Pop quiz, already? That was a shocker. But then again that was the whole point.

"What do you mean pop quiz? When did he announce this? Did you two know about this?" Uchronia turned to Alwin and Gus for answers.

"Nope," Gus said, while Alwin shook his head or body depending on how you classify slime physiology.

"Crap," muttered Uchronia.

"It is a bit sudden, but that's the whole point. You think those humans will let you all prepare for a fight? They'll ambush you when you least expect it."

"What do you think we're going to do?" asked Alwin.

"No idea," replied Gus.

"Crap, crap, crap. Let me think. I wasn't prepared for this. I thought there’d be an announcement and then we’d have some time before the thing so that I could rework the schedule. So that’s why Milvus asked me to move up the squad work during our first consultation. Crap. We didn't even have time to practice working together. Crap, crap, crap. I was too focused on working on myself and getting you two to improve your skills. I thought we had more time. But wait, is the pop quiz a squad thing, a solo thing, or a random grouping?"

"Do you know how to calm her down," Alwin whispered to Gus.

"Nope."

"The pop quiz is simple. Work together in your squads to defeat the enemy. If any one of you gets knocked out, the whole squad is disqualified. Good luck."

"Good luck? We're starting now?" exclaimed Alwin.

"Crap, crap, crap. We're not ready. What if we fail? Crap, crap, crap," said Uchronia.

Milvus reached under his desk to press a button. The chairs and desk vanished into the ground, but instead of the usual wooden dummies that populated the classroom when it was in training grounds mode, walls sprung up, separating everyone into their respective squads.

"Huh. Neat," said Alwin.

"We're not ready. We're not ready. We're not ready. This is my fault. I should have listened to Milvus. I thought I knew better. Crap, crap, crap," whimpered Uchronia.

"Can you just relax?" groaned Alwin. "We'll be fine."

"But... I failed as the squad leader. I made a horrible plan and didn’t listen to Milvus. Now we're going to suffer for it. It's all my fault."

"If we fail then so what? We just take the quiz again."

"How do you know that? What if we can only take the quiz once? What if they kick us out of the academy cause we failed."

"Then we wear disguises and sneak in as new students."

"But they'll catch us and kick us out."

"Says who? Maybe they'll think, 'Wow these students are so dedicated we should give them a second chance'."

"That's just dumb."

"But it might work and if it works is it really dumb? What I'm trying to say in a really weird way is that it's not like we'll always know everything. Just got to find a way to work things out with whatever we've got and if it fails we'll just try again."

"I guess... But—"

"Uh, guys. Something's happening," interrupted Gus.

From the floor rose not a chair or a desk, but a suit of armor about the height of an average human. Two holes the size of a pencil, that functioned as eyes, glowed with a faint yellow light. At the end of the metal gauntlet, the steel hand curled inward, forming a fist. On the other arm, a blade extended outward, sharp and glistening under the classroom light. With each mechanical step, the heavy boots clanged against the tiled floor.

"Is that what we're fighting?" asked Gus.

"Apparently," said Alwin.

"Crap, crap, crap. What do we do? We've never fought together before. This is a disaster. That guy looks tough. He looks tougher than the wooden dummies. They haven't even given us any time to make a battle plan."

"We just beat him until he can't move. Easy," said Alwin.

"But, the knight could be a she," said Gus.

"Ok, then we just beat him or her until he or she can't move. Easy," said Alwin.

"Watch out!" yelled Uchronia.

Alwin narrowly avoided being sliced in two as the mysterious metal foe swung its sword arm, embedding the blade deep within the wall behind. The sword arm made a loud grinding sound as it pulled free from the wall, leaving a jagged gash in its wake.

"I'll try to support. Gus you focus on defending us and Alwin you go all out. Throw everything at him. Don't hold anything back, " commanded Uchronia.

"Yes, boss!" cheered Alwin.

Gus positioned himself in front of the knight, with Alwin and Uchronia taking refuge behind him. Uchronia had her eyes sealed shut as she mumbled something under her breath. Was she praying? Why now?

"Here he or she comes!" yelled Gus.

Alwin spun around just in time to see the metal foe raising its blade high, poised to slice through them. Gus had other plans in mind. He leaped up into the air to intercept the blade— not with a Spirit Barrier or with any new defensive skills that he had supposedly learned. Nope, he caught the blade with his mouth.

There was a loud crunch as Gus sunk his teeth into the metal like a crocodile snapping a boat in half. Alwin stared, speechless, as his comrade chomped and crunched the weapon. This was technically the plan when Uchronia proposed that Gus be in charge of defense, but to see it actually come to fruition was simply unbelievable.

The knight clearly didn't like what Gus was doing to his arm-blade. It wrenched his free arm back, preparing a punch, but Uchronia was already onto it. Turns out she wasn't praying, but instead preparing a skill. She rushed towards the knight and using her leaf tail tapped the metal man or woman on the ankle.

"Slow!" she yelled out.

The knight's fist moved at a glacial pace, giving Gus ample time to move out of the way. After snapping the blade in half with his teeth, he landed with a thud, backing off while chewing on the metal chunks like they were a tough piece of beef jerky. The room echoed with the bizarre crunching sound of Gus turning the blade into metallic mush, his jaws working overtime.

"Quick! Attack! My skill won't last that long!" shouted Uchronia.

Right. This was no time to be impressed by his squad mates. Now it was Alwin's turn to shine and show off the fruits of his labor. Maybe after this, he'll treat himself to a banana split for dessert. Watch out metal monstrosity, time to meet your maker!

"Spirit Blast!" Alwin yelled out.

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The ball of magic manifested in front of Alwin before zipping off towards the knight. It hit dead center, exploding on contact. For a moment Alwin felt confident that the attack had finished the knight, but a single glance told him otherwise. There was no blackened armor, no bits of metal flying in every direction, no fiery explosion. There was only a tiny scratch mark on the chest plate.

The knight now charged toward the trio, lumbering with each step. It was like Alwin's recurring nightmare where he sprouted legs and was being chased by something. The legs felt like lead, and every desperate stride barely moved him forward.

"Watch out!" shouted Uchronia.

In a heartbeat, the dream-like haze shattered, yanking Alwin back to harsh reality. The knight sped up, its charge now resumed a normal pace, which was still much faster than Alwin's pathetic little leaps.

"Haste!" yelled Uchronia, as she touched both Gus and Alwin.

Alwin felt his body become lighter—did he lose weight? No time for gawking over his sudden weight loss, the knight was already upon them. The knight swiped at the group with his unarmed hand. Gus leaped towards the blow, jaws wide open, but his newfound speed was his downfall. Gus overshot his target, chomping on nothing but air before crashing face-first into the ground. Uchronia had fared better, obviously used to the rapid increase in speed, dashing out of the way. Alwin? Not so lucky. Luck was an ever-fleeting ally in battle. Sure, he managed to roll out of the way of the incoming attack, but he managed to smack right into the wall. There was a dull thud as the side of his slimy body plastered itself against the cold stone.

"I need help here," screamed Uchronia.

Ah, the sting of humiliation, just how Alwin remembered. The knight raised its foot up and stomped down, trying to squash Uchronia like a bug. Fortunately, her new speed kept her one step ahead as she narrowly avoided the crushing blow, leaving only a small crack in the ground instead of a pile of plant mush.

The yellowish glow in the knight's eye slits flared, illuminating the room. It raised its shattered sword arm high, the jagged edge catching the light like a shard of glass in the morning sun. The broken edge began to reform itself, melding back together until the blade had been repaired.

Alwin rolled back up, a twinge of pain running through his body, no thanks to that wall. Who decided it was a good idea to put a wall there! Whatever, it was a minor setback, and the fight was far from over. There were plenty more moves left in his playbook and this knight had no idea what was about to hit it.

"Spirit Scatter Blast!" yelled Alwin.

The blue ball of magic hurled towards the knight. It raised its sword up, in a pointless bid to defend itself, because halfway through its flight the orb detonated. Like a firework, the orb scattered into dozens of smaller blasts, engulfing the knight in a hailstorm of spirit attacks. The knight swung wildly, hoping to somehow block the balls of magic, but it was unable to defend against Alwin's onslaught of attacks.

Still, even after taking on a Spirit Scatter Blast, the knight stood tall. Only the tiniest of scratches marred the surface of the armor. Why was this hunk of junk so durable! At least, it wasn't as sturdy as that dumb wooden dummy. That was all the motivation Alwin needed to keep going, that and the possibility of becoming a slime kebab.

"Spirit Burst Blast!" yelled Alwin.

Another ball of blue magic shot forth from Alwin. The knight intercepted the blast with its sword arm, but that was exactly what Alwin had hoped for. An explosion of blue mana engulfed the knight, but when the smoke cleared, the knight remained standing. Its sword was cracked, the blade chipped, but the knight was ready to keep going.

The knight lumbered closer to Alwin, its gaze boring holes into the slime. It lifted up its sword arm, intent on delivering the finishing blow. Alwin could have moved out of the way, but he had a plan, one that would surely boost the morale of his squad. Probably. If not this would be added to his ever-growing list of stupid plans. As the blade plunged downward, Alwin stared death in the face, watching the blurry silver object swing closer and closer, inch by inch. He knew what he was doing, at least that's what he hoped.

"I'm here to save the day!"

Gus came barreling out from the side, catching the blade with his jaw. He chomped down hard on the blade, then wrenched his head backward, breaking the weapon for the second time.

"Nice job, Gus!" praised Uchronia.

The knight stumbled backward, retreating to a corner of the room. It raised its shattered blade toward the ceiling, the yellow lights in its eyes flaring brightly. The jagged edge shimmered and began to meld, piece by piece, until the blade reformed, whole once again.

"Anyone got any ideas? Alwin?" asked Uchronia.

"Just keep blasting it?" suggested Alwin.

"I could try eating it. But, he or she doesn't taste very good," said Gus.

"Crap, um... Alwin, blast it from a distance, and Gus, you try to bite it, but aim for the sword first. I'll try and help Alwin."

With its sword arm at the ready, the knight charged towards the group. Gus leaped to intercept, meeting it halfway, catching the blade with his teeth.

Alwin had other ideas in mind, hopefully this one wouldn't be added to his list of stupid plans. He summoned five pairs of hands, four of them forming a square high above the metal monster's reach. The last pair of hands remained by his side, awaiting the orders of its eccentric master.

"What are you doing!" screamed Uchronia.

"Something that might look cooler in my head!"

The pair of hands grabbed Alwin by his sides and with a mighty toss, hurled him upward towards another set of hands. The solitary floating hand rejoined its brethren, the square reforming into a pentagon. Alwin found himself being passed between the five pairs of hands, flung from one set to the next like a game of hot potato.

"How is that supposed to help us?" cried Uchronia.

"It's so that it can't hit me. One less thing to worry about!" shouted Alwin as he soared through the air.

"But you're just throwing yourself around."

"Trust me!"

Alwin soared through the air, gaining a bird's-eye view of the chaos below. He could see Gus, gnawing away at the armored foe's ankle. Every time the knight attempted a swing, Gus would flip around to intercept the incoming blade. Uchronia, on the other hand, had her eyes shut tight as she muttered some words under her breath.

As he soared through the sky, now was the time for his master plan to finally take shape. From his aerial vantage point, Alwin launched a volley of Spirit Blasts, Spirit Scatter Blasts, and Spirit Burst Blasts from above, sending a bombardment of magic raining down onto the unsuspecting metal foe. Occasionally, an insult or two would fly out as well, but those did little to harm the metal maniac.

The metal knight was bathed in a torrent of magic as the barrage of blasts fell from above. Alwin's assault continued, nonstop, as he threw everything he had at the knight. There was a cacophony of explosions as the Spirit attacks detonated in a blaze of glory. Gus was still clinging onto the knight's ankle, chomping and biting as fast as his tiny little teeth could.

Uchronia opened her eyes, no longer mumbling some incantation, instead, she whispered something imperceivable to Alwin. A bright light emanated from her body, engulfing it. When the light faded, another version of herself stood by her side, a Furball.

The original Uchronia tapped her counterpart with her leaf, blessing her with Haste. With the power of speed, the duplicate darted off into a blur of orangey brown. She tackled the knight's other leg, letting loose a storm of electricity on her foe. Was that Static Pounce? Alwin couldn't tell. Between the explosions from his own attacks and him being forced to yell out his moves, hearing wasn't exactly on the agenda.

The original Uchronia joined in on the attack. Swiping away at their target using her thorn-covered tail. It looked like Thorny Leaf, but who's to say? Probably Uchronia since she had to yell out the name of her skill, but Alwin couldn’t hear it. The metal foe failed to swat away the annoying pests, its blade either clamped shut by Gus or used to ward off the flying magical projectiles.

Finally, the knight was beginning to show signs of wear. The metal plates, that once sparkled under the crystal light, were blackened and scratched in multiple places. The smooth plate along its shoulder had been torn clean off, revealing the mechanism beneath. It was like the guts of a clockwork toy—gears, sprockets, levers, and pulleys, all lined up neatly. It reminded him of Bion. That no good, meanie, slimeball.

Alwin aimed his plethora of blasts right at its exposed shoulder. At least, he tried to. Accuracy wasn't on the list of things that he practiced, and being tossed willy-nilly every couple of seconds didn’t exactly help. Whenever he did hit his mark, he could hear the whine of gears grinding up as they were blasted to pieces. The knight raised its remaining arm to cover its neck and head, shielding itself from the barrage, but it was pointless.

There was a loud shriek as the knight froze up. The light in its eyes went out. It slumped forward, hitting the ground with a thunderous clang.

"Yes! We did it!" cheered Alwin, from high above.

Gus stopped chewing on the knight's foot. His jaws slowly closed and let go of the armor. Uchronia stopped attacking too, both she and her clone backed off. They both stared at the metal knight, anticipating another surprise.

"Do we pass?" asked Gus.

"I think so," said both Uchronias in unison.

Alwin tossed himself back to the ground, a pair of Spirit Hands awaited him to help soften the landing. After disembarking from his turbulent flight, he glanced around the room, keeping an eye out for any suspicious activity, but it appeared to be clear.

The tiles below the knight began to descend downwards, bringing the metal scrap pile with it. Down and down the platform went, vanishing into the ground. The quartet stared into the abyss below, hoping for any form of answer, but the tiles below them shifted until the hole was covered up.

"I'm going to go now. Good luck," said Uchronia's other version of herself. She gave the trio a wink, before disappearing in a burst of light.

"Now what?" said Alwin.

The walls that had separated the trio from the rest of the class sank back down into the ground, revealing the rest of their classmates. All of them shared an equally confused look. What was supposed to happen now?

"Congratulations class! All of you have passed and you're almost ready for your first tango with some humans," said Milvus.

"What do you mean by almost ready, Mr. Milvus?" asked Uchronia.

"That's what I'm going to go over now."