Back at the hut

(Dr. G) Good job, good job! I can see that everything worked out fine, no pieces stolen, good good!

(A) -smiles and nods- Don’t worry Dr G, we took care of everything

-Miyu still has her soul out of her body but Geoffrey doesn’t notice. Dr g grabs the geodes and methodically chips the crystal shards using his magic. The geode bouquet becomes a shimmery dust mess-

-Ari is curious because all she can see is dr g staring at the rocks and the rocks birthing little balls of crystal gems-

-Miyu is half recovered but withered. She explains to Ari that Dr G can refine materials with his magic because of the evolution of power. She explains that powers can level up many times, there is no limit except for the being holding it-

(A-inner mono) so this power is an added bonus?

-After the geodes, dr g went onto the runic barks. He looked at them suspiciously, then he shrugged and brought out a blender-

(A) !?

-Dr g put all the crystals and runic bark inside-

(A) Dr. Geoferry, I don’t think a blender will be strong enough...

(Dr G) -looks confused- Blender?

(A) :0 uh yea the thing you make drinks with...

(Dr G) -looks confused- you can drink some potions too..?

(A) uhhh... us humans also have something like that. It’s just not that strong...

(Dr G) oh that’s odd

(A-inner mono) says you!

(Dr G) I guess you can call this a blender, but it’s actually an emulsifier. Materials can go in here and, with a bit of magic, you can take out the last bit of impurities. Then, it turns into its base state which is either a liquid or a powder. This one will be liquid.

(A) Oh, so if you don't have this thing -points to the machine- you can’t make potions at all?

(Dr G) it depends on the quality -he seems Super excited explaining- you have to get the ‘blender’ from a High ranked crafter for you to get better results. Since they also put some of their magic in, higher the rank the better. To answer your question, you do need one of these ‘blenders’ to make potions.

-Ari nods-

Dr G turns around and picks up the finished and blended product-

(Dr G) now, miyu help me with this

(Dr G) explains to Ari that potions are created by one's magic power. The more power the more effective.

(Dr G) it’s getting late but Ari, you will be testing it tomorrow!

-Ari nods enthusiastically-

——

-Miyu and Ari step outside of the hut. Ari is greeted by the night sky, stars everywhere-

(A) ..... (shocked)

(M) we got let out early! There is just enough time to walk to the dining hall before it closes!

(A-inner mono) !?

(A) Dr Geoffreys class goes until dusk? I didn’t know that was the thing...

(M) well the class is an hour but I like to stay after to learn some more, it’s like a club!

-Miyu suddenly gets really embarrassed-

(M) Oj I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to drag you along with me... I just got so sidetracked and I totally forgot...(panicked)

(A) it’s fine! It’s fine! I found it interesting too even though I wasn’t much help....

-Miyu begins to tear up-

(M) sorry ari! I feel bad, you don’t have to be friends with me anymore

(A-inner mono) when the fuck did I say I didn’t want to be your friend

(A) your totally good Miyu, your basically my only friend here so I don’t mind. Oh wait, that's not to say i feel like i don't have a choice, i like being friends… T-T

(A-inner mono) that totally came out wrong

-Ari reassures Miyu and they head to the teleport and port to the main island-

-Ari and miyu finished dinner quickly because they were one of the last groups to enter the dining hall. Not many people were there and the food stands were closing up. They ran to Edna and got some more green and brown balls. Edna gave them an extra red one, when ari bit into it, it reminded her of her mom's curry and was happy-

———

Next Morning

-Ari wakes up and puts on her socks and sandals combo-

-Her sweater vest got fixed to her size thankfully-

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

-Miyu and Ari head to the teleporter, there was a gloomy figure also walking towards it. He stops and turns his head to ari-

-Ari gets the chills(she’s like 😬)-

-Ari and Miyu slowly approach the guy-

(M) Igor, good morning!

(Igor) -nods quietly and turns to Ari- My name is Igor, we have almost all classes together

(A-inner mono) how could I forget?(flash back to ari sitting in LOYO and Igor petting a skull)

(A) Haha... yep! Nice to officially meet you Igor. Do you want to go to class together...? -nervous sweating and laughter-

-Igor nods and Miyu and Ari and Igor teleport to the main island-

(M) that’s great ari! You made another friend! Igor please watch her for me!

(A-inner mono) you didn't have to expose me like that

-Igor nods-

(A) ....

-They walk in the academy, Miyu goes off to her classes and Igor and Ari head to Ms Douglas. Igor is quiet the whole walk there. Ari feels very awkward-

-They sit down in the front and Igor pulls out two skulls and places them on the shared desk. He wipes away the dust then he gets out a little satchel, it has some sort of powder in it-

Igor notices Ari looking, he explains:

(Igor) -notices Ari looking and explains- These are my great grandma’s ashes, its for good luck

(A-inner mono) the @!$&?

(A) ....may...I ask why...?

(Igor) -nods- she was known for her fortune. Our test is coming up soon so I thought this will help.

-Ari stares at the ashes and nods-

(A-inner mono) man that is some next level edgy shit.

Ms Douglas: Okay class! Let’s review!

——

In Mr frogs class

-Ari sits down on the green velvet cushion next to igor. Igor again gets out his skull and ash set.

(A) um Igor, could you tell me our professor's name? I didn’t catch it yesterday and I feel bad.

(Igor) -nods and in a monotone voice tells her- Joseph Toadler

(A) ლ(ಠ_ಠლ)

(A-inner mono) how very fitting..

(Mr T) okay, okay. Time for us to get to know each other. I should’ve, should’ve done it yesterday but I was a bit side tracked. Ari please introduce yourself, age, height, species, power, and rank.

-Ari starts sweating because everyone’s attention is on her. Igor gives Ari a thumbs up but is stone faced and asks if she wants to hold the ashes. Ari declines politely-

(A) My name is Ari Tanaka, age 17, I’m 5’3”, uhhh... I’m definitely human, no powers at all, and I think humans rank below beginners so... no rank at all.

-The class is silent. Mr Toadler has a hand on his chin and is in deep thought nodding and thinking-

(A) ...

-The class is silent-

(Mr T) Great! Great! Now let’s go around the classroom, please let ari know your name, rank, and power. I, I want her to, to feel comfortable and not wary of us.

-Mr T nods at Igor and Igor speaks-

(Igor) my name is Igor Stravenski, I am a necromancer, I am ranked beginner.

(Helga) I am Helga Gordo, temperature resistant, beginner.

(A-inner mono) what a name she has...

(Teflon) names Teflon, oil, beginner.

(Javier) nice to meet you, my name is Javier Fuego, I specialize in fire, beginner.

-Ari nods her head-

(Mr T) GREAT! GREAT! Now that we know each other, we will have a group assignment. To get to know, know your powers better. I would like my students to break down and teach Ari how your power works. I will not allow, allow for a half hearted explanation, we know where magic comes from! Break it down to the technique! After that, you will make a presentation of each power, Ari will be here to help ask, ask her questions, get to know what humans don’t know!

(A-inner mono) I don’t know if I should be offended

-Froggo disappears in a beam of light-

(A) ...

-The class was horribly awkward and silent-

(Javier) -stands up and claps his hand to get everyone’s attention- Okay guys! Let’s start asking Ari questions! No offense Ari but I didn’t know humans were that uninformed.

(A-inner mono) again should i-

-Teflon nods in agreement. Helga just stares at Ari and Igor is whispering something under his breath lighting some candles-

(A) ha...ha... my school never taught us because we don’t have any powers..

(Javier) Weird, it's still good to be informed! Whatever, okay ari do you know what base powers are?

(A) -scratches her head- I learned it from Mr Toadler yesterday. He explained that it is the power given to the holder at birth?

(Javier) -nods, looks around the room and asks- Do you know what types of base powers are out there? Can You tell the difference between a base power and an evolution?

(A) -sweating- uh... um I guess not.. I know the elements fire, water, earth, and air are the most common….

(A) -looks down embarrassed- sorry I don’t know how to tell the difference!

-Javier plops back down on his cushion and gets out a piece of paper from his spatial storage. He also gets out a writing tool and everyone crowds around him.

(Javier) Ari dear, you are lucky because I know the answer!

-Ari nods her head but is confused still-

-Javier draws a T table, writes base powers on one side and evolution on the others-

(Javier) You are right, when you think of base powers, you think of elements. However, fire, water, air, and earth are not the only base elements out there. There is Light and Dark, electricity, spirit, galactic, etc.. the list goes on. So, there is no limit to what your base power can be, it's just the base power is your stepping stone to unlock what true powers you actually have. Like Mr Toadler said, it depends on the person and their vitality and magic affinity. If you are strong enough then you can evolve your powers after training..

(A-inner mono) -with a look of confusion- training..?

Javier picks up on that and explains

(Javier) Power evolution can happen anywhere, but it is prefered if it happens to be in a closed training space. So, if you lose your control, there won't be a big disaster.

(A) How do you evolve? I get training but how do you know if you can?

-Javier and the others look at each other and Igor speaks up-

(Igor) There is still research being done on this subject but from what we have learned, it depends on how skilled you are. If you train everyday, getting hang of you base powers and connecting your affinity to the powers affinity then you will just know that you can achieve evolution because it will grant you access. But if you evolve without permission then you're likely to die, since the power gives energy to the body for evolution and without it is hard for even a skilled hero to evolve and live.

(Javier) Thank you Igor, I totally forgot about that. Never mind that! Once you are granted evolution you will mentally be taken to the power vault. Apparently that is where they find the best evolution for you based on our life and how talented one is. I don’t know who they are but it's like a job interview. They look through your application and give you a position. Once you get this power, you totally restore all your mana and power.

(A) so basically you restart once you get our evolution.

(Javier) -nods- But the thing is, when you are inside the power vault getting examined. You are utterly and completely defenseless, this is another reason why you should do it in a training dimension, basically anyone can attack you and you can't defend yourself, it's horrible and many heroes have fallen from the greed to get their evolution right away.

(A) so can one get more than one evolution?

(Teflon) -very sassy- Of course, are you dumb or something?! There are limitless evolutions, it's just if you want that you have to be strong. I heard the Gods have insane evolution stats where they have evolved hundreds of times. You have to have the mana, luck, and talent to get it done!

-Javier smacks Teflon on the back and explains to Ari-

(Javier) Not every evolution is ability based, the evolutions that don’t take you to the power vault but do restore you body are the buffs. The enhancements are used to increase you fighting stats or resistance. There can also be evolutions to have buffs to give to your teammates or to make it harder for your enemy.

(A-inner mono) why does this sound like a video game

(Javier) -as if he was reading her mind- It's like a video game for humans. Do you know most video games are based on actual powerful beings?! Well, you can get multiple evolutions and multiple power evolutions and like Teflon said, it depends on your affinity and talent.

(A) So hypothetically one can be stuck on base level and never get an evolution and another person can have infinite evolutions?

(Igor) -nods- Yes, the ones who are stuck at base level no matter how hard they try are ranked as beginner since they do have a bit of power. As you get stronger it's harder to get an evolution because the affinity you need is extensive. I’ve heard that the titans have unlocked as many as they can because of their strong pool of magic. The original gods are said to be the strongest in this galaxy, but they still have to raise their affinity to get their evolution. They just have more time on their hands to do so. Also they have a limitless power supply, so it's just the time factor and the unspoken limits that hold them back.

(Javier) Wow Igor, where did you learn that?

(Igor) I was witnessing the summoning of a powerful undead by my parents, so I got to ask a question when the contract was signed.

(Javier) ooooo

Ari: so, how do students here evolve?

(Teflon) She really is an idiot. The whole school is a training ground for us. There just happens to be academic classes as well.

(Javier) -smacks Teflon again and explains- There is also an event that comes every year, depending on the rank you win in, you will get one on one training and materials to get you to have more affinity and connection to your power.

(A) Event? Like a competition or something?

(Javier) Bingo! It's a competition Volkov holds every year to give opportunities to showcase our powers and a chance to fight to get up to a higher rank. If you earn a spot in a rank higher than yours, say beginner to advanced, then right away you get to take the classes for that rank and get exclusive training to reach the amount of evolution and power to stay at that level

(A) When's the competition going to start?

(Helga) in a month.

(A) !?

(Javier) -scratching his head- All students have to attend and you are technically a student so… you might have to do it unless the principal says otherwise.

(A) (◎_◎;)

(Javier) Well never mind that! We will take a day each for everyone to give a lesson on their power, is that fine with you all?

-They continue to plan out their lessons, however, Ari is internally freaking out-

(A-inner mono) The princple can’t be that dumb right? If they put me in the competition I would die. Why would I even be considered for the competition?! Just because I'm a student?! I’m just here for the inclusivity event, more commonly known as the charity event T-T