Time was limited after Finn's conversation but after instructor Eliah's words, he just knew he had to check the library. After a few minutes he burst through the library doorway and his heart dropped to his stomach when he saw what awaited him. Where there had been five or six shelves on the bottom floor yesterday there was now one.

Finn turned to the librarian with a grim tone. "Miss, what happened to the books?"

The librarian seemed a bit surprised by his sudden entrance but quickly found her composure as she replied with a smile. "You can just call me Anne. The books that were available on the first floor yesterday were mostly on display for the initiation. They have been moved back to their original spots."

Finn nodded in understanding, a grim look on his face. "Is there anything worthwhile left?"

"I don't know. That's something you'll have to decide for yourself." Anne said with a shrug.

Finn made his way to the shelf and to his dismay learned that it mostly contained historical texts. The texts he had read yesterday were gone, except for the encyclopedia and Finn was doubly glad he had seen and taken notes.

"How do I get upper floor access?" he asked, having returned to the front desk.

She must have been expecting the question and responded quickly. "Access to the next floor is available for any student with at least 500 accumulated points."

Finn mulled it over and thought 500 wasn't that bad in the grand scheme of things. That was five hours in the privacy arrays. If he thought about it like that it didn't seem like a lot since your access shouldn't run out like your time in the array would.

He thanked Anne again before leaving for his combat class. This classroom was a lot more visually appealing compared to the mostly empty meditation room. There was an arena in the center of the large room, much like the one in the field but smaller, its boundaries denoted by a white line created a large rectangle. Bleachers were positioned on either side of the arena and the far wall held numerous weapons. He wasn't given a lot of time to go over the scene before he heard a familiar voice.

"Finn! Where have you been man?" It was Avo and it was no surprise that he would be found in combat class.

"Where have I been? Where have you been?" Finn said and then recounted his events yesterday after he split up with Avo.

"Makes sense that we didn't see each other then. I got bored after absorbing energy for a while and went to check out the other areas. Then I found a group that I hung out with for the rest of the day. I guess we could be considered friends now."

"Already left me to the wayside for someone else? Why am I not surprised," Finn said sarcastically.

Avo rolled his eyes and ignored the statement continuing on.

"I am glad I met them and all but in hindsight, I think I should have kept cultivating instead. I heard the energy levels on the field have dropped."

"It's true," Finn confirmed for his friend, recounting what he had learned from his earlier visit.

"Damn. I guess I'll have to buy my way into the arrays if I want to experience that again," Avo responded after a heavy sigh.

Finn could only agree with Avo's sentiment but he was cut off by another familiar voice.

"Hey Avo!"

It was Fred, followed by Mont. Two of group of three he had met earlier in the field. "Oh, you have Finn with you?"

"Fred!" Avo said "Good to see you again. This is my friend Finn, but it seems like you know him already?"

"We happened to meet this morning," Fred explained.

"What the hell happened to you two?" Finn couldn't help but ask.

The two newcomers looked like they had rolled down a hill in the countryside. He could see bruises, stains on their clothing and their hair was disheveled.

"Nothing much." Fred said nonchalantly. "We just took out an oxlorn is all."

"A what?" Finn and Avo asked in unison.

"Turns out those goat things in the wilds are called oxlorns. True, we may have target the smallest one and yes, it may have been three on one, but a win is a win." Fred said, not an ounce of shame showing on his voice.

"Right." Finn said. "There were three of you. Where's Alice?"

"Worried for the lady are we? Don't worry, she's fine but she's not taking this class so she's resting up instead," Fred answered.

Finn couldn't tell if the beasts were easy targets or not based on Fred's words. One was taken out by a small group of amateur's but they also hadn't come out unscathed.

"What's even more important, " Fred continued, leaning in closer and speaking more quietly. " Is that they award points. " He pulled out his token and it displayed the number one in bright red numerals. Finns eyes widened at the revelation and he took out his token to check the leaderboards. In the top three spots were Fred, Montgomery and Alice with 5 points each. Avo must have realized what Finn was doing and he too took out his token to check the leaderboard.

"What? You guys have already secured top three?" he exclaimed. It was louder than necessary and his comments drew the attention of some students. Turns out this class wouldn't be full of muscle brained simpletons since they too started took out their tokens, no doubt checking the leaderboards as well. More and more eyes turned upon Fred and it looked like they wanted to tear out his secrets. For all his earlier whispering, Fred seemed rather pleased with the attention and he stood with his back straighter.

"Well you know, gotta do what you gotta do," he said, this time loud enough for the class to hear.

The conversation was cut short as a man walked in and stood in the center of the room. He was on the shorter side but the way he moved seemed to exude authoriy. It was obviously the instructor who had arrived and Finn and the others quickly found seats and the room quieted down.

"I am Mathias and I will be the combat technique instructor. Now what is combat technique? In this class we will be going over techniques that will ultimately improve your battle strength without the use of energy. I have knowledge on the use of a wide variety of weapons and will do my best to tutor each and every one of you in your preferred style."

He paused for a moment before continuing on.

"I couldn't help but notice that a few students managed to get some points, landing themselves on the top of the leaderboard. I have a proposal that I think will interest everyone. " A mirthful glint entered his eyes as he continued speaking.

"We will have a series of tests this session, taking note of everyone's strength, stamina and dexterity. Your scores will be tallied up and the first place student will be granted 10 points. Those in the top ten percentile from that score will be granted 5. So, shall we begin?"

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Finn looked at Avo and couldn't help but shake his head at the shit eating grin that covered the man's face. Fred and Mont however didn't look so good.

"What's wrong?" Finn asked them.

"I'll be honest, it's not looking too good for us." Fred said with a chuckle. "We're a little worn out from our earlier activities." But then a commited look entered his eyes. "I like the challenge though. I'm still going to aim for the top spot," he said directly looking at Avo who only grinned back.

The students began to form into groups. The first event was a sprint from on end of the arena to the other which was maybe 50 meters or so. Mathias made sure to explain that empowering yourself with energy during this test was forbidden. This test was about raw stats and on the surface it may seem like a fair competition but those who had done some body tempering beforehand would have an advantage here.

The class was about 60 members strong and the tests would be performed in sets of three. Avo, Fred, Mont and Finn were in the same group so they would be able to directly compete against each other. Finn hadn't spent a lot of time tempering his body but everyone here should still be within the novice range and he was confident in his build to at least pass as above average.

The whistle blew and everyone took off. It was a short race but the front runners were immediately evident. Avo moved like the wind easily taking a spot ahead of the group. That didn't suprise Finn. What surprised him was was the woman that was right on his heels. The slender black haired beauty was giving Avo a run for his money. Still Avo finished first with the girl quickly following and then after a longer gap, Fred and Mont.

By gap it was only a few fractions of a second in difference but the fact that there were people who could create a gap of any size was pretty amazing considering the short length of the rave. The others in the race, Finn included were nothing special and each finished a few milliseconds after the front runners. From there, it moved to long jump, a ball through and vertical jumps. Eventually everything was finished and the class returned to their seats.

Finn raised an eye at the two ghouls that sat near him, their bodies just a fluid motion of expanding and contracting as they took breaths as large as possible. "Are you two okay?" He asked Fred and Mont.

"Yeah, yeah, totally fine." Fred managed to choke out between breaths.

Mathias started to speak and Finn could only take their word on it.

"Looks like we have a few interesting characters this year. In first Place, Avo Constance. With respectable scores in each category. He is followed closely by Niu Aburgine with equally respectable scores. They will each be awarded 10 and 5 points respectively. Fred and Mont follow, but you two could use some work on your stamina. If you had kept going strong you would have easily made the top percentile as well."

He had delivered those results with a smile but he soon took as stern expression as he addressed the rest of the class.

"The rest of you either also fall just short or did not come close. Don't despair. It is normal for those who have just begun on the path. These weaknesses will disappear in time and we will focus on your strengths. That is all for today. See you all tomorrow."

"Well, well, well." Avo said, that oversized grin returning to his face. He held his token and it was obvious what he was so happy about.

"Fred, Mont, I'm going to need to guys to take this class more seriously. Otherwise this guy will let things go to his head." Finn said sarcastically.

"Agreed" Fred wheezed out. "I'll be taking first place again soon. I just need a break." He was looking better but made no move to get up as he kept breathing.

"By the way, are you guys taking energy control?" Finn asked his new group.

"Naturally," Avo responded and looking at Fred and Mont saw them nodding in agreement.

"I guess we can get something to eat before." Avo said. " We'll have to hurry though, we only have a few minutes of free time."

"Sure" Finn said, seeing no reason to ditch the group right now. He wanted to check the library again but he could do that after he got a quick lunch.

The group were preparing to leave when they were stopped by someone blocking their path.

It was Nui, and she had a question.

"How did you two get your points?" She asked looking between Fred and Mont.

In all his fatigue Fred somehow found the energy to put up a front. "It's kind of a secret," he said with a hand to his chin, as if considering if he should tell her or not. Looks like he came to a quick decision because he followed with, "I'll agree to tell you, if you join us for lunch."

Nui looked over the group, her eyes shooting daggers before she just turned and left without responding.

"Well aren't you just a ladies man," Avo laughed.

"Ahem," Fred cleared his throat in embarrassment. "We should get going."

The group made their way to the cafeteria where the standard lunch was a bowl of rice and a few scant pieces of meat. They found a spot to sit down and Finn noticed that Fred actually had two bowls.

"How did you get two?" Finn asked.

"Perks of being in the upper Echelon of students," Fred said with a shrug.

Finn looked at Avo who only shook his head and returned his gaze to Fred now with disbelief.

"You barely manage to get some points and you spend it on extra food?" Finn asked, incredulous.

"A man's gotta eat," was the simple response without an ounce of remorse.

Finn took out his token and checked the leaderboards. He wanted to deduce how many points an extra serving cost but Fred's point remained unchanged, though he had been booted down to the third position.

"Hey," Finn said. "Did you really spend some points on that? Because your rank hasn't changed."

"Really?" Fred asked a bit surprised, "I thought I would have to give up my ranking, but I guess doesn't work like that."

Finn wasn't sure if this would good or bad news. It seemed like your total point count wouldn't be lowered if you spent some. It meant that you couldn't just hold points to try and reach the top of the ranking system as others purchased services, not that any good reason was given for being on the leaderboard. Right now it only served as bragging rights instead of bringing in any actual benefits.

On the other hand it also meant you'd be a fool to hoard points and nobody had to fear losing their rank because they wanted to use some benefits. Finn guessed that eventually ranks would be used for something, maybe to determine who held the best potential at the end of the term or perhaps for some benefits before then.

"Hey guys," a soft voice came and everyone turned to look. It was Alice, and she had a bowl of her own.

From there, Fred, Alice and Mont started recounting their fight against the oxlorn. Though it was mostly Fred and Alice, since it looked like Mont couldn't or wouldn't speak. Turns out they picked the weakest looking of the beasts and after baiting it away from the others they took their time attacking it until it succumbed. First with punches and kicks before they realized how ineffective their attacks were and resorting to using sticks and stones that they picked up to finish the job. Afterwards they were each automatically awarded 5 points.

Finn turned to Alice. "You don't look like a fighter. Why'd you join these blockheads out there?"

"It's true. I'm looking to learn alchemy first and foremost, which is why I thought there might be some interesting herbs or materials in the wilds. Truthfully these two were supposed to take care of any danger, but it was starting to look dire so I had to do something," she said staring at Fred and Mont with an unimpressed look. Avo gave the other two an appalled look and Finn understood his feelings even if Avo didn't say anything. Fred had talked a big game at the gate and after their excursion, but Alice's words exposed the truth, that they were in over their heads.

"Forcing a non-combatant into fighting? Who knows what could have happened out there?" Avo reprimanded.

"I know, I know, we bit off a bit more than we could chew." Fred said trying to defend himself with an embarrassed look. "But we figured if it really looked dire we could just run to safety since it wasn't too far from the gate. And it all turned out ok, didn't it?"

It was a lax stance to be had for sure, but if Alice wasn't complaining Avo would let it slide for now.

"The spirit of adventure got to me. I'll be more careful next time I promise." Fred said.

"Well I've got to go now." Finn said as he checked the time. He still wanted to get something done in the library.

"So soon? Stay and hang out for a bit. Where are you even in a rush to?" Avo asked.

"The library," Finn responded simply.

"You do know that class begins in 15 minutes?" Avo asked.

"Yes, 15 minutes I could be spending gathering knowledge," Finn responded.

"Fine, fine, off you go," Avo said with a wave of his hands, as if Finn was asking for his permission.

He rolled his eyes and was a little surprised to hear Alice pipe up.

"I'll go with you," she said.

"Fine by me," Avo shrugged, and the two made their way out of the cafeteria.

The two were nearing their destination before Avo spoke up. "I'll warn you in case you haven't seen it yet, but the selection in the library is kind of sparse."

"Really? I haven't had a chance to check it out yet," Alice said with just a tinge of disappointment.

"I'm sure you can still find something worthwhile, I know they have a good encyclopedia for example, but for the most part they've moved the more interesting things to the upper floor. You should ask the librarian about all of that," Finn told her.

Alice nodded and they stepped into the library. Finn held a little hope that the shelves would return and it would have all be cleared up as some kind of mistake, but alas, they were still missing. There wasn't much time but Finn thought he could at least find some interesting books to take note of for later. He waved a hello to Anne as Alice moved to speak with her. Avo was headed straight for the shelves but he stopped as he began feeling an odd sensation in the libraries open space. Alone at one of the tables he spotted Nui reading a large book.