The class surged out the doors of the Menagerie and into the stale air of the pocket dimension. The long avenue between the Menagerie and the building where they'd emerged from the portal was empty. Jacob had half expected a rogues gallery of random creatures to be waiting for them. Distant magic rippled across his sensation, there and gone again before he could discern the type.

"This way!" Dr Renault cried.

The class poured down the avenue and surged forward like salmon swarming up through a narrows. They rounded a corner. At the end of the avenue a stalwart modern building that looked like a medieval bunker rendered by a graphic designer rose above the other buildings.

A skinny, dark skinned man in a lab coat was at the door, beckoning them forward hurriedly. Dr Renault peeled off from the front of the class, urging them towards the door, making sure no one was left behind. The first students reached the doors and poured inside.

A sensation of magic exploded to their left, a responsive ripple and gasp echoing amongst the students.

A massive creature crested the top of the nearest building and threw itself down into the avenue, right in the middle of the class. It was like a massive bear with short, almost buzz cut black fur and crimson gashes glowing angrily where its eyes should have been. Gleaming semi-circular blades protruded from every plane and angle of its body. The ground shook as it landed, and it let out a deep, husky roar. The blades along its body thrust out as if flexed. Students scrambled away from it, splitting the class in half, cutting Jacob and a couple dozen students off from the armory. Students were running, screaming, a boy brushing past Jacob. A girl tripped and fell on her face as the class scrambled away and within a moment it was just her and the creature in the middle of the avenue.

It was Camilla.

Jacob's heart was pounding up in his throat. Shit shit shit. The creature snarled and approached Camilla. For a split second that stretched paralyzingly out into infinity he was caught between the instinct to run and the urge to fight.

Don't think. Just do.

He engaged his magic and-

Ms Sterling blew in from the side in a flash of powerful magic. Before Jacob could take a step forward his professor struck the bear-creature across its bulbous nose and sent it flying back into the wall. The impact caved part of the wall in and the creature fell to the ground.

Ms Sterling flung a hand forward as the creature was picking itself up. The ground melted, crawled over the creature's feet like unset concrete, and hardened, trapping it. It bellowed in rage.

Jacob had cast strength and he was already leaning forward with momentum. Ms Sterling looked fine, though. He'd probably just get in her way. But Camilla lay on the ground just a few metres back from where the creature had landed. Her hand was raised and he could feel the Production magic curling out of her, momentarily drowned out by Ms Sterling's spells.

Don't think. Just do.

Jacob ran over to Camilla, the ground blurring by with his augmented speed.

Ms Sterling leapt up into the air. A complex of yellow, orange, crimson red Production magic flashed so brilliantly Jacob's sense froze up. Translucent armour crystallized around Ms Sterling's body, refracting the light around it into rainbows.

Jacob reached Camilla, bent down, scooped her up and stumbled away.

Ms Sterling reached the apex of her leap. The bear thrashed, tearing its forelegs out of the ground. Another blast of Production and Ms Sterling rocketed forward, light coalescing around her fist.

A crash and a bang and then a shockwave rippled out, lifting Jacob off his feet and sending him tumbling to the ground. He curled his body around Camilla instinctively. They tumbled to a halt.

Ms Sterling stood in the centre of a tiny crater in the avenue. There was nothing left of the creature but a pool of silver liquid and a bunch of those silver stars.

Something slapped Jacob's face.

It was Camilla. She reached her hand back and slapped him again. Jacob covered his face and rolled away.

"No!" She said, shaking her head and pushing herself up. "No, I do not want to hear it! I was fine! I was fine! You did not save me. I was fine."

Jacob just blew a breath out and tried to slow his heartbeat.

The armour around Ms Sterling vanished. She turned to the remainder of the class and pointed at the armory.

"Go! Now!"

There was no arguing with her tone. They all skirted the crater and disappeared into the armory.

----------------------------------------

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

The armory locked down with the class inside with Dr Renault. The man who had been waiting at the door, Malik, and Ms Sterling stayed outside to help secure the grounds. The class broke up. A couple people went up to Dr Renault to ask questions, but most milled about, talking excitedly in little groups. Jacob had expected people to be panicking—and there were a few who looked scared—but for the most part it seemed the class had taken the entire thing in stride. He tried to picture the absolute chaos if something like this had happened to his high school class. He had a tough time remembering that they were all still the same age: recently finished high school sophomores. Maybe this was par for the course for students from magical backgrounds. Certainly seemed that way.

"Can't have one normal day of school, can we?" Blake said.

"At least we'll miss Intro," Grace said.

"True."

Camilla walked over. She'd been in the infirmary, getting checked on.

"Milla!" Grace said. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." She folded her arms and glared at Jacob. "Thank you." She ironed out through gritted teeth. "But I was fine."

Jacob shrugged. "I was just making sure." What he really wanted to say was that he had been terrified, but he couldn't bring himself to say it in front of the others.

"I don't need you to make sure."

"But-"

"How about Ms Sterling taking out that razorbear?" Blake interrupted. "Did any of you expect that?"

"Wasn't quite sure what the waif had in her," Archie said.

"She was a Ranger in New Orleans," Camilla said, still glaring at Jacob.

"I suppose the Academy would not hire any slouch." Archie nodded.

"That's what it's gonna take, though," Blake muttered.

"Quite!" Archie gestured. "I'm baffled by the range of spells in such short time! Consumption, then Decomp. Then bam! multiple complex Prod spells. Exquisite! I wish someone had caught it on video."

"What a way to spice up the boring field trip," Grace said.

"Hey, I didn't think it was boring!" Jacob said.

"Obviously," Blake said. "I think you talked more in this class than the rest this term combined."

"Yeah, when were you gonna tell us you were an expert on magical creatures?" Grace folded her arms. "There's people that need help with homework you know!"

"Well, it's kinda like regular ecology." He said.

"He's a real buff," Camilla said. "Knew everything in biology class last year."

Jacob was used to this being an insult or tease, but something in Camilla's voice was different. He looked over at her. She didn't seem to be making fun of him. In fact it sounded like a genuine compliment.

"Well, I wasn't joking about that homework." Grace pointed at him.

They devolved into other topics while they waited for things to be safe.

Jacob still wanted to ask Dr Renault some questions, so he left and searched her out.

She was talking to a girl Jacob didn't know, so he hovered around until they were finished.

Dr Renault noticed him. "Ah! Not surprised in the slightest to see you here, Mr Caibo. You are quite knowledgeable when it comes to magical creatures. I am curious! What is your background?"

Jacob shifted, debated lying, then remembered that the truth was the best. Besides, he'd wanted to ask Dr Renault some things. "I want to be an ecologist. A normal one. I'm not from a magical family."

Dr Renault nodded as if she'd expected this answer. "Then you are like me."

Jacob blinked. He was?

"I don't know if I had quite figured out what I wanted to be at your age, but I was obsessed with animals, their biology, physiology, how evolution worked its magic! It was just so fascinating! And then suddenly, boom, there was a whole other world opened to me filled with undiscovered secrets."

"You're not from a magical family?" Jacob had just assumed she was. He assumed everyone was.

"No siree! Much like yourself, I assume, I was thrust suddenly into this magical world and all the craziness within. But you shouldn't let that get you down. It can be an advantage. What these generationals take for granted, people like us know is a gift. Or a challenge." She smiled slyly at Jacob. "Did you have any questions? My thesis supervisor used to tell me the only bad question is the one left unasked."

Jacob thought. "I wanted to ask if it was possible to be a magical ecologist, but, well, seeing you..."

"Fair!" Dr Renault exclaimed. Her face grew serious. "Yes, it is possible, as evidenced by my existence. Magical society is not just Rangers. Many people work in other areas, support or logistics or facilitation or research. The Academy will push you to become a Ranger. They push everyone to be a Ranger as they are the 'first line.' There are those who don't think so much money and resources and manpower should be funnelled into jobs like mine, but equally there are those who believe in the importance of what we do. Every breakthrough we make, every inch of understanding of these creatures we gain can help every single Ranger in the world perform their job more effectively. Take the pixie for example. They were thought to be Consumer/Producer hybrids, until my predecessor discovered that they were Producers with an asterisk, as we talked about. Now Rangers know this, and if they encounter one, they know they don't have to worry about Consumption magics. We do some of the most important work in the world here. Now, it is a small team. The magical world is one of rare specialization, and pure meritocracy. All but the very, very best in their field are relegated to Ranger duty if they are strong enough or more basic operational and logistic work if they are not. So, if this is your goal, you will have to work very hard. The good news? You already seem well on your way!"

"Thanks," Jacob said. He was unsure if he should ask this next question.

"I can see another unasked question bubbling beneath the surface there!" Dr Renault said.

Jacob flushed. "I was wondering, with the vampire on campus and all: is the vampire also mageiatophagous, like the pixie?"

Dr Renault narrowed her eyes. "I can see where you would make the connection. They do fall under the same umbrella; the same magical family, if you will, since both mageiatophages and vampires use magic to drain magic from their victims. But there are three different types of magic drainers. Mageiatophagous creatures like the pixie use one, vampires use another because they drain the magic through blood, and the third is what we call siphoning, which is basically a caste of spells that us human mages use to drain magic from various sources. It is essentially a mimicry of how normal Producers siphon magic from their environment. It's a lot to explain, but there's a book I recommend called Magical Absorption and Transferral by Antonio D'Angelo, the namesake of our institute, that goes over the three types in detail."

Camilla's father again? Christ, he better not let her find him reading a book by him. "Okay, thanks." He said, still not sure if he quite understood the difference, but satisfied that there was a difference.

Dr Renault smiled. "Ask your professors about doing an internship here when you finish your second semester, instead of one with a Ranger. I think you would really enjoy it."

"I didn't know that was an option," Jacob said. "Will do. Thanks."

Someone else was waiting to talk to Dr Renault, so he went to find the others.