Professor Melia Aarons was a hunched, squat woman with a grounded air about her – metaphorically...and sadly, literally.

It was debated whether the fact that she taught Universal Knowledge of Unnatural Creatures and interacted with odd creatures was the reason for her phenomenal, ever-present stench, or if the rotting egg, moldy, dead fish, decomposing rat smell with hints of smoke, was part of her natural body odor.

Either way, that aspect of her had led to the First Years calling her Rotten... much like their upperclassmen.

The moment Professor Aarons set foot anywhere at all, every veteran nose twitched in acknowledgment, while the younger ones almost bowed in awe.

The aged woman, who was accompanying an unperturbed Professor Lyall, was dressed in a similar manner of fashion to that which she had on every day; a dark, rubbery coat that reached her ankles, flashy red gumboots, a dress so stiff it might have been made of Qin Steel, and an old trapper hat.

Her oval face, marked with innumerable wrinkles, a button nose as squat as she was, and thin, yellow eyes showed a mesmerizing degree of indifference.

Professor Aarons didn't seem all there at the best of times.

When Professor Lyall greeted the students, Ginger had failed to respond, his eyes stuck on the motionless, short, old lady.

"I'd say we are a tad bit behind schedule. Let's hurry things along, shall we?" the thickly woman said with her V-shaped lips drawing taut, her keen eyes looking over her round-rimmed glasses. "Let's quickly make a stop by the Ample Forge to retrieve your chosen weapons and be off."

"That's right. We are going to need those...' Ginger thought as his stomach churned. Somehow, he was starting to doubt his pick from days ago; the dagger.

Once again, the fact that this Stride moved so rapidly, leaving matters like meaningful practice with their weapons – which they had finally managed to imbue Mana Essence into – made Ginger nervous.

As Professor Lyall beckoned the First Years to follow after her, she was interrupted and called by the slim girl who had been helping the assistants put away the racks.

Notably, one remained, with an unclaimed set of Light Gear hanging from it.

Ginger found it odd.

The sets were made with specifications for every student. Was it an extra or was someone absent?

While his Prime Instructor conversed with the slim girl in hushed voices, Ginger turned to Reiss and found that the dwarfish dragonling shared the same opinion as him.

"Strange. Who would dream of being late today of all days?" Reiss said.

Moments later, Professor Lyall turned to the class.

"It seems we have someone missing from our midst. Has anyone seen one Caron Ester?" she asked.

Reiss and Ginger looked at each other in surprise, then they reflexively looked around as if just now remembering that Caron existed.

Ginger had thought that she was within the crowd somewhere, and would soon find them. Frankly, even after a few days of this Stride with her, it didn't feel too odd not having her around her yet.

Reiss had obviously enjoyed her absence so thoroughly that he did indeed only figure that there was a dragonling by her name just now.

'Where is she?' Ginger thought. 'She wouldn't try to avoid today's exercise on purpose, right?'

The image of a sleeping Caron floated through his mind and he became convinced that she might have simply overslept.

The students of First Blue made similar deductions, with some even laughing at the fact that the supposed 'most gifted' among them was bailing from their first encounter with threatening conflict; Professor Mara didn't count.

"Looks like having Totality-type Kardia doesn't make you any braver."

"Hahaha! That slacker probably forgot what today was and slept in!"

"What did you expect? I heard she has a cheese-colored cast!"

The last comment made waves.

Ginger instantly flared.

He balled his hands into fists, wishing he could shut up the sniggering idiots with clean decks to their faces.

Caron wasn't a coward!

What did they even know?

How dare they laugh at someone whom they didn't bother to interact with?

If anything, Caron welcomed wild challenges and was in fact, gifted!

Reiss had even admitted that fact, which said a lot.

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Speaking of the dwarfish dragonling, he too looked furious at the comments, curiously enough.

That fury was only edified severalfold, however.

"Excuse me, Professor?" Fillys eagerly raised her hand to which Professor Lyall turned. "I personally woke her up to bathe and get dressed, but she immediately got back into bed afterward. I think she was hoping you wouldn't notice that she wasn't here until it was too late."

The subdued expression of utter satisfaction on Fillys' face turned Ginger even more livid.

Personally what?!

He wished he could have sent a shot of Kardia into Fillys' face to reveal the sickening expression she was hiding, and for a moment, a bit of his Kardia seeped into his fingers.

Professor Lyall looked neither convinced nor doubtful.

"I see," she said evenly. "Will you volunteer to bring her here then?"

Fillys was stunned at first, but then she grinned.

"Yes, Professor," she said and rushed off.

Ginger and Reiss looked at each other darkly.

They both had a bad feeling.

The group was then led out of the Garbing and Accoutrement building by the two Professors to the Ample Forge. All the First Years, irrespective of class, sighed in relief when they saw no sign of the handsome, stern Professor Mara.

Ginger could have sworn he saw even Vassilis, who was usually cool and calm pat his chest lightly. That was quite the sight.

But then again, he didn't know that much about Vassilis. The Stridely pressure made sure they barely passed each other by in any corridor.

Each of the students grabbed the weapon they had chosen last Stride. The varying Qin Steel pieces had been left in the room they normally held classes in, on spots that had been allocated to each of them. There was no switching to a different weapon from here on, after all, so the other unclaimed weapons had been hidden away.

Handling his dagger, Ginger's doubts soared again.

For a moment, he imagined that nabbing a bigger weapon could have been the better choice instead of sticking to what he was used to.

A glimpse at Reiss who gnashed his teeth while enduring the weight of the large hammer on his small shoulder, however, made him cast away the thought.

'No use thinking about that now.'

Several others seemed to be having doubts like his, but there were also exceptions like Alcaeus with his silver saber, Vassilis with his bow and arrows, Kairos with his mace, and Abela with her halberd; they expressed full faith in their choices.

'I should have more backbone! I was the first to choose my weapon!' Ginger hyped himself up.

Soon, the group was leaving, a few hiding their pinched noses from Professor Aarons who couldn't care less, fortunately.

On the way out, the group saw Fillys return with an additional figure in tow.

When Caron's figure came into focus, a decent number of the First Years, especially those from First Blue, exploded into laughter, and there was a chain reaction that caused a louder echo of mirth.

Ginger and Reiss grimaced.

They both didn't see the joke. In fact, this might have been the most unfunny thing they had ever seen.

Caron's springy red hair was aggressively ruffled, and amidst its chaotic entanglement, Ginger spotted a light bruise on her forehead, hidden subtly by unintentional bangs.

Her face...

Neither Ginger nor Reiss had ever seen her look so miserable. There were twice the amount of bags under her eyes, not to mention her pallid skin tone, and her more unfocused-than-normal droopy eyes.

Her jersey was worn inside out, and she had a tie on, squeezed so tight that her collar itself was gasping for air.

Ginger didn't bother to look at what else was amiss.

He was enraged enough.

What happened to Caron in the girl's dormitories?

"...barely managed to wake her up, Professor, but I managed in the end," Ginger only managed to hear Fillys' voice when she concluded her obviously fabricated tale with a grin.

Professor Lyall looked at Caron with concern.

She nodded off Fillys and brought the redhead to the side where Ginger assumed she asked exactly what he and Reiss were thinking.

To his surprise, Caron merely gave a dazed smile and said something along the lines of 'I'm fine'. Lip reading could only tell so much.

"I knew Fillys didn't like her, but I didn't think she was that isolated in the girl's dormitories," Reiss said with a deep frown, disgusted.

Ginger didn't answer, but he felt the same.

Professor Lyall instructed Professor Aarons to lead the rest of the students to the school entrance while she took Caron to the Ample Forge, fixing her attire on the way.

Ginger and Reiss wanted to follow the two, but they figured it wouldn't be a good idea to stray from the group. Besides, Caron would be with them soon enough and they could talk to her then.

While carrying his concerns about Caron and eyeing a cackling Fillys with burning hate, Ginger still managed to appreciate that he was exiting the school premises for the first time in two Strides.

Passing by that box-shaped entryway to see the long bridge again felt surreal. It would have felt even more enjoyable if not for the weight in his heart.

The location of today's exercise hadn't been disclosed officially, but Zale and Basilia had made sure that Ginger and Reiss knew it was at least going to be outside the school premises while wishing them well yesterday.

Ginger remembered that moment fondly, but he didn't forget Fotini's indifference, after all, he had been with Basilia and Zale.

Ginger couldn't expect a bulk of warmth from everyone. Not at this school.

Even Caron, who was by all accounts special, was having a hard time. It bit at him that he hadn't considered just how bad she had it.

Ginger bit his upper lip and clicked his tongue.

He looked back at the entryway into the school.

A part of him wished Ira would pop up to wish him well too, but that seemed to be a big ask.

'Oh well...' Ginger thought. 'Ancor gave me all the well wishes I will ever need.'

The group didn't move further than the school entrance, which surprised Ginger, as he imagined they would be going further than the bridge at least.

Professor Aarons simply stopped and had everyone endure her smelly pressure while they waited for Professor Lyall.

Thankfully, it wasn't a long wait.

The thickly dragon and a Caron who was dressed in Light Gear appeared soon enough. The latter slotted herself somewhere along the left wing of the crowd, too far for Ginger and Reiss to wiggle to in time.

Professor Lyall, on the other hand, hurriedly moved the program along without giving any time for any more distractions.

"Alright, everyone. We will be going to a special place owned by the school. The means to get there might be unpleasant for some, but I encourage you to get a grip. Every dragon has to learn to handle it at some point," she said, her lips drawing a wider V.

'What means?' Ginger thought, his mind still deliberating on whether or not he should dash through the crowd to reach Caron.

Almost immediately after Professor Lyall spoke, a pair of large, webbed wings whipped out from her back!

They held a golden pigment to their web, and a dirt brown hue to their thick stems, as well as the sharp, claw-like protrusions at their ends.

The First Years marvelled.

"Partial Denaturing!" Reiss exclaimed from Ginger's side.

And indeed it was.

Ginger ogled the thickly woman's wings in awe, but he and the rest of his First Year fellows were yet to see the highlight.

For once Professor Lyall raised a finger in the air and cried, "ALONG!", everyone who felt a pulse of Kardia rush from her, slapping lightly at their face, took flight!

Everyone ascended unwillingly into the sky and shortly after, as Professor Lyall's figure blurred and bombed against the restricting air as she flew fast, they all followed at the same pace!