Breakfast that morning consisted of some egg omelettes cooked by Elliot and Emma.

"These are actually pretty good!" remarked Rean.

"They feel really soft and fluffy, too!" said Morgan.

Elliot gave a nervous laugh. "I helped around the kitchen a little bit back home. Must have picked up a few things." He then turned to his partner chef, who was preparing some herb tea for everyone. "Emma was the one who got the idea for some of the seasonings, though."

Emma perked up when she heard her name. "Oh, come now! The only reason they came out as nicely as they did was because you knew when it was the right time to flip them!" Her compliment caused Elliot to blush a little. Emma then brought over a pot of tea to the dining table. "I'm not quite sure if this tea will live up to all of your expectations, but I can assure you I didn't burn it, so at least it's an improvement from last week's."

Machias, the chef in charge of last week's tea, grumbled. "I thought we agreed to never speak of that again…" The class president quickly apologized to her vice president. Jusis tried very hard not to manage a smirk as he poured some tea for himself.

Gaius, Machias's partner for last week, chuckled. "Each person has their own strengths and weaknesses. In hindsight, it was a bit foolish of me to suggest that we learn how to make each other's specialty drinks. At least now we know who has the most trouble making what."

"Oooh! Something smells good!" said a voice from the first floor lobby. Everyone turned to greet the two girls who had just arrived to the breakfast table.

Emma waved hello to her female friends. "Good morning, Alisa and Laura!" She then looked around the pair to catch a glimpse of the silver-haired girl who was following them. "And good morning to you too, Fie! Did you get enough sleep last night?"

"Pretty much," Fie replied with a yawn. "I have to, if I want to do well on this practical exam."

"I do wonder what this practical exam will entail," Laura wondered aloud. "The instructor only said to 'Bring your weapons and your ARCUS units.'"

"She left early, too, from the looks of it," Rean noted, looking at the door to their instructor's room. "I guess we'll just have to wait and see how things turn out."

The anticipation from such an ominous event silenced Class VII from any further discussion for the remainder of breakfast.

"Okay! Let's get your practical exam started, shall we?"

Several hours had passed and now it was time for Class VII's first practical exam. Instructor Sara stood in front of her students in the middle of the academy field.

"To be completely clear from the outset, this exam is about more than just testing your physical strength and stamina," she explained. "Rather, it's designed to hone in on how capable you are of making strategic combat decisions on the fly. Defeating your opponent quickly is a good thing, certainly, but it won't be enough to score you high marks here!"

'So we'll have to use our heads for this one…' Morgan thought. Some of the other students mumbled words amongst themselves.

"I think a good example of what I mean is in order." She looked at four students from among the small crowd. "Rean, Elliot, Gaius, and Morgan? You're up first. Please step forward. The rest of you, step back a bit."

The class did as they were told, with the students whose names were called stepping forward and the rest stepping back. Once they were all situated amongst themselves, Instructor Sara snapped her fingers. Abruptly, an odd-looking device phased into existence. It looked like a metal pole with two "arms" attached to its head, but it was floating and, more importantly, appeared mechanical. It was nothing the rest of the class had ever seen before.

"Wh-what's that?!" Rean exclaimed, asking the question that was on every students' mind.

Elliot jumped back. "A-A monster?!" he stammered.

Gaius shook his head. "No… I'm not sensing any life coming from it at all."

"That's right," Instructor Sara said. "Think of it like a scarecrow. Only, it's a moving scarecrow...I guess." She shrugged her shoulders. "Either way, it's not alive. I've set its parameters fairly high, though, so it IS formidable. But if you give it your all, I'm confident you can beat it...probably." She gave a playful smirk at the four students in the front. "Make good use of your ARCUS' combat link abilities, for example, and I'll bet it'll be a piece of cake! Hint, hint."

The four students assembled finally pieced everything together.

"So that's what you're playing at…" Rean muttered.

Morgan nodded. "If that's the case, then it makes sense why she'd want us to go first." She then looked to her other teammates. "So, how do you guys want to do this?"

"Let's link up just like in the old schoolhouse, you with me and Elliot with Gaius," Rean said as he and the other boys drew their weapons. "Gaius and I can stagger that...scarecrow and then the two of you can hop in. We'll keep it like that and then switch teammates when necessary."

"Sounds like a plan." Morgan nodded her head as she readied her weapon. The other two boys nodded as well.

Instructor Sara grinned. "I take it you're all ready? Then show the rest of the class how it's done!" She moved backwards a few steps. "Begin!"

The scarecrow sparked to life and gave a quick spin as two pairs of ARCUS links were formed. The students spread out with their pairings just as they did against the giant monster in the old schoolhouse. The scarecrow set its sights on Morgan first, being the closest one to it, and moved to attack her with a backwards somersault using its pole. Morgan successfully guarded herself against the attack, but the force from the blow knocked her back a fair distance. The scarecrow then rushed in to deliver another attack, but this time Morgan was prepared, dodging to the side instead of blocking the attack. As the scarecrow was repositioning itself after missing, Morgan changed her weapon into its two-handed form and stabbed at it from a distance. The suddenness from the counterattack staggered the scarecrow slightly, allowing Rean to follow up from behind with an attack of his own before backing out. As the machine was about to give chase, it was hit by an orb of water and a gust of compressed air, courtesy of Elliot and Gaius, respectively, using their orbments.

Determining that the two of them were now the bigger threats, the scarecrow revealed some compartments hidden in the space between its arms and head and fired two blue spheres at Elliot and Gaius. Upon colliding with the ground, the spheres detonated and caused a small explosion, forcing the pair to separate to escape the full impact of the blast. The scarecrow began to move towards Elliot, who attempted to swat the enemy away by firing several translucent bubbles. Unlike the monster in the old schoolhouse, however, the scarecrow didn't seem to be fazed by the attack one bit. However, this brief diversion of the scarecrow's attention from them gave Rean and Morgan enough time to cast orbal arts of their own. As before, Morgan released her art followed by Rean, a volley of water and a bolt of fire each finding their mark. This also allowed Gaius to ready his own attack, spinning his spear above his head furiously before sending a wind projectile towards the machine, damaging it.

Noticing that the scarecrow was stunned momentarily, Morgan decided it was time to switch up their team composition. She looked to Rean for a brief moment, who nodded at her. Thanks to the ARCUS' links, the two were able to understand each other's intentions clearly.

"Guys! Time to switch!" Morgan called to her other teammates. Rean severed the link between the two of them and rushed to Gaius's side. Recognizing the situation, Elliot and Gaius quickly severed their ARCUS link to pair up with another teammate. Two ARCUS links were created just as easily as they had been broken, with one link between Rean and Gaius and the other between Morgan and Elliot.

Gaius attacked first, using the range of his spear to further harass the scarecrow from a safe distance. Nodding to his new partner, Rean assisted by delivering several consecutive slashes from his sword. Morgan and Elliot meanwhile were concentrating in casting arts. Together, they unleashed two Aqua Bleed spells onto the scarecrow, with both arts succeeding in hitting it. In what appeared to be a last ditch attempt to regain control of the fight, the scarecrow began vibrating in place. Soon after, an orbal aura started glowing around it, signifying that it was about to cast an art.

Rean immediately noticed this. "Oh no you don't!" He sheathed his sword momentarily and closed his eyes. Time seemed to slow as he maintained his state of focus. "Fourth Form: Autumn Leaf Cutter!" As he announced his attack, he opened his eyes and dashed forward quickly. With a single stroke, he sliced the scarecrow with such force its casting process was interrupted. Rean then called to his partner. "Now's your chance!"

"All right!" Gaius continued the assault, delivering a series of stabs and strikes with his spear. As he about to finish his assist, he called out to the other pair of students. "Can you handle this?"

Though they were not directly linked together, Morgan understood all too well what he meant. Looking to the orbal staff user beside her, who nodded in agreement, she charged to engage the scarecrow.

Gaius spun his spear around his head again, but instead of shooting a wind projectile, he swung his spear diagonally upwards, using the momentum to increase the force of his attack and staggering the machine. As he leapt backwards, Morgan jumped forwards to deliver an attack of her own, first striking with her two-handed weapon before reverting it to its one-handed form mid-swing and slashing several more times. Finally, she twirled to the side of the scarecrow, ready to perform a two-handed swing, but not before signaling to her teammate. "All yours!"

"Right!" As Morgan swung her axe and stepped out of the way, Elliot let loose a group of glowing bubbles from his orbal staff that exploded upon contact with the scarecrow. With that last linked attack, the machine floated to the ground and powered down.

Elliot was panting nervously. "Did...did that do it?"

Morgan kept her weapon steady in her hands. "I think so." She looked to their instructor for confirmation, who was smiling and nodding in approval. Breathing a sigh of relief, she flipped her weapon with her fingers until she was holding it in a reverse grip.

Their other two teammates put away their own weapons. "We won," Gaius spoke, sounding relieved.

"Don't know how, though…" Elliot was still panting from that last exchange.

"Whatever it was, we did the right thing," Rean assured him. "That last attack was really something."

Morgan smirked at Elliot. "And you said you still needed to familiarize yourself with that orbal staff."

The red-haired teen scratched his cheek with his finger. "Well, there's always room for improvement, as they say…"

Instructor Sara, meanwhile, was crouching by the scarecrow to make sure it wasn't too damaged. Seeing that it was still in good condition, she walked to the group of four and started applauding. "Not bad! Not bad at all! Excellent use of combat links, and bonus points for choosing to switch up your pairs when it was necessary. You four must've been really in sync, cause that last exchange counted as three consecutive link attacks! That's more than enough to give you an 'A' for this exam." She gave a small wink. "Seems like the practice you got in the old schoolhouse really paid off!"

Some of the other students in Class VII (Morgan was so focused on the fight that she had completely forgotten they were there) started mumbling amongst themselves, wondering what the four of them did at the old schoolhouse to become so accustomed to using combat links. Rean gave a small chuckle in response. "It just may have, Instructor."

Instructor Sara motioned for the first group to go sit down and enjoy a well-earned rest. "Anyways, that's pretty much the gist of how this practical exam will play out," she addressed to the rest of the class. "Your objective is to land as many attacks using your combat links as you can with the members of your group. I know that the odds aren't exactly in your guys' favor seeing as the first group had some extra practice, but don't let that get you down. The demonstration you just saw from the first group is just a fraction of the potential you and your ARCUS units have. Changing your team formation as well as who is linked up to who is all part of adapting to the flow of battle; that's precisely what I mean when I said that this exam will test how capable you are of making strategic combat decisions on the fly.

"On that note, Laura, Emma, and Jusis? You'll be the second group. Please come forward."

The three named students stepped forward, ready to commence their part of the practical exam.

After the last two groups had their turn against the scarecrow, Class VII's first practical exam came to an end. Though all of the groups were able to attain high marks, it was still clear that the first group was ahead of the others in terms of using combat links smoothly and efficiently amongst every member of their group.

"Now as you might recall the day before your free day," Instructor Sara addressed to the tired students, "I mentioned that I had an important announcement to make after your practical exam was over regarding a major part of Class VII's curriculum that wasn't mentioned yet. Well, now it's after your practical exam, so…" She paused briefly to look at the expectant faces of her students. "Are you all ready to hear what it is?" She made an aside glance at Rean. "Does anyone want to take a guess?" she added.

The collection of teens remained silent. Morgan couldn't help but think that the thought on some of their minds was 'Just get to the point already…'

Their female instructor apparently noticed this as well and relented. "Alright, I'll come clean. The special task you're about to be assigned is none other than…" Her voice trailed off, as if she was expecting a drumroll to play at that moment. She then produced a pile of ten sheets of paper from inside her jacket. "A field study!" She ruffled the papers loudly in the place of a cymbal.

The students went from silent to confused. "...Field study?" Emma asked to make sure.

"I don't like the sound of this one bit…" Machias muttered to himself.

"You'll be split into two groups, A and B, and each sent to a different location," Instructor Sara explained. "And while you're there, you'll be given a number of tasks to complete. Doesn't that sound like fun?"

Morgan bit her tongue to keep herself from saying the word "No" as a joke.

"We only just got to the academy, and we're already being sent somewhere else?" Elliot questioned.

"Will you not be coming with us, Instructor?" Rean asked.

Their instructor waved her free hand like she was swatting a fly. "Oh, of course not! It'd be much too easy for you if I were there to bail you out every time the waters of life came seeping in. You've got to be cruel to be kind, and all that!"

Seeing their eccentric instructor attempt to incorporate philosophical metaphors like a civilized adult made Class VII collectively sweatdrop.

"Instructor Valestein," Jusis spoke. "Where, exactly, will we be going? And when?"

"Ah, yes! About that…" Their instructor waved the pile of papers in her hand. "Each of you, please come forward and take one of these to see how the groups have been divided and where each is being sent."

The students filed together in a line to retrieve a sheet of paper. Each sheet, as Instructor Sara said, listed the members of each group and their respective destinations. The information printed is as follows:

[Field Study: April]

Group A: Rean, Alisa, Laura, Gaius, Morgan
(Study Location: Celdic, the Market Town)

Group B: Emma, Elliot, Machias, Jusis, Fie
(Study Location: Parm, the Spinning Town)

"Well, these are certainly some...interesting groupings," Laura commented.

"Celdic and Parm…" Gaius said, trying to divert the subject away from the groups for the time being. "Are they both in Erebonia?"

"Y-Yeah," Elliot stammered. "Celdic's a market town on the east side of the Empire…"

"And Parm is situated in the deep south," Emma finished her fellow orbal staff user's sentence. "Parm is known for its spinners while Celdic is known for its Grand Market."

"All that way?" Fie mumbled to herself. "How irritating…"

Machias let out an irate breath, as if he was a few hairs away from fuming. "I-I'm less worried about where we're going than the utter lack of sense that went into these groupings!"

For once, Jusis seemed to agree with Machias, eliciting a grumble of his own. "Unbelievable…"

Instructor Sara showed no signs of faltering. "You'll be leaving this weekend and will be out in the field in two days' time," she told Class VII. "Your means of reaching your respective locations will, of course, be by train, so do make sure you're thoroughly prepared, rested, and rearing to go before the big day!"

The school bell then rung behind them, indicating that it was the end of the period. Instructor Sara clapped her hands together. "And on that note, class dismissed!"

"Are you two going to be okay?" Morgan asked Emma and Fie. Currently, the girls of Class VII were eating dinner together at Kirsche's.

"Nope," Fie replied. Even when she said this, her face remained as stoic as could be. "We're done for."

The class president laughed nervously into her soup. "While I'd like to sound positive, I do think that the odds are a bit...stacked against us."

"And we're being graded on these too…" Alisa worried. She grumbled as she took a bite out of her sandwich. "That's one more thing to add to our list of worries…"

"I'm betting 100 mira that Group B will get an 'E'," Fie said, waving a fry in her fingers. "Any takers?"

"Now, now. Try and think positively," Laura suggested as she calmly took a sip of tea. "If you keep worrying about the things you can't do, then you risk forgetting the things that you can do."

Fie mumbled something as she ate her fry. Probably a retort along the lines of, "Easy for you to say."

"You guys have Elliot with you, so at least that's something," Morgan reasoned as she ate another slice of pizza. "He doesn't have the biggest self-confidence, but you can rely on him when it counts. Take it from me."

"That's reassuring to hear," Emma said. "You know, this could be the perfect thing to discuss with him while we're on cooking duty this week. I'll just have to find an excuse to make breakfast again."

"Hip hip hooraaay," Fie mumbled mid-chew. "More omelettes."

"Moving the subject away from the groups for the moment," Laura spoke, "I can't deny that I'm interested in seeing some of these destinations in person. Truth be told, I wish I could be in Group B so I can see Parm for myself."

"Oh?" Emma sounded intrigued. "Is it because of the spinners?"

"Well, there is that…" Laura answered hesitantly. "However, the main reason is because Parm is home to a branch of the Vander school. As a sword user myself, I've always wanted to see practitioners of the Vander style train firsthand." She sighed into her tea. "But alas, perhaps it wasn't meant to be this time."

Morgan nodded in understanding. "I guess that makes sense. Friendly competition between different schools can help push everyone to get better, after all." As she took a bite from the last slice of her pizza, she noticed that Laura was staring at her. "Ish somethin' wrong?"

Laura noticed herself and shook her said. "No, it's nothing."

Shrugging her shoulders, Morgan wolfed down the rest of her pizza slice.

Alisa looked at her with subtle amazement. "I still can't believe you can finish an entire pizza by yourself."

Morgan rubbed her nose. "Heh, I've faced down tougher foes!" she boasted. A second later, she burped, ruining her small moment of glory. The other girls couldn't help but let out laughs of varying degrees, much to Morgan's chagrin. Even Fie let out a small smirk.

Morgan scoffed. "Well, excuuuuuse me!"

Little else of note occurred that evening.

Author's note: Time for another notable change in the narrative, that change being that Gaius will be traveling with Group A. In the original game, Group A consisted of Rean, Alisa, Elliot, and Laura.
As forewarned in the previous chapter, this chapter was a bit of a short one, so I hope those of you who read to the end didn't mind. Just in time, too, because school is about to begin for me IRL. I've been trying to push for one chapter a week (a goal that has been admittedly rather infrequent), but I'm unsure if I'll be able to keep it up. If it comes to infrequent updates, I'll let you all know in advance.
Anyways, it's Labor Day weekend in America as of the time of this writing, so happy Labor Day to all you U.S. readers! And to any non-U.S. readers, hope you all have a great weekend regardless! (^o^)v