"My brother and I would be interested in joining your party," a girl's voice said from behind them.

Jun, Michael, and Aya whirled around, only to see that the aisle and desks around them were just as empty as they were before.

"Wha—eek!" Aya shrieked as Jun and Michael turned back around to see what was going on. Aya had jumped towards them, leaving a gap of several feet between herself and a tall, fair skinned girl with bright red hair cut short.

"I am Keira," she said with a bow. "I apologize for scaring you, but I am a scout and thought it best to demonstrate my ability."

Aya glared at the red-haired girl for a few seconds. "I wasn't scared, just surprised," she sputtered. Jun could see her friend's ears turning slightly pink, and she couldn't help but laugh internally. She'd never seen Aya flustered before, and it was pretty nice not being the one blushing for once.

Deciding she should support her friend, Jun stepped forward next to Aya and looked closer at the red-haired girl. She was tall and fair skinned with a sprinkle of freckles across her face and piercing green eyes. If she were wearing jeans and a flannel Jun would've thought her a farmer's daughter, but the numerous sheathed daggers strapped to her uniform belt reminded her of Sara in her adventurer gear. Jun glanced at Aya and made contact with her with a small smile.

"What do you mean, demonstrate your ability?" Aya asked.

"Exactly as I said. I am a scout. Speed and stealth are my specialty."

"I see. And you mentioned a brother?"

"Yes. My brother is a warrior of great skill despite his youth and low level. He already has advanced his skill in several weapons to the Apprentice rank."

"And where is this brother of yours?"

Instead of answering, Keira motioned for the 3 of them to follow and turned to head to the very back of the classroom. Jun and Aya exchanged looks and Jun shrugged. Sighing, Aya followed the strange girl with Jun and Michael close behind. The back of the classroom was poorly lit since the first mass exodus of students, and Jun had thought no one sat in the back anymore, but she was surprised to see a small handful of students, their dark uniforms helping them blend into the background. The red-haired girl stopped at the top row and gestured at someone in the dim lighting. The sound of a chair scraping against the wood floor preceded a boy standing up and quietly moved to stand behind Keira.

"This is my brother Cian. He is a warrior of great skill as I mentioned."

Jun, Aya, and Michael glanced at each other. Michael said nothing and Jun just shrugged again. In her mind, Aya was already the leader of their team, and she would defer to her friend's decision.

"Does your brother speak, or do you do all the talking for him?" Aya asked pointedly, staring at the siblings.

Cian seemed to cringe back in the dim lighting, shrinking in on himself and looking down. Keira turned to look at her brother and said something to him too quiet for the rest to hear. The boy nodded and mumbled something as several system screens appeared in front of Aya, Jun, and Michael.

[Boulders Crashing Form] (Apprentice 15) An intermediate weapons form specializing in blunt weapons meant to shatter defenses. Mana may be focused to improve the impact of weapons. May also be used unarmed at a lessened effect.

[Executioner's Blade] (Apprentice 07) An intermediate form for heavy slashing weapons including heavy axes, halberds, and great swords. Mana may be used to sharpen edges, improving the edges of blades. May also be used with smaller slashing weapons at lessened effect.

[Howling Gale of the North] (Initiate 03) An advanced weapons form specializing in thrusting forms for lance weapons, but may also be used with other weapons as lessened effect. Blows can be empowered with mana to increase the speed and range of thrusts, carrying the biting chill and fury of the Northern Winds.

Jun's eyes widened as she realized what she was seeing. She knew it was possible for people to share their skills, but she learned it was rarely done as people preferred to keep their exact statuses private. Tools such as the school's system scanners could provide basic information like general level, mana, and approximate stat ranges compared to the average person of that level, but not detailed information. She knew Shiori had some method to see others' system information, but her Master had remained tight lipped about how she did it, and refused to teach her when she asked. So this was the first time she'd seen another's skills, and they were impressive. [Boulders Crashing] and [Executioner's Blade] both sounded like intimidating weapon skills at Apprentice rank, but the truly surprising one was [Howling Gale of the North]. At Initiate rank, it was already a full rank above the other skills, and beyond anything Jun had given that nothing had inspired her to evolve her [Piercing Missile] spell yet.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"An Initiate rank weapons skill," Aya muttered in an impressed tone. Jun could just about see the gears turning in her friend's head as she thought things over. The subtle setting of her shoulders after close to 10 seconds signaled that she made a decision. "Welcome aboard, Keira and Cian," Aya said as she stuck her hand out.

Keira looked at Aya's hand curiously for a moment before gripping it and shaking it firmly. Cian merely bobbed his head and mumbled something quietly. "Cian says thank you for having us," Keira said, translating for her brother.

Nodding, Aya turned around and gestured to the front of the classroom. "Let's go see Professor Galimund." As Aya turned around, she looped her arm around Jun's and started leading the way to the Professor's class. Jun could see that several groups were already talking with advisors, and several advisors had already departed. One of the groups had Jun's opponent in Combat Skills, Melody, along with 3 other girls and 2 guys following behind one a gruff looking man as he led them out of the classroom.

"So, what do you think?" Aya whispered to Jun. "I went with my gut on the other 3, but I'm not sure."

"I trust you Aya. Michael seems nice enough, but Keira and Cian seem a bit off. But if your gut is saying it might be worth grouping with them... well I don't really know anyone else in class anyways," Jun said quietly. "Besides, you're the leader."

"I'm not the leader!"

Jun didn't respond as they got to Professor Galimund's desk. The intimidating man looked up at the 5 of them with a pen in his hand. "Have a team?" he asked.

"Aya, Jun, Michael, Keira, and Cian," Aya said, pointing to herself then each of them as she named everyone.

Professor Galimund nodded and jotted down each of their names. "Your advisor is Arwen Swiftwind," he said, pointing at an elven man with blond hair and a mix of leather and chainmail. Arwen was tall, well over 6 feet with the lean, athletic build of a runner. His hair was braided in a series of small braids with beads at the end. Hearing his name, he turned and smiled at the group and walked over.

"I'll take care of my students well Vice Leader," he said with a smile.

Professor Galimund just nodded and waved him away.

Turning to the group of 5, Arwen motioned for them to follow him and turned to walk out of the room.

"Wait, sir!" Aya called out, causing Arwen to freeze midstep and look at the girl. "Can you give us a minute to gather our stuff?"

"Very well, be quick about it," he sniffed, waving her away.

Not wanting to waste any time, Aya, Michael, Keira, and Cian ran back up to where they were sitting to gather their things, dodging out of the way of the still ensnared boys and leaving Jun alone with their advisor.

"I saw your spellwork with those 3 buffoons," Arwen said to Jun all of a sudden, gesturing to the obstacle Jun left in the middle of the stairs. "Well done Miss...?"

Jun blushed and nodded at the compliment. A worm of fear that she'd be in trouble for attacking other student had been gnawing at her for the past few minutes, but Professor Galimund hadn't said anything, and their advisor was even complimenting her on it. "Jun," she said, answering his question. "And, thank you sir," she said quietly.

"You're welcome, though you can release them now Miss Jun. They won't be causing any more trouble I'm sure," he said with a wink.

Nodding, Jun waited until Aya and the rest of her new team members had made it past the 3 perverts before she pulled her mana tendrils away from the magical construct. After a few seconds the conjured ropes vanished, and the 3 boys collapsed in a groaning heap, fully blocking the aisle as people glared at them.

Arwen eyed each of the students with a nod. "Right, got everything? We won't be coming back to this classroom," he said, before turning around and walking out the door before anyone could answer.

Exchanging a few looks, the 5 students hurried after their new advisor, catching up with him in the hallway. Aya and Keira attempted to engage the man in conversation while they walked, but he refused to respond and only moved faster and faster until none of them could spare the breath to talk. Several minutes after leaving the classroom behind, Arwen led them past the training fields to a small compound that Jun had never seen before. Here, Arwen slowed down as he led them through the compound's winding paths until they reached a door that led into a secluded courtyard filled with training dummies and a sand covered floor. As the 5 students filed in behind them, all but Cian and Keira huffing to catch their breath, Arwen turned and gestured gracefully around the room.

"Welcome to your new classroom for the rest of the term. While Introductory Delving is only a once a week class, you will meet with me every evening after your classes to train," Arwen smiled a predatory smile at the 5 of them. "If you fail to show up, I will hunt you down and drag you here. So please do remember not to be late."

Jun shivered at the man's smile. Something about it said that if she failed to show up on time, not even Shiori would be able to protect her. Shoving down her fear, she glanced at the rest of her new team. Aya stared at their professor like he just issued her a challenge that she wouldn't back down from. Michael and Keira both seemed unphased by the threat, while Cian was shaking and seemed to be trying to edge behind his sister. Each of them nodded at Arwen, causing the elf to smile wider. "That's the spirit! I do love students that are eager to learn. Now, for the most important bit. Who among you is the Team Leader?"

Aya, Jun, Michael, and Keira exchanged glances while Cian just stared at the floor. "I think Aya should be the leader," Jun said.

"Wait, what?! I'm no leader!"

"I agree, Aya would make a fine leader," Michael said suddenly.

"Cian and I agree."

"Looks like it's unanimous, Aya's the leader," Arwen said brightly. "Now, the first thing any team must do is understand each other's capabilities, so we'll start that immediately." Arwen walked to the far side of the courtyard and turned back around, his arms wide open. "Aya, as the leader, you're up first. Try to kill me."