Another day, another set of classes. After the rather enjoyable field trip yesterday, today's classroom lectures felt like wading through a sea of molasses. Alwin and the rest of his classmates listened as Milvus droned on and on about the basics of combat.

"When you hunt humans, the first thing you need to do is establish your position. Whether it's offense, defense, or support, you need to decide what role you'll play," explained Milvus, pulling out a piece of chalk, and proceeding to draw three circles on the blackboard.

Offense was self-explanatory. Being on the offensive meant to attack, to strike out, and to drive the fight. Defense was to hinder the enemy's attacks and shield allies from harm. Finally, the third type of role was to support. Supporters worked in the background, aiding and assisting their teammates, and using their skills to make the battle a little easier for them, the unsung heroes working behind the scenes.

"Since there are three of you per squad, I recommend that each of you take up one respective role. That is one offense, one defense, and one support. Of course, these are simply guidelines, not strict rules. If all three of you want to focus on offense that’s a viable strategy as well."

"Mr. Milvus, what's the best way to determine our roles?" Uchronia asked, raising her tail.

"A great question," Milvus said.

Alwin, like the rest of the class, leaned forward, hoping for a good answer.

"It all comes down to understanding yourself. Your strengths, weaknesses, and what kind of fighting style you're most comfortable with. Some like to fight at close range, while others prefer to use spells from afar. Each and every single one of you has different styles, preferences, and strategies. So, talk it over with your squad and figure out what suits you best. Once you’ve made your choices, come see me. I’ll help you fine-tune your roles and make sure they’re a perfect fit."

With that, the lecture for the day drew to a close, and the bell rang.

"In case any of you were dozing off during class, we'll be changing the timetable a bit. Starting today, lectures are only in the morning. Afternoons are now for practical skill development. The classroom will be set to training grounds mode and you can use it to hone your skills or have mock fights with one another. Use this time wisely because, in a few weeks, you'll face a practical assessment to see if you're ready for your first jump into the human world. I’ll let you all know when is it"

Alwin expected some sort of reaction from the class. Perhaps excitement or even nervousness, but the room remained eerily calm like everyone had already heard the news. Everyone but Alwin. Something in his gut and it definitely wasn't this morning's breakfast, told him that this announcement was dedicated just for him. It definitely wasn't the fact that Milvus was staring at him and only him the whole time that he spoke. It definitely wasn't that.

After a quick, barely satisfying lunch, courtesy of Uchronia and much to the disappointment of Alwin and Gus, the trio were back in the classroom. It had been transformed into training ground mode, where the desks and chairs were instead replaced with those blasted wooden dummies that Alwin could never seem to destroy. He glared at them, vowing revenge for all the time and energy they had stolen from him.

"Alwin, stop getting lost in thought and focus," Uchronia said.

"What? I was focusing, but just on something else."

"Well, can you focus on me first? As the squad leader I need to decide who is best suited for what role, and it'll be a lot easier if you actually contribute to the discussion instead of just doing whatever it is you're doing. I want a balanced team, so one defense, one support, and one offense."

"Fine. Don't need to be such a sour leaf."

Uchronia shot Alwin a dirty look, and now he felt like he needed a shower just to rid himself of that dirt.

"So, I feel that Gus would be great at defense. If we can leverage that Devour ability of yours you could theoretically eat away all of our opponents' attacks," Uchronia said, scribbling notes onto a pad of paper with the help of Spirit Hands. "But, that would mean you could theoretically eat away all of our opponent's defenses as well."

"I think I'd make a good defense guy. They can throw all their attacks at me then I'll get some free lunch. It sounds so much easier than having to chase them just to eat them," said Gus.

"Well, that settles Gus' role. Now for you Alwin."

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"Me? Well, I'll lead the offense. I'll go in and just start blasting away at all those scummy humans. Bang. Boom. Bam. Pow. All over the place."

"So, the only two skills you know are Dark Tackle and Spirit Blast, and they're both F-ranked correct?"

"Yup. Problem?"

"Actually, yes. Two F-ranked skills won't be enough. You'll have to hone your mastery of your skills and preferably gain more offensive-based skills."

"I didn't hear you complaining about Gus' skills," complained Alwin.

"Well, Gus actually has control over his Core Skill, unlike you. Of course, I would like him to increase his mastery over Spirit Barrier and learn more defensive-oriented skills, but right now you're the biggest liability in this squad.

"Me? What about you? All you've got are F-ranked skills and you don't even have any skills that are remotely supportive. If anything, you're the bigger liability."

"Correction, all of my skills are E-ranked except my Core Skill and while you're right that I don't have any support-based skills, I intend to fix that issue by visiting the library. Right now, you’re the biggest liability in this squad. I expect you to address that. And you’d better adjust your attitude, especially towards your squad leader. I won’t tolerate any insubordination. Clear?”

"Yes," Alwin sighed. "I'm sorry."

"Now, both of you wait here. I'm going to run our squad lineup by Mr. Milvus first," said Uchronia.

"Shouldn't we, you know, be there?" asked Alwin.

"Do I have to? I don't mind just waiting here," said Gus.

"The only reason I don't want you two tagging along is because you won't show Mr. Milvus any respect. If both of you can be on your best behavior, then by all means, please join me."

"I'm good. I'll just wait here with a muffin."

Where in blazes was Gus even hiding that thing? Well, it didn't matter. Right now, Alwin had to put his best foot forward. Best slimy body forward? If there was a Spirit Hands skill, did that mean there was a Spirit Foot skill? If he learned that, maybe he'd finally be able to put his best foot forward—literally.

"I'll go. I promise to be on my best behavior," said Alwin.

"She already left. You were doing that thinking thing where your face kept scrunching up and stuff. She got all huffy and just left," said Gus as he munched on a chocolate muffin.

"Wait, what? Where is she now?" asked Alwin.

"Talking to Milvus. I thought that was obvious," said Gus, munching on a second muffin, this time a vanilla one.

Alwin looked to the front of the classroom, where he saw Uchronia conversing with Milvus. Abandoning him like that? No way. Only one thing left to do: dash in and hope the conversation wasn't over yet. Alwin rushed to the front, and skidded to a halt between his squad leader and his teacher, nearly toppling over from the momentum.

"Well, glad you could join us, Alwin. Uchronia and I were discussing the roles within your squad. I believe that the roles assigned to you all are appropriate, but remember that you shouldn't focus solely on the skills associated with those roles," said Milvus.

"Meaning?" asked Alwin.

"What Mr. Milvus is saying is that since you're going to be focusing on offense, it's good to learn and practice more offensive skills, but you shouldn't neglect other types of skills like defense, support, or even utility," said Uchronia.

"Exactly that, Uchronia. Good job."

"Thank you, Mr. Milvus," said Uchronia, bowing her head.

"You're welcome. Also, I hope you'll consider what kind of support role you'd like to pursue. The support role is broad, with many subcategories and niches. Start by visiting the library to research different skills. Then from there, decide how you want to best support your squad."

"Thank you for your advice, Mr. Milvus."

"Welcome, and if you have any more questions feel free to ask. Also, I've looked over the training outline for your squad. It's generally okay, but I suggest moving up the squad training part of your plan."

“How come?” asked Uchronia.

"I think it would benefit you more to practice working together as a squad for a longer period."

“Hmmm, but I think it’s better to focus more on our individual skills first.”

“If you insist. I was only providing a suggestion. Anything else?”

“I still don’t know how to use my Core Skill, Milvus,” said Alwin. It was embarrassing, but he really needed to say it. No idea why he didn’t ask for help earlier. It might’ve been due to laziness, anxiety or maybe he just straight up forgot.

“I’ve known ever since the simulation. Sometimes you just need a bit of time before you finally get a hang of it. Take some time to keep trying and if you really can’t feel free to let me know and we can work something out.”

“Thanks, teach.”

“Now, anything else?”

“I don’t think so,” said Uchronia

“Then let’s end the meeting here.”

"Thanks, Milvus."

"Thank you, Mr. Milvus."

"Welcome students," said Milvus, waving a paper tentacle at the duo as they went to retrieve Gus.

"So what are we doing now?" asked Gus, chomping on a banana muffin.

"We're going to the library to pick up more skills," declared Uchronia.

The library... this was definitely going to be a snoozefest, a siesta festival. Hopefully, there'll be a book about Spirit Foot or was it Spirit Feet? Whatever it was, Alwin was sure he'd kick some serious butt once he mastered that skill. Onward to the library!