Dale and Austin dragged their feet across the floor to their next class for the day.

An hour had passed since Mr Finn humbled Ream but that didn’t take away from his exhaustion.

For some reason, Austin had somehow convinced him to spar a little so now, not only was his body sore from being tossed around like a ragdoll but each step sent waves of pain through his head.

’Definitely building up to a concussion.’ He sighed bitterly.

Turning to his roommate, he asked a simple question. "What class are we having next?"

Austin forced a fake smile, "Battle class."

Dale froze for a second, and veins popped out the side of his head. "What?! So we were having battle class afterwards and you still made me spar?" He wasn’t angry, just shocked at how ludicrous his situation was.

The other shrugged. "What? It’s still the same battling we would’ve done and chances are we wouldn’t even have been picked."

Dale paused for a moment, "Picked?"

The redhead nodded. "Yeah, picked. Every battle class, the teacher picks three pairs of students to spar before everyone. She corrects their stances and intervenes before it can get too dangerous."

It made sense. The former would improve battle tactically and the latter would save lives... or at least human resources.

And so with pain in their hearts, they continued dragging their feet to class.

The inside of the class wasn’t a class per se. It seemed more like a larger version of a sparring room — even larger than the landing room.

Despite how many people it could contain, only two dozen people, himself and Austin included.

Amongst the crowd, he finally noticed three familiar people — the awakened trio. Despite the urge to ask them where they had been, he knew far better.

With his luck, he might end up roped up in something far too dangerous for his tastes.

Sarah seemed to notice him and waved excitedly. Trevor and Gary also noticed them but didn’t react as much as she did, only nodding in acknowledgement.

"Welcome." A feminine voice called out from the middle of the room.

Dale’s head snapped in her direction. There was a tall woman with an imposing build standing there.

Her dark hair was cut short and her eyes seemed to carry the leftovers of war and glory.

’She was not here before.’ Both when they had entered and when he did a rough count of people in the room, she hadn’t been there.

So had she teleported or just appeared? The thought worsened his headache so he shoved it aside.

She moved around the room yet her footsteps made no sound.

"In today’s class, we are doing something special. A sort of display of what is to come if you excel and so, part ways."

Despite her extravagant speech, her face never broke out of its frown. It was unnerving.

Sarah, Gary, and Trevor stepped out of the crowd and faced each other, circling one another like—

"Are they about to battle?!" Austin took the words out of Dale’s mouth and screamed it in his ear.

Waves of murmurs echoed through the spectators.

Sarah’s blue hair suddenly turned red and the world became swallowed by an immolating heat.

Flames burst out from underneath her skin, spreading out to swallow her two friends.

Dale’s eyes shut from the bright light and he felt light-headed. The flames were burning the oxygen in the air.

Through the flames, a single command echoed: "Calm." And the intensity of the flames greatly reduced.

Finally able to breathe, he opened his eyes and his jaw dropped.

Gary was surrounded by what seemed to be a hard construct made of pale green energy — each section pentagonal and interlocked to protect him. A force field.

Trevor on the other hand seemed unperturbed by the attack, only a few patches of his clothes were burned.

Sarah chuckled lightly and turned to Gary. "You have always been one to rely on that shield too much."

Then her blue eyes flashed to Trevor, "And you’re one to forget that I’m quite disobedient."

Her red hair turned yellow and a burst of wind launched her at Trevor.

The latter smiled, "Freeze." And her charge slowed down to a near halt for a few moments... yet that was enough.

He ran in, launching himself into the air and performing a kick set to connect to her head.

Before it could, however, Gary stomped his foot and groaned, throwing his arms forward.

The forcefield expanded with him at the center, slamming into them and sending them flying.

Trevor spun and skidded to a stop but Sarah crashed hardly into the ground.

Dale’s mind was blank from amazement. How could he hope to actually defeat any of them?

Sarah smiled widely and pushed herself to her feet. She turned her neck, cracking it. "We have had enough of a warm-up, how about we start using our awakened skills?"

Gary shrugged and his force field collapsed into specks of green energy. "I don’t know what you’re talking about, I’ve been using mine since."

The other two ignored him knowing he was holding back.

Trevor sighed, facing the floor. "I guess you’re right. This is meant to be an exhibition. Let’s give them a show."

Dale watched the interaction but couldn’t believe his ears... all this time they hadn’t been going all out?

Sarah’s smile widened, "Good. So a little wager. The two losers owe the winner something."

Gary raised an eyebrow, "Yeah, sure. Whatever."

A sudden shift in the air made everybody’s hair stand on end. Dale was well familiar with this feeling, ’Killing intent.’

He was sure they had no reason to try to actually murder each other but still...

’I am nowhere near them.’

Then Sarah charged in again.