences. Mind-numbing as well. I¡¯m just trying to drink my soup in peace! I didn¡¯t need to know that the title conventions were different. I mean it¡¯s cool that the Hero¡¯s Association prefers two part titles separated by a colon, one more official followed by an interesting comment while the Hunters prefer business only... but... but soup... The bread was so soft... and had nothing to do with titles either... Once the dinner wrapped up¡ªand Angelica paid¡ªthey made their way to the station platform where the train now waited. With an entire compartment to themselves, they spread out across the seats and tables, each little group claiming their own private section. Nyssa and Celeste in the front corner, Angelica in the back corner, Ryker and Electra in the back near Angelica, and the three monkeys in the middle. ¡°A little bit of privacy is nice...¡± Nyssa murmured as she cuddled up next to Celeste on the train¡¯s chair. ¡°Do you mind my position right now?¡± ¡°I do mind,¡± Celeste whispered back while wrapping an arm around Nyssa¡¯s waist and pulling her in. ¡°You¡¯re not close enough.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll keep that in mind,¡± Nyssa laughed as she hugged her arms around Celeste. Before they could continue their quiet conversation in the front of the carriage though, Albion slapped down a massive briefcase onto the central table. Unlatching it with a slight smile, he pumped his arms up and down as Titus and Conrad backed him up. ¡°Anyone want to gamble?¡± 67: Slumbering Through The Night The train streaked into the night, cutting into the darkness with harsh beams from its front lights and gentle glow from under the carriages. In one of the carriages linked in the middle of the train, the gentle rhythm of Class Zero and Angelica¡¯s breathing¡ªalong with the gentle hum of machinery¡ªfilled the air of the carriage. The table in the center enshrined the memories of their evening with cards and board games still only half-cleaned up. Their positions shifted by a hair¡¯s margin every few minutes as the train glided through the mountain tunnels. In the front corner of the carriage, Celeste and Nyssa had lowered their table into the ground and laid their seats flat to create a bed for the two of them. Cuddled up and intertwined, they used the train¡¯s slight compartment-like structure to get some privacy. Their chests rose and fell together as the warmth of their respective bodies made up for the thin blanket they had draped over themselves. Prancing through dreamland together, the two of them slept through the entire night in a slumber more peaceful than the rest of their compatriots. Even as the train eased to a stop every few hours throughout the night, they slumbered through the stop and acceleration without stirring. Once the morning sun began to flood through the windows, the carriage¡¯s occupants began to stir one after another. Angelica sipped a cup of tea as she watched over the students. Having spoiled herself and slept for around four hours, more than double what she needed, she kept an eye out for who¡¯d wake up first. It¡¯s not going to be Nyssa and Celeste. I can guarantee that... Not long after the train went over a slight bump, Ryker and Electra began to stir from their respective positions. Their yawns and stretches disturbed the quiet enough though, as before they had returned to the realm of the conscious, they had stirred Albion, Conrad, and Titus from their slumber as well. ¡°Breakfast?¡± Angelica offered a sweet pastry to Albion. With Albion busy taking a sleepy sip of water, she leaned over and grabbed the plastic bag she had full of pastries for the students¡¯ breakfast. With another bag full of plates and utensils, she began laying out a light¡ªbut still delicious¡ªbreakfast for the students. ¡°Thank you for the food...¡± Ryker mumbled after dragging himself over to the table. Still slumped over as his voice dropped an octave lower than usual. Behind him came Electra and Conrad who took a seat next to him and Albion respectively. ¡°How is everyone doing?¡± Angelica laced her fingers and propped her chin up. ¡°Sleep alright? Not feeling too stiff I hope, since we¡¯ll be moving a fair bit these next few days, you¡¯ll need to be loose.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll be fine, I can loosen up by shocking myself...¡± Electra yawned as she tried to stretch out. ¡°I am quite stiff though.¡± ¡°Do you mind shocking me sometime?¡± Conrad straightened his back while wincing. ¡°Even though I slept flat, I was lifting weights a couple days ago so my back is twinging with pain every once in a while.¡± Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Sure,¡± Electra bit into a pastry while flexing her other hand. Covering her mouth, she looked around to the others. ¡°Anyone else need some electro-shock massage therapy?¡± ¡°I might,¡± Albion sighed, ¡°Just stay ready, I¡¯m sure a lot of us will end up needing it.¡± ¡°Yes, it¡¯ll be good to have everyone in peak physical condition,¡± Angelica plated a couple more pastries for the students. ¡°I can also do traditional massages don¡¯t worry, I spent a couple months studying many years ago, and because of my abilities I managed to become something close to a master masseuse. Joining the table after spending a couple minutes staring out the window, Titus reached over, took one of the pastries, and took a seat next to Ryker. He nodded towards everyone else and murmured a quiet ¡°Good morning¡± before letting the others continue their conversation. --- Celeste ended up waking up around an hour after everyone else. Nyssa on the other hand... had to be woken up forcibly¡ªanother two hours later¡ªas they arrived at their station and needed to get off the train. ¡°Why is the world so unfair...¡± Nyssa dragged her suitcase along the platform as the train accelerated away. Buffeted by the wind, she took slow steps forward as the last member of their little entourage. ¡°... We¡¯re falling behind,¡± Angelica commented as the rest of the class widened the gap second by second. ¡°You probably should take more than two steps per minute.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a tough world out here, for those who are oppressed by society,¡± Nyssa retorted, taking another small step forward. ¡°For a perpetually oppressed person like me, every day just waking up is a challenge.¡± ¡°Where did you learn this attitude from?¡± Angelica clicked her tongue, shaking her head with a sigh. ¡°The baby that could never do wrong in Roxanne¡¯s eyes seems to have been replaced with a... social activist? And I don¡¯t quite think that you needing to be awake is oppression...¡± Before Nyssa could think up another witty comment though, she felt a pat on the back from Angelica. Her luggage got snatched away. Not a second later, Angelica began marching forward and nodded her head. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s not make them wait too long. I¡¯m sure chasing your girlfriend is enough motivation, is it not? Go Give her a hug and bask in her warmth.¡± ¡°I... Huh?¡± Nyssa¡¯s jaw fell open as she sped up to keep pace with Angelica. Her eyes widened and hands froze in place. ¡°Wait... wait what? How do you... how did you find out?¡± ¡°... You two aren¡¯t that subtle,¡± Angelica rolled her eyes. ¡°I overheard you two talking about it during the morning. Yesterday in the classroom. Even if I didn¡¯t hear it, I can obviously tell, I¡¯m dating your sister, you think I don¡¯t have any relationship experience? I¡¯m much older than you.¡± ¡°That¡¯s... true. Could you not tell dad yet though? I¡¯m not ready to talk to him about that type of stuff,¡± Nyssa coughed. After seeing Angelica break into a gentle smile and nod, she ran off to join her friends (one in particular). Watching her younger sibling-in-law run off, Angelica could only shake her head. Looking to her right where the train had parked, but now departed, her gaze deepened as her footsteps continued. ¡°I hate the north...¡± Angelica grumbled. The power of a savage death snaked through every bit of life in the north. Rocky and unsustainable for farming, people had never colonized the area. At the same time, the constant presence of giant, poisonous, and regenerating monsters never helped with the... human habitation either. 68: Spine Pulverization After all filing onto a bus, the class and Angelica dealt with their first tribulation of the north: the bumpy ride. Managing to survive with the use of their jackets as cushions, they disembarked a tiny city bordering the Cerbos Lake. ¡°... I think I just got my spine pulverized,¡± Albion muttered under his breath with a scowl as his free hand rubbed his backside. The suitcase he rolled along with his other hand bounced along the uneven pavement, crashing into every single other suitcase as the class gathered into a small group. ¡°Alright, there¡¯s not much to do from here, I¡¯ve kept our schedule today light on purpose,¡± Angelica leaned against her suitcase handle with a smile. ¡°We¡¯ll drop our bags off at the cabin the school¡¯s rented out, then you¡¯re free to do whatever. I¡¯d recommend doing some mix of visiting the hunter¡¯s association, sightseeing, eating out, and idle wandering. It''s a new environment, and I¡¯m sure not all of you have gone out much to areas like this. Just... make sure to stay safe. You¡¯re all close to being, if not already, of age.¡± Ryker, hearing her last line, flexed his arm and high-fived Electra before getting shushed. After giving the two of them a light glare, Angelica motioned for the class to keep walking. ¡°We¡¯re not that far, so let¡¯s keep going.¡± Their footsteps crunched against the half-gravel pavement. As an entourage, they came in sight of the beach and its navy blue waves. The overcast skies cast an atmosphere of quietude over the area. Even the beachgoers lacked ¡°Don¡¯t the beachgoers look... a little unlike beachgoers?¡± Celeste murmured, leaning over to whisper into Nyssa¡¯s ear. ¡°Like... I¡¯m pretty sure most friend groups don¡¯t bring weapon cases to the beach.¡± ¡°You¡¯re... totally right about that,¡± Nyssa rubbed her chin. Sure, they do seem normal with their swimsuits and beach volleyball setup, but... But the giant array of rifles and sizable missile rack sitting in the sand does not inspire confidence for the lake¡¯s safety. ¡°Come on, come on, don¡¯t stare, okay?¡± Angelica hurried the students along as they began ascending the stairs to climb a hill. Stronger than most, she reached out and relieved a couple of those who had heavier bags. Hoisting them over her shoulder, she collapsed her suitcase¡¯s handle and strode forward. ¡°We¡¯re almost there, so just push through!¡± Together, their footsteps clunked up the wooden stairs as the smell of the lake filled their noses. Given its gargantuan size, everyone couldn¡¯t help but feel their noses prickle from the faint breeze brushing by them. ¡°... Almost there...¡± Electra breathed out as a dot of sweat appeared on her forehead. ¡°Ryker, hurry up, you¡¯re falling behind.¡± Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡°I¡¯m trying my best, okay? I hit legs yesterday at the gym and can¡¯t walk very fast,¡± Ryker clenched his teeth, speeding up the rate of his ascent. ¡°It¡¯s not like Albion¡¯s breathing down your neck anyway, so we don¡¯t need to rush that much.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll start breathing down your neck in a second!¡± Albion shouted in response. After slapping his legs, he began sprinting up the stairs to leave Titus and Conrad in the dust. A few seconds later though, Conrad¡ªunable to suppress his competitive spirit¡ªpushed Titus out of the way and began sprinting after Albion. ¡°What is going on...¡± Titus grumbled as he slowed down to walk with Nyssa and Celeste. ¡°Do you two also want to head up? I can let you two pass.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s fine, we¡¯re just going to take it slowly,¡± Celeste smiled, patting Titus on the shoulder. ¡°Want to walk with us?¡± ¡°I¡¯d love to,¡± Titus laughed as he watched Conrad trip and pull Electra down with him. ¡°I don¡¯t think it¡¯d be great for my long-term knee health if I began sprinting up these stairs with two bags.¡± Drawing a laugh from both Nyssa and Celeste, he joined them on their slow trek to the top. It only took a couple minutes, and as they completed the final few stair sections, the rest of the group ended up in a circle to wait. Clunk. ¡°We made it!¡± Nyssa leaned to the side, pulling Celeste into a gentle half-hug. ¡°Indeed we did,¡± Celeste returned the hug. She turned her head to the side leaning in towards Nyssa, but, after noticing the attention coming from the others, she turned away with a slight frown dancing across her lips. ¡°Is it this place, Angelica?¡± ¡°Yep,¡± Angelica reached into her pocket, fishing out a set of keys. Her hands paused in the air for a brief moment before she twirled the keys through her fingers like a pen. Smirking at everyone¡¯s mesmerized gazes, she waved them forward. ¡°Come on, let me show you the interior of where we¡¯ll be staying.¡± With a small chorus of laughing cheers breaking out, the group walked forward with their suitcases and bags in hand. As they approached the log cabin stretched out above them. Each of its two floors soared into the air¡ªwith its second floor double the height of a normal building¡¯s floor. Once in front of the door, Angelica dug through the bag to fish out an envelope. After slitting it open with one smooth motion, she propped it open while turning to the seven students standing behind her. ¡°I¡¯ll let you all choose which rooms you want, so just let me know, okay? There are plenty of rooms, enough for everyone to have their own. Of course, I won¡¯t stop you from having roommates, but... you know, that¡¯s up to you. You all are old enough to manage that on your own. Because of that though, I¡¯m not going to mediate any conflicts that may arise. It¡¯s just...¡± ¡°Not your problem?¡± Electra offered as Angelica struggled to find a way to phrase it. ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s an easy way to put it,¡± Angelica laughed as she turned to unlock the door. She slid the key in, and with one quick turn, propped the door open for everyone else to file in. ¡°I didn¡¯t want to say that, but, yeah. I have some stuff I need to get done while we¡¯re up here in the north too. So there will be times where I have you all move independently, okay? So, upperclassmen, make sure to take care of those who are younger and more inexperienced than you.¡± Ryker and Electra, hearing Angelica¡¯s request, nodded before heading into the cabin. Albion, Titus, and Conrad trailed them, and Nyssa and Celeste headed up the rear. Lugging her suitcase over the doorway, Nyssa brushed a stray strand of white hair out of her face before looking around. ¡°... Amazing.¡± 69: Dreamy Cabin Life The cabin¡¯s interior felt larger than its already quite expansive exterior. A common area decorated with couches, spread across the center of the first floor¡¯s interior. Attached to it, a kitchenette equipped with a fridge, stovetop, sink, and microwave. The rest of the first floor had doors leading to various dorm rooms, doubles, triples, singles, the whole swath sat available to the students. Warm lights hung from the ceiling, casting a gentle glow across both the first and second floor as, instead of a solid divider between the floors, the second floor consisted of gallery walkways dotted only with the doors into bathrooms and dorm rooms. ¡°Second floor?¡± Nyssa nudged Celeste on the shoulder after walking a lap around the common area. ¡°I¡¯m fine with anything though.¡± ¡°Me too,¡± Celeste tapped her chin. ¡°Want to get adjacent rooms? Or do you want to share a double or triple?¡± ¡°... I don¡¯t really mind either way,¡± Nyssa paused for a second as they began hauling their luggage up the stairs. ¡°It would be... well, yeah.¡± Celeste set her luggage down as they arrived at the top of the stairs. Raising her eyebrows, she turned to Nyssa and reached out. After cupping Nyssa¡¯s face with her hands, she began massaging her cheeks. ¡°You should just say it. If we¡¯re in a relationship, I want you to be open about your wants, okay?¡± Unable to speak with Celeste messing with her cheeks, Nyssa gave her a helpless glare until her cheeks regained freedom. Once free, she patted her cheeks and leaned in a little closer. ¡°Well, I would like to live in the same room if you¡¯re okay with it...¡± ¡°Of course I am,¡± Celeste smiled, covering her mouth with a sleeve before dragging Nyssa forward. ¡°Come on, let¡¯s choose the corner room with windows on two sides before the others take it.¡± ¡°Okay!¡± Nyssa broke into a smile of her own as she dragged along her suitcase while following along behind Celeste. ¡°What about your stuff though...¡± ¡°I¡¯ll just leave it there for now, it¡¯s not like anyone¡¯s going to steal it. I¡¯ll go back for it once we choose a room,¡± Celeste shrugged before turning back to look at Nyssa with a wink. ¡°And I¡¯d rather hold your hand in the meantime.¡± Nyssa froze. A couple sputters slipped out. Unable to formulate a response as Celeste continued to pull her along, she felt her cheeks and ears warm up. Her mouth opened and closed a couple more times until she lowered her head with a small sigh. ¡°When did you learn how to do that?¡± ¡°I¡¯ve always known, dar~ling~,¡± Celeste teased before a faint tinge of embarrassment crept into her voice. ¡°I¡¯m not particularly used to it though...¡± As she cleared her throat, she and Nyssa arrived at the corner room. After memorizing the room¡¯s number, Celeste turned and leaned against the railing while waving her hand to catch Angelica¡¯s attention. ¡°Can we get the key to room 214?¡± Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Of course!¡± Angelica called back to Celeste sifting through the envelope to pull out the key. ¡°Put your hand out!¡± With her hand extended, palm facing upward, Celeste stood still. Angelica winded up and, in one clean motion, tossed the keys upward. They soared across the cabin¡¯s interior before landing right onto Celeste¡¯s palm. ¡°I¡¯m still so jealous that she can do that,¡± Nyssa mumbled as they watched Angelica go on to toss keys to the other Class Zero students. Each key would land with a slight clink into each person¡¯s palm, the serrated edge of the key sitting upright so as to not hurt the catchers¡¯ hands. Turning away, Nyssa followed Celeste into the room. Together, they hauled all their suitcases and bagged into the room, put on the bedding provided by the owners, and began unpacking what they considered the most important items: toiletries, some clothes, and other hygiene and makeup items. Once unpacked, the two girls left their possessions in the room to hold down the fort. The now-open windows let in some afternoon brightness along with some fresh air to break up the stuffiness. At the same time, the chirps and squawks of birds as they swooped and dipped through the sky came peeking into the room. After waving to Angelica as they descended back down to the first floor, Nyssa and Celeste slipped out of the cabin with tote bags slung over their shoulders. With their hands raising to shield their eyes from the sun, they turned to each other after a moment¡¯s pause. ¡°... Where to then?¡± Celeste asked, turning to look at the cliffside view the cabin had of the ocean. ¡°We never really set a point, did we? Would you like to just wander?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine with anything!¡± Nyssa bobbed her head. Her hand wandered to the bag, adjusting its strap. ¡°We can wander, I¡¯d like to get my feet wet in the ocean at some point though.¡± Celeste nodded, reaching out and grasping Nyssa¡¯s hand. As the hustling sounds of Albion, Titus, and Conrad began leaking out through the windows, she tugged on Nyssa¡¯s hand. ¡°Let¡¯s get going before those three decide that their plans for the day are to join us.¡± ¡°I agree...¡± Nyssa half-jogged along behind Celeste. She ran her other hand along the railing as they descended the stairs running along the cliff to stabilize herself as they disappeared into the town situated around Cerbos Lake. ¡°It¡¯ll be nice to have some alone time.¡± ¡°But no more nap time today, okay?¡± Celeste countered with a laugh. ¡°You¡¯ve slept enough today.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve definitely not slept enough today,¡± Nyssa shook her head before squeezing Celeste¡¯s hand. ¡°It¡¯s okay, I won¡¯t sleep, I want to spend my time with you awake.¡± ¡°Thank you, thank you,¡± Celeste smiled, returning the hand squeeze while covering her mouth with her free hand. A half-second later, she turned back forward. ¡°There¡¯s a convenience store up ahead, do you want to stop by there before wandering along the beach? We can get some snacks to walk along the beach with.¡± Feeling her stomach quiver and mouth begin to water, Nyssa replied with a smile and ¡°Sure!¡± The moment she and Celeste set their course though, they heard the shouting of Titus, Conrad, and Albion play fighting once more¡ªalong with the appearance of flames jetting into the sky. Unwilling to have their alone time ended before it even starts, Nyssa and Celeste looked at each other, nodded, and began running forward. Their hair flowed in the wind and their bags swang in the air as they took the paved path around the beach¡¯s sandy edge. Not long after, they neared the doors and bolted in before they could slide closed. A blast of cold air shook both of them out of their sprint and the doors slid shut behind them with a quiet whoosh. ¡°Snack aisle first? Or drink aisle?¡± ¡°... Drinks.¡± 70: Convenience Store Wandering Nyssa and Celeste ended up wandering around the convenience store for twenty minutes. Hand-in-hand the entire time. The new half-full paper bag they carried held a variety of region-specific snacks, from pastries, to cookies, to juices, to an... interesting ice fish popsicle blended with bark extract... ¡°Do we eat the popsicle first or last?¡± Nyssa raised an eyebrow. Her voice wavered as they ambled down the sandy rock-paved path down towards the beach. ¡°If it destroys my stomach, I¡¯m not sure if I want to get it over with or let myself enjoy everything else first.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll be able to enjoy any of the other snacks if I know I have a mysterious unknown waiting for me at the end like that,¡± Celeste covered her face as exasperated laughter came slipping out between her words. ¡°We¡¯ll be near the ocean anyway, so we can always throw up right into the water! And why are you even worrying? Just shift your stomach so that you don¡¯t vomit.¡± ¡°Such optimism,¡± Nyssa shook her head. Their conversation, though, halted for a second as the rock path came to an end. The two bent down, setting their bags beside each other, and slipped off their shoes before picking up their bags and continuing on. ¡°To answer your question though, I don¡¯t like those types of transformations...¡± Together, they treaded a direct path towards the water¡¯s edge. Nyssa, as they walked, pointed to her stomach. ¡°It works, but they¡¯re so energy intensive if I want to make it perfect. It''s already energy intensive when it''s just in the moment, but then I throw up once the transformation ends... To fix it all, I waste so much energy that I might as well just live like a normal person.¡± ¡°Interesting,¡± Celeste nodded before turning to see Nyssa rubbing her stomach with a wistful expression. Cracking a smile, she leaned over and placed a kiss on Nyssa¡¯s cheek. ¡°I feel like your mind has wandered, what are you thinking about?¡± ¡°Mn... to the fried fish flavored potato chips I bought...¡± Nyssa rubbed her cheek, now dragged back to reality. She looked around. Without anyone in the general vicinity, she returned the kiss after a brief moment of hesitation. They both fell silent for a moment. A faint tinge of pink appeared on each of their faces. The sound of the waves crashing against the sand mixed with the sound of their footsteps waded through the wet sand. Wind blew their hair upward, letting it dance under the cloudy gray skies. ¡°Let¡¯s go to an actually sunny beach one day,¡± Celeste sighed, looking up into the sky. ¡°If... if we¡¯re not too busy with work.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll find the time, even Roxanne and Angelica have time to go on regular dates...¡± Nyssa squeezed Celeste¡¯s hand. ¡°I¡¯m also not that ambitious anyways, I¡¯m sure whatever career I end up being in, I¡¯ll have a lot of free time.¡± ¡°I guess...¡± Celeste smiled, a hint of worry dancing behind her eyes. ¡°Let¡¯s not think about that right now though.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s eat our snacks!¡± Nyssa pumped her fist. ¡°Onward!¡± ¡°Onward!¡± Celeste laughed, swinging her and Nyssa¡¯s interlaced hand forward. Together, they left the water¡¯s edge. Trudging through the sand as their feet sank into the dryer areas, they made their way to one of the large, flat rocks sitting on the beach. The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Celeste pulled out a beach towel and set it flat against the rock. Bags down. Snacks unpacked. Drinks set upright. In the midst of it all sat a certain popsicle. Its wrapper depicted a scared cartoon fish being chased by a shark. Between the shark and fish though, sat a tree¡ªwith arms¡ªwielding a bark shield to protect the fish. Sat between Celeste¡¯s legs, Nyssa leaned back into her girlfriend¡¯s embrace with a sigh. ¡°...Let¡¯s do the popsicle first.¡± ¡°You or me?¡± Celeste teased as she watched Nyssa begin to unwrap it. Nyssa¡¯s face contorted with gloom as she seemed ready to face the gates of hell within a moment¡¯s notice. With each passing second, her gaze emptied as her soul left her body before the popsicle even felt the fresh sea air. ¡°... I¡¯ll go first...¡± Nyssa pulled the popsicle out of the packaging. Her hands shook the entire time as they brought the popsicle to her lips. Lick. Not even a second later, Nyssa began coughing as her body curled up in Celeste¡¯s arms. Celeste, unable to resist the urge, began laughing while placing a few soft kisses onto Nyssa¡¯s neck. ¡°It¡¯ll be okay, you survived, good job!¡± ¡°T... Thank you,¡± Nyssa groaned as light began returning to her eyes. ¡°I think I just saw the king of the underworld... I think he looked like the cartoon fish on the packaging of the popsicle...¡± ¡°It can¡¯t be that bad can it?¡± Celeste asked, beckoning for Nyssa to pass her the popsicle. ¡°You¡¯re even partial to fish foods most of the time anyway.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t even understand its flavor composition!¡± Nyssa laid in Celeste¡¯s arms, catching her breath and recovering from her road of trials. ¡°It¡¯s a popsicle, but it''s somehow sweet from sugar, salty from the fish, bitter from the bark, and also sour from... something?? At least the texture is normal popsicle texture.¡± Once Nyssa had given her an idea of what to expect, Celeste took a tentative lick of the popsicle. Her tongue stretched outward and with the briefest touch, took some of the popsicle back to Celeste¡¯s mouth. Hesitation. A raised eyebrow. Another lick. ¡°It¡¯s not that bad... I guess this is another area where our tastes differ,¡± Celeste laughed as Nyssa¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°Don¡¯t be so surprised! It¡¯s not... that good. I wouldn¡¯t go out of my way to buy it. But it¡¯s... fine I guess? Not good enough for me to finish though.¡± ¡°Your stomach is far stronger than mine, that¡¯s all I''ve learned,¡± Nyssa patted her stomach. ¡°Maybe if I morphed to have a star engine in my chest I could eat that popsicle too...¡± ¡°I don¡¯t think that¡¯s how that works,¡± Celeste poked Nyssa on the nose. As their conversation continued to wander to other random topics though, Celeste leaned over to put the popsicle aside. In the meantime, Nyssa propped herself upright to pick out the next snack and drink to share. Here, while in the middle of their awkward bending position though, the ocean kicked up huge, skyscraper-like sprays. Small figures from the beach volleyball pitch on the other side of the beach split into groups. Several ran across the ocean and disappeared into the spray. Others leapt into the air as their weapons flew off the sand to their owners¡¯ grasps. The sound of another impact shook the air before Celeste and Nyssa could react. A man and a woman came flying out towards the sand from the ocean. Still in their swimsuits, they tumbled and flipped before coming to a skidding stop within the sand near the rock Celeste and Nyssa had set up on. As the two began clambering back to their feet, Celeste wrapped an arm around Nyssa¡¯s waist and leaned in a little closer. ¡°... Are you two alright?¡± 71: Beachside Battle The two figures paused for a second. Together, they turned back and examined Celeste and Nyssa. A second later, the existence of the two girls seemed to register in their minds. The young woman, with hip-length gray hair and dark-colored eyes, nodded upward and struck a peace sign. ¡°Fine enough. See you around.¡± Before Nyssa and Celeste could ask anymore questions though, the woman pulled at the air, manifesting a thick strand of blue-energy in her hand. With each pull, more and more strands seem to goop up in her hands like a tangled web, its ends stretching out into the air before fading. Once she had drawn the strands tight in both her hands, she threw them to the sides before getting thrown forward. Her figure reappeared skating over the water as she pulled at the air to throw herself upward. As she disappeared, the man who had crashed onto the beach with her gave Nyssa and Celeste a nod of his own. He rolled his shoulders and they let out a crack. ¡°Name¡¯s Kallix. Too busy to talk, but see you around.¡± After his short greeting, his figure stretched before streaking back towards the lake¡¯s center with a starry, golden river of light in his wake. ¡°What the...¡± Celeste trailed off. Fighting continued out in the lake¡¯s center. Water shot in the air, and, to Nyssa and Celeste¡¯s apprehension, chunks of massive monsters went flying too. The hunters they had seen on the beach seemed like flies going against a shadow-y elephant. They saw the hunters fly into the air, flailing and spinning like cartoon characters. ¡°Cerbos lake does not feel like a lake.¡± Nyssa commented, opening a bag of chips. She tossed a couple into her mouth and squinted a touch to get a better look at the hazy figure of the monster. ¡°It feels more like an ocean, especially if it has things like... that living in it.¡± ¡°It really doesn¡¯t,¡± Celeste reached over and grabbed a chip for herself. ¡°Do you know how deep the lake goes? How does something that large fit in it? Especially since it¡¯s, well... in terms of the lake, quite close to the edge?¡± ¡°I have no clue, I didn¡¯t look it up,¡± Nyssa confessed, perking up and leaning a little in hopes of seeing just a little more detail. ¡°Did you?¡± ¡°... No.¡± Celeste coughed. ¡°So we¡¯re in the same position.¡± ¡°Yep.¡± --- As the battle continued, the monster revealed itself from the fog. Covered in tentacles, the monster writhed under the light of the sun. Bulging eyeballs the size of cars darted around as the monstrous cephalopod did its best to escape. Each of its futile attempts only dragged it closer to death, massive tendrils of blue energy, golden strands of light, black-green vines, and more bound it as the hunters lugged it towards shore. Nyssa, in a moment of boredom, reached out her hand. Her hand, for a second, morphed into a forest of barbed tentacles before shifting back into her hand. After repeating it a couple times, she tucked her hand back into her pocket and snuggled back up against Celeste. ¡°I still got it.¡± Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site. ¡°Still... got it? Do you think you could transform into that big thing?¡± Celeste pat Nyssa on the head a couple times. ¡°Also though, please warn me in the future if you¡¯re going to do that... that gave me a bit of a shock.¡± ¡°O-Oh yeah, totally! Totally... sorry... My bad, I kind of forgot you were here...¡± Nyssa trailed off as Celeste laughed and continued patting her. ¡°I don¡¯t think I could transform into something quite that large, maybe if I really, really... really pushed myself. But it¡¯s beyond my comfortable range by a fair margin. I could do something similar, just smaller though.¡± ¡°Could you talk to it then?¡± Celeste rested her chin on Nyssa¡¯s shoulder. She stole the last few chips before Nyssa crumbs into her mouth. ¡°Thoughts on these chips?¡± ¡°Good... I mean, we finished the entire bag after all, I didn¡¯t expect that to happen,¡± Nyssa shrugged. ¡°Though we were distracted and talking... so maybe it''s not the most accurate representation.¡± The monster though, by now, had neared shore. Dragged there against its will kicking and screaming, it sent tall waves of water¡ªan entire deluge¡ªtowards the shore. The sounds of the monster thrashing and the sounds of the waves crashing against the shore halted Nyssa and Celeste¡¯s conversation. Their rock, to their pleasant surprise, braved the waves as the monster began getting dragged away to the other end of shore where other hunters had begun to congregate. Standing in anticipation for the upcoming fight, the hunters had formed pseudo-battalions while those with ranged capabilities began a preliminary bombardment. Streaks of light shot forward, taking out entire chunks of the monster as it began its death throes. Unbothered by the entire ordeal after watching it go on for a couple minutes, Nyssa and Celeste turned back to their pile of snacks sitting in the bag. Enjoying each other¡¯s warmth in silence, they turned on the rock to face the area of the lake now untouched by battle. Gentle waves rippled across the surface as the fog began to settle back in. After a few minutes of having their ears filled with the sounds of battle, Celeste couldn¡¯t help but sigh as she squeezed Nyssa in closer. ¡°The atmosphere¡¯s really bad here...¡± ¡°It really is...¡± Nyssa slumped to the side, using Celeste¡¯s arm as a headrest. ¡°I mean we shouldn¡¯t say it because they¡¯re keeping us safe and also doing their best... but kill it faster please.¡± ¡°I feel that. I¡¯m sure they could do it with less sound maybe, though I understand how sound isn¡¯t really on the priority list right now,¡± Celeste reached forward and poked their bag of snacks. ¡°Shall we get back to our own little ratings?¡± ¡°I¡¯d love to,¡± Nyssa rifled through the bag. She pulled out each option, one after another, presenting each to Celeste. ¡°Your turn to choose, I don¡¯t mind whatever, choose one that you¡¯re looking forward to.¡± ¡°Well,¡± Celeste curled her fingers around the neck of a bottle. ¡°I feel like we¡¯ve been eating a lot, so how about some soda? I know you¡¯re not much of a soda person though.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll take a couple sips,¡± Nyssa wiggled her fingers in the air. After Celeste cracked the lid open with a hiss, she nabbed it out of her hands and took a few sips. ¡°The flavor... isn¡¯t what I expected. I¡¯ll let you have the rest.¡± Celeste, after taking a couple sips of her own, set it down with furrowed eyebrows. ¡°That¡¯s... certainly not what I was expecting. I¡¯ll pass on it as well, we¡¯ll let the... lake have it maybe. If we¡¯re allowed to pour it into the lake.¡± ¡°I¡¯m... not sure,¡± Nyssa shook her head before pausing and pointing to their right. A team of figures had begun walking over in the sand, hauling along chunks of the monster over their shoulder as cleanup continued in the distance. ¡°Well, we could probably ask them.¡± 72: Sibling Hunters In The North Among the four people who walked down the beach towards where Nyssa and Celeste sat, two had familiar faces. As far as Nyssa and Celeste could tell, these four had all been a part of the initial strike team playing beach volleyball on the beach. Still in their swimsuits, they made quick progress down the beach towards the two sitting girls. ¡°... Hi?¡± Nyssa broke the silence this time as the four hunters came within earshot. She waved, fluttering her fingers. Her face broke into a slight smile as they waved back, their hardened expressions from battle softening as they walked closer. Their footsteps against the wet sand slowed as they came to a stop at a comfortable distance away from the two girls. The tide, having retreated, left the waves far from the rock Nyssa and Celeste sat on. Now, only the gentlest sounds of waves crashing filled the ears of the six people. ¡°We were just curious,¡± Kallix shrugged, stroking his chin. ¡°About who the new faces were. This town is small. It''s rare to see new young faces, especially ones who don¡¯t run away when a fight as grand as this breaks out.¡± ¡°I told you they were tough,¡± The woman with gray-hair from earlier crossed her arms, shifting her weight from one side of her hips to the other. She nodded upward with a faint smile tugging at the corners of her lips. ¡°My name¡¯s Mira by the way.¡± ¡°Yeah, she was a little preoccupied earlier.¡± Kallix patted Mira on the shoulder. The pat echoed with the sound of skin being slapped as Mira scowled and ¡®patted¡¯ Kallis back on the shoulder. Unfazed by the retaliation, he rolled his shoulder. ¡°Of course, I was too. Anyway. Enough about us. Who are you two new faces?¡± Nyssa and Celeste turned to look at each other for a second. Nyssa shrugged before nudging Celeste with her elbow. Over the course of half-a-second, they traded an entire conversation between their eyes¡ªwith Nyssa winning with the ¡°you¡¯re the older one¡± reasoning. Though only older by a handful of months, Celeste relented with a roll of her eyes. She squeezed Nyssa around the wait, half out of revenge, as she turned to face the four figures in front of them. ¡°We¡¯re both students here in the north for a training excursion. We just arrived earlier today so that¡¯s probably why you all don¡¯t recognize us.¡± ¡°Training excursion? So young too...¡± The man standing beside Kallix murmured with a slight twinkle of interest appearing in his eyes. ¡°What school are you two a part of if you don¡¯t mind us asking? The north is quite brutal, so it''s rare for any place to come out here.¡± ¡°We¡¯re both part of the Luminary Institute,¡± Celeste smiled, the faintest hint of pride slipping into her voice. ¡°Class Zero is just doing a training field trip for the next while. We¡¯re practicing taking on a mission? In all honesty though, Nyssa and I are the youngest in Class Zero, so we¡¯ll be doing the least.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you two will do a lot nonetheless,¡± Mira raised her eyebrows as everyone else let out murmurs of amazement. ¡°Being part of the Luminary Institute does explain some things. You all are still greenhorns though, so stay safe. How many others are also here?¡± This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°There are seven of us students, plus our teacher,¡± Nyssa spoke up, letting Celeste take a break from carrying the entire conversation. ¡°So a pretty large class right now... huh.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t know? It was on the news a while back when Slade and his team of heroes went to the Institute.¡± ¡°We¡¯re so far north I don¡¯t pay attention to that type of news. It¡¯s quite possibly the greatest waste of time for me.¡± ¡°Fair.¡± ¡°Who are... you all then?¡± Nyssa ventured as the conversation came to a bit of a lull. ¡°I live under a rock, sorry, so I don¡¯t know any of the famous heroes or hunters...¡± ¡°We¡¯re not that famous don¡¯t worry,¡± Kallix laughed, brushing his white hair back. ¡°Us four, plus one more who¡¯s organizing the clean-up right now, have our own team. Other than Mira though, you two should introduce yourselves.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Kael, Kallix¡¯s fraternal twin,¡± A more slender man with black hair waved. With a sword in each hand, plus another two swords at his waist, plus another sword strapped across his back, he clanked with every movement. After Kael, the woman with a brown-hair bob smiled and gave a wave of her own. ¡°I¡¯m Seraph. Pleasure to meet you two! Our friend who¡¯s organizing the clean up is called Orin by the way, just so you two don¡¯t need to ask later.¡± ¡°Cool... cool,¡± Nyssa furrowed her eyebrows, doing her best to commit the names to memory. She and Celeste nodded in unison as the hunters broke into some casual conversation. As their conversation continued, Celeste and Nyssa also introduced themselves. After their introductions though, Nyssa couldn''t help but ask a couple more questions. ¡°What do you all do then on a daily basis? We saw you all playing beach volleyball earlier, but somehow a battle broke out and now there¡¯s an entire emergency response team...¡± ¡°That¡¯s... a little complicated,¡± Kael coughed as Seraph and the others broke into laughter. ¡°C¡¯mon team leader!¡± Kallix punched Kael¡¯s shoulder. ¡°You should explain!¡± Unlike his brother, Kael had a quiet voice, so as the group quieted down, he elaborated. ¡°We¡¯re in charge of patrolling this beach; however, not much happens on the regular and beaches are quite nice. Thus, we¡¯ve set up volleyball nets to play while we put our weapons nearby. Plus, as an added bonus, we gave the community some more recreational areas. They''re nice too since we¡¯re maintaining them with our own money instead of handing it over to the local government.¡± With the rest of the team breaking into applause¡ªKallix at the lead¡ªKael scowled. As time passed though, the smile tugging at the sides of his mouth won out and he began laughing. ¡°Our glorious leader,¡± Mira raised her eyebrows while clapping. ¡°How does it feel to lead us to the promised land?¡± ¡°It feels great...¡± Kael trailed off while motioning for them to quiet down. ¡°Sorry about that Nyssa and Celeste. Any other questions? Otherwise we¡¯ll be heading off soon. It was a pleasure to meet some new faces in the area though.¡± ¡°Ah, do you know where the hunter¡¯s association is? We were told we should visit sometime today,¡± Nyssa tapped her chin, remembering Angelica¡¯s words from before. ¡°It¡¯s the only nice building really...¡± Seraph scratched the back of her head as the others nodded in agreement. ¡°It¡¯s near the center of town though, one street off of the main shopping district. So head there. We¡¯ll be there for a fair chunk of the day too, so say hi if you do see us!¡± ¡°Make sure to.¡± ¡°It was a pleasure meeting you two.¡± ¡°See you around.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Celeste waved as they all began walking off. ¡°See you around!¡± 73: Simulation Rooms Ryker and Electra left the cabin last out of all the students. They meandered downtown before pushing open the double doors to the Hunter¡¯s Association. The doors swung closed behind them with a faint creak, and, like most buildings in the north, a warm, wooden interior greeted them. Beyond the wooden interior though, an anachronistic decor greeted them. Wooden tables had digital screens built into them, rustic check-in booths had modern kiosks, and the windows had flat screen TVs built into the wall right beside them. ¡°We are registered right?¡± Ryker murmured as he and Electra took careful steps towards the central open area. ¡°It feels so empty.¡± ¡°I¡¯m checking right now... and yeah, we are registered automatically through our school,¡± Electra answered. She put away her phone and looked up to take in the view. ¡°You¡¯re right, there¡¯s no one around right now.¡± ¡°Because most people work during the day,¡± A voice interrupted them from behind while putting a hand on both Ryker and Electra¡¯s shoulders. The two students whirled around, while leaping up and outward. Their shoulders relaxed though as they called out ¡°¡°Angelica?!¡±¡± The sparks running down Electra¡¯s hair calmed down as both she and Ryker took a couple of deep breaths. ¡°I thought you were calling someone,¡± Ryker put his hand to his chest. As Angelica began walking forward to the main desk, he followed along beside her. ¡°Don¡¯t scare us like that! And why are you here?¡± ¡°I was, but she¡¯s now busy with her own work, she¡¯s a hunter too after all. So, I''m here to sort out some paperwork. It¡¯s quite important, especially since I¡¯m bringing a bunch of really young and inexperienced people, you know?¡± Angelica smiled, patting Ryker and Electra on the back. ¡°It''s nice that you two came to take a look around though, that¡¯s quite smart of you two.¡± One ¡°thank you¡± later from the students, Angelica walked off, heading off to the kiosk with a bundle of papers in her hand. Her other hand waved to the students before pointing to the second floor. She winked and nodded towards the area. ¡°You two should check it out, I think it''s pretty interesting.¡± Taking the hint, Ryker and Electra sped-walked over to the stairs and ascended¡ªtaking the steps two at a time. With their movements far more fluid, they greeted a worker with a smile and a ¡°Have a nice day¡± before walking further into the second floor. A long hallway with huge windows took them over a chasm into another part of the Hunter¡¯s Association. The hallway overlooked the ocean, a colorful fight with a giant cephalopod, and a pair of small figures far in the distance, sitting on a rock far while sharing a bag of snacks. ¡°That¡¯s them isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s too far to tell-... no, that person just transformed their hands into tentacles, I bet it¡¯s them.¡± ¡°They¡¯re totally dating aren¡¯t they?¡± ¡°I¡¯d assume so, but its not really our place to ask.¡± If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°True... and it doesn¡¯t really matter anyway...¡± With their conversation coming to a close, the muffled sound of their footsteps against the carpeted floors filled the air once more as they made it to the other building. After walking past a couple rooms bursting at the seams with dusty encyclopedias, they came to the end of the hallway where a pair of double doors blocked their way forward. Before they could test the handle though, the doors eased open with a hiss. A mechanical voice rang out the moment their feet crossed the entryway. [Two new people detected entering the simulation wing. Current number of occupied rooms, zero. Current number of free rooms, ten.] Together, Electra and Ryker walked through the now-gleaming metal hallway. Sliding doors with glowing green outlines dotted the hallway. A sign sat on the wall beside each door. Each sign detailed the room¡¯s number, size, recommended occupancy level, and general rules for its use. After walking a lap down and back up through the entire hall, they settled on a random room in the middle of the hall, clicking the button on the door. Once clicked, the button locked into place and the door slid open. They entered with hesitant steps. Ryker led the way, taking quick glances to his left and right as he walked forward. The gentle hum of a fan filled his ears as his blonde hair took on a wind-tousled look. ¡°Oh, there¡¯s a close door button here,¡± Electra facepalmed after she also stood in place for a couple seconds. Leaning over, she pressed it down for a couple seconds and the door slid shut, its green lights turning to red to signify the room¡¯s occupied status. ¡°It¡¯s kinda crazy in here though,¡± Ryker tapped his chin as he walked down the stairs to the open, two-story tall auditorium-like area. A handful of chairs sat off to the side, some folded up and the rest in a small circle, empty remnants of past hunters who used the simulation room. In the center of the room, a holographic ball of light floated and rotated. [Please select a creature to simulate... Please select a creature to simulate.] A voice filled the room as a screen on the wall fired up. As the voice rang throughout the room, silhouettes of various monsters flashed through the center of the holographic sphere. Once Ryker selected one from the screen, the sphere collapsed and condensed into a life-like replica of a reptilian-winged tiger. It stalked around the room and the voice changed to a more human tone. [... hunts primarily at night. Most kills are reported to happen at night. It¡¯s habitat includes both the skies and the ground. However, it prefers the tall mountainous regions... Every year people fall victim to their own carelessness though as it''s still known to be awake during the day. Experts theorize that it only sleeps around two hours a day. Thus, although it''s most actively stalking around dawn and dusk, wariness and caution should be adopted throughout the entire day... As for its strength...] --- ¡°I love ice cream so much...¡± Albion mumbled. A smattering array of ice cream cups sat in front of him, numbering in the twenties. Locked into his own world, he forgot about Titus and Conrad who also sat at the table with him¡ªalbeit with far less ice cream for themselves. ¡°Where to next? We¡¯ve tried three different stores of food now,¡± Conrad pulled out his phone, ¡°There¡¯s a noodle place near here that we can hit for lunch if you two are down for that.¡± ¡°I¡¯m down,¡± Titus shrugged. ¡°It might not sit well after the ice cream but... I don¡¯t really care, I¡¯m craving something salty right now.¡± ¡°Ice cream never sits unwell with anything in my body.¡± Albion nodded with a rare smile. ¡°Let¡¯s do noodles.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a plan then, I¡¯ll make the reservation right now, for... half an hour? You think you¡¯ll be done by then?¡± Conrad looked over Albion¡¯s array. ¡°Maybe fifteen minutes...¡± ¡°I¡¯ll do it in twenty. I¡¯ll go slow,¡± Albion reached over, grabbing a new cup while adding his empty one to an ever-growing stack. 74: No Naps Allowed After letting Class Zero explore the town on Cerbos Lake¡¯s edge for the afternoon, Angelica sent out a message as she walked out of the hunter¡¯s association. [I¡¯m going to be grabbing dinner near the town center if anyone wants to join. I will ask all of you to join me around 8 pm though so that we can all go to the Hunter¡¯s Association though. I want to formally register you all since being registered through the school will be annoying once you graduate. It will also be useful since we will leave starting tomorrow for our first scouting trip.] All across the town, the phones of Class Zero buzzed with the notification. As hands all pulled the phones out of their respective pockets, the seven students adjusted their evening plans to make the evening appointment. --- ¡°I don¡¯t think we need half the restaurants on this list, if we cut out entries ten to fifteen, I think we can make it.¡± ¡°What about entries nine to fourteen, I do really want to go to that pastry place.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine with anything.¡± --- ¡°This simulation room has too many entries to finish even within a day, so I¡¯m fine with cutting it short whenever. We do need to eat at some point though.¡± ¡°Want to join Angelica then? Since we¡¯ll be coming back to the Association anyway?¡± ¡°Sure.¡± --- ¡°I mean... were we going to do anything?¡± ¡°I was going to try and take a nap...¡± ¡°No naps allowed.¡± ¡°Then how about we go grab dinner alone somewhere? Some more peace and quiet?¡± ¡°Sounds good to me.¡± --- By the time eight pm rolled around, the sky had already darkened. Due to how north Cerbos Lake lay, the sun¡¯s light diminished every day far before dinner time. Lamps dotted the streets, casting warm cones of light onto the pavement below and stray townspeople walked around chatting as threads of life flowed through the streets. Ryker, Electra, and Angelica jogged down the side of the street, arriving at the Hunter¡¯s Association with light steps and even breaths. Nyssa, Celeste, Albion, Titus, and Conrad greeted the three of them with a wave and walked over from the side. A round of short greetings¡ªalong with a short apology from Angelica for their tardiness¡ªlater, they headed through the double doors into the Hunter¡¯s Association. The anachronistic view from before remained unchanged; yet, as the group walked in, Ryker and Electra froze for a half-second. People occupied most, if not all, of the tables. Cups of beer sat on many tables and music played in the background while laughter and conversation filled the room. Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation. Nyssa¡¯s hand found Celeste¡¯s as they navigated through the chaos of the Hunter¡¯s Association. Her eyes wandered as they walked, and, out of the corner of her eye, she spotted the four hunters they had met at the beach. They sat together on the second floor, pushing their glasses of beer together in celebration. ¡°How may I help you tonight?¡± The receptionist asked as their group walked up. Sat behind a desk with a large wooden frame in the wall, the receptionist had a state of the art computer sitting off to the side waiting for input. ¡°I¡¯m here to formally register these seven in the Hunter¡¯s Association. They have a school-linked profile already, so you can sync them later, but I want them to have a normal account,¡± Angelica leaned against the wooden desk, tapping her fingers against it as she talked. ¡°Just print out the forms and I¡¯ll have them fill them out and hand it back to you.¡± ¡°Sounds good,¡± The receptionist smiled, craning her neck to take a look at the students. ¡°All you all aware of what this entails?¡± With most of the students shaking their heads, the receptionist reached over and grabbed a stack of pamphlets. ¡°So you¡¯ll be filling out a form with a lot of personal details, no need to stress over it too much, but they are all required to fill out. The Hunter¡¯s Association is a government-linked organization so we are under a lot of strict regulations; especially since we have to follow the regulations of all the countries we operate in. Thus, no need to worry about all your information being sold. By registering with the Hunter¡¯s Association, you still preserve many of your rights, but do consent to being monitored to a certain extent for unlawful behavior that would unnecessarily endanger the lives of innocents. Understand?¡± A wave of nods greeted her like a crowd of ducklings before their mother. Following the show of understanding, the receptionist navigated through the computer¡¯s interface with practiced motions, pulling up a form and printing out seven copies. One small battle with the printer later, and she handed the forms over to Angelica with seven ballpoint pens. ¡°All of what I just mentioned and more is restated on the forms. Please don¡¯t leave the building with these pens, but otherwise, take your time filling these out.¡± Angelica, with the forms in hand, spun on her heel and distributed a pen and a form to each of the students. ¡°Let¡¯s go find a table. I was looking earlier and all the open ones are on the second floor, so head up the stairs to our right.¡± Leading the way, Nyssa and Celeste took the stairs two steps at a time before searching for an empty table. Even on the second floor, the vast majority of the tables sat full with hunter¡¯s unwinding and socializing after a long day. ¡°Beside Kael, Kallix, and them?¡± Nyssa proposed while squeezing Celeste¡¯s hand. ¡°I¡¯m down,¡± Celeste nodded. With the hand carrying the paper and pen, she pointed to the empty table beside the team of hunters from before and turned to look at the others. ¡°How about over there? It¡¯s also near the edge of the second floor area looking over the first floor.¡± After a stream of agreement, Conrad leapt in front of Celeste and Nyssa, taking the lead and sliding to sit down on the end of the table¡¯s attached bench. ¡°I¡¯m gonna fill out this form so fast, I''ll be done before you all are even halfway. This is where I demonstrate my MAGNIFICENT academic abilities to their fullest. One¡¯s deserving of a main character!¡± ¡°Lock in, Conrad!¡± Titus goaded him on with a laugh. ¡°Pull out the secret shadow dragon¨Cform filling out technique you must have!¡± ¡°Of course!¡± Conrad pushed up an invisible pair of glasses on his face. ¡°Watch and learn, my supporting cast.¡± ¡°Most stupid comment I¡¯ve heard in a while,¡± Electra shook her head, ¡°I thought you were past this type of stuff, Conrad.¡± ¡°Merely suppressing it for you mere mortals!¡± Conrad pumped his fist as his pen began blazing across the paper. Circles began to rotate around his eyes as he fired up his system to its fullest effects. ¡°Let the powers bestowed upon me flow through my vei-¡± ¡°Oh! Nyssa and Celeste! We didn¡¯t notice you two here!¡± Kallix interrupted from his table. ¡°When did you all arrive? Nice to meet you all by the way!¡± 75: When The Protagonist Monologues (Overshares) Everyone from both tables froze for a couple of seconds. Several people from the other table jabbed Kallix while everyone but Conrad paused their form filling out. Angelica, among the more level-headed, looked over to Nyssa and Celeste while raising an eyebrow. As a faint flicker of recognition flashed behind her eyes, she asked. ¡°When did you two meet this team of hunters?¡± ¡°Earlier today while we were on the beach,¡± Nyssa looked over towards the other table and flashed a peace sign. ¡°Do you know them, Angelica?¡± ¡°I know of them, they¡¯re a fairly famous team,¡± Angelica shrugged before waving to them as well. ¡°Nice to meet you all, I¡¯m Angelica, I¡¯m the teacher who¡¯s watching over these students.¡± ¡°Nice to meet you too,¡± Mira murmured with a nod, her voice a little scratchy from overuse. As the other team members gave a short introduction, Kael waved down Nyssa and Celeste before pointing to a well-groomed bearded man. ¡°By the way, this is Orin, he was the one binding the monster on the beach earlier.¡± ¡°A pleasure to meet you all,¡± Orin raised his glass. After pantomiming a toast, he took a sip from his cup. ¡°What brings you all here tonight?¡± ¡°Registering!¡± Conrad leapt out of his seat while pumping his fist. He flexed one arm and pointed at Titus and Albion with the other. ¡°GET WRECKED! I¡¯m done!¡± ¡°... Wow,¡± Albion applauded with slow claps and a subtle eyebrow raise. ¡°You¡¯re so cool for finishing your government form faster than the rest of us. I¡¯m just... astounded... I¡¯m sure every woman in this building wants you so bad right now.¡± ¡°Oh yeah, I can¡¯t think straight,¡± Electra added in a flat tone while picking her pen back up to fill out the form. ¡°Why don¡¯t you make conversation with our new friends then. While we finish our own forms. Thanks in advance Conrad.¡± ¡°You¡¯re... welcome,¡± Conrad sighed while sitting back down. Before he could turn to talk though, Nyssa asked for his pen, while also taking the extra one Angelica had been holding. He stroked his chin. ¡°Why do you even need so many... pens... ah.¡± After watching a third arm stretch out from the center of Nyssa¡¯s chest, Conrad shook his head to clear his mind and turned to the hunters. He explained their purpose for coming to the north, and answered a few basic questions, ranging from small talk¡ª¡°what do you find the most different so far?¡±¡ªto more substantive ones¡ª¡°So you prefer hunter work? What would you say draws you to hero work over hunter work then?¡± Conrad, not one to turn down an opportunity to talk, answered each question and replied with his own as Angelica listened in on the conversation while checking over Conrad¡¯s now¨Cfilled out form. Out of everyone, Nyssa finished her form next¡ªthe three pens writing all at once expediting the process manyfold over. Her extra hand disappeared and she slid her form over to Anglica. Once she tuned into the conversation, her eyebrows furrowed. ¡°So, from a young age, I¡¯ve always been nicknamed the main character. My powers manifested as a system, so I have always experienced a linear growth pattern, leveling up like I¡¯m in a game,¡± Conrad propped his chin on his hand. ¡°I even get side quests. I can store combinations of movements as a special move, and I can analyze things, like a classic video game character.¡± The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Getting a couple of nods, Conrad continued. ¡°Of course, I make a lot of main character jokes ironically. There¡¯s such a good opportunity there, why not seize it?¡± Nyssa, while shaking her head, couldn¡¯t help but feel like she had begun listening to the forbidden analects. Why is he giving his whole backstory to a bunch of strangers... There are things he¡¯s saying right now that even I¡¯ve never heard of, and I¡¯m his classmate! Friend even! But these are random hunter¡¯s he met... what... five minutes ago? Electra, the next to finish, signed her name at the bottom of the page with a crackle of electricity arcing along the page and into the air. Purple sparks splashed all over Ryker, who, not even a second later, flipped her off. ¡°Oh! Electricity powers,¡± Seraph smiled, interrupting Conrad¡¯s story about overcoming a tough exam about polar bear anatomy in middle school. ¡°How fun, you Class Zero students always have such impressive abilities. Every graduate I¡¯ve met has such fine control over the immense power at their fingertips.¡± ¡°It¡¯s still in progress for me,¡± Electra scratched the back of her head. She stretched her hand outward and spread her fingers. Purple arcs jumped between her fingers. ¡°I can¡¯t let loose fully, otherwise I¡¯ll kill myself...¡± ¡°Ah... yes that is often a problem with those who have such high capacity at a young age,¡± Seraph nodded. Kael and Mira nodded along as well, let out murmurs of agreement. ¡°Though your path might not be traditional, have confidence. It is easier to gain control than it is to gain output.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m not complaining,¡± Electra laughed, ¡°I¡¯m thankful for my powers these days.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good,¡± Seraph chuckled, floating her cup up to her mouth to take a sip. ¡°You raise your students well, Angelica. I never took you as the teaching type.¡± ¡°Yeah, life changes, and I¡¯m trying to settle down,¡± Angelica leaned back in her chair. At some point, she had ordered a glass of beer, and, now, she took small sips while making eye contact with Seraph. ¡°I never took you as the hunting type. Especially this far out of the way.¡± ¡°I got tired of the drama,¡± Seraph shrugged. ¡°Growing up in the heart of an academy wore on me. The politics, the media, the... Well, everything. It''s nice to be out here. Life is simple.¡± ¡°I¡¯m glad you¡¯re living a better life,¡± Angelica took a long sip as the conversation came grinding to a halt. Everyone else though, by now, had their curiosity piqued. Both Seraph¡¯s teammates and Angelica¡¯s students all exchanged glances. Each glance seemed to ask the same questions and give the same replies: Do you know anything about this? Since when did they know each other? I don¡¯t know anything, don¡¯t ask me. I have no idea either. ¡°Spill the beans, Seraph,¡± Mira coughed, her voice still in pain. As a few chuckles left her lips, Seraph shrugged. ¡°It''s nothing special. I attended a different academy, one similar to Luminary Institute as you all know. The one located in the capital of the Lionheart Kingdom. I was a year older than Angelica, but I knew of her since... well, she was the leader of her year, and the student body president before she even became a senior.¡± ¡°We just knew each other in passing,¡± Angelica took a long swig from her cup. ¡°Nothing special.¡± ¡°Yeah, nothing too special I¡¯d say...¡± Seraph agreed before diverting the conversation elsewhere. ¡°You¡¯ll probably be doing a first expedition out tomorrow right? Would you like for us to accompany you? We have nothing planned. Just a normal patrol route.¡± ¡°That¡¯d be great, I¡¯ll take you up on that then, is that alright, Kael?¡± Angelica turned to ask the team leader. ¡°Fine with me,¡± Kael flashed an ¡®ok¡¯ hand symbol. ¡°See you all tomorrow then.¡± 76: A Glimpse Into The Past Many years ago, during the Lionheart Kingdom¡¯s annual tournament, a woman walked down an alley with her phone in her hand. Banners flapped overhead in the wind as her boots echoed against the cobblestones. Her hair flowed with a wild abandon, forming a beautiful, but untouchable appearance. ¡°The meeting spot is here...¡± She murmured to herself, leaning against a light pole. ¡°I guess I am a couple of minutes early.¡± The couple of minutes, though, flew past as she scrolled through social media on her phone. Soon enough, another figure descended out of the sky. Dressed in a more form-fitting outfit, she landed onto the cobblestone back alley without a sound. ¡°Thanks for agreeing to meet with me before the tournament, Roxanne,¡± The woman smiled, her voice revealing a slight hint of a quiver. ¡°I know it¡¯s really abrupt, and most people try to not meet up around here, so I really appreciate it.¡± ¡°Of course, Seraph, how could I say no? You¡¯re an esteemed upperclassman,¡± Roxanne laughed, running a hand through her hair. ¡°I just snuck out, and didn¡¯t tell the teachers. They don¡¯t have to know I¡¯m out wandering... Anyway, why did you want to call me out here?¡± ¡°Haha, I¡¯m only a year above you, I don¡¯t count for much,¡± Seraph shrugged before putting her hands on her hips and sighing. ¡°I was just wondering if you¡¯d be willing to go on a date with me? Grab a meal together after the tournament''s over or something.¡± ¡°Ah...¡± Roxanne¡¯s smile froze for a second as a sigh left her own lips. Seraph, wilting a touch, could only let out a slight self-deprecating laugh. As an awkward silence lingered in the air for a couple seconds. ¡°I¡¯ll take that as a no then...¡± ¡°Well... yeah, sorry,¡± Roxanne crouched down cupping her cheeks with her hands as she propped her elbows against her knees. ¡°I¡¯m sorry but I¡¯m already interested in someone else. It¡¯s nothing against you, and you¡¯re wonderful, but... yeah, I¡¯m pursuing someone right now.¡± Together, the two women stood in silence for a couple seconds until Seraph wiped her cheek. A smile broke out on her lips as she mustered a faint laugh. ¡°I wish you better luck than I have then.¡± ¡°T-Thank you...¡± Roxanne mumbled. Her eyes wandered to the pavement as a prickling sense of unease tugged at her stomach. Unsure as to how to comfort Seraph, she fell into inaction and began counting the ants crawling along the street. One... two, three, four... A cracker crumb... Another minute passed, but before either Seraph or Roxanne could move, a distant shout echoed down the street. ¡°THERE YOU ARE! ROX... ANNE!¡± A woman with long black hair in a Luminary Institute branded tracksuit came running down the street. Faster than any normal human, she came to a skidding stop next to Roxanne within seconds while also not even out of breath. Putting on the baseball cap in her hand, she nudged Roxanne with her foot. ¡°How could you just run off? You¡¯re lucky I was the first to notice not the teachers. A bunch of us students are searching, we¡¯ve still kept quiet from the teachers, but this is irresponsible. You may be part of Class Zero, but during this trip for the tournament, I, the student body vice-president, am in charge of you.¡± Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°Look at you, Angelica, buying into bureaucracy. Class One¡¯s propaganda¡¯s getting to yo-¡± Roxanne retorted before yelping as she got hoisted to her feet. ¡°What was that for?!¡± ¡°Puddle under your butt, and you were swaying forward and back, it was only a matter of time before you fell in,¡± Angelica explained while looking over at Seraph and giving her a nod. ¡°Sorry to disturb you two, by the way. I got a little caught up in the situation.¡± ¡°N-No worries,¡± Seraph waved her hands as a laugh slipped through her lips. ¡°It¡¯s always nice to watch friendly banter like this. We were done with our conversation anyway.¡± ¡°Banter... sure, and I¡¯m glad I didn¡¯t interrupt too much then.¡± Angelica tilted her head side to side. ¡°Anyway, Roxanne, it''s not good to be wandering around alone, let¡¯s walk back together. People are worried about you, don¡¯t go sneaking off like that again, okay?¡± ¡°Okay...¡± Roxanne puffed her cheeks out for a moment before turning to Seraph. ¡°See you around, Seraph! It was nice talking.¡± ¡°Do you want us to walk you back? It might not be safe?¡± Angelica extended her hand. ¡°And also, nice to finally meet you in a non-official setting.¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, I know this city like the back of my hand, I grew up here after all,¡± Seraph shook her head. As she began to float into the air, she looked at Roxanne one last time before taking off. The last phrase she heard before flying off being ¡°So you were looking at my ass, hmmm? What a lascivious woman!¡± Tears began to flow down her cheeks as she soared through the air, and, instead of returning to her home, Seraph took a detour to the outskirts of the city. --- A year later, in the Lionheart Kingdom once more, banners decorated every street as the annual tournament came in full swing once more. The top students from each school met up with each other during the first official ceremony, coming together to represent their schools for the upcoming tournament. Among the various schools though, a few figures stood out among the rest. The Valor Academy had their supposed ¡®golden generation¡¯ in their fourth year. Headed by Seraph Lyra, their student body president, the hosting academy greeted every group of leaders from the other schools with a smile and directions to their table in the auditorium. The last group to arrive, the Luminary Institute¡¯s, came in with two figures leading the way, arm in arm. Angelica, in a suit, greeted Seraph with a smile. ¡°Student body president, huh? Congratulations!¡± ¡°Thank you, thank you, it¡¯s impressive how you¡¯ve also risen to such an office so quickly,¡± Seraph congratulated as her eyes wandered to Angelica¡¯s vice president. A flicker of understanding sparked between Angelica and Seraph as they made eye contact, and... for a brief moment, the nod they shared conveyed an ocean of emotions. ¡°Roxanne, I didn¡¯t quite take you as the political type, but vice-president? Congratulations,¡± Seraph reached out, offering a handshake to both of them. ¡°Well... yeah, I applied myself this year and campaigned like my life depended on it, and I¡¯m glad it worked out,¡± Roxanne cracked a smile, unable to dispel the faint tension between her and Seraph. As people began to gather behind them though, Roxanne had to continue walking forward with Angelica. As they left, she turned to wave at Seraph. ¡°See you around though, Seraph! It was nice talking.¡± ¡°It was indeed,¡± Seraph nodded, a twinge of nostalgia mixing with the bittersweet emotions welling up in her heart. After shaking her head and dispelling it though, she turned to greet the rest of Luminary Institute¡¯s student council, along with the teachers who had come to attend with them. ¡°Welcome! Just follow your president and vice-president, they know the way already. Thank you for coming to join us today though, we hope you have a wonderful time here in the Lionheart Kingdom.¡± 77: Gray... Everywhere Angelica dragged all of Class Zero out of bed at dawn, ¡°bright and early¡± as she put it. Of course, nobody agreed with her, but it made no difference to the teacher who had already made the plans with a professional hunting team. Dressed in comfortable clothes, with their costumes underneath, the seven students made their way towards the Hunter¡¯s Association with Angelica trailing behind them. Angelica, on the phone with a certain Roxanne, just kept an eye on them as they navigated through the streets. Though some could be considered directionally-challenged, others had enough maturity, sense, and resourcefulness for her to place her full trust in them. Once they did make it to the Hunter¡¯s Association, Angelica waved and nodded to the hunters before returning to her call. As she backed off, she motioned towards Ryker and Electra, smiling to let them take the lead. Walking into the Hunter¡¯s Association after she heard a spark of conversation begin, she laughed and nodded to the various hunters mulling about in the morning. [So, how¡¯s life been treating you, love?] ¡°Everything¡¯s going well, I miss you more than anything,¡± Angelica climbed the stairs to stand on a secluded balcony. ¡°I¡¯m glad they¡¯re old enough that I don¡¯t have to supervise very closely. The older ones can also help watch the younger ones.¡± [That way you can call me~] ¡°That way I can call you~¡± Angelica laughed, drumming her fingers against the railing. ¡°I may or may not be using you as an excuse to get a break. I just miss you and wish we could spend more time together...¡± [I... I was about to make a joke about being your side fling as ¡®an excuse,¡¯ but that¡¯s a very sappy comment...] Roxanne trailed off. [I hope we can too... We were talking about me stepping back as the day-to-day leader of the guild, but I¡¯ll still be busy for the time being, I¡¯m sorry love.] ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s not like I¡¯m going anywhere,¡± Angelica sighed as she stared off into the distance. ¡°Just come back more often, and stay safe. I just don¡¯t want to see you on the news for a bad reason.¡± [There¡¯s no reason I would, don¡¯t worry,] Roxanne reassured before pausing for a second. [How¡¯s Nyssa though? Is she holding up alright?] ¡°Holding up alright?¡± Angelica shook her head. ¡°She¡¯s thriving. She¡¯s really come out of her shell recently, especially with the whole situation with Celeste. So don¡¯t worry about her at all, she¡¯s... finally having some things to look forward to in life other than sleeping.¡± [That¡¯s good,] Roxanne sighed, relief evident in her voice. [I¡¯ve been eating too much... I feel like I¡¯m getting fat...] As the conversation between the two lovers continued, the students and hunters outside caught each other up with their basic capabilities. The hunters, in addition to sharing some basic information about themselves and their specializations, talked the students through their basic routine for an expedition into the wild. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. Once they finished up their conversation, Angelica, who had chosen a spot where she could see them, wrapped up her own conversation with Roxanne and leapt off the balcony. After landing with a gentle step, she walked back over while running her hand through her hair. ¡°Ready to get going then?¡± Hearing a chorus of ¡°yes¡±s, Angelica nodded towards Seraph and Kael, ¡°Lead the way then. Are you all walking, running? Or taking a car?¡± ¡°We¡¯re just walking,¡± Seraph pointed towards the not-so-distant wilderness, ¡°The town isn¡¯t that large anyway, it''s quite walkable.¡± ¡°We start here and take an assigned path,¡± Kael rubbed his fingers against the hilt of his swords. Heading forward, he looked back towards everyone as they walked. ¡°Every patrolling team takes a different path to the true wild areas to ensure there¡¯s especially unsafe right by the town.¡± As a group, they made a direct line towards the edge of town before walking along its edge for a couple minutes. Once they arrived at a conspicuous crack between two towering trees, they started heading off into the wilderness. The ground crunched under their feet as they continued walking, in the distance, fog obscured their vision as the skies stayed overcast. Though the morning sun had risen, the morning felt quiet, and the forest area they traveled through stayed cool. Small animals darted around in the corners of their eyes, some leapt from tree branch to tree branch as the sounds of life created a quiet mask over their ears. ¡°Who¡¯s taking notes today?¡± Kael asked his team. ¡°Orin, right?¡± ¡°Yessir, I have it pulled up here,¡± Orin showed a holographic screen floating above his wrist. ¡°Just let me know, and you all too, let me know if you observe anything that seems out of the ordinary. Since you all haven¡¯t been around the area, just say anything that catches your eye, I¡¯ll filter out everything that¡¯s normal.¡± ¡°There¡¯s an increase in red-winged birds over green-winged,¡± Seraph called out as she floated in the air. ¡°Very unimportant though.¡± ¡°Might as well write it,¡± Orin shrugged. ¡°There¡¯s a newly destroyed tree,¡± Mira pointed out to their left. It only just peeked out of the fog, and Kallix needed to use a couple beams of light to highlight it for Kael, Orin, and the students to notice. ¡°What about the burrow by the right?¡± Albion pointed towards a hole by the base of a tree. A small ring of sticks lined its edge, as animals could be seen rushing in and out on the regular. ¡°That one we expect to see around this time of year, but I¡¯ll write it down for the sake of recording it,¡± Orin nodded, ¡°Thanks for pointing it out.¡± As they kept walking, the trees became denser and denser. At one point they ended up squeezing through a crack between branches, but after the crack, the forest thinned out into something more like a wasteland. ¡°Starting here is what we consider the true wilderness,¡± Kael explained in a quiet, but measured tone, ¡°It¡¯s characterized by a real lack of any natural resources, large creatures, and a lot of... annoyingness.¡± ¡°We have to worry about giant monster swarms, but we can¡¯t live out here in all honesty,¡± Orin explained, stroking his beard. ¡°I studied the north way back when I was still an academic. I specialized in this area, actually. There¡¯s no reason to settle this area, it''s absolutely barren, holds no economic value, not beautiful enough for tourism, horrendous weather, and is far from absolutely everything, but breeds danger to our society on the daily.¡± Nyssa had to agree with the assessment. Trees dotted the area, but even they didn¡¯t provide much respite from the dreariness. The ground... gray. The sky... also gray. Craters pockmarked the areas and in the distance, animals could be seen lumbering in packs, scavenging the barren ground for any sort of sustenance. Rocks seemed more plentiful than anything, on each rock crawled bugs, feeding on bits of... radioactive-looking moss. 78: New Headgear ¡°What the...¡± Titus murmured as they left the forested area. He, along with everyone else, swiveled his head around to get a better look at their new setting. ¡°Apocalyptic wasteland can¡¯t even describe this. Developers in video games would never design an area so gray, flat, and boring.¡± ¡°It¡¯s probably more realistic though,¡± Kallix patted Titus on the back. ¡°This place is kind of a wasteland, countries used to test weapons up here, and back then, a lot of them had nasty side effects. Luckily generations before us have cleansed those, but the damage it''s done to the ecosystem and land is quite irreversible.¡± Clapping his hands to halt the conversation, Kael turned to face the group. As the quietest member, he paused for a second to let everyone wrap everything up before speaking. ¡°Let¡¯s split up here. One hunter with one or two students. Angelica, you can come with me, out of everyone here I¡¯m most equipped to answer your questions.¡± Once he finished speaking, he pulled out the two swords sheathed at his waist, levitated them, and pulled out two swords slung across his back, keeping those in his hands. While he prepped what he needed to prep, the others did the same, splitting into groups while doing so. After a brief awkward moment where Nyssa looked around to several of the hunters¡ªonly to see them already talking to someone else, she and Celeste ended up with Mira. ¡°Morning.¡± Mira nodded upward, extending her hand forward to greet the two. ¡°We¡¯ll take the left-middle area. So, we¡¯ll have Kael, Angelica, and Conrad to our right, and Orin with Electra to our left.¡± After shaking Mira¡¯s hand, Nyssa turned to Celeste and looked upward towards the top of Celeste¡¯s head. She made some subtle gestures as her eyes tried to communicate a certain message. Mira, confused beyond imagination, furrowed her eyebrows and crossed her arms as she spectated the silent exchange between the two girls. First, Celeste shook her head. Nyssa followed it up with another pleading look. Celeste shook her head once more. Nyssa crossed her arms and turned away with a smile. Celeste did the same. Before long, Celeste cracked, extending her arms. ¡°Fine, go for it.¡± Nyssa, breaking into a smile, transformed into a fluffy white cat and leapt into Celeste¡¯s arms. Not a second later, she scaled Celeste like a tower and came to a rest on top of her head. Dangling her paws off the sides of Celeste¡¯s head, she patted her girlfriend¡¯s cheeks a few times before closing her eyes. ¡°I... see you have some new headgear,¡± Mira ventured with a hesitant pause. ¡°Is this going to hamper you two?¡± ¡°No, she¡¯s very light, don¡¯t worry,¡± Celeste shrugged before shaking her head a little. ¡°And she doesn¡¯t get dislodged somehow. She¡¯ll probably fall asle... ah, no, she¡¯s already asleep though. Don¡¯t worry, this is run of the mill with her.¡± ¡°Alright...¡± Mira trailed off before turning to face the wilderness they¡¯d be traveling through. ¡°Want to get going? I plan to travel through the air like usual since you mentioned that you can fly.¡± This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°Yep, I¡¯ll follow along right behind you,¡± Celeste floated into the air, her entire body heating up as her heart began to pound in her chest. Her hair transitioned from brunette to a starry blue-purple. Mira, on the other hand, pulled at the air, and strands of blue aether appeared in her hands. As she pulled herself upward, she swung in the sky like a nimble acrobat, reminiscent even of a spider-themed hero. Together, she and Celeste ended up being the first to leave the gathering area. They meandered through the air, keeping low enough to observe everything on the ground. Every minute or so, Mira would then come to a stop, hanging in the air from a thread of energy, and take a couple notes while explaining her thought process to Celeste and... well, to a certain asleep Nyssa. ¡°We¡¯re coming up on a fight,¡± Mira commented to Celeste right beside her, ¡°See those two monsters duking it out right above us? They uh... They both need to be exterminated.¡± ¡°Why¡¯s that?¡± Celeste asked as she peeled the white cat from her head. With a couple gentle shakes and a rub on the forehead, Nyssa blinked her eyes open. Together, she and Celeste looked over at the fight transpiring. A boar covered in metal-like bristling hair with two flaming tusks rammed against a... writhing mass of flesh. The flesh, if an observer extrapolated enough, could be reminiscent of a four legged animal, but had no further distinguishing characteristics. Though seared and injured after every attack, the mass of flesh seemed to regenerate with no lasting damage¡ªbar the continuous outpouring of blood coming out of every orifice. ¡°Well, the... thing, that keeps regenerating for obvious reasons. It just keeps adding biomass to itself to keep growing. They get really ugly.¡± Mira frowned. ¡°We¡¯ve run into ones that were allowed to grow underground for years, and they often take months to exterminate.¡± ¡°And the boar?¡± Nyssa spoke up from her cat form, catching Mira off guard. ¡°That one just kills a lot of herbivores that we want to stabilize the population of. In the long term we¡¯re trying to revitalize the area. Having a healthy ecosystem is important for that. Right now it''s heavily skewed towards predators,¡± Mira began pulling strands of energy out of the sky. Shaping it into a bow, she let loose a couple arrows to lead the way. Celeste, catching the hint, also sent a couple of beams towards the fighting monsters below them. Their combined efforts managed to pause the fight, the towering creatures came to a stop and faced the sky. Mira, well-experienced in this regard, spread her arms, pulling webs of energy from the air, collapsing them inward to immobilize the two monsters. The more she forced her arms together the more they contorted and writhed in pain. ¡°Since we have a fairly long patrol today, let¡¯s keep it easy. Don¡¯t go all out, budget your energy since we¡¯ll probably have around ten of these types of fights.¡± ¡°Got it,¡± Celeste murmured, keeping her attacks to a stream of ultra-hot beams. ¡°Nyssa, can you focus on the boar? Since it seems to have a lot of heat resistance which isn¡¯t great for me.¡± ¡°Sounds good,¡± Nyssa writhed around in Celeste¡¯s arms before leaping off of her. As she fell towards the ground, she grew into a giant, armor plated wurm. She crashed against the spiked boar, filling the air with the sound of screeching metal. Burrowing into the ground, she curled up around the boar and began constricting it, crunching it inward as Mira helped her out. ¡°... Impressive,¡± Mira mumbled, watching the boar¡¯s flames begin to dim as its limbs began to go still. ¡°Very... very impressive.¡± 79: Squeezing Out The Creativity After killing the boar and the mass of flesh, Mira, Celeste and Nyssa moved on without celebration. Mira, as they flew, asked Celeste and Nyssa a few more questions about their powers. Hearing stories and examples of the sheer firepower the two could produce, she shook her head, urging the two to not lose their drive to improve. As they continued, they cleaned up another five fights while Mira took notes on the environment. ¡°Everything is run-of-the-mill which is nice. Nothing too intriguing,¡± Mira shrugged as Nyssa and Celeste floated in the air beside her. ¡°I am getting messages to meet up with Kael. Seems like he ran into something that would be more advantageous to fight in a group.¡± Before Nyssa and Celeste could even ask which direction to travel in, their newfound mentor swung off into the sky. They hurried along, following behind Mira and ascending into the air, and as they flew upward, the gray wasteland stretched out before them. Whilst in the air, they spotted a purple streak of lightning blazing across the ground, speeding ahead of them with Orin in tow. Flying forward, Nyssa and Celeste followed Mira into the fog. Once enveloped though, they began hearing the sounds of battle. Similar to before, out of the corner of their eye, they spotted a flash of light streak past them towards the source of the sounds. The sounds of sword clashes filled their ears until they reached the site of battle. A horde of monsters had come together and begun brawling. Dead carcasses laid in piles as the sounds of battle drew more and more monsters towards the epicenter. Kael, situated near the middle, wielded two swords in his hands and five more with his mind. Like a human blender, he shredded through monsters without leaving a second to breathe. Conrad and Angelica on the other hand, bobbed and weaved through the crowd of monsters. Equipped with a polearm, Angelica¡¯s fighting style painted a beautiful, yet lethal art piece, every part of her body flipped and twisted as she never stopped moving. In a masterful demonstration of martial arts, every movement of hers landed a critical hit on a different monster. As for Conrad, he wielded an energy blade, and cut through the monsters with strong strokes; though unrefined in terms of technique, his pure strength and physical abilities shone like a brilliant star among a sea of anemone. Second by second, more people joined the battle. Electra, free to go wild, let loose giant bolts of purple lightning in her own area of the battlefield. A mushroom cloud appeared as Ryker committed to his signature battle strategy. ¡°Though there are some species we would want to conserve, it''s a mess. So, it''s not really possible right now,¡± Mira shrugged before diving into the battle. ¡°Good luck, just kill everything you can. We¡¯re trying to stifle this as much as possible.¡± Left to their own devices, Celeste and Nyssa could only look at each other for a few moments. Reaching out, Nyssa patted Celeste on the shoulder before pantomiming a mock salute. ¡°Good luck fellow soldier.¡±Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon. ¡°Same to you,¡± Celeste patted the white-feathered wings Nyssa had grown to fly in human form. ¡°Have some fun, my love.¡± ¡°I¡¯m sure you will more than me, since you actually enjoy letting loose,¡± Nyssa shrugged before floating off to see which area of the battlefield needed the most help. ¡°I probably will...¡± Celeste trailed off as her eyes followed Nyssa into the distance. Hovering in place, she closed her eyes and turned her attention inward. With each beat of her heart, she felt her body jolt as blood and heat rushed through her veins. Her eyes began to glow, her eyes began to glow, and her veins began to fluoresce through her skin. Starry light and heat flooded out of her as she began evaporating the fog around her. Careful to not let her entire body explode, she opened her eyes and flew downward while keeping the speed low. The heat increased and she allowed for the energy stored in her heart¡ªand now coursing through her body¡ªto streak out of her in beams. As she flew low like a fighter jet, Celeste torched every monster in her vicinity, boiling their skin off and melting their eyes as lasers cut straight through their bodies. The screams of monsters drowned in the sounds of battle as she cleared out swaths of monsters through her movement alone. She began shining like a mini-sun as the temperature of her side of the battlefield increased by a degree or two. Nyssa, relaxing a touch from the warmer temperatures, turned back to see the horror show Celeste had initiated. She, though, flew towards the cold side of the battlefield where Albion had demonstrated his domination over ice. Monsters on his side hadn¡¯t even been frozen¡ªthey had been transformed into pure ice. Albion, now half-ice, skated around towards the inflow areas of monsters, freezing them and erecting barriers to prevent more monsters from congregating. ¡°He¡¯s fine...¡± Nyssa flew towards a different area. As she flew, she wracked her brain for a transformation to purge the area of as many monsters as she could in as little time as possible. ¡°I don¡¯t want to use those ones though...¡± Several basic ideas did come to mind, but her urge for creativity pushed Nyssa to scratch the back of her head as she flew. Judging by the area she had found, she settled on a circular design and her body began to glow while in the air. Her form grew. As her head faded into the light, she clenched her teeth to maintain her focus. Expanding into a living wheel covered in metal plate¨Clike teeth, she crashed into the ground as her body began to rotate. After each second, her body spun faster and faster, shredding monsters while drawing them inward. Though her sense of self had diminished a touch maintaining this less intelligent, gargantuan form, she grew in size until she covered her own section of the battlefield. Areas where monsters had been shredded had its biomass funneled towards the center where she compacted it, leaving empty spaces for other monsters to get pushed in. Like a giant drain-garbage disposal mixture, Nyssa claimed dominion over her own section of the battlefield. With her transformation though, she began paying less attention to the battlefield¡¯s larger situation. She trusted those in charge to keep everything under control. I just have to clean this area up as fast as I can. With their teamwork, totalling thirteen people in total, the expansive battlefield ended up clearing out over the course of thirty minutes or so. As everyone untransformed and calmed down their powers though, Angelica began noticing weird similarities between the corpses strewn across the battlefield. ¡°Crystals? In everything?¡± 80: Mystery Crystals The moment she made this observation, Angelica jogged over towards Titus¡¯s side of the battlefield to confirm the presence of the crystals. It¡¯d take too long to dig them out of mine, since I killed each monster with a single hit to their weak spot. Even worse for Nyssa since the monsters are compacted into cubes. Albion would¡¯ve transformed the crystals into ice. Ryker and Celeste would¡¯ve incinerated them. Orin nature¡¯s powers kill from the outside without disturbing the body.... As she ran towards Titus¡¯s side of the battlefield, she made a mental checklist of who¡¯s areas would be worth checking. After running through each member and their powers, she settled on Titus, Electra, and Seraph¡¯s sections. Halfway across the battlefield though, she flipped and twirled in the air to cancel all her momentum. Coming to an acrobatic stop, right beside Seraph and Kael, she ignored the teasing eye roll from Seraph. ¡°Yes, I¡¯m still using the inefficient but flashy way to stop, sue me,¡± Angelica brushed her shoulder off. ¡°I have something actually important though. So you two, come with me, I¡¯ll explain on the way.¡± Without any further context, she bolted off, outpacing the acceleration of modern sports cars as her body created a gust of wind. ¡°I guess we go?¡± Kael tilted his head. His hands wandered to his swords. ¡°Yes, we go.¡± Seraph nodded with a solemn light now in her eyes. ¡°Angelica doesn¡¯t joke about these things, and we should go fast or we won¡¯t catch up.¡± Kael took off, running across the uneven battlefield as his swords began floating out of their sheaths and into the air. Seraph flew right beside him as they chased after Angelica¡¯s shrinking figure. Together, they managed to catch up right as Angelica came to a stop. Both out of breath, they shook their heads at Angelica who seemed... unfettered, as if she had just gotten up from a couch. ¡°Al... right...¡± Seraph put her hands on her knees as she looked up at Angelica. ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± ¡°I was just looking over my area of the battlefield to make sure there weren¡¯t any stragglers,¡± Angelica crouched down, brushing aside the piles of ashes and chunks of burnt flesh. ¡°When I discovered a lot of these strewn across the ground. Crystals...¡± She dug one out of a piece of flesh and held it up for the two of them to see. Its size seemed... diminutive at best. Half-opaque, half-transparent, it had an aquamarine-like sheen to it. Shaped like an oblong pearl the size of a coin, had a couple jagged crystalline outgrowths. ¡°I have a couple ideas as to where they might sit in the body because I saw a lot of them strewn on the ground in my area, and I only hit monsters in a handful of places. So what do you two think?¡± ¡°Seems... problematic,¡± Seraph murmured while stroking her chin. ¡°That¡¯s not a natural part of biology for sure. You¡¯re probably the best surgeon here though, Angelica. Orin is also... decent. He had to be medically trained to work on animals back when he did research.¡± If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°We should confirm their presence in all the animals first though... is that why you¡¯re starting here?¡± Kael looked around to a field of ash dotted with bits of burnt flesh. ¡°This is probably the best place to start.¡± ¡°Yeah, I was going to collect as many crystals as possible and store them away for research purposes,¡± Angelica pushed her hair back. ¡°Especially since this could lead to a bigger discovery that the students under me could submit as completion of their mission. From the behavior of the animals though, I do worry this could uncover a plot larger than they should be involved...¡± ¡°Cross that bridge when you get there,¡± Seraph pat Angelica on the shoulder. ¡°You¡¯re a far better teacher than we ever had back then. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll do fine. Just ask for advice, and ask for support if you ever need it. If it truly gets dire, I¡¯m still in contact with my family.¡± ¡°Thanks, though, if I''m contacting the royal family of the Lionheart Kingdom, this is a multinational emergency,¡± Angelica rolled her shoulders while standing back up. ¡°And I''d rather this not be that complicated.¡± Instead of continuing their conversation, she walked off while pulling a disk out of her back pocket. It unfolded and expanded into a half-metallic, half-leather satchel. She popped open the flap and began going to work, collecting crystals one after another. Kael, jogging off to enlist everyone else¡¯s help, left Seraph to help Angelica in this area of the battlefield. After calling everyone to the center, he explained the situation and their deliverables. After taking some opinions and surveying the students of how they could contribute, he began assigning people to teams. ¡°We need to bring as many bodies as we can from the battlefield back to the Hunter¡¯s Association. Once back there, we can begin dissecting, even enlisting the help of some specialists back at the association to learn more.¡± Kael had explained while facing the group. He went on to explain his original plan, having Mira and Orin create nets to carry a select few back. The students, once he finished, interrupted with an idea of their own. ¡°Have Albion work with Mira and Orin to create the strongest net and largest net that they can. Then have Nyssa transform into a giant dragon and have her carry it back to the Association.¡± ¡°That¡¯s... so much energy...¡± Nyssa yawned, her head already beginning to bob after the battle. Thus, the first team, dubbed the ¡°rest team,¡± had been created, consisting of Nyssa, and Nyssa alone. Transformed back into a cat, she slept on top of Celeste¡¯s head as Kael assigned the rest of the teams. Albion, Mira, and Orin went off to one side as the ¡°net building team¡± and went to work right away. Electra, Kael, and Conrad set off towards Nyssa¡¯s area as the ¡°crystal extraction team¡± with the goal of cutting through the compacted blocks of flesh Nyssa had created to recover more crystals. Titus and Celeste joined Angelica and Seraph in the ¡°crystal collecting team¡± while Ryker and Kallix created the ¡°transport team,¡± working together to bring the best carcasses from Angelica and Conrad¡¯s sides of the battlefield. --- After a couple minutes though, the Crystal collecting team ran into their first issue. Angelica sighed, looking into her satchel. ¡°I¡¯ve run out of space in my bag, what now?¡± ¡°We should¡¯ve really brought more supplies,¡± Seraph massaged the bridge of her nose. ¡°I remember we¡¯ve run into this problem before, what did we do... ah, Orin.¡± ¡°Ask Orin for more bags?¡± Titus repeated out of confusion, having just walked into earshot with Celeste. He pointed towards the center of the battlefield. ¡°He already anticipated the problem, there are extras over there.¡± ¡°Genius, genius,¡± Seraph laughed, flying away after telling Angelica to sit tight. 81: Feathered Dragons Nyssa, this time around, elected to transform into a feathered pure-white dragon. Soaring through the air with everyone¡ªbar Seraph¡ªon her back, she carried the net beneath her. With Seraph providing the directions back to the Hunter¡¯s Association, she flipped through the air as sleepy thoughts dominated her mind. ¡°Don¡¯t drop us please,¡± Celeste leaned down to hear ear and whispered as they bobbed in the air. ¡°You¡¯re doing great though.¡± Gliding in the air, Nyssa felt a tad more awake after Celeste¡¯s comforting words. After a couple minutes, they left the fog and once in the bright sky once more, everyone admired the wonderful, untouched expanse of nature stretching out in front of them. Cerbos Lake, in particular, glistened under the sun as its distant shore could be seen just at the edge of the horizon. For a brief moment, Nyssa, along with everyone else, could understand why the ancient times had called Cerbos Lake an ocean instead. Due to their decent flying speed though, they began descending not long later. Like a plane out of the sky, Nyssa flew in slow circles while in the air far above the Hunter¡¯s Association¡¯s empty field. Having called ahead, the Hunter¡¯s Association matched the description of Nyssa¡¯s transformation to the dragon in the sky and didn¡¯t blast the creature out of the sky. After a long, but gentle descent, Nyssa set the net on the ground before letting everyone disembark. Once they had, she transformed back into a cat and dove into Celeste¡¯s arms for an extended nap. ¡°Good job,¡± Celeste stroked the cat¡¯s head while patting it to sleep and cradling it in her arms. ¡°Get some rest after today.¡± Employees from the association walked out from the building, admiring the undamaged bodies now-laying across the grass. The net, having been reinforced by Mira and Albion, began melting into both water and wisps of blue energy, and before long, only vines remained in place. ¡°Impressive work,¡± One worker clapped his hands before scratching his head and looking around. ¡°Where did the dragon go though? I thought one of you would be a dragon tamer with how well controlled it was.¡± ¡°Transformation,¡± Angelica pointed towards the white fluffy cat now asleep in Celeste¡¯s arms. ¡°A good guess but you were off the mark.¡± ¡°Ohhh... a super-powered cat, I¡¯ve never heard of animals having powers before, but it makes sense if that¡¯s the case...¡± The worker stroked his chin. Everyone, at this point though, gave him a stare. Angelica, in particular, looked towards Kael, her gaze in disbelief. A creative assertion for sure, but one far from good this time around. ¡°It¡¯s a person,¡± Ryker broke the silence, speaking up with his hands behind his head. ¡°Who transformed into something else, and is now asleep. It''s easier to sleep as a cat than a person if we¡¯re just standing around like this after all.¡± ¡°Ah...¡± The guild worker nodded after taking a second. Their eyes seemed to say ¡°I don¡¯t believe you,¡± but everyone, by now, didn¡¯t care to convince him. ¡°I wonder how Nyssa does sleep in transformation,¡± Titus reached over and stroked Nyssa''s head. ¡°Celeste do you know?¡± Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Well...¡± Celeste thought back to her conversations with Nyssa. In them, she had learned about Nyssa''s entire situation, her family''s entire situation, and everything Nyssa could remember about her powers. She had shared hers too. Of course, they hadn''t done it in one go, but after spending enough hours together, everything ended up tumbling out at some point or another. ¡°She explained it with a potential energy metaphor.¡± ¡°Like physics?¡± Titus squished one of Nyssa¡¯s paws. ¡°Yeah, pretty much that out of all her transformations, because she¡¯s spent so much time as a cat, both human and cat are energetically low enough that she recovers more than she¡¯s expending,¡± Celeste took a turn squishing Nyssa¡¯s paw. By now, Nyssa¡¯s sleeping face had contorted a slight touch and she batted both of their hands away before curling up again in Celeste¡¯s arms. ¡°Interesting,¡± Titus stroked his chin. ¡°That just makes me wonder if she¡¯s a cat or not secretly in disguise. Maybe this guild worker is onto something.¡± ¡°Oh, are you talking about our theory?¡± Albion walked over with Conrad. ¡°That Nyssa¡¯s secretly a cat not a human?¡± ¡°She spends enough time as a cat to be one,¡± Conrad raised his eyebrows. Reaching out to pet Nyssa, he received a slight slap on the wrist from both Celeste and Titus. ¡°What?¡± ¡°She already batted us away,¡± Titus explained, ¡°Let her sleep, she took a big section of the battlefield and carried us all back.¡± ¡°Got it, got it,¡± Conrad nodded. ¡°But yeah, that was a theory we were joking around with.¡± ¡°I mean... I¡¯d hope not,¡± Celeste looked down at Nyssa in her arms. ¡°I¡¯d rather date a human than a cat after all.¡± ¡°True, true.¡± ¡°That would raise some moral quandaries.¡± ¡°Imagine the post online... my girlfriend turned out to be a cat... that¡¯s like the would you love me if I was a worm but actualized...¡± Only after a couple of exchanges did all three of them look at each other as enlightenment dawned in their eyes. They froze, and an awkward silence broke out between them. ¡°Wait a second, is this dating confirmation? You two are dating?¡± Titus blinked. ¡°... Oh, I guess it is,¡± Celeste coughed into her fist as she shook her head in exasperation. ¡°Well, it is what it is, I''m surprised you three haven¡¯t noticed. It¡¯s not like we¡¯re hiding it.¡± ¡°Cooked, it¡¯s cooked,¡± Albion laughed while patting Conrad. Conrad, with an empty tundra behind his eyes, froze in place like a statue. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, he¡¯ll recover in a minute or two,¡± Titus reassured. ¡°Congratulations though, we wish you two good times.¡± ¡°Is it worth asking Nyssa about the whole cat thing though?¡± Albion looked down at the cat. Nyssa, unperturbed by the conversation, frolicked through dreamland living her best life: getting to sleep in her dreams. ¡°I... have,¡± Celeste nodded after a second. ¡°She reassured me that she was human. There are some more specifics that you can ask her about. But her family did apparently wonder about it at one point, especially since as long as she could remember, both transformations have been so comfortable, and the doctors also ruled out the fact that she was a cat.¡± ¡°Nothing to worry about then,¡± Titus offered a fist-bump. ¡°Why the hesitation though?¡± ¡°Because apparently her powers are near otherworldly,¡± Celeste shrugged. ¡°They have no true limits if you really think about it... She outclasses everyone in the world, and is quite a danger. How can I not worry about her? She¡¯d be a prime target for kidnapping for... quite literally anyone.¡± The trio in front of her, after a brief moment, fell silent as well. All of them had experienced similar concerns about themselves before... but their classmate of theirs did indeed have a unique draw no one else would have. ¡°Stop worrying so much, it¡¯s our job to protect her,¡± Angelica¡¯s voice interrupted all of their thoughts. She went around ruffling everyone¡¯s hair. ¡°Come on, help do some dissection, this is good hands-on learning.¡± 82: Willing Note Taking In a fortunate turn of events, the guild managed to find a hunter with medical expertise. As a hunter who split his time between working as a doctor and a hunter, he had just finished up a morning of practice before heading to the guild. Before he could take an assignment and leave, Kael and Orin had cornered him and had asked for his help. With the addition of another expert, the three hunters who had surgical skills worked together to begin dissecting the monsters laying out on the net outside of the Hunter¡¯s Association. They worked fast as the sun rays peeked through the clouds, heating and rotting the bodies below. Of the three, Angelica, with focused eyes, utilized her abilities to the maximum. Her hands operated without a single wasted movement, twice the speed of the others as she zoned in, taking in no stimuli other than the task at hand. ¡°It¡¯s still quite a sight to see her work,¡± Seraph cupped her cheek with one hand. ¡°Even after all these years.¡± ¡°Yeah? It¡¯s been a while since you two have seen each other, right?¡± Kael murmured from beside her. He too, stood mesmerized by Angelica¡¯s quick work. ¡°Would you say that she¡¯s improved since the last time you¡¯ve seen it?¡± ¡°Well... I meant it a little differently,¡± Seraph¡¯s gaze deepened as she stared off into the space in front of her. ¡°She just is able to bring a level of focus I¡¯ve never seen elsewhere. She maximizes her human ability. It¡¯s hard to believe, but she¡¯s just... an ordinary human in all honesty. She represents the maximum an unpowered human could reach. As we had grown up, she could be considered as the pinnacle of perfection. That was her nickname too... Any work she does, we could all aspire to reach.¡± ¡°I... see,¡± Kael stroked his chin. ¡°She certainly fights as if she has a blanket physical enhancement ability. So that¡¯s certainly a new perspective on things.¡± While those on the sidelines chatted and watched the surgeries unfold, Angelica began making headway into the mystery. She dissected each monster from head-to-toe, checking if any had multiple crystals lodged inside of their bodies. She, along with the others though, always found the crystals in one place. In the back of the skull, planted right into and replacing part of the brainstem. As she ripped out each crystal and tossed it aside, assistants¡ªstudents or guild workers depending on the instance¡ªput the crystal into a collection bag beside her. After they went through a handful of monsters, Angelica, Orin, and the doctor-hunter decided to call it quits, as they had found no deviation from the pattern. ¡°We should send these off, I guess?¡± Angelica pushed her hair back as a bead of sweat ran down her temple. ¡°Let¡¯s keep quiet about them in case it''s related to something larger. But let¡¯s send it to one of the official laboratories for them to take a closer look at.¡± ¡°It¡¯s probably causing aggression,¡± The helper they had found pulled off his pair of gloves. With gray hair and a stubble, he seemed much more worn than Angelica. ¡°You all mentioned you recovered these from a massive outbreak, correct? These have traces of energy just wafting off of them. I remember a series of controversial papers that dealt with a similar concept of experimental enhancers several decades ago.¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°Woah,¡± Kallix couldn¡¯t help but exclaim, ¡°That¡¯s some impressive knowledge. I¡¯m glad we found you.¡± ¡°No, no, it¡¯s nothing special,¡± The man reassured. ¡°Anyone who¡¯s in a biologically-related field my age would recognize this type of item. It had enough controversy back then that no one would forget it. This though... seems like a much more refined version of anything I had heard about back then.¡± ¡°Huh, well, it''s a lead if nothing else,¡± Angelica massaged her wrists before turning towards Kael and Seraph. ¡°Sorry to involve you all in this.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s good practice, we were going to patrol anyway, so I¡¯m glad you helped us catch something as important as this,¡± Kael reassured as everyone began walking towards the Association¡¯s building. As they left, the guild workers stayed behind to clean up and dispose of the bodies according to guild regulations. ¡°... So what do we do now?¡± Ryker mumbled as he followed Electra into the Hunter¡¯s Association building. The other five students followed along behind him as they stayed silent behind the professionals. ¡°Obviously this is evolving to a scale that¡¯s beyond us.¡± ¡°I mean, we can still help, it''s not like we¡¯re lacking in terms of power,¡± Electra patted Ryker on the shoulder. ¡°Think about it, the graduate division students deal with work like this all the time, and we¡¯re less than a year out from getting there.¡± ¡°True, true,¡± Ryker raised his chin back up. ¡°I¡¯ll leave the technical know-how to the professionals for now though. Paper reading is the bane of my existence.¡± Just as the words left Ryker¡¯s mouth though, Angelica backed off from the group up ahead. After exchanging some pleasantries and checking in with the students, she flashed a brilliant smile. ¡°It seems like you all will have some homework tonight. I¡¯ll send over some review papers and news articles for you all to read. It¡¯s good to familiarize yourself with what you¡¯re up against. However, because they¡¯re all from so long ago, take all the information with a grain of salt because you never know what has been mitigated, lost, or improved.¡± ¡°This can¡¯t be a coincidence...¡± Ryker fell to his knees as everyone else began laughing. Angelica¡¯s confused look and concern though, revealed the sad truth of the situation. ¡°I¡¯ve cursed myself... I must¡¯ve become too hubristic and the heavens took to punishing me.¡± ¡°Al... right, good luck with that,¡± Angelica shook her head with a faint smile. ¡°Just make sure to take care of yourself. We¡¯ll be doing a debrief soon in the adjacent room. Feel to come listen, but it''s not critical. We¡¯ll be discussing how to get in contact with various labs, scheduling a send off, and sending out a message to the other patrol teams.¡± ¡°Any recommendations on things we could do other than listen? Because though it seems a little boring, it''s useful information nonetheless,¡± Ryker asked, climbing back to his feet. Angelica tapped her chin, and without much coming to mind, she shrugged. After seeing her reaction, everyone looked at each other before agreeing to the meeting. They followed her in, dragged chairs from the side, and began listening in while taking a couple notes here and there. Electra and Ryker in particular, took detailed notes for themselves, storing their notes away into important folders on their phone. ¡°Surprisingly useful,¡± Ryker murmured to Electra. ¡°For sure,¡± Electra looked to their side, resisting the urge to join Albion, Titus, Conrad, and Celeste in just listening. ¡°Nyssa is still fast asleep though, impressive how she does it.¡± ¡°Impressive indeed, a starfish-position as a cat? She must be tired,¡± Ryker nodded without looking up from his notes. ¡°Also what did they say again about contacting the laboratory again?¡± ¡°Ah, they mentioned the protocol of sending in a formal request. Then, if it''s urgent, to reach out to the managing director with your situation...¡± 83: Life of an Automaton A janky automaton folded itself together and whirred to life in the forest. It unfolded from a small, silver disk the size of a plate to a medium-sized dog-like creature. Its eyes lit up blue as it sniffed around and walked in a few slow circles. After a couple minutes, its blue eyes flashed and a red light on its stomach¡¯s underside began to blink. It slunk through the forest¡¯s undergrowth, weaving and bobbing while trying to avoid any and all natural wildlife. At one point, cornered by a wolf, it let out a last resort jet of acid to scare it off before finishing the last of its forest leg and streaking across the wasteland. Running for half-an-hour, with breaks taken only to avoid the area¡¯s natural wildlife, the automaton arrived at the edge of an ice-covered battlefield. After testing the ice with a few shaky steps, it paused, letting the computer in its body load for a second before spikes poked out from the bottom of its feet. Slow, but careful movements through the still frozen forest of monsters led it to the center of the battlefield where just a couple of bodies laid in rest. Navigating around the scavengers digging through the carcasses for the best pieces of meat, the automaton sniffed around until the red light on its stomach stopped blinking. Quiet clicks and clacks began ringing out from its interior as its body morphed into a disk once more. Once flat on the ground, it shifted into a different form, one with a slender drill and storage compartment. Buzzing to life with the faintest hiss, it disappeared into the ground before the nearby scavengers who had been piqued by the sound wandered over to investigate. Dirt flew into the air, rocks too ranging from the size of miniscule pebbles to eraser-like lumps. Deep underground, the drill followed a faint signal emanating from within the earth. Its spinning, though, came to a stop before it reached too deep into the earth. With the sound of metal hitting metal, the drill¡¯s head bumped into the now-dull casing of a metallic orb. The head of the drill opened up and enveloped the orb in a split-second action. The orb itself slid down the center of the drill and into the storage container sitting at the drill¡¯s backend. A couple more clicks, whirrs, and spins later, the drill had morphed into one large cube. Heat began emanating from the cube¡¯s surface, it glowed red hot and the sound of metal being crushed marked the orb¡¯s quick destruction. Not to leave any traces behind though, the cube itself began melting away, half from heat and the rest from overflowing acid. Seconds later, nothing remained in its space. The dirt and rocks caved in on themselves, creating a small dent unnoticeable from the ground¡¯s surface as all the liquid traces of the cube flowed deeper into the ground. --- ¡°Success. All traces eliminated,¡± A static-filled voice from a worn-out speaker spoke into a closed-off room. The rest of the room though, could not have more contrast to the dirty speaker. Shining, gleaming, unblemished, the room felt lifeless as metallic masks decorated the walls. In the center, a half-metal heart beat with the force of a drum while glowing an eerie faint red. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. A dark silhouetted figure rested in an egg-like chair. Wreathed in shadowy smoke, it reached out with slender fingers and tapped on the keyboard sitting beside it with slow clicks. Elsewhere in the hidden complex though, workers with masks rushed around in frantic motions to keep track of the tens of screens dotted through the complex. Around each screen huddled a team of three to four, some with computers, some with controllers, and others with packets upon packets of procedures. ¡°Is the southern lab still hidden?¡± ¡°No abnormalities.¡± ¡°Updates on the stimulator in the north?¡± ¡°Destroyed, and relayed to the leader.¡± ¡°Good.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the situation with the test leviathan?¡± ¡°We¡¯re about to stimulate it, the fighting with the naturally occuring leviathan rampage is in full swing. Because the fighting is over water, we are confident in the fact that it will sink into the ocean following its defeat.¡± ¡°Hmm... approved. Proceed with caution.¡± --- Warships floated in the ocean, rocking in the waves as their cannons let loose barrage after barrage of ammunition towards towering, half-submerged leviathans. Most charges shot towards the leviathans though, did little more than a dent on the tough hide and armored plates covering each creature. The main fighting force, instead, consisted of hunting teams whizzing about above the ocean¡¯s surface. Equipped with government-subsidized technology, they had braces around their heads to enhance their dynamic vision, trackers on their chests to ensure the warships didn¡¯t hit them, and jet propulsion systems around their waist to keep them above water. Because they could release far more power in a short amount of time, hunters served an invaluable role in suppressing outbreaks. Roxanne, having been dragged out with her team to help suppress this particular leviathan outbreak in conjunction with a number of other teams, couldn¡¯t help but take a break midair. She wiped a layer of sweat from her forehead as a sharp pain drilled into the area between her eyebrows. After popping a pill into her mouth, she let it dissolve under her tongue as her summons seemed to revitalize and rush back into the fight. As she rested, another wave of attacks came flying past her from the warships behind. Flying forward at breakneck speeds, some collided with the first few leviathans, but others flew further inward, hitting leviathans nearer to the center of the pack. One leviathan in particular though, began thrashing around in the middle of the pack. In pain, it agitated the others around it further. Noticing the quick chain reaction in aggression, Roxanne tilted her head to the side and pressed a button. ¡°Get back, get back, let the government suppress the general movements with their cover fire. It¡¯s dangerous right now.¡± The other team leaders issued orders along a similar vein, and before long, everyone had congregated towards the side together. ¡°That¡¯s not a normal reaction is it,¡± One of the leaders jetted over and asked Roxanne. ¡°This is only my first time doing a leviathan suppression though, so I wanted to ask.¡± ¡°No... it''s definitely not normal...¡± Roxanne trailed off as other team leaders came over as well. ¡°One of the government agents is in my ear saying that we should get in there and capitalize,¡± A team leader spoke up as she came to a stop beside Roxanne. She crossed her arms as a frown appeared on her face. ¡°They¡¯re saying it was a lucky shot from a warship, but I somehow doubt that.¡± ¡°Yeah, everyone hold back for a moment, it¡¯s a dangerous situation and your lives are the most important,¡± Roxanne brushed her hair back and held it with one hand. ¡°They won¡¯t believe us so there¡¯s no point in considering an investigation, but we should adjust our tactics right now.¡± 84: Falling Back Asleep In The Morning Unaware of the undercurrents sweeping all around the world, Nyssa could only describe life in the north as... peaceful. After the first patrol where they had gone with a group of other hunters, they had gone alone, taking different routes and venturing further into the wilderness. Given the more relaxed schedule they had settled into though, she had managed to slip a nap into each day. Today, she hoped, would be no different. Sun shined through the window of their dorm as she blinked her eyes open. Cuddled up in Celeste¡¯s embrace, she shifted her hip the slightest bit before looking upward. Staring at her girlfriend¡¯s sleeping face, she admired the view until the warmth emanating from Celeste began stimulating her drowsiness once more. She snuggled up into the crook of Celeste¡¯s neck, squeezed her into a tighter hug, and closed her eyes to let herself be taken back into the land of dreams. Half-an-hour later, Celeste yawned as she dragged herself back into the land of the awake. Looking down to see a white-haired girl curled up between her arms, she smiled and began patting Nyssa¡¯s head, running her hand through her hair, and pinching her cheek. Craning her neck to check the time, she almost laughed seeing the clock not even read nine in the morning yet. With Angelica planning a late start for this particular day, Celeste looked between her phone and the girl in her arms. A half-second of consideration later, she retracted her arm back under the blanket to hug Nyssa. Who didn¡¯t like their girlfriend cuddling up to them? --- It didn¡¯t take long for Celeste to fall back asleep either. Everyone had been worn down by the schedule Angelica had created for them. Sure, it had breaks, but every other bit of the agenda had been packed to the brim. Angelica, to the best of her ability, had plans of activities down to every ten seconds of their working day. The others, as the morning progressed, trickled out of their rooms. Angelica had been the first. She sat on the couch in the center of their cabin with her feet kicked up on a footrest while scrolling through her phone. Holding a cup of tea in her other hand, she took slow sips while enjoying her morning. Titus could be counted as the second to wake, but his tenure in the waking world consisted only of a bathroom break before he retired back to his bed. The true second to wake? Albion. He stumbled out of his room with drowsy eyes, a bottle of water in one hand, and a disheveled head of hair. After making his way to the refrigerator like a hungover zombie with a neurodegenerative disease, he refilled his bottle with ice-cold water before beginning to down it as fast as he could. ¡°... Morning?¡± Angelica raised her eyebrows as Albion exhaled a misty breath. She turned her head to take a better look, following Albion with her eyes as he walked in a couple slow circles before slapping himself on the face several times. ¡°Morning,¡± Albion¡¯s voice had dropped an octave after he just woke up. Surprising himself a little more awake, he cleared his throat before sitting down on the couch opposite from the one Angelica had taken up residence in. ¡°I assume I¡¯m the first to wake up?¡± The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°Pretty much,¡± Angelica nodded as she began reading the news on her phone. ¡°Among everyone I think you naturally fall on the end of needing less sleep.¡± ¡°What¡¯s your scale for that?¡± Albion leaned back, taking slow sips. ¡°I¡¯m assuming you¡¯re all the way at the minimum sleep needed?¡± ¡°Not quite, I¡¯ve met people with abilities that let them function completely without sleeping,¡± Angelica shrugged. ¡°I¡¯m just a normal human, I need around two to three hours of sleep per night.¡± ¡°Sounds... so normal.¡± Albion grumbled, shaking his head. ¡°Don¡¯t doctors recommend around seven hours or something?¡± ¡°Well, my body just... optimizes my sleep. I sleep extremely heavily and my body recovers faster,¡± Angelica shrugged. ¡°Anyhow, it¡¯d probably be Electra who needs less than you. Then Conrad, but as Conrad grows he should need less and less, I¡¯ve seen the amount decrease over time here which is... a little over a year.¡± ¡°Nyssa obviously needs the most,¡± Albion guessed, taking another sip of water as Electra stumbled out of her room to the bathroom. ¡°She¡¯s... well, I think she could get by with a lot less, she could survive on an average amount of sleep, but she just doesn¡¯t want to,¡± Angelica facepalmed with a slight smile tugging at the corners of her lips. ¡°Ryker is slightly above average, surprisingly while the last two, Celeste and Titus are around average. Though, as time passes, Celeste, I presume, will sleep more.¡± ¡°I wonder why...¡± Albion looked towards the closed door to the room Celeste and Nyssa shared. ¡°Sleep does help though. I find it keeps me fresh for longer when I¡¯m really pushing my powers.¡± ¡°Definitely, there are a lot of studies investigating that and the results are quite consistent in that one of the biggest differences between getting those last couple hours of sleep is your endurance with power output,¡± Angelica sipped her cup of tea. ¡°Maybe I should have you all begin reading papers more often.¡± ¡°I... I think we¡¯re fine for now,¡± Albion nodded, coughing into his fist as his life flashed before his eyes. ¡°Maybe just save it for later in the year, or to, you know, the upperclassmen only.¡± ¡°Noted, noted,¡± Angelica smiled, a twinkle appearing in her eye. ¡°Oh, would you look at that, one of the upperclassmen.¡± Electra, with her brushed, and eyes open, appeared out of the bathroom looking like a whole new person. Still dressed in her pajamas, she wandered down the stairs while waving to Albion and Angelica. Vaulting over one of the single person¨Csized couches, she took a seat facing perpendicular from the axis Albion and Angelica sat on. ¡°Morning, morning,¡± Electra¡¯s voice crackled as a spark flew across her mouth. ¡°What have you two been talking about?¡± ¡°Not much, just about who needs the most sleep, and how we all fall on a scale like that,¡± Albion shrugged before getting up. ¡°I¡¯m going to refill my bottle of water, you want me to pour you some?¡± ¡°Ah, for sure, thanks,¡± Electra yawned, ¡°Add some hot water though, I can¡¯t drink permafrost temperature water like you can.¡± ¡°Of course, of course, I¡¯m not that stupid, I know how to pour water for others,¡± Albion walked into the kitchen area without turning back. ¡°Ready for the day?¡± Angelica smiled at Electra. ¡°It¡¯s probably going to be a tough one.¡± ¡°Tougher than the rest?¡± Electra raised an eyebrow in concern. ¡°I mean... yeah,¡± Angelica¡¯s smile widened. ¡°Why else would I give you all the morning off?¡± ¡°Oh hell nah,¡± Electra stood up from her chair and walked off back to her room. ¡°I¡¯m gonna get some more sleep then.¡± ¡°So... no water?¡± Albion called out from the kitchen as concern crept into his voice as well. ¡°Nope,¡± Electra waved as she sprinted back up the stairs and disappeared into her room. After Electra¡¯s disappearance though, Angelica couldn¡¯t help but let out a slight chuckle in amusement as she took another sip of tea. 85: Teacher Betrayal Nyssa and the others did get out of bed before lunch¡ªmuch to the surprise of Angelica. Of course, in her opinion, the lunch she cooked did help with the task, but even she recognized her limits. Nyssa, in particular, must have expended a herculean effort to leave both Celeste and the bed¡¯s embrace. Having made rice and stew, she served a bowl of hot rice and steaming stew to everyone sitting around the table. She, herself, sat at the head of the table eating her own portion. ¡°Morning everyone, hope you all are well-rested. We have a long day ahead of us. Well... long couple of days.¡± ¡°Couple of days?¡± Ryker questioned without missing a beat, voicing the concern popping into everyone¡¯s mind. ¡°We¡¯ve only been doing single day excursions up until now.¡± ¡°Up until now,¡± Angelica smiled while motioning for them to continue eating. ¡°This next one will be... two days, I estimate, potentially three, but it depends how fast we finish our investigation. While you all were sleeping, I did you all a favor and packed everything you¡¯ll need, and left them by the doorway.¡± Silence descended on the room as all the students stopped eating. Angelica, still smiling, pointed towards the kitchen. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, eat up. I have plenty for everyone to have seconds, or even thirds if they want.¡± ¡°How could you betray us like this?¡± Ryker mumbled. ¡°You were supposed to be one of us. An ally against the forces of evil bureaucracy and responsibility.¡± ¡°Well, you and I both know you¡¯ll grow better this way, and it won¡¯t be too bad, trust me. Although it¡¯ll be tiring, it¡¯ll be a good time, a productive time, and well-within your limits. I may be young, but I am an award-winning teacher,¡± Angelica laced her fingers together and propped her chin onto them. ¡°We¡¯ll be leaving in forty-five minutes. So, once you eat up, grab anything you might want to grab and meet by the front door.¡± --- Forty-five minutes later, everyone went through their last preparations. With everything they¡¯d need slung on their back or hanging off their arms, each student gathered outside the cabin¡ªnot before doing a double take the moment they passed through the doorway though. Angelica, in a moment of kindness, had rented out an all-terrain vehicle for their group. Decked out with six wheels, and a high suspension, it seemed like the love-child between a military vehicle and a yellow school bus. The interior, from what they could glimpse on their tiptoes, had a driver¡¯s area in the front, a storage area in the back, and a U-shaped seating area in the middle. ¡°See, I told you it wouldn¡¯t be too bad,¡± Angelica shrugged, twirling a set of keys around her finger. ¡°Pack your belongings in the back, I¡¯m going to grab some of my own stuff. I¡¯ll keep it in the front though, so no need to save space in the back for me.¡± Still a little sullen, the students gave a quick response before Ryker and Electra led the packing of the car. They directed Albion, Conrad, Titus, Nyssa, and Celeste to help load and organize while pitching in themselves. Before long, after Angelica returned, they saddled up in their own seats, buckled their seatbelts with a click, and leaned back into the cushioned u-shaped long couch chair they all shared, ready for the upcoming ride. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. ¡°So,¡± Angelica fired up the engine as the car-bus hybrid shook with a deep roar. ¡°The details of our mission are quite vague as you all know. It¡¯s mostly an open-ended mission to investigate the north with a reward based on what is discovered. Now though, there is something more to investigate. Some of the further patrol teams discovered wreckages and underground metal plates. In particular, it seems that the natural wildlife began digging in those areas and uncovered them.¡± ¡°Why are we the ones investigating instead of those who discovered it then? Wouldn¡¯t they want to monopolize the rewards?¡± Titus asked as Angelica began easing the car forward. ¡°They were already quite handsomely rewarded for the discovery. Especially because they traced out a lot of different locations. Therefore, they¡¯re handing out locations to different groups based on combat ability, after all, the group that found this is more reconnaissance focused,¡± Angelica slammed the gas pedal, letting the vehicle roar forward with an aggressive whine. ¡°We, as a group, are actually rated quite highly, and have confidence. In part because you all are individually very powerful, and in part because there are many of us. Thus, we¡¯re going to one of the larger, more potentially dangerous locations.¡± ¡°Man... what a nice privilege...¡± Albion shook his head, an air of disappointment seeping into the sigh leaving his mouth. ¡°I expect a lot of ravenous wildlife, but nothing much beyond that. You never know though, and it¡¯d be quite exciting to discover more,¡± Angelica tapped her chin as they drove around the town and through the wilderness. Checking the rearview mirror, she paused for a second. ¡° Now, if you look in the compartment below... Electra, you¡¯ll find printouts giving a general rundown of the current situation, objectives, things to look for, and more. It¡¯s big picture stuff that is good preparation. I¡¯d prefer if you all read it now, or have one person read it out loud to the others if people get motion sickness.¡± --- Many days ago, as the reconnaissance team uncovered the beginnings of their major discovery. Everyone stayed within half-a-minute¡¯s sprinting distance to each other as they documented every observation and theory they could come up with. One man traced his finger along the gleaming metal corner peeking out of the ground. Destroyed electronics chewed through by the natural wildlife sat strewn across the ground. His observation here ended up being the first line of their formal document: [This seems to be the traces of a larger organization, every place we¡¯ve found follows similar building practices.] As another man pieced together the bits of the electronics, they continued the creation of their report. [Color scheme-wise and technologically, it¡¯s very consistent across locations. Technology used seems to be home-made as none of it matches up with known manufacturers. Estimated tech-level though is only a few years behind the most cutting edge tech showing up in research institutions.] [An estimation of their technological level would be the one of a modern-day consumer.] The investigation team backed off as the sound of rustling filled their ears from the forest behind them. Taking shelter in the trees, they watched as another herd of animals wandered over before pawing at the dirt surrounding the exposed metal corner. After taking measurements with their devices though, they couldn¡¯t find a signal of any type. [Each exposed base seems to emit some sort of signal. Or has started emitting a signal that draws over the natural wildlife. Unable to reach the source though, the wildlife leaves after a period of time.] The current herd of animals, after a quiet, single-minded ten minutes, ended up leaving as well. [All these observations are corroborated by several different examples.] 86: A Vehicular Monster Conrad and Ryker ended up bonding during the ride over the vehicle¡¯s engine. Angelica, as a fellow motorsport, revved the engine as they went over bumps. The vehicle itself could only be considered a monster, it roared every time, sending birds flying into the sky while plowing a path through the undergrowth. Having chosen a path less forested than usual, Angelica avoided total ecological destruction as they made their way into the wasteland. Even with enough suspension to put a monster truck to shame, the ride through the cratered area took its toll on the passengers. Electra closed her eyes and leaned against the headrest with her arms crossed. Celeste did the same. Nyssa, to cope better, transformed into a fictional blob-like creature incapable of feeling motion sick to continue reading the information pamphlet Angelica had handed out. ¡°Do you think we¡¯ll take air?¡± Conrad cheered, pumping his fist as he leaned forward to have a better view out of the front. ¡°Look at that huge crater over there, Angelica, you have to take it.¡± ¡°I¡¯m here to drive smoothly,¡± Angelica denied with a slight shake of the head. ¡°Well, as smoothly as I can while getting us to the destination as fast as possible.¡± From an outside perspective though, the rest of the passenger¡¯s considered her statement hard to believe. The vehicle drifted through corners as she did her best rally driver impression, leaping over smaller craters, taking air every few minutes, and getting every bit¡¯s worth out of her car¡¯s warranty. Her actions stupefied other teams as well. Seraph, shielding her eyes from the sun, paused as they saw the six-wheeled monster tearing up the wasteland from a distance. ¡°That¡¯s Angelica, I¡¯d recognize that driving anywhere. I bet she¡¯s driving quite tamely right now judging from how it¡¯s... not spending more time in the air than on the ground.¡± ¡°She¡¯s that crazy of a driver?¡± Kallix crossed his arms. ¡°Didn¡¯t take her for the type. She seems like she¡¯d be an amazing precision race car driver if anything.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t get me wrong, she is amazing at that whenever she wants to,¡± Seraph put her hands on her hips. A sigh left her lips, and she turned back towards their own business ¡°She just... doesn¡¯t care for that. She¡¯s an adrenaline chaser, so having it under control fully doesn¡¯t draw her attention as much.¡± ¡°And a teacher,¡± Kael took one last glance at the six-wheeled vehicle as it sent a cloud of dust into the air with a drift. ¡°What an interesting person.¡± --- Hours later, Angelica eased the vehicle to a stop as they left the civilized world far behind. Empty, flat, gray wasteland stretched out in all directions. Rocks seemed more common than anything else as a rare tree or bush could be spotted in the distance. Given the flatness of the area though, as everyone got out of the vehicle, their field of view stretched far into the distance as the horizon seemed to retreat away from them. If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Conrad and Ryker hopped down and landed on the ground without much effort. Still refreshed, they high-fived each other along with Angelica. As the sound of their high-fives rang out in the area though, the others came sliding out of the car like disembodied slugs. Albion, in a moment of kindness, had created handheld ice-balls they could hold in their hands and press against their faces. ¡°I... don¡¯t feel so great,¡± Albion laid on the ground and enveloped himself in a cocoon of ice, leaving only his face exposed to the outside world. ¡°You can say that again,¡± Celeste echoed as she pushed back the urge to vomit. Her stomach, at the same time, grumbled, drawing her to reach over for one of the saltine crackers Electra had pulled out from the back. Nyssa, in the meantime, transformed back into a human. Looking around while going through a basic stretch routine to wake herself back up, she couldn¡¯t help but notice the opening in the ground. The entrance to the cave sat flush with the ground, even more, the cave¡¯s dark interior made it near invisible from a distance. A mild entrance size in addition to the rest made it tough to spot from the sky. So how did they find this place then? Nyssa stroked her chin, falling into an idle train of thought. Her eyes wandered, trying to spot if any clues could be gleaned from their surroundings. Birds did land in the area more than other areas...? Yet, not a single other animal could be spotted, even with the manual mentioning how these complexes would attract more of the natural wildlife, Nyssa, herself, couldn¡¯t spot any natural wildlife to be attracted... A mild gust of wind snaked its way through the wasteland, keeping the area cool as the sun peeked its way out of the usual blanket cloud cover. The wind seemed to ebb and flow, and those with longer hair felt it blow around a bit during the heavier moments. Once they had settled down, finished their preparations, and gathered back into a group, Angelica had them do some preliminary setting up. Camps, sleeping areas, the like, while keeping their more valuable belongings in the vehicle. ¡°You¡¯ll be tired when we get back, so let¡¯s do this stuff now, so your later selves will thank you,¡± Angelica explained as she pitched her own tent within a couple swift motions. ¡°There¡¯s also no real worry about some random bear coming in and wrecking it all since... Well, this section of the wasteland is desolate, there¡¯s barely any known natural wildlife, and one of the known ones, for example, is a grasshopper. That¡¯s not going to wreck your tent, obviously.¡± ¡°Unless the grasshopper is the size of a tank...¡± Conrad murmured as they thought back to some of the gargantuan insects they had fought a couple days prior. ¡°They aren¡¯t, don¡¯t worry,¡± Angelica reassured as they reconvened near the opening in the ground. She crouched down by the edge of the opening and pointed inward. ¡°We don¡¯t need ladders because the incline is really quite gentle. But those of you with illumination abilities, expect to get a lot of usage, so pace yourselves.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t we bring a light...¡± Celeste asked, looking around the array of set up tents. ¡°That seems like a kind of... basic tool for this type of investigation.¡± ¡°Old fashioned torches are clumsy and this specific complex we¡¯re investigating has a deadzone around it. They¡¯ve somehow blocked out the ability for technology to work. So, not only do we need to be more careful, we also need to be aware of keeping track of things without modern electronics,¡± Angelica dropped a mild bombshell before changing the topic. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, that means that, most likely, this area isn¡¯t heavily trapped.¡± ¡°... What...?¡± Titus murmured, still reeling a touch from the reveal of a technological deadzone. ¡°Hello? Are we just going to gloss over that?¡± ¡°I guess so,¡± Albion patted him on the back. ¡°Looking forward to using you as a light source for this whole day.¡± 87: Cave Diving Dirt crunched beneath their shoes as they began their descent into the cave. Titus held balls of fire, Celeste emanated a starry glow, and Electra had arcs of electricity jumping between her hands to light up the cave¡¯s interior. The light revealed rocks, sad patches of plant growth, and critters. Nyssa swore she saw them appear out of the corners of her eyes, darting around between rocks, but every time she went to take a closer look, they disappeared like wisps of smoke. ¡°Are they shadows?¡± ¡°... Probably not?¡± Celeste crouched down next to her as they tried to find where a centipede-like creature disappeared to. ¡°I mean we both saw it this time after all.¡± ¡°But we could also both be blind,¡± Nyssa countered while flipping a rock, only to see another patch of brown-gray dirt. ¡°Something about this area bugs me.¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t you transform into something that... you know, would be able to figure out why?¡± Conrad asked from the side as he strode forward with his system¡¯s blazing rings rotating around his eyes. ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be easier? Also, my system tells me there is no organic life in this area, so you two are probably seeing things.¡± ¡°Ah. Good to know,¡± Celeste stood up before helping to pull Nyssa to her feet as well. ¡°You know, Nyssa¡¯s powers don¡¯t really work like that.¡± ¡°I mean, kind of. It¡¯s... It¡¯s complicated,¡± Nyssa followed Celeste deeper into the cave. As the walls closed inward, they began walking closer, in a two-wide line, while fanning themselves as the air felt warmer. ¡°I could technically transform into something that¡¯d ¡®know¡¯ but because it¡¯s such a vague goal I¡¯m shooting for, my body will just keep transforming. It would eventually get there I think, but with situations like these, the energy price is so high, I¡¯d probably just go into a coma before I got there.¡± ¡°Good to know, wait, have you ever tried?¡± Conrad asked as he spread his arms, brushing against the rocky walls. ¡°I once tried to turn into an animal that would know how to be fully asleep while also being fully awake, and that ended up putting me in a coma for a day,¡± Nyssa scratched the side of her face. Seeing Conrad turn and stare at her with a deadpan expression, she waved her arms. ¡°I didn¡¯t know anything about physiology back then, okay? I was seven years old. It scared my dad, but I learned.¡± ¡°Yeah, I¡¯d be scared too,¡± Conrad pantomimed shooting a bow motion. ¡°That¡¯d be scary. My child, like me, I¡¯d assume, would have their own protagonist journey. I wouldn¡¯t want their journey to be cut short by something stupid.¡± ¡°We all discover our powers by being stupid though,¡± Ryker cupped his hands and called out from the back. ¡°How do you think I learned I could blow up my entire body? By doing exactly that! Scared the hell out of my parents for sure.¡± ¡°... Sounds... irresponsible,¡± Conrad crossed his arms. With Celeste and Nyssa now right behind him, he murmured a small apology and turned back forward before continuing his downward trek. This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°Never thought I¡¯d year you say that,¡± Titus called out from the middle with a laugh while giving Albion a subtle fistbump. ¡°You¡¯re the one who-¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah nobody needs to hear that,¡± Conrad cut Titus off with a sweep of his arm. ¡°We¡¯re here by the way! Metal wall!¡± True to his word, they now stood before a metal wall. Though uncolored, and quite boring by all normal metrics, it radiated heat into the cave. Still covered in a thin layer of dirt, it didn¡¯t reflect much light and blended into the cave¡¯s dirty rock walls. ¡°Not even gonna ask how they found this,¡± Conrad shook his head before standing to the side, ¡°Celeste, do you want to do the honors? If Ryker does it I think we¡¯ll just die in a cave-in.¡± A wave of agreeing murmurs ringed out from everyone in the cave. Ryker, himself, crossed his arms and nodded with an approving smile. ¡°It¡¯d be a great cave-in. One of the best of all time.¡± Nobody responded to his comment. A moment of awkward silence later, Celeste changed the topic, walking up to the metal wall. A laser shot out of her hand and began melting through the wall like an arc furnace, making quick work of the solid wall as she punctured through the tree trunk¨Cthickness wall in seconds. While carving a body-sized hole for everyone to pass through, she turned back to face Conrad. ¡°I think most of us could get through this wall, if not all of us, but I¡¯m honored you thought of me.¡± ¡°My system did an analysis and told me you were the best for the job,¡± Conrad cleared his throat before puffing his chest out. ¡°So. My actions were actually driven by logic. Like a true flawless detective protagonist.¡± ¡°I¡¯ve made the hole a little larger in case we need to leave quickly,¡± Celeste ignored Conrad¡¯s comment and motioned inward. ¡°Head on in though, it¡¯s probably safe. The lasers have definitely sterilized the interior near this wall, that¡¯s for sure.¡± Nyssa meandered her way inward, stepping off to the side to let the others through. While waiting with her hands in her pockets, she took a few cautious steps through the rubble of the first room and looked around. Nothing¡¯s left... yep. That¡¯s my girlfriend for you. Professional destruction-er. She¡¯s so cool. Monologuing to herself in the most ironic fashion possible, she waded her way back to the entrance once Angelica, the last person in their line, made it through. Together, the eight of them walked into the second room¡ªthis one untouched by lasers. Angelica passed out some cameras, some bags, some emergency radios, and gave them a short spiel before sending them off. ¡°Stay safe, that¡¯s what matters most.¡± Ryker and Electra went one way, Conrad, Titus, and Albion went off in another, Nyssa and Celeste went off in a third, and Angelica, without anyone wanting her on their team, decided to just take a fourth path. ¡°I guess that¡¯s just how it is as a teacher...¡± Angelica strolled off her with her hands in her pockets. ¡°Though it has some advantages, I guess.¡± From her pocket, she pulled her phone. On it, she opened a tracking app. It displayed the position of everyone with a small red dot and outlined the path they took with a dotted, half-transparent line in the pseudo¨Cthree dimensional map displayed on her phone¡¯s screen. Finding a dusty, but usable leather chair, she took a seat and relaxed, keeping a strict eye on the screen while letting the students investigate. Memorizing their paths and their relative positions, she created a live map of the complex in her mind while anticipating the potential unforeseen situations other teams had already experienced. 88: Camera Clicks Now in the complex, everyone¡¯s hands twitched, shoulders tensed, and eyes opened. Their collective drowsiness scurried away as if battered back by adrenaline¡¯s champion. After splitting off, each group all but lost contact with each other¡ªtheir radios could pass messages, but not without enough static to blow out someone¡¯s eardrums. Nyssa and Celeste, having formed one group, dove down a path buzzing and crackling with wrecked electronics. The usual smooth hum of common electronics had been replaced by an ugly forest of wires, chirping with life as sparks jumped from exposed wire to splintering casing. Wires may have snaked across the floor, making even the most careful step into one laden with danger, but a dim corridor greeted them in consolation. ¡°Electra doesn¡¯t trust this area?¡± Nyssa murmured while transforming from a full-body glow into a hair-only glow. ¡°It¡¯s... lit up, I mean not really lit up, it¡¯s dimly lit, but that¡¯s better than the pitch-black the others all plunged into.¡± ¡°She says the electricity would make her lose focus, not that anything in particular gives her bad vibes,¡± Celeste corrected, running her hand through Nyssa¡¯s hair with a few delicate head scratches. ¡°Has anything caught your eye so far?¡± ¡°I have no idea what we¡¯re looking for, so... no,¡± Nyssa crouched down, leaving Celeste¡¯s hand to float in midair with a new empty coldness. ¡°Like these just looked like destroyed electronics to me. You could¡¯ve told me this was some abandoned shed somewhere back at school and I would¡¯ve believed you.¡± ¡°Abandoned shed back at school?¡± Celeste took a couple steps forward and snapped a picture. As she checked the camera, ensuring she caught the mystery splotch on record. A potential soot smudge, a potential half-charred emblem, she couldn¡¯t tell, but someone else, she guessed, would be able to. Nyssa waddled forward like a humanoid duck while still crouched down. Whether out of sheer laziness or a desire to inspect the ground, even she didn¡¯t quite know. ¡°I mean, they¡¯re hidden away, but yeah, there are abandoned sheds in various parts of campus. I... think they¡¯re near the area between Class One and Class Two? Bad napping spots. Would not recommend. Zero out of ten. I got shocked once over there and decided to not go back.¡± ¡°... Oh. I did not realize that existed. I thought they used most buildings, and cleaned up the ones they didn¡¯t use. Or at least that¡¯s what they kind of advertise. You really do know the campus well,¡± Celeste followed along behind her new duck of a girlfriend. Together, they continued forward, marking the branching paths they did and didn¡¯t take while stopping to take as many pictures as they could. Did it have a weird hue? Click, picture taken. Did it look funny? Click, picture taken. Did it seem at all interesting in any way possible? Click, picture taken. They had no real complaints. If anything, they were embarking on a sightseeing trip with a little bit of active thinking. Their trek through the labyrinthian underground took them out of the electric component complex and into other areas as they mapped out the lower and lower floors. Each staircase carved deeper into the earth, dredging the pits of the terrestrial world for warmth it seemed. Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. They crossed paths with others in these stairs more often than not, as paths converged to take them deeper. After descending a few floors over the course of a couple hours, Nyssa and Celeste found a secluded, well-lit corner and took a seat. Nyssa pulled out the sealed bags of food Angelica had prepared for them, unpackaging them like school lunches¡ªat dinner, and many floors underground, and very far from any sort of school. Sat beside her, Celeste flipped through their photos with gentle button presses. Click. Click. Click... Peering over her shoulder, Nyssa couldn¡¯t help but to point at the screen. ¡°Don¡¯t you think it''s getting redder?¡± ¡°Yeah, I was about to comment on that, beyond the coloration seeming more and more red as time passed, I don¡¯t see any other patterns,¡± Celeste trailed off, her lips parting to let a quiet sigh through. ¡°Maybe we¡¯re not the best for this type of investigation stuff. There¡¯s been nothing to fight, and we¡¯re just... taking pictures of random stuff.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, it¡¯s better if there¡¯s nothing to fight,¡± Nyssa leaned against Celeste, hugging her from the side. ¡°As long as we gather enough raw data, I¡¯m sure the experts could parse it.¡± ¡°True,¡± Celeste reached out, fumbling to assemble a cracker and cheese combination. Once she pushed the two together though, she hesitated, a gentle smile broke out on her face like sun breaking apart rainclouds, and she lifted it towards Nyssa¡¯s mouth. Pushing her visitor against the sealed door named ¡®Nyssa¡¯s lips,¡¯ she laughed after Nyssa let her through. ¡°You should eat first, since you set it all up. Thank you.¡± ¡°It was no problem,¡± Nyssa mumbled in the middle of chewing, using one hand to cover her mouth and maintain a semblance of dignity. ¡°Also, did you change color? I know I can¡¯t, but if you did that would explain the trend in photos,¡± Celeste noticed Nyssa¡¯s still glowing hair. ¡°Though it looks the same to me...¡± ¡°It shouldn¡¯t have, it¡¯s not like I transformed into an RGB led light,¡± Nyssa brushed her hair forward with her hand and took a look. ¡°It¡¯s the same. Though the red does match with the warmth we¡¯re feeling I just realized. I¡¯m almost sweating while lying against you right now, and usually that¡¯s not the case.¡± ¡°Huh, good to know, we should ask the others if they¡¯re noticing a similar trend,¡± Celeste wrote a small annotation on one of the more promising photos. ¡°And yeah, it is a little warm. Albion must be suffering.¡± ¡°I am suffering,¡± Albion lumbered around the corner with Titus and Conrad trailing behind him. ¡°We heard your voices so we came over. Mind if we take a break here too?¡± ¡°Of course not,¡± Celeste pointed to the area across from her and Nyssa. ¡°Feel free to take a seat. No taking the food though.¡± A brief thank you from the three boys later, Nyssa and Celeste asked about the shift towards red. After checking their own photos, the three boys noticed a... similar trend. Having taken different routes, the rate at which their photos shifted differed from Nyssa and Celeste¡¯s, but their findings lined up by floor. ¡°Are we walking into the maw of a monster then? Into a boss fight? Why red of all colors...¡± Titus unpackaged a meal of his own. ¡°Well, I mean I assume it''s because this place is decommissioned, but it does make it seem more eerie.¡± ¡°You can say that again,¡± Nyssa ripped a piece of ham from her sandwich and tossed it into her mouth. Her hands and mouth moved to keep her eating as she swept her eyes over the weird catacomb they had ended up in. 89: Scaring One’s Pants Off Ryker and Electra ended up joining their group¡¯s impromptu meal. As they all crowded around and scarfed down their meals, their fatigue seemed to heal as energy flowed back into the group. A simple meal could do a lot. The space between the walls seemed to open up, the light seemed less harsh and more inviting, the air felt fresher, and the atmosphere created by the wreckages felt shifted from dystopian to a more light-hearted mystery. Nyssa fidgeted with the corners of her now-empty paper plate. Laying between Celeste¡¯s arms, she listened in on the conversation bouncing back and forth between the others while folding the plate¡¯s edge into a spazzy, spiked pattern. ¡°We saw this CRAZY robot looking thing. Scared my pants off! I almost took a dump right then and there. It had like twenty legs, but was just hanging from the ceiling completely destroyed. Like how someone might display a trophy!¡± ¡°Woah...¡± ¡°Really?¡± ¡°That¡¯s absolutely wild, not gonna lie.¡± ¡°We haven¡¯t seen anything at all. It¡¯s just kinda been electronics the whole way down. The lighting¡¯s been oppressive to say the least. Nice and relaxing, but a bit boring. I was expecting to fight stuff. There¡¯s been nothing that even has had the chance of getting my heart moving. Unless you count the possibility of getting an unintentional defibrillation from wires hanging on the ground.¡± ¡°That¡¯s literally just hanging out with Electra.¡± ¡°Right? That¡¯s why we haven¡¯t been particularly stimulated during this exploration. It¡¯s not like we got to take any fancy photos like you all have.¡± ¡°Well, there¡¯s always the next levels down, it¡¯s probably like a dungeon, right? With any place like this, it must be that the lower levels have more security, information, and... stuff due to their... you know. Increased awesomeness.¡± ¡°What an amazing explanation from our upperclassman right here! Everyone clap!¡± Nyssa hopped in on the round of applause to congratulate Ryker for his eloquent speech. As a friend group, they kept clapping for a couple minutes straight until Ryker¡¯s annoyance overflowed and blew up the doorway behind them¡ªliterally. Once the smoke cleared, a moment of silence filled the air. One-by-one, people began clearing their throats and packing up. The meals got shuffled back to packs as everyone feigned ignorance towards the new excavation they had just performed. ¡°Do you all want to travel together down through the lower floors though? It¡¯ll be more fun as a group,¡± Electra flexed her arm with a smile as she tried to rally everyone together. ¡°It¡¯ll be a little more high energy too!¡± ¡°Won¡¯t it be too crowded?¡± Albion pushed himself off the ground with a faint groan. He moved his legs around while rubbing his hip flexors and rolled his shoulders around. Opening his hand towards the ceiling, he flexed his fingers a few times while letting ice flow from his fingertips. ¡°I¡¯m ready to go whenever though.¡± This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°I¡¯m also down to head out right now, but I¡¯m also willing to come in a group,¡± Titus did a couple squats while slinging the bag over his back. ¡°Albion it won¡¯t be that crowded, especially if we split up through a room.¡± ¡°... True, I guess I¡¯m also down for the idea of going together,¡± Albion relented as everyone else followed up with their own murmurs of agreement. Electra, after a first pump of joy, did a five-part handshake with Titus. ¡°I knew you¡¯d support me, my good friend. My number one investor. I¡¯ll make sure to give you fifty percent of the company''s shares.¡± ¡°Thanks, I guess?¡± Titus couldn¡¯t quite make sense of Electra¡¯s high energy babbling as they set off. As a group, they snaked their way downward into the lower floors, a little slower now as a group, but in high-spirits as people joked around and lightened the mood. At the same time, with the increasing danger in the lower floors, Angelica began descending to meet up with the students. ¡°I got it!¡± Ryker called out, running forward and meeting the sparking automaton with one hand. It struggled in his hand, puncturing into his wrist and forearm before he detonated everything below his elbow to reduce it, along with its two buddies, into dust. ¡°Huh, they¡¯re really starting to come out now. What floor are we on?¡± ¡°We just got past floor ten,¡± Electra checked her observation journal. ¡°We started seeing automatons on floor eight. We ate on floor five.¡± ¡°Thanks, thanks,¡± Ryker called out as he whirled around to destroy another sneaky automaton. ¡°These are like... spiders but larger. Like baseball-sized spiders.¡± ¡°Please don¡¯t make that analogy,¡± Celeste scrunched up her face. She shot a couple laser beams out from her eyes to blow down the door on the opposite side of the room before looking towards Ryker¡¯s area. ¡°I¡¯d rather not think of these as large spiders. It just makes it a worse mental image to fight...¡± ¡°What happens if you need to fight a spider in the future then?¡± Titus asked with a gentle smile, a faint light of curiosity dancing behind his eyes. ¡°Would you end up fighting harder or be unable to fight as well? I¡¯m kind of curious because this type of mentality is split among my younger siblings. Some of them would fight way harder, and others wouldn¡¯t be able to move.¡± ¡°I think I''d be frozen for the first couple seconds, but then the adrenaline would kick in and I¡¯d fight a lot harder. Like my life, like every fiber of my being, depended on it,¡± Celeste shivered as they walked into the next room. This one, dark like the rest, seemed desolate though. Empty desks sat strewn around the room as chairs laid across the floor. Some were still upright, others were flipped like a child¡¯s temper tantrum had just swept through the area, and others had been destroyed like an adult¡¯s temper tantrum had just swept through the area. Click. Click. After everyone spent a minute snapping photos, they moved onto the next room without issue. Next room? Also desolate. Next room after? A branching path where one led to a custodian closet. Once they got to an actual branching path though, they paused until they heard footsteps coming up from behind them. Angelica, who had been communicating to them over the radio, arrived at last. She had walked through the dark without a light, and rubbed her eyes as she entered the area lit up by Celeste, Nyssa, Titus, and Electra. With the mix of colors, her face seemed dyed in orange, purple, and more. ¡°So, since this place is going so deep, I thought it¡¯d be better for me to be with you all. Don¡¯t worry about me though, I¡¯m just going to hang around the back,¡± Angelica shrugged. ¡°Probably a little further away in all honesty, to let you all live and learn. You all getting hurt of course, isn¡¯t out of the picture, but a mortal danger is far from what I¡¯d expect.¡± 90: Freight Train-Style Transformation As they grinded their way through the underground laboratory, they began splitting up to conquer separate pathways before reconvening. ¡°Like a game,¡± as Ryker put it. For Nyssa though, she decided to expedite the process a little on herself, in a way to let her expend a little less energy. Instead of taking a skill route, she decided to just transform into a brutal berserker. She grew taller than Titus¡ªthe tallest of their group, at a similar height with Ryker¡ªand her muscles swelled. Her pupils morphed into feline slits as she took on a beastman like form. Her skin, though, hardened into plates. Now adapted to the darkness with her new eyes, she dove forward without the aid of Celeste. She ran forward with the momentum of a freight train, each footstep sent dust flying into the air as cracks spread along the ground. An automaton jumped out at her from the side. CRACK. Her fist made contact and shattered its exterior casing. As she followed through with the punch, it whizzed forward, pasting against the wall in a jumble of electrical components. Unfazed by the scene of destruction, Nyssa¡¯s eyes flickered and she continued running forward. Further down the hallway, after she plowed through a room of printers, she met a rhino-sized automaton in a narrow hallway. It unfolded on the other end of the hall, humming to life as light filled its eye-sockets. Pawing at the ground, it let out mechanical snorting sounds as spikes began cropping out of its head and shoulders. With each spike glowing red hot, Nyssa and the rhino looked at each other for a brief moment. Each took a few steps forward and back at their respective ends of the hallway. Then, as if an invisible starting gun had been shot, they charged at each other. The hallway shook. The rhino-automaton accelerated like a jet as literal thrusters appeared to help it roar down the hallway. It singed the walls while running forward, each of its footsteps dug trenches into the metal flooring. Nyssa, on the other hand, faced it head-on without an ounce of fear. As they neared, she stretched her hands out, through the condensing steam, and grappled the metal rhino. Her muscles bulged. Veins popped out. Metal screeched and crumpled. In mere moments, she halted its momentum as its spikes shattered against her armored skin. Her transformation shifted as she began crushing the rhino with pure strength. Her body reddened, her feline ears shifted into horns, and spikes appeared on her shoulders. Her face, now demonic, smiled as the rhino had been suppressed. ¡°Nyssa, do you need support?!¡± Celeste shouted out from behind as her footsteps echoed down the hallway. ¡°No.¡± Nyssa cackled, opening her mouth as a bright flash of light appeared, exploding outward with a high-pitched screech. Celeste, still at the other end of the hallway, paused and shielded her eyes. Stumbling backward from the shockwave, she felt her ears ring. Stunned in place, she took slow steps to recover and reorient herself to her surroundings. Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. A pile of melted scrap metal now sat in Nyssa¡¯s arms. Tossing it to the side with a thud, she turned away and began running forward, shaking the hallway once more. ¡°Don¡¯t worry Celeste, you can rest, I got this area covered.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tire yourself out...¡± Celeste called out to her, trailing off as Nyssa¡¯s huge form had already melted into the shadows. The domination continued, even after they finished their branching path. Once she and Celeste looped back to where they had begun, they rested, waiting for the other groups. Not long after they arrived though, the other groups appeared, not to be outdone as everyone had begun exerting themselves more. ¡°YEEEAHHH BOIII! LET¡¯S GET THIS SHOW ON THE ROAAADDD,¡± Ryker¡¯s voice echoed down the hall. He marched ahead to lead the pack, Nyssa by his side. Everyone¡¯s blood had begun pumping as adrenaline filled the air. Electra had even started blasting music through a speaker. With a few of the more calm members still taking pictures, they descended another floor into higher and higher security. The hallways opened up as they arrived further down, truck-sized automatons began appearing more often, and mixed between them, golems built from metallic alloys. Streams of fire and ice, interlaced by thunderbolts and explosions made way for lasers. Conrad, with his sword now unsheathed, pushed his own strength to another level. Each strike he took bisected an entire swath of enemies. He leapt from column to column, flipping through the air as he repelled punches from golems ten times his size with his barefists. Nyssa, amped up her previous transformation, turning into a draconic silver-backed ape matching the size of her opponents. Covered in an armored exoskeleton, she went berserk. Wrestling each to the ground before melting them with a breath attack consisting of white-hot flames. ¡°I don¡¯t know if I trust them to get everything...¡± Angelica sighed as she followed along from a distance. She swept around the area, taking pictures and notes of anything salient. Even the destroyed rubble. Though sweat appeared on her forehead as she worked to keep up with the rapid pace of her seven students, a smile tugged at her lips anytime she came within earshot of the music Electra blasted. Another couple floors passed, though by this point the flooring had become unclear as they traversed mezzanines and destroyed stairways. Their adrenaline had cooled, but their mood hadn¡¯t fallen. Smiles all around as everyone wiped a faint layer of sweat from their foreheads. ¡°Wait up, wait up, we¡¯re at an impasse here,¡± Ryker paused as they faced an imposing set of double doors. The smoke cleared, with it, the last traces from Ryker¡¯s attempt to blast through the doors. Electra, having investigated the left side of the door, waded back through the rubble while shaking her head. Conrad, who had taken up the right side, jumped over a rock taller than himself to come back to the group with a similar shake of the head. ¡°It just leads into the solid earth if we break through the other walls there. And the walls going forward seem to be made of this stuff,¡± Conrad reported, his hands still covered in the dirt and rock he punched through to find his results. ¡°So we have to figure out whatever this concentric pattern puzzle is...¡± Ryker stroked his chin. After a second of consideration, he turned to Nyssa. ¡°Wait, do you have any transformations that can get us through this?¡± Nyssa shook her head. ¡°I already tested my basic arsenal. It includes a lot of corrosive stuff, but none of them worked. If I just did something imaginary I¡¯d instantly fall asleep I think.¡± ¡°I see, don¡¯t do that,¡± Ryker patted her on the back. ¡°Save that in case we need to escape. We can figure out this puzzle, no problem.¡± 91: An Ill-Fated Solution To The Puzzle ¡°We¡¯re not exactly known for our intelligence are we?¡± Nyssa sat down on a rock in the back beside Celeste. ¡°I mean this entire academy lets us use the artificial intelligence teaching systems after all for our general education. It¡¯s the same system I used growing up while homeschooled.¡± ¡°I mean, I¡¯m not surprised about that aspect, your father runs the entire academy, so why not use the same system?¡± Celeste wrapped an arm around Nyssa¡¯s waist. ¡°And they¡¯re fairly decent are they not? Only the super elite academic institutions still use in person teaching.¡± ¡°I guess...¡± Nyssa leaned against Celeste¡¯s shoulder. ¡°But knowing how bad I am at math, I don¡¯t know if puzzles can be our speciality. Like I know how horrendously... horrible I am at trigonometry.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, we can cover for each other¡¯s weaknesses,¡± Celeste laughed, smoothing out Nyssa¡¯s hair. ¡°And everyone here¡¯s fairly successful academically. In fact, I¡¯m pretty sure Electra was debating between an academic and power-based career. The incidents with her powers definitely swayed her towards coming here, but it was mostly what she described ¡®a constant snobbiness emanating off of some of her future classmates.¡¯¡± A pause settled between them as Nyssa¡¯s mouth fell open. Her hand, with a slow raise, one about as fast as a snail, covered her mouth as she resisted the urge to laugh. ¡°Oh... wow.¡± Their efforts to decipher the door, in the meantime, hadn¡¯t progressed. Ice scaffolding covered the door as Conrad had sleuthed every corner with his system. Electra and Titus stood off to the side with their arms crossed and gazes lost in space while Ryker and Albion stood right by the door itself, moving their arms like ghosts to try and brute force the lock built from energy lines. After spending a couple minutes staring at it with Nyssa by her side though, Celeste cupped her hands around her mouth. ¡°I have an idea! What if we all put our hands on those... circles? And channel our energy into it. I know some of them are a lot higher up, but Albion has the scaffolding!¡± A few murmurs broke out as the others discussed the idea, and Ryker shrugged. ¡°Worth a shot at least, we have five circles here, who wants to do it? Electra and I can do the two at the top.¡± Snapping out of her thoughts, Electra nodded and scaled the scaffolding with a few quick jumps. She swayed for a second at the top, shouting a ¡°thank you¡± downward as Albion reinforced the ice. Once she pressed her hand against the circle, her body crackled with electricity as purple snake-like arcs streamed through her hair. With Ryker, only his hair started smoking once he put his hand against the circle. In both cases though, the circles lit up as light traveled along the empty lines and lit up sections of the wall. As for the other three circles, Celeste, Titus, and Conrad pressed their hands against them as Nyssa stood beside Albion at the bottom. ¡°Huh,¡± Titus looked around as nothing happened. A few more seconds passed and everyone took their hands off the circles as the wall returned to its previous dim self. ¡°Ok, I just want to say, unlike when Ryker and Electra put their hands on the wall, Celeste and I had larger circles. For mine, it didn¡¯t fill up all the way. Did you run into the same issue, Celeste?¡± This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. ¡°Yeah, well.... The others are different sizes too. Mine is slightly smaller than yours and I could fill it up about three fourths of the way. Some others seemed to fill up faster, so I can¡¯t tell if it''s everyone that can fill it up a different amount, or if it''s everyone that is constant...¡± Celeste leapt down from the scaffolding and tapped her chin. Before she could think for too long though, Albion patted her on the shoulder. ¡°Let¡¯s just mix and match then. We have two more people anyway. Who cares?¡± ¡°Yeah, and we¡¯re making more progress than we were in the past, so let¡¯s just keep going down this path,¡± Electra called out from the top. ¡°How about everyone just move around to fill in then move up so people don¡¯t have to climb as much scaffolding.¡± A bit of reorganization later, Titus stood next to Albion, Conrad stood next to Celeste, and Nyssa stood alone at the bottom of the wall. ¡°Ready?¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°Not yet.¡± ¡°ALWAYS WITH MY SUPPORTING FEMALE LEA¡± ¡°Shut up.¡± Another minute later as people adjusted their positions on the wall. ¡°Ready?¡± A chorus of people saying ¡°yes¡± filled the room already full of rubble. Everyone pressed their hands against the wall, and, in a moment of beauty, the circles first began to fill with a warm cream color. Once they filled, the light raced across the wall to fill the rest of the lines criss crossing across the entire surface. ¡°LET¡¯S GO!¡± ¡°Hell, yeah.¡± ¡°Good job, Celeste, good job.¡± ¡°GET IN THERE! Splendid work.¡± While they caught their breaths though, with their hands pressed against the wall, nothing happened. No giant opening, no confetti, no treasure chest appeared... nothing. The room filled with light, and they saw... rubble. Smooth rocks, jagged rocks, dirty rocks, the whole gamut. ¡°So... uh... there¡¯s a message from my circle...?¡± Nyssa called out in a timid voice. ¡°It¡¯s flashing red... I mean it has a button I can click, but it''s all in a different language.¡± ¡°Click it!¡± Conrad cheered from the upper level. ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯s just some antiquated warning sign asking if we¡¯re sure we want to open the vault!¡± ¡°Should we wait for Angelica? She¡¯s still behind us taking pictures...¡± Albion posed, resting one hand on his hip as he kept his other pressed against the wall. ¡°She might be more familiar with this mysterious language?¡± ¡°Take a picture of it for sure,¡± Ryker called out from the top. ¡°I think we should just hit it though. What¡¯s the worst that could happen?¡± ¡°We all die?¡± Electra countered, raising her eyebrow as she turned to look at Ryker. ¡°That¡¯s... still a very real possibility. Maybe you don¡¯t die because you have the best regeneration factor in the world. But we all still can.¡± Nyssa stretched her arm out, grabbing a camera from the ground and used it to snap a picture of the message before returning it to its previous spot. ¡°So do I hit it or not? Did we vote or something?¡± ¡°No, but I also think it¡¯d be worth talking about it a little more, Electra¡¯s right, a little more prudence would be good. Is anything changing on the message Nyssa?¡± Ryker asked from the top. ¡°I don¡¯t think s-¡± Just as Nyssa opened her mouth, the entire wall dyed red. An alarm from somewhere began to blare. The entire rubble-filled room shook as a couple more pieces of rock fell from the ceiling. Anchoring bindings appeared as each hole opened up, sucking each group in. 92: NOT. FRIENDLY. ¡°Man, I¡¯m too tired for this,¡± Nyssa grumbled as she free fell through the darkness. After attempting in the first second to transform into a bird and escape, she had found a sealed entrance on the other side. Too lazy to try anything else, she let the increasing suction force take her. The air whistled around her as she fell. Her hair fluttered, and the faint glow she gave off faded into nothing. No walls as far as she could see. ¡°I hope Celeste is okay,¡± She spoke into the air as the falling continued. Though, after a few thoughts, she flipped in the air to face downward. ¡°This is probably smarter...¡± As she fell, the air turned colder and whispered into her ears like snakes peddling their lies while her surroundings brightened like an entrance into heaven. After a faint period of blindness, the ground came into view, and she, out of prudence, transformed into a bird, floating in the air instead of landing. She flapped her wings, gliding in slow circles while scoping out the room. A cracked floor punctuated the sleek metal walls, lines of solid light criss-crossed along every wall, and a few ragged boxes sat in a corner, half-rotted after years. After sweeping her eyes over the area one more time, she descended with a swoop, transforming back into a human as she neared the floor. Landing in a crouch after letting her human body handle the last of the descent, she frowned. Her hairs stood on end and her stomach flipped. Gear sounds filled the room as the lights dimmed and flickered, shifting towards a more blue-hue with every passing second. A section of the wall opened on one end of the room, out from it came a humanoid robot covered in a liquid-like covering of nano-machines. Its eyes glowed blue-white as it crossed its arms in stretches. It laced its fingers and pushed them outward to crack its knuckles, it tilted its head left and right to loosen its neck, and pulled its legs back one by one as if any of these actions would make a difference in its capability. ¡°What... What the...¡± Nyssa scrambled backward while staying in a crouched position. Her legs tensed up as she swiveled her head. Wall. Wall. Wall. Good, there¡¯s nothing else. Without any other walls opening up to let anything through, she turned back to the automaton with a deep breath. The wall closed behind it with a couple of clunks and a hiss, the crack marking the door from the wall non-existent as she watched the plates sit flush with the rest of the wall. Her shoulders rose and fell as her eyes squinted. After holding in a faint breath, she let out a long sigh as her heart rate increased. The machine, on the other hand, took slow steps forward. Its body swirled as nanomachines migrated across the surface of its body in tidal-like currents. ¡°Hello?¡± Nyssa called out to the machine. She balled up her fists and adjusted her transformation to give off no light. ¡°Hello? Do you speak? Are you friendly?¡± Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original. Silence. The sound of her breaths filled her ears. Blood rushed to her head as she felt the fatigue from the previous ten-plus floors of exploration begin to weigh down on her. Why? Why didn¡¯t I budget my energy better than this... Not a second later, though, Nyssa¡¯s train of thought derailed as the robot disappeared from its spot. With all her senses blaring at her, she transformed into a bird and zipped upward into the air with panicked flaps, leaving feathers behind as the automaton¡¯s fist swung through where she had been standing. Not friendly. NOT. FRIENDLY!!!!! Twirling through the air, to regroup and keep track of her position, she felt an oncoming headache as the automaton leapt through the air, nanomachines morphed into jet thrusters to allow the automaton airborne mobility. So, I¡¯m really doing this, huh? First serious fight all alone and it''s a trap... of course. Flipping in midair, her body shifted into hawk as she began flapping to put distance between her and the automaton. A series of midair acrobatics later, she put half the room between them and pulled out a trump card. Her body glowed and, not even half a second later, a lopsided dragon with a giant head and tiny body appeared and shot a pure-white laser of energy into the automaton¡¯s face. The laser rocked the room, searing the wall and causing it to glow red-hot. As a collateral casualty, the poor boxes in the corner became ash and entered the afterlife without even a whiff of a proper ending. ¡°Whew...¡± Nyssa transformed back into a human and floated back to the ground. Her feet touched down with a slight thud as she caught her breath. A few coughs left her mouth as she felt her head pound in sync with her heart rate. Pinching her fingers on the bridge of her nose, she kept her eyes on the other side of the room. ¡°Nothing... a few deep breaths can¡¯t solve.¡± Those deep breaths never came though. The automaton, on the other side of the room, began reassembling. Its nanomachines folded inward and, after a loud clicking sound, had a newfound ice-blue sheen. ¡°Don¡¯t be stupid and let it regenerate,¡± Nyssa slapped herself on the cheek as she dredged her motivation. Transforming back into the same lopsided dragon from earlier, she sent another blasting laser beam in the automaton¡¯s direction, though this time, for a fraction of the time. The sound of steps. CRACK. Nyssa scrambled backward, cycling through transformations as she rushed away. What? Huh? Hgeello? Whrut? A sharp pain on her nose pushed her out of the transformation. Blood dripped down her face as she transformed her lower body into a frog to leap away. The automaton chased after her with a newfound lance in place of its arm. Unaffected by the laser? Did it adapt? First the thrusters, then the blue-layer... and now a lance. Is it transforming like me? She scowled, holding her nose with one hand as the frog transformation allowed her to keep a sizable distance from the automaton. They fell into a cycle, pacing in circles around the walls of the gymnasium-sized room. Whenever the automaton came rushing forward to attack, Nyssa backed off. I need to think... How am I supposed to beat people who transform again? Angelica and Roxanne were lecturing me about this last time... Why was I sleeping? Come on... Why? Why? As the battle dragged on though, she felt her body burning up. Each breath scraped against the insides of her lungs as her head began to pound. Her eyes unfocused every few moments, leading to lapses in attention. And the several holes pockmarking parts of the walls acted as cruel reminders of why she had to stay focused. 93: Upperclassmen Grace The scene differed in other rooms. Electra and Ryker, the two upperclassmen, had ended up alone like Nyssa, but handled their situation with much more grace. Arcs of electricity filled Electra¡¯s room. She let loose against the giant of an automaton she came up against. Larger than the several story-tall wall they had been sucked into, this automaton shook the floor with every movement, took up most of the space inside the large gymnasium, and let loose an unending barrage of attacks. Like the hive of a honeybee, a hexagonal pattern covered the giant ball-like automaton. Weapons filled every hole, some lasers, some cannons, some with fire ammunition, others with exploding ammunition, and others shot out gas. After trying a precise disassembly method, Electra had frowned after taking down thirty weapons. Thirty out of the hundreds, if not thousands decorating the surface of the automaton. Then, she watched as the machine activated a self-repair system, replacing half her efforts in seconds. ¡°God... dammit, god FUCKING dammit,¡± Electra felt her temper rise. Deciding a brute force method would work better, she let her emotions run wild as a stream of expletives left her mouth. She shouted them out with all her chest. One after another, she cursed the machine, its creators, and the creators¡¯ parents. As she cursed, electricity came flooding out of her. Her eyes filled with purple as she left trails of electricity arcing behind her. The initial snake-like streams of electricity became larger and larger and, soon, bolts the size of giant redwood tree trunks shot out of her like ballistic missiles. Here, she felt everything in her body course with what she considered the pure euphoria of life. This energy took her body into the air, and her skin seemed to flicker between opaque and transparent. In its transparent moments, her veins changed, shifting from the smooth streams of biology to sharp arcs. All Electra could do was laugh. It felt good. Like heaven. Yet, before she lost herself to the electricity and detonated like Ryker¡ªjust without the regeneration factor¡ªshe reeled it backward to keep it from progressing any further. The room, though, with every passing second, started to resemble the inside of an alchemical furnace. Black char marks began covering the walls as the lights on the walls went out. The automaton in the center of the room began breaking down. With every electrical component getting fried like an egg, it broke down piece by piece in the center of the room. Even its outer metal casings, built to survive most extreme temperatures, began melting under the unrelenting barrage of electricity. Thunder seemed to fill the room. Strike after strike after strike. A never ending storm centered around Electra. She closed her eyes. Her breaths smoothened out, and she rode out the storm while waiting for the automaton to collapse. --- Ryker, in a separate room, had chosen the brute force method from the start. Recent training had helped him unlock a new tier of power, enough to where he felt confident enough to blow away several floors at once if he decided to detonate his entire body. It¡¯s a nice last resort. But this is enough. Instead, he stood in a corner of the room, detonating his legs every few seconds. Each explosion shook the room, filling it with a fireball over and over again. He¡¯d detonate. A few seconds would pass, his legs would regrow, and he¡¯d detonate them again. Rinse and repeat. How simple is that?A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°I wonder how the others are doing...¡± Ryker monologued to himself while letting the smoke clear. He squinted his eyes, waving his hand in front of his face as if it¡¯d clear the smoke in the center of the room. As for the robot in the center of the room, the one covered in ash, half-melted, struggling for life, and sparking nonstop, it still managed to move with loud creaks. Its camera lens swiveled, centering on Ryker, directing its body into a paraplegic crawl towards the corner of the room. ¡°Well, gotta take care of my business first,¡± Ryker detonated his legs once more. Seconds later, without checking the machine, he let loose once more. ¡°Ten more times, that should be good before I check again...¡± While resting, he couldn¡¯t help but laugh a little. Sweat drenched his upper body, and he pulled his shirt forward a little to peel it off his chest. ¡°It is quite hot in here though, I wonder why.¡± --- In another room, Celeste and Conrad faced what felt like a never-ending swarm of automatons. They ranged from the size of a baseball to the size of a small car. Some had a lot of legs, some had none. Some had classical weaponry, others fought like beasts. Each, though, seemed to have at least one defect. A missing plate. A dysfunctional targeting system. An extra leg. A backwards limb. A sparking electrical board. ¡°Are we just fighting the discount section? Their failed creations?¡± Conrad spat as he wielded his energy sword in the middle of the room. Waves upon waves of automatons crashed onto him like a group of children rushing towards Santa. His attacks, though, never stopped. Destroyed automaton, now scrap metal more than anything else, piled up around and under his feet as he created an ever growing mountain to stand on. Celeste, in the air, flew in slow circles. She took out the few flying ones and spent the rest of her attention like a can of human bug spray. Lasers out of the eyes. Lasers out of the hands. Lasers out of the feet. Each laser melted a clean line through the ocean of machines, lessening the amount Conrad had to fight. ¡°What do you think? I think we got the easiest room,¡± Conrad theorized while slicing through another ten automata at once. ¡°I can¡¯t say.¡± Celeste replied with a curt tone. Her eyes wandered to the walls as she stared off into space. Every second passing in this room made her worry more. Nyssa got sucked into one all alone. Is she alright? She was already pretty tired after helping people move aside a bunch of rocks. Maybe we shouldn¡¯t have asked her to be the excavator. But how would we have known? She¡¯ll probably be fine... right? But even I¡¯m tired and I¡¯m barely fighting right now. Celeste felt her heart speed up, and with it, her energy output increased. Even with the increase though, not much changed. Machines came flooding out of the pores in the walls, coming from what felt like a never ending supply. Even an investigation into the pores yielded nothing. ¡°I guess we just wait it out...¡± Celeste sighed as she felt her shoulders in particular becoming more and more sore, spreading to other parts of the body. --- Albion and Titus, as another duo, ended up fighting a pair of automatons. The combination of fire and ice worked well, and they danced throughout the center of the room, waltzing in gentle swirls to create a never-ending stream of attacks towards each robot. First, a wave of ice spread across the ground, the mystery metal the organization used seemed to resist Albion¡¯s usual conversion into ice, but it spread across the top without issue. Titus came next, launching a divine spear made of fire into the first robot built for defense. The robots, on the other hand, formed a unique tandem. One, like a bulldozer, boasted an unreasonable amount of defense, while the other, like a nimble dancer, sacrificed all defense for an all-out rain of attacks. ¡°It¡¯s coming,¡± Albion warned, skating in front of Titus and sweeping his arm upward. A wall of ice appeared, growing out of the ground, twisting and turning in on itself to solidify into a reinforced wall. Seconds later, lances twice the height of either Albion or Titus began punching into the ice. Each impact sounded like a gunshot as shards of ice exploded outward in shrapnel bombs, glittering under the room¡¯s gentle lighting. Albion, reinforcing the wall as more lances came flying downward like airstrikes, gritted his teeth as an uncontrollable urge to cough clawed his way out of him. ¡°Retreat,¡± Titus yanked Albion backward by the collar of his shirt. He sent a bolt of fire towards the slower automaton to delay its progress. ¡°We can regroup and rengage. We have the upper hand, but if you collapse, we both die instantly.¡± ¡°You¡¯re right...¡± Albion coughed, his body hunching over. ¡°The others better have it easier than us.¡± 94: An Eruption Of Emotions Nyssa hated exercise. Among all of life¡¯s activities, it sat the furthest from her favorite: sleep. Her legs burned, her windpipe felt raw, and her head pounded. In the past ten minutes, she had tried a variety of transformations¡ªand all led to the same result. She had transformed into a demon-like berserker, covered in a layer of tough, red scales, and blitzed the automaton. Though she had taken a lance to the shoulder, she tore the automaton apart, searching for some sort of core while blasting jets of fire out of her hands to melt as much as she could. Even as her hands crunched the metal up into balls of trash, she watched as other parts of the robot reassembled, coming together like a water balloon in reverse. Parts began lighting up and glowing as threads of energy seem to pull the parts back together. Once she leapt away, the machine came together, whole once more without a speck of damage. It spun and twirled with the grace of a dancer. Pushing Nyssa to pause and for her jaw to drop a touch. It¡¯s definitely moving better, what is this? An adaptation mechanic? Before her mind could think anymore though, her body moved out of the way through an automatic response, dodging two laser beams and twisting downward to watch a punch sail over her head. Bob. Weave. Back off. Pressed into a close quarters fight, Nyssa, back in her human form, felt herself pressed into a corner. Even while employing transformations. Her muscles became denser and denser as her eyes glazed over and feet began to dance through the battlefield. After a continuous increase, her figure began to blur, yet, through the whole time, the robot matched her pace, speeding up as well and leaving afterimages behind each punch. Explosions rang out as they navigated up and down the walls, left and right through the main battle area, and through the air. Nyssa managed to send a couple stray punches, some reinforced to push the automaton away, but nothing. worked. at. all. Her breath hitched. Her body swayed. She felt her vision begin to blacken from the edges as snakes swam across her vision like predators looking for prey. Crack. A fist buried itself in her gut. Nyssa fell to her knees and spittle came flying out her mouth. With her stomach roiling, she had to press down a wave of nausea and light-headedness. Her hands trembled as she felt another blow graze her cheek. A searing pain began burning on her cheek as she felt liquid begin to flow down her cheek. ¡°I... I DON¡¯T WANT TO DO THIS! WHY? WHY ME? WHY DO I HAVE TO DEAL WITH A STUPID MACHINE LIKE YOU?¡± Nyssa screamed as the pain and light-headedness began feeding into a half-conscious delusion. She hoisted herself back upright, her eyes stayed unfocused as her hand shifted into a giant hammer, crashing into the automaton in a fit of rage. The machine flew backward, slamming into a wall as its adaptation matrix fired up once more to repair its body. It stitched itself back together as nanomachines swirled back over its body, concealing and repairing any damage as if it had never been there. Like before, once its body repaired itself, it crouched down and cocked its fist back. It paused. The lights behind its eyes flickered. This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. Go time. Jumping forward, it created a dent in the floor below as it rushed back into battle. It twirled in the air while extending its fist. Analytical systems fired back to life: [Target seems to be weak.] [No longer at full mental consciousness.] [Physical body bloodied and hurt.] [Energy reserves of target estimated to be near zero.] [Current adaptation cycle: Seventeen.] [Previous highest adaptation cycle: Four.] [Threat level assessment: High.] Nyssa took the punch. Her face scrunched up like dough as the fist collided with her cheek. In a fraction of a second though, her face elongated as the robot¡¯s fist morphed into a spike. Blood splattered as the spike punctured through her face, coming out the other side like a skewer in a barbeque restaurant with lamb. Nyssa¡¯s cheeks, through bleeding, began to morph. They bulged and seemed to bubble. Her eyes clouded over as her gaze sharpened. Teeth became metal. Spit became acidic. She bit down with the force of a hydraulic press, crunching the automaton¡¯s hand. Toss and turn. Nyssa swung her head around as she amped up her physical strength. She slammed the automaton around like a ragdoll and stabbed her fingers into the sides of the robot. With a growl leaving her mouth, she forced every fiber of muscle in her arms to life and began plunging her hands into the robot¡¯s interiors. Her arms quivered, shuddering from the exertion as her muscle fibers tore. Energy in her body, for the first time in close to a decade, began to run wild. Every second, a transformation would tear through her body as her consciousness began to fade. I... just... need... to... beat this... machine. A dragon transformation appeared with immense strength and began crushing the machine. Its head morphed into a unicorn. The unicorn¡¯s head exploded like a bomb. The bomb engulfed the area in a white-hot fireball. From the fireball''s interior shone a crystal sending plasma lasers into the body of the automaton. With every passing second, Nyssa¡¯s humanoid body began losing its shape. Limbs extended from every part of her to grab onto the robot. Clinging onto it in any way it could. Some limbs seemed demonic, gifted with strength to clench onto the robot while crushing its exterior. Others seemed magnetic, suctioning the robot to its palm. Others seemed... desperate. Humanoid hands, bony with malnourishment, clung onto the robot with weak twitches like a child seeking its mother. Mouths began opening up across her body and hands. Some vertical, some horizontal. Some, even, multilayered. Some with teeth, some with metal, some with flesh, some with a mix of all. The robot laid limp in the grasp of hundreds of limbs. Immobilized, its computations and algorithm to adapt couldn¡¯t move fast enough to recover from the damage coming in from all sides. Acid burns covered its face. Ice spread across its chest. A corrosive shadow ate away at its feet. A swirling flame tore into its shoulder. Electricity flowed in from its backside. A hemisphere covered the back of its head, aging the material, rusting and cracking it. Every part of its body suffered from some sort of attack. Some could be considered rooted in reality, others came straight out of movies, and others seemed like the product of child-like fever dreams. Even more, each attack came accompanied by mechanical stress as mouths and hands tried to pull every bit of it apart. [Error.. .. ... Error.... Emer... genkhhhk-... cy.] [Threat lev... el: Ex!~~eme!] The system began breaking down as entire chunks of the robot began disappearing into smoke. Grinded to dust by the no-longer comprehensible Nyssa, the light behind the automaton¡¯s eyes flickered and faded. Nyssa, though, kept pushing. Her hands could grab onto nothing but ash. Her attacks began landing on herself as she continued pounding on the space the automaton used to take up. Guttural sounds escaped the many mouths covering her body. Crying, growling, howling, screaming, gibberish grumbling, whispering, coughing, hateful monologuing, and much more. Each mouth chattered with life as her body both folded in on itself and expanded outward. --- Nyssa, herself though, felt herself floating in a pool of ink. It felt neither warm nor cold, but clung to her as she saw nothing but darkness. Where am I? Who am I? What¡¯s going on? 95: A Cautious Approach One-by-one, the students finished up their battles. Electra had been the first to finish, but after laying on the ground for a couple minutes waiting for her breaths to slow, she fell behind Ryker. As for Ryker, he busted through the door the automaton had entered from. Greeted by a dusty, dark closet, he blew his way through, and emerged within another sterile lab space. White, ceramic tiles. He took slow, light steps forward while shielding his eyes. Bathed in a harsh white-blue light, he felt like a rat waiting for an inevitable dissection on the surgery table. The tiles covered the ceiling, the floor, and the walls. They varied in size, but light reflected off of them to create a near blinding sensation within the hallway. ¡°There¡¯s... nothing,¡± Ryker mumbled to himself while sweeping his eyes up, down, left, and right. Before he could take another step though, his radio crackled back to life, and a crackling voice came out the other side. --- ¡°Ryker... Did you not read the manual I gave you all? Did none of you read it?¡± Angelica grit her teeth as she stood by the wall they had been sucked into earlier. ¡°You¡¯re the team leader! You need to be better than this! RYKER! Do you hear me?¡± In her hand sat her phone with the tracking app open. It reported on everyone¡¯s approximate location, along with their vital signatures. It lit up the otherwise dark cavern as she stood on a now-neatened pile of rubble. [I did read it... was there something I missed?] Ryker¡¯s voice came back over the radio after a brief moment of silence. Hesitation laced his voice as his usual boisterous energy seemed sucked into oblivion. ¡°Yes, the section that describes the exact trap you all fell into, explicit descriptions of how and why it''s dangerous, along with instructions to NOT ENGAGE. How did none of you recognize or figure this out...¡± Angelica massaged the bridge of her nose. ¡°You all got a little too caught up in the fever of battle.¡± She couldn¡¯t help but sigh as Electra also came onto the line¡ªhaving escaped her room as well. The two seniors, the two most experienced and the soon graduate division students apologized time after time for their mistake. ¡°It¡¯s... fine, don¡¯t worry, just check on your classmates and free them,¡± Angelica¡¯s weary voice traversed back into the radio. ¡°The situation¡¯s not too dire... I¡¯m pretty sure...¡± Should I have stayed with them? They did manage to figure it out, and among the possible traps people have reported, none should pose an actual threat to them on a mortal level. But what if it had been worse... Angelica, you dumb *****, you have to be better. But they also missed so much on their way down that it was very much so worth it to help them categorize all the data. It¡¯ll help them get a far better evaluation on their mission assignment. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Among the damage... it¡¯s just Nyssa who lost control of her powers it seems. Surprising, but not expected. Something was going to shock her out of the rut she¡¯s been in for the past few years. Kaiser told me to expect it within this first half year, but I didn¡¯t expect it to happen so quickly... ¡°So... Now''s just a question of how to help her stabilize her powers, regain her confidence, and build on this to reach new heights,¡± Angelica counted out on her fingers as Ryker and Electra reported over the radio as they freed Albion and Titus, then Celeste and Conrad. --- ¡°It¡¯s just Nyssa left now?¡± Celeste stretched as she emerged from the hole torn through the wall. She and Conrad took a moment to catch their breath as a few final sparks fizzed outward from the electronic boards of the automata they had eviscerated. [Nyssa will be in the last room, approach it with caution.] Angelica¡¯s voice instructed them over the radio as everyone fell quiet. [She¡¯s in a touchy state right now. Nothing truly dangerous to her, but something that will require caution for yourselves.] A heavier silence descended on the group. Conrad and Albion, who had been crouching, stood up with a frown. Electra crossed her arms and sighed before speaking into the radio. ¡°Did she lose control of her powers?¡± After getting confirmation, everyone in the hallway felt a pang of sympathy strike at their hearts. ¡°Happens to the best of us.¡± ¡°Surprised it hasn¡¯t happened more with her, given how complex and powerful her abilities are.¡± ¡°What¡¯s the plan then, everyone?¡± ¡°Why don¡¯t we see her first, we can make a judgement once we see the situation for ourselves I think.¡± With a coordinated effort, the group of now-motivated students shattered the tiles covering the section of wall, discarding them to the side. Titus stepped up once they had cleared the area, heating his hands up to tear through the thin metal wall with a near silent screech. He opened up a hole just a little larger than himself, standing off to the side once he finished to let the others in first. Ryker and Electra led the way. In crouching positions with their hands up and breathing shallow, they scouted the inside first before waving for the others to follow behind. Though the youngest among the four remaining members, Albion, Titus, and Conrad, for ¡®no particular reason¡¯ let Celeste be the next to enter. ¡°Thanks,¡± Celeste slipped in through the crack. Her heart raced as heat emanated off her body. Her eyebrows creased as caught up to where Ryker and Electra had taken position. Crouching down as Albion, Titus, and Conrad appeared behind her, she whispered, ¡°It doesn¡¯t look... super great... I¡¯m not sure how we should approach it. How do we usually do it? I¡¯ve never been around another person¡¯s loss of control. Only my own, and... well, like with most cases, I don¡¯t have memories of it.¡± A shapeshifting, bundle of a mess sat in the center of the room. By now, it had stopped making noise, it morphed shapes in silence as different animals, limbs, heads, wings, spines, and more appeared on its surface before disappearing into the chaos once more. ¡°Depends on the person,¡± Electra whispered back, patting Celeste on the back. ¡°With me, it used to always be that you¡¯d fight to get close to my body in the center of a storm and sedate me with a shot. With Ryker, it was to trap him and slow his regeneration. Speaking to him helps a lot.¡± ¡°Sedation works most of the time, but obviously, people don¡¯t carry around strong tranquilizers like that, and it''s preferable to use a personalized method to make them come back to their senses. Helps in the long run I believe,¡± Titus shared, patting Conrad and Albion on the shoulders. ¡°Like these two, putting out ice cream for Albion, and novels for Conrad has helped in certain situations in the past. Though for Conrad it''s only happened once, more for the rest of us obviously.¡± ¡°So, something Nyssa likes, that¡¯s a good first step, what does she like?¡± Celeste murmured aloud to herself as they stood in the corner of the gymnasium-like room. Nobody said a word, but as if they had a telepathic link, everyone looked towards Celeste who now pressed her fingertips together while staring off into space. 96: Spear to Diamond to Lone Wolf Formation After a brief debate¡ªwhere everyone proposed the exact same idea to Celeste¡ªthey settled on a plan. Celeste formed the head of a spear-like formation and they began inching towards the center of the room where the transforming Nyssa sat. The sound of their breathing felt louder than ever. Their hearts pounded as their ears began to feel stuffy. ¡°Is this a symptom of nervousness or is she inducing a heart attack within us all?¡± Ryker asked while rubbing a hand against his chest. ¡°My regeneration factor isn¡¯t doing anything so I assume not but... what about you all, feeling anything being stimulated?¡± ¡°Nope, everything is fine,¡± Albion whispered back as a mist of cold air left his mouth. ¡°My powers are instinctively acting up though. I think it''s some sort of subconscious danger response.¡± ¡°Understandable,¡± Electra patted Albion on the back. The moment her hand came in contact with Albion though, she recoiled, hissing under her breath as frost spread across her fingertips. One exhale later, an arc of electricity cleared the frost, but her fingers had already reddened. ¡°Oh you were not joking about that, my bad.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s my fault too,¡± Albion apologized as they refocused on the task at hand. They followed behind Celeste who took slow steps forward. Each time she lifted her foot, her leg quivered a little as she made slug-like progress. Her fingers stayed glued in a crossed position as sweat began covering her body. A faint pounding sound filled the air as her heart elevated to near-unsafe levels. Heat came wafting off her body as she felt feverish. A messy array of thoughts marched through her mind as she tried to keep a steady, but wary pace. Just be okay, and... go back to being human... please... As they made progress towards the center of the gymnasium though, a heavy feeling settled on their shoulders. Each step became heavier as the air seemed to quake and shimmer. Everyone began squinting as visual hallucinations appeared in the corners of their vision. A snake here. A crawling black... whatever... there. A claw reaching out. The moment they turned to look, it disappeared as fast as it came. ¡°N-Nyssa! Calm down, it¡¯s just us!¡± Celeste called out with a shaky voice after a wave of jitter-inducing hallucinations where ghost-like fire accompanied every shadow of a transformation. ¡°Hm...?¡± ¡°Yes?¡± ¡°Who?¡± ¡°Oh?¡± ¡°Wait... what?¡± ¡°You?¡± ¡°Why... are you?¡± Nyssa flinched. For a brief second the transformations stopped. A plethora of voices, all distorted, like they had been forced through a television static filter all raised a question. In a moment of clarity, she seemed to regain a little lucidity and the weight disappeared. The air returned to its usual unnoticeable state as everyone let out a sigh of relief. ¡°Good one.¡± ¡°How did you know she¡¯d do that?¡± The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°I had no idea... I just had to try something,¡± Celeste murmured back under her breath. ¡°Why are there so many voices though?¡± ¡°No idea, but it¡¯s probably not ideal,¡± Electra put a hand on Celeste¡¯s shoulder, urging her forward. ¡°We should keep moving though.¡± ¡°Y... Yeah...¡± Celeste agreed, turning to look back towards Nyssa. I swear... I feel like we should¡¯ve been making more progress. But we¡¯re still so far... Still in their spear formation, they kept walking. They¡¯d take a few steps, someone would step on a pebble, a piece of cracked floor, or just breathe with a little too much vigor and they¡¯d take a break out of caution. Crack. A piece of the floor shifted, cracking under Titus¡¯s foot. It let out a weird, metal screech-like sound as it stretched and cracked at the same time. Reminiscent of nails on a chalkboard, everyone¡¯s shoulders tensed. Including Nyssa¡¯s. Fleshy tendrils shot out of the gymnasium¡¯s center. Nyssa, who had morphed into an unrecognizable form, shifted more as these tendrils came out from every surface, racing towards the source of the disgusting sound. ¡°Oh SHI-¡± Conrad yelled out. He unsheathed his sword and blocked a spiked tendril. With a clang, it pierced into the ground, breaching the weird metal constructing the room, but not making it all the way through. Other tendrils rushed their group. Some morphed into giant jaws, covered in razor-blade like teeth. Others rotated like a drill. Some let out fire. One or two shot lasers towards their group, and others began releasing some green-purple colored gas. ¡°Retreat, retreat,¡± Ryker ordered as he blew up his hand to blow away the gas. ¡°Retreat and regroup, she obviously got mad. Let her calm down and we¡¯ll head back in.¡± --- A tense fifteen minutes later, Nyssa¡¯s attacks stopped. They had, for the entirety though, targeted the area of ground Titus had stepped on. Unlike her usual precision, they acted like independent beasts, searching for the source of irritation with wild movements. Unsure as to how to approach now, the team adjusted their formation into a diamond shape, sticking together like glue as they began another slow march forward. Step-by-step, they advanced forward, those at the front mapped out safe areas to walk with light taps before they shifted their full weight forward and those in the back followed by placing their feet in the exact same locations. Only failure greeted them though. They managed to get closer, but once they passed a certain invisible threshold, Nyssa had another outburst, lashing out with indiscriminate attacks as if annoyed at the mere smell of those who neared her. ¡°Back up! Retreat!¡± Electra shouted, shocking away some of the tendrils as they scrambled backward. Their formation, now in shambles, regrouped near their original starting spot. ¡°Alright, I think we need to change something,¡± Ryker sighed, both of his arms regrowing from stubs while he talked. ¡°Is it us?¡± ¡°What do you mean by that...?¡± Celeste, still out-of-breath, raised her eyebrow. A second later, her eyebrows furrowed as everyone else nodded in agreement. ¡°You have a point with that Ryker.¡± ¡°What a genius idea.¡± ¡°Honestly, it really might just be us. We¡¯re not that close to her.¡± Realization dawned on Celeste¡¯s face, and she shook her head with a laugh. ¡°Oh. I see now. It¡¯s a little dangerous though, I feel like going alone isn¡¯t the best idea. We could try with... yeah, I¡¯m not sure.¡± ¡°Alright, how about this...¡± --- Albion, Titus, and Conrad spread out in a triangle formation across the otherside of the room as Electra and Ryker stayed behind Celeste. From a bird¡¯s eye view, the five of them formed a loose ring, as Celeste began moving back towards Nyssa. Everyone stayed in a crouch. Titus wreathed his hands in flames and Conrad had his sword drawn. ¡°We¡¯re ready to rush in at any time, Celeste, you¡¯re safe, don¡¯t worry,¡± Electra reassured as Celeste took shaky breaths. ¡°Thank you.¡± 97: A Whirlwind Reformation Each of Celeste¡¯s footsteps, no matter how hard she tried, created a slight sound as she set her heel down. Having combat-rated boots with a harder sole just made walking across metal floors near impossible. To her, the sound seemed like bombs exploding, and the worry alone made her hands quiver as a never ending geyser of sweat drenched her palms¡ªno matter how many times she wiped her hands against her combat outfit. Under the artificial lighting of the metal box of a gymnasium, though, she managed to ease herself closer than any of their previous attempts. At some points, Nyssa had twitched, sending Celeste¡¯s five guards into battle positions, but not a single attack came flying outward. Albion, for one, bit back the urge to comment on this fact to Titus, shaking his head to refocus on the task at hand. He chanted a mantra in his mind, repeating it from the top every time he reached the end. A second of delay could mean the difference between a safe distraction and an injury. Just remember the time that you injured mom, Albion. C¡¯mon. A second of delay... ¡°She¡¯s close,¡± Titus murmured aloud, echoing everyone¡¯s thoughts as he used the words to stay focused. ¡°She¡¯s just a few steps away from getting within touching distance.¡± ¡°Yeah...¡± Conrad crouched down a little more. He, along with everyone else, held their breaths as they watched Celeste take the final few steps. One. ... Two. ... ... Three. ¡°Nyssa...¡± Celeste reached out, touching the surface of the transforming sphere. She leaned in closer, her voice shaking a little as the reality of Nyssa¡¯s situation registered in her mind. Her next words came out as a whisper, quiet enough for only her and Nyssa to hear. ¡°Come on, wake up will you? I... I... don¡¯t know, I miss seeing you. I don¡¯t know what to say...¡± Nyssa doesn¡¯t feel like flesh. That thought dominated Celeste¡¯s mind as she ran her hand over the surface of the ever transforming sphere. It felt more like a river of sand. It felt possible, trivial even, to plunge her hand inward if she wanted¡ªof course, with whatever risk it might¡¯ve brought. Can she... hear me? Celeste opened mouth once more, but before she could speak, the outermost layer of Nyssa¡¯s sphere began dissipating into the air. It formed a whirlwind of particulates in the center of the room as it began peeling itself like an onion. No wind could be felt in the room; yet it whirled around fading out of existence and blending into the air as it spread further from Nyssa. ¡°Do we... should we... do something?¡± Electra¡¯s hands twitched as Celeste¡¯s figure became obscured in the whirlwind. ¡°Should we extract her?¡± ¡°It¡¯s fine, Angelica left this to us because apparently, even in the past, Nyssa¡¯s episodes of losing control aren¡¯t particularly dangerous to the people around her,¡± Ryker fingered the knobs on their radio as he spoke. ¡°I mean this one wasn¡¯t particularly bad either, we just needed to send someone she trusted.¡± This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°But... I guess, I trust Angelica¡¯s judgement,¡± Electra¡¯s eyebrows unfurrowed as the whirlwind began to change colors: from the fleshy, dirty brown color to a shimmery, iridescent palate covering the entire color spectrum. ¡°Yeah...¡± As for Celeste, she basked in the whirlwind. Her gaze wandered just a little further upward and she spread her arms out, palms facing upward. The wind felt warm, but not hot, against her face as the particulate created a gentle embrace, causing neither pain nor a ticklish sensation. It¡¯s refreshing. And isn¡¯t that Nyssa? A black silhouette began taking shape in the center of the whirlwind. Floating midair, it took shape from the head first. Parts of the sphere, after now dissipating to its last small bits, formed the shadow of Nyssa instead of turning to particulate. Reaching out, Celeste frowned after she couldn¡¯t reach. It looks like its so close though... She flexed her calves and floated off the ground, inching closer as she kept her arm extended. Her hand, then, passed straight through Nyssa without an ounce of resistance, like swiping a hand through a shadow. Huh. Huh? Huh... Okay, let¡¯s not touch... I don¡¯t want to mess up whatever this formation process is. After floating back down to the ground, she took a few steps forward and extended her arms. Checking her position a few times by glancing up and down, she positioned herself right below Nyssa and anchored herself in place. Now in the center of the whirlwind, she glued her gaze to the ongoing formation. Particles came in from the whirlwind, helping to fill out the last bits of Nyssa¡¯s figure. They helped finish her arms and her legs, and, once a couple minutes had gone by, the shadowy cover began flaking off of Nyssa. While the shadowy cover disappeared, giving Nyssa her corporeal form back, her clothes began reappearing. Still in tatters from the fight, they shimmered back into existence from the necklace still around her neck. ¡°Oh... uh... hmm,¡± Celeste murmured aloud to herself as she noticed the sorry state of Nyssa¡¯s clothes. Rips, holes, burn marks, dirty streaks, and creases, it had it all. With a smooth pulling motion followed by a few shrugs, she unzipped and took off the outer layer of her own battle suit. Tossing it on the ground to retrieve later, she floated upward, preparing as the last few shadowy flakes came flying off. ¡°Uomph, gotcha,¡± Celeste sighed in relief as she scooped up Nyssa out of the air. The moment she made contact though, she froze up as a couple of groans slipped out of Nyssa¡¯s mouth. Pausing in the air, she adjusted her carrying position. ¡°Everything okay?¡± Some inaudible groans left her mouth before Nyssa shifted and clung onto Celeste, looping her arms around Celeste¡¯s neck. Celeste, breaking into a small smile as her shoulders lightened, hugged Nyssa close. Carrying her girlfriend in a princess carry, she came back to the ground, laid her on the floor, and covered her up with the outer layer from earlier. At the same time, the whirlwind stopped and most of the shimmering particles disappeared, with the last few floating back down to the ground like glitter after the firing of fireworks in someone¡¯s backyard for new year¡¯s. ¡°You all can come now,¡± Celeste called out to the rest of the group as they relaxed and stood up from their battle positions. ¡°Everything¡¯s fine, it was just a bit of a trippy experience.¡± ¡°How is she doing?¡± Electra asked as the first to arrive after appearing beside Celeste in a flash of lightning, a movement so fast it seemed near instantaneous. ¡°I think she¡¯s fine, she¡¯s just asleep, probably very deeply. The common symptom after losing control of your powers,¡± Celeste relayed while crouching down to brush Nyssa¡¯s white hair out of her face. ¡°She did acknowledge me earlier so I think she¡¯ll wake up fine.¡± ¡°Good, good,¡± Electra put her hands on her waist as the others arrived, asking the same exact question. Chuckling, Celeste stood back up. ¡°I think she¡¯s fine, she¡¯s just asleep...¡± 98: Large-Scale Deactivation Conrad, Celeste, Albion, Titus, Ryker, and Electra ended up standing around Nyssa in a loose circle for a couple minutes, catching their breaths and chatting a little. Ryker and Electra, in particular, tried to drag the conversation out for longer, knowing the moment they went to deactivate the reinforcement making these walls near-indestructible, they¡¯d have to come face to face with Angelica. ¡°We should get going though,¡± Titus stretched his arms upward with a yawn, ¡°Let¡¯s not dilly-dally any longer.¡± ¡°Well... you know... we could just chat a little longer...¡± Electra murmured, shifting from one foot to another while Ryker nodded in agreement. Celeste, though, crouched down and began scooping Nyssa into her arms. With a couple gentle movements, she turned around and hoisted Nyssa up into a pack-strap carry before clambering up to her feet. Her actions placed a punctuation point on their conversation, pushing Ryker and Electra to relent as they turned back towards the entrance of the gymnasium room. She carried Nyssa along, shaking her head as Titus offered a hand. ¡°I got it, thank you for offering though.¡± They wandered back out into the sterile hallway, making some light conversation as Ryker and Electra chatted with Angelica over the radio. Their vitality seemed to seep out of their eyes and mouths by the second, draining them like a hungry vampire. ¡°Ah, we¡¯re totally going to get roasted for this as well,¡± Albion commented as he overheard the contents of Electra and Ryker¡¯s conversation, ¡°A little less than them, but it''s absolutely over for us.¡± ¡°... Yeah,¡± Celeste felt a bead of sweat run down her temple as Conrad and Titus turned to look at each other. ¡°It was nice knowing you all.¡± ¡°It really was, I¡¯ll remember you all in the afterlife,¡± Titus sighed as they began walking down the hall. He fell quiet as everyone else carried out a very mild amount of small talk in the meantime to distract themselves. Once at the end of the hallway, they found an iron door bolted shut from the other side, but without much effort, Albion transformed it into ice before having Ryker blast through it with a small explosion. A control room greeted them, everything though, had a layer of dust coating it like frosting. To the right side, video camera feeds showed the now-empty, and now-wrecked rooms. A mystery panel of knobs and switches sat in front of a long-dead central console. To the left displayed details about all the automatons used in the trap rooms. [Destroyed, total physical critical failure.] [Destroyed, electrical failure.] [Destroyed, physical failure.] [Destroyed, complete disassembly, failure from all aspects.] [Destroyed, heat failure... destro-] These messages looped along the screen, flashing across them like background effects as the group split up. Celeste stood off to the side, still carrying Nyssa, but the other five scoured the room while calling out to each other. This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°What if we just unplug it?¡± ¡°That could set off another auxiliary alarm or trap. We literally just got scolded for not being careful enough, what if you cause this entire room to blow up?¡± ¡°You¡¯re right, you¡¯re right, I was thinking straight.¡± ¡°Is it this? Maybe... There¡¯s a complicated multi-switch for a shielding system here, but it also could be for electrically isolating this room in case of an attack.¡± ¡°It probably wouldn¡¯t hurt to try that later, but let¡¯s keep investigating for now.¡± ¡°Agree, definitely.¡± ¡°You got it boss.¡± After a brief stroke of genius, where they consulted the original manual Angelica had provided, they figured out the three step process. Electra, from the other side of the room, powered on the system by letting some electricity flow back into the emergency generated tucked away under a shelf. Then, Ryker used the central console to navigate into advanced controls where he switched everything off, and Conrad applied the emergency override feature to put everything into immediate effect, skipping the hours-long cooling down process. WHOOOOM. The entire room shook as the sound of gargantuan machines buried deep into the rocks surrounding the complex powered down. Like unwinding coils, they tapered down, not before lifting an invisible weight off of everyone¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Huh...¡± Celeste murmured to herself as she blinked her eyes and looked around. Flexing her hand a few times, she turned her head a touch to look at Nyssa. Nyssa, over the course of a couple seconds, relaxed her eyebrows and snuggled up a little closer to Celeste¡¯s neck. I didn¡¯t even notice the invisible irritation. It suddenly feels like the world is a lot lighter. It''s like someone went through my head and cleared all the background noise. Similar scenes played out with the others as Electra experimented a little with her powers. Albion patted his cheeks. Conrad went through a few martial arts forms, nodding in satisfaction as his body flowed like water. ¡°You¡¯re really looking a lot more Angelica by the day with the way you move,¡± Celeste complimented as they reconvened. ¡°You¡¯ll be like a better version of her one day.¡± ¡°Maybe... I still have a long way to go,¡± Conrad shook his head. ¡°Although I have more raw power than her, she moves with perfection, some level I don¡¯t think is possible to reach. I¡¯ll try to get as close as I can though.¡± ¡°Mn, interesting,¡± Celeste nodded, unsure as to the exact allowables given by Conrad¡¯s power. ¡°Well, we¡¯re all cheering for you.¡± ¡°... Now what though,¡± Electra spoke up to the entire group as they stood in a loose circle. ¡°Angelica¡¯s coming, or do we meet up with her? Or... like... I mean.¡± ¡°Did she mention anything over the radio?¡± Celeste asked as one of her hands wandered upward to pat Nyssa¡¯s head resting next to her neck. ¡°We can ask...?¡± Before they could even reach down to their radios though, the muffled sound of an explosion answered their questions. They all looked at each other for a second. One sigh later, they jogged out back into the hallway and into the room where they had rescued Nyssa. Debris fell through the chute where Nyssa had entered from. Having punched through the wall on the surface after the protections had been disabled, Angelica leapt through the hole, and landed on the ground with a solid crushing sound. After denting the floor beneath her, she stood back up and dusted herself off. Tilting her head left and right and cracking her neck, she grumbled ¡°I¡¯m so rusty¡± to herself before shaking out her legs. ¡°That shouldn¡¯t have hurt.¡± Celeste, arriving last after walking through the hall instead of running, poked her head in, and slid forward to stand beside Titus and Albion. The others, a little shocked at Angelica¡¯s aggressive entrance, stood at an awkward distance, the two parties facing each other like coworkers who met at the grocery store. ¡°What¡¯s wrong? Don¡¯t be afraid,¡± Angelica smiled, shifting her weight to one foot and waving them forward. 99: A Never Ending Staircase ¡°Let me check over Nyssa first,¡± Angelica dug through her bag, pulling out a couple of basic instruments. After letting Celeste set her on the ground, she took her temperature, checked her pulse, and listened for her breathing rhythm. Following her initial checks, she ran through a brief checklist provided to her by Kaiser, only standing back up once each of the boxes had a check within them. ¡°She¡¯s fine, don''t worry, just sleeping. Usually someone only falls asleep for a couple of hours, but knowing her it might even take a couple of days.¡± ¡°Days? Why days for her?¡± Celeste felt her palms clam up while the others around her echoed a similar sentiment. ¡°I thought it was pretty consistent no matter the person?¡± ¡°No, no, it¡¯s not like she¡¯s especially sick or something,¡± Angelica waved her hands before continuing to pack up her little kit into its black zip-up bag. ¡°When people pass out after losing control of their powers, their body wants to return to being awake, just some physiological reaction, return to how it was. But with Nyssa, for some reason each time it happened in the past, it''s like she¡¯s subconsciously reveling in the chance to sleep; so she just... stays asleep. I assure you, she¡¯ll wake up very refreshed and quite happy.¡± ¡°Really?¡± Conrad looked back and forth between Nyssa and Angelica. ¡°I¡¯ve never heard of people waking up happy from this type of stuff, they¡¯re usually quite... down. Melancholic even.¡± ¡°She¡¯s unique in that way, you know?¡± Angelica shrugged, before looking down at Nyssa. ¡°No one¡¯s really managed to figure out a lot of things in regards to her. On this though, I¡¯d even be willing to bet money. So, don¡¯t worry, alright? Also, by the way, you can pick her up again if you want Celeste. Unless you want me to do it?¡± ¡°I got it, don¡¯t worry,¡± Celeste stepped forward before the words finished leaving her mouth. She crouched down, and with immaculate technique, slipped Nyssa back onto her back in the pack strap carrying position. ¡°Is this good?¡± ¡°Perfect,¡± Angelica stood back up, slinging her bag back over her shoulder. ¡°Let¡¯s start walking, I¡¯ll talk to you all while we move.¡± She led the way, and, as everyone walked behind like a row of death row inmates, they left the gymnasium room, traversed the length of the blinding white hallway, and punched through a wall to reveal a solid door. A keypad sat at the door¡¯s center, and before Ryker ran up to blow the entire door off, Angelica pulled him back. ¡°That won¡¯t work. All these doors are reinforced.¡± ¡°Huh? With enough explosions thoug...¡± Ryker trailed off as Angelica shook her head. ¡°We¡¯d be here for years. You¡¯ll see in a sec.¡± Angelica walked up to the door. She pulled out a half-crumpled piece of paper from her back pocket. On it, a list of codes. Without a moment¡¯s delay, she began testing each one by one, her fingers flying across the keypad like a well-experienced bank teller¡¯s. Ten codes in, the keypad¡¯s LED blinked from red to green, and the mechanical sound of gears turning and latches unlocking began filling the area. The door¡¯s center, despite weighing more than everyone standing in front of it combined, began a slow spin. It eased the door open, and with it, the series of hundreds of doors behind it began opening as well, like a well-constructed domino stack. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. ¡°Each of these doors is reinforced like those walls. Which means, although this first can be blown open with enough force¡ªdue to an inherent weakness in having its unlocking and locking mechanism,¡± Angelica explained to Ryker as they began walking up the long flight of stairs back to the cavern they had started in. ¡°You would struggle to get through all the subsequent doors the same way you all struggled to get past the near-indestructible wall.¡± ¡°Is there a way to get through these types of walls then?¡± Ryker asked, walking side-by-side with Angelica as the rest followed behind on the two-wide staircase. Dim lights illuminated their path¡ªand how far they had to the end¡ªa fact everyone appreciated even if a little disappointed at the sheer length of the staircase. It just stretched on like a mining shaft. All the way at the end, near where everything converged due to the distance, a faint door could be seen. ¡°Is this the path of dao or something...?¡± Conrad muttered to Electra as they climbed. ¡°We¡¯re suffering for ascension.¡± ¡°I... think you need to stop reading so many webnovels...¡± Electra pat Conrad on the back. ¡°Touching more grass might help you ¡®ascend¡¯.¡± Angelica sighed as she overheard the conversation, along with Albion and Titus¡¯s laughter. As the sound of their footsteps continued at a steady rhythm, she turned to look at the students. ¡°Anyway, I think it''s time we get to the meat of the issue, you all falling into this... dangerous trap, to put it lightly. And also, yes, we¡¯re going to talk about it right now, don¡¯t give me that look. I¡¯ll talk to Nyssa later.¡± As she walked, she fell into thought. ¡°Just where to start? It was a definite misstep, I¡¯ll be blunt with you all. It doesn¡¯t look good. I didn¡¯t warn you about it because it wasn¡¯t life threatening, but it doesn¡¯t erase the fact that you did trip at this obstacle. It¡¯s a sad truth, but you put yourselves in a lot of danger. In another universe, this could¡¯ve led to the deaths of half, or more, of the team. I hope this situation doesn¡¯t repeat itself.¡± A heavy atmosphere settled on the group. Everyone¡¯s steps slowed, people¡¯s heads bowed down, and gazes drilled into the ground. After a brief moment of silence, everyone replied with a flavor of ¡°It won¡¯t happen again.¡± ¡°Good, good,¡± Angelica smiled, patting those she could reach on the shoulder. ¡°I trust you all in this regard. Just make sure to put in your due diligence and everything will be okay. If I give you all reading materials, there¡¯s a reason, so do try and read it all.¡± ¡°¡°We understand,¡±¡± Electra and Ryker spoke up as the leaders of the group. Though frowning, both spoke with clear eyes as the others nodded along. ¡°Good, I¡¯m glad,¡± Angelica put her hands on her hips as they continued scaling the never-ending staircase. ¡°Now, considering we¡¯re past dinner time, we¡¯ll scale back to the surface, I¡¯ll point out details and describe to you all the significance of certain parts, so you have a better idea of what to look for in the future, and then we¡¯ll pack up and head back to town.¡± ¡°Oh, are we cutting it short?¡± Albion asked from the back as he mustered the breath to keep climbing. ¡°Yeah, the original plan was to stop before the trap, sleep for the night, then spend tomorrow disabled the trap together safely before finishing the last bits of the base. But you all cleaned up the corners quite well on the way down because of zealousness, and the rest of the base past the trap collapsed and was destroyed when you all triggered the trap, so there¡¯s no need to go through it.¡± Angelica explained as they neared the top. ¡°We¡¯re close though, so just push through the last bit of climbing!¡± 100: Tent Packing And Town Exploring After arriving at the top of the staircase, they took a mild break, ate some food, and continued the trek towards the surface. Dark corridors, sparking machines, and a faint red glow. Because they retraced their steps towards the surface instead of taking a new route, the experience remained the same¡ªbar the now distinct lack of robots coming at them from all sides at all times. ¡°So, here¡¯s a common picture I like to take: the inside of the electrical boards. There are a lot of experts who are able to identify the time, level, and general location of manufacturing just from these types of boards. With it, information about the organization itself can be gleaned.¡± ¡°Also, as a rule of thumb, I tend to take as many pictures as I can. Distinct ones of course. I¡¯ll repeat if I think there¡¯s multiple objects of interest or if the subject isn¡¯t in focus, but the more the better. Even if it leads to more work down the line.¡± ¡°Here¡¯s another thing I try to take pictures of, I saw you all had taken a fair few of these though, but anything vaguely technology related. It just provides more insight about the organization¡¯s tech level.¡± ¡°If there¡¯s ever a dead body, although disgusting, take multiple pictures of it from different angles. Sometimes it lets us identify people and return their bodies, but they usually carry good stuff on them.¡± ¡°Rob them?¡± ¡°No... I mean if you have to, but sometimes it lets you uncover a trail of who¡¯s involved. Other times you can find out identifying markers every member will have. For example, this is useful for gangs who tattoo each of their members. I know this isn¡¯t quite relevant here though, since we¡¯re dealing with a seemingly inorganic organization.¡± ¡°Should we take pictures of things like these burn marks?¡± ¡°Might as well. It¡¯s not critical as it doesn¡¯t reveal much about the organization as a whole. But it''s still useful in figuring out what might¡¯ve happened to cause a group to leave behind an empty base like this one. After all, an empty base here is pretty much a huge monetary loss.¡± --- Mirroring their journey with the near-endless staircase, the group took a break once they made it back to the surface. Everyone splayed out on the dirt, laughing and resting before they¡¯d have to get back up to pack up their tents. ¡°We¡¯re free...¡± Electra pumped her fists, laughing to the now-night sky. ¡°It¡¯s so nice to breathe fresh air again,¡± Celeste laid onto the ground as well, setting down Nyssa to lay beside her. ¡°I think the journey back was the hardest part. I got a crazy workout in.¡± ¡°I mean we offered to help you, you could¡¯ve taken us up on that and it would¡¯ve made it a lot easier,¡± Albion sat onto a rock beside Celeste. ¡°No, it¡¯s fine, it¡¯s fine, I¡¯m happy to carry Nyssa, she¡¯s not that heavy anyway,¡± Celeste waved off Albion before precluding any potential other comments by closing her eyes. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. On the other side of camp, Ryker began disassembling his tent with measured motions while Angelica helped him from the side. Yawning as he shoved some poles into the ¡®pole bag,¡¯ he turned to Angelica. ¡°What¡¯s the plan for the next few days then? Are we heading back to the institute early?¡± ¡°No, I originally planned a free day after this mission, but now you all will just have two. It¡¯ll be good to recuperate a little, especially since you all did more than I expected today,¡± Angelica answered while holding the tent for Ryker to fold it. ¡°Although you all did mess up a little at the end, as a whole, you all did splendidly.¡± As they talked, the others came to join them, packing up the tents one-by-one. Ryker and Angelica, having finished packing up Ryker¡¯s tent, moved on to Nyssa¡¯s afterward. Clunk. Clunk. One-by-one, people put their now-packed up tents in the back of the monster, six-wheeled vehicle. Angelica, while Celeste finished packing up, moved Nyssa into the back, laying her flat against the seats and securing her in place with seatbelts. Twenty minutes later, once everyone had finished packing up, and gotten the chatting out of their veins, she called them all over. ¡°Ready to go, everyone? --- Over the next two days, everyone got up to their own thing. The sun beat down onto the town around Cerbos Lakein a rare moment of kindness. Electra and Ryker struck off on their own, getting a meal together and buying some gifts for the hunters who had helped them earlier. Albion, Titus, and Conrad went back to putzing around the town, but this time with their original fourth member, Celeste, rejoining them. ¡°How have you been recently?¡± Titus slowed down, walking in step with Celeste as Albion and Conrad annoyed each other ahead of them. ¡°I feel like it''s been a while since we¡¯ve gotten to talk.¡± ¡°It¡¯s alright, I¡¯m a lot happier and less lonely these days with Nyssa,¡± Celeste smiled, folding her hands together. ¡°Nothing against you all, of course, but she¡¯s just a little more my speed. How are you though?¡± ¡°No worries at all, I understand where you¡¯re coming from,¡± Titus laughed, stretching his arms out. ¡°I¡¯m also doing fine though. The third year classes I have to do are a lot more annoying. I understand its general education, but sometimes I feel like I''m learning useless stuff.¡± ¡°Ah... I¡¯m not looking forward to that then,¡± Celeste scratched the side of her face. ¡°Good to know.¡± ¡°How are your classes though?¡± --- As for Angelica, she ended up getting a meal with the hunters, then got an additional meal with Seraph alone, just to catch up and reflect on life. Once she got back to the cabin though, and called a certain Roxanne, she let out a long sigh. ¡°I got a meal with my old love rival, but everything¡¯s fine, don¡¯t worry,¡± Angelica started the call with a couple quick updates. A small chuckle left her mouth before she clarified Seraph¡¯s identity. [What! How could you, what if she fell in love with you... not even when I''m there to defend you either!] Roxanne¡¯s half-teasing, half-angry voice came over the phone. ¡°I don¡¯t think you need to worry about her falling in love with me, with our past history, I feel like she¡¯d be more inclined to hate me,¡± Angelica shrugged, walking out to the balcony and propping her elbows on the railing. [With how attractive you are? No way!] Roxanne countered, playing up an indignant tone in her voice. [Even I couldn¡¯t resist, in fact, I can¡¯t resist just thinking about it right now! Why do you have to be so far...] ¡°Alright, alright, don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll be back soon anyway, I¡¯ll swing by right after we get back, okay?¡± Angelica reassured, her laughter leaking over the phone. [It¡¯s fine either way,] Roxanne¡¯s cheery voice came over the phone. [Truly, don¡¯t worry. How is Seraph, anyway? I am a little curious after all these years.] ¡°Well...¡± 101: A Father’s Care Sleeping while enveloped in what felt like a warm soup created a great sleeping experience in Nyssa¡¯s humble opinion. Everytime she began to stir and awaken, she felt the warmth beckon to her, letting her sleep a little longer. Only after a dozen-or-so cycles of awakening and sleeping did Nyssa return to the land of consciousness in full. She blinked her eyes open, floating in the air, greeted by an ever-changing landscape. Here again, how long has it been? With the slightest thought, she began floating forward. The air around her rippled, like a viscous goo for a couple seconds before thinning out and returning to an air-like consistency. As she floated forward, everything changed by the passing second. One second, she stood on land, in a school setting dressed in clothes. In another second she laid in bed, floating off of it with the blankets in tow like a possessed character in a horror movie. Other times she began diving into the ocean head first, traveling downward. Along with it, creatures appeared and disappeared as fast as they came. Some seemed recognizable, the leopard, the lion, the dragon, while others came in a more abstract form: the square like blob, the glowing ripple, the exploding and collapsing sphere of spikes. When they appeared near her, Nyssa reached out, trying to touch it before it blinked back out of existence. If successful, they¡¯d float a little further from the nudge, before following the inevitable path of recycling. Light wisps coalesced into faces, with each successive shift, the time between each change decreased, and before long, she couldn¡¯t recognize the faces. First, Kaiser, her adoptive father, then Roxanne, then Slade, then Angelica, then Celeste, then the rest of Class Zero, then some upperclassmen, some friends of Roxanne, guildmates from her older siblings¡¯ jobs, and then a blur. Sighing, Nyssa curled up into a ball, resorting to her tried and true strategy for escaping her own mental realm. Sleep, take me. Her breaths evened out, vision darkened, and consciousness faded. --- Nyssa, while awakening, rolled over and became intimately aware of her bedside wall as her face slammed into it with a dull thud. The pain jolted her awake as she rolled back over, tugging the blankets over herself and basking in their warmth Oh... Home. I¡¯m back. How did I get back? What... What was the last thing that happened again? Oh yeah, underground, powers, mental realm, sleep... How long has it been? I haven¡¯t felt this rested in a long time. In a rare filled-with-energy moment, she pushed herself upward, clambering out of bed as a grimace appeared on her face. Her arms, sluggish, pulled at her muscles as she used them, and her head felt like a bowling ball attached to a stick of a neck. Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Sat on the edge of her bed, she squeezed her eyes shut, opened them with a burst, and repeated the process for a couple minutes while massaging her face; in particular, her eyebrow area. Faint groans left her mouth as the heaviness persisted. She felt a tug from somewhere inside her, calling at her to just transform into a cat once more and scamper off, letting the pain heal another time. But I shouldn¡¯t... Images of her past battle flickered across her vision. What remaining memories she had of the second half of battle¡ªhazy as they were¡ªappeared in her mind. A ball of flesh? Why was it that this time... Last time didn¡¯t I just transform into a giant duck? And the time before that a giant cat? Where¡¯s the messy ball of flesh with even gross-er flesh tentacles coming from... Still sitting on the edge of her bed, she kicked a small cat bed away while her gaze deepened. Then, seconds later, after a couple of coughs left her throat, she grabbed a cup of water sitting by her bedside and sipped it while staring towards the door. After a glance at the clock confirmed her suspicions about the sunlight flooding through the window¡ªtwo in the afternoon¡ªher eyes wandered between her backpack, the door, and her pillows. Two in the afternoon.... Two. Huh. Middle of the workday... unless it''s a weekend? She downed the rest of her cup with one smooth motion. Deciding her pajamas would do well-enough for some in-house wandering, she, with a quiet grunt, hopped off her bed and left her room, keeping her momentum to ignore any and all thoughts calling her back to the land of dreams. Closing the door with a not-so-quiet click, she skated along the hallways with slow motions. Any faster and her head began to throb the rage of a thousand jackhammers. The first few doors she came across all had closed doors. The door for Roxanne¡¯s room, Slade¡¯s room, the storage closet filled with cleaning supplies, and the bathroom with weird lighting no one used except between the hours of one and five in the morning. The house seemed desolate. All the lights remained off, the windows not facing the backyard remained shut, and blinds drawn. Not a peep could be heard other than the faint sound of her breathing, her socks¡¯ sliding sound, and the bamboo waterfall installation Kaiser had put in the backyard ten years prior. Slipping into the kitchen like an eel, Nyssa poured herself a cup of water, downed the entire thing, and poured herself another. Sipping the second at a more mild pace, she kept wandering, only pausing as she heard typing from Kaiser¡¯s home office. ¡°Hello?¡± Nyssa peeked her head into the doorway, cracking the door open. ¡°Oh, hello,¡± Kaiser¡¯s eyes widened as he pulled off a pair of headphones and turned to face Nyssa. His eyes softened as he beckoned her into the room. ¡°How are you feeling?¡± ¡°Am I interrupting your work? What day is it?¡± Nyssa plopped onto Kaiser¡¯s lap, bringing back an action from her childhood. She faced the screen as he took the water from her hand and set it on the desk. ¡°I can leave if you¡¯re in the middle of something.¡± ¡°No, not at all,¡± Kaiser smoothened out Nyssa¡¯s long white hair. ¡°It¡¯s Wednesday, but I¡¯ve just been working from home since you got back from your trip.¡± ¡°Ah... sorry about that,¡± Nyssa closed her eyes, enjoying the warmth from Kaiser¡¯s hands. ¡°I messed up during our trip and lost control.¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, I expected that to happen when you signed up for the academy,¡± Kaiser reassured, motioning for Nyssa to continue water. ¡°Your throat is still a little hoarse, have a little more. Though I didn¡¯t expect it to happen in a situation like that. It did lead to me scolding Angelica a little for her unsafe conduct, her teaching style is effective, but it certainly leads to some dangers...¡± ¡°I don¡¯t mind it, I like her a lot as a teacher, and I¡¯m learning...¡± Nyssa sipped her water. ¡°Sorry to bother you with all of this though...¡± ¡°As long as you¡¯re having fun, learning, and staying safe, I couldn¡¯t ask for more,¡± Kaiser smiled, moving the mouse around a few times to keep his computer awake. ¡°Want to take a look at what I''m doing then? While you¡¯re here.¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Nyssa¡¯s eyes brightened as she shifted her position to let Kaiser have a better view of the screen. 102: Return To The Academy Nyssa ended up spending the rest of Wednesday and the entirety of Thursday laying around at home. Sleeping, eating... and more sleeping. With only Kaiser at home, she spent most of her time in bed, living the same life she lived before attending the academy. Staring up at the ceiling while in bed with her blankets up to her chin, she let out a long sigh. I kind of miss this life... Except the boredom. By Thursday evening, Nyssa just laid there with empty eyes. She had slept for maybe¡ªprobably¡ªninety-percent of the past five days. So bored, in fact, that she had rated how interesting the different sections of ceiling were, and based on their results, chose to lay in a diagonal position in bed to stare at the number one winner. And I miss the rest of them more than I miss this life! Nyssa rolled over in bed. Now facedown, breathing nothing but pillowcase fumes, she flailed her arms and legs a little. Especially Celeste! Why can¡¯t I go back sooner... Wishing for time to pass faster, she closed her eyes, curling up in bed once more while pulling the blankets over herself. Unlike the usual though, thoughts came flooding in. What if I lose control of my powers again? Did I get worse? Is something different about my subconscious now? It used to be a big cat, but this time it was so abhorrent? Am I becoming less human? Or was it a stress marker? The other times I wasn¡¯t fighting something as dangerous as this after all... I don¡¯t know if being a big cat would¡¯ve let me win after all... It might¡¯ve let me destroy the gymnasium as a whole if I kept growing? Otherwise I would¡¯ve been easy pickings. So, would it be better for me to lean into that side? Should I do research into eldritch gods? Tortured by her own thoughts, spinning in circles and repeating through similar tracks for a couple hours, Nyssa, for once, had to wait before sleep whisked her off to dreamland. --- For once, Nyssa beat Kaiser to his car in the morning. Having set an alarm fifteen minutes earlier than usual, she lumbered out of bed, rubbing her eyes and stretching. Next came teeth-brushing, face-washing, and skincare, before she returned to her room and pulled open her closet. ¡°What would look better? Green, or beige?¡± Nyssa stood in front of the mirror, holding two different tops against her torso. ¡°Well, beige does match Celeste¡¯s hair, and is a little less eye-catching...¡± After tilting her head side-to-side, she ended up hanging the green top back up and slid the beige one over her head. Electing for a pair of pants instead of a skirt, she grabbed her bag and left for the garage, beating Kaiser to the door by a hallway¡¯s length. Once in the car, they exchanged a couple words, but Kaiser, eating a breakfast sandwich, couldn¡¯t talk much, and Nyssa, herself, lacked the social chops to carry the conversation¡ªleaving them to just bid each other a ¡°have good day¡± as they left the car. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°Deep breaths,¡± Nyssa told herself as she made her way across campus during the morning rush. She stood out in the crowd, her white hair and lack of uniform drew gazes and whispers, but just as quick as they came, they left. ¡°Who is she?¡± ¡°Go up to her bro.¡± ¡°Is she even a student here?¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t she the baddie from Class Zero, the one in our year.¡± ¡°I heard she¡¯s the only one this year. This could be our chance, there¡¯s no one else she¡¯s talked to in her year-¡± ¡°Oh shit she looked over here.¡± ¡°Shut up.¡± ¡°She must¡¯ve heard us...¡± Nyssa, shooting them a glare, kept walking. Yeah, and I''m not even single either. Weirdos. I wonder what class they¡¯re in since they¡¯re first years... Her pace quickened as the bell rang. The crowd, having thinned as she left the main area of the academy, began to rush as well, with everyone sharing a collective realization that they¡¯d all be late. Nyssa, herself, hurried along the breezeway, entered the Class Zero building, and slowed as she came to a stop outside of the classroom. Her hand paused midair, just a hair¡¯s width away from the door handle. In. Out. One breath later, she slid the door open, peeking her head in with an awkward smile before stepping in and sitting down at her usual desk. ¡°Welcome back, Nyssa,¡± Angelica greeted, nodding as she marked her down as present. ¡°Don¡¯t worry you didn¡¯t miss anything, Ryker and Conrad were just arguing about what dinosaur they¡¯d be if they were transformed.¡± ¡°WHICH IS IMPORTANT!¡± Conrad huffed, crossing his arms before turning to Nyssa. ¡°Welcome back though, glad you seem to be well.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not, because if you were transformed into dinosaurs you¡¯d have much larger problems at hand,¡± Angelica countered before pausing for a second. ¡°No uniform?¡± ¡°Yeah, they¡¯re all in my dorm¡¯s closet, not at home,¡± Nyssa scratched the back of her head, murmuring a ¡°thank you¡± to Electra as she complimented her outfit. ¡°Ah, I understand, no worries, I won¡¯t write it down,¡± Angelica set her sheet back onto her desk. Leaning over her desk, she opened her laptop, typed in her password, and began navigating through her files. In the meantime, Nyssa, having sat back next to Celeste, waved. A slight smile tugged at her lips as Celeste covered her own smile before waving back. Ignorant of Conrad, Titus and Albion¡¯s sour gazes coming from the side, she leaned over, putting her hands over Celeste¡¯s. ¡°Your hands are really cold, are you okay?¡± Celeste raised an eyebrow, covering Nyssa¡¯s hands with her own. ¡°... Or is it that mine are really hot?¡± ¡°Yours are really hot,¡± Nyssa bowed her head with a laugh, feeling her hands already beginning to perspire. ¡°It¡¯s okay, I don¡¯t mind the warmth, it''s comforting. Think of it as a representation of just how happy I am to see you.¡± ¡°I¡¯m happy to see you too,¡± Celeste whispered in a quiet voice, one almost inaudible to Nyssa herself. As she spoke, a faint hint of worry leaked through her voice. ¡°How are your transformations? Everything alright in that regard?¡± ¡°Ah... well, I haven¡¯t tried much,¡± Nyssa confessed. ¡°I was going to do some more comprehensive testing with Angelica later today. I only transformed into a cat once, and then transformed back immediately because I got nervous...¡± ¡°That¡¯s understandable, take your time with it,¡± Celeste patted Nyssa on the back, rubbing her back a few times before Angelica cleared her throat to grab everyone¡¯s attention. 103: A Prank Between Friends Angelica ran through some morning announcements reiterating Roxanne and her guild¡¯s imminent arrival in a couple weeks. ¡°Unlike the more focused-style we¡¯re doing with Slade, which mirrored traditional speakers, Roxanne¡¯s event will be more like a festival. And since it¡¯ll be right near the beginning of spring, it¡¯ll be spring-themed.¡± After answering a couple questions, she continued on with her announcements. Bored, she leaned against the wall as she gave them, rolling her eyes and giving commentary, to the thorough delight of the students. ¡°Yeah, they want me to tell you that the area behind the Class Two classrooms was destroyed in a fight between students... Kinda dumb since you all don¡¯t go over there. And could probably whoop all of them anyway.¡± ¡°The head of health administration is leaving... again, don¡¯t quite see how this is relevant, but I have to tell you guys regardless...¡± ¡°Also, the second-years in Class One are going on a field trip, this is... again, not super relevant. I guess it is mildly to Conrad and Celeste, not that you two hang out much with the Class One second years to my knowledge. As always, I apologize but since there are so few of you, I just have to give the announcements for all four years at once. Well, I don¡¯t have to, but I like being lazy every once and a while.¡± Wrapping up the announcements with a long sigh, Angelica crumpled the paper in her hands, tossed it into the wastebasket by the door, and dismissed everyone to do their daily general education. ¡°Finish it quickly, and you¡¯ll be free for the rest of the day, I have nothing planned.¡± The sounds of chairs moving and bags being picked up filled the classroom. Everyone reacted within seconds of the dismissal. Conrad, the fastest, vaulted over his desk, landing in a superhero pose and dashing out of the door with a faint slide from his sneakers. Electra, as usual, packed her bags and disappeared in a flash of lightning. ¡°Well, I¡¯ll see you later,¡± Nyssa waved to Angelica as she and Celeste ambled out of the classroom, ascending the stairs to their usual balcony spot. Once they laid out their belongings, they both let out a long sigh and sat down next to each other, knuckling down as the general education system let out a ding. [Welcome back to learning Celeste! Today¡¯s main focus will be: Trigonometry!] [Welcome back to learning Nyssa! Today¡¯s main focus will be: History of the ninth kingdom war!] A second later, two walking corpses wished each other well. ¡°Good luck...¡± ¡°You too...¡± --- The sun climbed higher into the sky. It blazed in the sky, letting loose its fiery warmth for the entire world to bask in. The morning break came and went, with none of the Class Zero students observing it. As for the rest of campus, people spilled out of their classrooms, chatted in groups, bought some snacks, and did some homework for forty minutes before all trudging back to their lecture halls. The campus emptied out once more, with security guards wandering the campus. They kept an eye out for suspicious individuals, entrusted with the role of keeping the students safe; yet interacted the most with stray students trying to escape the lecture halls. ¡°Why are you out here?¡± Stolen content warning: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°O-Oh... you know, bathroom break.¡± ¡°We¡¯ve seen you wander past five bathrooms.¡± ¡°They¡¯re all dirty... you know... I¡¯m a germaphobe.¡± ¡°Return to your classroom.¡± ¡°Yessir...¡± As for the Class Zero students, Ryker and Electra, back in the secluded Class Zero building, snapped their general education devices closed first. Stretching out, and zoning out for a couple minutes, they made their way to the gym, warmed up a little, and ran through an entire workout until Electra¡¯s phone buzzed. ¡°My alarm is going off. It''s the passing period for the last class before lunch,¡± Electra leapt to her feet, wincing as her abs screamed in protest. ¡°Are we still doing it?¡± Ryker, laying across the floor out of breath, closed his eyes. His chest rose and fell a few times before he hoisted himself up as well. ¡°Of course, let¡¯s go, bringing our backpacks?¡± ¡°Yup, yup, I¡¯m pulling up Olivia¡¯s schedule as we speak,¡± Electra slung her backpack over one shoulder as they leapt down a couple flights of stairs and began jogging across the school grounds. ¡°Seems like she has... Oh, interesting.¡± ¡°What is it?¡± Ryker asked, trying to lean over and see Electra phone. Frowning as her privacy screen protector blocked any and all attempts to sneak a look. ¡°She has one of the larger lectures, which should make this easier. What is it called specifically... ¡®Hero Studies In The Modern Era: How Just Saving People Is No Longer Enough¡¯?¡± Electra tilted her head as they ran. Though they drew some confused gazes, with those who knew them spreading speculatory whispers in their wake, they carried on unfazed. ¡°It¡¯s a senior only elective, taught by one of the better teachers. It¡¯s really sought after, like seventy percent of the senior class is in this lecture.¡± ¡°Holy, yeah, that¡¯ll make it easy to blend in,¡± Ryker chuckled, adjusting an invisible pair of glasses. ¡°I¡¯m about to go on a generational run. Professor¡¯s about to think I¡¯m the reincarnation of every genius in history.¡± ¡°... Sure,¡± Electra trailed off as they arrived at the lecture hall. A gentle stream of people passed through the doorway in both directions, with the last lecture ending a little late. They wormed their way through, and, once in the lecture hall, climbed towards the back to get a better vantage point. ¡°Olivia... Olivia...¡± Ryker mumbled, sweeping his gaze over the entire lecture hall. ¡°I forgot how nice this place is. If it wasn¡¯t for the fact I¡¯d have to miss so many of the lectures, I would¡¯ve loved to take this.¡± ¡°Me too,¡± Electra put her hands on her hips as she searched. As a whole, the lecture hall mixed utility with elegance. Instead of the usual layout where each seat had its own pull out table¡ªone completely unusable in every possible capacity while destroying any semblance of posture¡ªthe lecture hall had five sections, each section consisted of long tables with full-fledged chairs to form the rows. As for the hall itself it invited its students in with warm lighting, a curved, and lower ceiling along with arching walls. The wooden panels, serving a half-decor, half-acoustic purpose, made the hall feel more like a concert hall than a lecture hall. ¡°Found her, very front row, center seat,¡± Electra pointed out, jogging down the steps with Ryker in tow. Once they neared the front, they slowed down, walking in slow steps while nodding towards the Class One students who recognized them. ¡°Boo!¡± Ryker flashed his hands out from behind Olivia, causing her to leap up in her seat a little and send an elbow flying backward. ¡°... Oh, sorry, that was an instinctive reaction,¡± Olivia apologized, breaking into a smile as Electra sat down next to her. ¡°Tho...se... are some... great instincts...¡± Ryker croaked from the floor, giving a thumbs-up while clambering into the seat on the other side of Olivia. ¡°Why are you two even here though? What? Don¡¯t you two have like... cool stuff to do with Class Zero?¡± Olivia raised an eyebrow. ¡°... Nah, we¡¯re done for the day, so we decided to pay a visit, bother you, get a meal, and then dip,¡± Ryker confessed, freezing up as the professor came on stage. ¡°Oh shit, gotta concentrate, let me cook.¡± He scrambled, pulling out two notebooks, a pencil pouch, a laptop, and a fake pair of glasses. ¡°Ahem, won¡¯t catch me lacking today.¡± ¡°W... What the,¡± Olivia muttered, turning to Electra only to see the same situation unfold. ¡°Oh, you bastards... what kind of stupid prank is this...¡± 104: Class Zero Cheering Squad ¡°How are you?¡± Angelica asked as Nyssa went through a basic stretching routine. ¡°Been a little while, I hope you got some rest in.¡± ¡°I did, thank you,¡± Nyssa murmured, sitting on the ground and taking a break halfway through the routine with the classic starfish stretch. ¡°How are you?¡± ¡°Doing well, quite busy. For certain reasons, I¡¯ll be the one guiding Roxanne around the school the entire time, which means I have to plan a lot more,¡± Angelica took some notes on her notepad. ¡°Doing a little worse now that you¡¯ve stopped stretching though.¡± ¡°Fine...¡± Nyssa rolled over with the groan before pushing herself back up. ¡°You can just say it''s because you two are dating, it¡¯s not like anyone else is here. How are you two doing these days anyway? I haven¡¯t seen Roxanne in a while.¡± ¡°Let a woman have some subtlety,¡± Angelica rolled her eyes while her hand kept writing. ¡°We¡¯re doing well though, thanks for asking. I¡¯m planning on proposing to her soon. If all goes right, maybe... a couple months? The ring is being made right now.¡± ¡°Ohhh, good luck,¡± Nyssa finished up the last of the stretches by jogging in a wide circle around Angelica¡ªshe had sat in the center of the gymnasium after all. ¡°So, what do you want me to do with the... whole uh... situation I¡¯m in right now with my powers.¡± ¡°Have you transformed since the incident?¡± Angelica asked, going through the basic questions first and foremost. ¡°If so, what have you transformed into? If you could, try and list when you did it, how long it lasted, and how you felt.¡± ¡°That¡¯s easy, I¡¯ve only transformed once, and it was into a cat,¡± Nyssa explained, as Angelica nodded with an ¡°expected¡± leaving her mouth. ¡°It lasted a couple seconds, as I transformed back right away. It was in the morning right after I woke up, so I think I did it out of habit, but then uh... I panicked a little and just went back to being human.¡± ¡°How would you characterize your panic? Did it manifest at all in your body? Like an elevated heart rate or an upset stomach?¡± Angelica transcribed Nyssa¡¯s first bit word-for-word. ¡°Of course, there could be a number of other symptoms. Anything out of the ordinary?¡± ¡°Nope, I actually didn¡¯t feel much,¡± Nyssa shrugged, ¡°Just that my heart rate accelerated a little. But after I went back to being human, and realized nothing had gone wrong, and that, uh... what I call the energy of transformation in me still was under control, I took a few deep breaths and felt fine.¡± ¡°What did you do afterward?¡± Angelica wrapped up with the last question. ¡°I fell back asleep...¡± Nyssa trailed off, running a hand through her hair as she looked towards the floor. ¡°That¡¯s my usual response when something stresses me out.¡± ¡°Mhm, better than most coping strategies,¡± Angelica nodded her head, wrote a couple more words, and set her notepad off to the side. ¡°Let¡¯s go through some very basic transformations though, to help you get more comfortable with it again. I¡¯ll take notes through the process, but take it slow. Why don¡¯t we start with a limb transformation? Don¡¯t forget, I¡¯m here, so don¡¯t worry about things going wrong.¡± Nodding a couple times, Nyssa took a deep breath and extended her arm. One blink later, her arm became white and fluffy. Another blink later, her arm became scaley and muscular. One last blink later, her entire arm disappeared, replaced by a colony of duck heads. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Following the duck transformation, she transformed her arm back into its original form, and took a few steps in a small circle while shaking her arms out and catching her breath. ¡°Did you hold your breath?¡± Angelica asked, noting down what she could observe. ¡°That¡¯s not a habit you had before. But from what I saw, the transformations are just as fluid as before. No issues so far at least with any of the mechanics behind your transformations.¡± ¡°... Yeah, I did hold my breath, I didn¡¯t realize I did until afterward, when I exhaled and was out of breath,¡± Nyssa put her hands on her knees for a moment, staring at the ground as a feeling of embarrassment roiled in her stomach. ¡°I¡¯m just nervous...¡± ¡°That¡¯s understandable,¡± Angelica left her seat, walking over and rubbing Nyssa on the back. ¡°Take it slow. I know you¡¯re dissatisfied, but it''s only with a lot of successful transformations will you build your confidence back up.¡± ¡°I know, but it''s just so annoying,¡± Nyssa¡¯s gaze examined her feet, examining every lace, every speck of dirt, and imperfection in the canvas making up its outer layer. ¡°What¡¯s next?¡± ¡°A two minute break,¡± Angelica nudged Nyssa to stand back up. ¡°I want you to walk to the wall and back before we continue, it¡¯ll help you clear your mind a little.¡± Unable to protest, and thankful in certain ways for the break, she relented, walking over to the wall and back. She took her time, and four minutes passed instead of Angelica¡¯s originally proposed two, but, with her shoulders far more relaxed, and breath even, she continued. They repeated a limb transformation, moved onto both limbs, then single leg, then both legs, then legs and limbs, then torso only, then everything below the neck. Interspersed between the sections, Angelica guided Nyssa into taking breaks. Oftentimes, by letting her walk to some part of the gymnasium and back, and other times by distracting her with a short conversation to catch up a little. ¡°How¡¯s your father been? He was working from home recently if I recall correctly?¡± ¡°Yeah, he¡¯s well, how did you know he was working from home though?¡± ¡°Because he scolded me over call instead of in person for the incident you went through.¡± ¡°... Oh.¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± ¡°You¡¯re very observant, you know, to notice a small detail like that.¡± ¡°I try my best, it is one of my few advantages after all.¡± ¡°I see... Also, do you know where Roxanne is? I haven¡¯t seen or heard from her recently.¡± ¡°Busy, very busy. She¡¯s been running around doing government sponsored missions to clear out dungeons like the ones we went through. They pay very well, but are very busy. In a certain sense, the festival event she¡¯s co-hosting here with your father is her break. The institute¡¯s doing most of the work to plan and set it up after all.¡± ¡°Oh, got it.¡± Nyssa sat on the ground, with cat ears and a tail, letting Angelica observe her sustained transformation. ¡°I don¡¯t know what else to say, I don¡¯t talk to her much.¡± ¡°Yeah, but that¡¯s just a testament to the relationship between you two,¡± Angelica shrugged. ¡°Alright, you¡¯ve sustained this one quite well. Let¡¯s move on to the last one, a full body transformation. You can start with the cat since I know that¡¯s a very familiar one to you, but I would like to see another afterward. Also, your classmates are behind you, want them to leave?¡± Standing on the far side of the gymnasium was Albion, Celeste, Titus, and Conrad, walking over while waving. Unbeknownst to Nyssa, at some point, they had snuck in with a box of store bought cupcakes. ¡°No, it¡¯s fine, I¡¯m... I¡¯m honored they came to check up on me.¡± Nyssa bowed her head towards them. ¡°I¡¯ll proceed with the transformations in a second, just let me gather my thoughts for a second to calm down.¡± ¡°For sure, take your time,¡± Angelica reassured, moving aside her laptop on the table to make room for the cupcakes. ¡°You four are very considerate, feel free to find a place to sit. I didn¡¯t bring extra chairs though.¡± ¡°No worries at all!¡± ¡°We¡¯re just here to cheer Nyssa on.¡± ¡°You got this! RAH! We¡¯ve all been through this, so we know how you feel.¡± ¡°We¡¯re here for you.¡± 105: An Unexpected Confrontation Angelica didn¡¯t hold her for long, and after a couple more transformations, Nyssa left with the rest of Class Zero. With a newfound pep in her step, she held hands with Celeste as they wandered away from the Class Zero building situated in a secluded corner of campus. Feeling fatigue tickle at the back of her neck, she blinked it away as the others began debating. ¡°Noodle place... AGAIN? Come on, we¡¯ve eaten there so much recently,¡± Conrad rolled his head back, grumbling after Titus¡¯s initial proposal. ¡°Recently my ASS!¡± Albion retorted. ¡°We just got back from a trip! But, also, yeah, I¡¯d rather not go there either, I¡¯m kinda tired of their noodle broth.¡± ¡°Why oppose me then? We¡¯re on the same team, what¡¯s the point??¡± Conrad grabbed Albion¡¯s shoulders, shaking him for a couple seconds until ice began spreading across his hands. ¡°Okay, fine, I¡¯ll stop, no need to try and freeze my ass...¡± ¡°Do you two have any preferences then?¡± Titus looked back towards Celeste and Nyssa, who shook their heads in sync. ¡°What about you two then, Albion and Conrad, if you two are such geniuses.¡± With Titus¡¯s inflammatory words, another argument blossomed, and they came close to brawling until Celeste pulled them apart with a few words. ¡°Why don¡¯t we go to the rice bowl house? The newly opened one. I¡¯m pretty sure none of us have gone, unless you three went right before we left?¡± ¡°No, we haven¡¯t,¡± Conrad rolled his sleeves down while glaring at Titus. ¡°I¡¯m down to go there, if these two bozos can agree though.¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine, I wasn¡¯t the one who started this all,¡± Titus sent another verbal jab in Conrad and Albion¡¯s direction. ¡°Food is food, no need to get so heated over it.¡± Albion, rolling his eyes, gave a thumbs-up. ¡°I¡¯m fine with it too, let¡¯s just get going since the sun is already beginning to set, and I¡¯m starving.¡± --- By the time they reached the restaurant located on the opposite side of campus, the sun had already set. A snaking wind seeped the warmth from their bones as they began crossing the final courtyard to reach the restaurant¡¯s door into light, warmth, and sustenance. ¡°Oi, Titus? What the hell are you doing here?¡± A voice called out to them from the side. A jet of flames crossed their vision, illuminating the courtyard in a reddish-orange glow. ¡°With your little posse too.¡± ¡°What do you want Troy,¡± Titus turned to face Troy, a dark expression crossing his face as his frustration began to boil. First an argument¡ªthough more light-hearted¡ªwith Albion and Conrad, and now this? ¡°I just want to ask how you¡¯re doing,¡± Troy smirked, putting a hand on his hip. ¡°It¡¯s not often I see my rival just out and about, so I had to give a greeting. How¡¯s Class Zero? With all your special little perks and what not. Is that what you get for only hanging out with people younger than you?¡± ¡°Man, I do not have the energy for this, why even talk if you¡¯re just going to taunt me like this,¡± Titus resisted the urge to cuss Troy out. ¡°I¡¯m just trying to get some dinner with friends. Why are you just wandering campus alone like a loser.¡± Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡°Me? A loser? I mean, not as much as you,¡± Troy snorted, rolling his eyes with a grin. ¡°Can¡¯t even take a few words? Just think of it as advice from a kind senior who¡¯s looking out for you. I wouldn¡¯t be caught wasting my time like you.¡± ¡°You¡¯re literally the one walking around campus, alone, in a bad mood ready to taunt people. Who here is really wasting their time?¡± Titus grit his teeth, balling his fists up. A faint glow emanated from his fists as his hair began to smolder. ¡°Come at me then, let me prove why I¡¯m not the one wasting time,¡± Troy beckoned, grinning as his emotions ran wild. ¡°That¡¯s what I came here for, a spar. I want to see how you¡¯ve grown Titus. I want to see if you¡¯re really worthy of that Class Zero moniker.¡± ¡°Then get it,¡± Titus growled, sending a bolt of flame forward as the others backed off. Among the rest of the Class Zero students, Albion took a few steps forward, only to get pushed away by Titus. ¡°Don¡¯t involve yourself, this is my fight.¡± Troy tilted his head to the side, letting the bolt of flames soar past him. Feeling the heat by his ear, he laughed. ¡°Oh, not hot enough my good friend.¡± Without delay, Troy sent his own burst of flames forward. His, a crimson red, began eating through Titus¡¯s. They formed a dragon¡¯s maw as they rushed forward, flickering white-hot as the light reflected off the cobblestones. Rolling out of the way, Titus used one hand to send a continuous stream of orange flames forward while wreathing his other hand in flames. The flames in his other hand grew into a ball, anchoring in place after a couple seconds, allowing for Titus to pull out a blade of pure flames. ¡°Sword of Mars, come to me!¡± He swung the sword forward, cutting through Troy¡¯s dragon while rushing forward. In his other hand materialized a shield with a gorgon¡¯s face, this one though, let out jets of flames from its eyes and mouth in neverending streams. ¡°Come!¡± Troy cackled, stomping the ground to send a wall of fire forward. His flames, though a deep red, burned at extreme temperatures, charring the cobblestones he and Titus fought on. Leaping backward, he wove the flames in his hands into a soaring dragon of pure fire. It towered over the courtyard, coiling for a moment before it came crashing down on top of Titus. ¡°Show me, if you¡¯re summoning these weapons, how you can play the hero!¡± ¡°Are... you sure we shouldn¡¯t help him...¡± Nyssa trailed off as Celeste, Conrad, and Albion stood beside her with stone cold faces. ¡°Yeah, he¡¯ll be fine,¡± Albion tapped his foot, watching Titus cut his way out of the fire dragon. ¡°I¡¯m more worried about his clothes. All his clothes are made to be fire-resistant, but that doesn¡¯t mean they¡¯re meant to sit inside of Troy¡¯s fire for extended periods of time. He burns hotter than anyone else I know too...¡± ¡°I think they won¡¯t let us into the restaurant if Titus is naked,¡± Conrad sighed, one of his hands wandering to his sword and drumming its hilt. ¡°HEY, HEY, STOP!¡± A voice shouted from the top of one of the buildings. ¡°The hell are you two fighting in the middle of a courtyard for!¡± A flash of purple lightning came crashing down between the two fire users, revealing Electra¡¯s form as Ryker and Olivia hopped down from the nearby building. Ryker, turned towards Titus, and Olivia towards Troy. Within seconds, they began scolding their respective classmates. Ryker, in particular though, after giving Titus a light talking to, leaned over and patted him on the shoulder. ¡°Hey, good fight though. Stood up for yourself and didn¡¯t get your ass beat. I¡¯m sure you would¡¯ve won, but we can¡¯t just let you fight in the middle of a restaurant courtyard, it puts too many people in danger.¡± ¡°I understand, I¡¯ll be better,¡± Titus nodded, cooling his head off as he stared off into the night sky. As for Troy, he got chased off by Olivia¡¯s contracted demon, Alecto after getting a thorough scolding. ¡°Go bother the other Class One students, you dumbass. Why are you bothering underclassmen! I know you have weird ideas, but keep them in your head. RESPECT. We¡¯re seniors. We can¡¯t just go around doing this.¡± ¡°Yes... yes... yes...¡± 106: Post-Schooling Reveal ¡°Sorry about him, he¡¯s just lashing out because of stress, we¡¯re in the middle of applying to jobs after all,¡± Olivia patted Titus on the shoulder as they walked towards the rest of the group. ¡°I¡¯ll try and keep a bit more of an eye on him though, to ensure that you don¡¯t have to go through that again.¡± ¡°Ah... I understand, don¡¯t worry,¡± Titus pressed his hands together, thanking Olivia. ¡°And don¡¯t overwork yourself trying to control the Class One seniors. I¡¯m sure you¡¯re already plenty stressed trying to find a job yourself.¡± ¡°Not particularly, I got offered a spot in Class Zero¡¯s graduate program, so I¡¯ll be joining their graduate program¡¯s task team. Where Ryker and Electra will be,¡± Olivia revealed with a casual shrug. ¡°It got confirmed this afternoon.¡± Titus froze up, his mouth hanging open as Olivia smiled and laughed. ¡°I mean technically I could turn it down since I have twenty other offers, but I don¡¯t quite know what I want to do yet and the Class Zero graduate program offers the most freedom.¡± ¡°No... like... like... Congrats!!¡± Titus shouted, dragging Olivia over to where everyone else stood. ¡°Wait, have you heard! Albion, Conrad!¡± ¡°I just told them, sorry to ruin your fun,¡± Electra revealed, patting Titus on the shoulder. ¡°They¡¯re all in shock though as well. So, you¡¯re in good company.¡± ¡°It¡¯s not like you two weren¡¯t,¡± Olivia teased Ryker and Electra. ¡°You two just stood there for like... thirty minutes with your mouths open.¡± ¡°Well, it¡¯s because you¡¯ve done something that only happens once a decade!¡± Electra huffed as they began making their way over to the rice bowl place. ¡°We were just happy for you. And also, for you five, we¡¯re planning on going here, feel free to join us, or go somewhere else.¡± ¡°No, we were planning to go here too, so that¡¯s perfect,¡± Celeste smiled, hiding her mouth before turning to Olivia. ¡°Congratulations though. Welcome to our side of the Class rivalry.¡± ¡°Not yet, not yet, my loyalty still lies with Class One for now,¡± Olivia chuckled, shaking Celeste¡¯s outstretched hand before turning to Nyssa. ¡°I haven¡¯t met you yet, I saw that you¡¯re the new Class Zero student with transformation powers during Slade¡¯s event. A pleasure to meet you. I''m Olivia, a fourth-year student, like Electra and Ryker.¡± ¡°Nice to meet you,¡± Nyssa shook Olivia¡¯s hand while cracking a smile. ¡°A pleasure as well... Sorry, I¡¯m a little shy...¡± ¡°It¡¯s understandable,¡± Olivia laughed, reaching out and patting Nyssa on the head. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, just treat me like Electra and Ryker, I¡¯m pretty much them anyway.¡± ¡°But more mild, kinder, and overall much more understanding,¡± Conrad interjected from the side, only to get a lightning-fast jab in the side from Electra. ¡°What the hell you gotta say that for?¡± Electra glared at a now-writhing Conrad who only coughed out a ¡°worth it¡± while on the ground. ¡°Anyway, Alecto says you¡¯re cute, and that you should have more confidence,¡± Olivia sighed. ¡°I¡¯m just passing this message over, so uh... yeah.¡± Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. ¡°Alecto?¡± Nyssa asked as a hostess walked over, pausing in confusion as she witnessed the scene transpiring between Electra and Conrad. Just in time though, Titus and Albion stepped up, making some light conversation to distract the hostess while Electra hoisted Conrad off the floor. ¡°Ye... Yeah, one second,¡± Olivia, paused, pressing a hand against her temple. ¡°Fine, fine, I¡¯ll let you out stop making my head hurt so much.¡± Not a second later, another person appeared next to Olivia. Dressed conservatively in a woolen sweater along with a pair of loose-fitting jeans, she blew a kiss towards Nyssa after appearing before hugging Olivia¡¯s arm. ¡°It¡¯s me~ Alecto, Olivia¡¯s contracted demon.¡± ¡°Ohhhh...¡± Nyssa trailed off as Titus and Albion, had to update the amount of members in their party to the hostess in a moment of panic. ¡°You look kinda different from how I remember you...¡± ¡°For a girl who can transform, I thought we wouldn¡¯t run into this,¡± Alecto teased, snapping a pair of horns in, then back out of existence. ¡°I can just transform myself.¡± ¡°Makes sense, makes sense,¡± Nyssa mumbled a reply, still in a little shock at the sudden appearance of another new person. I guess I just have to accept it... I... yeah I don¡¯t know, maybe it''s just been a long day... As they followed the hostess who guided their party to a more private part of the restaurant¡ªa private room on the second floor¡ªNyssa began to feel a pang of sympathy for Olivia. The entire time, Alecto filled the air with sweet words while attached to Olivia. Olivia, unimpressed, just walked along to the best of her ability while ignoring the cooing lump of demon now attached to her right arm. Suddenly, she¡¯s not so scary. Nyssa reached out, clasping hands with Celeste as they walked. ¡°... Alecto¡¯s really something.¡± ¡°Yeah, a very interesting character,¡± Celeste laughed as Olivia flicked Alecto away who tried to sneak a kiss onto Olivia¡¯s cheek. ¡°She¡¯s actually really nice. Breaking demon stereotypes for real.¡± Making some idle conversation, they thanked the hostess while entering and sitting down into the private room. Next to each other on the roundtable, they sat furthest from the door and began perusing the menu as Conrad began yowling about how Electra broke his rib. ¡°You¡¯re fine,¡± Electra retorted, taking a menu from the center of the table, handing it to Ryker, before grabbing her own. ¡°It¡¯d take so much more to break any of your bones. I don¡¯t even know if I could do it... but I''d be willing to try, if you want to?¡± Seeing Electra raise her hand, and arcs of electricity begin to jump between her fingers, Conrad¡¯s mouth snapped shut and he sat back down. A second later, he began mumble-rapping. ¡°I¡¯m actually fine, I was just playing it up to make you seem like a villain, I don¡¯t think we need to go through this. Isn¡¯t it a crime to do electroshock therapy on a person?¡± ¡°Bold words for a sub-human,¡± Albion snuck in a comment of his own, leaping up and out of his chair before Conrad could punch him. ¡°That was a good one,¡± Titus laughed, high-fiving Albion. The table as a whole, by now, devolved into chaos. Conrad, after getting defended by Ryker, fought a two against three war against Electra, Albion, and Titus. Alecto smothered herself against Olivia, who sat unmoving like a wizened tree, impervious to the concept of sin while looking at the menu. On another side, Celeste and Nyssa sank into their own little world, laughing and joking with each other while being the only others to look at the menu. ¡°The pork bowl looks really good...¡± ¡°This ¡®Tiger Stripes¡¯ bowl also looks amazing... I¡¯m really hungry too...¡± ¡°Do you think we should propose an appetizer?¡± ¡°I wouldn¡¯t be opposed... but it seems kind of hard right now, given the uh... chaos...¡± ¡°True...¡± 107: A Teary Confession The meal as a whole passed without much of note. A lot of laughter, a lot of shouting, and a lot of banter, but nothing much more. No real conversation of substance happened beyond Nyssa getting to know Olivia and Celeste catching up with Alecto. Following the dinner, Class Zero as a whole, headed off to watch a movie in Ryker¡¯s dorm, bidding Olivia a goodnight as she and Alecto wandered off back to the Class One dorms. As they walked through the quiet, deserted campus, Olivia checked her watch. ¡°Already ten? Time flies I guess when we¡¯re with that group...¡± ¡°It really does,¡± Alecto walked along with Olivia. Arm in arm with her contractor, a bright smile danced across her red lips. ¡°Will you return my affection now~? Now that we¡¯re all~ alone~?¡± ¡°... I don¡¯t know what you mean by that...¡± Olivia looked down at her phone as they walked, avoiding Alecto¡¯s teasing gaze. ¡°I think I¡¯m going to sleep early tonight. It¡¯s been a long day after all. Especially with all of them...¡± ¡°What! Stay up late, why don¡¯t we celebrate together?¡± Alecto rested her head on Olivia''s shoulder. ¡°You don¡¯t have any tests during this coming week! AND it¡¯s Saturday tomorrow! You don¡¯t have any classes or any plans! Who¡¯s so boring as to just sleep?¡± ¡°Me, Class Zero has too much energy, and all the other Class One seniors are either too stressed or too egotistical for me,¡± Olivia trailed off as a shiver ran up her spine. She put her phone away and blew into her hands, trying to stave off the numbness beginning to creep in from her fingertips. ¡°And... Well, I always have you...¡± ¡°Aw, look at you~¡± Alecto teased, poking Olivia on the cheek. ¡°Opening your heart up to someone as humble as me! Your prudishness has really gone away these past few months. I¡¯m proud of my progress!¡± ¡°Oh shut up,¡± Olivia scowled, a faint huff of embarrassment leaving her mouth as she accelerated her walking pace. With Alecto chasing her, she slipped in through the double doors leading into the dormitory and ascended back up to the top floor where her room sat. Unable to make the same elevator Olivia did, Alecto unsummoned herself and began shouting for freedom the moment Olivia re-entered her room. After a two-minute mental battle with her contractor, she reappeared in the dorm room, in her ever-familiar sprawled out position on the bed. ¡°So, I was gonna say, what if we cracked open one of your bottles of wine? You¡¯ve been saving them for so long after your father gifted them to you! What better occasion is there than this? You got into your dream graduate program!¡± ¡°I... I¡¯m just not sure,¡± Olivia, sitting at her desk, looked out the window. Feeling an itch beginning to climb up her throat, she cleared it while hoping Alecto wouldn¡¯t notice the slight reddening of her ears. ¡°I¡¯m just afraid of what I might say, you know?¡± ¡°Aw~ I know you so well though, what could you be hiding from me, my dear contractor~?¡± Alecto leaned forward, stretching her hand outward and laying it on Olivia¡¯s. ¡°Oh my, your hands are cold though... Also, have you informed your parents of the good news?¡± ¡°Not yet,¡± Olivia put her other hand on top of Alecto¡¯s. ¡°I should probably do that right now, shouldn¡¯t I?¡± ¡°You definitely should,¡± Alecto propped her head up with her other hand while adjusting her position on Olivia¡¯s bed. ¡°I don¡¯t want your mother¡¯s angel to start breathing down my neck again... she always blames me for your mistakes! Says ¡®this is just the bad influence of demonkind.¡¯ How unjust can she get! That feather-headed halo hugger!¡± ¡°Mhm, mhm,¡± Olivia tuned out the second half of Alecto¡¯s well-rehearsed rant. In the meantime, she pulled her hands free and leaned over. One hand unzipped her bag and pulled out her laptop while the other pulled out her glasses case from the bag. Flipping the case open, she slid the glasses on and set the case to the side of her desk. Alecto¡¯s rant continued, and while providing some basic commentary¡ª¡±That¡¯s crazy,¡± ¡°Woah, how could she say that,¡± and the like¡ªshe typed out a few quick messages to her parents before closing her laptop once more. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± Alecto shook her head while sitting up. ¡°You¡¯re done? That was like... four sentences at max! I¡¯d guess three!¡± ¡°Yeah, it was three,¡± Olivia shrugged, ignoring the messages now appearing on her phone. Walking over to the closet, she began pulling off her clothes with casual movements to change into her nightwear. ¡°Do you mind scooting over a little? I want to lay down as well.¡± ¡°Oh my~ undressing in front of me? So lascivious, what if I pounced on you?¡± Alecto teased, covering her face while squirming. Her face though, might as well have remained uncovered as her fingers just happened to part at her eyes. ¡°You¡¯ve seen me naked enough times, I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re expecting...¡± Olivia trailed off as she pulled her nightwear over her head. ¡°Scoot though, you haven¡¯t moved at all in the time I¡¯ve changed.¡± ¡°My bad~ my bad~ I was too mesmerized~¡± Alecto sang while laughing. Rolling over, she patted the section of the bed beside her. ¡°Here, your highness, I¡¯ve warmed this part of the bed for you already! It¡¯s just waiting for your presence!¡± Unable to keep a straight face, Olivia cracked a smile while climbing onto the bed. Seconds later though, she sighed, muttering ¡°I¡¯m cold¡± before slipping under the covers. Alecto, on the other hand, followed her contractor under the blankets, pressing her body against Olivia¡¯s as they laid in silence for a minute or two. ¡°... You¡¯re really warm...¡± Olivia yawned, wrapping her arms around Alecto under the covers. ¡°Making me sleepy...¡± ¡°Wait, wait, you can¡¯t just fall asleep now!¡± Alecto protested, pinching Olivia¡¯s nose. ¡°It¡¯s not even ten-thirty yet! Come on, let¡¯s have a bit of a heart to heart. Or do you want to respond to the messages on your phone first?¡± ¡°I kind of just feel like sleeping, I don¡¯t want to talk to my parents right now. They¡¯re so tiring,¡± Olivia mumbled, her voice still nasal. After Alecto increased the strength of her grip, though, she relented, climbing half out of bed to close her curtains and type out a few vague responses. ¡°Alright, I¡¯m ready to talk about... whatever...¡± ¡°Then who do you love! Is It Ryker? Electra? You¡¯ve been acting like love is on your mind recently!¡± Alecto clenched her fist, pulling Olivia back under the covers next to her. ¡°Spill it my lovely contractor~¡± ¡°H-Huh?¡± Olivia¡¯s voice cracked as she felt a blush climb onto her face. ¡°Wha... What are you talking a-about??¡± ¡°Of course I would realize~¡± Alecto teased, reveling in Olivia¡¯s reaction. ¡°I¡¯ve known you since before you were born! I know you better than you know yourself! So, come on I¡¯m~ waiting~¡± ¡°... N-No, I¡¯m not going to share,¡± Olivia snapped her mouth closed, burying her face into Alecto¡¯s neck and closing her eyes. Her face burned as she hoped Alecto could move on. ¡°N... Nope.¡± ¡°Awh, you¡¯re no fun, come on~ my dear~ you know I won¡¯t judge, I¡¯ve been with you through thick and thin,¡± Alecto sighed, a gentle smile blossoming across her lips as she pulled Olivia in closer. ¡°I¡¯ll wait~¡± And so... they waited. They laid in uncomfortable silence. Olivia tried to fall asleep but... just... couldn¡¯t. After they traded another round of jabs, she felt her emotions boiling, almost as much as her face. As tears began to gather in the corners of her eyes, she unshielded her thoughts for a brief moment. IT¡¯S YOU! OKAY?! Alecto laid there for a couple seconds, her mouth hanging open. A faint blush climbed on to her cheeks as she felt her entire worldview tilt. Her heart began to pound like a jackhammer. Olivia, meanwhile, while laying in her arms, had begun sobbing into her shoulder. With tears streaming down her face, Olivia rolled over as she heard her phone begin to vibrate as a call came in. ¡°I¡¯ll... leave to answer this...¡± ¡°No, no, it¡¯s okay,¡± Alecto snapped out of her trance. She pulled Olivia back into bed and back into a hug. Patting Olivia¡¯s head, she reached over to the phone and turned it over to hide its screen before pausing all notifications. ¡°Shhh... it¡¯s okay, it¡¯s okay. All that can wait until tomorrow. Don¡¯t cry my love. I... I love you too, okay?¡± ¡°I just wanted to spend the evening with you...¡± Olivia whispered as she squeezed Alecto in closer. ¡°Well... I¡¯m happy to,¡± Alecto smiled, wiping a tear from one of her eyes. ¡°I... I truly love you too, Olivia.¡± 108: Morning Before A Festival The next few weeks leading up to the festival seemed to disappear in a blink of an eye. Nyssa and the others trudged through their regular routines, waking up in the morning, learning through the artificial intelligence based general education system until noon, training through most of the afternoon, eating dinner as a group, and socializing or resting through the evening. Among Class Zero, they rotated between nights alone to rest and recuperate, hanging out in their smaller subgroups¡ªthe seniors, the trio, and the couple¡ªand all together. After the first day though, Olivia disappeared from their social hangouts, too busy with her own business. ¡°Even we haven¡¯t seen her,¡± Ryker shrugged, looking towards Electra who nodded in agreement. Leaning back in his chair, he stretched out his arms. ¡°She¡¯s just been going back to her room mostly, hanging out with Alecto. Even the other Class One seniors haven¡¯t seen her much.¡± ¡°Then again, they¡¯re all dying and she¡¯s not,¡± Electra propped her chin up with one hand. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t hang out with them either.¡± ¡°... You have a point there,¡± Ryker shook his head with a smile. He turned towards Nyssa and Celeste and motioned with his hand. ¡°Is that a good answer to your question? We¡¯re down to answer anymore. You know for a fact it''s rare that Electra and I get to class this early.¡± ¡°Uh... Not really,¡± Nyssa shrugged, resting her head in her arms on the desk. ¡°Most of the mornings are very slow anyway. Celeste and I are usually the first ones here.¡± ¡°You know how it is, we¡¯re not going to show up this early unless it¡¯s a special day, and indeed, it''s a special day,¡± Ryker laughed, quieting down as the door slid open once more, revealing Albion, Titus, and Angelica. ¡°Oh, a large group, didn¡¯t expect that.¡± ¡°I have to be here early too,¡± Angelica blended into the conversation like a fish diving into water. ¡°Roxanne¡¯s coming today, our special guest of honor. I¡¯m guiding her around, so I¡¯ll be gone just a couple minutes after class starts.¡± ¡°Conrad better get here soon then,¡± Albion grumbled, trudging over to his desk with a sleepy sway. ¡°I didn¡¯t get up early for nothing.¡± Right on cue, the sound of sprinting began echoing down the hall, leaking through the still open doorway. As the footsteps neared, everyone couldn¡¯t help but to look over to the doorway, watching as Conrad did an acrobatic slide through the doorway. His bag flew towards the side, kept only in place by his arm. ¡°Good morning, everyone,¡± Conrad stood up, using his hand to brush his hair back. Flashing a smile to the class, he sauntered over to his chair, and took a seat. ¡°Sup, Titus. Wasn¡¯t that a cool entrance?¡± ¡°Asking if it was cool instantly invalidates any amount of coolness it had,¡± Titus rolled his eyes before pointing towards Angelica. ¡°But, yes, it was mildly cool, so pay attention, Angelica has to leave early today.¡± This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°Oh yeahhhh, festival stuff,¡± Conrad nodded after a second, shutting up as Angelica walked to the front of the room with a piece of paper. ¡°As always, just going to run through some light announcements, today¡¯s a unique day, so please pay attention. I¡¯ll leave this sheet here once I leave so you all can refer to it too,¡± Angelica explained, flashing the agenda towards the group. ¡°Ryker and Electra, as usual, are in charge while I¡¯m gone. I won¡¯t be around for most of the day, so I trust that you all will behave. Don¡¯t forget the fact that you represent one of the most prestigious institutions in the whole world. Your behavior influences how outsiders view us.¡± Once everyone nodded or murmured an agreement, acknowledging her statement, she continued without much drama. ¡°Well, I had to say that. Every class is getting this spiel right now. But just keep in mind you all, as Class Zero, are viewed as the crown jewels of the institute.¡± Picking up a marker from her desk, she walked over to the whiteboard by the door, and began writing out the day¡¯s schedule. Once she left, they¡¯d have around fifteen minutes of idle time. Their day would start with a more formal, run-of-the-mill talk from Roxanne followed by a short question and answer session. By lunch, though, everyone would disperse, and the festival would start, lasting all the way until the evening. Food stalls, dueling stations, and more would all be present while Roxanne, along with her guild members would disperse through the festival area, open to talk with everyone while they themselves enjoyed the festivities. ¡°Don¡¯t forget, this year, it¡¯s open to executives who are recruiting. Therefore, a fair amount of higher-ups are coming just to also observe the personalities of students they might want to recruit. They¡¯ll be subtle, but they¡¯ll be watching no doubt,¡± Angelica reiterated with a slight weary tone leaking into her voice. ¡°In all honesty, they¡¯re just here to get some free food and, if they are alumni, relive their school days. Our festival is famous after all.¡± ¡°Those bastards,¡± Ryker balled his fist with righteous fury. ¡°How dare they steal our food!¡± ¡°Anyway, that wraps up what I was going to say. The major event schedule will also be posted around. The dueling tournament will be happening right after lunch at one, the race across campus is happening right after, and the theatrical and performative arts are all happening right after that, and the boat race is happening right after dinner,¡± Angelica counted out on her fingers before heading towards the door. ¡°Take care, I have to get going now.¡± ¡°It won¡¯t be as good as the one hosted by the students,¡± Conrad sighed, as Angelica slid the door closed behind her. ¡°At least this one is open to all years...¡± ¡°Are you participating then?¡± Electra asked, leaning back into her chair after setting a fifteen minute timer. ¡°Oh hell no, I¡¯m not stupid. It¡¯s a solo boat race, and I don¡¯t have the powers to win something like that. I¡¯d need something like Albion¡¯s powers,¡± Conrad pointed to his half-asleep friend. ¡°He stayed up late last night practicing a couple attacks, but that¡¯s the only preparation he did. He said he¡¯s not super interested.¡± ¡°Huh? Me?¡± Albion awakened with a snort. Rubbing his eyes, he shrugged. ¡°Yeah, I don''t care much. I got put as one of the favorites though, so a lot of people are going to be targeting me.¡± ¡°Good luck, good luck, I¡¯ll be cheering for you then,¡± Electra saluted. ¡°Ryker¡¯s participating too, so feel free to collaborate with him if you need.¡± ¡°Your senior is here for you!¡± Ryker pounded his chest, a grin spreading across his face. ¡°Though I¡¯d recommend staying far from me when the time comes. I¡¯ll be getting off to an explosive start if you catch my drift.¡± ¡°Sadly yes...¡± Albion rotted on his desk, the depressed drawl in his voice drawing a laugh out of Celeste, Nyssa, and Titus. 109: Eavesdropping on Conspiratorial Murmurs The fifteen minutes of idle time after Angelica passed in the blink of the eye. Everyone, still muddled by the morning¡¯s cold, just talked with the people beside them about mindless topics¡ªmakeup, sports, or work. Once someone¡¯s phone alarm went off though, the sound of chairs being dragged across the floor filled the room, drowning out the conversation until everyone filed out of the room to let silence reign supreme once more. As they walked, they blended in with the crowds, and over time, they began to disperse within the crowd, just moving along to the similar stadium-like setup the school had created for Slade. Nyssa kept a hold of Celeste¡¯s hand as they drew curious glances from the surrounding crowd. The whispers didn¡¯t bother her, but she felt people had begun to inch closer to her identity. ¡°She¡¯s the new Class Zero student, I¡¯m quite sure of it.¡± ¡°I remember doubting if it was her up close last time after we saw her during Slade¡¯s event, but I think it is.¡± ¡°No one else has white hair right?¡± ¡°Well, I think there¡¯s another natural one in Class Two, and there¡¯s that one girl in Class One who¡¯s been doing it for a couple years. Still a rarity for sure across campus though.¡± ¡°Plus, man, use yo eyes. That¡¯s Celeste right next to her, that might as well be perfect confirmation. Ain¡¯t no way Celeste is going to be touchy with anyone but a classmate. If that¡¯s the rumored one, why wouldn¡¯t she be kind? Think about it.¡± ¡°I... guess, yeah. Only one person entered this year, and its a cute girl, I guess I can see how someone would be overprotective of her... Shi... I think even I¡¯d be protective of her. I love younger girls!¡± ¡°PAUSE.¡± ¡°AYOOOO.¡± ¡°Hol¡¯ up. Officer its this guy right here.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t gotta phrase it like that, alright...¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t know you were ew like that, man, lock in.¡± ¡°Lock in?? The hell you mean lock in, I am locked in. I trained for weeks for the boat race. You¡¯re not finding someone more locked in than me.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m saying LOCK INTO BEING A GOOD PERSON. You, stupid... stupid balloon, filled with nothing but helium.¡± Having eavesdropped on an entertaining exchange, Nyssa felt a touch of a crestfallen feeling well up within her stomach as she split off from the group. She and Celeste walked over to Class Zero¡¯s separate dedicated seating area, confirming the suspicions of the past group. ¡°Come in, come in! Let¡¯s get seated everyone, I want to get this boring talk over with sooner rather than later!¡± Roxanne¡¯s voice came echoing over the speakers. Her brown hair took on a close to mane-like quality, blossoming out around her as she strode around on stage in an elegant suit. Beside her stood Angelica with her arms crossed. Wearing a suit of her own, her sunglasses and straight black hair created an icy image. A bodyguard willing to sacrifice their safety at the drop of a pin. People mulled about though, and Nyssa sat around for an entire ten minutes before the crowd had quieted down enough for the speech to begin. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°I¡¯m Roxanne, as you all know, I¡¯m an active hunter. My guild and I are among the top ranked hunting guilds in the entire world. In fact, we just came back from a government sponsored mission to suppress a leviathan rampage. ¡°Today, though, since I¡¯m sure most of you know enough about my life, in part because I was what some would call, a star character in the life of the last speaker who came to talk to you all, I¡¯ll be going more into detail about professional development topics. Well, that¡¯s what I was instructed to tell you all about anyway. When we get to the question and answer section, I¡¯m down to answer any and all questions, don¡¯t hold back!¡± Once the talk began in full though, Nyssa dozed off. ... she just couldn¡¯t help it! She couldn¡¯t take Roxanne seriously! She had seen how Roxanne flipped a coin between being a hunter and hero! ¡°... And I¡¯d like to emphasize the importance of being open to any and all opportunities...¡± ¡°... There¡¯s a saying I¡¯ve applied in the past, though not well... That if you really can¡¯t choose, flip a coin, and when you want it to land on one side while its in the air, you know what you truly want on an instinctual level...¡± ¡°... not that I really followed through on that...¡± ¡°... But i¡¯m still happy! And that¡¯s a big thing I want to reiterate...¡± ¡°... Like people such as Slade, are the ones you truly want to look for when considering traditional career development. He went through an entire shift of what he loved, and has reached the same level as me while being younger by a handful of years. He built his organization from the ground up while I half-inherited, half-built mine...¡± ¡°... My point is that many people in this academy, not even this one, but all similar academies as well, view life as a fork once they graduate. Hunter, or Hero?¡± ¡°It¡¯s not that simple. Doing what you love can look very different from what you expected, and the two sides are very interconnected. Skills from one are always helpful on the other side. So never feel like you¡¯re making an irreversible choice. Plus, if you don¡¯t like either, a career can look like a lot of different things...¡± ¡°... Logistics.... Teaching... outreach... publicity... government...¡± ¡°There are hundreds of potential other branches you all can take your education and go into. Even if it doesn''t necessitate your powers, the mindset that¡¯s being ingrained into you all is truly an invaluable skill. It¡¯s something that will carry you far in life, no matter what you choose to be. Even if that¡¯s a human potato who sleeps for more time than they¡¯re awake.¡± With Roxanne¡¯s last comment, Nyssa jolted back awake. Celeste and the others sitting around them ended up laughing, but Nyssa, herself, could only let out a faint huff of annoyance. Slade, she knew, would never say something as audacious as this! Following a few more comments, and a couple more slides, Roxanne wrapped up her speech to a raucous amount of applause. I didn¡¯t think it was that good... she made too many tangents... Nyssa, influenced perhaps by the fact she had known Roxanne her entire life, and didn¡¯t feel the starstruck feeling many others did, or perhaps by the jab her older sibling had thrown in the middle of the speech, harrumphed to herself while clapping nonetheless. ¡°Now though, we start the question and answer section. I need to sit down though,¡± Roxanne wiped a faint bead of sweat off her forehead as she took a seat on the center stage. ¡°I¡¯m getting old, goddamn. I need some rest after just giving a talk!¡± Before anyone could think of calling her old though, Roxanne put a hand up and changed the topic. ¡°Informality is welcome though. No need to treat me like an honored guest. Treat me like your older sister, my sibling is your age after all.¡± 110: A Quick Question Answer Session Roxanne¡¯s comment sparked a wave of murmurs. It spread through the crowd like wildfire as people began looking for anyone who might resemble the wild, brown-haired huntress on stage. While a couple people in the other classes got grilled by those around them, Nyssa melted into Celeste, erasing her presence as much as she could as those who knew couldn¡¯t help but snort. The differences between the Ravenstein siblings was like heaven and earth. ¡°I don¡¯t even know why they go for people who look like Roxanne...¡± Nyssa mumbled aloud after hearing another commotion blow up from Class Two. ¡°We were all adopted anyway...¡± ¡°In the moment people don¡¯t remember that,¡± Celeste rubbed Nyssa¡¯s back, pulling her upward to sit back upright. ¡°Any questions you want to ask though? I think they¡¯d probably come to Class Zero first if we had any.¡± ¡°I can just text her...¡± Nyssa shrugged. ¡°So I''ll just leave it for someone else who has an actual question to ask.¡± Seconds later though, as a timid boy, with a quivering voice but intense eyes, stood up to ask the first question, she regretted any ounce of kindness left in her body. As his eyes blazed, he asked Roxanne, ¡°So, Slade mentioned that you two have another younger sibling, named Nyssa, and both of you mentioned how she¡¯s at this school, as a student. Is there anything else you can share about her? I¡¯m sure we¡¯re all curious to get to know this elusive figure. Is the name even right? Since it seems no one has this name in the whole school.¡± ¡°It¡¯s because you don¡¯t know everyone in this school,¡± Nyssa mumbled under her breath, a faint air of derisiveness lacing her voice as Celeste soothed her. ¡°Well... that¡¯s a complicated one,¡± Roxanne propped her leg up on the stage, resting her elbow on her knee and resting her chin on it. ¡°I think you should just let her live her life. She¡¯s being very low-key about her presence at the school. And there¡¯s no need for me to reveal something like this, you know? She¡¯s just like many of you. A first year.¡± ¡°But-¡± ¡°Nuh nuh, calm down my good friend,¡± Roxanne raised her eyebrow. ¡°If anything, she¡¯s going to avoid you in particular because of all these questions. Just hand the microphone to someone else.¡± With a faint suppressive air spreading over the crowd, Roxanne shook her head. A sigh left her mouth. Being an adult is hard. Were we all this bad back at this age? I swear Angelica and I were so much better... especially Angelica... The next question came in within a couple seconds, this time, a girl with a long black braid of hair asked. ¡°What do you remember most about your time at this school? Do you wish you did anything differently? And who would you say you were closest to?¡± ¡°Aww, what a wonderful set of questions,¡± Roxanne smiled, focusing on the third question in particular in her mind as she looked over to her stoic bodyguard standing at the end of the stage in a suit. ¡°I¡¯d say I remember the nights the most. Living in a dorm on campus is a rare experience. I really treasured being close to my friends. I don¡¯t think you all realize, but when you¡¯re all adults, you have to schedule all your hangouts. Friends I used to study with on the daily became people I video called once a month. It''s really sad.¡± If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Wiping a fake tear, she continued on to the next question without missing a beat. ¡°As for what I wish I did differently... well I guess my answer is a little conflicting. I wish I lived a little more. I wish I didn''t study as much, and explored the area around the academy. Stayed out late more. Had a worse sleep schedule. Simultaneously, I do wish I applied myself more. I think I missed out on a lot of resources the school had to offer, making my life after graduation truly worse for wear.¡± Roxanne paused, scrunching her eyebrows after saying the last line. Though she saw how the students seemed to nod along like a crowd of ducklings, she ended up apologizing for the lack of logic in her answer before waving over Angelica. Holding the microphone between them, she gestured to the crowd. ¡°Anyway, for the last part of your question, I¡¯d say I had a lot of friends who I stay in contact with professionally, but this is the one person I¡¯m still the closest to.¡± ¡°Yeah, and you still give the same bad answers as before...¡± Angelica trailed off, able to speak her mind with a microphone now in front of her. ¡°Hey, what do you mean by that.¡± Roxanne stared at Angelica with a frown as the crowd began laughing. ¡°You¡¯re supposed to come up here and support me. Pump me up and make me look like a goddess.¡± Angelica just stared at Roxanne. After a couple seconds, she cracked, a faint laugh leaving her mouth as she wrapped an arm around Roxanne¡¯s waist. Roxanne, unable to keep a straight face either, turned towards the crowd. ¡°I¡¯m sure you all know her, but this is Angelica. Someone I¡¯d like to highlight in terms of career path. She was once a stellar student like I¡¯m sure you all are. But instead of becoming a hero or hunter, she went into education. Using her skillset in a more impactful way while not having to go through danger or stress¡ªall with a nice pay, right?¡± ¡°... It¡¯s pretty good,¡± Angelica shrugged, waving to the students. ¡°I¡¯m the homeroom teacher for Class Zero, for those who do not know. However, if anyone wants to schedule a meeting or talk, feel free to reach out. I¡¯m always down to have a conversation with any uncertain students.¡± ¡°Yes, yes. Reach out to her, the heavens know I needed it back when I was deciding between hunter and hero,¡± Roxanne teased fluttering her fingers and leaning into Angelica. While Angelica quieted down and just kept her hand around Roxanne¡¯s waist, Roxanne let the crowd settle before transitioning. ¡°Anyway, next question?¡± A little shuffling later, another student stood from the crowd. ¡°I¡¯d just like to ask about your powers. Is it true that each of them have their own personalities? And what would you say is the most fun fact there is about them?¡± ¡°It is indeed true,¡± Roxanne snapped her fingers. Out from her body came a full battalion of different green-tinted summons. Themed after the zodiacs, they all took battle positions behind her before relaxing into a more circular formation. ¡°I can hear their voices most of the time, though I can, of course, choose when not to listen. What I¡¯d consider the most fun fact, or well, the one that most people find very surprising is that I¡¯m not their favorite human. I may be their contractor, and the one they spend the most time with; but they¡¯re all very, very biased towards my younger sister. She¡¯s the apple of their eye, while I''m there... mother I guess...¡± ¡°Parent training from an early age,¡± Angelica commented from beside Roxanne, turning to wave at a couple of the summons who bowed to greet her. As Roxanne continued on with the question and answer session, she gave a few mental notes to her summons through a direct mental link. Don¡¯t greet Angelica too much. They don¡¯t know of our relationship. We¡¯ve been hiding it. Got it? No master¡¯s wife business. 111: Couple Festivities Kaiser, though the headmaster, helped the staff put away chairs at the end of Roxanne¡¯s question and answer session. They cleared the temporary stage, and, from afar, he watched as his eldest daughter got swarmed by the students. A tad more personable than her younger brother, Slade, Roxanne proved to be the more popular guest as the hustle and bustle of people jostling each other and clamoring for their own moment with Roxanne began filling the stadium. Even Roxanne¡¯s team members, who had been sitting on the stage behind her¡ªcontributing some answers of their own for relevant questions¡ªfelt themselves pulled in by the tide of human bodies. ¡°Calm down, calm down, everyone!¡± Roxanne spoke into the still active microphone in her hand. ¡°I, along with all my guildmates, will be heading to the festival as well. Feel free to talk to us there while we¡¯re all enjoying the fun, but please, make some space so that we can all head over to the festival area.¡± Following her words, a flash of green emanated from the center of the stadium¡¯s pitch. A transparent-green dragon appeared in the sky, swooping downward and scooping up Roxanne and her guildmates. Before the crowd could even react, they soared into the distance, leaping off the dragon as it passed over the festival booths set up along the institute¡¯s main area. The crowd, coming to its senses a couple seconds later, fell into a brief period of silence. One breath. Two breaths. As if everyone had been connected to the same slow internet line, they all reacted at the same time, with the same action: rushing towards the exit. Having headed towards the exit from the beginning, Nyssa and Celeste¡¯s faces paled as they watched a wave of students approach them from behind. With the aggressive shouting already filling their ears, they looked at each other before running forward in step with each other. ¡°Where do we go?¡± Celeste asked as they increased their pace to pull away from the encroaching wave. ¡°You¡¯ve been here longer than me.¡± ¡°But you¡¯ve been a student for longer than me, how am I supposed to know where to go, I always slept through the festivals in a secluded corner of campus...¡± Nyssa answered, turning back to check on the people behind them. ¡°Well, I guess I could direct you to where no one goes during the festival. I know where all the couples go, because they used to invade my napping spots.¡± ¡°I mean, maybe later,¡± Celeste slid, turning the corner with a light kick off the wall. ¡°Let¡¯s visit the festival at least.¡± ¡°Then you decide,¡± Nyssa followed behind, frowning as Celeste pulled a couple steps ahead. Pushing down the urge to transform, she grit her teeth and ran a little harder to close the gap to Celeste, grabbing onto her hand as they approached the festival booths. Out of breath, she squeezed Celeste¡¯s hand, ignoring the sweatiness present on both of their hands. ¡°Let¡¯s just... walk from here.¡± ¡°Sounds like a plan,¡± Celeste reached over with her free hand, brushing Nyssa¡¯s hair back with a gentle smile. ¡°You should run more though. We didn¡¯t even run for that long and you¡¯re already out of breath.¡± If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°It¡¯s not my fault... I lost some of my cardiovascular fitness by laying in bed... unconscious...¡± Nyssa grumbled, batting away Celeste¡¯s hand even as a faint smile tugged at the corners of her lips. ¡°Alright, alright,¡± Celeste turned away, hiding the smile blossoming on her face as Nyssa tugged her forward. ¡°Any particular booth you want to visit first among the ones we see right now?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know... I want to stay kinda far from my sister though,¡± Nyssa trailed off, turning to face left as she noticed Roxanne and Angelica in the distance on their right side. ¡°Then let¡¯s play this cork shooting game,¡± Celeste pointed to the booth right in front of them. The prizes didn¡¯t amount to much, but she did notice the food tickets redeemable at the food booths. ¡°We can take care of our lunch if we do well.¡± ¡°No power usage though...¡± Nyssa sighed as the girl running the booth waved them over, prepping two cork guns as they walked over. ¡°I¡¯m so bad at these games without using my powers.¡± --- As for the duo who had been avoided earlier, Angelica and Roxanne, they strolled through the festival area with a gentle silence between them. Angelica wrapped her arm around Roxanne¡¯s waist as they walked away from the stadium area, trying to buy themselves just a couple more minutes before getting swarmed again. ¡°Are you sure you¡¯re doing alright? I can get you some food, or a drink? You didn¡¯t even sleep last night...¡± Angelica leaned closer to Roxanne, whispering as Roxanne yawned. ¡°It¡¯s... fine,¡± Roxanne patted her cheeks, a light slapping sound filling the air around them as she woke herself up. ¡°It''s not like we were... you know, doing something. I was just doing administrative work for the guild. That¡¯s not super draining energy-wise.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know about that...¡± Angelica pulled Roxanne closer. As Angelica placed a couple gentle kisses onto Roxanne¡¯s face, trailing down from the edge of her eye down to her lips, they force fed all the nearby booth owners with mouthful after mouthful of dog food. ¡°Every time I¡¯ve had to call the administrative offices about anything related to... well, anything, it''s been draining.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m fine,¡± Roxanne shook her head. ¡°There¡¯s no need for you to do anything just... keep me company. I¡¯m sure the students will end up asking you questions too.¡± ¡°Fine by me,¡± Angelica smiled. ¡°I¡¯m happy to spend any amount of time with you.¡± --- On another side of campus, far from the festival, Olivia sat sipping a drink while staring off into space. Alecto sat across from her, propping her chin up by setting her elbows on the small round table sitting between them. ¡°Are you sure you don¡¯t want to go to the festival?¡± Alecto asked, biting the straw of her own drink as she intertwined her legs with Olivia¡¯s under the table. ¡°... No... I¡¯m fine just sitting here, I like the quiet anyway,¡± Olivia sighed, turning to look back at Alecto. Her eyes softened as Alecto reached over and grabbed her hands. ¡°I¡¯ve been to the festival enough times to know that I won¡¯t enjoy it that much. Especially with how much swarming is going to go on, there are guests this time after all.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m happy to keep you company~¡± Alecto sang, reaching over and nabbing Olivia¡¯s drink. She took a couple sips before returning it with a wink. ¡°I¡¯ve added a little bit of love~ infusion~.¡± ¡°Thank you...¡± Olivia mumbled, a couple coughs escaping her as she opened and closed her mouth a few times. ¡°Yeah, and in past years, we weren¡¯t... you know. But now, I¡¯d really just rather spend time with you...¡± ¡°Awww, I love you too,¡± Alecto smiled, delighting in the faint pinkness appearing on Olivia¡¯s ears. ¡°There¡¯s no one I¡¯d rather spend my time with~.¡± 112: Sister Greeting After the initial rush ended, Roxanne and Angelica stood off to the side and leaned against a building beside the festival area. Fanning herself, even as they already stood in the shade, Roxanne shook her head with a faint smile teasing at the corners of her lips. ¡°I didn¡¯t expect there¡¯d be such an exuberant turnout...¡± ¡°You¡¯re famous, don¡¯t you remember when we swarmed the guests during our time as students?¡± Angelica smiled, her gaze deepening as memories of jostling through crowds from the past flashed before her eyes. ¡°And you¡¯re... just lovely, you know? With a personality like yours, who wouldn¡¯t want to come talk to you?¡± Roxanne shook her head. With warmth tingling her cheeks, she leaned over, resting her head on Angelica¡¯s shoulder. ¡°You have a way with words. A silver tongue. You speak nothing but the sweetest of words with me.¡± ¡°Emphasize the last part a little more, since I¡¯m not doing it with anyone else,¡± Angelica reached up, playing with Roxanne¡¯s hair. ¡°Are you sure you want to be doing this in public though?¡± ¡°See, some more sweet words. Also, I don¡¯t care, people will think what they think. If they thought we were dating they¡¯ll keep thinking that. If they thought we were just friends... well, I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll somehow justify this as an action between friends,¡± Roxanne teased, looking towards the knee-height bushes in front of them. ¡°Let me just spend some time with you... I miss you...¡± ¡°I miss you too,¡± Angelica¡¯s gaze softened as Roxanne¡¯s weariness came leaking through her words. ¡°We can spend as long as you want here, okay?¡± --- ¡°I should probably go see her, yeah...?¡± Nyssa paused, having seen Angelica and Roxanne through a crack between a couple rows of booths. She held hands with Celeste as they kept walking, perusing the prizes given at each booth. ¡°You probably should, it¡¯s not good to ignore your sister,¡± Celeste squeezed Nyssa¡¯s hand. ¡°Even if you are shy, it''ll probably make her day if you go see her.¡± ¡°She does have Angelica though... like... you know, I¡¯m sure she¡¯s already pretty happy with that...¡± Nyssa mumbled, only for Celeste to turn at the intersection. ¡°Wai... wait where are you dragging me-¡± ¡°To your sister, obviously,¡± Celeste rolled her eyes. ¡°Don¡¯t be so shy, come on.¡± Dragging out one long ¡°Fineeeeeee,¡± Nyssa followed along, ignoring the gazes congregating on them as they walked up to Roxanne and Angelica. As for Roxanne and Angelica, having been looking at the ground and the bushes, they looked up in surprise once the two girls appeared in their vision. ¡°Hi Roxanne...¡± Nyssa looked around left and right. Her hands clammed up as the gazes now bothered her, crawling all over her back and shoulders. ¡°How are you? You gave a pretty good talk. Good job... it was like... pretty cool, and uh... probably better than Slade¡¯s, yeah. I bet it was really good.¡± ¡°You didn¡¯t listen did you?¡± Roxanne teased, reaching out and ruffling Nyssa¡¯s hair. ¡°It¡¯s okay. It¡¯s not very relevant to you right now anyway.¡± The author''s content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. ¡°I didn¡¯t,¡± Nyssa stood up straight and saluted with a proud expression. ¡°In fact, I fell asleep three separate times.¡± ¡°Uh huh, you¡¯re truly a lost cause... ¡± Roxanne shook her head before a sweet voice came bursting out of her mouth. Swooping forward and enveloping Nyssa in a hug, she trapped her sister and began squeezing the air out of her lungs. ¡°Thanks for coming to see me though~ I was just thinking that even though so many students came to see me, a little lovely kitty had never come by to pay me a visit. Oh I missed you dearly~ come on, return your sister¡¯s hug!¡± ¡°I-... I-... c-can¡¯t...¡± Nyssa choked out with her arms pinned to her sides. ¡°... p-please... save me, Ange...¡± Feigning death, she sprung back to life and hid behind Celeste the moment Roxanne released her. Her girlfriend may have been wonderful in many ways, but above all, she served as a great human shield against the hurricane named Roxanne. Her peace though, didn¡¯t last long as a flash of green sprang out from Roxanne. All of Roxanne¡¯s summons came out of her in their mini forms, surrounding Nyssa like a pack of excited babies. As Nyssa got mobbed by a mini-dragon, and a plethora of other miniature green creatures, murmurs burst out from the nearby students. Hushed whispers traveled like fire as people stopped in the tracks, creating a traffic jam, and, consequently, a crowd. ¡°What the hell...? They have mini forms?¡± ¡°Did you see that Roxanne hugged her??¡± ¡°Which one?!¡± ¡°The one with white hair, the new student in Class Zero.¡± ¡°Crazy... and she¡¯s so favored by the summons. Aren¡¯t they famous for hating everyone but Roxanne?¡± ¡°Yeah! I asked to see them earlier, and Roxanne could only apologize and say that they didn¡¯t want to see me...¡± ¡°Maybe because she¡¯s her sister? Could it be her?¡± ¡°Trueeeeee...¡± ¡°You¡¯re so real for that...¡± ¡°Maybe...¡± ¡°Well, it might be because she has transformation powers, right? People with transformation powers are often favored by other people¡¯s summons.¡± ¡°Ohh, that¡¯s why you¡¯re a top student. That¡¯s a genius observation.¡± ¡°I still think it might be her sister...¡± ¡°I mean, that¡¯s not an impossibility, but they also don¡¯t look like each other at all.¡± ¡°All the people in the Ravenstein family are adopted! You should know this by now.¡± ¡°Well, I was just saying!¡± ¡°WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU¡¯RE JUST SAYING! By that logic I could be the one who¡¯s Roxanne¡¯s younger sibling.¡± ¡°Ohhh... are you?¡± ¡°... No, obviously not, dumbass.¡± As their conversation, along with many others continued, the ¡°is that girl Roxanne¡¯s younger sister?¡± murmurs died down. With Roxanne reaching over and patting Celeste, first on the shoulder, then the head, the whispers died out like a candle. ¡°Thanks for bringing her over,¡± Roxanne thanked, returning Nyssa¡¯s glare with a playful glare of her own. ¡°I¡¯d say you¡¯re the perfect younger sister because you¡¯re so polite and composed, but... you know, Nyssa¡¯s too cute so you can¡¯t have that position. I¡¯m glad you¡¯re so caring to her though. Remember that we¡¯re family, if you ever need help, Angelica and I are here for you like a pair of older sisters.¡± ¡°I¡¯m your teacher too, so I¡¯m already here for you,¡± Angelica stuck in a comment from the side. ¡°I¡¯m already here for her on every level.¡± ¡°Ohohoh you¡¯re just so cool like that,¡± Roxanne pressed a finger against Angelica¡¯s lips. ¡°You get what I mean though. Call me up whenever, okay? Nyssa and Angelica both have my contact info. So don¡¯t hesitate.¡± ¡°Thank you...¡± Celeste trailed off, her face blank and confused as she got caught between the three way bantering of Angelica, Roxanne, and Nyssa. ¡°I¡¯ll... make sure to keep that in mind.¡± 113: Powerful Ring Toss Over the course of a couple minutes, the crowd dispersed. As the sound of footsteps filled the air once more, murmurs continued to spread, most, however, leaned into the ear of those nearest to them to lament something along the lines of how ¡°Class Zero gets treated so well by the guests.¡± Their slight envy with nowhere to go but their hearts as they watched both Nyssa and Celeste receive affection that they never did. Unlike Angelica and Roxanne, who had been very aware of the murmurs¡ªbut paid them no mind¡ªCeleste and Nyssa finished up the conversation none the wiser, waving goodbye with happy smiles and heading back into the festival hand-in-hand. With Roxanne resting her head on her shoulder, Angelica played with her girlfriend¡¯s hair while keeping her eyes on Nyssa and Celeste¡¯s retreating figures. ¡°How nice it is to be young. I... kind of miss it.¡± ¡°Do you really think so, though? You were the student council president, a full-time student, and worked a job. You had no time at all,¡± Roxanne retorted, elbowing Angelica in the side. ¡°I would know, you didn¡¯t spend any time with me after we started dating.¡± ¡°Yeah... but now that I¡¯m an adult, I¡¯m just as busy, if not more. I just didn¡¯t know how to manage my time as well in the past,¡± Angelica looked down at her hand, twirling her phone with it. ¡°I miss it the most because even when we were so busy, we could at least work while sitting across from each other, and sleep in the same room at night.¡± ¡°Mn, I get that,¡± Roxanne closed her eyes as her gaze wandered downward and a sigh left her lips. ¡°I¡¯ll try and spend more time at home as well, okay?¡± ¡°You¡¯re just too competent though, the government wants you too much,¡± Angelica teased before fixing her expression. ¡°Open your eyes my dear, there are some more students coming.¡± --- ¡°I want to find one of Roxanne¡¯s guildmates, Gideon,¡± Nyssa¡¯s eyes reignited once they finished eating lunch. ¡°If we don¡¯t have anything else to do, I¡¯d like to... but I¡¯m also fine with doing other stuff first.¡± ¡°Then mind if we do the ring tossing booth first? It¡¯s right up ahead,¡± Celeste pointed forward, an excited smile dancing across her face. ¡°I¡¯m also fine with finding Gideon first, though. Up to you.¡± ¡°No, no it¡¯s fine, let¡¯s go do some ring tossing,¡± Nyssa ushered Celeste forward. They wove through the crowd, and, once they made contact with the man running the booth, they came to a stop by the booth¡¯s edge. ¡°Welcome, welcome, young ladies, I¡¯m here to offer a very fair, very easy ring toss game,¡± The man spread his hands out. In the process, he let a shower of rings fall from one hand to another. ¡°Your destiny lies within your own throwing ability. Who¡¯d like to go first? All these prizes from small to large are all up for you to grab.¡± ¡°I¡¯d like to go first,¡± Celeste laughed, a rare excited light dancing behind her eyes. She bobbed her hands, and once he handed over five rings, she couldn¡¯t help but to break out into a wide smile. ¡°Watch and learn Nyssa, I¡¯m secretly the ring toss master.¡± Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Raising her eyebrows, Nyssa stood off to the side, watching with a keen interest a Celeste took her position. She crouched down by just a hair, focused her eyes onto the specific hook she wanted, and tossed it by sweeping her arm outward in one clean motion. Rattle. The ring, as if guided by a string, clattered off the hook¡¯s edge and fell onto the wooden board signifying a ¡®no prize¡¯ result. ¡°What a shame, what a shame, you were so close. I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll get it on this next throw,¡± The man¡¯s eyes twinkled. He picked up the ring, flicking it upward and sweeping his arm to the side before setting it down on top of the pile. ¡°Go again whenever.¡± After the third ring missed a hook by a hair¡¯s margin, bouncing off of it a similar way to the first two, and clattering onto the wooden board, Nyssa bit her lip. It seemed... rigged. Well, she knew more carnival games of this sort had the odds stacked against the player, but this one seemed... supernatural almost. The ring¡¯s trajectory would bend like a banana, curving and making a near sharp turn near the end. A herky-jerky movement like a patient with a neurodegenerative disease. Seeing Celeste¡¯s eyes quiver and hands shake a touch, Nyssa felt the urge to transform well up within her. What if...? What if she changed her eyes into something able to see the truth? ¡°I shouldn¡¯t...¡± Nyssa scolded herself. A looming darkness spread through her mind, a bone-chilling cold enveloped her from behind as she felt her fingers go numb. Angelica¡¯s warning from just a couple days ago resurfaced once more, overlapping with Kaiser¡¯s warning repeated all throughout her childhood. ¡°Don¡¯t transform into something you don¡¯t know the price of. You never know what your powers might demand.¡± I haven¡¯t remembered that for years, why now... Nyssa stared at her hands, mystified as to why her father¡¯s words had come back to haunt her years after she had familiarized herself with transformation. ¡°Nyssa! I¡¯ll make you proud!¡± Celeste hyped herself up, snapping Nyssa out of her trance. Her hair transformed and her eyes began to shine as she began emanating a starry glow. ¡°Watch this!¡± In one clean motion, the ring went blasting forward. It shot out wind currents in its wake, blowing back both Nyssa, and the booth owner¡¯s hair. ¡°And a second!¡± Celeste whirled around sending the fifth and final ring right behind the first. ¡°When encountering trouble, underhanded tricks, or otherwise, just blast through it with unrelenting force. That¡¯s what I learned from Ryker.¡± ... Celeste¡¯s show of force, though, ended up blowing the booth¡¯s entire cloth roof off, only leaving behind the booth¡¯s wooden frame as the man behind the booth¡¯s counter clutched the rest of the rings against his chest. The two rings, though, sat snug on the centermost hook, signifying two prizes of the highest level. ¡°Maybe... Maybe I went a little overboard,¡± Celeste paused, looking over to Nyssa. Nyssa, who could only muster a wry smile, inched closer to Celeste as the surrounding students began congregating around them. ¡°Let¡¯s get going,¡± Celeste coughed, rushing forward and grabbing two of the prizes off the booth¡¯s table. Sticking next to Nyssa, she pushed through the crowd as another round of murmurs began to spread about them and their antics. ¡°My reputation is never recovering from this... I don¡¯t want to be known as Ryker 2.0...¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be fine, you¡¯ll be fine,¡± Nyssa comforted. ¡°Though I didn¡¯t expect for us to be popular... they¡¯re always murmuring about us.¡± ¡°... Yeah, you¡¯ll get used to it,¡± Celeste swept her hair back with a half-happy, half-sad smile. ¡°Nothing is that private, they¡¯ll find out all your secrets soon enough.¡± 114: BEAR HUG! Once they escaped the crowd they had created¡ªa recurring trend Nyssa began to notice¡ªthey began snaking through the festival¡¯s sprawling area. While on their search for Gideon, they stopped by the food stalls, redeeming food tickets they had won from festival games for a lunch on the go. ¡°Chicken skewers or lamb skewers?¡± Nyssa stood in front of the grill while stroking her chin. Holding hands with Celeste, she spent a moment lost in thought before pointing towards the chicken side and requesting one from the stand owner. Exchanging a ticket for a skewer, she bowed her head with a light ¡°thank you¡± before continuing forward. ¡°Since you can transform, do you ever feel weird about eating what you can transform into? Well, I guess you can transform into anything,¡± Celeste shaded her eyes from the sun as they continued walking down the path. They wove around countless other students bustling around the area, slipping through the cracks like drops of water. ¡°For me... not really,¡± Nyssa kept her head on a swivel, looking for Gideon¡¯s distinctive height and full face of facial hair. ¡°It doesn¡¯t happen with everyone, but it is... relatively? Relatively common among people with transformation powers that they stop eating what they can transform into. Like Gideon, he can transform into bears, so he¡¯s sworn to never eat bears. I, at some point, started to stop eating things... but yeah, eventually I stopped eating so many things, it became problematic.¡± ¡°Ah, yeah, I can see how that can happen. You¡¯d end up just starving yourself,¡± Celeste squeezed Nyssa¡¯s hand as they shifted to the side to let a group of boys run past them. ¡°Thanks for answering my question though.¡± ¡°Mhm, of course,¡± Nyssa pulled a piece of meat off the skewer. ¡°What about you? Have your powers affected how you live your life in any particular way, off the top of your head?¡± ¡°I can wear less clothes in the winter,¡± Celeste laughed, the response coming within a second. ¡°I never feel cold. Growing up, I went through a phase of wearing crop tops and shorts, which went through an entire winter since I was never cold... As you can tell I dress a lot more modestly now.¡± ¡°You... really do,¡± Nyssa glanced at Celeste from top to bottom. Even Nyssa wore her skirt higher than Celeste. Celeste also kept every button closed, exposing none of her collarbone. Before Nyssa could ask a couple more questions though, some faint shouting began to fill their ears. A crowd came into view, and they looked at each other as smiles blossomed on both their faces. ¡°Bear FLEX!¡± Cheers began to ring out. Even a few higher-pitched screams rang out as Gideon lifted a toppled booth back upright all by himself. ¡°Bear STORAGE!¡± Another wave of cheers broke out. This time, Nyssa and Celeste, while pushing their way through the crowd, watched as Gideon stored away the scrap splinters of wood sitting on the ground. ¡°Impressive,¡± Nyssa murmured to herself as she watched the bear mouth on Gideon¡¯s stomach consume the scraps and let out a burp. After arriving at the very front, she fell quiet, waiting for Gideon to finish his work and answer the questions from the nearby students. The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Not going to go?¡± Celeste whispered from beside Nyssa. Gideon, while she spoke, stood facing away from them, signing an autograph. ¡°No, I don¡¯t want to interrupt, that¡¯d be rude... My business isn¡¯t that urgent anyway,¡± Nyssa shrugged, biding her time until the crowd began to disperse. Once only a few people remained¡ªconsisting of... admirers? Nyssa couldn¡¯t tell¡ªshe walked up to Gideon, waving to grab his attention. ¡°Gideon, do you have a moment?¡± ¡°Hm? What¡¯s up,¡± Gideon turned around, the weariness on his face evaporating the moment he registered Nyssa in front of him. ¡°Oh! Nyssa! It¡¯s been so long, how are you?¡± ¡°I¡¯m doing well,¡± Nyssa smiled, raising her arms as Gideon did the same. They both transformed into furry bears, and took a few steps towards each other before embracing and shouting ¡°¡°BEAR HUG!¡±¡± in unison. Transforming back into people once their hug ended, Gideon rubbed Nyssa¡¯s hair. ¡°You¡¯ve truly grown up well. You look like you¡¯re a healthy weight, you¡¯re not deathly pale anymore, and you¡¯ve grown out your hair. So, much has changed in just a year.¡± Bobbing her head up and down a couple times as a faint pridefulness began dancing across her face, she turned to Celeste and dragged her forward. ¡°Gideon, I have... a... uh... girlfriend now too. Her name is Celeste, she¡¯s in Class with me.¡± ¡°Nice to meet you, nice to meet you,¡± Gideon extended a hand, exchanging a warm handshake with Celeste. ¡°You¡¯re now a second year in Class Zero correct? I remember hearing some rumors about you.¡± With Celeste raising her eyebrows, he waved her off with a smile. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, they were all very positive. Take care of Nyssa here, okay? I feel quite fond towards her.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll make sure to,¡± Celeste saluted as Nyssa stood between them with an awkward smile. ¡°Are you two related at all? Is there a secret I¡¯m not aware of though?¡± ¡°No not at all,¡± Gideon put his hands on his hips. ¡°I was just one of Roxanne¡¯s first friends at work. I was her senior when she joined the guild, and over time, after helping Roxanne adapt, I also met Nyssa, and became a bit of an uncle towards her. It¡¯s happened with a fair few people. More in our guild than in Slade¡¯s, but because they¡¯re both the leaders now, they often host the parties, and thus, we¡¯ve all gotten to know both each other, and Nyssa here.¡± ¡°Ohhhh...¡± Celeste murmured, a slight teasing light appearing in her eyes as she looked over to Nyssa. ¡°I see~ I see.¡± Nyssa, meeting Celeste¡¯s gaze, pinched her hand where Gideon couldn¡¯t see. ¡°What kind of dumb thoughts are you having...¡± ¡°Oh nothing,¡± Celeste sang, saving the tidbit of information for another day. ¡°It was nice meeting you though.¡± ¡°It was nice to meet you too,¡± Gideon flashed a thumbs-up and a bright smile. He turned and patted Nyssa a couple more times on the head. ¡°Take care of yourself, little bear. Let¡¯s catch up sometime, but make sure to keep the essence of bear in your heart. The indomitable spirit, ready to crash through anything in your way!¡± ¡°Yessir,¡± Nyssa copied Celeste¡¯s salute before the two parties bade each other farewell. They didn¡¯t exchange many pleasantries, but once Gideon left, Nyssa hummed with happiness as they resumed their walk through the festival area. ¡°You¡¯re so cute right now, I hope you know that,¡± Celeste pulled Nyssa in closer, giving her a hug of her own. ¡°How was seeing Gideon? Anything you want to do now?¡± A faint blush appeared on Nyssa¡¯s face, but, without freezing up, she returned the hug and basked in Celeste¡¯s embrace for a couple seconds. ¡°Seeing Gideon was good. But I don¡¯t have anything else I want to do. I want to hear more about your life and powers since we were talking about that earlier... also eat some more food while we talk.¡± ¡°Want to do it while watching the dueling tournament?¡± Celeste patted Nyssa, releasing her from her embrace as they began walking once more. ¡°Yep, yep, everyone hypes of the dueling tournament, I¡¯m fine with anything,¡± Nyssa swung her arm forward as they walked. ¡°Onward!¡± ¡°Onward!¡± 115: Dueling Tournament Food could be found throughout the day, the booths wouldn¡¯t close after all. On the agenda though, the school had prescribed two hours to lunch¡ªfrom eleven in the morning to one in the afternoon. Once this recommended lunchtime ended, the events they had organized for the afternoon began ramping up. A small stage sat in the center of the festival area, where some of the creative clubs reserved timeslots to perform. A woman from Class Two, with the reputation as the school¡¯s songstress, went up first, drawing a quick crowd while running through a fifteen minute performance. The moment it ended though, the crowds dissipated like a herd of flies shooed away by an annoyed student in the summer. ¡°That was amazing...¡± ¡°Her voice is truly unparalleled.¡± ¡°The way she transitioned from singing with extreme power to a gentle voice filled with heart-wrenching emotion is just... just... exquisite.¡± As these crowds of students traded excited whispers, they all rushed towards the main stadium where the first show-stopping event would take place: the dueling tournament. Shading her eyes, Nyssa climbed the stairs to return to the Class Zero bleachers. Even with the free seating, she returned to the same area out of habit, stepping over the benches and sliding down to the same seat she had taken earlier in the morning. The sound of feet stomping against metal filled the entire stadium as most, if not all of the students came filing in. Plus, with the addition of visiting executives all dressed in suits, the stadium felt... alive. It flexed under the load of a full capacity. Some groups began chanting cheers while others used their feet to drum up an excited rhythm by stomping against the bleacher stands. ¡°FIGHT FIGHT FIGHT!¡± ¡°TODAY WE D-D-D-DUEEEEELLLL¡± ¡°CLASS ZERO YOU¡¯RE GOING DOWN!¡± ¡°CLASS ONE! CLASS ONE! CLASS ONE!¡± ¡°NUMBER ONE FOR CLASS ONE! ZERO ABILITY FOR CLASS ZERO!¡± Seeing waves of exuberant students on the other side of the stadium all standing shoulder to shoulder, with their arms draped over each other, jumping and swaying from side to side, Nyssa had to admit they had a coordination Class Zero didn¡¯t. Bandanas, all-black outfits, sunglasses, and cheer coordinators to organize the intimidation tactics. The emcee walked onto stage, dressed in a dapper suit, a top hat, and a decorative cane, he did a spin, spat out some dance moves before grabbing the microphone. ¡°Good afternoon everyone, and welcome to the world-famous Luminary Institute dueling festival.¡± As cheers roared, he pointed upward, and a floating graphic flickered to life in the sky. ¡°These are today¡¯s competitors. As you see, we have a power vacuum! The entire podium from last year, WILL NOT BE PARTICIPATING THIS YEAR! Our winner from the last two years... Ryker from Class Zero, will NOT be participating! So this competition is wide open!¡± The entire stadium fell quiet. Seconds later, the entire stadium split into two. Half of the students cheered, their excitement to see a new dueling champion boiling over into high-pitched screams and lung-destroying cheers. The other half of the students though, wilted, with some even breaking into booing. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°WHAT¡¯S THE POINT OF EVEN WATCHING THEN! OUR STRONGEST WEAPON ISN¡¯T HERE!¡± Even while covering their ears to protect themselves from the cheering, Celeste and Nyssa couldn¡¯t help but overhear the disappointed conversations from the students sitting a couple rows behind them. ¡°What¡¯s the point of even watching? I could even win this tournament now.¡± ¡°I mean. No, that¡¯s objectively not true. You¡¯re a shit dueler. But yeah, whoever wins this year is probably like... what the fourth best dueling in the school then? Behind Ryker, Olivia, then Electra?¡± ¡°Yeah, so, I guess just watch it with a grain of salt.¡± ¡°Kinda boring though, don¡¯t you think? We could leave and continue doing festival stuff.¡± ¡°We¡¯re already here... we might as well watch. Someone new is gonna win this year, so we might as well watch the crowning of a new champion. What if something crazy happens?¡± ¡°... Something crazy is not going to happen, but sure, let¡¯s watch. Who do you think will win then?¡± Squinting up at the participant list, Nyssa shaded her eyes with one hand as she rested her head on Celeste¡¯s shoulder. ¡°I don¡¯t recognize any of these names... Oh wait, Conrad. I guess I¡¯ll cheer for him?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll cheer for anyone but him...¡± Celeste coughed, sweeping her eyes over the list as well. ¡°I recognize a few of these names from last year. But all of the notable ones lost against Ryker and the others last year. So, it¡¯d be nice if someone not well-established in dueling won. That way there¡¯d at least be an argument that they¡¯re better than those three...¡± ¡°Realistically though,¡± Nyssa thought back to the scenes of Ryker and Electra fighting. ¡°Realistically though, no one is even close to those three,¡± Celeste sighed, resting her head on top of Nyssa¡¯s. ¡°Let¡¯s just watch though. I haven¡¯t seen Conrad fight in a long time.¡± After humming an agreement, Nyssa watched as the announcer went through a stream of announcements, explaining the rules of the duel, structure of the tournament, and safety disclaimers. Once done, he began introducing the first pair of duelists, but Nyssa, by this point, had her eyes closed, and consciousness elsewhere as she wandered through dreamland. ¡°Heyyyy make some space for us,¡± Ryker¡¯s voice dragged Nyssa out of dreamland as he and Electra appeared. Celeste, raising her eyebrows, pulled Nyssa closer to her as she made space for the pair to sit near them. Her eyes widened once more as, not even a minute later, Olivia appeared with Alecto, giving the group a light nod before sitting down a couple rows in front of them. With the addition of three celebrities around them, Celeste and Nyssa¡¯s peaceful dueling experience flew away like a delicate dove escaping a predatory eagle. Every few minutes, an executive in a suit would tromp up the stairs, and come to a stop near the group. Out of ten executives, eight would go to Olivia, one to Ryker, and the last one to Electra. ¡°Hi, Olivia. You¡¯re a promising talent. It¡¯s a little sad not to see you demonstrate your skills this year, but I just want to hand you my business card. Our organization is recruiting and we hope a brilliant talent like you will consider sending an application over our way.¡± ¡°Why not reach out to those two behind me?¡± ¡°They have their futures set don¡¯t they? In the Class Zero graduate program. You¡¯re part of Class One though, so, with your open future, with a destiny read to traverse any path you please, consider us.¡± ¡°... Mhm, thanks.¡± The scene repeated over and over as, eventually, Alecto began glaring at any and all suit-wearing executives who even dared to SNIFF in their direction. 116: A Protagonist’s Aura The dueling tournament, in its brilliant show of colors and explosions, ended with a certain Class Zero second-year being crowned the new dueling champion: Conrad. Much to the slight annoyance of his fellow second-year, Celeste, who now sat beside Nyssa with a slight crease in her eyebrows. ¡°Like... good for him, but I hate how he looks so cool. He¡¯s such a dork in real life, but he looks like the true protagonist he keeps hyping himself up to be.¡± Having just dispatched the now second-place finisher, Conrad sheathed his sword with a flick of the wrist and a stony expression. The click as his sword slid into place seemed to fill the entire stadium as the last of the shining light it emanated disappeared into the sheath. With his hair blowing into a messy, but styled manner, he turned to the stands and bowed his head before striding off the stage. His black coat billowed in the air behind him, matching his dark hair to create the image of a hero coming back victorious from a difficult war. The entire stadium, on the other hand, exploded into cheers. Every passing second seemed to mark the creation of a new fanclub. Celeste held her face in her hands, leaning against Nyssa. Nyssa, wrapping her arms around her girlfriend, comforted her as laughs came slipping out between her words. ¡°At least he didn¡¯t say something like, ¡®dedicated to my female supporting lead, Celeste¡¯ like he has in the past...¡± Celeste tried to look on the brightside. ¡°So, I¡¯m free from this...¡± ¡°Well, that¡¯d subtract from this cool persona he¡¯s trying to build, right?¡± Nyssa patted Celeste, running a hand through her hair. ¡°If he says anything, it¡¯ll dispel his image. Which is good because he¡¯s... a very different person once he starts talking.¡± ¡°You¡¯re very right for that,¡± Celeste sighed. ¡°At least I¡¯ll be free from all of this.¡± Not a second after the words left her mouth though, a group of Class Two students behind them began theorizing aloud. ¡°What do you think is the reason for the all-black outfit? And the ¡®no talking¡¯! It¡¯s like he¡¯s being driven by love!¡± ¡°Ohhh, that¡¯s such a good point, I wonder who he¡¯s fighting for! Does he have a secret boyfriend or girlfriend?¡± ¡°Well, he¡¯s mostly hanging out with Albion and Titus, and like... don¡¯t those two already have ambiguous rumors between them? Same as Ryker and Electra, right? So like, if those four are already in relationships, then like... who¡¯s left?¡± ¡°Are! You! Stupid! Come on, the answer¡¯s right in front of us. Literally!¡± ¡°Ohhhhhhh... yeah, she¡¯s a second year too... and ohhhhhh you¡¯re so smart.¡± Celeste with dead eyes, looked at Nyssa while grinding her teeth. Leaning in closer, she whispered at a volume only they could hear. ¡°And they act like I have no ears. What¡¯s the point of sitting two rows behind us just to say stuff like this. Nothing I can do with you will make them realize at this point... We literally are always together, holding hands, leaning on each other, hugging each other. What more can we do?¡± You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡°I mean, you could just make out in public,¡± Ryker added from the side with a shit-eating grin painted across his face. His delight in Celeste¡¯s situation practically written across his forehead in all bold. ¡°... I¡¯m not doing that, I have a sense of decency,¡± Celeste stared back at Ryker. ¡°I¡¯m not as shameless as a weirdo upperclassman like you.¡± ¡°Gehak-¡± Ryker clutched his chest, falling backward against Electra while a fake aggrieved expression appeared on his face. ¡°Electra! You hear this? Our lovely junior is slandering me. What happened to the cute junior who would only say polite things to us, always greet us with a smile, and was so innocent!¡± ¡°I mean, she¡¯s not wrong,¡± Electra retorted with a slight smile tugging at the side of her lips. ¡°You are the most shameless person in our class.¡± ¡°Damn...¡± Ryker hunched over, shaking his head fore a couple seconds before grabbing onto Nyssa¡¯s shoulder. ¡°You must not become like them. You got it? Treasure your youthful brightness and never let that spark of love leave your eyes.¡± ¡°What do you mean?¡± Nyssa raised her eyebrows. She peeled Ryker¡¯s hand off her shoulder, sending it back to him with a light flick. ¡°Nobody thinks you aren¡¯t shameless, you know that?¡± ¡°They already got to you!!¡± Ryker cupped his face in his hands. ¡°How could Celeste do this to you...¡± ¡°I... don¡¯t know,¡± Nyssa mumbled as Celeste wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her closer. A second later, Celeste whispered a ¡°don¡¯t worry about it¡± in her ear with a laugh. --- Once the dueling tournament and its crowning ceremony finished, the very same announcer took the stage once more to announce the next event. ¡°THE CAMPUS WIDE RACE! OHHH YEAHHHHHHH!¡± The announcer shouted into the microphone, spreading his arms wide. ¡°As usual, there will be TWO races. One for all of our guests, and one for the students. The starting point will be this stadium and anyone is free to join. We will obviously start the race in two waves, students first, then guests. But everyone, right now, is free to begin coming down to the pitch to pick up a number! YOU MUST WEAR THESE NUMBER TAGS! THEY HAVE TRACKERS IN THEM, and are how we ensure you passed all the checkpoints and didn¡¯t cheat.¡± While he spoke into the microphone, the emcee pointed towards the row of booths now set-up in front of the stage. The stadium, still packed from the dueling tournament, began filing down the stairs, jampacking every pathway out of the stadium as they all funneled into the stadium¡¯s giant center area. ¡°This can¡¯t be safe, once the race starts, you might get trapped for an hour before you can even leave the stadium...¡± Nyssa trailed off as she and Celeste sat still on the bleachers. Unwilling to do the race, but also unable to leave the stadium, they watched as the race preparations came underway. ¡°That¡¯s just part of it. The ability to fly really helps in this, but even then, since you can fight people, and because a lot of the checkpoints are in buildings, it¡¯s still quite fair,¡± Celeste sighed, leaning back and resting her elbows on the empty bleacher behind them. ¡°Both of us would probably do well though. You can transform into something stealthy enough to disappear, and I can just... blast other people out of the sky.¡± ¡°Certainly seems like a useful skill,¡± Nyssa mumbled as she watched the giant mass of people down on the pitch separate into two groups, the guests and the students. ¡°It¡¯s going to be a bloodbath once this starts, isn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Yep.¡± 117: Strange Similarities A horn signified the start of the race. All the participants, who had been mulling around on the pitch and chatting with their friends, felt a jolt run through their spines as the announcer, still in his dapper outfit, began shouting at people to run. The few who could fly, began soaring into the air, taking to the skies to escape the stadium. Those confident¡ªmaybe even overconfident¡ªin the durability of their bodies, a group smaller than those who could fly, avoided the main crunch beginning to form in the exit routes, sprinting up the stairs to leap out of the stadium from the top of the bleachers. Nyssa and Celeste watched as a student from Class One raced up the bleachers, sending a gust of wind outward in his wake as he passed by. Once he reached the top, he spread his arms out to the side, and leapt off without a second of doubt. ¡°A perfect swan dive...¡± Nyssa trailed off before turning her attention back to the center of the arena where the vast majority of the students had now crunched up by the exits. Shouting filled the air. Jostling could be seen even from where she and Celeste sat. Bright flashes shot into the air as some bodies went flying into the stands, ejected by their classmates who wanted to exit faster. A few minutes later though, she felt her interest begin to fade. The sun¡¯s warmth enveloped her in a warm blanket, and, once she closed her eyes, she felt sleepland begin to drag her away. Resting on Celeste¡¯s shoulder, the shouting made for great background noise as she wandered dreamland with a blissful expression on her face. ¡°It¡¯s really impressive how she does it,¡± Alecto turned around, putting her elbows on the bleacher below Nyssa and Celeste and propping her chin up. ¡°I¡¯ve never seen someone able to fall asleep so quickly, so consistently.¡± ¡°In all your years of existence?¡± Olivia asked from beside Alecto. ¡°Nope, not in all my years of existence. Unless you count people who were severely sick, addicted to drugs, or had powers heavily dependent on them being asleep to use them,¡± Alecto counted on her fingers. ¡°It almost feels like her default state is asleep, rather than awake. She could probably sleep for a week straight if given the freedom to.¡± ¡°I don¡¯t doubt that,¡± Celeste smiled, sitting still to keep Nyssa¡¯s headrest comfortable. With her other hand, she reached over and brushed her hand through Nyssa¡¯s hair with slow motions. ¡°I hope she can sleep her fill in the future. Because I don¡¯t think attending the academy will let her do that.¡± ¡°Mn... yeah,¡± Alecto murmured after staring at Nyssa for a few seconds. She turned away and went back to wrapping herself around Olivia, staring down at the now half-empty field. Now, only the non-students who wanted to participate in the guest race remained. Roxanne and a few of her guildmates had registered, and many executives¡ªthose still in shape¡ªhad also done the same. They had come prepared, wearing suits to accommodate their powers under their business suits. Similar scenes now played out across the pitch as people in suits took off their formal wear, handing it off to an assistant, or to a colleague not participating in the race. Ages ranged from youthful adults who could still pass as students to white-haired, back-hunched business executives who looked as if they hadn¡¯t left an office chair in the past three decades. Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. Celeste channeled some energy into her eyes to improve her long-distance vision, and scanned the participants. Her eyes, of course, lit up when she saw Angelica patting Roxanne on the back. Among the other participants though, she didn¡¯t notice much. ¡°Angel wings... those are probably very advantageous. ¡° ¡°Goop... form? That seems near useless... I guess you could go into drains. But like... ew... I¡¯d never use those powers if I had them.¡± ¡°Sword related...? Or is that just a weapon for combat purposes. That is a viable strategy after all.¡± ¡°Mech suits?¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s quite uncommon isn¡¯t it?¡± Ryker leaned back and crossed his arms. ¡°Mech suits usually mean that you¡¯re sealing off the use of your powers because they can¡¯t withstand side effects of power usage.¡± ¡°I mean it could work for some people,¡± Celeste stroked her chin, squinting at the mech suits as they seemed to trigger a faint itch of recognition in the back of her mind. ¡°Like, I bet Conrad would work great in a mech suit, since his powers are only more supplementary after all.¡± ¡°True, but even then, he¡¯s strong enough, and fast enough, from his powers, that he¡¯d tear through most mech suits while moving at his max speed,¡± Ryker leaned side-to-side as he rolled the thought around in his mind. ¡°If it was custom made, I could see it. Other than him though, I don¡¯t know anyone else in Class Zero though. The rest of us would just destroy it.¡± Distracted by Ryker¡¯s conversation, Celeste stopped searching through her memories, shaking her head to clear her mind. Whipping Nyssa in the face with some hair, she apologized with a few soothing brushes, smiling after Nyssa¡¯s troubled sleeping expression relaxed once more. ¡°You think this is a marketing stunt though?¡± Ryker nudged Electra, who had been staring off into space with a disinterested expression. ¡°If they perform well, or even manage to win, their company will probably win a lot of investment. Nobody¡¯s been able to build a widely useful mech suit so far after all.¡± ¡°Ehhh, I think a lot of investors are treating it as a dead end. You know my parents right? They¡¯ve been auto-rejecting most high-tech related investment requests. There¡¯s just been a bit of stagnation in the industry.¡± Electra shrugged, looking down at the pitch to examine the mech suits after Ryker pointed them out to her. ¡°Those do seem very cutting-edge, I haven¡¯t seen much like it before, but who knows how advanced those internals are... That¡¯s kinda what matters more. The artificial muscle fibers, that type of stuff.¡± ¡°Damn, you know a lot,¡± Ryker whistled as Electra continued on with her analysis, pointing out which parts, and which metrics they should pay attention to. ¡°Of course I know this much, my parents still are considering handing the company to me after all. That¡¯s dependent on whether I decide to not go down the path of being a hunter or hero though,¡± Electra paused her explanation for a second to reply before jumping right back into it. ... It honestly kind of looks like the tech we saw at that underground bunker... Celeste, who had refocused on the mech suits, couldn¡¯t help but to notice a few underlying similarities. Pure white plates, blue glowing eyes, black under joints. They just... seem so similar to the automata we fought. Well, a lot more advanced though. Then again, that¡¯s just a classic ¡®futuristic¡¯ look, so they¡¯re probably totally unaffiliated... Gah, I just didn¡¯t expect to run into such a similar thing so soon. Should I ask Angelica about this? She¡¯s probably noticed though, and like... she¡¯s having a good time with Roxanne, so It¡¯s probably fine.... Yeah. yeah. It¡¯s chill. 118: Worn Out As non-participants in the race across the school, Nyssa and Celeste left the arena without much trouble once the guest race started. By this point, the vast majority of people had dispersed across campus, scurrying from checkpoint to checkpoint, leaving the arena a desolate ghost town. ¡°Why didn¡¯t either of you two participate?¡± Alecto asked as she, Olivia, Ryker, and Electra walked along with them. ¡°You¡¯re both so young, why not live a little?¡± ¡°You all-... They all aren¡¯t that much older than us,¡± Celeste stared at Alecto before pointing at Olivia, Electra, and Ryker. ¡°Why don¡¯t they participate?¡± ¡°Well, they¡¯ve won before. Electra won in her first year, Olivia won with ~my~ lovely help in her second year. Ryker got second both times. Winners are automatically banned from participating in the next year, and Ryker got bored,¡± Alecto smiled, countering Celeste¡¯s point with a smooth rebuttal. ¡°... Oh,¡± Celeste nodded, unfazed. ¡°Makes sense.¡± ¡°So~?¡± Alecto prompted Celeste and Nyssa, ¡°What¡¯s the reason to skip such a fun event~¡± ¡°I¡¯m not feeling too confident with my transformations right now,¡± Nyssa sighed, folding her fingers together while looking at her feet. ¡°I think I just need some time before I start getting back to how fluid I was.¡± ¡°And I wanted to spend time with Nyssa,¡± Celeste nodded, hiding the smile blossoming across her lips. ¡°Same, same, I wanted to spend some more time with Celeste, since I wouldn¡¯t do well in the race anyway,¡± Nyssa agreed, bobbing her head to match Celeste. ¡°I see~¡± Alecto¡¯s eyes twinkled. She set aside Celeste and Nyssa¡¯s lovey-dovey comments before transforming a set of wings into existence. Floating into the air, she spun before landing back onto her feet. ¡°And I was looking forward to having a transformation battle with you, Nyssa~ What a shame, what a shame. In the future then, perhaps~¡± ¡°In the future, for sure,¡± Nyssa nodded as Alecto winked, saluted, and spun on her heel to wrap herself around her contractor. Olivia, in the middle of conversation with Ryker and Electra, reached over, stroking Alecto¡¯s head a couple times without breaking her rhythm, and as a group, they all kept walking. While they walked, they saw figures in the distance fighting. A figure dressed in all black leapt off a building, grabbing another flying student right out of the sky, and, together, they went crashing to the ground. A bright beacon-like laser beam shot into the sky from the other side of campus. The sound of metal weapons clashing filled the air. Tremors, at times, shook the ground as all-out brawls had become commonplace. ¡°Let¡¯s go somewhere secluded...¡± Celeste leaned over, whispering into Nyssa¡¯s ear. ¡°I feel like just resting a bit before the next event, the... theatrical performances, right?¡± Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. ¡°Yeah, the various art clubs are putting on their shows and performances next,¡± Nyssa let Celeste rest her head on her shoulder for a couple seconds. ¡°If the students are still unhurt, that is... Also, yeah, let¡¯s go then, I know a couple places that should be secluded.¡± ¡°Thank you,¡± Celeste let out a long sigh, closing her eyes for a brief moment before standing back upright. They walked along with the others for a little longer until Nyssa indicated their paths would split. They took a right, and the others took a left. As they split, Nyssa and Celeste waved and bade them a ¡°see you later,¡± before disappearing into the upper levels of the humanities building situated between Class One and Class Zero¡¯s area. --- After leading Celeste through a series of winding hallways and passing through a couple of ¡°no trespassing¡± doors, Nyssa led Celeste to the roof of the humanities building. U-shaped, the humanities building had a grassy courtyard in the center where some institute workers had begun setting up a stage for the performances later in the day. Wind tickled their necks as they sat down on the roof¡¯s edge, dangling their feet in the open air. Celeste, closing her eyes, laid back onto the roof. Her hands wandered outward, grasping onto Nyssa¡¯s before lacing their fingers together. ¡°It¡¯s a nice place... wow... The sky really is beautiful today.¡± ¡°It is,¡± Nyssa squeezed Celeste¡¯s hand, tilting her head back to stare at the clouds. ¡°We also don¡¯t have to move from here, since the performances are going to be taking place just down there.¡± ¡°Good to know...¡± Celeste trailed off, squeezing Nyssa¡¯s hand within her own. ¡°Thanks for picking the place out.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Nyssa laid back to join Celeste. ¡°Are you doing okay? You seem more worn out than usual today. Usually I¡¯m the one who¡¯s half-asleep. I mean... I was earlier, but right now it¡¯s you.¡± ¡°Just a little worn out I guess, and... hiding a little,¡± Celeste sighed. ¡°I mean it¡¯ll happen to both of us, but everyone in Class Zero is going to get swarmed with executives as the day goes on. Especially during the theater performances, since they don¡¯t care much about this event. So they spend the time finding the people they want to talk to or make a connection with.¡± ¡°You mean like what we saw earlier with Electra, Ryker, and Olivia?¡± Nyssa asked, raising one hand towards the sky. She clenched her fist, as if trying to grab a cloud out of the sky. ¡°Why us though?¡± ¡°Because we¡¯re high quality goods,¡± Celeste coughed, half-snorting in the process. ¡°I don¡¯t know, it¡¯s just always annoying for me, especially when people start leveraging their connections to my parents. My parents aren¡¯t that special even, they¡¯re just normal office workers in... decent positions. It¡¯s not like my parents are nigh modern day aristocrats like some of our classmates...¡± ¡°I see...¡± Nyssa murmured a vague response. Her eyes wandered as her mind struggled to come up with a good response. ¡°Is there a chance they¡¯ll come up here then? I know some students climb up here when the performances start so it shouldn¡¯t be too crowded still, but... I mean... yeah...¡± ¡°It should be okay, don¡¯t worry,¡± Celeste rolled over, hugging Nyssa. ¡°We can always just shoo them away, and they¡¯ll be hard pressed to find us up here.¡± ¡°I¡¯ll just mentally prepare for a couple still though...¡± Nyssa sighed. ¡°Luckily they don¡¯t know my background. I bet they¡¯d be swarming me if they did.¡± ¡°True, true, you¡¯re very under the radar right now, enjoy it while it lasts...¡± Celeste mumbled. ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have shown off so early. Though it did make life a lot easier in some regards, it definitely makes it more annoying in these ones...¡± ¡°No point in worrying about it now,¡± Nyssa shrugged, sitting back upright once Celeste let go of her. ¡°You¡¯re well known as being a high-potential young talent, there¡¯s merit in that. And you deserve the benefits that come with it.¡± ¡°... True...¡± 119: Losing One’s Student ID Once the theatrical performances began, Nyssa and Celeste snapped back awake, sitting upright as they watched from above. Others, once they saw the pair of them on the roof, came to join¡ªbut they had already claimed the prime viewing position. Flames came jetting out of a student¡¯s hand, propelling them into a somersaulting flip and carrying them over the spikes placed in the center of the stage. ¡°¡°Oughhhhhhhhh!!!¡±¡± A wave of cheers resembling a gorilla¡¯s call filled the air as the students gathered in the humanities building¡¯s central area mushed together to try and gain a better view. Some windows on the humanities building had also been pried open, with the more resourceful students using them as pseudo-private boxes to get the aristocratic experience. With two streams of fire shooting out over the crowd¡ªand then dissipating into a sparkler-like shower¡ªNyssa leaned over and whispered into Celeste¡¯s ear. ¡°I can¡¯t be the only one who feels like they look like a living amoeba... Like they move and shift around in their little groups and bounce off each other, well not really, but you see what I¡¯m saying?¡± She pointed downward. The group she pointed at consisted of three friends. Lost in conversation, they danced to the music being sung by the performing. Without any clear markers on the grass, they wandered, coming into slow contact with the group next to them. First, one of the girls bumped backs with a guy. They turned, they apologized, and the groups separated once more. ¡°I can see it...¡± Celeste squinted at the group while stroking her chin. She tilted her chin left and right, leaning backward and forward a couple times before nodding. ¡°Yeah, I get what you¡¯re saying.¡± Nyssa hummed an agreement laced with a slight tinge of smugness before closing her eyes and leaning on Celeste¡¯s shoulder. The piano started for the next piece, its quiet notes bringing a hush over the crowd as its delicate chord progression struck a mournful tone. Together, they swayed left and right as the singer began her melancholic love ballad. Celeste pantomimed the arpeggios with her hands as Nyssa just savored the melody and lyrics, mouthing the few parts she recognized. --- ¡°It¡¯s over already?¡± Celeste sighed, clapping along as the final singer took a bow. The crowd below had broken into a rousing standing ovation, but her and Nyssa¡¯s position held them back. Like the few performances they had enjoyed together in the past though, it had ended before they knew it. ¡°I wish we could spend the rest of our lives like this...¡± Sitting side-by-side, fingers laced together, legs pressed together, and heads leaning against the other. Staring at the now orange-stained sky, streaked with the purple-pink of the oncoming night, she let out a slow sigh as Nyssa, beside her, yawned and stretched her arms out. ¡°What¡¯s after this?¡± Celeste reached into her pocket, grabbing her phone. ¡°Is it dinner?¡± This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°It¡¯s the formal dinner, I think we have an invite since we¡¯re Class Zero, but I think it¡¯s more of a cover. They were gonna give me an invite no matter what since, well, I¡¯m me, but to not show favoritism and reveal my identity, this is the solution they¡¯ve come up with,¡± Nyssa answered without opening her eyes. ¡°I think the festival will also be handing out free food for the uninvited.¡± ¡°I... see, we should change then shouldn¡¯t we?¡± Celeste looked down at her school uniform. ¡°And you mean ¡®them,¡¯ as in the school administration and your father, right?¡± ¡°Yeah, dad decided it,¡± Nyssa pushed herself backward, scraping her but against the roof to pull her legs up. Once in a crouched position, she took two deep breaths to hype herself up before pushing down on her knees to stand back up. ¡°School uniforms should be fine. It¡¯s semi-formal, and we¡¯re not there as the centerpiece. It¡¯s mostly a dinner for the big investors. We¡¯re just there to... I don¡¯t know, fill space. Talk and hang out. Be the student representatives. Boring stuff.¡± ¡°Well, I¡¯m sure it won¡¯t be boring if you¡¯re there with me,¡± Celeste floated up into the air. She flew high enough to get her feet above the roof and let herself fall back to solid ground with a faint huff¡ªall in a matter of a couple seconds. Caught off guard, Nyssa choked out an ¡°... I¡¯m honored before offering her hand out to Celeste. ¡°Want to start walking then? I wanna get there early and maybe uh... take a micro nap...¡± Laughing, Celeste took Nyssa¡¯s hand as they began walking across the rooftop towards the staircase back down to the ground levels. Their footsteps echoed against the pavement as they took a secluded route through campus into the administration building. Up an elevator they went before exiting in a cramped hallway filled with two tables. The tables, staffed by... some people Celeste and Nyssa had never seen before, guarded a set of double doors. ¡°Student IDs please, we need to make sure you¡¯re on the invite list,¡± the rightmost staff member tapped a pen against a clipboard. ¡°¡°One second,¡±¡± Celeste and Nyssa answered in unison before noticing a certain pair, Ryker and Electra, also digging through their bags for student IDs. Finding their student cards before their upperclassmen did, Celeste and Nyssa handed over their cards to get scanned before passing through the checkpoint without a fuss. Standing in the doorway, they watched as Ryker began a stream of cuss words. Each started with ¡°Fu-¡± or ¡°Shi-¡± and didn¡¯t paint a kind picture of past-Ryker who packed present-Ryker¡¯s bag. Electra, on the other hand, began sparking with electricity as she began digging through the bag at a speed faster than the human eye. ¡°Yeah, I don¡¯t know what¡¯s with those two, I always just keep mine in my pocket...¡± A tired voice jumpscared Celeste and Nyssa from behind. Whirling around, they smiled. ¡°Oh hi, Olivia, didn¡¯t realize you were invited too.¡± ¡°I¡¯m kinda getting treated as a Class Zero student now that I¡¯ve given a verbal confirmation that I¡¯ll be joining the graduate division... so I guess maybe that... or maybe it¡¯s because I¡¯m mildly famous. My family¡¯s known after all, and I¡¯m this generation¡¯s most prominent contractor,¡± Olivia shrugged. Her next words though, ended up getting swallowed as she watched Nyssa and Celeste look around. ¡°Alecto¡¯s staying in my mind today, she doesn¡¯t like these types of formal events.¡± ¡°Oh... that makes sense,¡± Nyssa tapped her chin, stopping her searching and looking back towards Olivia. ¡°Do the angels like them then?¡± ¡°... Not really, I don¡¯t think anyone does. They get objectified too much and treated like tools,¡± Olivia motioned for them to walk inward. ¡°We shouldn¡¯t stand by the doorway though. We¡¯re not blocking those two since they can¡¯t find their IDs, but more guests are coming. Come get some food with me.¡± ¡°Smart smart...¡± ¡°My nap though...¡± 120: A Fountain of Red Somehow, Nyssa, Celeste, and Olivia had free choice of whatever seating they wanted. The event had no assigned seating, and the entire rest of the guest list¡ªincluding the star of the show, Roxanne¡ªhad decided to show up late. ¡°No, we¡¯re just early,¡± Celeste checked her watch. ¡°There¡¯s still twenty minutes before the event formally starts.¡± ¡°... Oh, you¡¯re so right...¡± Nyssa coughed after taking a second glance at the clock on the wall. One deep breath later though, her faint embarrassment faded and she continued looking around the room. Empty round tables dotted the room like polka dots. Snow white tablecloths, ironed to perfection, covered each table. A vase with a singular flower sat in the center of each table, with each flower¡¯s splash of red, violet, or yellow opening up the room¡¯s space. The room itself had a high ceiling, with chandeliers hanging from it, casting warm lights throughout the room. Other than the solid wall with the double doors to let people in, all three other walls had hosted floor to ceiling windows overlooking the now-festival decorated institute''s campus. ¡°Want to sit in the corner?¡± Nyssa proposed, pointing to the table farthest off to the side, by one of the windows. ¡°I don¡¯t really want to be the center of attention.¡± ¡°Are you sure? You won¡¯t be able to talk much with Roxanne that way,¡± Celeste pointed to the one table in the center reserved for Roxanne. ¡°We could also sit at the table right beside her.¡± ¡°... Yeah, I don¡¯t know, that seems like so much work. We¡¯ll probably get grilled, and Roxanne, I assume, won¡¯t have much time to talk to us anyway. She¡¯ll be chatting with the executives... and probably Angelica,¡± Nyssa grumbled, seeing the seat right beside Roxanne¡¯s also reserved for a certain ¡®campus guide.¡¯ ¡°Well, then I¡¯m down to follow your lead, I don¡¯t particularly want to be the center of attention either,¡± Celeste sighed, turning on her heel and weaving through the sea of tables to arrive at the corner pick Nyssa had taken. Cupping her hands, she called out to Olivia who stood by the window, just staring off into space. ¡°Olivia! We¡¯re sitting over here if you want to come join!¡± Snapping out of her trance and turning towards Celeste, it took Olivia a second to process what Celeste had said. Once the light of enlightenment entered her eyes, she nodded, flashing an ¡®ok¡¯ hand sign before turning back around to continue looking out the window. ¡°... Let¡¯s just leave her be,¡± Celeste murmured as Nyssa bobbed her head in agreement. Together, they ended up sitting in a similar quietude with one of Nyssa¡¯s hands on top of one of Celeste¡¯s, and before long, others began to trickle in. Ryker and Electra ended up finding their student cards. One¡¯s card had lost a corner, and the other¡¯s had somehow folded in half without snapping down the middle. Now in the venue though, they scoped out Olivia, dragging her over to the table and forcing her into a chair. Roxanne and Angelica came next. Roxanne, spotting Class Zero in the corner, flashed a smile and waved by moving her index finger up and down. Not a moment later though, Roxanne got pulled into a conversation with Kaiser who entered right after her, and as they talked, business executives of all walks of life began filing into the room. Some joined the conversation, and others settled down, choosing the table they¡¯d sit at for the evening. The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. Just before the event¡¯s scheduled start though, Nyssa, Celeste, Ryker, and Electra felt their phone buzz. Electra, the fastest to pull out her phone, sighed and read out the text. ¡°It¡¯s from Titus, he says ¡®we¡¯re not going to be able to make it because of some reasons that are probably not good enough to actually justify skipping so don¡¯t worry about us.¡¯ Man just don¡¯t skip then!¡± Suppressing her laughter, Olivia just raised her eyebrows. ¡°Is this a Class Zero group chat?¡± ¡°Yeah, well, it¡¯s more of a messaging server everyone in Class Zero uses. So, technically the graduate division students are in it too. But there are separate channels for every year¡¯s class that are private, so we¡¯re talking in there,¡± Electra explained with a shrug, flipping her phone to show Olivia. ¡°You¡¯ll probably be added soon enough. I don¡¯t know how, or who has admin privileges, but it¡¯ll probably happen when you commit to the program.¡± ¡°Good to know, good to know,¡± Olivia smiled before leaning back in her chair. She fell back into silence as Kaiser took the stage. ¡°Thank you, thank you, I¡¯d just like to thank everyone for making it out here.¡± Kaiser clapped while sweeping his eyes over the room. ¡°Tonight we have a seven course meal planned, with our best chefs on the job. Please just enjoy. We¡¯ll have some talks about the institute throughout the night, with two presentations two go along with them. We hope that you all continue your support of our institute, it''s all of you that make this wonderful place respected all across the world. So, I¡¯ll keep this short, let¡¯s begin the food!¡± --- The dinner proceeded without much issue. A couple minutes after the first course, waiters and waitresses wheeled out another legion of carts. They brought with them teapots brewed just minutes before with faint wisps of steam still escaping through the neck. A few more rounds of dishes later, they began pouring each of-age adult a glass of wine before bringing out the steaks. As the main course, each had been aged, then seared. Juices flowed out and pooled on the plate as cutting the meat open revealed a wonderfully pink and tender cross-section. ¡°This stuff is amazing...¡± Ryker murmured to himself. ¡°Man, if only I could cook. I¡¯d make a steak like this every day.¡± ¡°There¡¯s nothing stopping you from cooking,¡± Electra retorted as Olivia nodded in agreement. ¡°I mean, it¡¯s just hard,¡± Ryker sighed. ¡°Sometimes I get too excited and accidentally blow up my hand, and then like... poof, there goes my hard work. It¡¯s happened a few too many times and I don''t know why I keep failing.¡± ¡°That just sounds like you¡¯re too hungry,¡± Celeste cut into her own steak with bright eyes. ¡°Everyone¡¯s powers get a little haywire when they¡¯re too hungry.¡± ¡°True...¡± Ryker sighed, gobbling down another slice of his steak. ¡°I¡¯ll ask Angelica about some tips sometime.¡± ¡°That¡¯s probably smart,¡± Nyssa filled in the gap of conversation. As she opened her mouth to continue talking though, the lights dimmed. Roxanne had gotten up to give a short presentation about the school¡¯s resources. ¡°I¡¯ll be adding in a few short anecdotes as I present,¡± Roxanne stretched while walking up to the stage. ¡°I hope you all don¡¯t mind, right?¡± A chorus of ¡°no¡±s rang out. Smiling, Roxanne pumped her fist with a teasing laugh. ¡°That¡¯s great, I hope you all don¡¯t get too bored then.¡± Yet, the moment she arrived at the podium, time seemed to come to a stand still. The moment she rested her hands on the podium, all the lights in the room went out. Sparks of electricity crackled, and a blurry figure shot out from the podium. While a spurt of red sprayed against the wall and presentation, every chair in the room transformed into a pure-white automata. Everyone sitting fell to the ground with a thump, while five businessmen sitting at the three tables closest to Roxanne snapped their fingers, getting enveloped in mecha-suits. The blurry figure buried itself into the wall, pinning Roxanne against it as well as it lanced through her shoulder, only missing her heart by an instinctual lean on Roxanne¡¯s part. 121: Injection The clanking of robots filled the room as everyone got swarmed by the horde. Each robot, sleek, plated with armor, and outfitted with weapons, shone with a light blue underglow from the cracks between its parts. After hitting her butt on the floor and watching a splash of red appear on the wall¡ªall over the course of just a couple of seconds¡ªNyssa felt her stomach drop. Her fingers pricked her with icy needles as she felt her brain short-circuit. A robot jumped on top of her, pinning her to the ground before opening its mouth to reveal a forest of spinning saw blades. Her eyes widened and her hands shot out, grabbing the head of the automaton, transforming to have more strength, and pushing it to the side as the head slammed downward and drilled into the floor. From her position, Nyssa watched as a flash of green emanated from inside Roxanne, bursting outward with an explosive force. It tore through the wall, propelling Roxanne out of the room as all twelve of her summons appeared. A dragon carried her outward. A tiger leapt at one of the mech-suited assassins, an ox at another. Not even a second passed though, before one of the assassins lunged outward, piercing the rat summon against Roxanne¡¯s spray of blood, causing it to dissipate into faint green particles. Exhaust fumes filled the room as, one-by-one, the assassins jetted out of the hole in the wall Roxanne made, chasing her to the outside. Nyssa spared one more look towards the machine before her body began moving without her input. She grit her teeth, threw the machine off of herself, and transformed into a snake. Slithering out from under the machine, she turned into a phoenix equipped with jets on its wings, bursting through the air and giving chase. Rain had started to fall. With raindrops and wind ripping across her cheeks, she expanded her transformation into a half-dragon, half-phoenix fusion as fire covered her body from head to toe. A second head appeared, an extra set of wings appeared, and a ramjet turbo engine appeared. Transformation came to her easier than it ever had before as a fiery halo appeared above her head and her flames turned white. Shining like a beacon, she tore through the air to catch up with the green, spiraling dragon snaking through the air. After it had left the building, Roxanne had combined her other summons into it, expanding it to a monstrous length stretching from the alleys between institute buildings to the dark clouds above. Closing the gap after a couple seconds, Nyssa batted a couple missiles away, transformed her scales and feathers into mirrors to reflect off lasers, and got in between Roxanne and the assassins. Splitting her consciousness, Nyssa defended against the attackers while checking in on Roxanne. Yet, rain obscured the area between them. I can¡¯t hear what the dragon¡¯s saying, and... seems like Roxanne is nearly unconscious. We need to take the fight back to the ground if we want people to help out though... Roxanne, in her delirium though, kept ascending through the clouds. Nyssa could only watch as the dragon¡¯s tail whipped one of the mechs into the distance as it ascended through the clouds. Not missing a beat, she burst through the clouds, matching pace with the four other assassins. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. She sent a jet of fire towards one to disturb its rhythm, an electric blast towards another two, trying to short-circuit them, and swiped her claw at the last one to bat it backward. With the first few attacks missing, the satisfying CLANG from her last one brought a faint smile to her face for a half second until she sent a pair of eyes to her claws. They¡¯re undamaged... not even a scratch or a dent. What did they change? How are they making these? At a loss, she continued buying time while chasing after Roxanne and the dragon. Her wings beat as they made huge circles in the sky above the clouds. Every few seconds, Nyssa created a mouth on a part of her body not in the middle of fighting the wasps around her to shout. ¡°ROXANNE, COME BACK!¡± ¡°CALM DOWN!¡± ¡°IF YOU WANT TO SURVIVE, YOU HAVE TO GO BACK DOWN!¡± The dragon, though, just kept up its speed. Accelerating further whenever Nyssa transformed to streamline herself for more speed. She¡¯s lost consciousness... So when is she going to run out of energy? When? When? I need to be there to catch her. Why isn¡¯t anyone else here? Why is the fifth one returning already? What happened? Having already split her consciousness a few times, Nyssa grimaced and split it once more. She dedicated her new mind into keeping track of Roxanne¡¯s energy usage as she trailed behind the dragon at its near sound-breaking speed. The wind whistled. Projectiles flew through the air. Under the coordinated attacks of the five assassins, Nyssa fought three different battles. Having split her consciousness into four, one in charge of keeping up with Roxanne, the other three controlled three separate parts of her body. Giffins appeared, laser cannons appeared, furnaces jetting out snakes of fire appeared. Everything she could conceive of streamed out of her to keep the assassins at bay until Roxanne tired herself out and dropped out of the sky. --- Back in the hall, everyone fought with their lives on the line as every piece of furniture in the room transformed into war-automatas. Tables. Tablecloths. Clocks. Utensils. Everything. Hulking rhino-like machines tore through the room as small bee-like machines buzzed around performing repairs on anything damaged to keep everyone tied up. Angelica, with her eyes dilated, fought like a machine as she tore through the pack. The cylinder she kept on her belt unfolded into a bo staff. In. Out. With every breath, she kicked outward and spun her staff to take care of the machine wave encroaching onto her from every side. I need to get out there. But how. And what can I do if her summons couldn¡¯t do anything either. Do I use that? Her mind wandered as her body moved. A quick glance towards the ground showed that most of the executives had already fallen to the ground. They¡¯re out of fighting shape, they¡¯re easing pickings... The automata wave, however, had stopped at knocking them out for some reason though. And the students can¡¯t hold out for much longer. Nyssa escaped earlier, but the others have to hold back or they¡¯ll hurt the executives. ... Fine. I¡¯m sorry, in advance, Roxanne. Angelica, letting out a sharp exhale, stepped on one machine before performing a spinning kick into another, flipping off of the next machine she landed on and running out from the encirclement. While she ran, she reached under the back of her shirt to pull out six syringes¡ªthree in each hand. Twirling them as she ran, she rammed all of them into her thighs, piercing through her clothes and injecting everything into her body. A gasp left her mouth. Yanking the syringes out as her world lost color, she planted her foot into the pool of blood Roxanne had left behind before leaping through the gaping hole in the wall. I¡¯m coming, my love.