The days passed quickly following the entrance examination, and the beginning of the semester arrived in a flash.
Kanan had spent the past week in a fulfilling manner. He continued his training and got closer to his new friends. The three of them had completed a mission together the day before, though it was mostly an excuse to hang out in the city as they looked for a woman's lost Helicat. They had found the orange, balloon-like creature in a tree outside of the butcher shop, feasting on scraps that had been thrown out the previous night.
He gathered his things and was seen off at the door by Professor Quartz and his Archound partner.
"I remember my first days at the academy," reminisced professor Quartz. "That's where I met Argana, did you know? The two of us were in the same year, and we were the top two students of the breeding department. We were always competing for first place back then. I was always a little ahead though, ohoho."
"Truthfully speaking I think our abilities were about equal, but Argana had a tendency to get in trouble, you know? In some ways I think she was better suited for the practical division. Always wanting to explore, experiment, and try new things. She gave the teachers quite the headache back in the day. It's a wonder that she settled down the way she did."
"Look at me, caught yapping about the old days," he continued. "What I'm trying to say, Kanan, is to treasure your time at the Academy. You'll meet new people, see new things, and have new experiences that you won't be able to find anywhere else. You're only young once, so make the best of it."
Having said his piece, Quartz walked back to the door, calling out one last time.
"And don't forget to bring a girl home sooner or later, too! You're at that age."
Kanan gave a wry smile at the man's parting shot. Quartz might be long-winded, but Kanan knew that what he had said was genuine. There was more to be gained from his time at the Academy than simply learning. He'd have to do his best to make his time there worthwhile.
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Arriving at the school, Kanan found the students being divided into groups. Six mechanical-looking beasts with detached, floating arms hovered in the air, each holding signs designating a specific class. Kanan found the group being led by the beast with the "Practical division year 1" sign and was led to an open area filled with fellow students.
The area, mostly open with seats and a hastily-arranged blackboard on one side, appeared to be a sort of classroom-cum-training grounds. It was apparent that the practical division would not be spending all day studying textbooks.
Kanan waited as the last of the students trickled in, and recognized some. He caught sight of Ivan's fiery red hair in the crowd, who scowled with a competitive glare as they made eye contact, before finally choosing a seat in the row ahead of his own. Vanessa entered as well, and with a yawn plopped herself into the farthest seat in the back corner.
Finally, as everyone settled down, a familiar pair entered. In the lead was Rachel, who approached the board with a long, confident stride, her brisk pace causing her jacket to billow behind her. Her snake-like yellow eyes swept over the students, who quieted down under her gaze. Behind her was Sean, entering with reluctant steps. He glanced over the crowd before settling on Kanan's position, and, giving a small wave, he came to the seating area and took the place next to Kanan's own.
Rachel grabbed a stick resting against the board and rapped it on the surface, extinguishing the last of the class's noise.
"Listen up. Welcome to your first year of the Academy. The practical division, which you have all joined, is not like the other classes. Our main purpose here for the next three years is to strengthen you and your beasts. Your schedule will be as follows: In the mornings you will study. You are to learn about combat tactics, beast typings and abilities, and other information that is likely to help you in battle. You will also learn abilities related to survival, in preparation for your trips to forbidden zones in the future."
She paused, waiting for her words to sink in, making sure everyone was following along.
"Then, in the afternoons, we will conduct mock battles. Every day you will undergo a mock battle with rotating partners, and you will spend the rest of the afternoon reviewing your performance that day. Finally, halfway through the semester, you will undergo a class competition to determine the top five students. Those five will be permitted entry into the school-wide tournament and will enjoy access to special resources, so train hard."
"Since it's the first day today, we will head to the school arena and have each of you demonstrate your battle capabilities to determine your initial ranking. Come quickly."
With that said, the class followed Rachel out of the grounds, and she led them to a large, dome-shaped building at the back of the Academy. The group of students entered the dome, and were met with a massive, gym-like area.
The inside of the dome spanned roughly 400 meters across, and within it were three Arenas, situated a level lower and surrounded by bleachers on all sides. The arenas themselves looked high-tech, with reinforced glass walls pulsating with some sort of energy. A large display panel hung above each arena, presumably to show the information of each contestant during official matches. It was by far the most impressive facility that Kanan had seen thus far. Other students could be seen around two of the arenas, looking slightly older on average compared to Kanan's group. The other two practical division classes, he figured. One of the classes had apparently already begun, as sounds of battle echoed across the stadium.
Rachel stood in front of the class, hands on her hips.
"This is the Redwind Stadium. Those of you who are local are familiar with it, I'm sure, but some of you might be seeing it for the first time. This is the venue for all official, league-sponsored events as well as larger in-school events. Our daily practice will not be conducted here, but we have gotten permission to use it for our initial class today. Your midterm battles and the school-wide tournament will also be conducted here, so get familiar with it."
She pointed down into the nearest, unused arena.
"These arenas use state-of-the-art adjustable battlefields. Today we will be using the simplest, basic field with limited obstacles, but in the future you may have to battle on uneven ground or even in harsh conditions with ice or water so keep that in mind."
"Now, I will call you up in pairs, so listen carefully."
Having finished her explanation, she took out her clipboard and began to call students up, two by two.
Vanessa entered the field first, accompanied by an orange-haired student with a beast similar to a monkey. The two descended into the arena, taking their positions on opposite sides of the field. Boulders were interspersed throughout the arena, providing the beasts with limited cover, but besides that the fight would take place on open, flat ground.
The fight was relatively disadvantageous for Vanessa, Kanan thought. Like Poppy, ghost-type beasts generally relied heavily on the element of surprise, making them unsuitable for battles in wide open spaces. The monkey beast, on the other hand, was clearly a physical type who thrived in head-to-head confrontation.
The two introduced themselves, giving a brief introduction of themselves and their beasts. The boy introduced his partner as a Babbango, a monkey-type beast that grew stronger through heightened emotions. Vanessa introduced her ghost as a Ragamunchkin, a small, playful ghost-type beast that enjoyed scaring others.
Rachel let out the starting whistle, and the Babbango charged forward, heading straight for Vanessa's Ragamunchkin in an attempt to end the match immediately. It let out a sharp cry, jumping forward and slapping down with a hand encased in a reddish-brown energy.
It was the attack Head Chop, Kanan recognized. There was no communication between the boy and his beast, so either their mental connection was extremely strong or they had prepared this strategy ahead of time.
Just before it hit the Ragamunchkin, though, the ghost beast disappeared and the attack cut through empty air, landing on nothing. The Ragamunchkin appeared several feet away and brought its hands to its mouth, letting out its signature giggle.
This series of events played out several more times, and the Babbango grew visibly tired and irritable from the little ghost's antics. Throughout it all, though, the Ragamunchkin showed no intention of attacking, merely biding its time.
Finally, after yet another missed attack, instead of reappearing away from the monkey beast as it had each time previously, the Ragamunchkin appeared directly in front of the Babbango's face and let out an eerie laugh, locking eyes with the other beast. The monkey's eyes swam, and after a moment it began rampaging, attacking in random directions and completely disregarding its tamer's orders. It had been caught in an illusion by the Ragamunchkin's Evil Eye.
The Ragamunchkin looked on with delight, taking pleasure in the other beast's torment. It settled on the ground, visibly relaxed as it watched the monkey lash out helplessly.
Seeing that his beast was at the limits of its energy, the Babbango's tamer came to a decision. "Babbango, use Berserk!" he screamed, pushing his mental connection to his limits to get the order through. And go through it did. The monkey's eyes turned red, its body radiating energy. Clearly it was burning through the last of its reserves at a rapid rate. However, the illusion had been dispelled, replaced by single-minded rage.
The Babbango made a fist and shot towards the unfocused Ragamunchkin, punching out as its arm tore through the air. It was Shockwave Fist, a punching attack boasting extreme speed. It seemed that despite its loss of reason, the Babbango had instinctively chosen the best attack to punish its off-guard opponent.
The Ragamunchkin's eyes widened, unable to react in time, and the fist blasted into its chest. It was sent flying several meters back, and crumpled to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.
The Babbango also collapsed, but the boy smiled triumphantly, confident that he had secured the win. In the case of mutual destruction, the one who remained upright and conscious for longer was declared the winner.
Just as he did, though, the Ragamuffin dissipated into specks of black light, and it appeared above the arena looking like it was in pristine condition.
The boy fell to his knees. "How is that possible?" he cried out. "To recover that much damage instantly, it'd have to be a high-tier beast at least!"
On the other side, Vanessa yawned languidly.
"It never took any damage in the first place, iiidiiot." she explained. "After using Evil Eye, what you saw was just its clone from Puppetry. I had it hiding the whole time."
The boy's face twisted. "So I never had a chance…" he lamented. He left the arena, downtrodden, and Vanessa returned to take a spot in the bleachers as well.