"Good morning, everyone. Hope you all had a good rest. You've all done a great job in the past week. For now, we'll take a pause on learning any new skills. There's no point in only learning skills, instead, you need to balance it out by improving the mastery of what you've already learned. I want you all to first focus on Spirit Hands, Spirit Barrier, and Spirit Blast."

Boo. Learning skills was the fun part, having to practice them wasn't. Just like yesterday when Alwin inadvertently spent the whole day practicing his Spirit Blast on that darn wooden dummy. It was anything but enjoyable. The only thing that changed was his growing frustration. All he wanted was to obliterate that stubborn chunk of wood, but no matter how many times he hit it, the dummy looked fresh out of the carpenter's shop.

"But, I'll be letting you all practice these skills later. Today we've got quite a few things on the agenda. Today we'll be forming up squads."

Squads? As in teammates? Screw teammates. Alwin was a lone wolf, a soloist, a one-man army. At least, that's how he envisioned his perfect self to be like. In reality, he was a sloth who wished for someone else to handle the fighting, but he'd rather not let the others know. Maybe, just maybe, teammates weren't such a bad idea after all.

"Squads are an essential part of the Human Hunter Corp. When you face humans, and believe me, you will very soon, you need a team you can trust. Going solo is a one-way ticket to an early grave. Compatibility between squad mates is crucial. Based on my observations of you all over the past week, I'll be assigning you to your squads."

Who was Alwin going to be grouped up with? Hopefully, it wasn't anyone annoying. Honestly, as long as it wasn't Bion, Alwin would be fine. Yesterday, Bion had turned practice into a nightmare, constantly flinging Spirit Blasts at Alwin with a sheepish "Oops" every single time. By the end of the day, Alwin felt like a walking target, his frustration simmering with every fake apology.

"So now I'll be introducing the squads. Squad 1: Alwin, Gus, Uchronia. Squad 2: Clavis, Flintlock, Tess. Squad 3: Deb, Galeo, Phyll. Squad 4: Bion, Brie, Concord. These will be your squad mates for as long as you're in my class, no ifs ands or buts."

Gus and Uchronia. Who could have seen that coming, certainly not Alwin. This was the best possible outcome because he hadn't really been interacting with any of his classmates. Social interaction was hard, it was much easier to just stick to the two people that you were already acquainted with. The only downside was that he didn't really know much about his classmates. It was a pity because, he thought that some of their Core Skills were cool, much cooler than his defunct one.

"I want you all to discuss among yourselves who will be the squad leader. The squad leader will make the important decisions, especially when you're out in the field. Make sure you can all agree on the best person for the job. You have twenty minutes. After that, each squad will introduce their leader."

A series of groans filled the classroom, as the students quickly split off into their own individual groups. Alwin on the other hand just stayed put and waited for his two comrades to come to his desk for the discussion. The room buzzed with heated debates, voices overlapping as each group bickered over who should take the mantle of squad leader.

"So who's going to be the leader?" asked Gus.

"I don't know. Do you want to be it?" answered Alwin.

"I don't think that would be wise," said Uchronia. "I think it's better for all three of us if I be the squad leader."

"Sure," Alwin and Gus agreed.

"Really? That's it? None of you want to be the squad leader?" Uchronia's eyebrows shot up in disbelief. "This is an extremely important role. I thought everyone would be fighting over it."

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"Not really. Seems like a hassle," said Alwin.

"Yup," said Gus.

"But-but, this is the squad leader we're talking about. They're the ones in charge of all the major decisions, the ones leading the charge into battle, and the ones holding the team together. You're telling me none of you want such an important role?"

"Not really. Seems like a hassle," said Alwin.

"Yup," said Gus.

"That's it? So I'm just squad leader by default?” Uchronia's eyes narrowed. “Are both of you even taking this seriously? We're talking about a role that determines the lives of all three of us, and you can't even be bothered to have a proper discussion. You two couldn't even be bothered to change the way you responded to my question earlier."

"Not really. Seems like a hassle," said Alwin, with a sly grin.

"Yup," said Gus, with a toothy smile.

A deep frown settled upon Uchronia's face, as she gave Alwin a cold stare. A chilling sensation shot down Alwin's back. Ouch. Maybe he took this too far? It was funny to him, but he guessed not everyone shared the same sense of humor. He just hoped she wouldn't hate him after this.

"Fine. If that's the way you two want to behave then so be it. As squad leader, I'm going to work both of you to the bone. I don't want to see any slacking or snacking, especially during class. Got that?"

"Yes." Alwin and Gus gulped.

"Now let me think. I need to come up with a training regimen, then I'll run it by Mr. Milvus to make sure that it's feasible. After that, we can ask him to evaluate our progress on a regular basis… So, both of you are still at F rank for all of your skills, correct?"

"Yup." Alwin and Gus gulped.

"Good. I'll draft a schedule for us. Our main goal is to improve our skill mastery. I don't know exactly when we'll face humans for the first time, but Mr. Milvus said it would be soon. I want both of you to strive for A rank in all three of your Spirit skills, as well as your Species skill. Then after that we’ll work on working together as a squad."

"Hey, Gus. I'm kind of regretting letting her be the squad leader" Alwin whispered.

"Me too," Gus whispered back.

"What are you two whispering about?"

Alwin and Gus flinched, as they met eye-to-eye with Uchronia. She was glaring right at them.

"Nothing, nothing. Just talking about how glad we are to nominate you as our squad leader. Right, Gus?"

"What? I mean, yes!"

"Right... Now I need to organize a preliminary training schedule, so please try to be quiet. I’ll run it by Mr. Milvus before the end of the day."

Alwin and Gus sat in silence for the remainder of the discussion, their eyes glued to the floor, every fiber of their being tense with fear. Uchronia, lost in her thoughts, muttered under her breath, her leaf tail tapping rhythmically on her chair as she devised a plan to whip both of them into shape.

"Alright squads, please introduce your leaders," said Milvus. "Squad one, please go ahead."

The classroom fell silent, heads swiveling toward Alwin and his two squad mates. His heart rate increased as he felt all their eyes fall on him. Thank goodness, he wasn't the one plagued with the burden of speaking in public.

"Hello, I'm Uchronia, and I'm the squad leader for squad one."

"Great. Squad two?"

This time it was Alwin's turn to stare at another squad. His nerves eased as the attention shifted from him.

"My name is Clavis," said the Dark Slime. "I'm the squad leader, and I promise to help unlock my squad's potential."

The monster whose Core Skill was Lockpicking, promised to help unlock the potential of the others. Who would've thunk?

"Squad three?"

"I'm Galeo and our squad will be unstoppable with me around!"

It was an appropriate introduction for the guy whose Core Skill had the word unstoppable in its name.

"Last squad."

"Hello, I'm Bion, and I'm the squad leader for squad four."

Bion. Alwin hated the guy. He was mean to Alwin for absolutely no reason. Yesterday alone the jerk had thrown twenty-seven Spirit Blasts his way, to him and only him. Twenty-seven! To add salt to the wound, it was all with an innocent-looking smile on his face while claiming that it was an accident.

"So, these are your official squads and squad leaders. Now, onto something special. After observing you all for a week, we teachers think it's time for you to see what you're training so hard to defend. Let me introduce you to the city of Monsteria. Gather your things, everyone—it's time for a field trip!"