Turfing was pretty simple and easy to learn, sure, but the road to Ranked battle glory was like walking through hell and back.
At the age of fourteen, most inklings gain full control of their squid and kid forms, making it the perfect time for them to jump into the competitive battlefield. Glaucon was no different, leaving her countryside home on the outskirts of Inkopolis to dedicate her life to the ink. As much as she loved her parents, there wasn't as much action and adventure in the country, it was too peaceful for such a fiery squid such as herself.
With what little cash she saved up from birthdays and allowance, the purple inkling took the train to the heart of and soul of the city, Inkopolis Plaza. With a glint in her eye, she enviously eyed all of the other inklings hanging out and talking in the plaza. The terrifying elongated chargers, the various metallic shooters, those giant ink rollers with motors attached, but most importantly, all the fresh gear- Glaucon knew she'd have her fair share of it all soon enough.
"Ah, this is all so complicated!" She whined to herself, scratching her head at a map of the city while relaxing on a bench. "There's downtown, which has all these fresh shops and whatnot…but it's so expensive! Fifty thousand a month!?"
In her other hand, she held her rather outdated Squidphone to compare prices of the apartments nearby. For the first time since Glaucon got it for her tenth birthday, it finally had reception. Her parents had bought it with a good chunk of their savings, hoping their daughter could at least play games on it, but most required some sort of stable connection to even download.
"Then, there's the Umi district- ten-thousand's pretty good. I guess. It's a bit of a walk from the train station, but I guess I'll just leave early or something. "
Finally making up her mind, the purple inkling headed to the location listed online, a cleaning looking studio relatively close to downtown, but still had the cheaper pricing. With the rest of her cash, she paid the landlord and starting moving in right away. Even though she didn't have much to start with, it was nice to see her little knickknacks that he father gave her set up by her beside.
"So from here, I'll walk, ugh, to the train station. Then, ride it to the plaza. Who knows how long that will take?" She flopped down on her bed, map still in hand. "I thought that city life meant that everything was close together. Whateves…" She complained, shaking her head at the already complicated map.
"Then there's the turf wars to worry about too. There's a newbie class tomorrow morning. Not that I need it anyway!" Glaucon tossed aside the flyers she was looking at and started jumping on her bed. "I'm a kid now! I'm a squid now!" She cheered, practicing her transformations like she had done a million times last night. "I'm a kid, I'm a squid, I'm a – aw, damn. " She stopped herself, noticing she was in her kid form when she said 'squid'. Glaucon buried her face in her hand, flopping back onto the bed in annoyance.
"Fine…I'll take the stupid noob class. And I'll be the best, and then I can finally get some better clothes, too!" The inkling grumbled, taking off her overalls to change into her nightgown. "I'm surprised there wasn't some sort of fashion police to arrest me for being so frumpy! Ugh, I'll feel better once we all get our uniforms- then; I'll get even with them!"
The next morning, right on time like her parents always taught her, Glaucon stood in line, ready and waiting to start her class. Apparently, Ammo Knights and SquidForce were running it (for free, too!), so the in-field part of training was taking place in Sheldon's practice yard, who was the local weapons dealer. As excited as she was, she secretly wished that no one who saw her yesterday was in her class today.
"Ah, I hope no one realizes that I'm wearing the same outfit as yesterday's…" The purple inkling looked off into the distance, trying to ignore some of the snickering and puzzled looks from the others.
"Overalls? Haven't seen those in a couple decades."
"Not even my parents wear those anymore."
" Is it an old trend coming back? If so, she's a rea~lly early adopter. And here I thought I was a hipster!"
As soon as the line moved along, one of the volunteers handed Glaucon and the other inklings a set of the starter gear, the class's uniform and noob indicator to the more elite inklings around. Breathing a sigh of relief, she rushed into the changing rooms, donning her basic tee, white headband, and cream basics, looking like one of many clones among the others in her class. But, most importantly, Glaucon took down a brand new, up to date Splattershot Jr. down from the racks as well as an ink tank for holding the ammo, and joined the others outside in the yard.
"We've got a huge turnout this week, huh? Good, good. That just means more fresh meat for the big squids out there, squiddos!" The main instructor of the class, a slightly older male inkling with abnormally long tentacles tied up in a ponytail., addressed the class with a maniacal look in his eye. "Not saying you guys are going to get splatted constantly, but I'm not saying you're going to do well right away either. Just take this as Teach's first lesson, know who your enemy is!" He stomped his foot down and placed a hand on his hip, getting a variety of reactions from the younger inklings. Some cursed under their breath, some hid behind others, and some even burst into tears.
"Meh, I've met old men scarier than him. And crabbier, too." Glaucon chuckled to herself, just quiet enough for only a few squids around her to notice, renewing their youthful optimism once more.
"Once you know who you're dealin' with, the next lesson is to actually getting down to the basics. " The instructor continued, walking through the crowd of inklings to get a good look at each of them. "You all know how to change forms, right? Of course, you wouldn't be here if you wouldn't. Swimming is a whole 'nother problem, though. Most of you will get it right away, but trust me; I've seen some weak swimmers in my day. But no worries, we'll fix you noobs right up! Go ahead; shoot your weapons- cover this ground completely with ink. Go, go!"
All of the younger inklings' eyes lit up, and like little children, went to work right away. Glaucon was no exception, who was mesmerized by the sound of the gunfire and how wildly her gun vibrated when firing.
"That was pretty quick. I swear, the minute I say 'shoot', all of the classes I've ever taught go crazy like they've never seen ink before. "The teacher grinned, getting a laugh from the class.
"What gave it away? Does everyone know I'm from the country or something…? "The purple inkling thought to herself, laughing awkwardly to fit in with the situation.
"Anyway, all of you, line up on this end of the yard." He explained, guiding the giddy younger ones through the sea of soda blue ink covering the concrete. "Now, swimming is much easier than it sounds. Your parents probably taught you already, but I just want to see how fast you guys are. When I give the signal, all of you race to the other side. Whoever wins gets to have lunch with us on me. Everyone got that?"
A wave of excited cheers echoed throughout the yard as the class got into position.
"If I don't win this, I'm so screwed…" Glaucon mumbled to herself, ignoring her stomach yelling at her. "I'm broke, I'm hungry, and I need this win right now!"
On the count of three, the inkling class rushed at full speed to the ending point of the race. A few crashed into each other, some swam slower than a shrimp's pace, but the majority of the inklings couldn't see where they were going, making them go in circles.
"Oh, I can't even.." The teacher and volunteers sighed in unison.
Glaucon, on the other hand, took to swimming like she did chores. Right away, thanks to her practice with her squid form back at her parents' farm, the purple inkling bolted to the other side, just barely outmaneuvering a male inkling beside her who seemed to know what he was doing.
Slapping her hand against the wall rather loudly, Glaucon pumped her fist in the air. A whistle blew to call out the winner, and everyone's attention turned to said victor. The competent inklings all sighed, hating the fact they lost to a girl. But, the volunteers all smiled and clapped her on the shoulder, as if they were welcoming her into their circle.
"You've got potential, squiddo." The instructor began, a huge grin spreading across his face. "Personally, I think speed is the basis of all good players-"
"Oh, please no. Don't get yourself started, man. "A female volunteers interrupted, putting her hands protectively on Glaucon's shoulders. "She hasn't even fought her first turf war, and you're going to confuse the poor squirt with your battle philosophy?"
"You didn't even ask her name yet!" Another punched the instructor in the shoulder playfully.
"I was going to get to that!"
"Yeah, sure. "
"You. Pink eyes."
"Yeah?" Glaucon was grinning too, now seeing the extra benefits to winning beside a free lunch.
"What's –"
"What's your name, squiddie?" The female volunteer asked, perfectly cutting off her senior again.
"It's Glaucon, miss. "
The older inklings looked puzzled for a moment, but smiled anyway.
"You talk different, girl. Kinda cool, actually!" They all grinned, but Glaucon bit her tongue, making a mental note to pick up on how the others talk, too.
"You see that, noobs! Speed is what makes a good teammate out on the field." The teacher yelled, making a fruitless attempt to inspire the younger ones. "If you ever see my girl Glauc on your team, you better be thankful, especially when she's carrying your team! Now, let's finish up your lessons so we can be done before lunchtime!"
After her victory, the class consisted mostly teaching the rest of the absolute basics .Notes on the rules of turf war, how to throw bombs and aim them, how to use specials and what each one does, how to climb walls covered in ink, and even flanking and other basic techniques filled up every inkling's notebooks before the morning was through.
Completely worn out, the volunteers brought out their class out to the yard one last time, lining them up in neat rows like a marching band.
"It's been a crazy five hours, hasn't it squiddies?" The teacher teased, only getting some exhausted grunts as a response. "Yeah, I hear yah! But the good news is, you're done! You've gotten your learning out of the way, so you all are ink battle, ready! As always, you guys get to keep the gear and the Jr.'s as a parting gift. So go on my squiddie-kiddies, go forth and swim free! Class is dismissed, you guys!"
Upon hearing those three words, the younger ones cheered as if they already won a match. Pairing up with their friends, they cleared the place in the blink of an eye, leaving only Glaucon and the older inklings behind.
Trying to look all cute and innocent, she walked over to the crowd of older squids, looking up at them expectantly, like a puppy begging for treats.
"Oh, there's our hotshot. You ready to go?" The female volunteer asked, putting her arm around the other's shoulder.
"Uh…yeah! I'm good to go!" Glaucon hesitated for a bit, trying her hardest to ditch her manners.
"Cool, let's hop on the train. We're going to my favorite place, so eat as much as you want, guys!" The instructor smiled, who appeared to be the leader, as Glaucon assumed.
The group of five strolled about like one entity, much to the younger inkling's amazement. Obviously, the four other inklings had seemed to know each other for a while. But for some reason, she didn't feel like an outsider walking with them, quite the opposite, actually.
"Oh, I bet you're wondering about our names, huh?" One of the male inklings started, petting Glaucon's head gently. "The one who looks like she's about to adopt you is Suzy-"
"I'm sorry, what?" She almost growled at her friend, looking up from pinching her newfound junior's cheeks.
"Heh, you know I'm right." He responded quickly, smirking knowing he won that fight. "I'm Dan, the super quiet but fresh one over there is Caleb,"
"Wait, who?" Glaucon asked, getting a round of laughter from the others.
"Don't feel bad, kid. I forget he's there sometimes too. Look to your left real quick!" Dan explained.
A dark skinned inkling with green eyes seemed to practically appear right in front of Glaucon, who seemed to be smiling at her a little bit. Instead of saying hello, she just waved instead, since this new squid had his head phones on, and his music was blasted loud enough to leak through them slightly.
"Yeah, that's Caleb for ya! Don't worry, he can hear us, and I'm pretty sure he's cool with you, so no worries!" Dan laughed. "Annnnd, this gorgeous jerk over here is Ren. He's our squad leader, and probably the biggest dork you'll ever meet. He loves to talk strategy, like, that's all he does. "
"Two insults and a compliment in the same breath? Maybe you do like me or something?" Ren jeered, grasping the other's hand suddenly, like a kraken catching its prey.
The other three laughed as Dan tried to wiggle himself out of this one. "Ugh….you're the worst! And you're reasoning makes no sense, either! That's what you're supposed to do- make sense!" Dan stuttered, getting more flustered by the minute.
An hour or so passed by, idol chitchat filling up the time the five inklings spent together. Much to older ones' amazement, Glaucon managed to gulp down three plates of shrimp alfredo plus some algae ice cream that she was in the process of devouring.
"I've been meaning to ask," Ren began, stealing a sip of Dan's drink casually. "You're not from around the inner city, are you?"
"Yeah….what gave it away?" The purple inkling sighed, feeling a huge sense of déjà vu.
"Nothing really… "
"Stop lying. " Caleb spoke up for the first time since the morning, shaking his head at his friend. Glaucon took a second look over at him, just to be sure that it was Caleb's voice who she heard.
"You're in trouble, now~!" The other two teased, much to Ren's annoyance.
"Well… I'm just going off on some educated guesses here, but city squids aren't that athletic. Most of 'em anyway. You probably had to do so much running around to help out your parents in the countryside, huh?" He folded his arms, his eyes meeting Glaucon's softened gaze.
"Spot on, actually. Being a kelp farmer sucks, but that what pays. My parents have been doing it long before they even got married, so yeah. "
The others were all staring at their junior now, completely sucked into her story.
"So you came to the city to start doing ink battles and not have to be a kelp farmer for the rest of your life?" Suzy tilted her head curiously.
"Yup, best idea ever! I hate the idea of being poor like that, so I'm gonna rise to the top! One day. Something like that. " She shrugged her shoulders and laughed.
"Speaking of, do you think you're going to try a turf war today? Battles run 24/4, but the trains don't. " Dan explained, glancing over at a clock on the wall.
"Damn, you're right. I've gotta get going!" She stood up quickly and bowed a little to her new friends. "Thanks for the class! And lunch! I hope I'll be seeing you guys around sometimes!" With one last wave, Glaucon left in a rush, hopping on the next train as soon as it started to leave.
Left behind, the other four inklings shared a laugh and got up from their table.
"I should've went with her, you guys! I don't want her to lose her first battle and get crushed and never want to turf ever again!" Suzy whined, pulling on her tentacles.
"I only heard like, half of that sentence, but she'll be fine. " Ren clapped her on the shoulder lightly, leaving some money on the table before heading out. "If anything she'll be even more fired up if she loses, if she loses. After all, little Glauc's got rent to pay now, and I think that's plenty motivation. "