“Welcome to Kalthona’s monster class.” The room went dark, and a single spotlight fell on her and a blackboard. They were currently in Isaiah’s office, and Maisie sat at his desk with a notebook open. The room’s warm lighting came back on. Kalthona then smacked a long stick on the blackboard.

“Now before we continue with our combat training, you’re going to have to learn how to fight monsters as well,” she then smacked the board. “So, that’s what I’m going to teach you.” The door to the office opened, and Isaiah walked in with a book in his hand. The two girls watched as he walked to the seat in front of his desk, sat down, placed the book and his head on the table, and fell asleep. Ignoring the man, the girls went back to the lesson.

“Now within Eldoria, monsters roam the entire continent. However, not all the monsters are the same, nor are they in the same class.” She pointed the stick at the tree diagram drawn on the board. Maisie picked up her pencil and began writing.

“The classes are from C to S. C-class monsters are easy to kill off and usually consist of cave goblins and motherions.” She pointed at the moth-like creature drawn. “B-class monsters are the wolfertors that I defeated when we met. They usually possess enough power to destroy mages that are c-class or below.” Kalthona paused, letting Maisie write her notes.

“Are we ready to continue?” The elf nodded, placing the quill down. “A-class monsters are usually monsters that have the abilities to communicate with humans in limited capacities, but they retain their beast-like appearances. Take the orcs, ogres, and milhorns as examples. She pointed at the monsters listed, with the milhorn being a large humanoid bird. “Finally, S-class monsters are tricky because they can hide among us. Demons, dwellers, and shadow trolls are all the creatures that have the ability to morph into humans and basically manipulate us that way. Dwellers are creatures born from negative energy, and shadow trolls are creatures born from the shadows of humanity’s worst. You can only deal with them if you’re a grand mage or a S-class mage.”

“I’m guessing Isaiah is a grand mage?” Maisie asked, her eyes ever leaving her notebook and looking over to the knocked-out guild master.

“Mmm-hm.” Kalthona replied. “And we have around four S-class mages. Kasey, Lloyd, Joanne, and Maehara are S-class mages.” Kalthona further explained. “Well then, that’s it for monsters. Scarlet will now be assessing you.” Maisie tilted her head.

“Assessment?”

“Yeah, to see which rank you are. That way, you’ll be placed with a group of mages in your class to carry out jobs. Let’s hope you’re a B-class mage. That way, you can join my team.” Kalthona rambled.

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“She already is a B-class mage.” Isaiah perked up, lifting his head up from the desk. “I was able to assess her mana earlier during practice.” The guild master explained.

“Wow, less work for you then.” Kalthona walked over to the elf and high-fived her.

“Nope, Scarlet is in the field, ready for you. You’ll be killing three wolfertors and learning how to channel and stabilise your mana before you presume your physical combat with Kal.” Isaiah interjected. Maisie nodded her head and stood up, determination coursing through her.

“I’m ready.”

*******

Here she was again, standing in the open field. The sun had set, and the night had arrived. The moon was full, larger, and closer than the previous night, and Maisie knew this would be an advantage on her part. Water and the moon were just great allies, after all. The elf then shivered as a cold breeze covered her body. It was just her and a sobered Scarlet, who was swaying side to side. Kalthona had left her to go to a party to which she had been invited by another guild. Oh, how jealous she was!

“Are you ready to rumble?!” Scarlet yelled, pumping her fist in the air. Maisie nodded and went into a defensive position. Scarlet turned around and removed the covers from all three of the cages. She opened the cages, then jumped in the air and landed behind them. Maisie prepared herself as the monsters roared and dashed forward, shaking the ground as they ran towards her. Maisie dodged the first attack from one of the monsters, then summoned ice daggers to slice through the monster. She then jumped in the air, flipped backwards, and landed behind the second monster.

The wolfertor turned around and swung its palm down. This attack landed on Maisie, pushing her back. She winced in pain, then staggered back up. The elf took a minute to regain her strength, her eyes darting between the monsters. This is proving far more difficult than she would have liked. However, she was an ex-soldier, and she knew how to fight just as well as anyone else. The elf slowly grabbed her shoulder and popped the dislocated bone back into place. She then formed a large water wall and turned it to ice. Maisie then began rapidly shooting at the monsters with sharp icicles from her wall. She watched as the wolfertors were pierced and continued watching as they disappeared. She won.

When they were gone, the elf dispersed the spell and dropped down on the ground. Her body felt like shit, both from the attack and the excursion of her mana. Scarlet’s clapping then reached her ears, and she perked up. The blonde woman had a wide grin on her face as she extended her hand for Maisie to grab.

"You fought these monsters like a natural-born!" Scarlet complimented. Maisie bowed at that, feeling a little cocky and loving the praise. "Were you a soldier at one point?" The blonde woman then asked, surprising Maisie.

"How did you know?" The elf asked, stunned.

"Just a hunch." The blonde replied, grinning. “Well done. Let’s get you all healed up, and we’ll begin your mana training.”

“Okay.”