Dalton and his son returned home after a harrowing encounter with an armored leopard. The beast marked the end of their training session for the day. They made plans to continue where they left off tomorrow, without feeling the need to rush.

Tomas had a busy schedule ahead, as he was set to attend combat training with his peers starting from noon. During the journey back, he couldn't help but think about how he was eager to share his experiences of the battle with his classmates.

Back at home, the family sat down for lunch, and the young twins quickly set off for their combat training, their faces lit up with excitement. They ran through the Clan streets, leaving a trail of joy in their wake as their big smiles put everyone around them in a better mood.

Although Dalton had trained the boys beforehand, they were looking forward to their first real close combat class with all the other children. Training with 4 people and training with a hundred were two completely different experiences, and they were filled with high expectations for the upcoming class.

As Tomas and Lucien made their way towards the open training ground beside the gates of their Clan, they could already see a group of familiar faces among the sea of young warriors-in-training. Eagerly joining their friends, they greeted them with eager excitement.

"Hey, looks like we were the last ones to get here," remarked Tomas, surveying the gathering. "What's up, Cindy, Jess, Marlon, and...I think I don't know you guys?" he added, directing his gaze towards two children he didn't recognize.

Being the sons of the Clan leader, Tomas and Lucien often had the freedom to speak without much consideration. So, when Tomas questioned the unfamiliar children, it was not meant to be disrespectful, but simply a childlike curiosity.

But the two children, a small girl with shoulder length brown hair named Mary and her bulky friend with weird animalistic yellow eyes Michel, took no offense. In fact, Mary stepped forward with a bright smile and offered her hand. "Hello Leader's sons, I'm Mary and this is Michel. Our parents were friends when they were young, just like us. We hope to be your friends too!"

Tomas beamed at the two children, his easy-going personality shining through. "You guys are welcome to join us, Mary," he said, instantly accepting their offer of friendship.

In other Clans, the children of important people might carry an air of superiority among their peers, but in the mixers Clan, they had a culture of inclusiveness where everyone could interact with each other freely, without any restrictions based on hierarchy or social class. This sense of one big family usually overshadowed any other relationships, creating a very friendly atmosphere in the Clan.

Because of this culture, the other children in the group didn't question the presence of these two new children, even though they were from less important families. To put it into perspective, Cindy and Jess were the daughters of Dalton's right-hand man, Jason, and Marlon was the son of one of the Clan powerhouses. This group was already composed of the heirs of the Clan big shots, and now, with the addition of these two children, it made them stand out even more among the young heirs' groups.

Tomas didn't waste any time and started bragging about a battle he had watched earlier but, before he could finish his story, the instructor cut him short. A friendly hunter, well-known to many of the children, then stood up on a higher platform and began to address the crowd.

"Hello kiddos, my name is Duke, for those that don’t know. I will be in charge of your training in close combat for the next year, according to the teacher schedule that the bastard of a leader imposed on us, veteran beast hunters."

"Some may think that combat class may not be useful because..."

The new combat instructor, Duke, began his introduction with the students, but for many of them, the speech was all too familiar. They had been in the training program for over a year now and had heard similar lectures before. Most of the kids quickly lost interest and stopped paying attention, their minds wandering elsewhere.

However, Lucien and Mary, two of the new students, remained captivated. They listened intently to Duke's every word, wide-eyed and hanging on his every syllable.

"Better train because you will never know when you will need it," Duke continued, focusing on the importance of combat training.

"Now, as you older kids are used to, support dreamers to the right, combat dreamers to the left and first nightmare kids go there with that other instructor." Duke concluded his speech.

These last words hit Lucien and Mary like a ton of bricks, sending shockwaves through their bodies

As soon as Duke finished his instructions, Lucien felt a wave of nervousness wash over him. Before he could even voice his concerns, Mary raised her hand, catching the attention of the instructor.

"Excuse me, uncle Duke," Mary began, "I don't know if my power is suited for combat or not." Duke's eyebrows raised in interest, "Interesting. Which dream did you get, kiddo?"

Mary responded, "Well… My dream is to make things slippery." Duke was taken aback by this unique ability and paused for a moment before asking, "I don't really know how to classify that. Do you have a class you want to join?" Mary responded shyly, "I don't know. I want to be with my friends. Can I?"

Duke nodded, "Do what you want. If you think it's too hard, you can change classes later on. That goes for all the kids with weird powers too." With that, Duke dismissed the students, directing them to split into their respective classes.

The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

Feeling self-conscious, Lucien made his way to the support combat class, expecting to be all alone. He positioned himself at the back of the group, hoping to avoid being noticed. However, his solitude was short-lived as a familiar voice spoke up right beside him. "Why are we this far in the back? I can’t see a thing" Lucien turned to see Mary, who had followed him into the class.

"What are you doing here when you can go to the combat class where your friends are?" Lucien asked cautiously.

But Mary's simpleminded answer broke all his expectations "I thought you would feel lonely all alone and you are also my friend right?"

‘She is just really dumb...’ Lucien thought. But then he politely answered “Feel free to do whatever you want, I don’t care” and their conversation ended just like that.

Despite his mean words, Lucien was secretly relieved that Mary had joined him in the support class. He knew that he wouldn't have the courage to do what she had done, to leave her friends behind and join him in a class where they were the odd ones out.

As soon as the class assembled, the second teacher began his lesson with an air of urgency. "Today you new kids will learn the most crucial skill for a support class in the midst of battle."

He picked up a small twig, about a meter long, and commanded, "Run."

The support class training ground turned into a chaotic scene.

As soon as the teacher said "run", walls rose up from the ground to encircle the training area, trapping the students inside. A storm of twig attacks then began, with the teacher at its center, hurling the twigs at the students and forcing them to dodge and run for their lives. Those who weren't fast enough or were caught in the crossfire were pelted with the sticks, making it clear that this was a training to run for their lives.

As the chaotic scene played out in the support combat training area, Lucien and Mary struggled to keep up with the rest of their classmates. The relentless barrage of twig attacks from the teacher was taking its toll on them.

Half of the students had already fallen to the ground, some faking unconsciousness and others actually succumbing to exhaustion. Despite being a seasoned trainee, Lucien was starting to feel the strain of running at a safe pace, while Mary was faltering beside him.

"I can't keep up anymore, Luci..." Mary panted.

"Since when did I become 'Luci'? If you stop, that monstrous teacher will catch you. Unless we try something," Lucien replied, determination present in his voice.

Lucien had always aspired to be a member of the combat class, and his first instinct was to fight back instead of simply running. However, he didn't know how to fight the teacher, until he remembered that he wasn't alone. A plan began to form in his mind, and he was determined to see it through, even if it wasn't the most brilliant of ideas.

As time passed by, Mary couldn't keep up the pace and she ultimately stopped running. Exhausted, she collapsed onto the ground, her body resembling that of a shattered doll.

The sadistic teacher noticed that one student, who had managed to avoid getting hit by the relentless twigs, was now lying motionless on the ground. Seizing the opportunity, he closed in on the seemingly vulnerable target.

But as soon as he stepped closer to Mary, the teacher found himself spinning and tumbling to the ground. It was a trap. Meanwhile, the students had quickly surrounded the teacher and launched a coordinated attack.

Caught off guard, the teacher was momentarily stunned as the kids unleashed their pent-up anger and frustration from the twig attacks on him. But soon enough, he regained his composure and subdued the kids with ease.

Lucien, who had masterminded the plan, had rallied the other students who were physically capable and told them the plan. Mary, who was the key player in the plan, had already made the ground slippery at a place that was not noticeable to the teacher. She was working on the trap while the rest of the kids kept the teacher distracted by acting as bait.

The plan was executed to perfection, with each kid playing their part flawlessly. In the end, the students had managed to turn the tables on the teacher and unleash all the pain they had felt from the twig attacks.

The teacher clearly wasn’t hurt, but his pride was. The few seconds that he was trapped by the kids made him feel ashamed like never before. Logically, he understood that receiving attacks from a bunch of kids without combat dreams wouldn't result in any physical harm. But, if this was a real fight, those seconds he was immobilized were enough for an average enemy to kill him without problems.

At the end of the training, to add insult to injury, Lucien asked a question that has been on his mind all this time.

“When are we training to fight, teacher?”

With a mocking smile, trying to defend the last small part of his pride, the teacher answered. “Six months from today, maybe. We will start teaching you some self defense moves to give you the opportunity to run away if you ever face a combat dreamer.”

“NO WAY I WILL KEEP ATTENDING THIS LESSONS FOR COWARDS!!!” Lucien exploded. This kind of herbivore lesson wasn’t for him at all.

Lucien couldn't believe that the support dreamer class was all about running away. He was frustrated and confused, unable to understand how he would learn to fight if all he did was run away. He would never be prepared for when his combat dream finally came.

"It doesn‘t matter what you want, kiddo," the teacher spoke again, taken aback by Lucien's reaction. "Since you were bestowed with a support dream, synergy will give you more support dreams later and you are destined to only have one serious fight in your whole life."

The teacher pressed on "And this fight will be when a combat class guy or a beast finds you alone and tries to kill you. At that moment, you will die for sure, making it the last and only fight you will ever have," he added.

Lucien knew that this was true for most of the support dreamers, except for a few special cases like Mary. He decided he needed to use his Super Card to solve this problem.

"I will talk to my dad," he announced firmly.

The teacher was stunned, unable to think of anything else to say. "If he lets you, then it's okay," was all he could manage to say.

There was nothing the teacher could do against such a solid argument. Meanwhile, on the other side of the training ground, things were heating up in the fight arena, where the little combat dreamers were giving it their all, striving to achieve the glory of winning the first year contest.

Tomas could be seen facing Michel in the battle arena, and for the first time since receiving his dream, the Clan leader's son was bleeding.