"Are you sure you don't want me to tell anyone? It could be a great discovery."

Violet hadn't stopped talking about Goldy as we got our food to eat. She was crafting theories about everything and anything that happened to cause the change.

I might feel the same if I knew what that discovery was. But I had no idea what the actual cause was. There had been too many factors at play.

"I want to talk to my professor first, see what ideas he might have. We don't know what caused the sudden growth or its meaning."

Violet was about to argue again when two people joined us at the table.

"Hey Violet, Who's this?"

The smile that lit up her face put to shame any I had seen so far. She was quick to greet the newcomers.

"Hey, this is Kajus, we only met today. Kajus, this is Georgia and Ryan, my two best friends."

They both smiled at me in turn. Georgia was a little less friendly. Her blue eyes bore into me. A slight frown adorned her otherwise pretty face. Ryan, on the other hand, was all smiles. He was another person that towered over me. Even sitting, he seemed to loom over us all.

The handshake that nearly enveloped my hand was, at the very least, gentle. His warm brown eyes were much friendlier than Georgia's frigid stare. His eyes seemed at war with his stern and rugged appearance.

"You're one of the new Types, aren't you? The tamer is what the Headmaster called you, right?"

Georgia's tone was a little harsher than I had expected. Both Violet and Ryan beside me seemed to frown slightly at the words.

While I hadn't been expecting a friendly welcome from everyone in the rest of the year, I hadn't had quite a frigid encounter just yet with anyone. Most at least had a veil of friendliness.

I didn't want to make it awkward at the dinner table, so I decided politeness was for the best.

"That's me. It's nice to meet you both. Violet was a great help to me today, So I'm treating her to a meal."

That seemed to be the wrong thing to say as Georgia's glare intensified.

It seemed that any attempt at a joke wouldn't work with her. Ryan, at the very least, seemed to smile slightly in turn.

"What did you do for him?"

I was a little surprised when Georgia turned the question to Violet but decided to remain quiet.

"He got a little beat up at practice today, so I healed him up. It was my last heal of the day. So when he offered for us to go get food, I said yes."

I was glad she kept the secret about Goldy, even if the other scenario sounded a little worse.

Violet's answer didn't seem to please Georgia, as she began to frown even more. Fortunately, Ryan quickly jumped in with a question of his own.

"What's it like being one of the new Types? I couldn't imagine forging my own path. I'm struggling to come to terms with it as it is."

That wasn't a question I was sure how to answer. There had been a lot of changes over the past few days. I was also sure my answer would differ from the other new Types.

"It's been interesting. There is still a lot we have to learn about the new Types. So any ideas from you guys would be good."

I didn't want to dwell on my experiences too much with them. I still wasn't sure how I felt myself. Let alone be able to verbalise it to others.

This made Ryan grow pensive, thinking about the new Types in turn. Unfortunately, the distraction didn't work for Georgia. Who only narrowed her eyes further.

"How many monsters can you control?"

Her tone was almost accusing, as If I was conspiring some grand plot to use the monsters for nefarious deeds.

"I only have control over one for the moment. You saw him at the orientation. His name is Goldy."

I decided to throw in the new name of the wolf. After all, a cute name could disarm many. Unfortunately, it seemed to have the opposite effect. As Ryan and Georgia's eyes widened, heads turned to stare at Violet.

It seemed I had said something wrong, as even she was wincing slightly.

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"You named his monster? How did that happen?"

I didn't know how that name revealed it was Violet who had the honours of naming my monster. But both of them seemed certain that she had done so.

"It only happened a few minutes ago. After healing Kajus, I wanted to see the wolf. Kajus hadn't named it yet, so I gave a suggestion."

As she talked, she seemed to sink further into her seat, wilting under the other's intense stare.

"How did you know she named the wolf?"

While Georgia ignored my question, continuing to stare at Violet. Ryan was kind enough to answer.

"Violet always thought it was a good name for a pet. She said on the orientation day that she hoped you had called the Terror Wolf Goldy. She didn't shut up about it all evening."

That was unexpected; I had thought the name Goldy had been more spur-of-the-moment. I hadn't even been sure of the name; my bond seemed to take it out of my control.

Violet seemed to be even more embarrassed with that, covering her face.

Ryan once again tried to save the situation. But by that point, it seemed Violet didn't want to speak about it anymore. That and Georgia still glaring at me made me decide to turn in for the night.

It had been nice to eat with other people for once. I hoped that I would be able to do the same again.

They did say that they would be watching the fights tomorrow. But with the seating plan and them fighting their own bouts the next day.

I didn't think I would get a chance to talk to them.

Sleep did not come quickly for the first time since I had arrived at the Academy. There were far too many thoughts running through my head. Eventually, I drifted off into a troubled sleep, thinking of what to do the next day.

While I didn't officially have classes with Professor Wright for two more days, I decided to drop into his office in the morning after breakfast. He had told me to come to him whenever I had any questions.

There wouldn't be a better reason to come to him than the sudden change.

I had barely gotten a word out about the changes to the wolf when we were running straight towards the stables.

Before checking on the wolf, he didn't even listen to anything I had to say.

Unlike when I tried to open the stable doors, the Professor had no problem opening the metal door. He used a metal token he had taken from his coat, a key card that worked with the sigil since he had no soul armour of his own.

Goldy hadn't changed in the few hours since I had last seen it. But that didn't stop Professor Wright from halting in his tracks.

He slowly walked towards the wolf, taking care with every step. I was slightly worried for him. After all, he didn't have the physical defences of a soul warrior. Any attack from the wolf would more than likely be fatal.

I made sure to try and calm Goldy through the tether. Whether he was receptive to me, I couldn't tell.

His slight groan in the corner was his only response.

That gave the professor pause.

But he was quick to get back to approaching the wolf.

Only a few steps away, he turned to me.

"You can keep the monster under control, correct? Nothing has changed about your connection."

While the connection had gotten stronger, other than that, I could feel no discernible difference.

"Not that I can feel. There was a surge of energy that came with the change last night, but since then, it has been the same as before."

The professor nodded sagely at that before taking a closer look at Goldy. If the wolf had any issues with the inspection, he wasn't showing it.

Finally, the professor built up the courage to begin inspecting the wolf with his hands. Goldy opened his eyes briefly in response. He looked at me for a moment before closing his eyes once again.

The professor, taking that as full consent from the creature, began his inspection earnestly. He was moving and inspecting every part of the monster's body.

I could hear him murmur under his breath every so often. But my senses were still far from the level where I could hear him.

"Did anyone else other than you see the change?"

"Ahh, that was what I wanted to say. I didn't see the change."

The professor's incredulous look made me feel more than a little self-conscious.

"Okay, if you didn't see the creature change, then who did?"

"Since the door wasn't fully open. Only the fellow first-year who was with me at the time saw the event."

He looked at me briefly, his wizened eyes staring into my soul.

"Bringing a girl here already, youth these days."

Before I could begin to argue my case, he continued.

"Will she keep quiet about it? This could be a major discovery. Taking our time before revealing anything to anyone else would be prudent."

While I couldn't be fully confident in Violet. she also hadn't given me a reason not to believe her in the short time we had known each other.

The professor must have seen something in my face as he sighed.

"Alright, give me her name. Let me talk to her in person about what happened. She might have some insights that we could overlook."

I gave the professor her name and then recounted what she had seen. The professor grew pensive for a few moments after hearing that. Muttering to himself, he turned to look at the monster once again.

Even going so far as to take out a magnifying glass to look at the wolf's paws.

It took a few minutes, but finally, the professor decided he had seen enough.

"Well, that is interesting. It seems that your monster is growing up a lot quicker than we expected. I am curious to know what it is that Miss Violet may have seen. But it lines up closer to what has been observed of far higher-ranked creatures than your Terror Wolf. What that means for you and the wolf, time will tell. It's given me a lot to think about. Is there anything else that you can think of?"

While I hadn't told the professor about what had happened before Violet and I had gone to look at Goldy. I wasn't sure how important that was.

"I also went through a pretty intense spar a few hours before the change. Do you think that caused what happened? Goldy changed in response to me losing?"

The professor grew pensive once again. Looking at both me and Goldy a few times over.

"It is indeed a possibility. As you know, soul armour's normal growth is fueled by battle and experience. While we didn't think there would be any relation to you fighting yourself. It seems there might be a relation after all. Not to worry, for now enjoy watching your fellow classmates. We will have a think on it, and speak more when you officially start classes. Do make sure to spend time with your monster here as well. We need to observe all variables."

I could only nod as the professor walked out of the stables, leaving me and Goldy behind.

While he hadn't said anything I hadn't thought of myself, it was good to know that another person was working on figuring it out.

Goldy seemed a little more energetic once the professor had left. He got up, and walked over to my hand, forcing his head slightly into it, wanting a pet.

It was strange to think about how different Goldy was now after the change. Less of a monster and more of a friend.