Another blinding white room. What was with the school and white rooms? Did you know how annoying it was to get your corneas singed off every single bloody time you stepped into a room? One fine dandy day you're walking back from lunch you cross the threshold of the classroom and the next thing you know you're clutching your eyeballs as a flashbang of white assaults your vision. Rants over. Description vocation Alwin was taking over.

At least the floors weren't white. They were made of hardwood and definitely hurt when you take a fall. Could the academy not invest in softwood floors or something? Maybe include some padding or mats? You know the phrase 'hard times create strong monsters'? Well, there was an extra part that got left out, 'hard floors create injured monsters'. Oh, and in the corner there was a smaller drawer in the corner labeled 'Emergency Healing Pill'. Yeah, description vocation Alwin wasn't feeling it today. That's all, folks.

Within the sparring room, Alwin spotted Gus. The Fluffpaw—in case anyone had forgotten what Gus looked like, just remember a Furball with yellow fur and two large paws jutting out in front of him—had lightning shooting out of him as he charged towards a group of monsters. It was three against one and Alwin had no idea who was who, but this was the perfect time to test out his observational skills.

Charging back was a pink pig with a dollar sign emblazoned on its side, and a large slit on the top of its back. Each step it took was followed by a rattling noise as its insides jumbled about. Yup, it was a Piggy Bank. Judging by the trail of lightning it left in its wake and Alwin's knowledge of his classmates' Core Skills, it was safe to say that this was Deb, the girl who could 'Loan' skills.

The Piggy Bank Deb—no idea if that was her actual species but Alwin was going to call her that— charged back at Gus, both of them utilizing Lightning Legs. Sparks of electricity filled the air. It was as if a miniature lightning storm had descended upon the classroom. With every step they took, more sparks crackled as the two of them ran towards each other.

Gus propelled himself upwards using those new arms of his to reach heights previously unknown—save for that time Alwin launched him with his Spirit Hands. Even more, lightning surrounded his arms as he came slashing down at Deb, yelling out the name of his new skill, "Lightning Paw!"

Deb wasn't going to be taken down so easily, she halted and aimed her slit right at Gus. Taking a deep breath as she unleashed her new skill, "Coin Toss!" A large bronze coin was forced out of that slit of hers, slicing through the air as it flew toward Gus.

Without missing a beat or lunch, Gus opened his jaw and licked his lips. The yellow Fluffpaw munched down on the coin, his face twisting as he crunched down on the disgusting piece of metal that had been bouncing about inside of Deb. The coin had been disposed of, now stored inside of Gus in bits and chunks.

More coins shot out of Deb only to be devoured. Slobber and pieces of metal splattered onto the ground below as Gus was getting his free lunch. If he put on weight after this fight, it would be considered inflation. Deb continued to shoot out coin after coin until the only thing that came out was the sound of air passing through her slit.

"Crap," muttered Deb, as Gus was now inches away from her ready to slap the ever-living daylights out of her with his Lightning Paw.

At the last second, a Spirit Barrier was put up in a last-ditch effort to defend herself. Why didn't she just run away? No idea. She had chosen to fight and that failed, so by all means the only option was flight.

Turns out Alwin was wrong, she had made her own new option, called stare at the danger and hope that everything would be okay.

The Lightning Paw shredded through the Spirit Barrier like a kid demolishing a sandcastle on the beach, turning it into particles that scattered into the wind. The force knocked the Piggy Bank to the side and straight into a wall. There she fell limp onto the ground. With the porkchop down and out, Alwin could focus on the rest of the new monsters gracing his eyes.

"Told her it was a stupid idea to run out and attack by herself," one of the other monsters said.

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Given that the monster was a walking talking sunflower, with leaves for arms and legs, and that there existed a Core Skill named Solar Powered, it was safe to assume that the sunflower was Phyll. Unless the system wanted to subvert expectations for some dumb reason.

"That's why you leave the attacking to me," shouted the final monster.

By the process of elimination, this had to be Galeo and by the process of pointing out the obvious, there was a wooden spear hovering above the monster—that could only be Galeo's 'Unstoppable Spear'.

Galeo retained most of his Furball qualities—orangey-brown fur that surrounded a blobby body—but he did have a few handy additions. Four paws with razor-sharp claws stuck out of that round body of his, along with a dorsal fin that jutted out at the top of his body.

Phyll was a Sunbloom, while Galeo was a Finclaw, according to what Flintlock mentioned. He also mentioned Deb's true species name, but for the sake of not knowing when to draw the line when it comes to jokes, he chose to delete that memory from his mind. Deb was a Piggy Bank and there was nothing they could say to change his mind.

"We attack together!" shouted Phyll.

They both paused their charge and stared down the lightning emitting incoming Gus. Phyll brought his leafy hands together, and a tiny ball of light began to form. Meanwhile, Galeo's spear started to spin, moving so fast that the tip resembled a drill.

With a nod, they both launched their attacks at the speeding Gus. The spinning Unstoppable Spear and Solar Powered Blast—yup, Phyll yelled out the name of his skill—were both ineffective. Gus stretched his maw open as the attacks closed in. The sharp spears and bright light were swallowed up. When the food finally hit the rock bottom of his stomach, Gus let out a loud belch that echoed across the sparring room.

"Dude, gross," said Phyll, fanning the air in front of him.

"Anyway, I give up. Gus is just going to eat my spears," grumbled Galeo.

"So can I go now?" asked Gus.

"Sure man. Thanks for helping with our sparring," said Phyll.

"Welcome!" said Gus, before he bolted out of the training room.

The class made room for the lightning-boosted Gus, only for him to stop at the door. "Hey, Alwin. You look weird. Ok, I'm going to go eat now, bye."

With that only a trail of lightning was left, as Gus bolted out of the classroom to go have lunch—knowing Gus it might've been his third lunch.

"Told you your spear was totally stoppable," yelled Tess.

"Shut it, you turtle or are you a plant? Make up your mind!" shouted Galeo.

"Easy there, fellas," said Flintlock. "Now either you two get a room and wrangle all that fussin' in private or you quit your squabbling."

"Fine!" they both yelled, turning away from each other. Good thing Alwin was here to help salvage Galeo's ego.

"You know technically, your spear hasn't stopped yet," said Alwin.

"What do you mean?" asked Galeo.

"Well, your spear is still traveling through Gus. Eventually, it'll come out of him, but not in the way you'd expect."

The whole class groaned. Those who evolved into forms with hands or their equivalent slapped their faces while the rest shook their head at Alwin's comment. Even Uchronia gave her signature patented and trademarked eye-roll.

"Why are you booing me? I'm right."

"Just go fight," groaned Tess.

Phyll and Galeo grabbed the unconscious Deb the Piggy Bank and dragged her to the side of the sparring room. A drawer the size of a microwave slid out from the wall, opening up to reveal a porcelain bottle containing Small Healing Pills. Galeo reached in, grabbed one, and dumped it inside the slit on the top of her back.

"Stop staring at girls and come here and fight," said Bion the Shadow Jellyfish.

Bion was already at the center of the sparring room, arms crossed as he stared at Alwin. This was going to be easy. Alwin was about to make a jellyfish salad out of him.

Alwin hopped up towards Bion, standing across him. They both stared each other down, waiting for the signal to begin the fight.

"You lads ready?" asked Flintlock.

Alwin and Bion both gave a nod, not even bothering to look away from the competition.

"Remember them rules. No killing, permanently injuring or permanently disfiguring each other."

"I bet that last rule was added after someone messed up your face," said Alwin.

The class let out a collective 'oooo' at Alwin's taunts and they turned to Bion awaiting his response.

"I'll teach you what happens when you insult me and for nearly getting my darling Uchronia—"

"Buzz off!" she shouted.

"And fight!" yelled Flintlock.