All the students were gathered in the courtyard. Most were by their rank. Kyrion, Nico, and Wura were the few in the rank one class to move up to rank two, leaving Everest behind at rank one. But, of course, Everest liked designing clothes more than training. So his falling behind in that regard was normal.

The Class zero students had all been brought back, and at a cursory glance, Kyrion couldn’t find his friend Noah. Instead, a familiar-looking kid was waving in his direction. Although there was something fundamentally off.

The headmaster Yulon made his way to the stage. “This week is the last one you have before the first rank up examination. Which will be a form of a team monster hunt. Team captains will be students in the rank three and four class. Teams can have a minimum of three students and a maximum of eight. You must include a member of each rank below as well. Class zero students are counted as class one in this regard. You have a week to make preparations and the test will go on for an entire week. You may return when you feel that you have done enough to pass. Students with the highest scores will be given special training equipment and resources, along with being notified as a student with potential, which means the academies will have an eye on you. You are released, so go, form your teams.”

Nobody moved until Yulon had left the stage, and even then, many meandered. Some teams of friends formed quicker than others.

Damian shyly made his way to the people he knew. “Will you guys.. Join my team?” He asked the ground.

Everest spoke first, “Who are you asking Damion?”

“Y-you guys…Kyrion, Everest, and Noah.” He stuttered.

“I see, well I need to at least take my sister. Which would probably include her friends. Have you seen Noah yet? I’ve looked but haven’t been able to find him.”

“I’m right here.” Said a familiar voice from behind him. It came from the tall kid with a strong build and a familiar face. His features were sharper, and his hair had grown a little. “Don’t you remember me?”

“Noah!” Kyrion gave his friend a hug.

On cue, Asela and her friend Kiara made their way over to them. Wura had just been waiting for them to arrive.

“With us you have seven.” Asela said, walking into the conversation.

“I-I di-din’t agree to that!” Kiara yelled.

“Well, I have to keep an eye on my big brother, lest he get lost and take a nap in the woods. Mom would never forgive me if I just left him alone. Since I’m in class two it’s one less thing to worry about. You can always go join another group with friends.”

“But… Fine.” Kiara concedes the point.

“Great! Wura?” Asela looked to her other friend, who nodded.

Everest looked to Kyrion, who seemed deadpan. “Was your sister always this bossy?”

“From day one the weight of the world was on her shoulders.” Kyrion said sarcastically.

“That’s right,” Asela agreed, not seeing the sarcasm.

Everest stifled a laugh and waved off the conversation.Damian whispered something, which was not acknowledged, so he repeated it. “We need eight. There is strength in numbers and chances are this test will be dangerous.”

“What do you mean?” Everest asked.

“If you’ve ever gone on a monster hunt before, you should know, monsters can be unpredictable and cunning. We’re all going to need to be combat ready at the minimum. While I doubt there will be anything in the high practitioner rank. If we do run into something dangerous the more power we have to fight it off the better.” Damian managed to say clearly, before turning red.

Nico stood there pondering a few things and not being approached. “Well it seems I am in a predicament.”

Kyrion appeared behind him. “What’s wrong?”

“It seems that I don’t have any other friends.” Nico stated bluntly.

“Shouldn’t people be all over you, for recruiting?” Kyrion asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Well...The team captains don’t know me that well, and those in our class probably would not mention me if doing so risks their friends being ousted.”

“You’re probably overthinking it. I’m pretty sure it’s because most don’t understand what you say half the time. Big words are hard. You know? Good news is with you we have eight people on a team and since I consider you a friend. You’re free to come with us.”

Nico needed no other words as they joined the group.

“In one hour meet me in the sparring ring. I will begin by seeing what you can do before assigning positions,” Damian said with more resolve.

Everyone met up with your various tools, weapons, and equipment around an hour later.

“Thank you for arriving. Now as leader I will begin by seeing who is good for what. Everest, what can you do in a fight? What do your abilities allow you to do?”

“Nothing for fighting sir. I can make clothes that are sturdier than necessary. I can also manipulate the threads a little. Not sure what that can do in a fight.” Everest replied

“Can you make something for everyone within a week?” Damian asked.

“To be fair, it would only take me a day if I didn’t already have everyone siz…. I can do it in a day,” Everest corrected as he glanced across the group.

“Great, a supporter. Noah, what can you do now?” He asked, looking at his friend.

“I can create armor and weapons made from molten metals and they stay like that permanently when cooled. The process burns a lot of energy however. I can also turn into a lion monster thing with my armor growing to accommodate the changes.”

“So a potential frontliner, good. Nico you’re next.”

“My fire comes from a beast, which allows me to call fire based abilities, my attacks have a biting effect, the range 30 feet. I also know alot about monsters.” Nico stated.

“So you would go in the middle. Asela, you also use fire, correct?” Damian looked at the small girl.

“Yes, but my fire is weak damage wise, but easy to control. I can also take some control of fire away from those weaker than me.” Asela replied bluntly.

“Another one in the middle. Great. Kyrion?”

Kyrion shrugged. “I throw a mean disk, and can shoot small gusts of wind.”

“You know, you made yourself sound weaker than you are but that puts you in rearguard for range support. Kiara?”

“I can conjure objects made from ice, and am proficient in many weapons.” She answered.

“Flexible, that’s good, Lastly, Wura, what can you do?”

“I can create some type of liquid metal and make it harder and softer at will. Right now I can make a shield and spear simultaneously. Any more and the durability drops.” Wura answered.

“That sounds like front line use for now, but may become a support ability later. My turn, I’m a blade dancer, my sword is my main weapon and I’m a very evasive warrior. However, I’m strong and adaptable, and my sword weakens the senses of my target.”

Damian then began evaluating physical prowess. The strongest physically were in order; Noah, Kyrion, Damian, Wura, Kiara, Nico, Everest, and Asela.

“Huh… I’m weaker than four eyes.” Everest stated.

“It’s because of rank.” Nico stated.

“I’m weak!!!” Asela whined.

“And boy is Noah strong.” Kyrion said, surprised.

“And so were you, I had trained as a blacksmith’s apprentice so pounding metal made me that way despite my looks. When I got my spirits up, I ended up getting a lot stronger as well.” Noah stated.

Damian set up an obstacle course to test endurance. Upon completion, the participant had to run back to the beginning and complete the trek again. The results were the following: first place to last: Kyrion, Damian, Wura, Noah, Kiara, Everest, Asela, and Nico. By the end, Kyrion didn’t seem winded, but he was running very low on mana.

“Kyrion...when did you get so athletic? Even grandpa’s training had you tired by the end, and I’m pretty sure this was more exhausting.” Asela asked.

Kyrion shrugged, “Not sure, before hitting rank two this much would have me empty in both energy and mana, but now only my mana is low.”

Nico eyed his classmate, “Are you cheating?”

“What do you mean?” Kyrion asked, not aware of what he meant.

“If you don’t know, then it’s probably a natural ability. Which means you can’t turn it off.” Nico said.

“Hey you’re talking like me now!” Kyrion yelled in excitement.

“Huh, I did not notice. You are a bad influence.” Nico said smugly.

The third round was based on pure speed. The fastest people in the group were Everest, Damian, Kiara, Nico, Asela, Wura, Noah, and Kyrion.

“Finally, something I’m good at!” Everest did a victory dance, only to look over and see Kyrion lying face-first on the ground.

Muffled words come from Kyrion.

“Heh, this proves it. Kyrion has some sort of regeneration ability, which is a boon. He’s going through mana withdrawal now as his body feels the strain of being over exerted and healed over and over again. If you pace properly it’s an effective training method, but it can be dangerous if overused. Well, a potential healer is also a nice boon, if you can figure out how to use it on others then your versatility as a supporter has grown.” Nico explained.

Kyrion put a single thumb up and ate a piece of mana candy. Regaining a portion of his lost mana enough to function.

“Much better.”’

“Hello? My greatness everyone?” Everest tries to regain attention.

“Nobody likes a sore winner.” Nico states while flipping through a book.

“Moving on. Now I’ll split us up into two to three person teams Based on what I’ve seen and heard. Asela, and Nico will make up our mid guard, coordinating their fire power. Your powers may be much stronger together than they are apart, and considering the fact that you’re both kinda squishy, it seems that being in the middle will be best.” Damian wrote everything down in a booklet.

Nico nodded in acceptance.

Asela eyed Damian and then nodded as well.

“Team two will be the Frontliners. Noah, Wura, and I, will act as the Vanguard. Our job is to keep monsters from getting into the middle and stopping monsters dead in their tracks.”

Noah and Wura nod simultaneously.

“Great! Finally, Kiara, Everest, and Kyrion will be our rear guard. Your job is to support us the best you can, either by restraining enemies, knocking them off balance, or taking them out. Two of you have some sort of ranged ability while the third seems to have keen eyesight, but no attack based potential as of yet. If we’re gonna do well we need to be as prepared as possible.” Damian finished.

Everyone eventually split off into their own groups to discuss roles and abilities.

Kyrion gathered with his group at a range, in an area that Kyrion had never been before. Various targets were lined up in the distance. Some were moving; others were still. The sizes varied along with shapes resembling monsters.

“What is this place?” Everest asked.

“It’s a training area used for practicing ranged attacks. Normally only students in class two, and up can be here, but I asked a teacher and they said it’s ok since we’re going to be a team.” Kiara explained.

“I see… Who goes first?” Kyrion asked.

“Who wants to go first?” Kiara answered.

“I don’t.” Everest stated, and Kyrion nodded with him.

“What gentlemen you are.” Kiara conjures a crystalline white bow made from ice and takes a quiver of arrows from a bin on her right.

Kiara drew an arrow, knocking it and pulling back a thin thread of ice. As she did, a quiet inhale could be heard. When she exhaled, she released the arrow, which flew through the air with some sort of rotation. The arrow dug a hole through the wooden target where it struck, freezing the exit wound as it passed out the other end. Kiara repeated the process on a few other targets before the bow disappeared after three minutes and Kiara seemed exhausted.

“Who’s next?” Kiara turned around to see Kyrion napping on the floor and a missing Everest. She decided to softly kick the sleeping Kyrion.

“Ow!” Kyrion jerked up. “Weird. When did I fall asleep. You take forever to fire arrows you know?” Kyrion, already healing past the damage, stood up and looked around.

“Where’s Everest?” He asked.

“It looks like he ran off somewhere.” Kiara said, worried.

“Probably. He can be quiet when he wants to be. Well I’m off. Just throwing a disc won’t help me the most here. You all have such cool abilities, yet I still don’t understand how mine even work. Even Noah is ahead of me in that regard.” Kyrion left the range.

Kyrion found a quiet place to manifest his three spirits. Only the tiny bird and Jala came out. “Jala, and uh… I didn’t give you a name. So from now on, your name is Isaac. You look like an Issac.”

The small bird saluted and chirped, and Kyrion felt a significant drain on his mana. Isaac began to grow a few inches in size before settling.

A refreshing feeling passed through Kyrion’s body, clearing his skin of blemishes and calluses. His light brown skin is one solid shade, no longer darkened by working in the sun. He felt a new type of magic in his core that seemed to represent water and something he couldn’t define.

“Huh. Can you show me what you can do Isaac, and Jala?”

Jala vanished in a puff of smoke, and Kyrion felt a light pressure settle on his right shoulder. Jala became visible perched in that spot, and the pressure increased slightly. Issac just stared at Kyrion as though he had grown a second head.

“Issac?” Kyrion asked.

The bird stared into Kyrion’s eyes and sighed.

“Earth to Issac?”

Issac took a deep breath and spat out a blast of water at its master, accomplishing nothing other than damping a spot on Kyrion’s clothes.

“Great. Nothing useful in a monster hunt yet.” Kyrion had Issac and Jala return to his core.

“Maybe I should go talk to Nico about this later. He knows a lot about this stuff.” He muttered to himself before searching for Everest.

Kyrion headed toward his friend’s room, where he heard nothing. When he knocked, nobody answered. So Kyrion knocked on the door again. Waiting another minute as though he had all the time in the world.

“I’m busy, speak to me tomorrow!” A familiar voice yelled.

Kyrion scuttled out of there and checked on Nico and Asela’s training.

A pillar of dancing flames marked the area, shaped in the image of a wolf’s maw. Kyrion was amazed, and as he arrived, he found Asela and Nico sitting across from each other in some sort of concentrated trance. On Asela’s head was her crown of flames, and in Nico’s hands was a small black dagger with a white and yellow blade. It seemed useless in a fight.

Kyrion watched in amazement as the two finished practicing the technique, and the fire vanished altogether.

Nico looked up first. “Wow, that was pretty good control. Oh hey Kyrion what are you doing here, shouldn’t you be training?”

“I’m at an impasse, I can’t use my spirit’s magic. Can you help?”

“Beautiful…” Nico muttered, eyes glossing over before returning to normal.

“Huh?” Asela looked up to her brother in confusion, which turned to disgust, envy, and finally settling on mirth. As she burst out laughing.

“What?” Kyrion asked.

“Your hair. It’s so shiny, and you look even more like mom now… This is too much. It’s even gotten slightly lighter, now it’s a very dark reddish color.”

Nico looked at his friend in realization. “Welp that settles it, you have been cursed with the Cerulean Swam.” Nico answered with a forced stoic expression. “Which means you now have an unnatural charm, I’m gonna need to be careful. I kinda like dark red hair.”

Kyrion backed away from his friend and tutor, arms crossed.

“Priceless!” Asela was now cackling on her back.

“Now about your problem. Did you link your spirits to a portion of your body or clothing? To use a beast spirit’s full potential you need to form a link with it, the first step is always naming it, the second is spending time with it, and the third is creating a medium for it. Isn’t that why you made that necklace for your fox spirit?”

“Lets say, I made the pouch to be a safe place for her to nap. With no intention of making it a medium of whatever. How would I fix such a blunder?” Kyrion asked.

Nico catching on, looked at Kyrion and sighed. “Swimming before you can walk, I should have known. You need a piece of fur from the fox, some of your blood, and a connection. Summon Jala real quick.”

Kyrion did so, and Jala appeared. “She’s here.”

“Place the pouch on the ground, and take a small amount of her fur. Place it on the outside of the pouch. Next prick your finger and add a drop of blood on top of the fur. Finally add your mana and her mana to the mix. This should finalize the binding. Should you lose that object, you will need to recreate it. This way communication will be two way, and you will be able to learn how to use your magic from the source. Learning how to use their innate magic will be tricky and chances are it won’t be fully ready by this week’s end, but we need all the advantages we can get. This right here is my binding if that settles you down.” Nico held up his small dagger.

Kyrion goes through with the binding feeling the connection to Jala increases dramatically.

“Man slave, what are you doing!?” Said Jala, watching the pooling blood.

“You talked!” Kyrion responded before his grin faded.

“And you understood me for once.” Jala blinked twice and cleared her throat.

“Hello, master Kyrion. How may I be of service.”

“I heard that you know…”, Kyrion said, “Can you teach me how to use your powers?”

Asela turned away from her brother, who had finally gone off the deep end, while Nico watched in fascination.

“You’re finally done wasting time and energy doing nothing? Great, you will soon be put through the proverbial ringer.” Jala announced.

Kyrion spent the next five days in a magical tutoring boot camp. Turns out that Kyrion was doing everything wrong. The first three days were on posture and movement alone, wind as a flowing element, and her version, requiring the user to move with it. Conducting the current from one direction to another. As he practiced, he began to feel the wind flow with each step and swing.

Next, he learned two techniques, Wind Blade, which allowed him to create a severing wind in an arc shape that sliced through a few logs before stopping completely. While the Wind barrier allowed him to defend himself from projectiles by creating solidified air. The latter was practiced while acting as a moving target for Kiara.

Everest managed to hit rank two on day six and gained the ability to lengthen his threads at will, causing them to help restrain weak targets. Surprisingly, Noah was the only one in the group capable of escaping, once caught with pure strength.

Kiara and Asela managed to hit rank three while training with the group. The former gained the ability to conjure arrows along with her bow. At the same time, the latter seemed to completely steal Nico’s fire away from him and dramatically increase its damage capabilities.

Damian’s group had formed various strategies for combating different foes, and Wura seemed to better understand her liquid metal spirit. Noah made armor for everyone who wanted some, and Damian grew as a leader. He still didn’t talk much outside of training, but he was a taskmaster almost on par with Jala during training.

Kyrion would see the fox as the cute little creature he thought it was.