Chapter 14: Night Classes

When Zel next woke she quickly turned over and was relieved to see that Jammy had stayed with them through the night. She had been worried about the possibility of the large Clickfolk coming to pay them a visit before they woke or, even worse, the idea that Jammy might blindly return to the group despite the way she had been treated. But Zel's concerns were unfounded, as Jammy was still sound asleep right where she had left her the night before, which meant Zel could focus on what was most important right now: their first night of classes.

While she was still furious about the incident she was also excited to finally start her education. Though they had been in town only a short while, it felt like a long time between passing the exams and now.

I wonder who will lead the combat courses the first evening, she wondered while getting dressed. She had her guesses, but it wasn't something she could say with certainty, as she had never even seen a class like the one they were to attend.

A short time after Zel, Miriya woke up and began to get ready to go as well, they shared a concerned look over Jammy, who had yet to stir. Eventually once both Zel and Miriya had finished their morning routines they decided to try to wake Jammy up.

"Hey, Jammy," Zel said while giving the mound of blankets under which the Clickfolk was hidden a gentle rub, "it's finally time for classes! I know that you had a rough night, but I don't think you should let that jerk control you and ruin your mood. We're students of Dream Academy now! What kinda students would we be if we didn't make it to class on the first night." After a few moments, the mound moved as Jammy crawled through the blanket and her head poked out one end. She still seemed to be in a bad mood, but she got up out of bed quickly enough. Zel realized that Jammy did not have her bag with her when she moved in with them the night before, Zel offered her some of her clothes.

"They might be a bit big on you, but I have some pins that we can hold up any loose bits with," she said as Jammy selected a dress from Zel's suitcase, "We'll go get your bag back later, so until then these clothes will have to do! And look, now we both match!" Virtually all of Zel's clothing were dark colored dresses with the occasional shirt and shorts combo, Jammy had chosen one of the ones with the shortest skirts and, while they had managed to get the skirt to a position that it wasn't dragging on the floor, they could not get Jammy's four arms through the holes. Zel was unsure of what to do when Miriya came up with a solution.

"Jammy, if you don't mind looking a little less fabulous than you usually do, I think one of my shirts would fit you like one of your dresses. We could cut off the sleeves and your arms could fit through," She picked up a shirt of hers and showed it to Jammy who was shaking her head and all four arms, "Oh don't worry. It's just a shirt. I can get more, and you'll have your stuff back tonight. Really, don't worry about it!"

Jammy reluctantly nodded and they did away with the sleeves. As Miriya had hoped, it fit almost exactly the same as Jammy's dress and they also gave her a pair of Miriya's shorts that fit fine as well.

"Alright," Zel said, satisfied with their work, "We should head out! Miriya and I still haven't found a place to eat, maybe there is a mess hall somewhere? Anyway, I think last night and this morning's little kerfuffle hasn't left us much time to eat anyway, let's just head to class and hope we can hold out till lunch."

With that, the three of them set off to their first class which was located on the second floor, they did not need to go far. Luckily on their way out they did not run into any of the other Clickfolk.

Maybe they're already in the classroom, we'll have to sit far away from them Zel thought.

They found their classroom without issues, a room with the words "First Year Combat" embossed above the stone frame. They entered together.

Unlike the Manahall there was nothing special about the stone it was produced from. It was a large lecture hall that had seats with long shared desks in front of them set up in tiers that led from the middle of the classroom to the back, with small walkways in the middle and sides.

There was a large board that looked like it was for writing in the front of a classroom and a large gap between it and the students, this area taking up a large bulk of the lecture hall. There were shelvies in the room as well that held a variety of books and interesting equipment the use of which Zel could not determine, though she secretly hoped that she would get to play with them soon.

Most of the students were already in the room when they got there, having picked their seats with most of the cliques sticking together. The group of Clickfolk were sitting in the far corner of the room towards the front, in a big clump like they usually were. If they noticed Zel and the others entering the room, they did not show it. The three opted to stay on the far side and steer clear from them. Zel still wanted to sit near the front, however, and with all the front row seats taken, they were forced to sit a few rows back, much to her disappointment. As they found their seats, Zel noticed that they were sitting in the same row as Cleinz and his group of fancy Splitfolk, he was sitting with his arms crossed looking directly forward, seemingly lost in thought.

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How did I get into it with two different people before school has even started? Zel thought to herself.

Despite the proximity to Cleinz, they decided these seats would work and talked amongst themselves. Eventually the door swung open once again and the five captains that had administered their exams entered. The students grew quiet as the captains organized themselves before Captain Ceres started the show.

"Welcome, students, to your first official class at Dream Academy," he announced to the sound of applause from the students before continuing.

"This is your magical combat course. A course where you will learn how to fight using your various affinities, to keep it blunt. There will be quite a bit of nuance to this course and, as I am sure the headmaster told you, this is a jointly instructed class. You will have the chance to work with all five of us throughout your first year at school and several other professors who have offered to come in as guest lecturers. I believe that most of you know our names by now, but allow us to formally introduce ourselves. I am Captain Ceres, I specialize in stone magic and magical manipulation," after introducing himself he gestured towards the other captains.

"Hey everyone, hopefully you remember me. I'm Captain Skylee, I specialize in close combat magic, my affinity is wind." She said with a smile.

Then it was Captain Exelcia's turn.

"Hello again, everyone. Glad you're all looking healthy after that grueling exam. My name is Captain Exelcia, and I specialize in close quarters combat, but more specifically defensive magic. My affinity is water."

Then it was Captain Kartave's time to speak, everyone waited in anticipation to hear what they sounded like, but to everyone's dismay Skylee spoke for them.

"This is Captain Kartave, they specialize in stealth and sneak attacks, and they actually have their affinity under classified information. So that's all you get." The students gave a collective disappointed groan.

Finally, it was Captain Crans' turn to introduce himself.

"Hello again! My name is Captain Crans!" He exclaimed with a satisfied nod.

The students waited expectantly for him to continue, but they were left hanging as Captain Ceres continued.

"Now that you are all formally students of Dream Academy, you may begin your education in earnest," he said. "We will do our best to ensure that each and every one of you has the tools to survive and thrive as members of this institution, and that starts right here, tonight!" The students all cheered in excitement, the wear and tear of the exam long gone, they were finally ready to become fully fledged Dream Academy students.

"...Of course, that will be after a little more clerical work." Captain Ceres added, his face a disappointed grimace for having to break the bad news. The students let out a collective groan.

"Oh, it is not that bad!" He exclaimed. "It will pass in a flash!"

Captain Ceres then went on to explain what would be expected of the students in the following year. Each of their individual classes would be graded separately and failing on would not influence another, but many of the skills they would be learning would be necessary to pass all of their courses. Whether or not they passed was entirely up to the discretion of their instructors and contingent on the students demonstrating notable improvements in any area the captains deemed fit.

Beyond that, there were several major milestones. The first of which was known as "The Binding Ceremony." It was an event where students, having undergone intense courses and mana training, would have a magical item bound to them that was created by some of the merchants around the school. This was not an event that was graded, but Captain Ceres impressed the importance of it on them as one of their first opportunities to show the public who they were and properly represent the Academy.

The next major milestone was required and would result in expulsion from the program if the students did not participate, and that was the Dream Academy First Year Tournament. Captain Skylee explained this one with glee. It was a tournament in which all the students in the classroom would participate, giving them a chance to face off against one another one on one to see the general strength of every student in their class. It would be their first real taste of combat and was an event that many people throughout Split Sky and beyond came to watch.

The final and most important event of the year was the final exam. It would take place as the very last part of their first year of education, and would be announced at a later date, though Captain Ceres promised that it would test everything that the students had learned at every level. Despite not knowing the details of the exam, it immediately made Zel nervous, as Captain Ceres mentioned that anybody who failed to pass the exam would have to file an appeal, otherwise they would fail out of Dream Academy.

"Beyond that, there will be opportunities for students to join Captains and other seasoned veterans on real missions to get a taste of what it is like outside of the classroom," he concluded. "But those opportunities and the exams are a ways off yet. Now, as promised, Captain Exelcia will handle your first magical combat training."

Captain Exelcia stepped forward and produced the weapon that she wore on her back. Zel could now see that it was a massive war hammer, at least as long as Captain Ceres was tall, and nearly twice as tall as Captain Exelcia herself. She brandished it menacingly while speaking in her sweet tone.

"A pleasure to be working with all of you! Now prepare yourselves. We have a lot of work to do."