The Instructor continued to glare at me for a few moments.

I tried my best to meet his stare. I would have to do my best to learn everything I could about the Academy during my rest day. I couldn't be left so ignorant in another critical situation.

I had thought that we would all run through the same Trials. I had no idea that it would be different for every type.

"There are eight different Trials. Most Types only take four. Your fellow new Types, Sarah excluded, will be taking six. The Commander attempts all eight. Your Professor should have come up with an appropriate list."

My blank look in return didn't make him any happier.

"What are your current stats?"

Informing him of my lack of strength, his grimace only grew further. He took a few moments to think.

"We will do your tests later. I think it would be for the best if you took them with your monster. It will be a good test to see how your monster interacts with the magitech."

That was far more than I expected.

I had thought the Trials would be a series of failures in front of the rest of the class.

The fact that Drake was willing to do so was a surprise. I had never even thought of being able to bring Goldy into the simulations.

That did leave me with nothing to do for the next two hours. As much as I wanted to stick around and watch the others take their Trials. Drake told me in no uncertain terms that I would not be sticking around in the audience.

I had wanted to learn what I could to prepare. But since Drake decided what we would be doing in the evening, told me I would find out then.

I left the arena far earlier than expected, leaving me with nothing to do for the next two hours.

I visited Goldy once again. Checking in on him had become a far quicker habit than I expected. I found myself checking the bond often.

I could feel the slight changes in his mood better than before. Even then, there was little change from hour to hour.

If he minded being stuck inside the cage for so long, he did a good job of not letting me know.

He hadn't even changed positions since the last time I had seen him. Still content in his corner.

Knowing that we would go through experiments in the evening, I didn't want to interrupt his rest.

That left me wandering around the Campus. Visiting the few corners, I had yet to see.

Even despite myself, I was drawn back to the arena. I felt even more disconnected from the others now that they were testing themselves.

I was glad that I only had a few lessons left before the end of the day. I didn't think I would be able to concentrate for much longer. The thought of having Goldy with me in the trials got me more than a little excited.

Without him, I wouldn't be able to do anything impressive. Now, the Trials had taken on a whole new meaning for me. If I could use Goldy in the simulations, that would change everything.

I decided to spend the time in the library, getting the long list of books I needed copied from the library.

With Magitech, copying books had become easy, so it took less than an hour to copy all the necessary books and return them to my dorm.

By the time that was done, it was time for the final slate of classes in the evening.

These were the more general classes. Basic Medical Support came first, something I was interested in. I had seen a lot of injuries over the years that, due to the lack of treatment, became far worse.

Nothing of interest was taught on the first day, only another long list of books.

Arcane History was a little more interesting. Most of it was things that Kaya had told me at one point or another. Like those times, most of it went over my head.

Ethics and Laws dragged the longest out of any class, possibly because I knew what would happen afterwards.

Drake had told me to wait by the stables after dinner to pick up Goldy.

That was keeping most of my thoughts occupied.

Quite a few others shared my sentiment as they appeared almost asleep during the last class of the day.

The two-hour class passed slowly. After all, there was a large emphasis on what having soul armour meant to the collective as a whole.

It was fortunate that the lesson was every other day. I didn't think the class would be able to handle more than that.

Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

I didn't talk to anyone as I ate my dinner. For now, I was more focused on the Trials.

I was surprised that no one else in Class A had questioned my absence in the Trials. I wasn't sure if that was because Drake had told them or they didn't care.

Those thoughts didn't discourage my excitement as I waited with Goldy. Who still seemed generally uninterested in everything that was going on.

By Instructor Drake's arrival, I had begun making one of the nearby stables into a study area.

It had been made clear that the space would only be used for something else once they made a proper area for my future Monsters.

So I decided to take advantage of that. Spending more time here would be better for both of us.

I wasn't sure if being closer did improve the bond. But I figured either way, it wouldn't hurt.

The stable hands hadn't left the other stables in the greatest condition. The move had been quick, and cleaning had been far from anyone's mind.

So I spent the time waiting and cleaning up. I didn't have to wait long before the Instructor arrived.

He wasn't alone, as Professor Wright had joined him. He was looking more than a little sheepish.

"Kajus, I hope you are having a lovely evening. Sorry about the Trials, but it all worked out in the end, did it not?"

While I couldn't argue with him, I was still unsure about what was to come.

"Are you sure I can use my tamed beast in the arena?"

I was mindful not to use Goldy's name. He had made it clear that I shouldn't do so.

The Professor seemed to smile in response.

"Well, there is no time like the present to find out."

On the other hand, Instructor Drake was in the midst of a stare-down with the Wolf. It was clear that Goldy expected him to have food once again. That he came empty-handed did not make the monster very happy.

Drake didn't seem to care about that as he swung the door open.

His stare intensified slightly. While I couldn't feel any change, the same could not be said for Goldy. I could immediately feel our bond begin to swell. A new emotion that I hadn't felt from the creature before. Fear.

Even before, he hadn't been afraid of Drake, but it seemed Drake had been holding back his aura. Or whatever skill he used to intimidate monsters.

Goldy was very much scared now.

Before I could question him further, he turned on his heel, barking at us to follow him.

Goldy was suitably cowled and, with a quick order, followed behind immediately.

I turned to Professor Wright, who stared wide-eyed at the procession.

Before I could ask him any questions, he, too, followed behind the Instructor. Leaving me no choice but to do the same.

Goldy seemed to break out of the fear after a few moments. But the experience had been branded into my mind.

I wasn't sure what he had managed to do to the Wolf.

The Campus was empty as we walked through side roads towards the arena. Clearly, Drake didn't want us to come across anyone unnecessary. After all, many people within the Academy didn't have Soul armour of their own.

Soon, I was standing in the same place as my classmates hours earlier.

Drake took us down to below the arena floor. Far deeper than I had visited before. It was there that the core of the arena rested.

Eight Large Orbs were laid out in the centre of the room.

Runic script ran from each of them to all corners of the room before rising up and disappearing into the ceiling.

My brief lesson in the Arcane history hours early did nothing to reveal what they meant.

The Orbs seemed to pulse with energy as we approached. They were nearly overshadowing the mage lights around them.

I felt tension brewing as Drake brought me to the nearest orb.

"Since we have the time, I will take you through all eight Trials. Something usually only reserved for Commanders. Place your hand on the orb. We will first try to see if you will appear without your tamed beast."

Goldy was lying comfortably beside me as I reached out my hand to touch the orb. I could feel a slight tingle as my hand made contact with its cool surface.

As soon as I placed my hand on the orb, all I could see for a moment was darkness. Then, I appeared in a white void. It was difficult even to tell the difference between the ground and what wasn't.

Two things stood out immediately. One was the Instructor standing right across from me in the void. The other was Goldy's familiar presence. This time, he was vigilant as he prowled around me.

"Interesting."

His words seemed to echo throughout the space.

"That is something we must test out later. For now, let us begin the tests. Starting with the two speed tests."

With that, the white void disappeared around us, and we found ourselves in the centre of the arena floor.

There was a brief pause before many floating orbs appeared around us.

"The first speed test is simple. Touch as many orbs as possible within a thirty-second time period."

He gave me a few moments to get myself ready. There wasn't much to think about this trial. I made sure that Goldy understood what we were going to do. He got it quite quickly, so I nodded at Drake soon after.

With a soft bang, the trial began.

I went as quickly as possible, touching the balls I could reach. Whenever I touched them, they disappeared, only to reappear soon after in a different position.

I paid a little attention to Goldy to make sure that he had managed to understand what orders I had given.

He was doing far better than me, as even with the same speed stat, his four legs beat out my two.

The thirty seconds came to a close far quicker than I expected.

I half expected Drake to tell me my score, but he only nodded at me.

The following speed test was far more straightforward. A foot race across a certain distance. Something that Goldy beat me in an instant.

The first two Trials were far simpler than I had expected.

If this was how straightforward all of them would be, I was looking forward to completing the others.

Drake took a moment to examine the results, working with unseen controls.

"Good, now we can move on to the next two. You will first be tested on your most powerful single attack. You will get three attempts."

Without anything more said, a single pillar of sand began to rise from the arena floor.

It took a second for the pillar to harden and remain static.

Since I had three attempts, I first wanted to see how much power I could generate in a single punch.

I squared myself in front of the pillar. I was putting as much power as I could into the strike.

The pillar broke apart as I struck it, sand suspended in the air behind it.

As soon as I removed my arm, the pillar returned to exactly how it had been before my attack.

I didn't know if I had done well. Drake, to the side, remained stone-faced.

I would have Goldy go all out in the attack for the next attempt.

He seemed to sense what I would order him to do as he began growling even before I gave the command.

"Attack."

As soon as I gave the command, he was off, running head-first into the sand pillar and biting down on the sand while hitting it full force with his body.

If he took any damage jumping through the pillar, he didn't show it. He got back to his feet quickly before returning to my side.

Once the pillar returned to its original form, I prepared to attack with Goldy.

I wasn't sure how well we did as individuals. But I was convinced that we would be able to do more damage together.