"Well...welcome back from your break!" Zen welcomed the students into the usual arena they all met up in. As he stood there and they gathered around, Grula walked on in carrying several crates. "How does it feel? You're all officially second-year students now!"

"That wasn't even a full year. It was more like..." Avures tapped his chin. "Nine months?"

"Give or take, yes. But!...it means that you're all ready to take the next step as students, and as Lancers." Zen smiled and raised his finger. "While Miss Grula sorts through these crates, I will go over the syllabus for this year. So, pay close attention."

The students all yawned and groaned as Zen pulled out a scroll from his jacket. Unrolling it, he cleared his throat and put it up to his face.

"It reads more like an agenda..." Zen raised an eyebrow and frowned as he eyeballed it closer. He shrugged, rolling it back up and shoving it back into his jacket. "Alright! As far as learning goes...no more general education!"

"Thank fucking god..." Bif sighed in relief and grinned.

"The only real learning you will be doing...Shades, small mana tricks, and Inherent Abilities. Both of which are simple enough to learn. Most of you have an inherent ability that you know of. And I know two of you have shades..." Zen shook his head as he eyed both Rael and Avures. The two of them looked off to the side, avoiding eye contact. "Aside from that, all required learning is done."

"So...is there anything else important?" Olicia tilted her head.

"Only the most important thing...You all are now able to take on Lancer contracts! According to the qualifications imposed by the state, and the Academy's standards...we're allowed to issue these out to you." Zen walked up to the students. Going down the line, Zen pulled out a shiny silver badge and handed one to each student. Each student inspected their badge. The front of it held an etching of a Lance on it. The back had their names inscribed into it.

"It should go without saying...but don't lose those." Grula sighed as she finished messing with the crates.

"That's right. You can only ever get those replaced once. And you may notice, that silver indicates that you're still an Academy student. Gold badges indicate full-fledged Lancers. As such, posting offices that host contracts are allowed to turn you away from certain jobs if the difficulty seems out of reach for you." Zen walked back to the spot he stood before.

"The Academy requires that you do at least two contracts this year to keep your badges. And requires four contracts this year to move to the next year. Failure to do any contracts at all will result in you being kicked out of the Academy." Grula looked over the students. Most of them seemed assured, but she knew better.

"Don't feel too rushed either. You have a full year, not just nine months. And, should it come down to it, they won't count travel time against you." Zen smiled at his young students.

"It feels so...quick. Are we really ready for this?" Rael raised her hand with a notable lack of confidence.

"Honey, there are a lot of things we cannot prepare you for here." Grula shook her head. "The number one thing that Lancer Academy does for you...is making sure you're strong enough to handle yourself out there."

"We can't prepare you for every little situation you might come across. Odds are, you're going to learn more about doing contracts out there in the real world than here. Every job is different, and has its own set of risks." Zen shrugged.

"That's right. We can only teach and help cultivate your power in case you get caught up in one of those risks. It might sound a little brutal...but...the key to being a successful Lancer...is living long enough to gain experience. Fighting is vital for a lot of these jobs, but it's also vital for your self-preservation." Grula nodded her head.

"This is also why we will not allow you to go on contracts alone. Until stated otherwise, the six of you will go on the same contracts together. Understood?" Zen looked at the students. The cruel reality of the Lancer world made sense to them, though the uncertainty was so thick and palpable...the students all nodded slowly.

"Good. And remember, as your reward for winning the tournament..." Grula kicked the crate she stood next to. "Your armor requisitions were finished early. I've sorted through them, so come grab them. Oh, and take good care of them! They're free the first time, and that's it!"

"Say...this means we could do contracts now...right?" Lylas walked over to his crate and peeked in.

"You could, yes..." Zen felt himself get worried. "I suppose your classmates would all have to agree first though."

"Well...what do ya guys think?" Lylas looked around at the five other students as they went up to their crates.

"Personally?...I don't see why not." Ventrix shrugged and nodded his head.

"Oh sure, let's just go rush in to possibly die." Olicia chuckled as she rolled her eyes.

"Is that a yes or no?" Ventrix looked over at Olicia with a deadpan gaze.

"...yes." Olicia sighed, opening up her crate.

"Bro, you already know." Bif grinned ear to ear. Lylas looked over to Rael and Avures. The two of them then looked to each other.

"I suppose if the best way to learn is going out there and doing it..." Avures shrugged. "Let's do it."

"So...we get paid for this right?" Rael looked at Grula and Zen. Grula chuckled, face-palming as well.

"Yes, Rael...you get paid." Grula sighed as she held her hand over her face.

"It is split six ways though considering all of you..." Zen pointed to all of them.

"Heh...good enough for me. Let's do it!" Rael's face lit up with excitement.

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With their plans decided, the six of them had a checklist to do before heading out. According to their teachers, and general common sense, they would need to secure transportation, supplies for camping, and a map and compass. But before all that, they'd need to go to a posting office to find a contract to take. All of this costed money as well. Under normal circumstances, most Lancers in training would have to earn this money themselves. This would have remained true, but the six students still had money left over from their winnings. That is, five of them did. Bif had quickly blown through all of his gold over the week. The details of what he spent all that money on remain a mystery as Bif would not reveal it.

Supplies and transportation were easy enough to buy. Same with the map and compass. The Academy having its own stable and storage area was exceptionally helpful for them as well. Meaning, the wagon, and horse they purchased would be one-time a one-time buy. Camping supplies, food, water, etc, etc...everything they needed was gathered. And even with the near-zero experience they had gathering these things, Lylas's intuition was good enough to carry them through this process. Not to mention, most of the shop-keeps and sellers they went through were very helpful in guiding them in the right direction. With all of that settled, the last thing that remained was to go to a posting office to grab a contract.

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The way it worked was fairly straightforward. Much in the same fashion letters were collected and delivered, contracts were treated the same as well with their own twists. If someone wanted to put a contract in for a job, they would simply write one up. One would write down who they were, what the job entailed, what the reward would be, and what sort of personnel they might specifically be looking for. Extra information could be written down as well. This all, of course, functioned on a sort of honor system with punishments for whoever didn't hold up their end of the bargain. Lastly, the contractor would need to designate that this was specifically a contract and not a letter along with providing a posting fee.

This contract would then end up being delivered to the nearest Lancer Agency. Not to be confused with Lancer guilds, these Lancers are strictly employed by the kingdom to keep things running smoothly. Once the contract reaches a Lancer Agency, the contract itself is duplicated several times over and marked with special magic. These copies are distributed all over the kingdom's lands to mailing and posting offices. The original is brought back to the contractor along with a magically crafted feather pen. When a contract is to be undertaken, the lancer(s) must meet with the contractor. They sign the contract with the special pen. This makes their name show up on all copies as the Lancer who is undertaking the contract. Once a contract would be completed and fulfilled, the contractor signs their name on the original with the special pen. This causes all copies of the contract to have the signature on them as well. This signifies that a contract was completed and that it can be unlisted.

In the case of a Lancer quitting the job or dying on the job, their name is simply crossed through by the contractor. Should two separate parties arrive to take the same contract, the contractor has the final say on who takes the job. When it comes to taking a job, the Lancer must bring a copy of the contract to whoever is working at the office. The worker will then use the magic imbued within the copies of the contract, along with the badge, and create a link to the original. This link will guide the wearer of the badge to the original contract. This is so that locations and whereabouts can be left off of contracts if needed for privacy. It also can help contractors discern which Lancers were sent to them. But the main use of this aside from giving the Lancer the location of the job is to allow the office worker to have the final say on who can take the job in the first place. If a job seems too tough for someone trying to take it, these workers are allowed to turn them away and not allow them to magically link their badge to the original contract. This effectively denies them the location as well should it be absent from the contract. However, technically, this cannot stop the Lancer from pursuing the job on their own right.

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All of this information was located in some of the books the students had. Not to mention, it was also taught in general education classes as well. Predictably, the only person who didn't know this information was Bif. However, since he would be working with all of his classmates, he could just learn it upfront with them leading the charge. As the six of them approached the office, they marveled at the crowds seemingly just sitting out front. Notably, this office here was exclusively for contracts. This was intentional considering that Tumae, the capital city of Palmenae, attracted most Lancers from all over the kingdom. Even being one of the northernmost cities in the region, with its back against the cliffs with an ocean below, didn't seem to negatively affect the traffic in and out of Tumae. The most renowned and capable Lancers typically made their home in the capital.

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This was due to a few factors. The highest-end jobs and contracts were consistently located in two areas. The frontiers of the kingdom (deep forests, caves, the mesa, basically anywhere outside of the effective reach of the royal army), and within proximity of the capital. The former had its very obvious reasons for needing Lancers. But the latter was for mostly sporadic and random work that only a Lancer could effectively do. An infestation of rot-beasts takes hold in a nearby cave outside of the capital? Perhaps caravans need some personal guards? Maybe the king needs an army quickly raised? Or any other sort of out-there job could be instantly filled by a Lancer who would be handsomely paid.

Pushing their way through the crowd, the six of them were able to spot several boards on each side of the doors to the office. These boards were filled to the brim with postings. Littering of papers was strung up by pins along the wooden board. As they eye-balled these papers as best as they could, they saw some which were completed, some which were in progress, and some that were blank. Overall, the difficulty didn't matter so much to them. There were the obvious ones that they wouldn't go near because of the sheer danger. But, they didn't want to do something extremely simple either. There was a group agreement that they should aim to do something that should challenge them.

Eventually, one posting caught their attention. With a couple of nods back and forth, Lylas took this posting down from the board and carried it inside the office with the other five of them following close behind.

"Hmm...what do I have here?..." A very tired-looking man in a plain garb sat behind a desk. His baggy and worn-down gaze lifted to meet the six students walking up to him. Even as he looked at them, his hand was still moving as he furiously scribbled down words on the paperwork sitting on the desk.

"We're looking to take this job." Lylas firmly planted the posting onto the desk in front of the man.

"So you are. Let's see here..." The man sighed and slid the paper closer to him. He put his finger under the written words and slowly mouthed out each word to himself. As this effort continued, the six of them awkwardly looked at each other. Each of them were silently waiting. Each second passed like a minute. Bif began to whistle to himself. Rael curled a strand of her hair around her finger. Olicia rolled her eyes and tapped her foot. Lylas kept his eye on the man after turning back. Ventrix and Avures both looked at each other and shrugged. Avures looked around the room as they waited. Multiple desks and workers just like this one were lined up across the room. All sorts of strangely dressed and fully armed people were in here taking jobs just like them. It almost felt like a completely different world to him.

"Okay...so..." The man lazily lifted his gaze back to the six of them. "Six kids going to fulfill a contract to solve a kidnapping crisis? This reads like a bad book full of clichés. Let me see some badges."

"Oh...so we're getting it?" Lylas grabbed hold of his badge and cautiously handed it to the man. The rest of them also did the same.

"Mm...maybe. Silver, huh? Academy kids. I had you pinned from the moment you walked in." The man gathered all six of the badges together in the center of the desk.

"Ya had your nose in your paperwork when we walked in." Lylas rolled his eyes and sighed. "Besides, ya don't look that old compared to us. Who are ya calling kids?"

"I got good eyes. Deal with it. Besides, I'm pretty old. I just don't look like it. I tell people it's the time magic from the court wizard keeping me young so that I'll live longer since I'm stuck working here until I die anyways." The man breathed slightly harder through his nose as he put his hands together and continued to stare at them.

"You seem very cynical." Ventrix cringed at the man.

"Makes em just like Olicia." Lylas smiled and chuckled to himself. Olicia crossed her arms and slammed her foot down on Lylas's toes. The boy nearly yelped as he kicked her foot off of his.

"I have to keep myself entertained. Being cynical is just part of my own little routine. The position I hold in life is truly no better than a jester's. And I argue, at least they're having fun." The man sighed and took hold of the posting in his hand. He draped it overtop of the badges. A faint blue glow appeared overtop, and then faded out. The man rolled up the contract and handed it back to Lylas. "Depressing banter aside, you have the link. Officially, you are condoned by this Lancer Agency and the kingdom to complete this contract. Being Academy students, you should know how to conduct yourselves. Go knock yourselves out, and try not to die."

"Wow. it's really that easy?..." Lylas raised an eyebrow at the man as he grabbed his badge from the pile.

"Yep. Granted, we must go by what's written on the paper. According to it, you're simply tracking down kidnapped children from the town of Lontan. Even factoring in unaccounted risks...which I'm technically not supposed to do...I am giving you my approval because I believe the danger level isn't that high." The man continued to pen down information on the paperwork he had in front of him.

"You're not supposed to do that?" Avures reached for his badge and pocketed it. "Why not?"

"Kids, I'm not an encyclopedia. Go ask your teachers or something, I have work to do." The man sighed and rubbed his temples.

"Right. Miss Grula did want us to talk to her and Mister Zen before we left." Rael grabbed her badge. Following suit, the other three grabbed their badges before they all took their leave from the building. It was official. They had their first contract...

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With that, their business in the capital was wrapped up. Rather than having to hire a carriage or walk back, now they had their own transportation. Their wagon was loaded up with the supplies they had bought along with themselves. After a short while, they arrived back at the front gates of the Academy. With a little familiarization with the stables and storage buildings to the side, they were now able to come and go from the Academy as they pleased. The six of them were dead-set on leaving for this contract today. So, they wasted no time in gathering the things they needed from their rooms.

This included weapons, small bags, a change of clothes, and their new armor. This new armor they all had would be replacing the training gear they normally wore in any circumstance. And, to make a small show of it, no one revealed the armor to anyone else yet. Instead, they all changed into it in their rooms and were going to show it off to each other in the hall. Having changed and gathered the things they needed, the six of them all collected themselves outside their rooms.

As they all stepped out, they all grinned and smiled at each other (minus Avures of course) as they took in the choices of everyone else.

Starting with Rael...

From the top down, Rael wore a gray, steel-plated chest piece that came down in a skirt-like fashion. Below it seemed to be a red gambeson that most likely spanned the length of the piece underneath. This chest piece seemed very flexible and thin as it allowed Rael some exaggerated movement upon exiting her room. Past her hips where the skirt ended, she was mostly unarmored. She had a red fabric piece that pulled up past her knees and wore these brown boots overtop of her feet and this fabric. Back up to her arms, she had brown shoulder pads with two spikes upon them. And then she wore two short gauntlet pieces on each arm.

Following up with Avures...

Taking some inspiration from George, Avures's fit consisted of a black jacket overtop of tightly packed chain mail. The jacket itself had multiple outer and inner pockets. It came down just below his waist. The chain mail was lightweight and tightly held against his torso underneath the jacket. It seemed to span the length of his arms and legs and had only two layers of interlocked chain. He wore a pair of black pants with lots of pockets like the jacket as well. And on his feet were a pair of plain boots as well. Overall, a very plain look.

Next holding everyone's attention was Bif...

As far as armor went...there seemed to be a lack of it. Simply put and worn, Bif's set of armor consisted of a thick, light-brown fur-laid vest. In between the inner and outer layers of fur, a thin set of chain mail resided. He wore nothing underneath this vest, and the vest itself had no sleeves. His arms and torso were partially exposed. His pants were no better, consisting of the same layering and only going down to his knees. His boots were also of a fur variety. His total appearance could make one believe he was some tundra hunter and not a Lancer.

Then Lylas's armor came into view...

His armor consisted of a dark blue vest with a multitude of inner and outer pockets. Underneath the vest was a set of black leather armor with accompanying pants. Capping off the outfit, he wore brown boots and brown gloves. It wasn't eye-grabbing by any means, but it was lightweight and simple.

And Ventrix's armor comparatively...

Ventrix wore a white cuirass with a golden sigil in the shape of a sword. The plated metal was fairly thin, and he wore a set of mail underneath the armor. His leggings were the same, plated and lined with mail underneath. And on the backside of his armor, he wore a cape that mirrored the appearance of the front side of his chest piece. While simple in description, the way it caught and reflected the light around it was incredibly attention-grabbing. Nonetheless, it did represent his nobility, and Ventrix had insisted to his teachers that he would be able to move fairly well in it.

Finally, Olicia's choice in armor...

Olicia wore a light lavender-colored full-body suit that clung tightly to her figure. Around her waist, a belt was tightly wrapped around her with her chains sheathed on them. And draping overtop of her full-body suit was a dark purple cloak that covered her body down to her waist. And to finish the outfit, a pair of gray shoes.

"Oh my god..." Rael put her hand to her chin and grinned. "I thought I had bad choices in fashion..."

"Oh c'mon. I'm fucking stylish." Bif threw his hands up and smiled.

"If that's what you call that...heh..." Rael put her hand over her mouth and gazed at the floor. She then looked back up at Olicia. "Olicia! You look cute!"

"Aw...thank-" Olicia smiled and put her hand over her heart, but was interrupted mid-sentence.

"She looks like a whore." Bif shrugged with his face showing contempt.

"Okay, asshole! I chose this because it was lightweight and efficient! It's not like I need armor when I can regenerate!" Olicia crossed her arms and rolled her eyes while sighing.

"Is that why? You could just say that you wanted to wear something like that 'cause you like how it looks on you." Bif chuckled.

"So you can say that I am a whore?" Olicia scoffed and looked away. "What about you anyways? Your outfit is revealing..."

"I picked it to pick up women. Look at this...chicks dig this." Bif gestured to his abs which were shown by his new outfit. "Just be honest with yourself."

"Pf..." Olicia sighed and looked back toward the rest of her classmates.

"C'mon, muscle-brain...that was a lil uncalled for." Lylas shoved Bif with his arm. The boy chuckled to himself as he kept himself straight. "Look at blue-blood's outfit though. Talk about flashy."

"Well. It was half by my own choice and half a bit of coercion by my family." Ventrix shrugged and looked unoffended. "What was the inspiration on yours?"

"It's light. Got pockets." Lylas's eyes looked up to the ceiling to show him thinking. "It almost looks like I stole it from Avures."

"And he kinda just copied Georgie..." Rael giggled as she put her hand on Avures's shoulder.

"I like pockets too." Avures pointed over to Lylas with his thumb.

"Avures knows what's good." Lylas grinned and nodded.

"Rael probably has the most reasonable set of armor here..." Ventrix pointed his finger up and down her outfit.

"You look so cute in your armor." Olicia smiled at her red-haired friend.

"Thanks! I'm glad to hear it from someone since he won't say it." Rael grinned ear to ear as she shoved Avures with her entire body. He nearly stumbled over but managed to keep himself stood up.

"Well...this is it, isn't it?" Ventrix looked around at his classmates. "I feel like we're all strong and capable...but..."

"Yeah...it almost feels weird that we're going out to do the real thing." Lylas sighed, his body was practically shaking with nerves, but he managed to contain himself. "Teachers are outside waiting on us probably...let's not waste any more time."

"Yeah. Let's go!" Bif and Lylas both led the way as everyone else followed in tow...

The students carried their things and made their way outside. Greeting them at the gate, Zen and Grula stood there. The students addressed their superiors, walking up to them.

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"I still can't believe you went with that." Grula laughed as Bif walked right up to her.

"Hey hey now, I dress to impress. Besides, unlike these pansies...I don't need armor." Bif gripped the inside edges of his fur vest and readjusted it.

"Everyone else's choices make sense. Even Olicia's choice, who, actually doesn't need armor." Zen closed his eyes and smiled.

"Anyways...you wanted to see us before we left?" Avures put his hands in his pockets. Both teachers straightened out.

"Over the last nine to ten months...we've taught you how to fight, defend yourself, and cultivate your strengths. And, we've hopefully helped your ability to learn new things." Zen crossed his arms and sighed.

"We said it before. We can't prepare you for everything that is out there. And to try to do so would be pointless...so take it from us. The best way to learn is through experience. And if you have to retreat, or run away...there's no shame in doing so. As you live to fight another day, you will learn how to survive out there." Grula's face was unwavering and deadpan.

"Odds are you won't run into many situations you have to flee from. But just keep all that in mind...oh, and one last thing..." Zen lowered his arms.

"That contract you have...this is the most important thing to remember." Grula looked off towards the road they would be taking. "The most dangerous thing about a contract isn't what's written on there...but what's left out..."