Alwin strutted out of the sparring room as best an ant perpetually on fire could strut. Head held high, one slow step at a time while swaying his abdomen and thorax side to side. After all, he deserved this. He had emerged victorious from a fight against several trained cultivators. Alwin wanted to relish every bit of that glorious feeling, especially since the odds had been stacked against him.

Oh yes. How sweet his victory tasted. Yes. Sweet victory, indeed.

When Alwin finally made it out of the sparring room—because his extravagant strut of celebration was just that slow—he found Milvus staring at him, clapping two of his paper-thin tentacles. Doubt crept into Alwin's mind. Why was Milvus outright praising him? It must be a trap. It had to be a trap. Milvus was about to pull out some dumb loophole and fail Alwin because Milvus was a big meanie like that. The Five Elemental Cultivators were just a warm-up, the true test was Milvus. He'd have to knock some sense into him. Alwin could feel it in his bones.

"Good job over there, Alwin," said Milvus.

"Of course! I'm just that good."

"About that..."

This was it. This was the part where Milvus was about to say that he failed. The moment those words came out of his mouth, Alwin would dish out a world of hurt to his teacher. Now, all he had to do was wait for those fateful words. Just utter them already! Come on Milvus. Stop teasing and let's rumble!

"In terms of raw power, I'd rate you at the bottom of the class right next to Tess."

Tess? So you're saying Alwin's strength was comparable to the girl who specialized in defense? Ordinarily, that would be bad, but this was Alwin we're talking about. Milvus was obviously complimenting him. There's a saying, "The best defense is a good offense." And Tess? She had the best defense in the entire class with her 'Unbreakable Shield' that was neigh unbreakable, unless Alwin felt like doing a little breaking. That meant she had a good offense, most likely the best offense in the whole class. Since Alwin was comparable to Tess, that meant his offense was as good as hers. The result? Alwin was super awesome! Looks like even though he was currently an ant, deep down the slime part of him still prevailed—because look at those amazing leaps of logic!

"But, in terms of ingenuity, I'd say you're about second place, right behind Uchronia."

What was that? Alwin was a genius? Well, that was obvious. Who else but Alwin could come up with such amazing plans that no one, not even himself could foresee? That was the hallmark of a true genius! Now, he just had to surpass Uchronia. He'd let her have the title for now. That was because Alwin was a cruel mastermind. He'd let her relish in the fact that she was number one, only for him to rip that title out of her cold green leafy limbs. It was going to be the most delicious salad ever prepared with a side dressing of despair.

"Excuse me, Alwin. If you could pay attention while I'm giving you feedback, that would be much appreciated," said Milvus, tapping Alwin on the head.

Alwin was knocked out of his thoughts, staring at the person who dared to interrupt his internal monologue. That was weird. Milvus looked like he was made of paper, so how did he not catch on fire from touching him? Maybe there wasn't enough activation energy or something. Alwin wasn't a chemist so how should he know? Enough observational skills. Now, back to getting praised by Milvus.

"While you lacked the strength to overwhelm the enemy, you made up for it with tactics. While I put an emphasis on combat skills, know that utilizing everything you have in your arsenal is the hallmark of a good Human Hunter, which includes the environment. Using the area around you to your advantage is key during fights. For example, the doorway to the Sparring Room, you managed to create a chokepoint to restrict their movement—that was clever. While everyone else limited their fight to this part of the room, you were the only one who thought to expand the battlefield by heading into the Sparring Room. However, I still have my reservations about the skills that Minister Lapis has taught you. I must say that I have never seen someone use a baker's skill in such a way. It was innovative to say the least, manipulating the properties of your Spirit Hands and Spirit Bombs to give you the boost you needed to win the fight, but I still have my doubts. Unfortunately, you did let yourself fall into mana exhaustion which is pretty much a death sentence, but utilizing your knowledge about the area you managed to cheat death by using the emergency Mana Pills in the Sparring Room."

This was it. The moment that Milvus was about to say he failed because he cheated. When he did that, he'd launch a surprise attack to defeat Milvus and force him to say he passed. It was the ultimate plan!

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"Overall, I give you a pass. Congratulations, Alwin, looks like I was wrong about my preconceived notions about Minister Lapis' teachings. They are a bit unorthodox, but it seems that it's working out for you. Although, I still believe that leaning toward more combat-oriented skills is the better approach."

Alwin was already charging up a Fire Bite, the flames on his mandibles blazing with a burning passion. Wait! Did Milvus say he passed? Was this a trick? A way for Alwin to lower his guard? That must be it! He had to attack now!

"Fire Bite!"

Alwin lunged forward, ready to snap Milvus in half. His attack was fast and furious, but Milvus just took one step back. Milvus dodged his attack? Impossible. Alwin continued to lunge at Milvus, snapping his mandibles close, aiming to split him open like a nut. Each time Alwin attacked, Milvus simply took one step back. Every move that Alwin made, Milvus saw it coming. Again and again, all that Alwin hit was air. This was impossible!

"Alwin, there's no need to get upset. You've passed the test," said Milvus, with the slightest hint of a smile on his face.

"I did?" said Alwin, unsure whether Milvus was mocking him or not.

"Yes, you did. I'll go get the classroom and sparring room cleaned up. You can go have your lunch break and prepare for afternoon training. Also, you can either do it in the Training Grounds Classroom or go visit Lapis to tell her the news."

"Awesome!" shouted Alwin, completely forgetting his plan to attack Milvus, not like it was needed anymore.

Milvus slithered a tentacle over to the teacher's desk, the appendage coiling around the wooden frame, and pressed a button underneath the desk. There was a faint click and the section of flooring underneath him began to descend into the ground. As Milvus sank into the floor, he waved Alwin goodbye.

Now that was a stylish exit. Too bad the room was still a disaster zone, littered with chunks of debris and dominated by a gaping crater—the aftermath of five elemental dragons trying to turn Alwin into their next meal. Maybe Milvus had to get things set up below before sending up a replacement for all the wrecked parts. Who knows? Not Alwin. And who cares? Definitely not Alwin.

With that, Alwin strutted out of the classroom, ready to take a well-deserved break. It was another walk whose slowness rivaled that of a snail race. Each step was followed by a tiny little bounce as Alwin sauntered toward the door. Victory was sweet! You know what was even sweeter? Dessert! Lapis would surely reward him with cakes when she found out the good news.

As Alwin approached the door, ready to make his grand exit, he collided with something—or rather, someone. The sight of a yellow-furred monster sporting a large pout. He was mid-bite, munching on a sandwich as though it were his last meal ever.

"Whoops, sorry about that," the person said, crumbs falling from his mouth. Let's be real, we all knew that person was Gus.

"Wait!" Gus shouted, staring at Alwin as if he were the tastiest snack in the world. "You're, Winal! What are you doing here! Me and Flintlock have a million things to say to you!"

Alwin or perhaps he was now Winal, stared at Gus trying to come up with a way to defuse the situation. Before, he could even process his first thought, another voice came screeching in and pulling his mind out of his ears.

"Who's Winal?" said the potted plant monster, Uchronia. "And what did you do in here? It's a mess!"

"Nothing..." Winal said, hoping his strategy of denying everything would pan out like it always did.

"More importantly, what did you do to Alwin and Mr. Milvus? I saw Alwin staying back with Mr. Milvus and knew something fishy was going on. There's no way he would stay after class to learn. Especially not on a day where class was let out early."

Uchronia was mad. Winal could transform back into his slime form and everything would be hunky-dory, almost everything. If he did that, then he'd have to explain to Gus and Flintlock about why he attacked them with a muffin. Even worse, he'd have to apologize for his actions. Just the thought of that made Winal shudder. It was a fate worse than death.

"It was already like that when I came in here," said Winal trying his best to play it cool—a near-impossible feat for a monster on fire.

"Looks like we have to do this the hard way," said Uchronia, glaring at him.

She stepped forward, never losing eye contact. Fear. That was what he was feeling. With every step Uchronia took forward, Winal instinctively took one back. There was no way he would lose a fight against her. She was a literal walking plant while he was an ant that was always on fire. So, why was he terrified of her? Why was he being forced back into the classroom?

Gus followed suit, hopping behind her. He glared at Winal while eating a sandwich spilling crumbs all over the already messy floor. If anything, it made the situation less tense. As they walked past the door, he reached out with his free paw, grabbed the handle, and pulled the door shut with a surprising amount of care. If Intimidation 101 was a class, Gus would've failed before his first lesson. By all means, Winal should've been more terrified of Gus. As much as Winal didn't want to admit it, Gus was strong. Maybe even stronger than him. But, his antics were downplaying the fact that this was supposed to be an intimidating scene.

"Last chance. What did you do to Alwin and Mr. Milvus?" said Uchronia.

This was his last chance to reveal that Winal was actually Alwin. On one hand, they wouldn't have to fight. On the other hand, he'd have to apologize to Gus and Flintlock, thus ruining his reputation beyond repair. Decisions, decisions.

"I didn't do anything," said Winal.

"Then, I'll just have to beat the information out of you," said Uchronia.