“Ah, good morning class. How’s everyone doing today?”

“Good!” Reina said, pumping her fist into the sky. Everyone else simply muttered out incomprehensible groans. There didn’t appear to be many “morning people” in the class today.

Mr. Roy (who strangely refused to tell anyone in the school his surname) frowned at the response from the class. “Oh, come now, where’s your spirit, everyone? You’re all young — show it!”

He turned his attention to Lance, clapping his hands together with enough force to awake the sleeping beauty. “Lance!”

The young man shook the sleep from his head. “U-uh, morning, sir!”

With a satisfactory nod, Mr. Roy returned his focus to the class in its entirety. “Welcome, everyone, to Ultranian Biology. Now, this is a bit of a strange topic, especially to those of us from other worlds here,” as he said that, he nodded politely in Annabelle’s direction.

“Ultranians are the native denizens of Planet ULTRA,” he began. Several students, Annabelle in particular, began scribbling away in their notebooks. “What makes us stand out from other species is our natural inclination towards ULTRA Force particles.

“These particles come from the core of our world, and our bodies naturally attract, absorb, and amplify these particles, primarily through Force Slots.”

The giant instructor paused mid-pace. “Who can tell me what the three Force Slots are?”

An assortment of hands aimed up high, but Mr. Roy honed in on Lance. “Ah, Lance. What are they?”

“Um….Mind, Heart, and Body, sir.”

“Good work, son.” The hands all dropped. “That is correct; we possess three Force Slots: Mind, Heart, and Body. These three Slots are our most important tools in our interactions with ULTRA Force particles, and honing them all is important. Reina, what are you eating?”

The chameleon girl held up a bag of candy. “Gummy worms!”

“Did you bring enough to share with the class?”

“Sure!”

Reina jumped up from her chair, and began to walk around the classroom, dropping off a single gummy worm on each student’s desk.

Chuckling, Mr. Roy continued. “Each Force Slot can reach one of three developmental levels. What are they?”

More hand went up, but again Mr. Roy focused on Lance. “Lance.”

“Open, Active, and Primed.”

“Correct! When a Force Slot is Open, it begins to filter in ULTRA Force particles, but is otherwise inaccessible to us. When a Force Slot becomes Active, it widens and becomes much more, well, active, and that’s when we are able to set Installs into them. When a Force Slot is Primed, it starts to operate at its highest levels, and we can then set two Installs into it.”

Mr. Roy took a moment to drink from the coffee mug on his desk. Once finished, Reina approached him, and dropped the final gummy worm into his open palm. “Thank you, Reina.”

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

“You’re welcome!”

“At birth, ultranians are born with one Open Force Slot,” he said. “From there, the second Slot usually opens in the 20s, and is highly dependent on the individual’s way of living. The third Slot requires rigorous, active practice to unlock, and many of us never gain access to it.”

Annabelle raised her hand. “Um, is there a specific order that ultranians unlock their Force Slots?”

He shook his head. “Nope! It’s dependent on the individual. Does anyone have any ideas as to what determines the order one unlocks their Slots?”

Only a few hands made their way to the sky, and Lance’s was not included this time around. Mr. Roy called on him anyway. “Lance. Any ideas?”

The young man was caught off guard. “Uh, me? I don’t know, sir?”

Mr. Roy sighed. “How disappointing….”

Despite not being called on, Cain decided his answer was correct and needed to be heard by everyone else. “The order is determined by the direction of one’s training program.”

“Pretty good answer,” said Mr. Roy. “What about the birth Slot? You can’t train when you’re in the womb.”

“Simple genetics,” Cain replied with a smirk. “Those of us who are born superior immediately have access to the Mind Slot, while those of us who are born inferior begin with the simple Body Slot.”

A harsh voice called out from the back of the room. “Piss off, dickhead!”

Mr. Roy clapped his hands together, unleashing a blast of thunder around the classroom. “Quiet!”

After taking another sip of coffee, he said, “While we’re on the subject, ultranians tend to favor one particular Force Slot; typically the one they’re born with, but not always. These are called ‘Styles’ of ultranians. Who can name the three Styles?”

Cain had already begun to open his mouth before his hand even made it up, let alone was selected to be called on, but Mr. Roy cockblocked him by, once again, calling on Lance.

Lance’s eyebrows curved inward. “Uh, sir, why do you keep calling on me? I don’t-”

“My star pupil doesn’t know the answer to this….” Mr. Roy said, his voice low and carried by the dramatic flair of a thespian. “How have I failed you so….?”

“S-sorry….?”

The glum look on Mr. Roy’s face vanished in an instant, replaced by a bright smile. “That’s alright, son! We’ll just go over the material again while you do 200 pushups!”

“H-huh?!”

Mr. Roy looked to the other students. “Ryuna. What are the three Styles of ultranian?”

Ryuna, who had propped her feet up on top of her desk, thus blocking the view between her and Mr. Roy, tilted her head to the side to make eye contact. “Burster, Frame, Mentalist.”

“Correct.”

“Booyah, bitches.”

“Bursters specialize in the Heart Slot, Frames specialize in the Body Slot, and Mentalists specialize in the Mind Slot,” Mr. Roy began. “Would anyone like to share with the class which Style they prefer?”

Lance raised his hand, but Mr. Roy shook his head. “Lance, please, allow the rest of the class to participate, will you? I know you enjoy the attention, son, but there are others who deserve it as well.”

“Wh-what?!”

Cain folded his arms across his chest. “A true fighter doesn’t needlessly reveal information on his fighting style. That would be foolish.”

A smirk appeared on Ryuna’s face. “Dude, we already know what your Style is cuz you’re so pompous about the Mind Slot.”

“Hmph. And what are you?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “Iunno. Burster, I guess? I like the Body Slot a lot, too.”

He did a double take. “What? You have two Slots already?”

“Yyyyup.”

“Impossible.”

“Dude I’ll fight you after class if you want proof.”

Mr. Roy once again clapped his hands to silence the room. “Well, since everyone’s being so social today, how about we start on a group project? You’ll form groups of three — one of each Style of ultranian — and create a presentation on the characteristics of each.” He then looked to Annabelle. “You can pretend you’re whichever Style your two partners are missing, Miss Quinah.”

As the class began to form trios amongst themselves, Mr. Roy stepped over to Lance’s desk with a smile. “Unfortunately, Lance, with everyone dividing into groups, you’re going to have to be the odd man out and do the presentation on all three, all by yourself!”

Lance’s jaw practically dropped from his head. “W-wait, what?” He turned to Annabelle’s direction. “Wait, can’t Annabelle just sit out since she isn’t ultranian?”

Mr. Roy’s massive hand smacked against the back of his head, triggering flashbacks to his time in Ecclesian Knight training. “Offering a lady up as a sacrifice? Have you no shame, boy?”

As Lance’s face dropped to his desk, Mr. Roy let out a hearty laugh. “Ah, fret not, son! I know you’ve got the talent to crush this assignment!”