“I was planning on waiting a bit longer for the announcement, but I suppose I might as well say it now,” Delph said. “There are two important things I need to go over. First, you will all be required to do five quests throughout the course of the year if you want to graduate. At least one of those quests must be D rank, while the others are your choice.”

He paused, making eye contact with each student to make sure they understood him before continuing.

“You will be expected to work within your groups to do this. I have already assigned some of you, and the rest will get their assignments after you learn how to use the Ether. If you have a problem with your partner, you may find me after class.”

They nodded.

“Good. Next, you all have two weeks before the Combat Rankings,” Delph said. “These battles will determine how you stand against other students in the first year, and you will be allocated an allowance and magical items depending on how well you do. I recommend you place highly.”

The students broke out in murmurs.

“What if we aren’t that good at fighting?” the chubby boy that had nearly been kicked out of class a few days ago asked.

“Then I suggest you get better,” Delph said, smirking. “However, if you feel that your talents are better suited to non-combat aspects, do not fret. There are other ways to get a stipend and rewards from the school that do not involve combat. You can speak to Auntie in the Treasure Pavilion if you’d like more information.”

The boy nodded.

“I should add that the higher your combat ranking is, the more dangerous quests you’ll be allowed to go on, and the more credits you’ll be able to earn from them,” Delph said. “So I recommend you train hard over these next few weeks.”

Delph snapped his fingers and pointed at four students, none of which Damien knew the names of.

“Come along. I am going to demonstrate how to access the Ether. For the rest of you, practice how you see fit until I finish up. I’ll be coming around to give everyone pointers, so make sure you aren’t slacking.”

Four of the students followed after him, leaving the others behind. Nolan spotted Damien’s embarrassed flush and offered him a grin.

“He had all of us show up at different times,” Nolan said. “The professor sparred everyone that had magic when we showed up. Mark showed up just a few minutes ago. Why didn’t he fight you?”

“He met me this morning,” Damien said, grimacing and pulling back one of his sleeves, revealing the rows of bruises covering him. Loretta, the girl who had first stepped up when Delph had threatened to kick the other students out of the class, drew in a sharp breath.

“What did he do to you?” Loretta asked in horror.

“Training,” Damien replied, rolling the sleeve back down. “I asked for it, so don’t worry. I doubt he’ll do that to you.”

She looked relieved, but only by a little.

“Do you have any idea what we’re meant to practice?” Reena asked, brushing some of the hair out of her face with a distasteful frown. “He didn’t even teach us anything yet.”

“No clue,” Damien replied. “But I gather he’s already told you guys your teams, right?”

“He has,” Loretta said, gesturing at the bald boy beside her. “Cody and I are working together.”

“And I’m with Reena,” Nolan said.

“I’m on my own,” Mark said.

“Why?” Loretta asked, raising an eyebrow. “I thought all students were supposed to work in groups.”

“I’m a special case,” Mark replied, not elaborating further. An awkward silence passed over the group. Damien cleared his throat.

“We better get to work before Delph rips us a new one,” he suggested. “Maybe we can practice sparring with our group mates? To get better understanding of their abilities.”

The others blinked. Then they nodded, thoughtful expressions crossing their faces.

“That would work. I’m always beating Nolan,” Reena said, smirking at her brother.

“Only in your dreams, Reena,” Nolan replied. The two of them sneered at each other and walked towards an empty area in the arena.

Loretta and Cody headed off as well, leaving Mark with Damien and Sylph.

“You can join us, if you want,” Damien offered. “Unless you aren’t allowed to do that.”

“Thank you,” Mark said, tilting his head. “I should be fine if it’s just a practice round. There’s a professor nearby anyways.”

Sylph wiped the imperceptible frown off her face and gave Damien a small nod. “That’s fine with me. It’ll be good to get some more practice against other people.”

Damien nodded, trying to mute the throbbing pain in his arms and legs as they walked to an empty area.

“Sylph and I can go first,” Mark offered.

“Knock yourselves out,” Damien said, flopping onto the ground a short distance away from them with a badly concealed sigh of relief.

Sylph gave Mark a small nod. They faced eachother, both lowering into fighting stances. Mark jammed his sword into the sand behind him and curled his hands.

“How do we decide who wins?” Mark asked.

“Three strikes that draw blood?” Sylph offered.

“Works for me.”

“Do we need a referee?” Mark asked, rolling his shoulders and popping his neck.

“Nah,” Damien piped up from the sidelines as he made himself comfortable. “It’s friendly training, not a match. Make sure you pull your punches as well. Something tells me that Delph would laugh at us for a few minutes before he got a healer if something goes wrong.”

“Good idea,” Mark said. “I’ll control myself.”

“As will I,” Sylph said. She gestured to the sand below them. “You can make armor, right? I would use it.”

Sylph shimmered and slipped into the shadows, fading out of view. At the same time, the sand wrapped around Mark’s legs and climbed up his body, forming into plates of armor. This time, it covered his entire body, only leaving his eyes open.