Trails of Eastern Steel

by TF1990

This a rewrite of the first Cold Steel game, with some twists concerning Rean Schwarzer, the rest of the story will mostly follow canon. -Instead of training in Ymir, Rean left with his Master to travel the eastern part of the Continent. -Emphasis on Rean/Alisa -A more experienced, but still as dense and insecure (maybe a bit more than canon) Rean. -Can somewhat control his Power

4. The Beginning at Thors Part 1

This is the first part of the Beginning at Thors, I hope that it will give you the readers some entertainment, I wish you all fun with this.

Some info:

Spoken words are between " "

Thoughts are between ( )

March 31 of the Septian year 1204

On a train to Trista, a sleeping Rean, was slowly waking up, as the train announced its arrival at the train station of Trista, stretching his arms he looked outside the train, "Nearly there, I didn't think that I would feel like this, just from going to the academy, but then again nervousness and excitement might be in order for the first day in a new school. Still, spring is in full bloom here, back home there was still so much snow on the ground." Chuckling to himself, Rean leaned back in his seat while his mind drifted back to two months ago, when he received his admission letter, and his master gave him his intermediate level scroll for the Eight Leaves One Blade Style.

In a clearing outside Ymir two figures could be seen fighting, Rean was using every ounce of his strength and speed, just for his strikes to be deflect with ease from his master, "Come on, Rean surely you can to better than this, remember everything that I taught you. Every single fight you have been through and forget about everything else. Just concentrate on your sword and on this fight." scolded Yun Ka-Fai, while pressuring his student with his aura and strikes.

Jumping back Rean tried to create some distance between himself and his opponent to try to regain his composure, taking a deep breath he tried to follow his master's advice, by forgetting everything else and focusing solely on his opponent while adjusting his stance. The look in his eyes changed, they were now clear from doubts upon seeing this Yun nodded inwardly, (Well, well, seems like he can do it after all. Now let's see what he is capable of while in that state and how long he can keep it.)

Before he could make a move Rean took the initiative by sheathing his sword and quickly drawing it to use his application of the sixth form, Arc Slash, though the execution was good, all it took was a simple slash to cut through the energy wave. Yun looked at his student as if to ask if that was all, Rean answered by dashing forward at his teacher and swinging his sword at him only to meet air. Yun kept evading with his body yet keeping close enough to Rean to send some slashes at him, the exchange between the two swordsmen kept getting faster until the point where one could just see two shadow flickering about.

Rean displayed his entire arsenal of techniques, from the first form to the seventh form but it wasn't enough to even touch his opponent's clothes, as the fight was progressing so was his frustration at not meeting his master's expectations for him, until the moment where the two had their swords interlocked and his heart started beating faster. He didn't notice how his hair and eyes were changing colours slowly with newfound strength he pushed his adversary back.

Quickly raising his sword with both hands up he gathered flames around it and swung it down, only to be met with a quick-draw strike from his master which send him flying. Somersaulting Rean landed on his feet and started to run forward again just to realise what was going on with his body, a mixture of shame, guilt and fear could be seen on his face, as he tried his best to suppress his power.

After succeeding Rean sheathed his weapon and bowed deeply towards his master, seeing this Yun started walking to him and put a hand on his shoulder to straighten his posture, "It was a good fight, don't let what happen brother you, you were doing pretty well too. I can see that you improved a lot since I last saw you, especially with the seventh form while you still haven't grasped it, you are getting closer to get an initial understanding of it."

Still feeling ashamed that he had let his power run wild, he couldn't accept his master's praise, so kept his head down. "I'm sorry Master, I should have tried harder keeping it sealed away and not let it appear in our fight." Sighing Yun once again started the discussion, that master and student had already done countless time before, "Rean we have already talked about this, the whole reason you sought my teachings was to control your power and while you haven't gotten complete control of it, you can use a portion of it for a short time. Sure, the aftereffects of using it aren't easy to bear but it is proof that you can and will master it someday. You just have to believe in yourself more."

Turning around the Sword Hermit started walking back to town with his disicple walking behind him, still felling ashamed, "Besides I don't see what the harm is, that power belongs to you, so if you want to use in a fight then use it. I don't see the problem with you using an advantage that you possess to fight. Besides you and I know that you will use it without hesitation if the people are in danger around you or if you want to save lives." Flinching at that statement, because it was the truth and at the memory it invoked, a certain town in the eastern part of the continent where he had for the first time in his life, unleashed his full power without caring who saw or what the consequence were just to save the habitants of that little town. Though the consequences of that action still haunt him to this day afterwards the two walked in silence in the direction of Ymir.

Entering his home, Rean could smell something delicious coming from the kitchen, "That smells heavenly, Mom must be cooking her famous stew." Hanging his jacket at the entrance, he walked toward the living room where he found both his parent already waiting for them. On the table was a feast fit for a king, taking a closer look he could see that all the dishes on the table were his favourites, noticing his questioning gaze as he sat down, his mother explained, "Well, I was thinking since we are going to celebrate, we should go all out for you, Rean."

That just served to confuse him more since he couldn't think of anything worth celebrating that was related to him and his birthday was still months away. Chuckling, Theo took pity on his son while sharing an amused look with his wife and friend, before giving Rean a letter, "This arrived yesterday and we are sorry for opening it for you Rean, but we couldn't hold ourselves back, so we prepared all this to congratulate you and as an apology." Still confused he started to read the letter only to find that it was stating that he was accepted at Thors Military Academy and was expected to start school on March 31, looking up he saw both his parent and master looking at him with pride.

Soon congratulations were thrown at him while filling his cup with sake Yun chimed in, "That isn't the only thing we are celebrating, there is something else worth celebrating for today." Ignoring the surprised looks thrown his way, he drank the sake and at the same time he took out a scroll to put it before Rean. Realising what that scroll represented, he gasped at his master in shock before he could speak, Yun waved his hand at him to stop him, "I should have given you this some time ago, but I wanted to see how much more you could grow before I gave you this. Don't even think about refusing this Rean, because be it your techniques, fighting experience and physical state you more than deserve this. Sure, your mental state isn't at the level I want you to be but your merits more than make up for it."

Seeing that he still wasn't convinced, Yun raised his voice while putting some authority in it, "Rean Schwarzer, as the founder of our style and your Master, I hereby recognise you as a swordsman of the Intermediate Level of the Eight Leaves One Blade Style." Accepting that he couldn't say anything to change his master's mind, he took the scroll with a solemn look while swearing inside that he would train harder to be worthy of the title.

Finishing reminiscing Rean stood up and took his tachi just as the train stopped and walked into the station with the other students, noticing that almost all of them had green uniforms, he saw some with a red uniform like he was wearing not paying it any mind he walked toward the exit. Steeping outside, he was greeted with sight of Trista while Lino petals were flying through the small town, stopping he took this magnificent sight in. "Wow, I've never seen so many Lino flowers blossoming at once. So, this is where I will spend the next two years, I think I am going to like it here."

So engrossed in admiring the scenery that he didn't notice that he had stopped walking only to be reminded of it, when he felt something hitting him on the back. He spun around to find, that it had been a blonde girl wearing a red uniform like himself, who now was on the ground with a case at her side. Acting on instinct he offered her his hand to help her up, "Sorry about that. Are you okay?" only now did he realise who it was that had bumped into him, "No way, Alisa?"

Surprised at being called by her name, Alisa quickly looked up just to find the boy, who she bumped into starring at her with his mouth gaping and a shocked look on his face. Blinking once, she thought that she must have hit her head as she fell because she couldn't believe what she was seeing. (No way, that isn't possible he couldn't be here, I mean why he would be here…) The thoughts in her head were a mess, as she tried to understand what was happening. Composing himself Rean offered her his hand once more, "Sorry, I should have picked a better place to take in the scenery. That aside, it is a pleasure to see you again Alisa."

Deciding that she wasn't imagining things, she took his outstretched hand and pulled herself up, "Don't worry about it. I should have been paying more attention where I was going instead of gawking at the flowers. I must admit it though, Rean you are the last person I imagined I would bump into today, especially here in Trista but it is nice to see you again. It has been what, more than a year since we last met?"

Seeing that she didn't have any visible injuries from the fall, he was relieved, "I can't exactly blame you for that, seeing this sight with the Lino flowers flying around, is amazing. That is the magic of springtime for you, I guess." Looking around, once more, Alisa could see that he was right, "It is a pretty town with scenery as beautiful as this, you could make some pretty amazing postcards." Shifting her eyes from the town to Rean standing beside her, she cleared her throat and addressed the elephant in the room, "Since you are here, wearing the same red uniform as me, I can safely assume that you too are a new student at the academy?"

Noticing that she was right, their uniforms were similar, "Now that you have mention it, you are one of the few that I have seen with it, everyone else was wearing a green one but you are right I'm starting this year as a freshman, the same as you I take it?" At her nod, he stepped forward and invited her, "Do you want to take a look around town? We have some time before the entrance ceremony starts and we could catch up with each other?"

Taking a moment to think about it, Alisa followed beside him, "Yeah why not. I still can't believe that I'm seeing you again, mainly because we are both starting as new students here and considering our uniforms are probably even in the same class. What are the chances of that happening?" Shaking her head at the coincidence of that she briefly thought if the goddess was playing some joke on her. Chuckling at her, Rean took a glance at the case she is carrying, "I hope that everything inside your case is fine."

Waving her hand at him as an answer that he shouldn't worry about it, they both stepped inside the park in the middle of the town. "Seems like the perfect spot to catch a breather after a long day of classes." Standing in the middle of the park, Rean gave his evaluation of it. Appreciating the sights Alisa too was impressed with it, although her gaze was drawn to something else in the park. Following her gaze, he saw a young silver haired girl, with a red uniform, sleeping on one of the benches.

Sharing a look with Alisa, Rean wasn't sure what to do if he should wake her up since the opening ceremony was drawing closer. In the end before he could decide, the young girl woke up by herself and went in the direction of the academy. Putting what happened aside, the two teenagers explored the town seeing where the stores were, seeing the church, there they met another student wearing a red uniform praying.

At a small bridge, the two paused to look at the river passing through Trista, leaning against the bridge, "Seems like a nice town, the shops carry everything a student needs. Seems like it won't be long before we consider this place here as home." said Rean while enjoying the breeze. Doing the same thing, Alisa leaned over the bridge to take a closer at the river flowing below, "You are right, it seems like a good place to live. Just out of curiosity, what made you choose this academy?"

Glancing at her, Rean took a moment to gather his thoughts before answering, "Honestly, there wasn't a reason per see, I just thought that here at Thors I would be able to make the most of my time since it is considered the best academy in the Empire and perhaps, I would be able to find what my way going forward could be. What about you, what made you come here?"

"In my case, I wanted to learn to be more independent and a friend of mine goes here, so…. Oh no, I completely forgot about her." Surprised at her sudden outburst, Rean couldn't resist asking, "Is everything alright, Alisa?" Turning around to him, she explained it to him, "I forgot that I was supposed to meet my friend inside the school when I arrived. Sorry Rean, I will go on ahead, maybe we can meet later?"

Grabbing her case, she looked at him with an apologetic look while the last part was asked in a hopeful tone. Giving her a small smile in return, "Don't worry Alisa, if anything I should apologise for keeping you with me for so long. Go on don't make your friend wait any longer besides if you are right, we will see each other sooner than later if we are in the same class."

Sighing in relief, Alisa started running towards the school, chuckling at her actions Rean decided that maybe it was also time for him to go too, he didn't want to be late on his first day. Arriving at the front of the school, he saw an elderly man dressed as a butler giving a big suitcase to a blue haired girl, who then began walking inside the academy after exchanging pleasantries with the elder man, he too began walking inside. Just to be interrupted by the sound of a honking car behind him. Steeping aside he saw an orbal limousine passing by inside he could see a blonde young man wearing a red uniform.

"Wow, that was one of Reinford's fanciest models, seems like even Erebonia's upper crust are sending their children here. He seemed to be about my age, and he had also a red uniform, including him I think I saw about eight people beside me that were wearing one. Nine people seem to be a small number to form a class, maybe there are more people that I haven't seen already inside the school."

Finally stepping inside the academy grounds, he was greeted by a petite girl who was accompanied by a chubby boy, "Welcome to Thors Military Academy, you are…let's see…, yes you are the last of them, which makes you Rean Schwarzer, right?"

"Yes, that's me. It's a pleasure to meet you, but how do you know me?"

"Hehee…. It's a long story. Don't sweat the details for now."

Confused at that remark, Rean didn't know what to say at that. Before he could speak, the chubby boy interrupted him. "Is that your weapon you have got wrapped up? I will need to hold on to that for the time being." Remembering, what he had read in the guidebook, he gave his tachi to him. "Thanks. We should be able to return it to you before long. You will hardly even miss it."

The petite girl gave him direction to the auditorium where the entrance ceremony was being held which he followed while wondering at the same time about them, "I wonder if these two are second years here, though the girl seemed far younger than me and what did she mean by me being the last one? I can't seriously be the last student to check in?"

Entering the auditorium, he saw that it was being filled with students most were wearing green, a small number at the front wearing white and eight wearing the red uniforms. Looking around he saw Alisa sitting between two girls, walking forward he saw an empty seat beside a boy with orange hair. Sitting he looked at the stage where he saw a muscular man that seemed over two arge tall standing with a microphone in hand, no sooner had he made that observation that the ceremony began.

After what seemed an eternity, the principal was giving the closing remarks to his speech, making an effort Rean tried to listen to it, "Our mission remains the same, to prepare our students to fulfil Emperor Dreichels famous mandate. Arise, O youth, and become the foundation of the world." Taking a moment, the principal gave his new students a small smile before continuing with his speech, "I hope this credo will be an inspiration and a guide for you, young horned lions during your two years of studying in this academy."

Finishing speaking, he gave a small bow and passed the microphone to someone else. (Becoming the foundation of the world, now those are some words to live by.) Were Rean's thought after the speech was done, "Haha, no pressure, right?" Turning his head, he saw that it was his neighbour with the red uniform that was speaking to him.

"No kidding. Though this is Dreichels the Lionheart we are talking about. He didn't earn his title by taking the easy road. Guess we've got more to worry about than exams, if we must live up to his expectations."

"I guess we do. My name is Elliot Craig. Nice to meet you."

"Rean Schwarzer. Looks like we are sporting the same school fashion."

"Yeah, though I don't have any idea what it is supposed to mean. Normally the green ones are for the commoners and the white ones for the nobles."

Before they could discuss it further, they heard how the vice principal declared the ceremony over and that the students should proceed to their designated class which was supposedly written in their admission letter. Seeing everyone leaving, confused him and looking at Elliot who was also seemed confused didn't help either since he was pretty sure that there wasn't anything written inside his letter where his class was. Standing up he saw that only the students with the red uniform had stayed behind before anyone could ask what was going on, he saw a purple haired woman approaching them. "All right! Students sporting the red uniforms, if I can have your attention, please?"

Waiting for everyone to look at her, she continued, "By now, you are probably all confused, thinking, 'Where is my class? Have they forgotten about me and so on.' You don't have to worry your pretty heads about it, since your situation is a little more complicated than the others student. So, before I tell you where your class is, we will have a little orienteering exercise. So, follow me students." Without waiting for them to ask questions the woman left the auditorium, stunned at what had just happened they hastily followed her, although that didn't stop some from grumbling about the situation.

Looking forward he caught Alisa's eyes, who was walking at the front while she was gazing behind her but there wasn't any time to talk, since the instructor(?) was walking pretty fast and they didn't want to lose sight of her, so they followed her in silence. Until they arrived at an old building which looked like it should have been torn down years ago. Not bothering to explain anything or to wait for the students to catch up to her, the woman opened the door while whistling and stepped inside, some of the students were getting annoyed at the lack of explanations but still followed her inside the old building.

Stepping up, what looked like an old stage, the instructor(?) looked at everyone and finally introduced herself, "The name is Sara Valestein. I'm the instructor in charge of Class VII, which gives you the pleasure to see me all year long. Glad to finally meet you." adding a wink and a smile at the end of her introduction, she looked at the effect she had on her students. They were as expected confused since there hasn't been a Class VII before and they weren't told anything at all, until now. A bespectacled girl with a plum-coloured hair slowly resided her hand, "Excuse me, Instructor Valestein? I was under the impression that there were only five classes in this academy and that the students were spilt among them, regarding their social class and home region."

"Right, you are Miss Top Scorer on the entrance exams. Students were divided into five classes; the first two classes are for the nobility and the other three are for the commoners and that tradition continued until this year where we decided to shake things up a bit. We now have a sixth class with the fitting title Class VII and in this class, we make no distinction between Nobles and Commoners."

"Wait, why did you jump from five to seven?" Glancing at Rean, Sara just shrugged her shoulders, "The one who came up with this, thought it was a good idea to name it like that because of lucky seven, so don't look at me like that it wasn't my idea."

"You have got to be kidding me, Instructor. This is the first time I have heard of this. You can't be seriously considering putting noble and commoners together, right? Must I really be forced to spend the next two years with those arrogant, stuck-up hedonists?" The green haired boy with glasses yelled at the instructor. Looking at him with a raised eyebrow, "Well, what can I say Mister…?"

"Machias Regnitz."

"Look, I'm not the one making the rules here, besides you are all kids. I don't see why you can't get along with each other." Machias looked ready to explode, considering the size of the vein throbbing on his head and he would have if the blonde boy at his side hadn't snorted at him. Shifting his glare to the side, he growled, "And what is your problem?" Glancing at Machias from the side, he answered back with a haughty tone, "I just find the irony of your behaviour rather amusing."

Gritting his teeth, Machias straight up glared at him while raising his voice adapting a tone like he was from the last century, "It seems like, Milord is the scion of a noble house who left his castle to grace the ignorant masses with his presence. Pray tell us, your esteemed name, Milord, so that I can give you the respect you, oh so rightly deserve."

Facing Machias, the blonde boy answered him with the same tone as before, "Jusis Albarea. Not that I expect, my esteemed name to lodge itself in that hard head of yours." Those who knew what the name Albarea meant, were surprised that he was a member of the four great houses while the first look on Machias face was one of surprise, it soon changed into something akin to hatred.

Clapping sounds interrupted whatever was Machias going to say, everyone turned to look at the instructor though Machias was still glaring at Jusis," Okay, that is enough. I can imagine that some you have some complaints, but I will hear all of them later. Right now, it is time for your orienteering exercise and far be it for me to keep you from our fun little icebreaker." At least that stopped the glaring, remembering what happened at the gate with those second years, Rean realised why they were waiting for him, "Is that why they asked us to hand over our weapons back then?"

A look of surprise flashed across Sara's face as she looked directly at Rean, "Nothing gets by you, does it?" walking backwards until she stood next to a pillar, she winked at them, "But I don't want to spoil your fun, so what do you guys and girls say to get started?" Pressing a button on the pillar, a mechanical sound was heard, followed by some vibrations beneath the students before anyone could react, a trapdoor opened beneath them, causing everyone to fall in.

Reacting purely on reflex, Rean managed to luckily grab onto the edge of the trap. Before he could feel relieved, he heard Alisa's scream as she fell, not even bothering to think about his actions, he let go and jumped down after Alisa. Catching up to her mid-fall, he placed himself before her with his back turned to the unknown and took her in his arms to try shielding her from any harm during the fall.

The first thing Rean registered was that there was something incredibly soft pressing on his face, opening his eyes, he could see some sort of red cloth with some buttons, he tried moving his head, which resulted in a soft sound coming from above him since his entire face was covered, he couldn't see what that sound was. He tried thinking of what had happened, his fellow students fell down a trap door, he jumped down after Alisa to try to save from harm her by wrapping her in his arms, following that logic it would mean that the one above him is Alisa but if that is the case then this softness …. (Goddess above, please tell me that this softness isn't what I think it is, please!)

Following that epiphany, his body stiffened and his slowly raised his arm up, so that she could see that he didn't have any bad intentions. Somewhere he could hear Elliot voice speaking to him which made him remember that he and Alisa weren't alone. Meaning that his classmates were looking at them while they were in this position. He could feel movement above him, slowly the body above him moved and Alisa was looking down at him with wide eyes and a face redder than a tomato. (Well, this is a bit awkward.)

Faster than he could have imagined, she shoots to her feet and stepped away from him, having regained his freedom, he also stood up while trying to calm himself down. He approached her to try to apologise, "Yeah…., I'm really sorry about that. Still, I'm glad that you are all right. That is what's really important here, right Al…?" If glares could kill, then he would have died already many times over, given the one that Alisa was shooting at him, it put even his mother at her angriest to shame and that wasn't something he thought possible.

Seeing that she was moving to slap him, he stood still and let her hit him after all he thought it was really his fault, that she was this embarrassed, the resounding slap echoed through the room. The deed done Alisa stomped away from him to the opposite site of the room, holding his stinging cheek Rean looked around to see where they were, while Elliot approached him.

"Wow… it's just not your day, is it?"

"Well, now that I have hit literally rock bottom, it can just get better from here on…., I hope. Anyway, what is this room?"

"I was wondering the same thing, maybe we should check out these tables."

Before anyone could do something there was suddenly something ringing, following the sound, Rean found that it came from the orbment that he had gotten with his school uniform, flipping it open he saw a flashing button, glancing around he saw that everyone else was holding one too. Curious he pressed the button, just to be greeted with a voice coming from it.

"Seems like everyone arrived safely at your destination, good, good. I bet you all are wondering what is up with this, am I right? Well, it is simple, what you kids are holding are the newest model of battle orbments made through the collaboration between the Reinford Company and the Epstein foundation. These little things are the newly made fifth generation battle orbments with a built-in communication function, they will also allow you to use arts, as soon you put in the quartz and something else but that is for later. By the way these new babies are called the Arcus Unit. If my lovely students would look around you will see some stone tables, where your weapons are with some of the quartz that I have prepared for you, now if would be so kind as to go pick them up please?"

Everyone made their way to their table, Alisa's was right next to his but giving the death glares she was sending his way, he thought it better to try to apologise to her again later when wasn't looking like she wanted to rip him into pieces, opening the box besides his tachi, he found a bigger than average quartz.

"The quartz that you are holding is called a Master Quartz, you to put it in the large slot in the middle of the Arcus, as soon you do that you will be able to use arts….. and given the gasps I'm hearing; a light should have appeared around you which means that you all have successfully synchronised with your Arcus unit. Congratulations, since you are now ready, here is your mission for this exercise. Step through the big door and come back to the surface, be careful though, the way back is filled with twists and turns, that will likely result in somebody getting lost at least once, oh I nearly forgot to tell you that there are also some monsters down here, so try not to get hurt. Make it back in one piece and I will let complain all you want and as a special prize I will throw in a kiss too… on the cheek, of course. See you all later."

The silence that followed the end of that was speech, was soon interrupted by exclamations from everybody, afterwards they gathered around, to discuss their next course of action. Though discussing isn't the right word for what followed, Jusis tried to go alone which resulted in Machias storming off before him. Claiming that he would find his way out before him with Jusis following behind with an amused look on his face. Next the blue haired girl tried to form a group with all the girls just to be ignored by the silver haired one who walked forward all alone, shrugging she accepted that and walked with rest of the girls away though the death glare from Alisa was still on.

Sighing Rean's shoulders slumped down, as he thought that he should really try to clear things up with her. The only ones that remained were Elliot, himself and the tall boy he had met at the church, "Anyway, how do you guys want to do this? Should the three of us stick together, too?" Relief could be seen on Elliot's face, as he heard the suggestion, "Sounds good to me. I would feel anxious if I was wandering alone in a place like this." Both turned then to the tall boy who smiled at them, "No objections here. I would be happy to accompany you." Nodding to him, they started to prepare for their exploration, by taking their weapons out.

"I don't believe I have introduced myself yet. My name is Gaius Worzel. I just arrived in the Empire, so any help you can offer me would be greatly appreciated."

"So, you are from abroad, I had been wondering. My name is Rean Schwarzer, it's nice to meet you."

"I'm Elliot Craig, so… you fight with that?"

"Of course, why else would I carry it?"

Taking a closer look at it, Rean gave his own opinion of it, "It looks like a spear, but it has an odd cross-shaped head..." Followed by Elliot, "It looks kind of awesome." Seeing this Gaius tried to explain his weapon to them, "You can think of it as combining the best parts of a poleaxe and a spear. Back home, I was pretty handy with it but speaking of weapons, I have to say that yours looks pretty unique, Elliot."

"He is right Elliot, it looks like a staff, wait… no, that is an orbment, isn't it?" Holding his staff, so that the others could see it better, "It is actually both, it's called an orbal staff. The tech is pretty recent, this one is more or less still a prototype. During the entrance exams I was found to have some aptitude for it, so I thought why not use it, since I didn't really learn to wield or use a weapon before." Taking a closer look, Gaius appraised it, "Interesting. I've never seen anything like it before."

"They're still in development, so there aren't many around but that said, I'm curious about what you are holding there, Rean."

"Oh, you mean my sword?"

"Yeah, but what kind of sword is it?

"It's different from the kind of swords, I thought the people of the Empire used though…." Raising his tachi to show them, "It's an Eastern style of a sabre, called tachi but anyway you sliced it's just a longsword."

"Wow that is a beautiful blade."

"The craftsmanship is exceptional."

"They are renowned for the layering of their steel and the sharpness of their blades."

"Well, you sound like a good guy to have around when the goings gets tough. Speaking of, I think we have been standing around long enough, we should really be getting ourselves into some trouble." Sheathing his tachi and attaching it on his hip, he looks at the two of them and stepped forward, "I think, I can manage that. You saw it yourselves; trouble has its way of dropping on me." Sharing an amused look, Elliot and Gaius followed Rean inside.

As soon Rean entered, he could sense monsters inside, he turned around to his companions, "So how do guys want to do this?" Elliot was visible getting nervous seeing the gloomy atmosphere while Gaius was composed, "What do you mean, Rean?"

"This is the first time either of us are working together, so I think it is a good idea to decide what our positions are, so that we don't interfere with each other when we are fighting against monsters. I use a sword, so I do my best at close range, and I can also use some simple fire arts."

Crossing his arms, Gaius nodded at Rean, "That is a good idea, I can use some wind arts myself, with my spear I can fight at midrange and if comes down to it I can use some simple staff strikes at close range, though it isn't anything refined." After Gaius, it was Elliot turn," With my staff I can release some energy spheres at my opponent, but I must be close to them to hit them. My arts are mostly centred around the water element, I can use some healing arts as well as attack arts, but this will be the first time that I will be fighting. Oh, and my staff has a function to analyse monsters to find out their strengths and weakness and so forth." Rean closed his eyes and thought of the best way to utilise their different fighting styles.

"How about this, I and Gaius will act as the front fighters while Elliot provides support from behind us. I will act as the bait for the monsters if there are more than three monsters if some slip by, it will be up to Gaius to keep them away from Elliot while he will support us with his healing arts. When there are three or less, me and Gaius will take them head on, to dispatch them as quickly as possible and the last one will be left to Elliot. This way he can finish it off with an art since Elliot has no experience fighting, this will be a good way to gain experience and Elliot if you see an opening while we are fighting to use an art, just give us a shout and we will move out of the way. This way we can improve our teamwork while advancing back to the surface at the same time."

Opening his eyes, he saw the two of them looking impressed at him suddenly he felt embarrassed, that he didn't ask for their opinions regarding this, rubbing his neck he looked at them, "Sorry, I should have asked for our opinion first before rambling on." Shaking his head at him, Gaius reassured him, "You don't have nothing to apologise for, we are just impressed by you and for my part I don't have anything against using your suggestion. What about you Elliot?"

"That seems like a good way to overcome this situation, but you don't have to help me gain experience, I will just try my best to help you guys out, just don't be disappointed if I mess up."

"Nonsense, Elliot we are classmates, so it stands to reason that we help each other out."

"Gaius is right, Elliot. But if it will make you feel better, think of it like this. We don't know how long this will take or how strong the monsters are down here, so it would be better if we help you out and get you accustomed to fighting besides you don't need to feel bad if you mess up, everybody makes mistakes especially when they are new at fighting." After reassuring Elliot some more, the trio began advancing trough the dungeon while battling against the monsters that appeared on their path. At the beginning some mistakes were made but it was nothing too serious after several fights there was already a semblance of teamwork between them, having defined their roles beforehand helped them cooperate better with each other.

After a tough battle against some insect type monsters, they decide to take a short break. Sitting on the ground while panting Elliot apologised to his classmates who seemed none the worse for wear, "I am sorry guys, I guess I'm holding you back after all, though you two don't seem tried at all." Gaius looked kindly at him, "I am used to fight monster back home; besides you don't have to nothing to apologise for, and you are more than pulling your own weight in this."

"Listen to Gaius, Elliot, if we didn't have your healing arts, I'm sure that we would already have some wounds slowing us down, besides it was thanks to you and your staff that we won easily against that gelatine like monster back there." Looking around, Rean tried to sense his surroundings if there were still some monsters around since they were going to take a break, they should make sure that they weren't going to be ambushed.

Not even a moment later, he sensed a monster approaching them from above, shouting a warning to Elliot who was the closest to it, he prepared to attack it when suddenly a loud bang was heard and the monster was sent flying changing his direction, he went after the monster and finished it right there. The three looked back to the source of the noise only to find Machias holding a shotgun approaching them.

"Looks like I made it just in time. Thank Aidios for that. I realised that I shouldn't have stormed off like that, I let that arrogant noble goad me into losing my composure and acting on impulse. So, I just wanted to say that…. I am sorry. I acted foolish and I hope you can forgive me for it."

"We all have moments when we say or do things that we regret later. That is human nature for you and thanks for saving me by the way."

"I'm just glad that I happened to pass by. After cooling my head, I decided to trace my steps back and there you were. Is it just three of you? What happened to the girls?" After putting his weapon away and sensing that there were no more monsters around, it was Rean that answered, "Yeah. We stood around talking for a while, so the others are probably way ahead of us. There isn't much of reason to go back there."

"I see. Err…. I… I don't suppose you would mind if I came with you, would you? I'm reasonably skilled with a shotgun, so you might find it useful having me around…" The three shared a look and no one raised an objection, so Rean extends his hand to Machias, "Sure thing. Welcome abroad! The name is Rean Schwarzer." Relief filled Machias as shook the outstretched hands of Rean, Gaius and Elliot.

"I'm Gaius Worzel, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"I'm Elliot Craig, it's nice to meet."

"The pleasure is all mine, I assure you. My name is Machias Regnitz. Could I ask what social class each of you belong to? I realise how that must sound given my recent outburst but please don't take it personally. I'm just simply curious to know who I'm associating with." Elliot was the first to answer, "Uhhm… Well, both my parents are commoners."

"Likewise. Though in my homeland there is no class system to begin with."

"Ah, so you are from abroad then…What about you then, Rean?"

Taking a moment to consider, Rean chooses to answer with one part of the truth, "Well…, let's just say that I don't have a drop of noble blood inside me. So, I guess we are all on equal standing here."

"Well, now that's a relief. We should probably get moving and see if we can catch up to the girls. I would feel better if we were there to help then in the case, they encounter danger." Giving their support to his suggestion, though Rean was thinking otherwise, as he remembered Alisa's skill with a bow and that he was the one most likely to be in danger when they meet again, steeling his resolve to properly apologise to her, he began walking forward.

Adding Machias to their party, made fighting against monsters a lot easier, he was skilled with both that shotgun of his and the orbal arts, he even gave Elliot some tips with them. Their teamwork seemed even to improve more, as time went on after finishing another battle, they reached a crossroad. Sensing something approaching, Rean signalled his classmates to prepare for a fight, closing his eyes to get a better sense of what was coming, he soon relaxed as what was approaching them were three people.

Putting his weapon away while the others did the same, he waited till the others appeared though he had some inkling who they were. After some time, his suspicion was proven correct, as Alisa and the other two girls came into view, realising that it was just them, the boys relaxed while Rean became tense as he saw that Alisa already had her bow out and was glaring at him when she saw him.

The other girls approached them while Elliot expressed his relief that they were alright, the blue haired girl notice that Machias was with them, giving him an approving nod. "Well, it seems you've cooled your head a bit, at least." Remembering his earlier behaviour caused Machias to feel ashamed, not wanting to speak further on the subject she continued by introducing herself, "At any rate, I don't believe I have introduced myself, have I? I'm Laura S. Arseid, of the town of Legram. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Recognising the name Arseid, caused Rean to feel surprised since that particular family name belonged to the strongest swordsman in the Empire, glancing at his side where Machias let out a surprised gasp, it seemed like he made the same connection, "Wait! So, your father would be…." Not letting Machias finish his sentence, Laura answered his unfinished question, "Yes, my father is Viscount Arseid, the Lord of Legram. Do you take issue with that?"

"N-no, not all…"

"Machias was it? I can only speak for myself, but I don't feel that I have done anything to bring shame to myself or in Aidios eyes and I fully believe the same to be true of my father." Something in her eyes seemed to unnerve Machias as he couldn't form a sentence to explain his previous behaviour, so he reflected the conversation by looking at the girl with glasses beside Laura, "Say, I believe we haven't been introduced."

Realising that he was talking to her, she bowed to them, "I'm Emma Millstein. I come from a distant region in the Empire. I was only able to attend Thors thanks to a scholarship, in fact. It is very nice to meet you all."

"A scholarship? Hmm… Indeed, now that you mention it, the instructor did say that you were the top scorer on the entrance exams." Under his breath he seemed to murmur something to himself, "To think I was outdone and by a girl no less."

"You must be quite the prodigy, if you were able to place number one in the exams. I'm Gaius Worzel." Came the praise from Gaius as he looked at her which caused Emma to quickly deny it. "Maybe it seems like it now, but really, I'm not. I don't have any training in the martial arts either, so this is the weapons that they recommended for me." After finishing her sentence, she took out something what looked like an orbal staff, which seemed to surprise Elliot.

"Oh cool, you have an orbal staff too, the name is Elliot Craig by the way. Yours look different than mine though…" Taking out his staff, he showed it to her, "So it does. I wonder if it's just cosmetic…" It seems like that the rest of his classmates were getting along, he would find it a good thing if there wasn't a certain someone glaring at him. (Sigh, I really need to clear things up with her…, but what do I say?)

Before he could think of something to say, Laura noticed that something was the matter while looking at the two, "We're all acquainted now. It's only proper that you introduce yourself too." Resigning herself, Alisa began speaking, "I'm Alisa… R. from Roer." Rean raised involuntary an eyebrow at that introduction which contained the name which he gave her when they first met. Seeming to see that Rean was remembering the origin of the surname R caused Alisa to blush a little, "It is a pleasure to meet ALMOST all of you."

That just caused everyone to sweat drop at that though Elliot and Machias tried to at least make small talk which she just answered curtly. Thinking that this couldn't go, Rean tried his best to make conversation with her just to apologise to her somehow, "So hey, I guess your bow was in that case when we met at the station, right? Is there some kind of orbal mechanism built in?" Which just caused her to answer him in a plain voice dripping with resentment, "There is, but I don't see how that is any of YOUR business." Ouch was all he could think of at that answer.

Elliot seeing that the situation was quickly deteriorating tried to change the subject, "Umm…Yeah. Anyone got any ideas on what to do now? We have all run into each other wandering around. How about we stick together?" Machias seeing the logic in that was quick to support him, "I think that would be for the best. It's not safe for a group of girls to travel alone. You may require protect…", only to be interrupted by Laura once more, "You don't need to concern yourselves with that. I am more than confident that my swordsmanship is more than enough to protect us."

To prove her point she took out a broadsword bigger than herself and held it with the outmost confidence, "For now, I think it is better to remain in separated groups. There are still two of us unaccounted for." Emma supported Laura by mentioning, "That's right. We still haven't run into that silver haired girl." Gaius too, saw the benefits in Laura's proposal, "In that case two teams mean double the chance to find them." Everyone else consented to it, so the two groups went their separate ways.

Rean saw Alisa leave while still mad at him which caused him to sigh out loud. The boys were looking at him with sympathy, Elliot was the first one to comment on Alisa behaviour, "She really doesn't seem like she is going to let that go, does she?" while Gaius patted Rean on his shoulder to express his sympathy.

Machias meanwhile added, "It was clearly an accident, everyone could see that, but I guess it doesn't make any difference for her. Still, is no one worried about leaving a group of girls to fend for themselves in a place like this? There are four of us here maybe one of us should follow them?"

Gaius crossed his arms while looking at the direction the girls, "I don't think we have anything to worry about as long as Laura is with them. She really wears her skills on her sleeve, I assume that she doesn't carry a sword that big around just for fun." Regaining his composure, Rean gave his own opinion, "I bet she can swing that sword around without breaking a sweat." His classmates were turning to him in surprise at his faith in the blue haired girl.

"The Arseid School of swordsmanship serves as a general basis for the techniques used by knights throughout the Empire and her father, the viscount, is arguably the strongest swordsman in the country. People call him the Radiant Blademaster. I doubt any student here could beat her and while I can't speak for Emma, Alisa is pretty good with her bow. Combining her long-range support with Laura close-combat skills, I really pity the monsters that are unlucky enough to stumble across them."

This seemed to surprise his classmates, especially his remark about Alisa's archery skills, even more, "So since we have to find two more, the silver haired girl and the son of Duke Albarea, we should get going." With that everyone moved in the opposite direction from the girls to begin their search though Machias was grumbling about leaving a pompous ass to rot.

Sometime later, Rean's group arrived at a room with pillars, sensing that someone was hiding behind one, he stared at it, which caused Machias and Elliot to think that there were monsters hiding behind it. Only Gaius seemed to notice what was going. A moment later, the silver haired girl appeared behind the pillar and introduced herself, "Huh, you have pretty good senses you are halfway through, so try to keep up, oh yeah name's Fie Claussell. Later." Finished speaking she turned around to walk away which caused Elliot to call out to her in concern.

"Are sure you will be alright on your own? You can come with us; I think it would be safer for you too." Glancing back at Elliot, she just shook her head at his offer, "I will be fine. I'm used to this." As if to prove her point, she sprinted towards a wall and used it as a springboard to reach the floor above, waving at them she just left the boys speechless.

Chuckling Gaius commented at the display, "Seems like we don't have to worry about her with that agility and speed, I'm pretty sure that she can dodge every monster on her way." Elliot and Machias could just nod with their mouths open. Having one less person to worry, the group moved forward though Rean couldn't stop thinking what Fie had said, (We are halfway through? Does that mean she had already reached the end and came back?)

On their search, they finally stumbled upon the last missing member, Jusis was dispatching a group of monsters with such ease that Gaius felt obligated to ask Rean, "Is that another school of Imperial swordsmanship?"

"Right, that is court fencing, an agile style favoured by the nobility and judging from this display, he is no amateur." Having finished the last monster, Jusis turned around to find out that he had gathered a group of spectators, "Did you need something?" which seemed to annoy Machias, finding that he was looking at him, Rean quickly explained, "Sorry, I was just admiring your swordsmanship."

Approaching him everyone introduced themselves to Jusis which he returned by introducing himself again, done with that he glanced at Machias, "I have to say I didn't think you had it in you. I am impressed after all that bluster about finding the exit alone, I wasn't expecting for you to rely on the help of others. I can only assume that after calming down, you went back and apologised like a good boy. Truly, the virtue of the common man. A preening noble like me has too much pride to do something like that."

Machias didn't take that lying down, "What the hell is your problem?! You noble really are all the same, so full of yourselves and you're not just the garden-variety of a noble. No, House Albarea is one of the highest-ranking nobles of the entire country, you must love looking down on us commoners from your high horse."

"Please, like you are one to talk given your own rank, Mister Son of the Imperial governor." That surprised everyone else while Elliot seemed to recall something, "Oh, no wonder the name Regnitz seemed so familiar."

"Seems like your friend here didn't properly introduce himself, Noblesse Oblige dictates that it is my sacred duty to help the less fortunate, so let me do the honours. Carl Regnitz, the first ever commoner to rise to the post of imperial governor in Heimdallr. The first one to rule the capital of the Erebonian Empire and this rather headstrong lad is his son. Pretty rarefied air for a simple commoner, don't you think?"

"What about it? My Dad may be the governor of the capital, but he earned his position through years of hard and honest work. Don't you dare imply that he is the same as you nepotists who get their titles just for being born."

"Perish the thought. No, I mainly regard your father as a reformist and a close friend of the chancellor, whose faction is in conflict with the noble faction, led by none other than the Four Great Houses. Looking it that way, your vitriolic dislike for the nobility seems rather…. cheap wouldn't you agree?"

"You son of a …."

Exploding in anger, Machias ran towards Jusis with his fist raised, seeing this Rean ran forward and grabbed Machias, "I know he is taunting you but lashing out at him isn't going to solve anything and Jusis don't you think that was a little uncalled for?" It was there just for a very short moment but there seemed something like shame in his eyes as Jusis looked away, meanwhile Machias was struggling to escape from Rean's hold, "Damn it, Rean! Just let me go already!"

Seeing that he had calmed down somewhat Rean slowly let him go, taking a deep breath Machias walked away from the group, "I'm sorry, okay? Just… leave me alone for a while, you guys should just go ahead with him, I will catch up later." Seeing Machias' back as he walked away, Rean turned to Jusis, "I think you went a little too far, Jusis. Being at odds with Machias is one thing, but dragging his father into it is pretty low. You are better than that."

"Perhaps I was a little out of line, it seems I still have much to learn." His acceptance of his mistake surprised Elliot, who didn't think that a noble from the Four Grew Houses would ever admit that he was wrong, Jusis seemed to notice it, but kept otherwise quiet. "By the way, you all don't have to address me formally, we may come from different social classes but in this academy, we are all of the same standing or so the idea goes anyway." This shocked Elliot even more as he tried and failed to address Jusis as informally as possible. Gaius seemed confused at that and could help but whisper to Rean, "Is class really that important in the Empire?"

"It is. This country has a long history, and the class system has been one of its central institutions for most of it." Looking at Jusis, "So what do you want to do? Machias said to go with you, but I don't want to pressure you into coming along, if you don't want to."

"I was intending to press on to the exit by myself, but I would rather not to mimic the actions of his ilk, so I will accompany you." After Jusis joined them, it took them a while until they could fight together without getting in each other, aiding a person to the frontline had helped cutting the monsters down faster, but it also made cooperation between the frontline that much harder. Some twists and turns later, the group arrived at large room with a strange statute of a winged monster on the wall and some stairs that seemed to lead to the surface. Letting an out breath, Gaius looked up at the exit, "Looks like we managed to reach the exit after all." Rean couldn't agree more, "Yeah, I can see the sunlight streaming in, so we are definitely in the clear."

"Hmph. This was a completely waste of time, pointless busywork at most. Considering the school's esteemed founder, I was excepting more of a challenge but nothing down here posed even a modest threat." Sweat dropping Elliot, nervously chuckled, "Did we even fight the same monsters? I feel like I've been stretched to my limits and was what all that business with that talk about Class VII, anyway?"

Having a moment to really think, Rean tried to analyse what he had learned until now about this new class, (We've got here people from different backgrounds, classes and even cultures… Is there some secret agenda with this whole 'Class VII' business that we don't yet know about?) Suddenly a strange noise, woke Rean up from his thinking, everyone else heard it too and looked around to see where it came, Gaius, was the first to find the source.

"There! It's coming from the statute." Under everyone astonished faces the statue came to life, jumped down from its podest and barred the ways to the stairs. Dumbfounded at the sight before him, Gaius couldn't resist asking, "Are monsters like this common in the Empire?" which made Jusis to answer his question, "Not outside of old wives tale, they aren't!"

Drawing his tachi, Rean stepped forward to face the monster, "This thing is blocking our only route to the surface, seems we don't a choice, we have to fight it!" Seeing that the rest of the group were ready to fight, Rean dashed forward as gave his comrades their directions, "I will attack from the front and keep its attention on me, Jusis, Gaius, you both take a side to attack, watch out for his wings, we don't know if it can attack with them, the same with his hind legs and tail. Elliot, you stay away from it and see if you can analyse it for weaknesses, after you are done keep an eye on us, in case we need your healing. Don't think of attacking, conserve your strength for supporting us, I got a feeling that we that is going to be a tough one."

Landing a strike on his face seemed to draw its attention to Rean, though from the looks of it the cut wasn't a deep one, (Seems like normal attacks won't do much damage but it is enough, if I can keep it fixated on me.) Rean kept on dodging its attacks and adding some attacks of his own to keep its attention while Jusis and Gaius attacked from the side. Though like his earlier attack, the damage they dealt wasn't much. As he prepared himself for a prolonged fight, he heard Elliot shouting behind him, "Guys, I'm done. It doesn't have an elemental weakness we can exploit, but that doesn't matter since its defence towards any orbal arts is pretty weak. So, we should use our element arts to attack."

Devising a new plan with that information Rean shouted to his party members, "Jusis, Gaius, keep your distance from it and attack it with your Wind Strikes, you too Elliot. You can concentrate now on simply attacking while I keep it busy." Focusing his attacks on its face seemed to do the trick while his allies followed his strategy, though he could see from the look on their face that they were worried about him, as he keeps on dodging. "Guys, don't worry about me, just keep on casting arts, even if it manages to hit me, Elliot can just heal me."

After sending a reassuring grin their way and he saw them nod at him though he could still see worry in their eyes, he fully concentrated on his opponent as he remembered his training during his travels. Minutes later, after some extremely close calls with claws and teeth, the monster seemed finally ready to fall from taking too many hits, seeing an opening Rean managed to land a strike on its eye which caused it to slump to the ground. Jumping back to join his allies, Rean kept a close eye on it, in case it tried attacking with its last breath. Before anyone could feel relieved, a mysterious light shone upon their adversary causing it to revive and even changed his form, now it was using his wing to fly instead of walking on the ground.

With a furious battle cry, it flew straight at Rean as it seemed to remember the pain caused by him. Jumping to the side to avoid the attack, Rean straightened his back as his eyes followed its movements, who were now a lot faster compared to before, "Guys, keep casting arts, I seem to have angered it completely, so its attention is fixed on me." Steeling their resolve, the others seem to reach the same conclusion that they had to bring it down as fast as possible, before it could land a hit on Rean.

Despite that, they couldn't help but notice that their attacks no longer seemed to have much of an effect on it anymore which caused even Jusis and Gaius faces to become pale, since if even their arts were no longer working on their opponent, they wondered what they should use to fight. Taking a deep breath after dodging another attack, Rean stood up while sheathing his sword and taking a drawing stance, the monster noticing his target staying still, took it as a challenge.

With a roar, it charged forward to Rean to end his life, noticing that the swordsman didn't have any intention to dodge this attack, caused the rest to panic as they sprinted to him although they knew that they wouldn't make it in time, to save him. With the monster less than three arges away, Rean dashed toward it while shouting in his mind, "Fourth Form: Autumn Leaf Cuter!", in a flash the two opponents passed each other. A loud noise could be heard as the monster crashed on the ground while Rean lowered his outstretched sword.

Stunned at the sight before them, they couldn't understand what just happened, seeing the confusion on their faces, Rean walked slowly toward them as he kept an eye on his fallen opponent. "Nothing in this world is perfect, at the beginning it was tough against physical damages but weak against arts, after changing his form it seemed tough against arts, so I just tried out my theory that perhaps after changing, that it was weak against physical damages. Luckily, I was right." Rean was still looking at it, so he didn't see the astonishment on their faces but before anyone could compliment him or scold him for his actions. The same light as before appeared, to heal the monster just this time it didn't change form, but it also didn't fly around anymore.

"You have got to be kidding me, I am sure that I cut its heart and it still can be revived?!" Glancing at his allies, who seemed exhausted after all that continuous casting of arts, especially Elliot, who was looking pale. Rean decided on his course of action. "Guys, I will keep it busy while you all run toward the stairs and get out of here." Appalled that he was suggesting that they abandoned him, they all protested at the same time.

"Rean, we can't leave you here alone with that monster!"

"Elliot is right if you are going to stay, we will stay too."

"Are you suggesting that a noble such as I turn my back in my opponent and leave someone behind? That's the most ridicules thing I have heard the entire morning, including that nonsense of Regnitz."

Although he was touched that they didn't want to leave him, he knew better that if they stayed the chance that they would be hurt or worse were too high, "Don't worry about me. Get out of here and get the instructor, this monster is clearly not normal, and we may need her help to put it down, so go." Before the rest could protest again, a voice was suddenly heard behind them, "No need for that."

Followed by a volley of arrows who hit the monster, turning around they saw the group of girls rushing toward them, as soon they were close enough, Emma and Laura attacked too. With the new addition, they formed a half circle as they faced the monster, Gaius smiled at them, "You have certainly got good timing." Nocking an arrow, Alisa took aim at their foe while heaving a relived sigh, "Whew… Seems like you are all okay at least, though must you be so reckless? Last time you were planning to run towards a loaded gun, now this?" The second part was murmured beneath her breath, but Rean was standing close enough to her to hear it. Thinking that now wasn't a good time, to try and explain himself, he focused forward as Emma tried to apologise, "I'm sorry we took so long."

"You're here and that's what counts." Reading her broadsword, Laura looked at their opponent with a smiled filled with anticipation, "So a gargoyle, is it? I wasn't expecting to find the dark ages alive and well down here. It doesn't look like it will go down easily."

"Fine. I will help out." Glancing behind them, they saw the last two members of their class standing there, Machias and Fie. Raising his shotgun Machias took aim at their opponent, "Seems like you started the party without me. So how about I take the opening shoot this time. Releasing Limiter… Take this. Break Shot!" A bullet filled what looked like orbal energy hit the monster in the shoulder.

Using its brief distraction, Fie ran towards it using the momentum to jump above the creature to land behind it to attack which resulted in an opening for the rest of the class. They didn't waste any time to attack, not noticing that everyone was enveloped in a blue light, their following attacks seemed completely synchronised as if they had fought together for years, each attack created an opening for someone else, flowing into a rhythm of death for the monster. Seeing that its neck was exposed, Laura jumped up in the air and swung her sword down with all her strength which resulted in its head being cut off from his body. Without his head, the body became stone again and fell apart leaving nothing behind.

Seeing that nothing was left behind, everyone put their weapons away while congratulating each other, Gaius couldn't help but comment, "That creature doesn't seem like it will come back for another rematch any time soon, this time around." Noticing the others confusion Elliot explained what had happened, that they had defeated it two times, but it always came back for more. "Still, what happened at the end of it anyway….." Nodding at him, Alisa added her own opinion, "Now that you mention it, I did feel something washing over me for just a second there and I think a saw a blue light enveloping everyone else."

Recalling their earlier movements, Laura gave her own view, "I did notice something as we fought, perhaps it was just on the blur of combat, but I felt like I could see everybody else's movements in precise detail." Remembering the others couldn't help but agree with her while everyone else was wondering what was going on Rean shared his opinion of it. "I have a feeling what we just experienced was…." Before he could finish his sentence, someone else finished it for him,"… the biggest selling point of the almighty Arcus Unit? Give this man a prize!"

Looking to the stairs, they saw their instructor coming down, while grinning and clapping at them, "Looks like friendship and teamwork save the day once more. I'm so proud of you guys. Anyway, that about finishes up today's special…. orienteering…exercise." Looking at her students Sara couldn't help but notice the long faces they were making at her, "Aww, what's with long faces? I thought you guys would be happy." Their stares at her were answer enough for her, before anyone could complain to her, Jusis stepped forward, "I'll take a stab at it. What is the purpose of this 'Class VII'? We get that it is supposed to be some sort of a melting pot that includes a broad cross-section of people but why were the nine of us chosen in particular?"

"That is a valid question. There's no single monolith reason why you all made the list but if I had to name a major contributing fact then it would the Arcus orbments you all are carrying." At that, the students took out their Arcus while Sara continued explaining it, "Like I explained earlier the Arcus are developed jointly by the Epstein Foundation and the Reinford Group. Like any other ornaments they let you use arts, and these have a communication functionality built in. But that isn't the most important point, their crowning feature is what's known as combat linking, the phenomenon that you all just experienced. It allows people to connect with each other, so that they can move in complete sync, like they trained with each other for years. It doesn't take a genius to figure out how much an advantage that is on the battlefield. An elite unit that can sense each other movements, that acts in perfect sync, even in the most chaotic battlefield, you can't put price on it. It will surely bring about a revolution in the way wars are fought." Fie clearly not impressed with Sara's speech, didn't hesitate to pour cold water on her enthusiasms, "You do know that it sounds rather idealistic, right?"

Shrugging her shoulders as response, Sara continued, "Well, yeah. The technology has its limits. Some have the natural talent for it while others don't. Class VII represent the students, whose aptitude for it are the highest and since aptitude trumps everything, here you all are. Before you ask, I don't know what gives you that aptitude, that question is for the big heads that developed the Arcus to figure out." Understanding dawned on the students faces, as they finally understood why and how they were chosen.

Clearing her throat, Sara looked at each of her students while speaking with a serious tone, "As promised, if any of you have objections to being in this class, speak now or forever hold your peace. This program isn't cheap to run, so we're not about to force anyone into it if they don't want to be here. You should also be aware that Class VII curriculum will be far tougher than any other class coursework, just a fair warning. So now you know, which begs the question, will you stick with this class or not? If you want out, you will just be placed in your original class and since today is the only the first day, you won't have any trouble to fit in."

Everyone looked at each other with indecision in their eyes, remembering what happened on that winter day and in that small town in the eastern part of the continent, Rean took a step forward and spoke with determination in his voice, "I'll do it. Whatever Class VII has to throw at me, I'm game." The rest seemed surprised at his quick decision, even Sara, "So you are the first, then. You seem pretty sure about it, any particular reason?"

"Not really. I just feel like I've put my family out by asking them to send me to this school. If being in this class means, that I have more to show for my time here then I don't see a reason why I shouldn't be in it."

"Mmm. That is a very noble sentiment. What about the rest of you?" Seeing Rean taking the first step inspired the rest of them to step forward and claim their place in this new class. Even Alisa joined in, which surprised Rean and Sara at first, "Oh that is a surprise, I was almost certain your rebellious streak would see you opt out just on general principle." Closing her eyes Alisa replied, "It does bother me that you are making us use these Arcus Unit, which are clearly still in development but if I let every little nit-pick hold me back, I'd never amount to much."

"Haha. Now these are words to live by, right there. We even got our resident reformist and high noble on board, since you are ready to join, why not put your difference aside, embrace the joys of youth and become best friends while you are at it." That statement just resulted in loud protest from them both. Rean seeing that they were once again at each other's throat, he could help but whisper to Alisa who was beside him, "They're going to be like this pretty much all year, aren't they?"

Shooting an annoyed look at the arguing pair, Alisa couldn't help but agree, "Sure seems that way. I wouldn't bet on them ever seeing eye to eye." Just as she remembered that she was still angry with him, she turned her head away, with a loud hmph. Recalling the same thing, Rean couldn't help but feel down and it didn't help that Elliot had to add salt to his wound, "Ahaha, the pots shouldn't be too hard on the kettles."

"Give a guy a break…."

Smiling with satisfaction, Sara looked at her students, "Well, how about that? Nine out of nine! With that I would like to congratulate all of you on being the first ever Class VII! I hope you keep those high spirits up all year, because with the workload we have planned for you, you will need it! Now that we are done with this, follow me to our first class where I will explain, what kind of workload is waiting for you." The last part of that sentence was given with a grin that send shivers down the students spines some were even wondering what they got themselves into.

The first part is done, I hope that I was able to entertain some of you with this chapter, the next part will shown what I think should have happened between the first day at school and the first free day.