Giles studies his students, especially the newly entered trio.
He notices Anne breathing a bit raggedly. Sensing a lack of will in her, Giles poses a question.
"Anne, are you okay?"
Anne sits up from her slightly hunched position. She does her best to be energetic.
"Yes sir! I am fine!"
Giles scans Cieran and Nicholas, who seems fine.
They're not tired.
Giles returns his attention to Anne.
"You seem a bit tired. Don't tell me these two tired you out?"
Anne and Nicholas blush while Cieran's eyes widen in surprise.
Some of the class students giggle and chuckle a bit. Anne quickly tries to defend herself.
"No! We just had to run a lot!"
Giles quickly waves it off. He chuckles a bit.
"My apologies, those types of jokes are in bad taste. Anyway, you're panting and are out of breath. Perfect."
The class seems to raise their eyebrows at that last word Giles said.
"Ms. Jaxon, please come to the front."
Anne stands up. She sighs from the fatigue. She goes to the front with some noticeable slowness which is uncharacteristic of her.
Once Anne was in front of the class, Giles looked for a certain student of his.
He notices Steve doing his best to stay awake during class.
"Stevie, will you please join us in front of the class?"
Steve rubs his eyes, forcing himself to wake up. Despite all his best efforts, he looks tired as usual which earns a few chuckles from his classmates.
Stevie is unfazed. After a few seconds of trying to wake up, he walks to the front of the class.
Giles instructs his two students, so Steve is on the right while Anne is on the left. Once the two students are in position, Giles calls the attention of the class.
"Class, you see two of your classmates that are both noticeably tired and fatigued."
The class acknowledges this.
"Now, can anyone tell the difference between them?"
The class seems to be a bit perplexed by this question.
Giles suspected as much.
"Steve and Anne are both fatigued but the core difference is that Steve is naturally tired while Anne is will-fatigued."
Suzaku raises his hand.
Giles nods.
Stevie asks with a lazy voice.
"Can I sit down sir?
Giles shakes his head.
"Not yet Steve, please bear with me."
Stevie nods without any more complaints. He does his best to not faint. Anne, on the other hand, is doing her best to control her breathing.
"Suzaku, you were raising your hand?"
Suzaku nods.
"Well, I wanted to ask what is will-fatigue."
Giles chuckles a bit.
"I was getting to that."
Giles gently nudges his two nearby students near the board. He then takes a black marker and uses it to make an outline for both Anne and Steve. He slowly pushes them to the side to show the gap in the outline.
He takes a blue marker and starts filling out the gap within Steve's outline. He uses a red marker to fill Anne's gap but only partially with most of the gap left uncolored.
"Do any of you have an idea what these artistic renditions of your classmate represent?"
Dante raises his hand, even if it's just to finish the class.
"It's obviously their bodies and the colored markers are their will!"
Giles nods and slightly patronizes his impatient student.
"Ah! Very good Dante! You did amazing!"
Dante rolls his eyes. Selena chuckles at Dante.
Giles ignores it and returns his attention to the class.
"As your classmate just said, the colored markers represent Steve and Anne's energies or will to be precise. I colored Anne's will as red as the power of humanity is often represented by fire or aggressive energy. On the other hand, I colored Steve's will as blue due to his nature of being lazy which is influenced by his unique power."
The class agrees with Steve's laziness.
"Back to fatigue, Anne is most likely will-fatigued. As some of you talented students of mine have noticed, Anne expended a great amount of will."
Most of the class didn't understand Giles' claim but a few students did. These students include Dante, Selena, Stevie, and Sufian.
"She lost too much will and it is now taking a toll on her body."
Anne comments.
"I don't usually use this much will sir, I just needed the extra boost."
Giles shrugs.
"That's fine and all but did you have a backup plan in the worst-case situation?"
Anne tilted her head.
"What do you mean sir?"
Giles gives Cieran and Nicholas a knowing look.
"Whatever you three were doing, it must've been dangerous to force you to use all your will. I assume it was used to boost your unique power."
Anne nods but she quickly realizes she just admitted to doing something dangerous.
"But we weren't doing anything dangerous! I swear!"
Giles chuckles.
"Usually I'd believe that but all of you are students of this class for a specific reason. All of you have either caused a lot of damage or is a magnet for danger. Take what happened earlier. Dante and Selena got picked on by the 4 monarchs and for some reason, according to you guys, Steve here managed to fend them off. So with that in mind, I don't think you, Cieran, and Nicholas were just gallivanting around."
Realizing that Giles doesn't plan on punishing them, Anne nods a bit meekly. Giles continues his scolding.
"I won't ask as long as everyone here promises to keep safe. Experiencing danger is a prerequisite to becoming stronger and better. Just don't charge towards situations you have no chance of surviving."
The class responds with high energy towards this. Cieran and Nicholas breathe a bit easier when they realize they won't be scolded. Giles smiles and speaks again.
"But."
Cieran and Nicholas suck up the breath they just released. Giles' smile disappears and he speaks with seriousness.
"I don't approve of any of my students cutting classes just to enjoy the city. Starting from now on, if anyone is late everyone in the class is going to be punished."
The whole class negatively reacts.
Vergil, who's an only child, reacts a bit annoyed.
"You mean that even if I haven't done anything remotely bad, I will be punished along with them?"
Giles nods.
"Yep."
The class erupts with a cacophony of grievances and anger.
Giles shushes them.
"Quiet."
The class reluctantly quiets down a bit. They know they can't pressure or force Giles into submission, something that some of the students are very familiar with. Giles then gestures to the two students in front of the class.
"Anne and Steve, please sit down. Thank you for coming in front."
Anne loosens up while Stevie just falls to the ground asleep which causes the class to laugh.
Giles can't help but also chuckle.
Oh, such a powerful unique power but such a bad side-effect.
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Selena stands up from her seat to help Steve go to his chair.
Stevie mutters a thank you to Selena which she accepts as she returns him to his chair where he goes to sleep.
Anne returns to her seat with a relaxed breath.
Finally, I thought I would never be able to sit again.
After allowing the two to settle, Giles continues the class.
"Now, returning to the topic of as a whole, I want everyone here to know one important thing. I have said all of you are not normal. Usually being different can cause isolation but we can take solace and companionship with people of the same ilk. It means that the only people who can properly understand you are the ones the same as you."
The students look at each other.
"I hope you guys understand that society deems you dangerous so they will be wary of you and may even do things that will harm you. You will need allies and no one is more trustworthy than the people who suffer the same problems."
Giles' words seem to ring with the students. It made them think of their fellow students.
I'm not alone.
Even Steve, who is usually too sleepy to comprehend most situations, seems touched by this. Giles speaks, emphasizing each word.
"Monsters shouldn't have to stay alone."
Giles lets a calm silence take over the class.
"Now, I'm splitting the class into eight groups with two groups having only 2 members."
Realizing that most of the groups would have three members, Gus raises his hand.
Giles nods.
"Isn't that unfair sir?"
Giles chuckles a bit.
"Usually yes but I'm going to handpick the best out of the class."
Gus responds again.
"Are you saying that some of our classmates can close a 1 man difference?"
Giles nods.
Iza raises her hand meekly, finally showing herself to the class.
"Sir, can we ask who these students are?"
Carly and Suzaku look at Stevie who is sleeping on his desk.
Carly thinks to herself.
Steve is strong.
Despite being impressed with Steve's strength, Suzaku cannot make the distinction of whether he is abnormally strong or just above average. After all, Suzaku's experience with will-users is scant. He just knows that will-users can create magnificent and awesome effects but he can't quantify them properly.
"Of course, you can. Also, I'm separating the groups not only according to will but also to unique power."
The class seems keener on the idea now that their unique powers are being considered as well.
Iza asks again.
"Can we ask who the most powerful students in this class are then?"
"Good question Iza. Before that though, I need to record all your current will levels."
Ben, who was quietly listening to Giles, asks a question.
"Record our will? Do you have a scanner sir?"
Giles nods.
"I have 30 on my desk now."
Cieran and Nicholas almost double over from Giles' statement.
Will scanners are expensive machines created by using rare materials. It isn't an everyday tool you can just buy from a nearby store. In fact, the only way to calculate the amount of your will is to go to the nearest government hall, defiant building, or high-class institution, like Calloren Academy.
The fact that Giles has 30 will scanners boggles the mind of the likes of Cieran and Nicholas. Dante and a few other equally wealthy students are unfazed by this. They have their own will scanners that are of higher quality.
"Now, August and Calmas, please come up front and help me distribute these scanners."
Calmas stands up quickly, surprised he is called. August stands up a second later, a bit annoyed.
"It's Gus, just call me Gus."
Giles shrugs and pulls out 22 scanners and sets them on the table.
"Gus, can you help Calmas distribute these then?"
Gus doesn't react but he and Calmas go to the front to start handing the scanners to their classmates.
Calmas, in particular, is very careful in handling the scanners. Just like some of the class students, Calmas is not wealthy. August, however, isn't too careful. He comes from a wealthy family capable of buying or replacing these scanners.
While Gus and Calmas are distributing the scanners, Giles addresses the class.
"Once you scan yourself with the scanner, write it down and pass it to the front. You can keep it open if you want, so your other classmates can see it. Also if your unique power can increase your will, write the increased will near the original will but in open and close parenthesis. Don't forget to write your name, we're not that close yet that I can recognize your handwriting. The will rating you write doesn't need to be specific. It can be rounded down or up or just use an approximation."
Once everyone has a scanner, they start to operate it. The ones that are not familiar with using the scanner approach Giles for help.
It takes a few minutes but by the end of it, everyone has written their will ratings on a piece of paper and has passed it down to Giles.
Giles rifles through the papers and starts to list down names in separated groups on the blackboard.
The class looks at the list of names and most of them seem to like their current team members. Once Giles is done listing their names down, he turns to the class.
"Tell me if you have anything against your grouping."
Will Ratings Per Individual
Name Will Rating (Full Will) Anne Jaxon 300 (6,000; but only speed is affected) August Derrick 400 Ben Priger 560 (1,560) Calmas Waslow 360 Carly Cote 590 Cieran Villegas 470 Dante Zeiss 700 (2,100) Eliza Dazen 750 Iza Sarano 200 Livia Lynn 350 Moriah Tremain 710 (3,710) Nemera Zenderval 300 Nicholas Witer 430 Orba Alvertion 250 (5,000) Price Versi 1,400 Selena Woreset 500 (2,500 - 5,000 - 7,500 - 10,000 - 25,000 - 50,000) Seth Stardun 260 (5,200) Stevie Ephraim 800 (???) Sufian Corne 1,200 Suzaku "Michael" Girin 1 Vera Krause 280 Vergil Angelo 1,250
Group 1 - 1,300 (6,900)
- Anne Jaxon
- Cieran Villegas
- Nicholas Witer
Anne, still a bit tired, looks at Nicholas who gives her a bright smile and two thumbs up. Cieran, on the other hand, chuckles. Cieran looks at his fellow teammates as he thought of their teacher.
What a grand coincidence... I wonder, did sir Ivor do that on purpose?
Group 2 - 1,540
- Carly Cote
- Eliza Dazen
- Iza Sarano
Iza looked at Carly, who is listening to music with her large headphones. Carly notices Iza and she gives her a thumbs up and bright smile. After responding to Carly, Iza scans the class to see where Eliza is. Despite her eye-catching appearance, Eliza is staying at the back corner of the room where she can watch the window.
Her red hair is cool... I wonder if she'll like me.
Group 3 - 1,850 (6,600)
- Livia Lynn
- Orba Alvertion
- Vergil Angelo
Livia frowns when she sees her groupmates. She looks at Orba who's looking back at her. They're sharing the same thought process.
Don't be useless!
Vergil, on the other hand, is ignoring the fact that he has two teammates, considering that both of them have a total combined will lower than him.
But... that girl has an aspect power... so she's not all bad... I hope that the blue-haired boy can pull his weight.
Group 4 - 1,960
- August Derrick
- Calmas Waslow
- Sufian Crone
Sufian frowned. Unlike some of his classmates, he disliked fighting but he was born in a family full of fighters. Due to this, he has his fair share of fighting teachers which elevated his strength to what it is now. He looked at his two teammates. Despite August's lackadaisical attitude and Calmas' shy demeanor, he knew that both of them wanted to become stronger.
Sufian sighed.
This is going to be a hassle.
Group 5 - 1,470 (5,470)
- Ben Priger
- Moriah Tremain
- Nemerah Zenderval
Ben and Moriah looked at each other. They glared at each other as their monstrous souls screamed murder. One was a powerful dragon, an ancient beast of majestic strength, and another was a great demon, old entities of power and domination. While these two were looking at each other with murderous eyes, Nemerah was simply enjoying the feeling of air and the camaraderie of her fellow classmates.
Ahhh, the world would be so much better if we could all get along.
Group 6 - 1,940 (6,880)
- Price Versi
- Seth Stardun
- Vera Krause
Price is ignoring his teammates. Seth tries to talk to Vera but he quickly stops. She grumbles since she isn't paired up with Selena. Vera looks at Price, who has the highest will rating in the class.
At least Price is strong... This Seth guy seems like a pushover.
Group 7 - 801 (???)
- Stevie Ephraim
- Suzaku Girin
Suzaku takes a glance at his partner. Stevie, despite the commotion in the class, was soundly asleep.
He's sleeping... is he really able to close that gap?... No, I shouldn't rely on him. I need to learn how to use will.
Steve, unaware of the noise around him and Suzaku's determination, sleeps peacefully, aware that he's stronger than most of his classmates. He just prefers not to mention it.
Group 8 - 1,200 (52,100)
- Dante Zeiss
- Selena Woreset
Selena lightly punches Dante on the shoulder which causes the young man to look at her with a sharp glare. Selena just chuckles. Since he fought with her, Selena thought that he wasn't too bad, minus his spoiled attitude.
He's just a big snob.
Dante looks at Selena with a mix of liking and hating.
Why must I always be paired up with this woman!
The class is a bit lively as they start to get acquainted with their group members. A few students have some complaints which Giles intends to answer.
The first one to raise her hand is Eliza Dazen.
"Introduce yourself first, you haven't participated before after all."
Eliza stands up.
"Sir, can I be in a group on my own?"
Carly and Iza look at Eliza with surprise. Giles quickly shuts her down.
"Nope, that's why it's called a group."
Eliza sighs, not even trying to conceal her annoyance.
"Please sit down unless you still have any questions."
Eliza sits but not before expressing her emotions.
Price quickly raises his hand to ask Giles a question.
"As with Eliza, introduce yourself first."
"Number 54002... or the name given to me by my handler, Price Versi. Sir, my group has the highest will total in the class. Wouldn't it be better if I were to switch with that sleeping buffoon? In fact, their two-man team is the weakest. He's barely stronger than some of our classmates."
He gestures to Stevie, who slightly reacts when he hears the mention of sleep.
Giles nods with a smile.
"Your concern is understandable Price... but... well to put it bluntly... Steve is the strongest in the class."
This declaration shocks the whole class.
Price looks at Giles and then at Stevie.
"I refuse to believe that sir."
"Really? You've been here for a few months. Did your senses as an assassin dulled that quickly? If you do not believe me, you can try for yourself, we are going to be testing each group's fighting ability in a few minutes anyway."
The class clamors at this.
Dante asks a question.
"We're gonna fight?"
Selena does a silent celebration.
Finally... I've been raring to go ever since I woke up.
Giles nods at Dante's question.
"Yep, now that you guys are split up into relatively balanced groups, we're going to have to test your mettle in combat. Price, I know you're still unconvinced but I'll let your team fight against Stevie's team."
While Price was happy with this arrangement, Suzaku wasn't. He realized that he was basically an extra while Steve is doomed to fight against three enemies, all of which are members of the catastrophe class. Dante and Selena showed great strength against the seniors and according to the will ratings, Price is double their strength.
What the hell am I going to do!
Giles takes out an energy signal from his front desk.
"Everyone stand up, time to go to the combat simulator."
Moriah, who was talking to Livia, asks a question.
"Not the combat field sir?"
Giles nods.
"We need something more compact for a more realistic fighting area. Also, just in case one of you dies, we'll need a way to prevent that."