Daisy was walking with her class and her professor. "Today's the day." She smiled, stretching, her fingers brushing over a few passing leaves. She was excited about the prospect of getting to use her skills in battle, even if she had no idea what that battle would be.

The group was moving along a trail that was worn into the ground, and the forest around them was quiet and dark, with a soft breeze. The sun was shining down through the trees, casting shadows on the ground, making the forest seem peaceful.

Daisy was in the back, trailing the group, and she didn't mind that. She pricked an ear, hearing something behind them.

—Scout skill activated.

Daisy blinked at the words. "It wasn't already?" She kept up with the others, but her form was tense, ready for the ambush she felt certain was coming. One hand trailed down to grasp her dagger, getting a good grip for what she imagined came next.

A shout of surprise came from ahead, and she heard the sounds of combat, with clangs of claws on shields and crackling magical fury. She drew her knife, her heart pounding in her chest. "This is it." She lunged, only to coil as a shape almost crashed into her. "Fight's come to me, that's alright." She twirled the dagger as she got her first look at the beast.

It had a long, thin body, with a snake-like head on one end, a long, thick, scaly tail, and a pair of arms. Each arm ended in three thick claws. Daisy recoiled at the hideous creature, but only briefly as it lunged for her. She ducked under it, slashing at its flank, cutting deep into the flesh.

The monster roared in pain and fell back, blood gushing from the wound. It spun, and the tail lashed out at Daisy, striking her hard in the chest, knocking her back. She grunted and rolled, coming up on her feet, holding her dagger up in front of her face, glaring at the monster.

"I'm going to kill you." She thought at that moment that she hadn't killed anything before coming to that world, but it seemed to come naturally to her thoughts. How else had she changed?

─Athletic Parry skill used.

She caught the next attack and rolled with it, sending the creature smashing through a crumbling stone wall. She was on it in a flash, stabbing it repeatedly in the neck. It let out a gurgling sound, then a hiss, and went still, its body slumping limply on the ground.

She stood up and looked around, seeing more of the creatures. The class was in a wild battle, the teachers overwhelmed with sheer numbers. Daisy growled and charged forward. "Protect the class!" She knew they were probably better equipped to defend themselves than her, but she wanted to help, not leave them to the fight alone.

She launched herself at the nearest one, slashing at it with her knife. It swatted her right at the wrist with its tail, knocking the blade free. She felt naked, with no weapon to her name. The creature was on her, and she had no choice but to fight. "You're not winning today!" She charged, slamming her fist into its head, sending it reeling. It was a solid hit, and the creature fell back, shaking its head.

Dasy flexed her fingers, a glint of light reminding her of her sharp claws. With a fierce cry of triumph, she lunged at the creature, slashing and tearing at its hide, her claws ripping through its scales. She tore a chunk of meat out of it, and the creature fell back, hissing in pain, its blood gushing out.

A third landed on her back, biting deep into her shoulder, causing her to scream in pain. She reached over her shoulder and grabbed the creature, pulling it off of her and flinging it to the ground. It landed with a thud, stunned.

"Enough," roared a new voice, power washing over her. The beasts were knocked back in a wave of magic that could not be denied by them, giving the students, Daisy included, a moment to breathe.

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She looked over and saw the source of that voice was her teacher, and she was standing tall, her arms crossed. She glared at the beasts, and they cowered, but did not flee. "Stay back," she got out in a growl. "I have stronger if you test me."

The beasts hissed, but they didn't advance. They were clearly wary of the teacher, as well as the students, who were now in a tight formation, watching the forest warily. Daisy picked up her fallen dagger.

When she returned to the class, they were staring at her when they weren't watching the beasts. "You're hurt," one noted sheepishly.

It was only then that Daisy realized that she was, in fact, hurt quite badly in several places.

She saw a status icon flashing, then fade. Her pain returned to her all at once and she fell to a knee. "Ow." Her tail lashed with annoyance. "What the hell? I didn't even realize."

The professor approached her, bending to check her wound. She was a stern cat woman, tail curling about as she worked. "You didn't realize until the effects of the battle lust faded. It's a known effect of combat, but I've never seen it so strongly on display. You fought well, but you got a little wild, didn't you?"

Daisy gave a nervous chuckle, her hand on her bleeding shoulder. She squeaked as a warm glow suffused her, bringing with it a strange delight that tingled all through her body. She shivered, feeling the warmth of the healing spell coursing through her. The wounds on her shoulder closed, the torn flesh sealing shut, though she was still left with a small scar, which she didn't mind. "Thank you."

The feline teacher nodded. "Thank you, for helping us keep them safe." She slapped Daisy on her mended shoulder. "Glad to have you with us." Daisy was helped to rise, and she did, shaking her head. The teacher turned to the others. "And you. You all fought well, but you have work to do. I'll be giving you a lot to work on." She turned to glare at Daisy. "That includes you. Not a single spell in all that? You need remedial catchup."

Daisy gave a nervous laugh, and the other students were laughing. "Yes, ma'am."

Her teacher snorted. "Yes, ma'am, she says." She laughed. "You're lucky." But she smiled too. "And strong. I hope your head is as mighty as those arms. Now, anyone else hurt?"

There were minor injuries, and those were healed by the teacher without a word. "Now, class, we're done for the day. Let's get back." As they were leaving, she looked at Daisy, and said, "You're going to be a great warrior, Miss Daisy."

Daisy colored at that. "I already am one of those, ma'am. I'd like to become a wizard."

"Greedy." The teacher laughed, leading the others back where they came despite the glares of the beasts. "But I can't say it's a bad trait to have. You want a lot, so you'll be motivated to learn a lot. You might just manage to pull it off, Miss Daisy."

Another student hurried to march next to Daisy. "I've never seen someone fight like that! It was awesome!" She was a small, green woman, like a goblin. She pumped an arm. "You were a whirlwind of death!" She was laughing, and Daisy's cheeks burned.

"Uh, thank you." Daisy was embarrassed, but she also felt a little proud, too. "I didn't get to see what everyone else was doing. What were you doing?"

The goblin girl bounced. "Oh, I was casting a spell that made a wall of fire to keep them off." She puffed herself up. "It was great, I kept a bunch of them from getting to the others."

Daisy slapped the goblin on her back. "That sounds smart. Good thinking. The critters didn't like the fire then?"

The goblin girl grinned, and shook her head. "Nope, they were terrified of it."

Daisy was walking with the goblin, when she felt the urge to look behind her. She could see the rest of the class with very different expressions, from joy to abject failure. The creatures were starting to thin out. At least until she felt a rumble. The ground was shaking. "What's that?"

The goblin girl looked around, and frowned. "I don't know, I've never heard anything like that before. Do you think it could be an earthquake?"

One of the teachers waved ahead. "Run, do not look back. This is not a drill. Run!"

Daisy didn't know why they had to run, but she didn't feel like arguing with that. She grabbed the goblin, and ran. The others were running too. She could see the beast that had been chasing them. Larger than the others, and fuzzier, it was like a great sabre toothed cat that had grown at least twice as large as one would ever expect.

Daisy's eyes went wide. "Oh, god." She wasn't sure what to do. "I don't want to fight that!" She kept running. "We'll get to the town, then the guards will deal with that, right?"

A teacher ran at full force beside her. "We're a little far. Maybe you could keep running that long, but we'll have to hope that thing gives up."

Daisy tossed the goblin into the teacher's arms. "Then we don't have much of a choice."

The teacher stared, her ears lifting. "What do you mean?"

Daisy spun to a stop, and turned to face the beast. "Fight that thing." She drew her dagger, and held her ground. "We fight and win, or lose and die."

The teacher set down the goblin, and gave Daisy a smile. "So be it." She raised her arms, and magical energy flowed around her. "I'll hold it as long as I can, but you have to kill it. I can already sense it'll resist my direct attacks."