At first, the students were ready to trek all over the city to locate the noble who issued the bath salt request, but once Jusis took a closer look at the request form, he recognized the name of the requester and immediately knew where to find him at this time of day. He led the students towards the small terrace outside of Sorciere, where they found a pair of individuals chatting over some coffee with a gray-white dog curled up next to one of them. As the students approached the pair, the dog perked its ears up and turned to growl at the newcomers.

"Easy, Richard." The noble sitting closest to the dog patted its head. He was a bespectacled middle-aged man who wore a red suit and tie and possessed blonde hair. "What's gotten you in a frenzy all of a sudden?"

The noble sitting across from him nodded his face towards the direction of the students. "It appears we have some uninvited guests in our midst."

The first noble turned with an annoyed expression on his face, but once he got a closer look at Group A's uniforms, that expression dissipated. "Those uniforms…" He inched slightly closer to inspect the students' garments. "So you must be the students that Lord Rufus mentioned."

"What's this all about?" his friend interjected.

"Lord Rufus asked my lord to give some work to some students who came along here for some manner of field study, you see," the noble explained. "However, since he is currently attending to other matters, the request was passed on to the next in line - in other words, me."

"Oho!" His friend sounded intrigued. "That sounds rather interesting."

"It truly is!" he replied to his friend before directing his attention back to the students. "Though I must admit, it vexes me to see that you were able to track me down this easily. I don't recall giving you my information beyond simply my name."

"That's because they have me." Jusis walked forward to the front of the group, making his presence known. "With all due respect, for an intellectual such as yourself, it baffles me that you failed to account for such a crucial detail."

Both nobles widened their eyes upon seeing the young Albarea with the group. "Lord Jusis!" the first noble exclaimed, standing up. "I had no idea that you had returned to Bareahard!"

"You humor me, Ralph," Jusis replied, motioning him to sit back down. "As much as I would like to continue this banter, we are here for business, not pleasure. Your request stated that you want some kind of bath salt?"

"Th-That is correct." Ralph composed himself and sat back down. "If it isn't too much trouble, I would like to request that you procure some pink salt for us."

"Pink?" Jusis asked. "And you are certain that you won't settle for anything else?"

Ralph nodded. "Pink is Lea's favorite kind, after all. She's planning to come visit the manor over the weekend."

Jusis ruminated over the proposition. "If that is the case, then it shouldn't be too much of an issue. However…"

"Is it hard to find?" Rean queried.

Jusis shook his head. "It's not that. We need to make our way through Aurochs Canyon to find it, so the journey won't be easy. Fortunately, we need to head there anyways for the monster request, so it will only be a matter of locating it after we report to Aurochs Fort." He turned back to Ralph. "At what time will Lea be returning to Bareahard?"

"Around 7:00 this evening at the latest, so you should have plenty of time," the blonde noble answered. "If you have other, more important matters to take care of, I would urge you finish those first. I won't be returning to the manor until she arrives, so I plan to stay around this general vicinity until then."

"I will hold you to your word on that." With that, Jusis and the rest of Group A left Ralph and his friend to head to the Artisans' Street for the jewel request.

"If you don't mind me asking…" said Morgan, "Do you two know each other? It looked like you two had some past history."

"We are merely acquaintances," Jusis responded. "Ralph studied under my former fencing instructor for a time, and we familiarized with each other from there. He and his daughter Lea arrived around four years ago seeking refuge from the north, and they've affiliated themselves with Lord Voltaire ever since. He currently serves as the lord's personal assistant and confidant, but he has made a variety of his services available to the public, so he is frequently out and about."

"What kind of services?"

"Is this really the time and place to be talking about the professions of others?" Jusis shot down Morgan's curiosity as quickly as it appeared. "Come. Artisans' Street is just this way."

Following Jusis's lead, Group A walked south from the central plaza towards a street with shops on either side. The buildings were built with modest brown bricks that starkly contrasted the higher-quality of the white-bricked buildings in the rest of the city.

"This area is dedicated to craftsmen and merchants," Jusis explained. "Bareahard's prized gems and fur are all on display here."

Jusis stopped at one jewelry store, named Turner's Jewelers, and entered it, the rest of the students filing in behind him. The students were about to approach the clerk standing behind the front desk, but they stopped when they saw him conversing with a customer.

"It looks like he's with a customer right now," Rean observed. "Should we return later?"

"Well, this request IS one of our mandatory ones…" Morgan noted. "I think we should just wait it out instead."

"Then let's put it to a vote," Fie offered. "Anyone in favor of waiting, say 'I'."

Fortunately, Group A was saved from having to choose when the clerk saw them in the corner of his eye. Turning to face them revealed a name badge on his left side that identified him as Bruc.

"Ah, and here they are!" Bruc said with a smile. "And I see Lord Jusis is with you, too! Welcome to our store. Have you come regarding the field study request?"

"We have," Jusis affirmed. "But I'd ask that you please refrain from giving us any special treatment on my account. If our timing is inconvenient for you, we're quite amenable to returning at a later hour."

Bruc waved both his hands in front of him. "No, no, it's the opposite, in fact! We were just discussing you, as it happens. If you'd allow me to explain…"

First, he introduced the customer he was conversing with, a tourist by the name of Bengt, who he revealed was responsible for the request to begin with. Bengt then explained that he had come to Bareahard looking for a gemstone to create a wedding ring with, but he eventually realized that everything was far beyond his budget. Bruc then recommended that he search for a semi-precious stone known as "Dryad's Tear," which was a gem made from hardened tree sap that possessed beauty rivaling that of other precious gems. The catch, however, was that the trees that yielded the gem were located on the North Kreuzen Highway, which was currently experiencing an increase in the number of monster sightings. Since Bengt had no way to defend himself, he asked Bruc to direct his request to Class VII.

At that moment, a man with blue-colored hair and white-and-blue embroidered clothing calling himself Baron Bleublanc interrupted the conversation. Proclaiming himself a connoisseur and lover of beauty, he confirmed that there was at least one tree along the highway that appeared to have produced a Dryad's Tear, though given his unfamiliarity with the surrounding area, he couldn't remember where he found them exactly. His personality was eccentric to say the least, but a lead was a lead regardless. Thus, Group A decided to head out onto the North Kreuzen Highway in search of the semi-precious stone.

"Locked and loaded!" Machias took aim with his shotgun as the green lights around the receiver whirred to life. A moment later, he pulled the trigger and fired a bullet that flew so fast and so hard, it blew a hole through the reptilian monster's shell. Though it wasn't a decisive blow, it was enough to stun it briefly.

Morgan grinned from her casting position. Machias's attack bought her enough time to charge her ARCUS even further. Pointing her orbment at the monster, she gave the order to fire and unleashed one of her new arts: Frost Edge. A storm of blades made from crystallized ice formed around the monster and barraged it from multiple directions. Now on the brink of defeat, the monster tried to make one last attempt at running away, but it was stopped short when a singular presence made itself known behind it.

"Too slow." Fie stabbed her gunswords into the spot where Machias's bullet had made an opening in the monster's shell. One pull of the trigger later and the monster went down before it could realize what hit it.

Fie scanned the surrounding vicinity for any more monsters that needed defeating, which there were none. "Hostiles neutralized." She put away her weapons and delivered a small yawn. "Guess we're safe."

"That we are," Morgan agreed with glee. "You see? We can all work together if we put our minds to it."

Rean and Jusis sheathed their weapons and joined the others. "That appears to be promise in numbers," the latter said, "as loath as I am to admit it."

Machias raised an eyebrow. "Hey, you were looking at me when you said that, weren't you?"

Jusis averted his gaze. "As if I'd waste my time gazing at you, Regnitz."

"Guys?" Rean gave a knowing glare at the two of them, promptly shutting them up before things could get out of hand. "Let's just be glad that we're all starting to come together as a group. We have Morgan's battle tactics to thank for that."

It took some experimenting, but Group A managed to find a default formation for their team. Rean and Jusis, with their emphasis on swordplay, would direct their attention towards enemies that got too close. Morgan and Machias would focus on foes that were farther away, with Machias using his shotgun blasts to blow away enemy defenses and allow Morgan to land an easy art. Fie, meanwhile, would provide solo cover fire from afar until an enemy was close to being defeated, at which point she would swoop in for the kill. It was certainly a sound strategy, but it wasn't foolproof, as there was little room for the students to switch combat link partners on the fly. Once again, this was due to the issue of getting Machias and Jusis to fight together, as the time it would take for them to form and maintain a combat link would respectively be too long and too short to be of any practical use in a battle. So instead of risking each others' safety with a faulty pairing, the group decided it would be best to lay down a reliable foundation first, at which point they could branch off to experiment with different pairings and fall back to should things not work out. Progress was slow, but in comparison to how all the students sans Rean fared during the practical exam a few days ago, it was progress nonetheless. Admittedly, being able to communicate verbally also helped a bunch.

After a few more minutes of walking along the highway, the group finally came across a tree that appeared to have a sparkling spot at its trunk. Upon closer inspection, the spot was revealed to be a drop of clear tree sap, hardened and shaped into a sphere.

"I'd say this is it," Morgan decided. "Now to remove it veeery carefully…"

Morgan put three fingers around the Dryad's Tear and started pulling gently. The semi-precious stone came off without a hitch.

"You can see right through it," Fie commented as Morgan showed the jewel for the others to see.

"Its radiance truly is the equal of septium, just as the rumors said," observed Jusis.

"This is going to make a great ring, that's for sure," Rean added.

"I still find it hard to believe that this is actually tree sap…" said Morgan. "Hey, you think this is edible?"

"Don't you even think about it," Machias reprimanded, taking the gem from Morgan's hand for good measure. "Although the fact that we found it means that Baron What's-His-Name was telling the truth."

"Since you mention him, he never did say why he went out of his way to tell us," Rean wondered aloud.

"A connoisseur and lover of beauty, huh?" Morgan snickered. "He seems like a funny guy to be around. Also reminded of me of this one guy I know…"

"Our work here is done," Jusis cut in. "We retrieved what we came here to seek; let us return to Bareahard posthaste."

Morgan pouted as the rest of the group promptly followed Jusis back the way they came. "At least let me finish…"

She looked back to the tree and, on a whim, decided to walk around it. As she did, her eye caught a glimpse of a small glint near the base of the tree's trunk. She knelt down and traced her finger around it to make sure she wasn't just seeing things. Indeed, her finger felt a smooth, hardened surface.

"There's no way…" Morgan delicately placed another finger around the object and removed it. It was small and oval-shaped, almost like a tear, and the surface was see-through. "Well, how about that? Two for the price of one! Has my luck been surging today or what?"

"MORGAN!"

Her mind came back to reality as she heard Rean call her name. "Why are you still over there? We need to get back to Bareahard!"

"Coming!" She hastily put her newfound prize into one of her pouches and dashed to join the group. Maybe she could ask Bruc to make her an accessory for her later…

Upon returning to the Verdant City, Group A made a beeline for Turner's Jeweler's, where they found the blue-haired baron who gave them directions standing outside the door. Upon noticing the students walking towards the shop, he waved at them.

"Haha! So you have returned at last!" Baron Bleublanc greeted them.

"We have," said Rean. "And we found the Dryad's Tear. Just as you said, there was a tree that had produced one."

"Splendid, splendid!" The baron clapped his hands with glee. "I'm sure someone will leave this store most gratified today!"

"Not sure I like how you worded that…" Fie muttered.

"Also, how come you're standing outside?" Morgan noticed.

"Ah, pay no attention to me," Bleublanc responded. "I am but a voyeur at the moment, one who observes the drama as it unfolds from afar."

"Drama?" The baron's choice of words had Morgan concerned.

"Well, no use in worrying about it now…" Machias reached his hand into his pockets, where he kept the Dryad's Tear. "Let's get this request over with."

He pushed the door open with the rest of the students following after him. Bruc and Bengt were standing by the counter just as Group A had left them, but something seemed off. Instead of having the look of hopeful anticipation on their faces, both the clerk and the customer had looks of...was that defeat?

Rean was the first to speak up. "Umm… Is something wrong?"

Bruc turned to face the students. "Ah, you're back. Do you have the item?"

"We do…" Machias stepped forward and handed the Dryad's Tear to the clerk, who inspected it to see if it was the real deal.

Contrary to what the group was expecting, Bengt made no effort to ask for a closer look and remained silent.

"Okay, something's up," Fie deduced.

Not long after she said that, Bruc walked to an impatient-looking noble and a serene-looking maid who were standing by the back corner of the jewelry store. "Here it is, my liege," he begrudgingly said as he presented the semi-precious jewel to the noble.

The students all looked at each other with puzzled expressions as they inched closer to hear the conversation. Out of the corner of her eye, Morgan could see Baron Bleublanc looking through the window with judging eyes.

The noble held the Dryad's Tear between his thumb and index finger. "So, this is what it looks like…"

"I can confirm that this is a genuine Dryad's Tear," the maid next to the noble said. "I imagine it will be a bit hard, but as it is nothing more than petrified sap, you should be able to consume it without worry."

"Sorry, did she just say 'consume' it?" Morgan whispered.

"W-We had to have heard that wrong…"

Unfortunately for Rean, his fears were realized when the noble unceremoniously plopped the semi-precious stone into his mouth and bit into it with a loud *CHOMP*.

Needless to say, Group A was more than a little upset to see their hard work literally go down the hatch.

"Seriously?!" "What the HELL?!" "...Scum." "Impertinent little…!" "Well, that solves my question of it being edible…"

The noble paid the uproar no mind at first, as he was downing a glass of water his maid had given him to wash down his snack. Once he finished his drink, however, he didn't hesitate to confront the students.

"You lot might want to watch your tone when addressing someone of higher rank than yourself!" he said with contempt. "I shall be generous enough to let it pass this once, but you would do well to mind your manners in the future. If you were to truly anger me, your life could be cut short. Very short indeed."

Morgan's eyebrow twitched. Was this person seriously threatening them?

Jusis, ever hidden in plain sight, proceeded to step forward. "I think you're the one who ought to mind his manners, Count Gorti."

The count looked about ready to reprimand Jusis until he got a closer look, at which point he devolved into a blubbering mess of words. "L-L-L-Lord Jusis?!" he exclaimed. "Wh-Wh-What are you doing in a place like this?!"

"That does not concern you," the young Albarea stated bluntly. "However, we went to great pains to find a Dryad's Tear for that man there." He pointed to Bengt. "And I am most interested in hearing what, exactly, made you feel you had the right to consume it."

"B-But, Lord Jusis…" the count stammered. "I-I legally purchased that stone from him! I have done nothing improper here!"

Jusis turned to face the man in question. "Is what this man says true?"

"Y-Yes, it is." Bengt dejectedly nodded his head. "He agreed that he would give me a sum of mira in exchange for the tear."

"See?" Count Gorti looked more assured in himself. "So that stone was my property, which meant I could do with it whatever I wished!"

"And you wished to...eat it?" Morgan asked.

"If I may…" The maid beside the count raised her hand for permission to explain. "The Dryad's Tear is used in Eastern herbal medicine, as it is said to possess a number of useful properties. Though it is mostly used for nutritional supplementation, there are those who believe it can also prevent the effects of aging."

Morgan turned to Rean. "Rean, you're familiar with the East, right? Is she saying the truth?"

The swordsman nodded his head. "Believe it or not, yes. Herbal medicine is a popular variety of alternative medicine practiced in the Eastern lands, and some of the recipes my master knew about mentioned using tree sap as a mixing agent. I don't think he said anything about it slowing aging, though."

Jusis could only shake his head. "This is utterly ludicrous."

"B-Be that as it may, it is my prerogative! And now that the deed is done, I have no reason to remain here any longer." The count looked to Jusis expectantly. "Lord Jusis, if you would permit it…"

The young Albarea looked just about fed up with the whole debacle, so he curtly said, "Fine. Please leave." And so, the count and his maid left the jewelry store.

"We...apologize for causing a scene." Rean bowed his head slightly, as did the rest of Group A.

"No, I should be the one to apologize," Bengt insisted. "I made you watch that without a word of explanation beforehand, even after all the trouble you went through to get it for me."

"So, what becomes of this quest now?" Machias asked.

"There's no stone left to make the ring," Fie pointed out. "Does that mean we failed?"

"No, you did exactly what we asked of you. It's unfortunate that things ended how they did, but that was through no fault of yours." Bruc fished out a quartz from one of his pockets and placed it on the counter for Group A to take. "I understand how you must feel, but you still fulfilled this request, so you deserve nothing less than the reward you were promised."

Reluctantly, Rean took the quartz. "We'll decide who gets to keep this later," he told the other students. "For now, we need to start heading to Aurochs Canyon."

The others nodded and followed him out of the store...with the exception of Morgan, who stayed behind.

"Uh, pardon? Young miss?" Bruc called to her. "I think your friends have already left."

"Oh, I know that," Morgan responded. "I'm just wondering what's going to happen to Bengt now."

The two looked at the aforementioned customer, who was currently taking his time in looking at the other jewels that were on display.

"Thanks for the concern, but I think he'll be fine," assured Bruc. "I hate to sound insensitive, but thanks to that count, he has enough money to buy any local ring without worrying about his budget. Still, that doesn't change the fact that a Dryad's Tear is rare to come across…"

Morgan retrieved her own stone from her pouch and placed it on the counter. "You mean this?"

Bruc had to blink his eyes multiple times to make sure he was seeing correctly. "By Aidios! Is that-?"

"It's a secret to everybody." Morgan put her index finger to her lips to hush him. "Truth be told, I was hoping you could use this to make an accessory for a friend of mine, but I think this is more important right now. It's not as big as the previous one, but this should do, right?"

The jeweler inspected the stone. "No doubt about it. This is just about the right size for a ring, too. But are you sure about this?"

"Positive. It's not like I have the resources to pay up front right now anyways."

"At least let me recompense you…" Bruc started walking to the cash register. "How much are you willing to part with it for?"

"Uh, you already gave us the reward, remember?" she reminded him.

"That was for the first stone," he clarified. "This is a different transaction, so I need to give you a different reward. Part of the rules of the trade."

"Umm…"

Before Morgan could answer back, a rattling sound came from the window. She looked over to find Fie sticking her thumb in the other direction and mouthing the words "We're leaving without you."

"Actually, can we put a pin in this?" Morgan clapped both her hands together. "Right now, I need to get back to my classmates. If you're free later today, though, I can swing by and we can talk then."

"S-Sure. That won't be an issue." Bruc nodded with understanding. "We close at 7:30 tonight, so don't keep me waiting."

"Good man." She waved good-bye. "See you then."

As she exited the store to follow Fie and the others, she saw Bruc approach Bengt with a much more optimistic expression on his face.

'I'm sorry, Your Highness,' Morgan apologized in her head. 'But it doesn't look like I'll be able to pay you back for my birthday anytime soon.'

"Just to be sure: you two really want to go through with this?" asked Morgan.

"Yes." Machias nodded his head. "We need to form a proper combat link already. We won't fail this time."

"Put us on the front lines, and we'll show you how it's done!" Jusis agreed.

Group A had made their way through the Aurochs Canyon Path in search of the creature they were sent to exterminate. As Jusis had warned them, the venture was long and treacherous with uneven terrain and the occasional encounter with lesser monsters. The fortunate thing about the smaller skirmishes was that it gave the students more opportunities to try different team compositions now that they had a default formation to fall back to. Most fortunate of all were the improvements that Machias and Jusis were making to better their cooperation. Perhaps the debacle with the botched Dryad's Tear had finally given them something to agree upon, as they were gradually becoming more consistent in forming a combat link; though there were still a few issues with maintaining it, the two warring students were definitely in a better place now than they were before.

Eventually, the students came across their target in a circular clearing: a bipedal crustacean-looking monster with claws for arms and elongated horns and pincers on its face that was given the designation "Fate Spinner" by the request. The students withdrew momentarily to discuss how to best approach the monster when Machias and Jusis, much to the others' surprise, suggested that they link with each other. If nothing else, they were at least determined to prove everyone wrong, and that was certainly a start.

"All right," Morgan relented. "If you think you're ready, then we won't stop you. Rean? Fie? Let's help them as best we can."

"Of course." Rean turned to Fie. "Fie, you want to try linking with me this time?"

"Okay," the silver-haired girl replied.

"Then I'll hang back and provide support," Morgan finalized. "There aren't many places in the clearing we can use to take cover, so we're going to have to make the most of our entrance." She held up her orbment. "We'll go once I use my art. Any objections?"

Everyone in the group shook their heads.

"Then let's get into position."

Each of the students unsheathed or readied their weapons and adopted a reverse 2-2-1 formation, with Morgan standing in the front and the two pairs positioning in a square behind her. This way, Morgan would only need to concentrate on hitting the monster without worrying about friendly fire. Two pairs of ARCUS links were formed, one between Rean and Fie, and another between Machias and Jusis. With one final nod between each of the students, Morgan began charging her art.

"The wheel of fate is spinning…" she said as an orbal field started glowing around her. "Now go get 'em!"

She thrust her ARCUS forward and cast her art, calling forth a storm of ice blades that successfully caught the monster off guard. From behind her, the rest of the students ran forward in their pairs, Machias and Jusis flanking the left side and Rean and Fie covering the right.

The monstrous crustacean recovered from the surprise attack to find its path forward blocked by the students. Hissing, it kicked one of its feet back three times before jumping to the left. Before anyone could attack it, however, it changed course by jumping to the right, then immediately pounced forwards in Morgan's direction. With only a few seconds to react, Morgan lengthened her weapon and hastily positioned it sideways to defend herself before the Fate Spinner came crashing down on her. The only reason Morgan's head wasn't bitten off was because her polearm was able to prevent the monster's pincers from coming together.

With the pace of the battle suddenly moving from offense to defense, the other members of Group A moved to help their fallen teammate. Fie took the initiative by opening fire with her gunswords, followed by Rean dashing in for a quick strike before retreating. The monster screeched at the sudden attack and immediately turned to face the pair, allowing Morgan to roll out of the way safely. As she prepared a healing art for herself just to be on the safe side, Jusis jumped in to engage the creature, delivering a series of three rapid thrusts followed by a horizontal swing. After sustaining the attack, it crossed its clawed arms to defend itself. Jusis was about to maneuver around it to see if he could attack it from the side, but he stopped after hearing his name called out by his partner. Machias took aim with his shotgun and unloaded a round that packed enough force to break the monster's flimsy guard.

"Go!" he yelled to his teammate.

"Don't tell me what to do!" Jusis fired back as he stroked past the monster's guard to deal a critical blow.

The battle continued to proceed like that for a while, with the linked pairs alternating between themselves in getting past the monster's defense and attacking while it was staggered before retreating. Morgan would try to position herself behind the monster as often as possible so when she cast an offensive art, it would land on the monster's exposed back instead of its protected front. The monster kept everyone on their toes by changing its jumping patterns, feinting attacks, and even spewing some noxious vomit from its mouth, but the odds were overall looking to be in Group A's favor.

At least, until the link between Jusis and Machias suddenly broke.

It occured when Machias was preparing to fire his shotgun when the Fate Spinner's arms were crossed in front of it. Instead of preparing to take the hit as it usually did, the monster abruptly charged forward, causing Machias to stumble backwards and fall on top of Jusis. The two were able to get back on their feet, but as soon as they did, they gave each other confused looks.

"Wha-?"

"Hey!" Morgan had to personally shove the two out of harm's way as the monster had tried to attack them. "What's wrong?"

"Our link's been severed!" Machias hurriedly explained.

"What?!"

Machias pointed to Jusis accusedly. "It was him!"

"Don't try to place the blame on me!" Jusis replied, looking appalled.

Morgan silently cursed. Of all the times this could have happened, it had to be when they just got the monster pinned down. Due to the break in formation, the Fate Spinner had more room to move about in the clearing, leaving Fie and Rean to try and catch up to it. At this rate, trying to amend the link between Machias and Jusis would do more harm than good to the group, so the only available option was to fall back to an old strategy.

She took her eyes of the monster momentarily to look at her two classmates. "Let's worry about this later. Can you guys still link with everyone else?"

Jusis and Machias both nodded their heads. "I believe so," the former answered.

"Great. You guys remember the practical exam? Let's use those teams. Machias? You pair up with Fie. Keep doing what you've been doing and break its guard, but stand as far away as possible so you can react to it if it charges. Jusis? Focus on getting behind that thing so you'll be able to attack it when it counts. We aren't restricted anymore, so talk to each other whenever necessary, got it?"

Both males gave their consent. "Then let's go redeem ourselves." Morgan turned to shout at her other classmates. "Guys! Change of plans! Fie, link with Machias! Rean, link with me! Let's end this in one go!"

Both classmates nodded to each other and cut off their link. Fie immediately broke off into a sprint to join up with Machias while Rean kept the monster at bay, halting its advances with quick strikes from his tachi.

From behind the monster, Morgan and Jusis prepared some orbal arts using their ARCUS units. Morgan went first, casting an Aqua Bleed art to launch a heavy mass of water towards the monster. Jusis followed up by casting Air Strike, firing a mass of compressed air that flew at high speed. Both arts hit the monster, causing it to turn and retaliate. As it pounced towards them, Morgan and Jusis separated so the monster landed on empty ground...right into Machias and Fie's line of fire. The two gun users fired their projectiles at will, catching the monster off guard.

With the monster occupied, Morgan and Rean hastily tied their ARCUS link. Their thoughts synchronized, Morgan felt Rean's intent to attack and began preparing for a follow-up attack. She was expecting to see him running closer to the enemy, but when she looked at her partner, she instead found him in the exact same spot that he was in: at a safe distance from the monster with his tachi sheathed.

Morgan was slightly perplexed. 'He's attacking from that far?' she thought.

Her instincts, however, told her to trust him, so she didn't say a word. Moments later, she saw Rean's sheath glow a faint blue, indicating he was concentrating some form of energy onto his weapon. The swordsman exhaled and drew his sword so quickly and so forcefully that a crescent-shaped shock wave was created and flew straight into the monster, causing it to stagger.

'Guess that's my cue!' Without a moment to marvel at her classmate's new technique, Morgan lengthened her weapon and performed a flurry of stabs followed by a roundhouse swing.

Jusis, having waited for his chance to attack, swooped in immediately after Morgan. "The finishing strike is mine!" A forceful thrust was delivered to the monster's abdomen, which caused it to slump to the ground in defeat.

As Jusis removed his sword from the monster and flicked his blade to remove the blood, the other members of Group A gathered around their defeated enemy's body.

"That was rough," Rean commented, panting.

"It wasn't pretty," Morgan admitted, a bit short of breath herself, "but a win is still a win."

"...Only just," said Fie.

Compared to everyone else, Fie looked the least tired. Morgan would have commended her for her stamina, had her attention not been directed to a more pressing matter at the moment. Naturally, as soon as the battle ended, the two students who had failed to complete their initial goal confronted each other.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Jusis Albarea?!" said Machias angrily. "Why did you sever the link?!"

"Don't even think of trying to place the blame on me, Machias Regnitz!" Jusis responded, his tone just as angry. "YOU were the one who severed the link!"

With each verbal exchange, Machias and Jusis were inching closer and closer until they were literally at each other's necks. "You said you'd cooperate, but you just couldn't do it, could you?" Machias continued. "You couldn't bring yourself to stoop to the same level as a commoner like me! You nobles are utterly hopeless, through and through!"

"You asinine little…!" Jusis couldn't restrain himself any longer and grabbed the bespectacled student by the collar. "Why can't you see that all of this is born from your own prejudice and narrow-mindedness?!"

Machias was more than happy to return the gesture. Things were getting very violent, very quickly.

"That's ENOUGH!" Rean tried to stop them without resorting to physical force, but to no avail.

"Stay out of this! This is our problem!" yelled Machias.

"Why don't we settle this once and for all?" Jusis offered. "Let me show you how much better than you I really am!"

At that moment, a series of events occurred in rapid succession.

First, the Fate Spinner that Group A presumed they had defeated rose back to its feet.

Second, the Fate Spinner leapt forwards at Jusis and Machias with its claws bared in an attempt to impale the both of them.

Third, Rean reacted with speeds that were humanly impossible and pushed Jusis and Machias out of the way.

And finally, the monster brought down its claws on Rean.

"Aaagh!"

"R-Rean?!"

Author's note: Another month, another chapter. Hope I didn't keep you all waiting.
Since most of the action for the first day of the field study was packed into this chapter, the next chapter will be on the slower side. But on the flip side, it means there are more opportunities for character building, so I hope you look forward to that.

And since I'm uploading this on July 4th, Happy Independence Day to all my American readers. (-ω-ゞ