Chairs and desks emerged from the floor, giving the students a place to sit. Gus plunked himself down, laying his chin down on the desk. Alwin jumped up and claimed his seat, settling in. Uchronia tucked her leaf tail through the gap at the bottom, making sure it wouldn't be squished under the chair.

"First, let me ask you all a question. Do you know why you all just went through a trial?" asked Milvus.

"To see if we're prepared to face off against humans," replied Uchronia.

"That's pretty much the gist of it. We've purposely made the trial harder than the standard human that you’ll encounter out in the Forest of Beginnings. You’re all valuable students of the academy, and I’d rather you be prepared than, well, dead."

"Humans are that weak?" asked Bion. "Lame."

Milvus chuckled before saying, "No. If they were, they would've been wiped out ages ago. The Forest of Beginnings is where many humans start out their adventuring journeys. It's the perfect place to send our first year students to gain some experience and that's where all of you will be going soon."

The class grew rowdy, excitement coursed through the air. There were dozens of conversations sprouting up in an instant.

"Quiet down!" ordered Milvus.

The whispers died out, the noise ceased.

"Good. Now, like I was saying, the Forest of Beginnings is the ideal destination for all of you, but for now you'll only be making a day trip. Just long enough for you to get enough essence to go through your first evolution."

Essence? Evolution? That sounded awesome! A new cooler Alwin was on the horizon and he could hardly wait.

"Right now all of you are Tier 1 monsters. After you evolve you'll become a Tier 2 monster. Evolution means becoming stronger, and becoming stronger means that we're one step closer to wiping out those humans."

Milvus began to pace the length of the classroom.

"There are two important things to take note of about evolution. One, you can only evolve when you've gained enough essence. The easiest way to gain essence is by absorbing it from slain foes. Two, what you evolve into is influenced by your actions. For example, if I have been only practicing fire elemental moves I would have a higher likelihood of becoming a fire element monster."

So, since Alwin had been focusing on Spirit attacks this whole time, did that mean he would become a Spirit Slime? Honestly, it sounded like he'd died and turned into a ghost. It didn't sound cool at all—more horrifying than anything.

"In three days you all will be departing to the Forest of Beginnings. So, make sure that you all are well prepared. As long as you've been paying attention during the morning lectures you should be fine. I've taught you all everything you need to know for now so there won’t be any more lectures, instead, you should use the time to get ready. I'll still be here if you need any help so feel free to ask. That's all for today. Dismissed!"

Alwin sprang from his seat and scrambled out of the classroom with Uchronia and Gus. Their destination: the cafeteria.

Amid the munching of the trio, Uchronia paused to talk.

"Guys... I'm sorry about earlier."

"What about it?" asked Gus, with a mouthful of cheese.

"I was a horrible leader. I just froze up and panicked. I even made a horrible plan and forced both of you to follow it. If I had just listened to Mr. Milvus or if I had talked to both of you about it we might have been able to include some practice together as a squad instead of just focusing on just our skills. Because of me we almost didn't pass the trial. I didn't know what to do, I couldn't lead and just…broke..."

Uchronia stared at the table. The tip of her leaf tail drooping low.

"We passed. I don't think it matters," said Alwin.

"IT DOES!" Uchronia shouted.

Her sudden outburst startled the group.

This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.

"I mean, it does. I'm sorry I shouted. It's my fault. I thought I knew what to do but it's obvious that I don't. I've let you two down. I don't think I'm right to be the squad leader. One of you should be the leader."

"I'm kinda lazy," mumbled Gus, as he gobbled down his steak.

"Same," said Alwin.

"But—"

"Relax, you'll be fine. Because of your plan, I learned some skills and ranked them up. Pretty good plan to be honest," said Alwin.

"But—"

"I agree with Alwin," mumbled Gus, this time chewing on a turkey sandwich.

"But—"

"You should—"

"CAN YOU STOP INTERRUPTING ME!" screamed Uchronia, her tail flailing around like a windmill.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to shout again..." Her tail drooped down. "It's just... I failed both of you as a squad leader and friend... I'm a horrible person who shouts at people when they do something that I don't think is right. It's just... I just... can't."

Alwin's heart began to sink.

"You're a good leader. You're the best leader. Better than me for sure. Just trust in yourself! Remember what I said just before that metal man—"

"Or woman!" Gus interjected.

"Or woman popped up?" asked Alwin.

"Yea..."

"You've just got to take it slow. You'll do better with more practice. Plus we’re just babies. Really weird babies. We're like the youngest in the academy, I don't think I've seen anyone under thirteen other than us."

"I guess... but—"

"No, buts. Since you felt bad about making us do things your way, how about you do things my way for a change? Right now my decree is that you should still be the squad leader. Also, stop beating yourself up over one tiny mistake. We passed, and it's in the past. All you gotta do now is come up with a new plan, and if you don't know what to do just ask Milvus. Easy peasy," said Alwin.

"I guess..."

"Cheer up, buttercup. Everything will be ok!" Alwin used his Spirit Hands to flash a thumbs up.

"Did someone say butter?" Gus asked, looking up. His face was covered in various condiments, and bits of food scraps.

Uchronia looked at Gus, and couldn't help but snort at the sight.

"Thanks," she muttered. "I'll promise to do better."

Afternoon practice consisted of just that. Practice. For most of the group anyway. By that, he meant, it was just Alwin. Now that the schedule was temporarily under maintenance by order of squad leader Uchronia, Gus spent the rest of his time in the cafeteria. Uchronia spent her time interrogating Milvus, trying to build a new and better plan under his guidance. Although the previous plan was approved by him, so who knows how this new plan was going to turn out.

Alwin was bored. All the other squads were out practicing in preparation for their first 'outing'. Unfortunately, it meant that Alwin had no one to talk or play with. His options were: pig out in the cafeteria with Gus, sit through a boring meeting with Milvus and Uchronia, stare at the ceiling as he lay down in the dorms, or practice.

To his surprise, the last option sounded the most appealing. So now, Alwin was back in the training grounds classroom hurling Spirit attacks at the wooden dummy. One of these days he'd destroy that wooden dummy just like he destroyed that metal knight during the trials. How this chunk of timber outlasted that heap of metal was beyond him, but he swore that by the end of the school year, he'd have that blockhead reduced to nothing but splinters.

For the rest of the day, Alwin continued to toss around Spirit attacks and work on his accuracy. Every so often he'd Dark Tackle that dummy just to show it who's boss, but given how its varnish still gleamed under the crystal lights, it seemed the dummy might actually be the one calling the shots.

The following two days were even more practice, although it wasn't the solo kind anymore. Uchronia had crafted out a new schedule, one that she hoped had a balance between individual skill and learning to work together as a squad. It involved a lot of barking by Uchronia, followed by an apology for her barking. It was annoying, but something that he was used to.

Two days was too short of a time to nail down any complex strategy, instead, the trio focused on sticking to a basic formation. Gus in the front to absorb any attacks, while dishing out whatever damage he could, with Alwin and Uchronia right behind him. Alwin would throw out ranged attacks while Uchronia would either buff the squad or join in the attack using her Core Skill.

It was simple, but if it worked during the trial it was bound to work against whatever human that they would encounter in the Forest of Beginnings. Sometimes, simple was best.

As time crept on, Alwin's excitement grew. He couldn't wait to get his Spirit Hands dirty and finally smack a human. Then right after that would be his evolution. What would he evolve into? What would his friends evolve into? He hoped that Bion would get a lame evolution. That guy was always such a jerk to Alwin. Directly after the trial, he sauntered up to them pretending to congratulate them. In reality, he called Alwin a burden and not so discreetly praised Uchronia for being such a competent leader and something else that Alwin already forgot. Something about her body being sore and that he'd offer to massage her.

Enough dawdling and sidetracking, because today was the day. The class gathered in the classroom at 0800 on the dot, just like what they've been doing every single day. Today was different, today the whole class buzzed with excitement rather than the usual lethargy that draped over everyone save for Uchronia.

Milvus walked in at 0805 covered head to tentacle in sling bags.

"Morning class, just before we head to the warp station, I have come bearing gifts! Now everyone come up here and grab a bag!"