“Was it not obvious from my choice of armor?” he asked, deciding that this particular robot must have been slow, perhaps made intentionally so, because fleshbag scientists were vain fools who hated it when their creations were smarter than them. Tapping Mariam’s foot and listening to the distinctive ‘clang’ that accompanied his strikes, he could sense the presence of a few precious metals within, their rings clear in his ears. A scant sound. Nothing worth caring about, at least.

What caught him off-guard, though, was the reveal that Mariam seemed to have another companion by the name of ‘Biggy’. Apparently, the dorms were large enough for Mariam to fit in, so for someone to be called Biggy…probably too big to fit into main hall as well then. Shrugging at her question about his own living places, Ier-Briar replied airily, “I don’t particularly need to rest or sleep, even though it feels nice once in a while, so I’ll probably just keep everything with me.”

“And unlike those fleshbags, I don’t need to worry about showers and nutrition as well.”

Shen Huanglong
You've Got a Friend in Me

---

The girl shook her head and sighed. Shen tensed up in a brief moment of terror. Had he done something wrong? Had the situation become worse with his actions? He waited with bated breath for me. He needed more, he needed a confirmation of how precisely he had failed! Fortunately, it never came to that. He relaxed and exhaled once it was evident that she wasn't preparing to end him with her gu- fully autonomous firearm - smart Shen, good job keeping up with modern vernacular - for his insolence.

It was interesting that she was a soldier in the army of the United States... A. Perhaps she was like Hua Mulan, except without the disguise... or maybe men were just very feminine in this day and age? Speaking of which, he'd heard there was a modern retelling by one Walter Disney back almost a century ago. Perhaps he'd get around to seeing it eventually... But besides that. Certainly they must have raised their children to be soldiers from a young age, to having a young lady like this having the lifestyle firmly ingrained into their mind! How the Earth has changed...

"Indeed. Ha. Ha. Ha," Shen said in kind, giving a little laugh himself following Alika's last statement. Although it was awkward and definitely sounded artificial, especially considering the momentary delay and the odd expression before he did so. He then looked her straight in the eye and said, "So we are friends now, yes?"

Requiem:

Varren watched idly with a sullen expression as the caskets passed by. Each casing was engraved with the academy’s insignia, embroiders were draped over the glossed wood lids. All he could do was keep his distance as the procession moved on. The summer breeze and refreshing weather failed to coincide with the scene. ”...There was nothing you could have done for them. They died on impact. Luckily, all of your classmates made it back alive, in better condition. Varren glanced down at the cane supporting his weight, narrowing his eyes at the gem. The stone had lost its vibrant glow, its emotions were portrayed with a faint light, dimmed to the verge of ceasing to emanate.

”So, what’s next?”

”Don’t ask such a question when your leg is barely intact. I watched you go through surgery, looked like most of the bone was broken. Surprised it didn’t break the skin by the time you were picked up. Your comrades are in class right now. Shall we visit them?” The boy pondered over his response, unsure of whether if he was able to face his class, ”Later, I guess. We have some things to talk about.” Taking one last glimpse at the coffins as they were ushered into the ship, he winced and limped off towards the office. ”Say headmaster… What are we? The students who attend this academy, that is. You must have had more plans for us, either than fighting off mindless beasts. Was it for something like this?” He glanced down at the gem expectantly, waiting for an answer.

”You already know the answer, Varren...”

”...you are all ultimatums”

Today - 7:40 AM

Varren’s eyes shot open as the alarm abruptly tore him from his sleep. He wanted to cover his eardrums, but pushed the covers off of himself instead. The boy ran through his morning motions at a brisk pace, adorning himself in the same attire as yesterday. Standing in the middle of his room, unsure of what to do next, or how much allotted time was left. His heart sank at the time displayed on his toshinmac, ”Oh snap! Classes start in 20 minutes!” He grimaced as his sight darted towards the room’s desk. An area which should have been used for arithmetic was instead covered in boxes, casings, live rounds and his personal weapons. ”Eeeeeeeh… Alright, I’ll just bring one 20x30 magazine, one STANAG, just in case we have practice. Can’t keep it loaded, though. That’s against school policy~” Having his mind drawn away from the severity of the situation for a moment, he quickly snapped back into action.

Varren slung the unchambered K30 over his shoulder, slipped the White Wolf into his jacket pocket, and shoved all of his necessities into his bookbag. ”Crap, only ten minutes… That means… It must be done” Without a minute to spare, Varren busted out of his dorm room, with both the slice of toast and his scarf waving in the air. Keeping the soft snack in his mouth as he sprinted through the hallways. ”Dang it, why did I choose to dorm on the top floor!?” Running with all of his might, he came to a screeching halt at the elevator. After annihilating the button with nearly a million finger jabs, he leaped into the empty transport as the doors slid open. The boy bided his time, hoping that others had already arrived at the classroom.



Mr. Fenris leaned over his podium as the students strolled into his class. Though he had been teaching and mentoring first years for the majority of his career, he wasn’t too fond of dealing with newbies every year. If you’re a second year teacher or above, the students you receive are at least somewhat educated, or have some combat under their belts. But when you’re a first year teacher, it’s like a lottery. You never know what you will get, not until you spin that wheel, or take that ticket and hope it’s worth something. Though, it seems Mr. Fenris had bought at least a few prize rendering tickets, from what he could see. But, at this point of time, everybody who lived between both worlds knew not to judge a book by its cover. Looks and even personalities can be deceiving, and only after further prying could one comprise a legitimate answer. He placed a dry tentacle on the screen built into his stand, and began to skim through the attendance. ”Erm… We’ll go through attendance once class starts…” While waiting, the teacher counted the currently present students. ”Wait, only that many?” He mumbled to himself and took a quick peek at the time on his module. The last students were definitely cutting it close, with only a few minutes to spare.

”I’m on my waaaaaaaaay!” A voice bellowed down the hall, holding the syllable as it approached the automatic doors. ”I’m he-” Mr. Fenris was about to warn the boy about the automated doors, but the child had already slammed face first into them. ”Ow, ow, ow, ow.” The boy whimpered as the contraption slid open, revealing a scarfed student, with what remained of his bread stuffed half-way in his mouth.

”Nice job. Homeroom is about to begin. Go take your seat. Also, the doors are automatic.” Still groaning out of pain, Varren took a seat next to his newly acquainted friend from yesterday, then slumped forward onto the desk. Without taking time to rejoice about the familiar face, he set the silenced rifle next to his side, then repented his recent actions in pain. With the ring of the bell, the teacher glanced up at the students, with a seemingly devilish grin spread across his face. ”Good morning students! Welcome to your first day of class. I am your homeroom teacher Mr. Fenris. Actually, I teach all of your courses, because the academy board is full of cheap bastards!” As he spoke, the wide screen behind him surged to light, displaying the school insignia, with Good Morning! flashing on it. Even though the cephalopod spoke in a joyful manner, the class could notice the obvious sarcasm in his voice. “So, to start off, why don’t we start introducing ourselves? Let’s spice things up a bit and not go in alphabetical order. First off… Ms. Cho. Please say your full name, and then tell us a little somethin’ about yourself.” The teacher cocked his head to the side, still keeping the widened smile stretched out.



The students of 5-E were already in their seats when their awaited teacher finally arrived. The man had a clean cut of grey and black hair. His elegance of his finely trimmed mustache was only drowned out by the plump which was his waist. With enough mass to put even the most experienced alcoholics who sported beer bellies of their own, they were shrouded by the sheer size of this man’s. Waddling into the classroom, standing at only 5’4”, the man ascended behind the podium. The sound of a device could be heard from behind the stand, creaking as he began to levitate higher up the podium. With a clearing of his throat, soon followed by a grotesque belch, the teacher began, ”Good morning students, I am your dearest professor, Mr. Jovice. I am your homeroom advisor, and your history teacher! Oooooooh, and look at this~ The man chirped as he glanced down at the class’ schedule, ”We have history first! What a shocker! Everybody, get out your writing utensils! Starting off back in 2010-2020, also known as the Period of Idiocracy, let’s lightly brush against the morals of humanity at this time!” Leaving no time for homeroom introductions, the professor instantly delved into his excruciatingly boring lesson.

Leo sighed, he’d not gotten any sleep again. He’d not been sleeping well for days now, He was considering going to talk to someone about it. But as per usual he shoved it to the back of his head. “sooner or later I’ll deal with it” He muttered and glanced at his watch, It was six in the morning. He got dressed, eschewing school uniform in favour of a pair of basic black joggers and a thermos top, grabbing Brahak and his wave gun he made his way downstairs and out the second year dorm. Expecting very few people to be up at this hour he’d decided he might as well go for a run, In the snow. He reminded himself about that about two minutes after he’d started running. Well No point in stopping now and seeming like a wuss. He chided himself, even though he was pretty confident everyone else except the two stones were asleep at this moment. Humming to himself he continued to run for a good 45 minutes before getting back to the dorm. Letting himself in he headed up towards his room, shaking the snow out of his hair. It was snowing again. At this rate he’d half expect it to never be summer. Shrugging he got in to his room, had a shower and got changed, At this point it was just ticking over quarter past seven. Shrugging Leo Decided on a Early breakfast and headed down to the cafeteria. It didn’t take him long to get there. Though it took him much longer to eat. He felt ravenous.

By the time he’d finished it was quarter to nine, shrugging to himself he left his eleventh round of toast half finished and headed out towards class. The class, Class 2-H was being led by one Mr. Jeremiah, as far as anyone could tell a rather unremarkable fellow who’s only defining trait was his constant companion of a coffee thermos, and his hyperactivity. He taught combat knowledge, which, simply put, was the theory of punching things really hard. Making his way in to class about five minutes early Leo sat down in one of the empty desks, hooking Brahak’s straps over the edge of it. Waiting for the others to arrive.

Ayaka-san! Get up. A pet yearning for its owner to rise from a 4-hour long slumber was no one’s ideals way of waking up. Slimy noses and eager licks to the face that made your cheeks go numb from the cold wasn’t favorable. This one not only came as a morning alarm you could not ignore, but in telepathic messages that flooded your half-awake brain and a mattress that would wave and tumble beneath it’s paws.

“Fox..… your cuteness is the only thing keeping you from becoming my rug” Ayaka grumbled, using one hand to abruptly slam down onto the tissue box on the nightstand, viscously plucking one tissue from its resting place and patting away the fox salvia from her face. Sitting upright in the bed, the seventeen year old felt a wave of determination, you know, the type you’d feel at the start of a new school year that slowly (or quickly) drained you of all positive energy you could handle. “Let’s do this.”

Ayaka had removed most of her clothes, besides some booty shorts that read “A$$” before she noticed how the window blinds were wide open. “Eh. I’m almost done.” She shrugged her bra to the floor, wiggling the shorts down over the larger curve of her backside as she gazed at the boring school uniform beneath her eyelashes. “That uniform needs a little somethin something.” How her skirt ended up an inch or so shorter , the shirt squeezing her curves a little tighter, and the neck having a deeper V-line was a mystery to her. She cut the bow in such a way that it would complement her high pony tail and sparkle some in the sunlight. She had to part ways with her armor for the time being but she wasn’t letting it go without…compensating. The last thing she gathered was her whip, sticking it to her side, and somehow the magical thing read “Lets get illuma-naughty” all down the side.

Ayaka walked into class about 5 minutes before it started, nodding to the ubberly happy professor with a scornful half-attempted smile before cutting eye contact abruptly and taking a window seat. Why was he…so happy? IN the morning? How was that even physically possible? Did he even have a family?

A thump near the automatic doors pulled Ayaka out of her head. Somebody ran into the doors. A hand flew up to cover her full lips that she giggled silently into, it was her luck that she was sitting in front of whoever this was- a nice distraction for the incoming , painfully long lessons to come. Soon Ayaka was prompted to introduce herself first, a constant horror people with last names in the beginning of the alphabet would always suffer. “Sure.” She replied nonchalantly, tilting her head to the side. “I’m Ayaka Cho. Sometimes I go by Talia. I come from Japan and English is my second language, something I’m bound to fuc-“ Ayaka stopped in the middle of the curse word, replacing it with something more kid friendly. “Mess up.” She flashed a brilliant smile at her teacher.

Everyone else in the class could see a fox slyly slipped away beneath the rows of desks and hid skillfully behind ayaka’s legs all during her short introduction, “disappearing” from the scene.

She stifled a smirk and sat down, sending a telepathic message to her animal. You followed me to class. You’re gonna get fed to the griffons on of these days. I don’t think he saw you, you lucked out.

Yawn. Lilith's eyes were still closed, as she basked in the softness of the sheets for a few minutes. She had slept quite well well last night, after easily selecting a room in one of the middle levels of the dormitory. She had not done much with the room so far, other than put her clothes away, set up a canvas by the window, fill a small shoulder bag with supplies for class in the morning and form a stack of books at the foot of her desk. Her half-unpacked luggage still sat in the corner of the room. An uncomfortable, peculiar warmth began to crawl across her face, prompting her to open her crimson eyes groggily. The first thing she saw was light. Lots of light, ugly golden light pouring from a glassy surface... Wait, what?

With a little "eep!" she sharply drew the sheets over her head instinctively. Tentatively, she peeked out ever so slightly from under the sanctuary of her covers, peering out at the room. She seemed to have forgotten to close the blinds of one of the windows before she went to bed last night. To make things worse, it was the east-facing window directly by her bed, one that gave a profound view of the rising sun. "One of these days, I am going to burn to death in my sleep..." she berated herself under her breath as she pondered her course of action, reviewing her mental notes on precisely where the thing that shut the blinds was. She reached a hand out from under the covers, feeling around on the wall until she felt something tickling her fingers. She grasped and pulled it as she took the covers off of herself, in time to see the blinds close up and the room darken. Just like sweet home. She mentally made a note to herself to find a way to obtain a vase of roses somehow.

Lilith turned and glanced over at an old-fashioned, key-wound-up, bronze bell alarm clock sitting on a nightstand. The hands ticked to 7:30 at that exact moment, bells letting out a clear tinkling as she sat up and tapped the thing off. She got out of the bed and began to prepare for the first day of classes at the Academy. She stood at a mirror and ran a comb through her loose white hair, taking a little more time with it than usual now that she wasn't as tired as yesterday morning. She promptly slipped on her uniform, skirt and usual gloves and stockings, and fixed a similar but different sunhat than from yesterday on her head. She wasn't sure if they were to do anything outside today, but it never hurt to be prepared. Glancing at the clock that now pointed to 7:50, she picked up her bag and slung it onto her shoulder as she walked out, heading to the first classroom of the morning.

She made it to the classroom promptly, being one of the earlier students, at least compared to the others. She paused for a moment at the doors, looking for a knob or handle of some sort to open them before quickly realizing they were automatic. She walked into the room as they slid open, her eyes scanning the room and selecting a desk farthest away from the windows. She slid into her seat and sat quietly for a while, watching as more students began to arrive. The tentacle-limbed teacher at the podium seemed to be quite chipper for this time of day. They seemed to be waiting on the last student to arrive. A loud thump emanated from the doors of the room, catching her attention. An amused smile appeared on her face as she recognized the scarfed boy as he stumbled into a seat by her.

She listened to each student's introduction with genuine interest, making sure she knew the names of each of her classmates. She took note of a small, rather adorable silver fox slip between the seats and sit behind the blonde girl as said student did her introduction. After some time, the sound of her name being called for her turn to be introduced made her eyes widen. Pushing away the feeling of anxiety of knowing that people were watching you, she put on a neutral expression and shortly spoke. "I'm Lilith Ephyrene from Lucius..." She thought for a second on what she should tell them about herself, because there was little things she categorized as interesting about herself. Seeing that she was lightyears away from home, she supposed it didn't matter anymore as she finished her sentence, wanting to get her introduction over with already. "- And, er, I am of the vampire species."

She nervously let out a breath as she settled into her seat, feeling doubtful, although feeling relieved that her time to introduce herself was done and over with. She leaned on a hand as she listened to the rest of the student introductions, distracting her from her worries.

Loreal
During her first year, Loreal was constantly late for her morning classes. She was used to waking when the sunlight found her eyes and the wildlife around her awoke from her slumber. Being in a dorm, however, closed her off from nature and she never woke up on time. Needless to say, she got in trouble with teachers. As a result, she managed to get her hand on an alarm clock.

This didn’t solve her problem.

The alarm would blare into the elf’s sensitive ears and she would awake too suddenly. She would spend the rest of her morning exhausted with a lingering headache. She was getting to classes on time, but she struggled to stay awake and pay attention. Her grades in her morning classes were less than stellar and she often felt groggy until lunchtime.

No one wanted a partner who seemed to slack so hard, so she had trouble making friends. She was instead assigned a tutor: a fifth year from Earth with messy brown hair and freckles all over his pale face. He was ridiculously intelligent and specialized in magitech—a major contrast to his twin sister and partner who was a passionate soul who specialized in ass kicking—and he did help Loreal in getting her grades back up to acceptable.

During their time together, the older student was confused: Loreal clearly wasn’t stupid. “You’re smarter than my sister,” he would comment. “So why are you having so much trouble in class?”

Loreal had explained her issue with alarm clocks and how harshly it contrasted to life at home, and Aiden seemed to be just as exhausted as she whenever they met since. Then, halfway through the school year, he gave her a strange device. It appeared to be a digital clock, but there was more to it: an orb that hovered around it. He explained it was an alarm clock to solve all her problems and bragged that they wouldn’t be meeting for tutoring any longer.

~
Today, Loreal awoke with the sun in her eyes and birds chirping. The pale yellow light of the morning sun radiated from the orb on her alarm clock, slowing growing brighter by the minute. Emitted from the alarm clock itself was the ambient noise of birds singing their morning song. At first, she didn’t recognize most of the calls and she quickly learned that these were calls from birds at Aiden’s home, Earth.

She stretched her arms above her head, greeting the morning with the smile and prepared for the day ahead.

~
After a filling breakfast, Loreal arrived in her classroom. She wore her fur coat over the school uniform and lightly armored cloak. She may have finally adjusted to the unnatural sleep schedule of student life, but home for the elf was still the tropics. So this January snow left her shivering as she took a seat in the room assigned to class 2-H.

She looked around at the other students as she hugged herself, recognizing faces from the year before but having trouble recalling names.

____________________________________________________________

Dagny
Dagny always started off the year pretty enthusiastically. When 7:30 AM rolled around, she was in the basement of the gym—a place designated for the creatures and species that needed more of a challenge than the typical one or two hundred pound bench-press weight. Rap music blasted into her ears, her tastes stuck in the Eminem era of Earth.

She hissed, steam escaping her nostrils as she pushed upwards on the tubing. Clearly there was magic weaved into the equipment because there was physically no way a tube Dagny could grip in her human form could hold up two garbage trucks from the early 2000s. “Fifty,” she growled as her arms straightened out above her. She stubbornly held the literal tons in the air for a good three seconds before slowly lowering the weight back onto the rack above her. She sighed and sat up, rolling her shoulders then flexing her arm to rub at the bicep.

Admittedly a little disappointed in her muscle mass after not training at all over break, she sighed again and stood up. The woman gathered her gym bag to return to the dorm. There, she took a quick shower, changed into her uniform—which she left quite untidy—and headed to homeroom.

____________________________________________________________

Class 4-Q
Dr. Li sat at the front of the room as students trailed in. He was of Earth and appeared to be of Asian ancestry and young—no older than 30 perhaps—with long, dark hair. Most noticeable about him was a mole or freckle or beauty mark of some sort on his lower cheek. Though, there was something mystical about him as well, given away by the unnaturally bright blue and ageless eyes if not by his relaxed yet attentive demeanor. In his hands was a wooden figurine and a knife, and he scraped and carved expertly into the block as he waited for 8:00 AM to roll around.

At 8:00 AM on the dot, he set the small wooden figurine on the desk—it appeared to be a canine-in-progress. Perhaps a fox or coyote. Then, he stood up and looked around the room with a rather neutral gaze before suddenly allowing a small smile to come to his lips. “Good morning and welcome to your fourth year,” he greeted the students, blue eyes flickering between them. He gestured to his name, written on the board in flowing and quite legible hand writing. Almost too legible, quite frankly.

“I am Dr. Li and I’ll be your homeroom adviser. I'll also be instructing you in mathematics. However, as it’s only day one, today we’ll be going over what to expect over the next year. What I expect from you and what you can expect from me.” He moved from his position behind the desk to stand in front of it, hands on the wood behind him. “But first, let’s get to know one another. We’ll go around the class and you will stand up, give your name...” He paused again, eyes raising to the ceiling as he thought. “Your name, your favorite food, and one interesting fact about yourself.

“But please keep it appropriate,” he warned, eyes flickering to any recognized trouble makers pointedly. Then he continued, “I’ll go first. You know my name is Dr. Li. My favorite food is Oryctolagus cuniculus. And I like to whittle.” To make his point, he gestured to his work-in-progress of some sort of canine. “Now, who’s next?”

An unfortunate soul caught his attention when she walked in just as he asked. “Ah, Ms. Ek. Thank you for volunteering,” he said, gesturing to the dragon as she took a seat in the back.

She blinked and looked around the room. “Volunteering for what?” she asked, scowling.

“Your name, favorite food, and interesting fact about yourself,” he repeated boredly.

The student rolled her eyes but complied, nonetheless. She raised her hand in a half-assed wave to the rest of the class, and cleared her throat before speaking. “I’m Dagny Ek—you can leave it at Dag. My favorite food is…meat,” she decided. “And my favorite color is orange.”

“Thank you,” Dr. Li concluded for her, looking to the next student with a warming smile.

After bumbling around the campus for a while figuring out how to read the map Karu had gone to chose a room. Of course he had picked one on the ground floor, the dragon not really understanding the elevator all to well. His room was rather large for a small dragon like him, but he really had nothing to put in it. All he had brought was a blanket and some notebooks after all. The notebooks were put on a shelf and the blanket on the bed and he was good for sleeping! His room had all sorts of things he didn't understand, and he spent a bit messing with various switches, particularly impressed with the light switch.

After he finally settled down he slept rather soundly, not having an alarm and not setting one, but fortunately being sensitive to sound enough to here the shuffling of his neighbors and their alarms going off, so he was up quite early to get his breakfast. He of course chose his favorite food: fruit. More interesting was the blend of earth fruits he had never tasted before that left him in quite a good mood when he finally did go to class.

He, of course, could not figure out the door, waiting for another early bird student to walk in before him before figuring it out. He took a seat near the window, though a little close to the front of the room, notebooks floating into place as he seemed quite eager to learn things, his teachings not very thorough back home. He couldn't sit normally in the chair, but managed to sit in it using the desk as support for his fores, which was fine because he wrote with his telekinetic magic, pencil at the ready floating next to him.

When it was his turn to speak he hopped up on the desk with a short flap of his sparkling wings, the small dragon would have probably been unnoticeable anywhere else. “I'm Karu.” he said cheerfully, looking around the room a little bit. “I'm a fae dragon, and probably one of the very few of my species that will willingly talk to other sentients, so it's good to meet you all.” he said, tail flicking a little, seemingly enjoying being the center of attention for the moment before hopping back down to the chair and stumbling right out of it on to the floor. “Heh, whoops.” he said, a little embarrassed as he quickly got back in to the seat.

Ark sat at a desk in a dimly lit room. The light flickered constantly, and the room itself looked to be in disrepair. The room Ark sat in was his homeroom, the delinquent classroom, or at least, that is what it was commonly referred to as. Ark was reprimanded for well..groping Ariadne. It was an accident, but the Headmaster had no problem punishing him anyway. Though, it felt more like the Headmaster was protecting him from the vile glares and rumors from the other students.

Ark had sat there for a while now. He was alone in the classroom. Not even a teacher had arrived. Ark was getting fed up with waiting. He got up from his seat and walked up to the front of the room. Once he arrived at the teacher's desk, he saw something he had yet to notice; a small slip of paper that read something about Ark being transferred to a different homeroom because.... Mr. Bicard had been kidnapped? Apparently, this Mr. Bicard was his homeroom teacher. Ark, still slightly confused by the message grabbed his bag, placed it at his side, put his lightly armored cloak back on, and walked out of the room, making his way to 4-Q.

Obviously, Ark was late, given that he had no idea that the note was there until he found it by chance. When he finally reached the room, he saw a girl walking in (Dagny) who didn't seem like someone you wanted to mess with. One punch from her would probably be like getting hit in the face with a brick going 60 mph. Ark walked into the room, right as the Homeroom Advisor began to single out Dagny.

“Ah, Ms. Ek. Thank you for volunteering,”

“Volunteering for what?”

“Your name, favorite food, and interesting fact about yourself"

“I’m Dagny Ek—you can leave it at Dag. My favorite food is…meat, and my favorite color is orange.”

“Thank you”

The Homeroom Adviser looked over at Ark with a warming smile. It sort of creeped Ark out. " Mr Ein, would you plea-" Dr. Li was cut short by Ark. " Please refrain from referring to me by that. Most of my species would take offense from being referred to as their Dredjin 'En. Humans call it a last name, correct? It serves an entirely different purpose in our language, and is considered to be sacred, therefore, those other than holder of the name and related peoples are not permitted to use it, unless your trying to offend them, anyway." Ark's hand was in a fist. Yea. He took this stuff pretty seriously. This is the 4th year in a row that this has happened. Wouldn't they learn not to do that anymore?

"Well then, I sincerely apologize. would you please tell us your-" Ark cut him off again.

"My name is Arkyiel 'Ein of Grenheim, Please refer to me as Ark. I have no food preference, and I was involved in an unfortunate incident yesterday. Though, I highly doubt that any of you don't already know that. Though, it was simply an accident, so I would rather you all think little to nothing of what happened, as I have already expressed my apology."

Dr. Li sat at his desk with a bit of a surprised look on his face. He didn't expect to make a terrible mistake, offend a student, and get interrupted twice in the same five minutes. [b] "Uh... Thank you... Who would like to go next?" Ark took his seat, and tried to calm down. What a terrific start to a new year. Everything was falling a part from the start.

Silence. Well, as close as one could get when living in close proximity with others. He could hear the soft footsteps of someone on the upper floor, another fifth year rolling around in their bed next door, or one of the many other that were caught by his ears. And with a quiet sigh, the slow sounds of his heartbeat joined back in once again. That was the sign for Raule to open his eyes and get off the bed. Swinging his legs off the side, he cradled his forehead for a moment as his vision returned to normal, the impenetrable blackness fading away. Sighing, he trudged over to the room’s washroom to freshen up for the dreadfully boring day ahead. The majority of classes taught at the Academy held little appeal to him, though he understood the need for certain subjects being taught. Others, like history with Mr. Jovice first thing this morning, not so much.

---

The midwinter air was chilly, but not terribly uncomfortable as it rushed into the room. Sitting at the open window, Raule watched the sun climb over the horizon absentmindedly. There wasn’t much he had to do until class began, and he had already had a bit of Academy fare yesterday. It was okay occasionally, but he would easily get sick of what was offered if he went every day, much less every meal. If he wasn’t what he was, Raule probably would have tried to get an extra hour or two of sleep. As it was though, sleep had never come easily for the past seven years, so it would have been a pointless endeavor to even try. Sighing, he eyed the produced cloud before it was wicked away in a gust of cold air. And then continued to let the time waste away.

---

Unsurprisingly, given his “enthusiasm” for the upcoming lesson, Raule stepped into the classroom scant minutes before it was scheduled to begin. He met eyes with a few of his classmates, waved at some others, greeted them all, and found an empty seat. He had just settled in when the door hissed open again and their teacher, Mr. Jovice, walked in, though it was more accurate to describe it as a waddle. Sighing quietly, he dropped his chin in a hand propped up on the table and let his eyes wander. Simply napping wasn’t an option, more of an impossibility, and he had very little intention of actually listening to the man drone on. His other hand danced across the table’s display idly, sending soft vibrations through the desk with the feedback at max.

Jeremiah laid in his bed staring up at his ceiling. He had awoken an hour ago but hadn't felt the need to get up yet. That changed with the growling coming from his stomach. "Fine, you win." He said getting up and slipping into his uniform. "Kasha wake up." he said to the cat dozing on the side of his bed. "Kasha come on." Still she would not answer. Finally he leant down right by her head and yelled "breakfast!" She shot from the bed and made it to the far end of the room before she understood what was happening."You didn't have to yell!" She hissed at him as he finished putting on his jacket. "So you don't want any breakfast?" He asked as the cat huffed. She stared daggers at him a few moments longer and then finally relented. "Alright lets go." She said climbing on top of his shoulders.

It took Jeremiah quite awhile to actually find his way to the cafeteria asking directions from the few students he had found awake he managed to make his way there. Sitting down with a plate of eggs and toast he passed a small bowl of sausages over to Kasha who happily began to dig in. "You know your really aren't that different from a normal cat." He said staring at her destroying her sausage. " Really, how many cats have gotten you into a prestigious academy in the past?" She retorted before resuming her attack on the sausage." I guess that's fair enough." He said while finishing the last bites of his eggs.

By the time the two had finished eating and began the trek to the classroom it had begun to snow. "It's too cold!" Kasha complained as she jumped from Jeremiah's shoulder and slid into his bag. As he made his way through the doors he saw his bag slowly moving in and out, "She's asleep again?" He whispered to himself "she really is just like a normal cat.

Jeremy managed to sit down with plenty of time to spare as he watched other students filing in. He listened to the other students give there names and tried his best to remember them he knew he would have to ask a few of them again. When it came to his turn he stood up as the students before them had and smiled. "My name is Jeremiah Ellison, I'm from Earth and..." Jeremy tried to think of something interesting that wasn't too close to home. "I work at a nice bar?" He finished his statement as more of a question sitting back down nervously.

Crnch… Crnch… Crnch… Crnch… Crnch…

The forest floor crunched under his boots as he limped down the trail. He couldn’t see very far ahead, the fog was thick. Everything was coated in white, obscuring all but the dead trees around, and the path about five feet ahead. It was quiet, except for the crunch of his boots, and his breathing. That was a different matter entirely in his head; a constant, godawful, ear-splitting ring droned on incessantly.

The path was now narrowing, the trees closing in on both sides until the path was barely wide enough for one person to walk. The dead forest became so dense, it wouldn’t have been easy to see much of anything even without the fog. He stopped moving. One end of an old rope bridge was just identifiable. He started walking again, about to step on, when something grabbed his shoulder. He could feel a finger on the back of his neck, ice cold. The rest of the hand sprang onto his neck, grabbing around his throat...

---

Chris jolted awake, sitting up. His breathing was heavy and uneven, heart racing. ’Breathe. his mind barked. Inhale… Exhale… In… Out… In… Out… He felt himself calming down. He held his forehead with one hand as he slid over and sat on the edge of his bed. He was calming down. Good. Just a dream. That’s all. He glanced at the digital clock, the digital numbers on the glass panel reading ‘5:00 am.’ He scratched his head with his other hand. “... Shit,” he muttered, flopping back onto his back on the bed. It was still dark, and kind of cold.

He walked over to the table and chairs where he’d tossed a duffel full of clothes. He hadn’t bothered to unpack, wouldn’t be long until they moved him. Already wearing lounge pants and socks, he grabbed a t-shirt and hastily threw it on. Better. Warmer. A bit, anyway. He turned on his bedside lamp, the closest source of light. It wasn’t really sufficient to light the room, instead casting a gloomy glow across it. Fine by him. He couldn’t really handle being in full light then anyway, too much eye strain. Better to adjust slowly. He pulled his pistol out from behind a little nook in the headboard of the bed, and carried it over to the table. He changed out of the lounge pants he’d slept in and into a pair of fading blue/grey jeans. He put on a red plaid shirt, and then threw his favorite black utility coat over top. After lacing up his boots, and sticking the gun in a concealed spot in the coat, he walked out of the room. Not even bothering to shut the light off, he closed the door behind him.

---

He sat on a bench outside, hands in his jacket pockets. It was still dark out, but he had to get out of his room. Nobody else seemed to be up and out at the time. At least, not in the same area, anyway. Some might have found sitting out there by themselves lonely, but he didn’t mind. Would it have been better with someone else there? Maybe. But who else in their right mind was going to be up at five thirty in the morning to go sit outside in the dark? He pulled a shiny metal object out of a pocket in the jacket: a simple harmonica. He sat there and played as he waited for the sun to rise. He watched it come up, bringing light and heat with it. After the initial sunrise was over, he stood up, and walked back to his room. It was time to get ready for the rest of the day.

---

Chris just ducked into the classroom and into his seat before the teacher entered the room himself.

“Good morning students, I am your dearest professor, Mr. Jovice…”

Chris listened to the professor’s beginning spiel, but caught himself zoning out once the lecture started. All it took was a simple thought command, and, done. His eye was now recording the lecture, just in case. He would be paying attention from then on, of course, but it was good to have a backup plan. The professor suddenly pointed at Chris.

“You there, lad. What’s your name?”

Chris looked up at him from his seat. “Chris, sir.”

“Alright, Chris. Can you tell me why this time period was called the Age of Idiocracy?”

Chris scratched the back of his neck. “Because they bought the same Call of Duty for 25 years in a row?”

A couple repressed chuckles could be heard from the back of the room. Mr. Jovice gave Chris a mixture between a confused and disgusted look. “What? No. What are you even going on about?” The professor took a second look at Chris, and sighed. “Lad, why aren’t you in uniform?” Chris glanced down. He was wearing the slacks and the shirt, at least, but he substituted the jacket out for his own utility jacket.

“I had a rough morning.”

“... Change as soon as possible.”

“Yessir.”

Ralthavar Marchosias

---

Ralthavar woke up to the rapid sounds of footsteps. Opening his eyes he found himself in an unfamiliar room. The ceiling and walls were plain white. His bed felt firm, like he was sleeping on a box. His pillow was not a cloth sack full of bird feathers but some sort of linen back filled with cotton. Instead of a stitched fur blanket he had a single thin one, barely thick enough to be used as a napkin. He remembered that he came into this room the night before, after he had met with a charming person named Elena, whom he took to the fort after meeting her. Sure, there was some issues regarding the rules of the orcs constructing such a thing, but he was confident he could convince the headmaster to allow it. At the very least, he did not make it an issue when he arrived.

The Fort was mostly in completion, at least as far as basic construction went. Solid walls of ice, stone, and wood, with various buildings that would protect those inside from the harsh weather. Though mostly vacant, there was already signs that the orcs planned to renovate the interiors with more furnishing, and of course the first thing they wanted to put up was a brewery. He prevented them only because he has yet to hear an answer on the legalicy of having one on the academy's ground, but aside from that he allowed his orcs free reign.

After they had set up a kitchen, the orcs celebrated the initial completion of the fort with food, dance, and drink. Music was played and revelry was committed, and even Ralthavar found himself in a few dances and friendly bouts of fisticuffs. More importantly, Elena was enjoying herself too, and seemed right at home with the orcs. This "Russia" must have been a harsh place, as she was able to withstand most of the orc's more punishing drinks and games, and certainly gave them a run for their money. All and all an enjoyable experience, however as the sun went down and the night grew on, Ralthavar had to stop the party. Though he doesn't mind his orcs occupying the Fort to ensure that it doesn't fall to the wrong hands, he wanted all his orcs to take their dormitories so that should they be forced to tear down the fort, they would have somewhere to go back to. It wasn't a popular decision and many wanted to simply roost in the home they made, but Ralthavar made it clear that he was not going to allow them to rest in the fort that night. As they packed up their belongings and cleaned their mess, Ralthavar walked Elena to their dormitories.

Elena and the orc chatted a bit on the way back, both of them mildly intoxicated but apparently sober enough to not attract the unwanted attention of any school staff. Ralthavar could not remember the exact details of their conversation, but he was very much certain that before they parted ways, he asked Elena about a possible partnership. He vaguely remembered the school requiring students to pair up with one another as partners who would partake in missions together. Though he only knew Elena for barely a whole night, he was confident to say that he would be willing to risk his life for her, and trust that she would do the same. Of course, he merely offered the idea and did not force her to choose than and there. He may have also attempted to romance her, however if she took it seriously or comically, he was happy to know that he did not remember.

Back to now, Ralthavar slowly got out of bed. His clothes from before, patched animal hides made for cold weather, was grimy with dirt and stains from the night before. Luckily he had another set of clothes, one that did not share his more tribal influence; clothing traded from the Earth World. Just as their people traded with the earthlings for their weapons, they also took part in other luxuries, such as their apparel and and services. Though he understood everyone would have, or should have, received the academy's uniform, Ralthavar was certain that he did not posses one at the moment, and thus he wore something else. He looked towards a pair of trousers made of a course material the earthlings call "Denim", which was a dark blue coloration. Though the trousers were tight around his thighs and butt, what he liked the most were the multitude of pockets on the leg. "Cargo Pants", as they were called. He wore another earth-made garment known as a sweater, which sure to his name, made him warm enough to sweat. But given the cold weather they would be in, more heat would be good. Lastly he put on his shoes of which he only had one pair any ways, and it was still solid enough to be functional. It heavily contrasted to his earthling clothes, but they were clean and didn't reek of booze.

He gathered up journals and other parchment he felt he would need for his classes, as well as strapped various belts and bandoliers on his body which he used to hold his weapons. A short blade on his waste, his axe on his back, the shotgun carefully slug over his shoulders, with no ammo since he did not intent to shoot it any time soon. He still carried the shotgun shells in a separate pocket on his pants. He also had a few magical potions in stone flasks which he tucked onto his bandolier, and once he was ready he left his room and headed to class.

Ralthavar was swept up by the wave of orcs in his dormitory, all of whom were in a hurry to reach their class. They weren't late, not even close, but it was an exciting day and they were full of energy. Many of the orcs wanted to make a big impression for themselves, but Ralthavar was decidedly modest. While his orcs did crazy things such as crash through the walls or swing in from the windows, Ralthavar arrived to his homeroom about thirty minutes before class needed to arrive. A few students were already present, but he knew that there would be more to come. He took a seat near the front of the class and waited as more and more students arrived, some shortly after him, others barely before they were too late.

The teacher, a... "Mr. Fenris", was strange to say the least. Some sort of cartoonish tentacle creature. Ralthavar wasn't one to dismiss him however; there were plenty of silly looking monsters back at Lucis, but they were still monsters, and they would have killed him if he never took them seriously. And plus since Mr. Fenris was a teacher at an academy dedicated to the defeat of monsters, he likely knew exactly what he was teaching. Still a very eccentric being as when he called out names he did so in random order. As students introduced themselves, Ralthavar was called up.

"I am Ralthavar Marchosias, from the land of Malakaus, in the world of Lucis. I am a Half-Orc, and I lead the Harmonious First, a horde of orcs. I am pleased to meet all of you."

Mariam Machina

---

"Mmm... I dunno. I don't judge people by appearance. That's rude." Mary resounded to Ier's initial question about how she couldn't tell he was a Gemstone. He also mentioned that he didn't need to sleep, eat, or bath, but the way he said it made him sound like one of those holier-than-thou aliens who dismissed humans for being... Humans. Mary thought it would be a good idea to prove him wrong, but later. For now she wanted to get out of Biggy and stretch her legs. "Well, I'm going to turn in for tonight. I have lots of stuff to do today before it gets too dark. First I need to head over to the garage and find a place to store Biggy when I don't need him. Feel free to tag along!"

Mary headed out of the assembly hall and towards the garage. Ier followed her for a bit, and they chatted to each other mostly about Lucis and Gemstones. Though Mary thought Ier was full of himself, she did have to admit what he was telling her was impressive, almost unbelievably so. But her childish fantasies didn't dismiss the possibilities of what he was saying was true, and if anything, only made her envious of him. She wanted to know more, more importantly she wanted to know how. Someone like Ier was indeed powerful, and Mary wanted that power herself. She didn't know how she would get it, but the more Ier talked about Gemstones, the more Mary's resolve to have them grew.

Soon the two reached the garage where they parted ways. "It was nice talking to you, see you later!" With a final wave goodbye, Mary entered the garage and looked for a place to store Biggy. While not a car, she needed a private place where no one could simply come by and trash him, and soon enough she found a sort of Premium Space where she could make sure Biggy would have some alone time. The cost was steep, too steep for most people, but money wasn't an issue for Mary. It took barely a dent out of her allowances and after she deposited Biggy, Mary got out of her mech and called for the drones.

Four smallish drones appeared from Biggy's body. Unlike Biggy, they weren't made for combat or to take hits, however they could easily lift and carry three hundred pounds, which was handy since Mary also had some luggage. Mary and her drones left towards the dormitories, where she spent most of the night designing her room. It was much smaller than the one back at home, but she made due with the space given and tricked it out to look like very techie-casual. She even had a small workbench to do some minor repairs and designs on her drones, though she'd make use of the machine shops for bigger jobs. Sitting down on her bed, Mary wondered what she should do for the rest of the night. It was already dark out and she didn't feel confident to be out late without Biggy or some friends. But the only friend she had was Ier, and she didn't know where he was at. Mary took out a small booklet and made a note of things she needed to do, and making more friends was on the top of that list. Though she did leave her dorm to get some dinner, the night was uneventful as she fell asleep.

The next day Mary's alarm went off. Yawning cutely as she got out of bed, Mary nearly tripped herself up when she was about to call Biggy to make breakfast for her. While she had no doubts that he would, he'd have to break out of his garage first and raid the kitchen, which she doubt was built for his size. "Remember Mary, this isn't like home anymore! You have to take care of yourself a little. Yup, so let's go find breakfast ourselves!" Mary said as she left her room to get breakfast. It was plain honestly, but fulfilling. After eating and washing up Mary put on her school uniform and headed to the garage. She got Biggy out from the garage and had him carry her to her first class. They were running a bit late since Mary wasted time getting him, and he didn't exactly rush. If she had taken the normal entrance she would have been late, so she ordered Biggy to stop by the window. He did so, walking up to class 1-Q and making an entrance for her from outside the wall, which Mary took and reacted to it like it ain't-no-thang.

Taking her seat soon class started and they were all told to introduce each other. They went in random order with lots of people introducing themselves and mentioning where they came from, so Mary did the same. "I am Mariam Machina, but you can call me Mary! I'm from earth."

Joseph woke up in his dorm, his chest still a bit sore from yesterday's brawl. Ditching felt like a great idea, but seeing how he'd gotten in some sort of trouble yesterday by the headmaster himself, he forced himself to get ready. Going to class for a while was better than being dormed with Dagny. Joseph shuddered at the thought. If he'd followed through the fight and the headmaster was serious about that punishment... Yeah, he'd probably blow his brains out all over the dorm walls. Not before torching the bloody place to the ground though.

He slightly adjusted his tie, making sure it wasn't going to choke him to death throughout the entire day. The uniform didn't look half bad, but honestly it wasn't something he'd usually wear. Then again, looking at most of the students at this school, it probably applied to most everyone.

Joseph locked his dorm room, checking twice to make sure it was completely locked. It wasn't uncommon for one to come back from class only to find out their dorm room was completely ransacked because they left a door open. You couldn't trust anyone on campus these days, give them a little leeway, and they took everything from you.

When he reached his homeroom class, it seemed that they were already doing introductions. Joseph was late, but hey, usually he ditched homeroom so it was an improvement. He took a seat in the middle of the room, as taking a seat in the front or back brought too much attention to oneself. But alas, since he was late, the teacher, Mr.Li, seemed a bit peeved at him already.

"I suppose you would wish to go next. Do remember not to be tardy in the future. Name, favorite food, and an interesting fact please."

Joseph shrugged. It was exactly what he'd expected a teacher from earth to do. A bit clique too, but he guessed that even in the academy teachers from earth were pretty much the same as they were back home.

"My name is Joseph. I do enjoy a steak here and there, and I've been shot once or twice in the chest. Both accidents, so don't start asking stupid questions, please." He then slumped down in his chair. First days of academy were pretty boring, and this year should be no different..

Class 4-Q
Once all the introductions were done with, Dr. Li closed the event with, "And I'm honored to meet you all. Hopefully we'll all become well acquainted with one another before the end of the year. It's your fourth year, so I know that many of you know each other already, but take a good look around the room. These are your comrades and you'll be able to count on them through your final two years here.

"Now, class specifics since this is a maths class. We'll start off with review of what you should have retained from last year," he explained, standing up again. "You'll have homework everyday since constant practice is the best way to learn math. However, you'll get points for trying on the homework. None of us are perfect, and homework is an excellent opportunity to mess up. We'll review correct answers in class and then continue with the day's lesson." He shrugged his narrow shoulders. Students were never excited at the prospect of daily work, but they had to do what they had to do.

"As for tests," he continued, "we'll have one every two or three chapters. The occasional one if the content is a little heavy. When it comes to the tests, nine times out of ten, you won't be required to show work. So long as you somehow get the right answer, you'll get points. Though showing your work provides a chance for partial credit. In addition to credit, I do not do extra credit." His nose wrinkled at the prospect and he ignored the expressions of frustration on some students. "However, I might give you chances to make up work. This is a combat and magic academy, after all. I can't expect us all to make it through the year without suffering injuries that force you to miss out on class time."

Dr. Li sighed and gazed around the room with those perceptive and cool blue eyes. "With all that said, does anyone have any questions?" he prompted as he adjusted the cuffs of his sleeves.

__________________________________________________

Dagny
Student introductions managed to hold Dagny's attention admittedly. She liked hearing what other people had to say, particularly those from Lucis. When the Draconian was picked on, she snickered at the awkwardness he brought out in the teacher. Soon after Joseph was called upon and she resisted the urge to call him out on getting shot. Any other day she would've, but knowing they together were already designated troublemakers--under threat of becoming partners on top of that--kept her quiet. So she just snorted and rested her head on the desk.

When Dr. Li started talking again, the dragon spaced out. Her eyes flickered to the window where they stayed glued to the snow covered grounds. She knew Ariadne was a second year and wondered how her class was going and where it was held. Maybe I can find her at lunch, she thought, eyebrows raising in speculation. No, you don't wanna come off too strong, she reminded herself, frowning. She sighed and stretched her arms above her head as the teacher droned on, bored and ready to do something about that.

She ripped a piece of paper from her notebook and folded it into a paper football. Without a second person to play the goalie, she adjusted it under her finger and glanced between her football and target: Joesph. However, when she flicked it, Dagny utterly misjudged the trajectory and she watched it fly and the bad-mood-Draconian. She pursed her lips together to stifle laughter and rested her head on the desk again, shoulders shaking from the internal laughter.

Eventually, it grew silent again and she looked back up to the front as Dr. Li adjusted the sleeves of his dress shirt.

It was wholly unnecessary for someone like him to seek shelter from the elements, but after seeing Mariam off and wandering late into the night, Ier-Briar was told by one of the nighttime teachers that yes, despite him not having a heartbeat or a fingerprint, he DID have his own room, and that he should go there. So he did, and realized, to his disappointment, that those fleshbags did not provide him with a special room like they did with Biggy and Mariam. Instead, his own room was situated on the bottom floor of the dormitory, secured a card-swipe lock. It took a bit of fiddling before he could get inside, but after he did so, he was surprised to see that his school uniform was packaged up neatly within it as well, placed on a bed made of steel.

Good, they at least knew how to accommodate his weight.

Stretching out and removing his armor, he placed the pile of metal on top of the bed, before leaning his golden spear against the wall. Unlike those weak fleshbags, he had no particular need to stretch out sore limbs, and instead, he laid down on the stone ground. He was naked, of course, for Gemstones had no need for clothing, and that was totally alright. It’s not like he’d catch a cold, after all.

And, just like that, the six year old Gemstone passed time, his eyes never closing, his mind never sleeping.

---

Eight hours later, he stood up, deciding that he really should find a better way to use his time, something that Ier-Briar really had too much of. Deciding to forgo his armor this time around, he instead put on the school uniform allocated to him. A blazer and a skirt. Odd, but he didn’t particularly care. After all, unlike those simple-minded fleshbags, he cared not for their opinions. Walking on and on until he reached the classroom, which was still primarily empty, the Gemstone sat down and waited.

He waited until class had started, until those filthy fleshbags had begun their introductions of their pointlessly inferior races and pitifully forgetful names, all the way until it was his own turn to speak. Standing up as the teacher motioned for his own introduction, he spoke in a steady tone, staring straight into the dot-sized eyes of the tentacle teacher, “I am Ier-Briar Thorn-of-Shield, pupil of Ezar-Mantine Heart-of-Mountain, of the Gemstone race. Do not think of my body as something as frail as your own.

Maybe he should be a teensy-bit nicer.

“So within the battlefield, care not about my safety, but your own, for my body shall not rot in the battlefield until the enemy has been smote. I shall break their line, so I expect the rest of you to destroy them when they’re scattered.”

He sat down.

“That is all.”

Class is in Session:

Varren raised his head from his desk, leaving the grips of denial as his classmates were called up one by one. First was a fox-lady who believed her familiar was the stealthiest being in existence, then was a person who he would have never guessed was a vampire, a barkeep with an almost-as-fluffy cat, and a very compact dragon. ”Vampire, eh? Never would have guessed that…” He shrugged, the fact only promoted his ideal of not judging a book by its cover even more. Next was the leader of the snowball throwing orc legion, coined with a surprisingly original name. Not only was the half-orc a first year, but he governed over those who were of higher grades and expertises. Having such a diverse group at his disposal was definitely useful. Yinyues related the following student as a loli protagonist from a few mecha animes he had watched over the summer. The girl- well, her robot had made quite the entrance for her. Literally. Though, Mr. Fenris didn’t make any complaints concerning the giant hole in the wall now.

”...We’ll just make renovations for your companion later, Ms. Machina.” After that followed a colorfully named elementary schooler made out of rock, a traditional martial artist, a human who looked part bird, and a rooskie who could drink enough rum to fill all of the Great Lakes. If they still existed.

The boy ticked off each student in his head, until the teacher glanced down at his screen one more time, then called out Varren’s name. He perked up from his tired state, realizing the importance of the situation. First impressions were always important, as they gave the receiving end a general idea of a person’s character. With a quick nod of encouragement, the student energetically rose from his seat, straightening out his composure. Only for a moment did he keep a calm complexure, almost instantly breaking down into a greeting smile. “Yo~ My name is Varren Yinyues, I am from Japan, Earth, and I will be succeeding Magpul Industries! I plan on becoming a skirmisher fighter. May I assist you to the best of my abilities.” After a quick bow, the boy sat back in his seat. Mr. Fenris raised an eye at the boy, which slightly creeped him out. Not his nonexistent eyebrow, but the entirety of his left eye elevated a few inches on his face.

”Interesting. Guess some people have their sights set upon joining this academy.” With the introductions now over, the man tapped a few suckers on his console. Cerulean holograms took form above the students desks; Including the class roster, schedule, homework and the essentials for a harmonious classroom. The words First Day Speech popped up in bold text across the screens, ”Since it is the first day, and you are all new to the academy, I am entitled to giving you the gist of what your academic career for the next five years will entail. But before we get into that, let’s delve into our purpose for being here today, yes?” The man spun around to face the display at the front of the classroom. A shot of the Black Gale took up almost all of the screen.

”As all of you know, this is the Black Gale. A wormhole created nearly twenty years ago which connects the futuristic planet of Earth and the more traditional lands of Lucis. We do not know the cause or how the wormhole came to being, but with it was brought the trading of cultures between the two spectrums. For the first couple of years, they were on neutral terms until they finally formalized a peace treaty between each other. Most forms of circulated literature classify the Black Gale as an opening in space-time. Alas, that is incorrect. It is actually a tear, and with tears is brought asymmetry, rough edges and randomization. The Black Gale by no means is a perfect medium, for there are multiple tears within the whole entire region.

On a constantly growing multitude, we classify these gaps as labyrinths, home to malicious mongrels which threaten both worlds. To combat this threat, Lucis and Earth built a plethora of institutes within the Black Gale itself, for instant response times and to act as the front line of defense. With a seemingly endless number of labyrinths popping up, the academies produce generation after generation of warriors who fight off these monsters. You will be eligible to exterminate these impurities once you graduate from this academy, something to aspire to. Now, let’s focus on you guys… and girls, I’m not sexist. These labyrinths are first inspected by academy scouts, then a general analysis is supplied to students. Eligibility is determined by the risk factor of the monsters and the students overall performance within his or her classes. For you first years, don’t expect too many solo missions. Most will be done as a full class, and will be advised by yours truly. You are all probably asking, how will you go about fighting in these regions?

Well, let’s graze the subject of the academy’s class system. Based upon your application form, Combat Efficiency Test and comprised analysis of your records supplied to the board, you have all been assigned a class…”

The teacher trailed off as he pressed a tentacle against his console, bringing up the class roster on everybody’s holograms. Next to each student’s name, in contrasting red font were the names of their classes. Varren watched intently as the title Commando was dashed last on the list.

”Classes are basically titles which are assigned to students, which fit with their fighting style the best. Some have been created for the first time; Such as Ms. Blackwater’s and Ms. Akulova’s Strike Witch class, due to the fact that we don’t receive too many physically augmented humans who are airborne capable. There are also those which have been assigned to other students in the past, and generally fit the newer applicant. For example, Mr. Marchosias’ Warlock, Ms. Ephyrene’s Necromancer, or Mr. Yinyues’ Commando. Classes can also be affected by one’s personality, though such a case isn’t too common, just pay attention to your fellow classmates’ titles.

Each of these classes can serve different functions in the battlefield, but by no means are limited only to those functions. We shall go over the general function of "Offensive" combatants. These are the type of fighters whose focus is to eliminate the enemy and any obstacles in their path. However, this is not as simply as simply arming a group of people and sending them to their deaths. Just as each of you have a different class, there are different ways for you to be an offensive combatant

One that you all would likely consider yourself as are the Shock Troopers. They make up the bulk of the front line, often the first to change and the last to leave the battle. Obstinately melee fighters who not only can break through the enemies defense, but can survive on their own in the midst of battle, without having to be concerned with getting too much damage. They are in the thick of battle, but by no means are invincible. Their strength lies not only in their skill in arms, but their vast numbers. But an ill prepared force of Shock Troopers would just be sent into the meat grinder if they think their massive numbers will be enough to stop the enemy. To ensure that Shock Troopers maximize their damage, they rely on Skirmishers.

Skirmishers are lighter, faster fighters than Shock Troopers. They aren't as well equiped or durable for straight up fighting, but they still have speed and power on their side. They lack a Shock Troopers survivability, but they can storm the front line, throw everything they have at the enemy, and weaken them enough that the shock troopers only need to clean up afterwards.

Now, those are you basic two types of Offensive fighters. As you might have noticed, I have not even mentioned whether or not they are ranged, melee, magical, or physical. That is mainly because either Shock Troopers or Skirmishers can serve their purpose with all range of fighting styles. Melee Shock Troopers are your basic knights, warriors, and barbarians who would charge at the enemy with their weapons held high,and expected to stay there until the enemy is routed or utterly defeated. Ranged Shock Troopers often are those with heavy firepower with an equal amount of point defenses. Literal tanks would be a ranged Shock Trooper type, as would mages who have high defenses. While personal speed and agility is important for Shock Troopers to maneuver into position, it's not vital enough to sacrifice either their offensive or defensive ability to increase, so often Shock Troopers would be considered "Slow moving".

Melee Skirmishers would be the type of fighters who, while powerful in their own right, often serves to debilitate their enemies first and let the Shock Troopers take the brunt of the punishment. Duelist, poisoners, and generally dirty fighters would be melee skirmishers. Traditionally however, Skirmishers were ranged units. They would have weapons such as javelins or tomahawks, throwing them at the front of the enemy line and disengaging to put their strength elsewhere. In modern terms, a ranged skirmisher would be grenadiers; someone who would chuck explosives into the enemy before retreating, given their high priority. Skirmishers are also used to flank the enemy or divide their forces; they lack the defense to go toe-to-toe with a standing fighting force, so what they do is pick out their weaknesses and ensure that their enemy can't put their full defensive effort against either the skirmishers, or the shock troopers.

But not all battles are fought with just two offensive forces. Two opposing armies consisting nothing of offensive fighters engage in a dangerous game of what we call "Rocket Tag". All it takes is one side to be weaken, and the Unstable Equilibrium would take over. One side grows progressively weaker while the other has the increasing advantage. And you may very well be on the wrong side of an unstable equilibrium. To that end, you need defensive troops.

Defensive troops run an equal gamut of colorful functions and uses. For these reasons we'll divide them into two basic categories, however they cover much more than that. The first Defensive type is, simply enough, the Defenders. They're similar to Shock Troopers in that they are often on the front lines and see it through to the end, however Defenders emphasize seeing it through to the end more often. They are the ones who ensure that Shock Troopers never make ground, and for Skirmishers to never find a weak point. Though they may lack the strength to defeat foes, they hold out against the enemy until they are too weak, wounded, or otherwise unable to mount a continued offensive approach. Uniquely, there isn't really one "Class" that fits the ability of a defender more than others, and it's more along the lines of a method. A large impenetrable wall makes for a powerful defender if your opponent has no means of bypassing it. Typically, on a personal level, a defender is someone who can take an insane amount of damage, how ever they do that. Some are simply durable, others have a regeneration factor, and some may not even be that tough but can dodge and avoid the enemy indefinitely. Some may be defenders not because of their toughness, but their threat. Their intimidation factor, if you will. This is how an offensive unit can easily become defensive; simply by being the much more powerful force that a less powerful one cannot match directly.

But a powerful defense relies on a longer fight. It's not expected to defeat an opponent immediately, nor should it expect the opponent to let up. It then becomes a battle of attrition, which ever side has the most energy, resources, or units to spare. As you may imagine, there are plenty of ways to lower your opponent's ability to maintain a defense, but they can do the same. And so the next defensive type comes in: The Support. They don't provide much in terms of damage dealing potential, but they ensure a steady supply of medical treatment, food, or anything else that would make their fighters keep on fighting. Even if it means picking up where the defenders left off, though if it comes to that, you're already in quite a bind. Certain classes that would fit support types would be healers, buffers, pack mules, bards, craftsmen, spies, and mailmen. Oh, sorry, Couriers, ladies. Not exactly what you'd expect to be in the heat of battle, but without them there wouldn't be much of a battle to have.

Now, that's all just the bare bones, real basic stuff. I know what you might be thinking; what category do you fall into? Do you think that you brawny fighters should be a Shock Trooper, or maybe you're better standing on a wall, kicking people off the side? Or maybe you're afraid of blood and like burning your enemies from a hundred yards away. Would that make you into a skirmisher, or the camp's mobile fighter? Since this is all very simply stuff that can't describe you plainly, we'll have to test you and figure out where you belong.

With fighters working hand-in-hand, they can easily clear out labyrinths, thus protecting both worlds from danger. Students are supported to finding a suitable partner to fight with. Duos are then placed into temporary or permanent teams, depending on each pair’s preference.” The teacher rubbed his chin, deep in thought.

”...I think that’s about it. Tomorrow, you will all go through your first class of basic training. Even though you are technically being bred as soldiers, you are recommended to live out your lives as students. Perhaps you could join a club, run for student council, I don’t know. The choice is yours. Oh, also, take your studies seriously. Though you are all attending this academy for the same job, not all applicants make the cut. Make sure you have a decent fallback plan. And even if you do become certified gatekeepers, I don’t think you will be mentally capable of fighting off monsters after about twenty years or so. Anyways, let’s start today’s lesson.”

12:00 PM - Lunch Break:

Starting at twelve in the afternoon, following four hour slots was the long awaited lunch break. For first years, the beginning stretch was renowned for tiring them out on the first day. Varren found himself as a part of this bunch, as he was obviously winded by this time, with his head slumped over his desk. The ringing bells made him shoot up from his blissful state, Mr. Fenris pouted as he closed the textbook.

"Oh. Guess it's time for lunch. Well, you have an hour to talk among yourselves. You are allowed to roam on academy grounds, but you must be back here five minutes before class starts. Which means you have fifty-five minutes before you must be wrapping things up." The boy let out a sigh of relief, making his teacher narrow his eyes premediately. "Yinyues, it was painful just listening to your sorry excuses for answers. I mean, did your brain turn to mush over the summer? Do I need to have you checked?" He shook his head lazily, letting out a yawn as he brought up the menu. Surprised by the massive palette at his disposal, which forced him to think in a fastidious manner. With the exception of the main course, the boy was able to decide on one item of food within an instant.

"Alright, two cups of doppio! Let's go!" He shouted energetically as he mashed his finger onto the icon. Varren then rubbed his chin, trying to find a dish which would fit him the best. "...Tch. This stuff isn't anywhere as healthy as the stuff my chefs make... Oh, a cheeseburger? Haven't had this in a while..." Over the years, the food market had advanced health wise. Though the types of food hadn't really changed in the past decades, as there was no need to fix what was not broken. The items which were mass produced are healthier alternatives, which look aesthetically the same. He glanced over to Lilith, who he didn't have a chance to converse with during class, "Jeeze, that was tiring~ Thought Mr. Fenris was going to throw me out of the window."

"I'm still going to, Mr. Yinyues." Varren let out a cry of fear, dramatically pushing himself back in his seat at the teacher's empty threat. Mr. Fenris face-tentacled and departed for the cafeteria. After the glopping of his teacher's tentacles ceased, he receded into his more calm composure. "Eh, wonder how tomorrow will go. Mr. Fenris mentioned it, but he didn't say what we'll be forced to do. So, what are you gonna eat~?" He happily inquired, tilting his head with a smile. The boy could also potentially socialize with other students. That Shen character appeared to be an informed individual. He also recalled Alika's name on one of the projects the boy had analyzed before he went to sleep last night. It turned out that Magpul had manufactured some parts of the firearms, which members of the augmentation process wielded. Perhaps Varren could chat with her later and inspect her weapon. A goblin carrying a small dish with two cups of abistro craftsmanship entered the room, and approached Varren. "Here you go." The little creature said swiftly before scurrying off, to probably chauffeur another order. Yinyues slipped a finger into the small handle and raised the cup, then tipped it onto his lips. "Oh, and I think it's cool you're a vampire! Never met one. Wait a moment... Bottoms up~" He chirped as he took a sip of the drink. "So, anyways..."

It was time for homeroom. Today, Ariadne had gotten otu of the dorms a lot more bundled up with clothes. Her usual outfit below her uniform and long stockings below that. She wasn't about to let herself freeze over just because of her metabolism. She still sneezed from time to time, though. Her class was 2-H. She hurried to the classroom, so she could partake on some of the heat of others. It was an odd sight, though. Ariadne, walking around with her blazer and shirt open and a purple vest below that, as well as some purple pants below her skirt. Even so, after taking a seat on the classsroom, Ari felt relieved. It was finally ot enough for her not to sleep through classes and, possibly, the whole winter, or school year. Now, Ari was feeling a little too hot, with her pants and stocking on. So, she took her pants off and stuffed them into her bag. Some guys gasped, and then let out a disappointed sigh when they saw Ari was wearing stockings.

Right now, Ari regretted not having an opportunity to seduce those guys from the other day. Everything was ruined because she took the guy for a fool. But still, if she had taken the opportunity and said that it was indeed a tradition for Lamia's, maybe she had been able to fool him. She lets out a sigh. After that, she directs her eyes to everyone else in the classroom. Was there anyone who she could pass time with? Someone who looked at least a bit interesting? She noticed some. Pointy ears, hugging herself. Most likely an elf. She recognized her from her first year. What was her name? Lori? Lari? Anyhow, Ari thought she was up for some idle chat. Though, before she could do anything, the professor walked into the classroom. "Sheesh. Bad timing, proffessor." With a bored look on her face, she waited for everything to finish and for her turn to introduce herself arrived.

When it did arrive, Ari stood up and with an uninterested look in her face, she proceeded with her introduction. "Um, I'm Ariadne Sideris Zika. A Lamia. A half-Lamia, though. I still feel up the effects of cold. She now puts on a seductive smile on her face. "So if nay of you boys ever feel like it, please come and hug me so that I can get hot again, please!" She tried to sound cute while she said that, but she also knew that some men were prone to misunderstandings. After her introduction she felt some eyes on her, though she paid them no heed. Ari just couldn't wait lunch time to come. She was completely and utterly sure that her first day would be boring as boring can get.

---

After the time for lunch (finally) came, Ari approached Loreal before she left the classroom. It'd definately be interesting to talk with her for a while. "Hello there! You doing anything for lunch? I'm kinda bored and I really dunno what to do." She says, with a smile on her face.

Raltahvar Marchosias

---

Ralthavar kept close notes on the teacher's lecture, even if he understood the basics well enough. He also knew that no one would ever work in groups large enough for this information to matter; even he knew that he wouldn't always get the chance to lead the Harmonious First into battle, and at most they would serve in small strike forces of perhaps two or three pairs of partners. Though perhaps once they rise into the ranks, they'd see that their battles aren't just between a small handful of enemies, but a veritable army of foes. And when it came to that time, Ralthavar was confident that he could lead them to victory.

The classes afterwards were taxing to Ralthavar's body and mind. Granted, this wasn't his first time dealing with an educational system, but the academy was much more rigorous mentally than it was physically. To not only have to preform certain actions, but to do so while under fire, or under extreme circumstances? Exhilarating, but also very tiring. Lunch was a welcome reprieved once it came around, though he was a bit confused at how it was suppose to be served. He understood that the Earthlings would provide food, but interface which to do so was... Alien. He immediately thought it to be magic, but he knew that the Earthlings call it "Technology". But with no hesitation, Ralthavar skimmed through the menus to find something that looked appealing. He was rather hungry, so he felt that a turducken would be an appropriate meal, with frothy mugs of water.

The food came much faster than he thought as a comely elvish lass went up to him and gave him his meal with a smile. Ralthavar returned the smile and took out his short blade. His meal even came with a side order of rice, much to his pleasure. The first thing he began to do than was to carve the turducken into serviceable portions. As he did so, he looked around the class and wondered whom he should attempt to talk to over lunch. There were many colorful characters, but whom would be interested in speaking to the likes of him?

Mariam Machina

---

Mariam had a hard time keeping up with the teacher's lecture, though her drones did a good job recording it. She honestly spent most of his class watching videos through her glasses, an improved design over the Google Glasses. After class were more classes and lessons all in the same room, more or less, which Mariam followed to the best of her ability. With the drones she kept good notes and made sure to get everything the teacher said, but when it came to more hand-on-work if it didn't involve or allow her to use her robots, she was mediocre at best. Rather embarrassing seeing that everyone else was much more capable than her, btu she was determined to find a way around her weakness one day.

Once lunch came around Mary eagerly waited for Biggy next to the entrance he made. Sure enough he stomped on over to the hole with something in her hands; her lunch. Taking the lunch carefully into her hand Mary walked onto Biggy's hand and looked for a new place to eat her food. The classroom was nice, but she wanted her own "Protagonist and Friends only" hang out spot. The roof was one of the more stereotypical place, but she wanted somewhere where Biggy could be around.