As I headed for the practice grounds, it occurred to me that I should get a walking cane. I scoffed at the thought first—I was far from being an old man, and using a cane would be like admitting a weakness—but as limped through the endless series of bland and empty corridors, I considered the idea more and more seriously.

An eternity later, I arrived to my destination. Class E14 consisted of forty children; ten Vessels and thirty Mergers. I couldn't quite remember how many people they had started with, but the number was somewhere around twice this much. The kids were now lining up in the waiting room, discipline already second nature for them—at least in their human form.

As I walked closer, my new assistant fell in step with me, fresh, energetic, and awfully enthusiastic. I had no idea whether she was always like this, or she just tried to put up a front; I didn't know much about her. She stood in for Garen temporarily while he was on his sick-leave.

"The trainees are ready," she reported. It was completely unnecessary; I could see that much. Still, I nodded in appreciation before raising my voice to address the kids.

"Attention!"

They saluted, and I decided to get right to the heart of the matter.

"Last week I gave all of you an assignment. You had to listen to a bystander's report about a monster attack. You had to identify the type of beast they described, and had to form a battle-plan. I also told you that you'd be fighting that type of creature today, so you'd better be prepared."

I held another pause here for effect. I looked over their faces; all eager and ready to fight, only a couple of them holding traces of fear.

"Eighty percent of you wrote that the creature you'll be fighting is a demon. After all, the bystander's report said that the creature was humanoid, possessed inhuman strength, and had a hole in its torso. It's a fitting description for any demon, isn't it? Now, I only have one question for you." I took a deep breath. "How can you be so fucking dumb?!"

I started pacing in front of them, doing my best to appear angry. It wasn't too difficult, with all the pent-up frustration I had from this morning.

"I can understand that some of you stupid fucks don't give a shit about my assignment. Sure, go ahead and copy what the others wrote! But if you do, can't you at least fucking think about it what you're writing? A demon?! Does any of you have the slightest idea how strong a demon is? It could slaughter the whole bunch of you in a minute! Forget about the report for a moment—just think about today's fight. Try to think out of the box, just this once. Did you really believe that I'd set you against a fucking demon?!"

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I stared at them for a moment, and there was only silence.

"I expected so much more from you," I continued. "Part of this assignment was intended to be a team-building exercise; a challenge for you to plan ahead, form strategies, and work together! It clearly didn't get through to your thick skulls, because you dumb shits couldn't even identify your opponent! Who have you learned Planets and Creatures from, to be this incompetent?!"

"Mrs. Cohen," some of them murmured, though my question was rhetorical.

"But," I continued on, "I have to add that not all of you are completely hopeless. None of your assignments were particularly impressive, but some of you at least managed to guess correctly. Liam! Come over here."

The thin, dark-haired boy approached me quickly, then turned around to face his peers. His posture was horrible and his physique was far from impressive, but in his case it didn't matter. He was a Merger.

"Liam, would you mind telling the rest of the dumb fucks what the correct answer is?"

"Sir, yes, sir! The beast we are going to face today is a bloodgoyle! Umm, bloodgoyles have human-like bodies, but their skin is much tougher. At first I suspected a demon too, but it was clear from the report that the creature liked to physically fight. I mean, to punch stuff, and things like that. Demons wouldn't really do that, even though they could. They corrupt anything with a touch, so they rarely fight toe to toe. They are more like tricksters. Umm . . . and there was one more clue. The bystander said that he could see through the hole in the creature's chest. It was a head-sized hole, going through its torso. Demons have only a smaller hole on their chest, but it's not . . . umm, I don't think the hole is see-through."

"And what do you suggest, how to fight a bloodgoyle?"

"Their weakness is electricity," Liam said, glancing at a girl at the end of the line. "Maria's power would be very useful. That aside . . . umm, if the bloodgoyle uses up his energy, it needs to drink someone's blood to fully recover. So, we could try to tire it out?"

"Good enough," I said with a nod, patting his shoulder. I ushered him back, then raised my voice once again. "As you have heard, today's enemy will be a bloodgoyle. Originally, I planned for you to take turns fighting it—and if it went well, you could have fought multiple at the same time."

I held another pause here, pacing in front of them silently.

"But I decided to change my mind. Only those who gave me the right answers are allowed to fight today, and yes, this excludes Maria. I hope this will be a good lesson for all of you, and you'll take my assignments seriously next time."

Ordinary teenagers would have considered staying out of the fight as a reward, but these kids were different. They had disappointment written all over their faces, though they knew better than to complain. I called forward those who had made the right guesses about the creature—only seven of them, two Vessels and five Mergers—then turned towards the Vessels.

"Keenan, you pick the first Merger, take turns with Sonja. Divide them up however you like. The target is a single bloodgoyle, elimination, no time limit, random terrain." I paused for a moment, thinking. "There won't be any civilians. Plan accordingly."

I waited for their salutes, then left them with my assistant to do their preparations.