A Leafling and a Dark Slime made their way to the center of the classroom. He really should ask about the pairings, but if Uchronia caught wind of it, who knows what sort of tirade she would go on about. Alwin grimaced, wishing he had a better word than "scary" to describe her. Unfortunately, he didn't have a thesaurus with him.

All he had to do was play it cool. The moment only one person stepped up to the front of the classroom, he'd know who'd be up against. After that he'd probably have about thirty seconds to internally freak out while making his way to the front, trying to look composed. Then he'd just have to wing it and hope for the best. Easy peasy lemon squeezy. Hopefully.

The Dark Slime spoke first, "Deb's the name, Loan's the game."

Alwin saw the Leafling speak next, emphasis on "saw" because he saw her mouth move, but no sound graced his ears. Was he going deaf or were his eyes not working? Considering his lack of ears, maybe the whole deaf thing had some merit after all.

"Can you speak up?" said Milvus.

"My name is... My name is Concord. M-m-my skill is called Silencer," the Leafling whispered.

That explains why she's so quiet. At least that was what Alwin thought for about one second. It wasn’t as if she was using her Core Skill all day every day. Unless she was another one of those serious types like Uchronia and she was constantly using her Core Skill as a form of training.

It was either that or Alwin was just really terrible at reading people, but in his defense... Alwin couldn't think of anything so the defensive argument would have to be postponed to sometime in the distant future. Or never, depending on whether he remembered about it.

"Well then, let's begin," said Milvus.

Deb dashed towards Concord, her eyes gleaming as she closed in on her prey. In contrast, Concord was backing up as fast as possible. A large grin adorned Deb's face while Concord had a smile that was upside down—a frown.

"Thanks for the, Loan!" yelled Deb.

A small ball of light emanated out from Uchronia and Gus, floating through the air towards Deb. She opened her mouth nice and wide, before she gobbled down on the balls of light, then let out a satisfying belch. Gus watched, salivating at the sight of someone getting to eat something, while Uchronia had her brows furrowed at what had just happened.

"Thorny Leaf!" Deb followed up.

Wasn't that a Leafling's skill? Was Deb actually just dumb and didn't know what skills she had? She was a Dark Slime, just like him. She should have Dark Tackle, not a Leafling's Thorny Leaf.

As Deb charged, something began to sprout from behind her. It resembled a Leafling's tail, but it wasn't exactly either. Instead of the characteristic green of a Leafling, it possessed the same dark jelly-like appearance as the rest of her body. A layer of thorns sprouted on the large leaf tail before she whipped it towards Concord.

A high-pitched squeal escaped from Concord's lips as she scampered out of the way of the attack. Without skipping a beat, Deb chased after the fleeing Leafling, brandishing her tail like a flail as she pounced around the classroom.

"Stop running like a coward!" Deb yelled.

Concord responded with another high-pitched squeal as she zipped across the floor. She bolted around the classroom in circles screaming her heart out with tears streaming down her face, all with a rabid Deb hot on her tail.

At least now the rest of the class could hear her loud and clear. Unfortunately, there wasn't any substance in that unintelligible high-pitched screech. If Alwin had any hands and knew where his ears were, he'd cover them up. But, you know the drill, he lacked neither. Thus, he was forced to endure the shrill cries that rang throughout the room. On the plus side, it was entertaining to watch.

"Pathetic," Uchronia mumbled. "Running away and not even fighting back, just pathetic."

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Yup. Alwin was definitely not going to let Uchronia know he didn't know who he was paired up with. It'd be better for everyone involved, probably.

Concord was starting to show signs of fatigue. Beads of sweat trickled down her face, mingling with the tears that streamed out of her eyes. Her breath came in ragged gasps and each hop seemed to be more sluggish than the last. Finally, with a shuddering sigh, she came to a reluctant standstill, her chest heaving after running laps around the room.

Deb leaped into the air and performed a flip before crashing her tail down towards the weary Leafling. Concord, despite her exhaustion, swung her thorny tail up with a desperate cry, meeting Deb's attack head-on and halting it in its tracks.

When did Concord use Thorny Leaf? Alwin shook his head and chalked it up to a momentary lapse in attention. He must've been lost in thought when she yelled it out. So lost in thought that he didn't even realize he was thinking. Truly, an extraordinary skill for an extraordinary individual like Alwin.

Maybe he was trying to figure out how Deb could use Thorny Leaf and how she even grew a tail. Or maybe he was thinking about the pairings. Whatever he was thinking about he'd have to rethink it because he had no memories of even thinking about them in the first place. What a waste of time, just like this rambling right now.

Deb's tail disappeared almost as suddenly as it appeared. In its wake, a dense layer of fur covered her entire body, fur that stood on its edges as streaks of electricity jumped between the deep purple fibers.

"Static Pounce!" she roared as she launched herself at Concord.

She raised her tail again to block the attack. Deb smashed into the Leafling's tail, sending jolts of electricity coursing through Concord's body. The sheer force of the blow launched the exhausted Leafling off the ground, her body hurtling through the air before crashing against the unforgiving wall of the classroom. Deb didn't come out of the fight unscathed either. As her fur rescinded, crimson droplets welled from the puncture wounds inflicted by Concord's thorn.

"Deb wins!" announced Milvus.

"Oh yeah! I'm the best!" Deb exclaimed as she performed a backflip.

Milvus walked over to the collapsed Concord and slipped a Small Healing Pill into her mouth. The moment Concord swallowed, she jolted upright, frantically scanning the room. When her eyes met Milvus', she found him smiling down at her with reassurance. A sheepish smile tugged at the corners of her lips as she murmured, "Thank you."

"No problem," said Milvus.

"Mr. Milvus, I have a question," said Uchronia.

"Sure, questions are always welcomed," said Milvus.

"You know how when we use our skills we have to say out their names to use them? When Concord was fighting earlier, I didn't hear her say anything but still, she could activate Thorny Leaf."

"Concord, do you mind if I explain a bit about your Core Skill?" asked Milvus.

"S-sure," she whispered.

"Thanks. To answer Uchronia's question, I need to explain something first. Silent casting is an advanced technique that you all will eventually learn. However, there are some drawbacks to it. It isn't the easiest thing in the world to learn, and silent casting is generally weaker than normal casting. This is where Concord's Silencer comes in. She's able to bypass all of that training and silent cast at full power."

So this meant his mind wasn't so far gone that he wouldn't have realized that he was lost in thought. Concord simply never voiced out her move. Talk about a cheat skill. She'd probably make a good assassin. Blending in with the forest, hiding amongst the shadows as she stalked her prey, a lousy human. She'd hop from tree to tree without making a sound, not a single twig would dare to betray her presence as she prowled silently through the treetops. She'd sneak up on the hapless human and strike without warning. The ultimate assassin. Unless, of course, she was absolutely terrible at everything except the last part, but who's to say?

"How do we train to silent cast?" asked Uchronia.

"That's a bit too advanced for you right now. After we settle the basics then we can talk about it. That ok?"

"Yes, thank you."

"You're very welcome. Now, onto the next battle. Next pair up and center," said Milvus.

Next pair. Got to keep his eyes peeled. Alwin had to move fast if only one person walked up, but not too fast if not people would judge him, but also not too slow if not people would judge him too. How should he balance it? Would he still be judged even if he went up at the right time? Maybe Alwin just had some sort of anxiety problem. He definitely had an overthinking problem. Oh wait, Alwin spent so much time thinking about being judged he forgot to actually pay attention.

Two Furballs were already in the middle of the classroom, both of them sizing each other up.

"I'm gonna win this match, for Bion," the first Furball said.

"Well, I'm gonna win this match for myself," the second Furball replied.

Alwin sighed. At least now he didn't have to worry about missing anything. Imagine how embarrassed it'd have been if everyone knew he was stuck in daydream mode again.

"My name is Brie. My Core Skill is called Revival," the first Furball said.

"Well, I'm Flintlock and my Core Skill is called Gun," the second Furball said.

Wait, what? Gun?