Gary was having a hard time. He was trying to learn how to figure skate while having ice boltz thrown at him. Lucy's behavior had changed since she started using the static mind. She ceased complaining about schoolwork, and became a working machine. Gary couldn't feel the chaotic mess of emotion and anxiety typically associated with most students. There was only cool calm determination. Gary could feel a hint of rage at her aggressors as well. They had recently ambushed her friends, and badly beaten them. This had happened outside of the Academy grounds, and there was no evidence that they had done it. The teachers didn't care much for tieflings and their associates. Kristie was also a tiefling, and Ellen was a Gnome, typically considered scoundrels within Calassaria. Even if there had been evidence it's unlikely there would have been justice. Ever since Lucy had been on the warpath, and had devoted herself to her cultivation. She decided that both she, and Gary needed to get stronger. As her ice powers would leave the trails everywhere she needed Gary to learn how to properly maneuver on it if he was going to be effective. She realized that perhaps an animal from a colder environment would have been more useful to her, but all she had was a cat.

Gary had been making steady progress in mapping out his channels, and felt that he was just about done with it. He would soon start cultivating again, and felt some excitement at the prospect of actually getting somewhere without having to deal with constant existential threats. He had learned some actual spells too. He did not have the best memory so he only focused on memorizing the ones that would be useful to him. He cast a fog spell, a haste spell, and a shield spell. For now he felt that these were enough, and also the most he could memorize in a short time without the ability to write things down. All the training Lucy had put him through did show results. He could now effectively dodge her ice boltz, whilst performing a double axel spin. This should be useful in maintaining their synergy. An interesting skill that Lucy now enjoyed through her deepened bond was the ability to transform into beast form. She would turn into a tiefling catwoman gaining some of Gary's abilities. Gary did not gain anything from this exchange. In fact he would lose some of his abilities when she used it, but he felt it was a fair trade for the care.

All this training was for the upcoming outdoor survival exam. The students would be dropped off into a subspace wilderness, and tasked with surviving the month. Combat was encouraged, but not necessary. Those who did engage in combat would earn merit, and be ranked. The higher the rank the higher the grade. Those that merely survived long enough would only pass the exam. Lucy did not intend to just survive. She was going to hunt down the bastards and show them what it meant to mess with a tiefling. Gary could feel her conviction, and while he wasn't as invested in her friendships he was certainly invested in kicking some ass.

The day of the exam slowly approached. Gary and Lucy were perfectly in sync with each other. Lucy had kept her grades high, and trained herself to the peak of the Ideal Face stage. A surprising achievement for someone who had only been at the Academy a few short months. There were likely few other students that could boast this achievement. Unfortunately Fritz was amongst these students. Lucy had not failed to notice that Gary was slightly larger than he usually was. Gary had done it! He once again broke through to the Innate Talent stage. He had seen visions of the savannah. He ran through it like the mighty feline he was chasing down his prey. He wondered if he had gotten some of the cat's soul debris on his own. He didn't know what to do with it. The debris was just sitting there in his sea of consciousness. He hoped that he could find some use for it eventually. He did not want his fundamental nature to change too much, so he felt it would be a bad idea to just eat it.

The day of the exam came. The students were all lined up given a speech about how survival was essential for any good wizard, and that they would face constant threats on their journey etcetera, and sent on their way. Lucy, and Gary woke up next to a lake. They were in the middle of a forest. A good start no one would be able to spot them easily right away. If this was Gary's exam he would have preferred to hide away in a cave, or up a tree till the end, but Lucy preferred to stand out. In fact she found she liked the attention she'd been receiving from others. She wasn't just going to hunt down her bullies, but anyone else unfortunate enough to stumble upon her. They heard an explosion off in the distance. It was close enough to their location that they could feel the shockwave. Lucy ran in the direction of the blast, while Gary trailed behind.