It was time for the beast bouts. Many a student have had their hopes dashed on the stage today, and now it was Lucy's turn.

"Wake up Geri. Listen, I don't expect a lot, but please try to last at least a minute ok. I'll get you a new scratching post if you do." Lucy begged. Gary was indifferent towards the bribe, and he had been caught unawares. He was not expecting combat so soon into his new cat body, but he supposed it was better to get used to it now rather than later.

On one side stood the proud, and mighty spirit wolf, Growling fiercely. On the other sat Gary licking his paw. It was involuntary. The proctor raised up his hand , and signaled for the spirit wolf to be released. It Lunged at Gary with a vicious look in its eyes. Gary swiftly, and easily dodged the wild beast. The immortal flight of the cockatrice seemed to be perfectly suited to his nimble cat body. Gary dashed around the arena at speeds that astounded the judges, the student, and most of all lucy. Gary decided to go in for the kill. Claws were like tiny daggers weren't they? Gary buried his claws into the white fur of the spirit wolf's neck, and tore it up. The spirit wolf limped a few steps forward, and then collapsed dead. The room was stunned, nobody expected a simple cat with a weird gem on its forehead to be so mighty. Lucy was shocked, then overjoyed, then shocked again. How had she managed to catch such a powerful beast bond? She was almost certain it was just a regular black housecat when she bought it. She took a moment in prayer to thank the heavens for this bountiful harvest.

Lucy was getting a lot of looks as she walked down the hallway. Her red and black uniform, distinct from the blue and white uniforms of the other students, was not doing her any favors. She had joined the elites of the academy, in a stunning display of having both perfect written scores, and having beaten the spirit wolf. She was even named the class representative. She was extremely anxious about having to make a speech in front of every incoming freshman. She had barely gotten a wink of sleep the whole week before the entrance ceremony. She wasn't the least bit prepared for her speech and was hoping to wing it. Gary, who was laying on her head, wasn't the least bit bothered by the attention. It didn't matter to him what they thought because to them he just looked like a cat.

Lucy had just made a speech emphasizing humility, and effort or something. Honestly, to Lucy the whole situation had been a blur. To Gary even more so, as he wasn't paying attention. She was walking to her first class of the day, when she was stopped by three? girls, a human, a half-elf, and a bog goblin. It was harder to tell with the bog goblin. They were all in the A-class.

"How'd an imp like you get into the academy? Did you fuck a teacher or?" Said the human girl. Lucy's face turned sour. Racism against tieflings had been a problem ever since the king persecuted them for their role in the chaos. He had a short decade ago pardoned them for their actions, but that didn't stop certain people from holding the actions of a few against the many. Gary, for his part, hissed at the girls. Nobody was allowed to insult his meal ticket! They backed off, having seen his battle prowess firsthand. Lucy elected to ignore them and pushed past them. Despite the anxiety, She was happier than she had ever been, and she wasn't about to let a gaggle of idiots ruin her day.

The teacher, a young bald dwarf, informed the class that today they would be testing their elemental affinity to best determine what courses they ought take beyond the basic classes. He brought out the orb and placed it on his desk, and asked students to step up one by one. many of them had rare affinities, this was the A-class after all. As soon as Lucy stepped close to the affinity orb, Gary jumped off of her head, and stepped back as soon as he heard the orb making a strange ringing noise. While he didn't mind the attention of the student. He did not like the idea of being scrutinized too closely by the professors. Lucy's affinity turned out to be ice, a decently rare affinity that could provide an infinite supply of iced tea. The possibilities were endless.

Afterwards the students were given their syllabi, and given instructions on how to sign up for their bonus classes. Lucy's exceptional performance meant that room, and board were free, and that the books she needed were provided for free. In return she was forced to take the maximum of 4 bonus classes. Which would have her in class from the early morning to the late evening. She elected to choose her classes in the morning, as they were given the weekend to decide, and prepare. When Lucy had gone to sleep. Gary snuck his way back to the classroom. He found what he was looking for. He was lucky that the affinity orb was still there. Gary approached it slowly and cautiously. This time it made no ringing noise. He touched the orb, and looked into it. On the other side He saw a cat touching an orb. Gary did not sleep well that night.