Today was the anniversary of the end of the world as mankind knew it. Thirty-one years ago, a scientific experiment intended to further humanity's understanding of space and time instead brought forth a whole new world of unknown dangers, as space and time began to stretch and eventually tear itself apart. Through these tears came the Exbeasts, and the strange energy called Magic, and humans found themselves embroiled in a war not only for their own survival, but for that of every creature on their world as these new predators spread to every corner of the globe. Yet today was also the birth of a new generation of hope. For today, the opening ceremony of the Academy of Magic, Martial, and Other arts would mark the beginning of a new semester training the Magi, those individuals affected by Magic and made into natural catalysts for its power, and the Martial Classes, those warriors who chose to wield magically crafted arms and protect their fellows. With these two working in tandem, humanity would finally see a chance to reclaim their world from the inhabitants of another. So went the Dean's speech before the assembled students, as he continued to inform them of all the great things the previous generations of AcadeMMO students had accomplished, when the institution was founded roughly sixteen years ago. "...and so we realize that we place a great burden upon young shoulders," he said as he reached his closure. "But know that we would not do so if we were not confident in the results! Those of you who were blessed with the talents of Magic! Those of you who have pushed yourselves to the limit to become strong and courageous, who dare to fight Exbeasts one on one and come out victorious! Your training begins anew today, and we have faith that every one of you will put forth your effort! Let us all do our part, to ensure a bright future for all!" The assembly clapped, around half and half real enthusiasm and polite respect. There were even a few scattered cheers and shouts. Though not everyone took it as seriously as the Dean, each of them, somewhere in their hearts, knew that at least part of what he said was true. A great burden had been placed on them. After the opening ceremony, many of the incoming students were led around by the different group representatives and school council members to familiarize themselves with the layout of the school and the classrooms. Beyond this, however, the rest of the "first day" was intended to help returning students move their things back into dorms and getting new students situated, and to reunite friends who had not seen each other over break. The real classes--and Special Assignments--would start tomorrow. --- "You wanted to speak to me, sir?" English felt strange in Hayato's mouth after spending the break back home. AcadeMMO was an international organization, but given that the big financial backers were primarily from the western powers and it was already sort of an international language, all students had to be able to read and speak English at a conversational level. "Good morning, Mr. Nishimura." Professor Gene had been his homeroom teacher last year, and this year Hayato was in his Intermediate Swordplay class, as were most of the second year Knights. "I'm sure you remember our discussion at the end of last year?" He adjusted the black tie around the collar of his white dress shirt, his piercing blue eyes looking right at Hayato with a focus like the tip of a rapier. "Yes sir. I did a lot of studying over break." Hayato looked at his forehead instead of his eyes, knowing he couldn't meet the man's gaze. "I promise, this year I'll pass the general education sections with flying colors." "I should hope so. It's no good to scrape by academics by the skin of your teeth even if you are trying to focus on your training." The teacher leaned back in his chair and brushed one wayward spike of his blonde, unusually stylish hair (some students often remarked he looked like he'd stepped out of a JRPG) out of the way. "Hayato, the real reason you haven't been rising in rank isn't because you're not strong. It's because you chose to focus on training yourself, only taking a few easy Special Assignments when you needed to, and neglected your other studies. I know that, right now, your end goal is not to save the world." Hayato clenched a fist and looked down at the floor, remembering his brother. "But you can't just wait until an opportunity presents itself. You have to be the one to step out there. Training in preparation for "the day I save my brother" is useless if you never poke your head out of the dojo to see what day it is. This year, in addition to your academics, I want you to focus on getting experience in the field." "Yes sir." "You have the potential to do very well. You just need guidance." The man stood and walked over to the boy, clapping him good naturedly on the shoulder. "And that's what I and the other professors and teachers here are for. Come to us whenever you need anything." "Yes sir." Gene sighed and shook his head. "Alright then, as long as we're clear. Go on, then, make sure you're ready for all your classes tomorrow." Hayato left the room with a bow, still never meeting the teacher's gaze. Once he was back in the hall, he strode quickly past other students and classrooms, intent on heading towards the dorm. He had no classes or missions available today--he could start on his promise tomorrow. For now... "I'm still not strong enough..." he whispered to himself.

The high pitched whine of the engine building up slowly grew and grew until it was a roar that drowned out everything. Strapped into the back of the VTOL Rian leaned forward from the seat and flashed the pilot a thumbs up before letting himself recline and relax with a smile as he was pressed down by the craft’s take-off. It was more than he had expected from them and he couldn’t help but feel happy they were willing to do this; a show of camaraderie apparently. He didn’t know how they managed to get authorization for such a thing and could only imagine it had involved a lot of paperwork at the minimum. As the aircraft rocketed forward, he could only hope that he could meet with them in less dire circumstances in the future. The flight passed in relative silence for Rian as he sat alone in the transport with his own thoughts. It had been a productive, enlightening, and exhilarating summer all in a high-strung and tense environment. With a sigh as it hit him that those months were now behind him, he perked up slightly as the intercom crackled to life. **“AcadeMMO in sight kid.”** Too bad there weren’t any windows for him to look out of though, he imagined the view from this on high would be pretty amazing. He was jerked upwards slightly as the plane began its descent though, and he collected his runaway thoughts and memories as he prepared to depart. It couldn’t have been more than a minute or two before a soft thump rocked the aircraft and the engines began to die down. The intercom came to life once more, informing him everything was good, and at that point he finally unstrapped himself from the seat. Of course, next came the slightly humiliating part where he had to wait for the pilots to also unstrap themselves. Given this was a combat transport, it wasn’t expected that people would be bringing things they couldn’t just carry on themselves. In Rian’s case though, the overhead compartments were needed and as things were he couldn’t really reach them without constantly jumping and making a fool of himself. A quiet chuckle had him glance unhappily towards the pair as they exited the cockpit area. 2nd Lieutenant Barlk and 1st Lieutenant Marley had been the ones to fly him over today, and the 2nd simply leaned against the door frame with a smug grin as the 1st came over to help him. **“Thanks,” **he muttered as he took the bags she’d pulled down from him, blushing a bit from embarrassment and irritation as she ruffled his hair. The fact that the Barlk was busy crowing from the stands didn’t help in the slightest. Grumbling as he slung the bags onto the shoulders, he nonetheless turned and bowed to both of them. Barlk gave him a genuine smile at that along with a wave and nod, while Marley ruffled his hair once more with a grin before nodding from him to get on his way. On the ground once more, he stepped back to a safe distance to watch the aircraft lift off. As the engines built up to the deafening roar, he raised a hand to shield his eyes from the generated wind. Giving a wave with the other as the plane spun around and rose, Rian watched as it got further and further, sighing when the noise was distant and fading. Shrugging his shoulders from his bags’ weight, he dismissed the glances and stares he was getting from some of the people that were present. A glance at his watch told him he had probably missed the ceremony and the new students were probably in the middle of their tours at the moment. He was a bit outside AcadeMMO at the moment and had some distance to go, so it all worked out.

Joe slowly felt his attention slipping with each word that the Dean spoke. Not to discredit him, he sure did have a charm with words but he caught the wrong motivation on Joe. He wasn't here for noble reasons like the others were, so it didn't quite capture him like it did with the students around him. He honestly was mostly here because he really liked fighting and they had one of the best hand to hand training programs he had ever heard of. Not to mention the thrill that fighting monsters would bring. The fact that it helped humanity was a side advantage that he welcomed with open arms. It's kind of like buying that cool car that you liked that happens to run on electricity. Sure, you think it's good for the environment and all, but it isn't the main reason you bought it. One thing that did punch him in the gut was the description of the Martial and Magi classes. "Those of you who were **blessed** with the **talents** of Magic!", he said. What the hell was that suppose to be mean? He blabbered on about the hard work of the Martial classes to become strong. You can see the obvious different in word choice between them. Nonetheless, he'd work hard to prove that he was even more useful than these acclaimed magi classes. Especially with his knockout right hand, a lot stronger than a fireball. Since today nothing special would be done, Joe thought it would be best if he went back to his dorm as quick as possible. Perhaps socialize with a few other people, something that could be beneficial. Either that or he would go to his room and just shadowbox and go to sleep. That was his plan if nobody was available to hang out with. Though he would refuse to chill with Magi. He looked around to see if something interesting would happen once more, determining that it wouldn't he made his way to to the dorms. Walking on a relatively fast pace he would notice that another male was walking the same direction he was. On a similar pace speeding the rest of the people that took a slower walk to observe everything around them. Talking to himself about how he wasn't strong enough. Maybe he was similar to Joe, here mostly to get stronger. "You aren't? Well, how are you planning to get stronger?", Joe asked honestly.

Hayato looked up with a start at the other boy, unaware that he'd been overheard. Bashfully, he rubbed the back of his head with one hand and looked aside. "Oh, uh...Well, I'm a Knight specializing in Japanese swordsmanship." He didn't have his weapon on him at the moment, though. Katana and other eastern weapons weren't exactly uncommon among Knights and other Martial Classes, but most of the other Blade Knights he'd seen preferred heavier European style weapons. "So I was thinking I'd either go to the gym and spar or just practice on my own out on the athletics field or something." He finally looked at the other student and, remembering his manners, held out a hand. "I'm Nishimura Hayato...although, uh, I guess my given name should go first. Hayato. Nice to meet you."

When the entrance ceremony was over, John wandered around the campus a bit. As for he was concerned he had a pretty good break. Thanks to all the books his parents had gotten him, he easily completed his homework to list at least ten potential Ex-Beasts he wanted to make a contract with, and write five pages detailing the characteristics of each creature and his reasons for choosing it. Of course he picked mostly unknown Ex-Beasts instead of the common ones. He also managed to increase his skills with the Fuse Spell. After he was done with that he mostly lazed around. His mind returned to the present, this year even though he didn't want to hurt any Ex-Beasts if he could, he would have to accept more Special Assignments if he wanted to pass second grade instead of repeating it again. As he wandered around he noticed two Martial Arts students talking with each other. Unlike most Magi he didn't think of the more direct combat related students as fodder. The way he saw it thanks to Fusion Summoners were sort of in between Magi and Martial Artists.

As the Dean droned on Hazel sat in her chair with a self-satisfied smirk. She always had an odd way of managing to look incredibly cocky no matter what the situation was, and this was one of the times she exercised that power. As far as she was concerned she had every right to be cocky. As the Dean's orientation ended Hazel rose, and found her way to a group of people she knew. Everyone greeted each other, and at first Hazel was excited to see her friends, but as conversation turned to what they had done over break she felt her stomach twist. They talked about their families, and vacations, and all the other things Hazel missed out on. She quietly excused herself, "Hey, I'll catch up later, I'm going to go get my stuff in my dorm." She waved goodbye at the group, and briskly took off. A molten sea of self-doubt began to churn within her. *I wonder... I wonder what they think of me. What am I to them? Are these people my friends? Do I really have friends?* Hazel stormed down the hallway, and began to realize she wasn't really going anywhere. Of course her dorm was already taken care of, that was just an excuse. She didn't really have anything she needed to move in. She pushed away the negative thoughts, *Of course I have friends. I'm the best.* Her face twisted back into the smirk she was wearing earlier. She suddenly felt a crushing eagerness for this year. In AcadeMMO she excelled. She was at the top of her classes, both martial and academic. Everything worked here. And then she knew what she would do. *This year I will take an S ranked assignment. It's what I deserve.* And at that moment Hazel promised to herself she would become the strongest in the school. She thought she wanted to prove to everyone that she was worth something, but the only person she was trying to prove anything to was herself. Hazel didn't break her stride. She continued to storm down the hallway. She came to a stop as she overheard a pair of Martial boys talking. From what she gathered one was a Knight like her. *I'll start with him. I'm sure I'm better then him.* She wheeled around to face the pair, and butted into the conversation in perfect form. "So, you're trying to get stronger? I've always wanted to fight one of you guys that wave around your fancy Japanese swords. If you want to spar, fight me." She spoke, maintaining her cocky smirk the entire time. She looked the boy over. *Hmph, no way he's higher than D. I bet I can kick his ass.*

Before the other student he'd met could introduce himself, someone else overheard their conversation. Hayato looked over at the girl who'd offered to spar, his ego prickling a bit as she talked about "fancy Japanese swords" with more than a hint of disdain. "You're pretty forward, huh?" he said. He thought he'd seen her somewhere before...wasn't she fairly popular, one of the "good at everything" kids? He frowned slightly. She probably had the skills to back up her boasts, then. But... "I guess it can't be helped, then." He shrugged, before looking at Joe. "Sorry that we got interrupted, let's talk again sometime." He somehow got a sense of camaraderie from the other boy, like they were similar in some aspect at their core. Then he looked at Hazel, eyes full of determination. "I'm Hayato Nishimura, kendo practitioner of the Red Crown Sword style. I'll accept your challenge." The walk to the gym was a short one, or at least it seemed that way to Hayato, whose shoulders were stiff as he led the haughty girl through the halls; not to guide her, but because he didn't want to give an indication of weakness by following her instead. It was a modern, almost boring sort of building from the outside, a square of white walls with gray and blue accents from hints of steel and the rows of square glass windows. Inside, however, were several floors of training areas and equipment all of the latest and greatest brands. Their destination was the first floor, the Combat Training area. It was a lot like a typical school's gym, with stands on either side and a hardwood floor, but rather than the markings of a basketball court, it was instead divided into four squares each about twenty square feet, roughly the same size as a boxing ring. Hayato stepped to the edge of one of the squares, a sensor in the floor detecting him. A holographic screen flickered into life in front of him. He typed in his name, student ID, all the necessary red tape, and picked one of the sparring options on the glowing, pseudo-tangible touch screen. "I've got it set for wooden spar, if that's alright." He said to Hazel. Two posts rose from opposite corners in the ring. "You'll probably want to tell it what kind of weapon you use, though." He walked over to the furthest post and put his hand on top of it. There was a beep, and the rest of the post rotated under his palm until a section blinked with a green light. A door opened up, revealing a wooden katana propped up inside the chamber. He took it, and assumed a kendo stance facing Hazel, his eyes once more determined. "Whenever you're ready."

Hazel smiled as he accepted her challenge. This time it wasn't a cocky smirk, but a massive grin. When it came to AcadeMMO her favorite part was fighting. She loved all of it, from the rush of victory, to the experience earned from a loss. But she knew she wouldn't lose to this kid. She nodded at his introduction, "I'm Hazel Hosner, although I don't have a fancy name for the way I fight." This time she showed a different smile, somewhere in-between her cocky smirk and her grin. Instead what was found could be seen as some semblance of an actual smile. Behind the unrelenting facade of arrogance there was what could be likened to a sweet girl. The pair entered the gym and Hayato was quick to set up the sparring match. She also used the touch screen, following a process exactly the same as his. "You know, despite whatever sense you might have gotten from my tone I do actually think the Katana is quite a fascinating weapon. I tried one out once. I can understand why some people admire them so much." She scanned the list of weapons available. She was proficient with a number of different swords and didn't limit herself to one type. Unfortunately she didn't count the Katana among the list of weapons she was a master with. After a few moments of internal deliberation Hazel decided to not pull out one of her more exotic weapons, opting instead for simplicity. She locked in her selection, strode to the post opposite of Hayato and rested her hand upon it. As the capsule opened she retrieved a simple wooden longsword. She shook her head. Despite the weighted core they featured these weapons could never really match up to real steel. "Alright Hayato, prepare yourself." She assumed her fighting stance, and donned her classic cocky smirk again. She took initiative and charged. She moved quickly, and neared meeting Hayato within seconds. She rose her sword with both hands and opened with a simple swipe, moving her body and her weapon downwards and to the left diagonally, already posing for her next attack. She didn't expect much from Hayato but she did expect him to dodge or block this one.

"I'm glad to hear that." Hayato smiled a little, though his eyes didn't change. He watched as she drew the long sword from the supply, studying how she held it. "Alright Hayato, prepare yourself." She took initiative and charged, nearly meeting Hayato within seconds. She rose her sword with both hands and opened with a simple swipe, downwards and to the left diagonally, already posing for her next attack. She was faster, and with her aim and power he wasn't able to avoid. He turned his shoulder, crossing his sword over it. The edges of the two wooden weapons collided with a loud crack. The impact sent Hayato flying backwards, barely able to regain his feet without being bowled head over heels. His eyes were wide in surprise and his shoulder throbbed painfully; no doubt he'd have a bruise soon. She really was strong! He grimaced; he hadn't been expecting a girl her size to have such strength. But she had raised her blade up high with both hands before attacking, and had followed through that strike with the movement of her body, both of which left big openings. Her defenses were much weaker than her offense, he just had to increase his speed to take advantage of that! To avoid her followup he jumped to the side, but as soon as he landed he held his sword near his hip as if he were drawing it from the sheath. Suddenly its edge sparked with a colored light, black with a hint of blue, and the same energy crackled at Hayato's heels. "Blade Trail!" He shot forward at high speed, as fast as Hazel had before, and his sword lashed out horizontally at her ribs. --- OOC: Here we have the first example of comparison. Hazel's Attack, Speed, and Accuracy are together higher than Hayato's Evasion, Speed, and Defense by a great deal. In general terms of comparison, there's no way for him to dodge it, and blocking will only negate some of the damage. Had she hit him without the block, his shoulder would probably be broken. For the next attack, Hayato's Attack is at 22, his Speed at 20 (equal to Hazel's) and his Accuracy at 10, while her own Defense and Evasion are much lower.

"自慢." Grunted a student near one of the windows on the second story, he gazed out at the aircraft taking into the air and away - shaking his head as it did so. His eyes kept their gaze on the showoff who walked out of it. Ryouta Himonaga placed one hand on his cheek, resting his head against the ledge, the wind gently swept his autumn brown hair as he did so. He had skipped the newcomer's welcome speech. Not that he found it boring or was being purposely delinquent, it just did not make any sense since he was not exactly a newcomer anymore. He and his village had moved to AcadeMMO a year ago when their town was ruined, most of them anyway, and it was much more informal than this. Trying to be responsible He still greeted and helped any new lost souls he met, the premises were much larger than what most of them were used to living in, that much he could tell - and with the whole semester beginning, some were bound to loose their way and stumble about. But no such encounters today. When the new student walked out of his sight, he lost that moment of interest. Taking a deep breath, he turned around and watched the incoming horde of unfaRmiliar faces. While he did not know who they were individually, he could tell them apart by the uniforms they wore. Everyone had or eventually will have a unique way to dress eventually, even if they were the same class there will always be differences in the way they fight - and your uniform will show it, no matter how subtle. The most obvious were of course the ones between Magicians and Martialists, He himself wore a Magi's outfit complete with hood and long sleeves. Two symbols sewn in cloth wrapped around his right arm like a crest of sorts, representing class and speciality. There was in the higher band, an octogon with a cross embedded in it's center. The other, a heptacle that was surrounded in mythic symbols. He was a handsome looking individual with rather refIned features, asian in appearance but with dyed hair and a slightly pale skin. Though his wardrobe made him look slimmer, he was not too lanky and managed to keep his posture straight. A noble looking weapon sat at waist level in a highly decorated cover, it seemed like a sword of oriental origins and had an aura of elegance to it. His eyes wandered fRom face to face, greeting them with a wry smile as they approached, but honestly, it started to feel awkward very quickly. His attention was distracted a neon red glow shortly, to his relief - someone had already begun practicing in the sparring rooms! Taking leave of the window sill, Ryouta briskly and gladly made his way to the arena. Something interesting was about to happen, he could sense it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- _**Beep!**_ Was the sound of the glass door as it opened for a new student. He sauntered to the spectator's seats and found a nice central area where he could see the whole match. There were two students, martialists, they seemed like they were mid-match. He grabbed a packet of rice crackers which he had hidden in his sleeves and began snacking on them as he watched. _Munch, munch ..._

Hazel smirked as the wooden sword made contact. She could tell he didn't expect the strength of the blow. However, as she began to follow through on her next attack, Hayato's voice boomed. "Blade Trail!" *Damn! Insolent bastard!* She moved to block the blow, but she didn't move fast enough to stop the Katana. She wheeled around quick enough to disrupt the blade, but didn't stop the attack, and it glanced her side. She started to tumble to the ground, but stopped herself, balancing on one hand. Her side throbbed. She already had her next attack in her head, and decided on a number of ways to follow up. She pushed off the ground and sprung straight up, "Bleed!" She shouted. A red shimmer coated her blade as she raised it over her and brought it crashing down towards Hayato's neck. Typically using a skill like Hemorrhage was frowned upon in live weapons practice, since, after all, having a student bleed out didn't help anyone, but Hazel knew a wooden sword wouldn't apply the bleed effect of Hemorrhage, her attack would just hit harder.

Hayato tried to press the advantage when she stumbled, but his Skill ran out too quickly. Again she attacked; the openings she left with these wide swings weren't as helpful as they could be, because her speed and strength was so great. A true example of sheer power. Hayato managed to get his sword up, one hand on the hilt and the other along the blade, using both arms to push back as Hazel's sword came down on the middle of his weapon. Still she easily overpowered him, and his wooden sword actually cracked; the Skill she'd used had put even more wallop into that one! He was knocked to the ground and rolled, feeling the hard impact with the floor nearly knock the wind out of him. _Is this the power of someone who's been doing Special Assignments? Or...am I just that weak?_ He managed to get up, even though his shoulder was aching now and he was breathing hard. He couldn't give up yet! He charged Hazel head on this time, bringing down his blade. Unlike her his strike was direct, no raising of the arms, just using the bottom hand to pull the handle of the blade while the top hand pushed forward, using leverage and only relying on the strength of the bicep and below. Even with the difference in strength, maybe if he added more power... "Flash Blade!" Again his sword ignited with black and blue energy, even though sweat broke out along his forehead. Not much MP left... --- OOC: Because Hazel's boosted attack is around twice Hayato's defense, I decided to take off 20 points of his HP. Combined with losing 2/3rds of his MP to Skill usage, I've tried to write him as being winded and tired. Players don't always need to be literal with their comparisons; rounding things here and there, and dodging something by the skin of the teeth even if their accuracy is high are okay, and if you can creatively come up with something or write it convincingly that's even better. But in general, I hope this serves as an example for the future. Thanks to Diggerton for the opportunity!

Ryouta winced and bit down harder on his crackers as he watched the girl go for the boy's neck, he shirked backwards as he imagined the result. "**Crazy woman.**" He commented in perfect english. Surely there was some law against this. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Ryouta let out a relieved puff of air when he saw the boy blocking it, there was a loud crack of wood being splintered that echoed the halls. He was thrown to the ground by the impact though. But the boy managed to get up, more eager now it seems, to get back at his opponent. Ryouta slowly resumed his snacking but he shifted closer to the command console that was near the doorway. There was an intercom anyone could use in case of emergencies.

Hazel laughed as her blow connected. Hayato went down, and she took the opportunity to call out to him. "This is fun Hayato! We'll have to do this again. Maybe I'll make a swordsman of you!" She grinned as he went in for another blow. She could tell now that she had him on the ropes. After his next attack she'll go for the finisher. He charged at her again, this time going for a much more direct attack. She realized they were being watched, and she decided to make a show of it. She braced herself for Hayato's attack and met his sword charge. She held her blade upside down and attempted to swerve the path of his blade away from her. Her efforts were mostly successful, taking a glancing blow to her side. As the blade swerved past she spun around Hayato and found herself at his back. Her sense of showmanship was impeccable, and she knew that a 'final blow' was a real crowd pleaser. Hayato was on the ropes, and she thought she could pull it off. She raised her sword with excessive showmanship, once again opting for a large sweeping blow. "Let's finish this!" She called out, voice booming. Her sword glowed a brilliant blue, and she brought it down on Hayato. The move was a kill move, she knew, but she was very careful not to go for a spot that would kill him. She angled her blade past his head, intending it to come down on his sword arm. She would cause no permanent damage. Hopefully. OOC Note: I described Hazel's final blow in my skills as a move that will kill small weakened creatures, but against Hayato it will probably just make his arm hurt like hell.

He grazed her, but she managed to get behind him. Hayato cursed himself for letting her do that, and tried to whirl swiftly, bringing around his own sword as she raised hers up. Lifting both arms above her head would leave her torso wide open... No. Her attacks were too strong, if he went for a mutual exchange she'd cleave him in half. He lifted his weapon in both hands again and, when he felt contact, dropped to one knee so as to hopefully lessen the momentum. His wooden sword split in two with an echoing snap, and Hazel's blade came down with a meaty thud on the shoulder of his sword arm. If it had been the other shoulder, the one that had been hit before, it probably would have broken it. As such, he was going to have two bruises, and be twice as sore. He fell back on his rear, breathing hard, looking up at the tip of Hazel's weapon. For a few moments they stayed like that, as it was clear that the fight was over. He sighed and shook his head. "I admit defeat. Geez, you're really on another level." He stood up, retrieving the broken sword and wincing as one of his shoulders popped. "How many Special Assignments have you done?"

"**Combat Block 1-C to infirmary, Combat Block 1-C to infirmary. Requiring post-practice medical attention. Kindly send a Cleric down. Arigato-kozaimas.**" Ryouta got up and said to the intercom when he saw the boy's shoulder sag unnaturally, his brow furrowed at the girl. He had seen more than once the young ones overdoing it, the results were ...unpleasant. Mankind was still getting used to Magic, there were some who saw it as a means to power - uncontrolled, reckless power - and nothing more. This girl certainly showed traits of that. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "**You COULD have shown more restraint.**" Ryouta reprimanded in a stern, steady voice as he walked closer to the duo, even though they were mid conversation. His crackers left behind. He picked up half of the broken blade that slid near his feet and looked at it. **"He's a student-"** Then tilted the fRacture towards the girl to show just how much foRce she had used, it was enough to shatter the metal pieces used as weights inside. **"-Not an exbeast."** He looked at the boy and lent a shoulder to help him stand, helping him hold the other piece of the sword and allowing him to lean on his shoulder when he needed. Ryouta was a tad taller than him so he hunched slightly.

[Soka Tame](http://i.imgur.com/PsZopXj.jpg) was a new student. AcadeMMO's opening ceremony for the new semester had been pretty much what he expected. An introduction to the school and their main goals. Soka sat amongst the many students during the welcoming ceremony, listening to the various speeches, before being dismissed into the hallways. _Alright, well I'm finally here._ Although Soka was 15 years old (and would be 16 in a couple weeks), this was his first year at the academy. Looking around, he saw many students smiling and laughing with their friends, while there were others that were new like himself, looking around at the vast academy. Soka noticed two males walking near one another. Soon a girl approached them, and the next thing he knew they were off walking in a direction with a lot of speed and determination. Seemed like something important was going on. Soka watched them walk off and decided it was none of his business. Turning the other direction, he made his way through the sea of students and eventually found a staircase. Five minutes later, he found himself on one of the school's rooftops. Stepping out of the building's doorway, he set foot onto the roof. A strong gust of wind picked up, the breeze sending his hair and attire swaying wildly in the wind. After the breeze slowed down, Soka looked around the rooftop to see who was there. Eventually he walked toward the edge of the roof and looked down at the area below. An aircraft was taking off somewhere not too far away and the sky above was a grand blue. Soka put a foot on the edge of the rooftop as he looked up at the sky, the aircraft taking off in the background behind him, while Soka looked skyward

Thanks to his rather flashy entrance, despite the looks, no one really tried to approach him when Rian headed towards AcadeMMO. The school grounds were basically unchanged and he took a moment to take it all back in before deciding to try and figure out where he would be dorming for the year. Before he could get started on that task a group of students rushed past him and nearly knocked him over had he not backpedaled quickly. A brief apology was made by one of them before he rushed off to join his compatriots, leaving Rian to wonder. He had only caught a bit of their conversation, but it seemed that the practice arenas were already being put to use on the first day. Shrugging, despite the weight of his bags, he figured it was something that was worth checking out; he’d probably also save the infirmary some work. While it was frowned upon, it was more often than not that students were injured in spars as they pushed themselves and got into the spirit of competition. Given his rather leisurely pace, by the time the doors hissed open for him the match seemed to be over. Glancing down into the arena, it wasn’t too hard to piece together what had happened. Walking up to the railing that separated the stands from the arena floor he made sure his bags were nice and secure, grabbing them with his hands, before he jumped onto the metal bar and then down. “Humph.” Grunting a bit as he bent to absorb the blow, he gave the oldest looking student a small wave and said, **“No need for that. Tell them there’s a Cleric on sight already.”** Turning his attention to the two combatants, Rian did raise an eyebrow as he eyed the shattered practice weapon. _‘Must have really been going at it.’_ He thought, though the opinion was kept to himself as he glanced between the two. **“Either of you want a fix-up?”** Getting consent was relatively important after all, given that he’d seen people flip out over all sorts of reasons. He’d quickly figured out getting permission was simply easier.

Hazel grinned as Hayato admitted defeat. *You're on another level.* Hazel's ego definitely was not wounded today. "Hmmmmm... how many Special Assignments?" She thought for a second. She had lost count. "A lot. I like to go whenever I can." She smiled at him. She supposed it wouldn't hurt to compliment him too. "You're not too bad. With some practice I think you'll make a good Knight." Hazel's smile dropped as a student with a stern voice started shouting her down. Their observer. "Restraint? There's no point to sparring if you hold back. You spar to practice, and you don't get anything out of it if you don't go your all." She spied the crest on his sleeve. Everything made sense. "You wouldn't really understand, Magi aren't frontline fighters. I'm sure a Knight like him," She nodded towards Hayato, "Can handle that. If he couldn't I'd say he isn't worthy to protect you Magi." Hazel's smile was long gone, and her face went stern. Another interloper came onto the scene. A Cleric, this time. Her body was sore, and she would likely have a lasting bruise, but she wasn't going to ask for help from a Cleric. "I'm fine." She said brusquely.

Winnifred gave out a hefty sigh and flopped over to her bed in her dorm room, surverying the room to make sure all of her belongings were in their proper places. Between the opening ceremony, double checking which class would be held where so she wouldn't get lost this year, and moving back into the dorms, she hadn't gotten much time yet today to relax. She let herself lay on the bed for a few more minutes before sitting up and pushing herself off the bed. She figured she needed a proper, casual walk to stretch her legs and she was bored anyway. Maybe there'd be something interesting going on elsewhere on school grounds. The first thought that entered her mind as she began walking was that perhaps there would be students having practice matches in the academy's gym already. She thought that'd at least be exciting to watch, and so she made that her destination. However, as Winnifred arrived and opened the door to look inside, she was just about immediately disappointed. From the looks of things, a much had indeed been going on, that was for sure. But it also looked like it had already finished up. Not only that, but of the two apparent participants - a boy and a girl who were already mid-conversation with a couple of others - the boy seemed in especially bad shape. The only response Winnifred gave as she observed was a quiet "Hmph," of intrigue. She hadn't expected other students to be getting into such intense matches right away, she at least thought'd it'd be a day or two. Winnifred suddenly realized she'd still been watching the whole time through the gym's doorway. After a brief internal debate as to whether she should leave or stick around, she decided she'd already walked all the way here and still didn't have much to do anyway just yet, so she stepped properly inside the gym and took a seat for the time being. Winnifred figured she'd at least wait a bit and see how things went, or at least see if any other matches started up.