The week that followed the beginning of the new school year, as well as the unfortunate incident that occurred during said day, went by in a blink. It was on occasions such as this one that anyone could see the true relative nature of time at work. Whether any of Hikari Academy's staff and students spent their time lost in work, study, or their own personal pursuits, the reality that seven days of their lives had gone to never return would become evident when no one but the Vice Principal called for another general assembly to announce a much-unexpected change in the school's proceedings...

"During the course of the past week, it came to our knowledge that some of you, students, are still intent on acting against the Academy's decisions regarding your well-being," Reiko said, opening her discourse by cutting right to the chase. "Some of you are discontent with the imposed curfew and—I'm aware of at least one or two of you that still want to chase after the mysterious murderer, despite knowing that it's a most certainly out of your league."

Reiko didn't even need to quote names; declarations such as this one always brought about looks of uncertainty in the eyes of those who found themselves guilty. All she needed to do was observe the reactions of the students to confirm or deny her suspicions.

"Just a quick update on that issue before I get to the actual reason why you are here listening to me, first thing in the morning," she said, cutting the unavoidable hubbub. "The creature hasn't been sighted within the Academy premises after the incident. We received reports of sightings as well as other murders in the city that match our suspect but they are yet to be confirmed. All members of the staff and faculty are aware of the creature's true nature and will do everything in their power t bring it to justice. This, however, does not excuse any reckless attitude from the student body.

Heroic sacrifices may sound noble in a novel's page but, in reality, it only makes others' lives harder," Reiko made another pause to gauge the reactions up to now. The cynicism in her voice was so thick that one couldn't even cut it with a knife. If those kids couldn't accept reality without being broken by its weight, they weren't cut for the job of a Slayer.

"Thanks to the unusual circumstances of this school year, we decided to try a new experiment. Some of you students who had their promising potential gauged by the faculty during this week have been selected to engage in early access field missions. This will ensure that you know the reality of a Slayer's life through hands-on experience from early in your education.

The teams' compositions and mission resumes are listed on the entrance hall's bulletin board along with the teachers that will accompany each group. You have until the end of this week to complete your assignments. If there are any questions or need for support during the missions, you are free to contact the Academy at any time. That's all."

Missions!? How come the students be getting missions barely a week before classes began?

As soon as Reiko dismissed the assembly and slid behind the auditorium's curtains there was no need to say that the majority of the student body broke into chaos...

Among the names of other teams and assorted messages pinned to the board, the students who went to check if their names had been chosen would find—to many people's surprise— the names of a few first years students among them.

Team U: Roland, Lumen, Circe, and Ceiran.
Teachers: Yurius and Mako.
Mission: Recently, unknown beings reported to hide in the City's abandoned Industrial Zone have been raiding stores and causing widespread damage. Investigate and correct the cause for such activities.

Team V: Duncan, Trey, Sonia, assisted by Lotte.
Teachers: Tholl and Kromric.
Mission: Unknown beings procreating on the City's sewers forbid the maintenance workers from fixing a number of defective valves. If left unchecked, the streets are going to be flooded with wastewater. Deal with the creatures and close the valves before it's too late.

---

Yeah, this is a good idea, were his thoughts as the speech ended. They wouldn't have chosen him, of this he was fairly certain. Mako knew, and it would be wildly irresponsible of her to let him go. Although it's not like he loses control while Twitching, he just becomes a bit more sadistic. His instinct was spurred by this thought, and he started eating an apple he'd stowed in his bag.

He stands up, slinging his bag over his shoulder as he walks toward the exit. He was near the back, so naturally he was one of the first to leave. He wanted to beat the crowds there, so this worked for him. He walked with his usual brisk stride, considering whether or not to check the notice board. It wasn't far from where he was going though, so he dropped by. Much to his surprise, and a little to his guilt, he was listed on a team. Team U. The name was already getting him excited. The mission didn't sound as dull, though. An industrial zone could contain all kinds of mystery. As for his team mates, he wasn't well acquainted with them, but they'd talked occasionally. Mako and Yurius were the supervisors, which made Ceiran think Mako put him on her team on purpose. To gather information about his condition.

And with this thought, the rush of the crowd caught up with him. They soon crowded around the bulletin board, not dissimilarly to how they crowded around the corpse. Only this time Ceiran wasn't watching from a window, and there wasn't much more he wanted than to get out of there. The crowd was polite, but intent on reaching the bulletin, which was apparently the only thing that mattered at the moment. Well, for them at least. He felt a rush of adrenaline, and began politely shoving his way to the edge of the crowd. Thank the powers that be it wasn't the Twitch.

He had calmed down by the time he'd found a small alcove to sit in, under a set of stairs. He dragged his Grimoire from his bag, and allowed the old leatherbound tome to fall open in his lap. Irregularly placed bookmarks litter the pages, doing what bookmarks do, and marking certain pages for future revision. He didn't know where it had come from prior to his mother owning it. She had passed it to him on some odd conditions, and ever since it was gifted to him he'd learned a great deal. It contained all kinds of knowledge: Spells, stories, songs, rituals, species, herbalism, and in the most detail, Mana Manipulation. It's pages were so great in number that even if you had twelve years of only reading, you wouldn't exhaust it's knowledge. It had fallen open on a page detailing the proper preparation of alcohol for use as a base in potion-making.

And so he sat, under a stairwell, with an overlarge book in his lap, reading about potion bases and their qualities. Somewhat hoping that the crowds would disperse so he could find his teammates and discuss their mission.

It all was a tad humorous to Lumen. Between the Vice demonstrating that there was indeed a thorn tickling at her sides and that she held more knowledge that he anticipated, Lumen couldn't help but adorn levity on his feature that garnered themselves into the shape of a smile. That the staff has bent their knee to what seems to be the wishes of the student's vexation felt less of an action done for the sake of quelling the insipid chatter between his peers and more so to teach them a lesson. It was a forceful hand to a complicated situation, but in earnest Lumen thought that caging what they might seem to be children into tight corners would inevitable bring friction. This is a means to an end and what seems as the end didn't really feel too exciting to Lumen. But he couldn't find it within himself to bring much importance to that matter, as there was another thing that popped into his thoughts. The fact that there were similar incidence in the city. Of course, they were running the chance of saying that any immediate threat was perhaps shifted into another focus. That whatever it was that attacked a student wasn't anywhere near the campus. Which Lumen found to be a rather shallow conclusion. The city certainly wasn't a short stroll away, and with what was just said, he gathered that the killer wasn't human.

Creature, assuming these words weren't but mere fodder in her speech, it held some merit to keep them in mind. The killer was not something that could come to rational thought, and if it did, it thought differently than what the moral code insinuated rational people should act like. It was a beast and that shortened his list, throughout the week the murmurs had quelled considerably, slowly had the initial impact of the news of a death quelled and gave birth to ceaseless rumors. They were vestigial and held no purpose other than slight whimsy, Lumen found them highly unattractive and boring. They did not cease his growing sense of curiosity, only mumbled at his ears irrelevance he rather not take privy to. Secondly, that the idea that there was only one. If several murders has come into fruition, then perhaps some better planing and personnel should be placed at the helm. If it were a single creature, it wouldn't be too difficult to follow it's trace. It was, in fact, just a creature. Unless it held a considerable intelligence, it would leave a trace. But no, it didn't. This is in speculation that they were not being told the entirety of the matter, which is was obvious that they weren't. Meaning one of two, that this creature is something even beyond the scope of the teachers and anyone else with far much more potency, or two... there was more than one of these things roaming around.

"How curios, indeed." His tone had almost a uncomfortable glee to them. This feeling, the feeling of unveiling and reaching clarity. Something about what Lumen just proposed to himself gave him a sense of understanding. This was, indeed something he should keep in mind. This was refreshing, he silently demonstrated his appreciation to the vice-principal. This was very interesting indeed. Missions on such a quick occasion, Lumen was sure he was, maybe, a lot farther back than his peers when it came to combat, his element hadn't shown any trace of solidifying its hue, meaning he was nowhere near mastering it. He can sense his other soul bellowing for strength. He stood off his seat and proceeded along with the group to the bulletin board that would present his mission and partners, reading among the myriad of papers and advertisements of other things, there he found his name amidst others. Yuris and Mako were their guardians during this event, what an odd paring indeed. But they were at the helm, things would be very interesting and not easy in the slightest.

Now to witness the names of his comrades for this endeavor. Circe, Roland and Ceiran. Unfortunately, he knew of them but not much about them. He adjusted his hood so that his vision was warded, the curse could pose a problem even at this circumstances. It was a curse after all and although some people demonstrated much resistance to it, it was still better to keep it hid than to have it expose and bring him more trouble than what it's worth. He cursed Kresnik for his sultry past. Any except for Roland, who up until this day was still the talk of the school, he hadn't much interactions with the rest. He certainly remember Ceiran, from that time where he and some arachnid-girl were talking to the teachers at lunch, he seemed weird and sensible... He didn't really know what was going on with him, but he demonstrated a sense of... danger. Perhaps it was Kresnik's warning, but he felt uneasy around him. Which was all the best to have him around, he would unveil his secrets and feel all the more fulfilled for it. Turning his head towards the sides, he looked for his comrades, only to see that the boy who he was just a moment ago thinking about sat with a grimoire in his hand. He paced off the crowed and towards his now teammate.

"Excuse me." Lumen spoke, smile on lip, still holding the tip of his hood, slightly pulling it down to hide his sight enough so the curse wouldn't register. "Seems we're gonna be paired up together, Ceiran. I hope it's not too much to say that I am excited for it. I'll do my best to keep up with you and not bring the team down."

This was unexpected. Frankly, Sonia was a bit afraid. She had no doubts that she was chosen as one of the few students who could partake in missions; most of the student body still acted like regular highschool teens, and had about as much power as one. Sonia on the other hand had actually mastered quite a number spells and a few of them quite powerful, yet she still doesn't feel as though she was quite ready. She knew that Hikari was going to be a harsh school but to throw students into the fray like this? "Trial by fire it is." Sonia did her best to look confident though. In fact the vice principle's words brought a bit of hope to her; the fact that they were only going to accept a reliable few, rather than anyone who's looking for honor or glory, made Sonia hopeful that her teammates won't be a liability. She has to work hard not to be the weakest in her team either.

As the students were dismissed, Sonia left and find that message board. Walking along the walls and ceiling to avoid the traffic Sonia soon saw the board and found herself and her future team. No one she was too familiar with, but Sonia didn't know a lot of people here. Though the one name that caught her attention was Lotte; Sonia only knew her as the groundskeeper. Neither a student or a teacher, but she may assist the group as needed. Sonia wasn't sure what to make of Lotte but if she came than Sonia figured she wuld be useful. Aside from the team comp, there was also the task at hand. "Clearing out the sewers of monsters hmm? I hope those sewers are big..."

Sonia immediately set out to the library to find more information about the city's sewer's infrastructure. She needed to figure out the terrain as well as get an idea of what they were dealing with. Perhaps it was goblins or maybe slime monsters. Or even mutated creatures like giant lizards or crocodiles. Frankly anything was possible so Sonia needed to be prepared. She only wished that she had some new spells; she was still researching that illusion scroll and a few other cantrips she picked up in school. She finally found the spell she can use to clean up her room. She also had a few healing potions from potions class, in a variety of different coffee flavors. Not as tasty or effective as real coffee but they made for fine healing potion. Summoning her owl Sonia petted him and sent him away.

"Owldin, go fetch my potions in my room. I'll meet you back at the library."

---

"Hmph..." The old vampire was listening boringly to Reiko's speech the whole time. He wasn't surprised by the fact that students were still trying to have their ways in this school. Again, youth. They are the center of the world. The sun rises and set on their own butts. While Yurius did appreciate that a few were really acting on their own consideration and care for the general population and not for their own despicable self-interests, it didn't help wiping off the fact that they were incompetent, stupid and reckless for trying to take on a creature far beyond their current capabilities. The vampire knew that perfectly. That creature who murdered that kid was not a child's play.

And with that, the path of Hikari Academy took a sudden turn, just as Yurius was settling himself comfortably here. It was not something too unexpected. All beings in this world were susceptible to changes. Small or large. The turn could be a result of anything. But when a path had changed, and those traveling on that path were slowly adjusting to the turn, there would always be a tendency to think that the path would be straight, without any further turns. Nothing is further from the truth. This aged vampire's life was one prime example. An aristocratic vampire who had his own grand castle once had to live in exile. A vampire taught to fight for others, not for blood ended up killing thousands of warriors. And a vampiric murderer eventually winded up being a professor at an academy, hired by the people who wanted him dead years ago. You obviously could not expect anything.

What had happened was that the students that the staffs, including him, had reported to be potentially capable were chosen for a special field mission. Special because nobody would have expected a mission for students at the very first week of school. It was natural to assume that. But still, there were no reasons to conclude the abilities of students. There were people who were far stronger than others, despite being the same age, and there were also pathetic weaklings who couldn't even unsheathe a sword properly despite being older, and closer to their prime. Nothing can be concluded into a rule. That's the rule of reality.

As for the creatures, knowing that the incident one week earlier and the recent ones having some sort of loose connection to each other made the vampire speculate. This was definitely not natural. It could have been a shift in nature's rules, but most likely through rational manipulation. But who? Curious, but he had no way of having a clear conclusion. Only God knows what happens.

As the students were chaotically rushing to see the announcement, and whether they were on the list or not, Yurius just stood in a corner, his hands crossed in front of him, his head lowered, his eyes closed for a quick snooze. He was getting old after all. A few moments later, the students began to clear, and the old vampire casually put his hands into his pockets and walked to the board. He was definitely gonna get called for this little ordeal. He could tell almost certainly. The only teacher who taught combat, proper combat, and an ancient and very powerful entity even by today's standard.

"Hm?" He raised his eyebrows. He was paired with Mako as supervisor, while the paladin kid, the shape-shifting girl, the guy with the birthmark and another one called Ceiran, whose identities were not yet known to him at this point, but soon will be, composed of the team that were supposed to head out for the city to investigate and correct, or, according to Yurius, kill, these creatures. Make sense, since the vampire had no magic prowess. The adrenaline rush was a biological passive effect, which could have counted as magic. Other than that, his only weapons were his overwhelming strength and stamina that he naturally had. Mako was a witch, and perhaps unsuited for physical combat. Honestly, together, they may be already enough to deal with these creatures. However, this was the student's work too, so he also had to watch them as well.

And so with that information in mind, he stood right there, waiting for others to arrive. Currently, only two out of four students had arrived to the scene: the guy with that birthmark, Lumen Kresnik if his memories did not fool him, and a strange one...Ceiran? "Ho...So he is the guy at lunch yesterday." Yurius thought to himself as he glanced at him. He wondered what he had to offer that the staff had him listed as a potential student. He would know soon enough.

As he waited, the vampire punched his fists into the air multiple times, as a warm up for a journey, and as a way to keep himself fit, primed and powerful despite his age. He was ready, as ever.

The first week flew by in a blur, Circe and Roland were no closer to figuring out what attacked the other student. And after Yurius's first class everyone knew she was a Shapeshifter, but it wasn't as bad as she thought. Sure some students gave her a sidelong glace, but most didn't care. She also learned in Yurius's class that she wasn't as good a fighter as she thought, better than some but the Vampire humbled her greatly. Circe had been working on her shifting more now in class, she would do good for infiltration and information gathering. She could shift faster and more easily now, and her time limit had grown longer as well.

Circe made her way into the auditorium, for the assembly, she made sure to sit away from Roland. She had to tred carefully with him, everyone knew how he felt about the attack, but she needed help tracking down the monster. As the assembly started Reiko made mention that the staff knew students were still looking into the murder. Circe's eyes flicked to Roland and back to the vice principal.

Shit, now we have to be more careful than before. And the sooner we find a way to keep Miss Aria out of our heads the easier this becomes. She thought to herself. And after Reiko paused to let her warning sink in, she made an other announcement. Students would be partaking in field work!! Possibly to distract students from the murder and to keep those looking into it to busy to do so.

After the assembly was over Circe made her way through the crowd to look at the list. She found her name, along with her new teammates. Roland, Lumen, and Ceiran being lead into the warehouse distract by Mako and Yurius. The other team would be heading into the sewers. Circe was a bit miffed by her assignment, she lived in the sewers before coming to the school. Knew them like the back of her hand, but she mentally shrugged. She preferred the teachers on her team anyways. She turned to Roland to signal him to follow her and made her way away from the crowd, passing her new teammates. She would get better acquainted with them later. Now her and Roland had to discuss monster hunting.

@awesomoman64

---

Of all the students in the crowd, none had a bigger smile than Roland. While the beginning of the assembly gave him a slight panic attack, with Reiko basically calling him out at the start. His fear slowly turned to excitement as she continued, however, due to the grand announcement of missions. Missions. He couldn’t believe it. This early on they were about to get a taste of the Dawnslayer life. Even if he and Circe hadn’t figured out what the creature was, those nights in the library’s bestiary section wouldn’t go to waste now.

To no one’s surprise, Roland was the first out the door when Reiko dismissed them. He had to see if he was on the list. Surely his displays in Yurius’ class or even his devoted research were enough to prove himself. Stopping in front of the bulletin he quickly read the names of Team A. Nope. Not there. Team B. Nothing. Frantically he continued reading each team praying his name would be listed. Finally, his gaze reached Team U and the first name assigned to it was his.

“YES!” he exclaimed unable to contain his enthusiasm. Realizing his sudden outburst had startled some of those around him, Roland awkwardly chuckled and apologized before composing himself enough to read who his teammates were.

First there was Lumen, he was acquainted with him but only through Duncan, so friend of a friend really. He did remember having a strange feeling around him despite there being no sign he was undead. Perhaps now he could figure out why. Next was Ceiran, while he didn’t know him personally, he had heard rumors of this guy acting a bit strange at times but no one knew why. Hopefully that wouldn’t be too much of an issue. Then there was Circe, Roland’s study partner. Despite spending hours upon hours every day together, Roland actually didn’t know much about her. Most of the time they just exchanged notes and ideas on monsters they had read about. They never really took a break to just talk. Maybe they could get to know each other on this mission?

Accompanied by Mako and Yurius, their task would be to identify an unknown creature causing issues in the abandoned industrial district and stop it by whatever means. Sounded easy enough. Probably would be considering it was assigned to an entire team of first years. Still, Roland wasn’t about to complain even if this did turn out to be a simple rat problem. He wanted to help the Dawnslayers, and if that meant doing the tedious work for them to focus on the important stuff, then so be it.

Wanting to get a jump on things, Roland looked around to see if he could spot his teammates. Lucky enough, Lumen and Ceiran were already together by the stairs. He pushed through the crowds to get to them just as Lumen expressed his hope of not bringing the team down. “Don’t sell yourself short.” Roland said giving Lumen a pat on the back. “You wouldn’t be on a team if you hadn’t already proven yourself.”

Checking behind to see if he could find Circe, Roland spotted her just in time to catch her walk by and signal for him to follow. Giving her a nod he turned back to Lumen and Ceiran. “One second guys, I’ll be right back.” He held up a thumbs up before chasing after Circe.

“Hey, what’s up, teammate?” He asked with a playful wink. Roland was having a hard time holding in how much he was looking forward to the mission.

@Strange Rodent@Sync@Cerces22

---

---

It was rare for a teacher to be as surprised as the students when it came to the announcements. But today proved to be one of those times as Kromric’s eyes widened at the announcement of missions. They were only in the first week of school yet they were sending the students out on missions? Something told him deep down that this would not end well. He hoped his feelings to be wrong, but with that thing still on the lose, it was hard to not to be concerned.

While the students chaotically ran out the doors, Kromric lagged behind with the other teachers. The lists would still be there after the others had read them, no point in rushing. Slowly the crowd dispersed with many leaving disappointed. The teachers usually brought up the names of those they thought gifted to Aria, and it seemed they were the ones she selected for these missions. Once the bulletin wasn’t as crowded, Kromric moved forward to see which group he’d be watching over.

There was Duncan, a centaur, if he recalled, who knew how to shoot an arrow and could keep up with one too. Sonia, an arachnid with a truly gifted head on her shoulders. And Trey, the only human in the lot but one that could move like a shadow on the wall. The other teacher coming with him was Tholl, a teacher Kromric was well acquainted with as economics and equipment management went almost hand in hand. All in all this was not a bad bunch even if they were all first years.

Unable to look over the crowd for obvious reasons, the dwarf followed Yurius’ example and stood to the side of the board. There he waited eyeing every student who walked by too see if they were one of his.

Duncan listened to the assembly. The Vice Principle's warning was clearly aimed at Roland and possibly Circe too. Even so, they must have understood the attitude of many of the students, as she then announced that they would be going on real, live field missions. It was unlikely that the first years would be going, but even so, Duncan approached the board after the assembly and used his large, powerful horse form to bully his way to the front. He saw his name was on the board, very low down! What was more, he was on a team with Sonia and Trey! Duncan fist pumped and triumphntly shouted "Yass! Get in!" before pushing his way back out of the throng of students, and looking around for his teammates. Trey, he couldn't see any trace of, but it was hard to miss a large spider girl heading off in the direction of the library. Grinning, Duncan followed her. He hadn't got the chance to introduce himself before, but now he not only had the opportunity, but an excuse.

"Excuse me," He called after Sonia when he was close enough. "It looks like we're on the same team. My name's Duncan Chiron." He offered his hand to her as he introduced himself.

@KoL@Ryonara

---

Mako grinned, watching everybody's reactions to the team announcements. It was originally going to be Roland, Duncan, Circe and Lumen in her team, but Mako insisted on two things; first that Roland and Duncan were separated. They seemed like friends, and the Centaur was a reasonable influence on young Roland, but Roland and Circe were either planning something or a really cute couple. Mako wagered on the former if not both were true. She wanted them together, without any reasonable influences. They couldn't exactly carry out a solo hunt of dangerous creatures during a routine mission under the supervision of two staff members, but she could still learn something about them. Mako's other call was to put Ceiran on her team. She indeed wanted to watch him and see how he coped with a field exercise. He got into the academy for a reason, and it likely had something to do with that Demon inside him.

She approached Yurius and grinned a very suspicious, sly grin, but said nothing. Just stood beside him and looked out over the students.

@Conscripts@Awesomoman64@Cerces22@Sync@Strange Rodent

Those roaming around the Academy halls would find that all non essential facilities— everything except the Library, Dinner Hall, and toilets— had been temporarily locked. Notes saying that all those students who hadn't been selected for the missions would have self-study time followed by a test with surprise subject dotted the bulletin boards. Whether they were received with glee or spite depended on how much an individual student was looking for a surprise test coming from the Vice Principal herself.

While some suffered, others thrived.

One such individual was the smallish member of the Academy's staff. Considering her size and age, Lotte would more likely be part of the student body than the workforce. No one would be surprised if this was the case. Yet, she served as the faithful arms and legs of the Academy, doing all sorts of odd jobs. A true multi-purpose maid.

One of Lotte's main jobs was helping students in missions such as the ones Reiko issued and, true to her impeccable work ethics, that was just what those that she was assigned to help would find out once she came into the main hall armed and ready. The smallish fox spirit donned a simple, yet beautiful, set of light armor—breastplate, greaves, and gauntlets— over her maid uniform, along with a backpack, light shield, and mace.

She passed by the crowd with some difficulty as she decided to wait beside the exit like she usually did. The only thing she could hope for was that her current team was more punctual than the last one she had to assist. She still had to bake the cookies for tonight's dinner and take care of the laundry, after all.

---

Time passed quickly after the first day, repetition wearing a comfortable groove out of the student's and staff's daily lives. More importantly, the murderer did not indulge in a wild spree as the first was still the last victim of it's incursion upon Hikari campus. Some semblance of peace was creeping back upon them and so it was only fitting that it be shattered via extracurricular activity, the bane of Tholl's existence.

Oh she was fine with mission's in principal, and had done her due diligence in recommendations, but she already knew that in the face of such exciting prospects that student's wouldn't give a damn about studying for her class. Oh no, if anything they'd be cramming in lessons from Yurius or Mako, but no one would even think to do that for Economics. She'd swear a bloody streak down the hall and back where it less populated, but it was sadly packed with excited youths eager to see who was selected.

Seeing as the list was mired in pushy students, some more literally then others such as a certain centaur making use of their unique physique to drive through the crowd, Tholl opted to view it remotely. She held her palm flat and facing upwards, whereupon the skin parting like a concealed seam to allow a large furry tarantula to crawl out.

"Alley oop~" Tholl said with a grin that would have given the devil a run for his money, before lobbing the bulky arachnid over the heads of students to land squarely upon the board itself. Naturally many a skittish youth shrieked and leapt with alarm at seeing such a terrifying creature launch itself in their vicinity, yet the tarantula paid them no mind. It's many eyes scoured the listings, and through it so did Tholl.

"Huh, maybe this won't be so bad. Even got the Super Maid- Speak of the devil." Tholl opined, turning away from the tarantula that quickly skittered up the wall and escaped into an air vent, and trotted over to the exit beside Lotte. Bringing her fingers to her lips she whistled for the student's attention. "Alright everyone, you know who you are and where your going. So head to your assigned teachers or classes. We leave in five minutes."

As Sonia was walking away she heard the trots of hooves approach her. She dismissed it at first figuring it was just another student passing by until he called out to her. She turned to see that it was indeed her being called out, by a somewhat familiar face. A young centaur named Duncan Chiron, who Sonia was only vaguely familiar with. She’s see him hanging around Circe the few times Sonia is ever around the girl, so she knew they were friends. He seemed nice enough but aside that he’s Circe’s friend, Sonia didn’t know anything about him.

”Ah yes, I’ve seen you around before. Sonia Weaver, happy to meet you. I hope we work well together. Sonia shook Duncan’s hand daintily. Just then there was a loud whistle that nearly started Sonia, making her jump hard enough that her glasses nearly fell off her face. Adjusting them back into place she turned to see that it was Tholl calling out for her students. Sonia did remember seeing her as the teacher watching over their mission. But what really caught the Arachne’s attention was that Tholl wanted them to leave in five minutes. Sonia hoped she just wanted to debrief them and not immediately embark into the sewers as is; Sonia didn’t even have her potions yet!

”Oh no... We’re leaving already? The assemble hasn’t even been over for thirty minutes and we’re suppose to just jump right in without even gathering our equipment? I mean... I understand we need to be ready for anything but surely we could have at least half an hour to prep...”

Fortunately for Sonia, Owldin was quick. He returned to her carrying a satchel containing her potions. Most of them were healing, though she did have a few experimental anti-toxins and a very temperamental invisibility potion. It works, but it seems like almost any action aside from moving around or drawing an item would dismiss the invisibility. Even opening a door will dispel the magic. Sonia felt a little bit more confident with her satchel since she already has her spell book with her, but she did want to grab a few other essentials as well as do research. However Sonia wasn’t going to be the first to bellyache about inconveniences ether, at least not in front of the teachers. She’ll just have to suck it up and adapt.

”Well... I guess we should see the professor. Wouldn’t want to keep her waiting.” Adjysting her pack Sonia walked towards her fellow Arachne teacher, walking along the wall to bypass the mass of students still milking about. She did her best to put on her confident face; she was genuinely eager to begin. Her first taste of a real job. Barely in school and already doing field work. She suspects that this mission should y be too hard, but following cliches Sonia was certain that there was more of a threat than any of them realize, and the students will have to quickly adapt and grow stronger to survive. Sonia hopes she isn’t found wanting.

@Lonewolf685@Silver Carrot

@Awesomoman64

Circe had Roland follow a bit down the hallway while the other students looked over the list. She pulled the young man into an empty classroom, and leaned against the desk. She stared at him contempting her choice of words for him. She knew what she had to say, she just didn't want to hurt the guys ego to much.

"Listen, I don't think it was an accident that you, Lumen, Ceiran, and myself are all on the same team with Making and Yurius. Everyone remembers your colorful rant last week, and I was snopping on the dead body. The teachers aren't going to let that go anytime soon. Also there is something off with Lumen and Ceiran, I think we are the problem child team, and Yurius and Making are suppose to keep a close eye on us. I will back you for team captain, in case you haven't noticed, I am not all warm and fuzzy like you. And for now, if anyone asks why we spend so much time together, tell them that we are a couple. I am sure that like will throw anyone off the trail, not saying I wouldn't play with you, just right now I don't have time for a real date. I don't want you thinking there is something more to this, we are research partners, that's it. Now let's go find our teammates. We need to discuss our plans of carrying out this mission, and as soon to be Captain you need to know about everyone's strengths and weaknesses."

She walked to the door and grabbed the handle looking back at the boy to gauge the ton of bricks she had just dropped on him. She really didn't have time for a relationship, despite the boys handsome appearence. Although she admitted their were other students she wouldn't mind dating either, right now that would have to wait. They had a lot to do and if Reiko and Aria were putting them as a team to keep an eye on them, they needed to do this mission perfectly and fast to throw off the scent.

---

He saw Lumen walking towards him. Strangely enough, he was able to remember names. He chuckled as he considered the possibility that this was the most magical ability in the school. He watched Lumen approach. He seemed slightly down, but when he spoke it was clear as day. Ceiran opened his mouth to offer his advice before Roland bounced towards them, almost exploding with excitement. He patted Lumen on the back and offered comfort. A nice sentiment, but it wouldn't last. Ceiran took this chance to hoist his Grimoire back into his bag and stand up, putting him on even footing with the others.

He turned to Lumen, and with a slightly annoyed tone, said "Lumen. Listen up. How well you do isn't determined by others, and their limits. That would be absurd. Do your best and you'll do well in my books.", Ceiran explained. He had dealt with not feeling good enough before, both in others and in himself. It may not be the most comforting advice, but it was the most practical
when applied.

Everyone is congealing here rather quickly, Ceiran thought as he saw Circe approach, only to be dismayed at seeing her walk straight past them, with Roland quick to heel. She seemed unhappy to be working on a team. She and Roland disappeared into a room at the end of the hall. He considered the possibility that they could be involved in that romance thing.

He lifted his bag from the ground, and threw it over his shoulder. Madly, he said "Well, wasn't that rude? Come on, man. We should catch up to them. If we can't even introduce ourselves how do we expect to support one another?". He paused, and sighed. "Sorry, I got carried away there. How much do you want to bet that this monster we're hunting is the one that killed that kid the other day?", he said. This time he was visibly calming down as he spoke, rather than the opposite.

He was about to walk back down the hall when Circe opened the door again, stepping out into the hall and presumably coming to greet them. "Oh, you're done? Where's Roland? He said, with a raised eyebrow.

Trey forewent any type of prior research before the mission, instead spending his time in his room reflecting and polishing his weapons. To be sent on a mission this soon was unheard of as far as he could tell, it made no sense to do something like this so soon, especially during an investigation regarding a murder that had happened on this campus. But perhaps that's why it was done, to try and get everyone's minds off of this event. After all, it seems like the most vocal of the students regarding the incident had been put on the same team, plus a few other troublemakers from what he could tell. Maybe they were going by friends, after all he had been put on a team with his new friend Roland. But no, that conclusion made no sense, otherwise Lumen would be on the team as well. "Oh well, it doesn't really matter why this is being done. Just that it is." He muttered to himself as he left the building and walked over to Ms. Tholl as she whistled for everyone's attention.

They hadn't started off on the best foot admittedly, but Trey had been trying his best to get on her good side after the first day. He showed up to class every day, tried his best not to look as tired as he felt so early in the morning, and paid rapt attention to her lectures. He didn't even talk about the wolf anymore, even if he found himself staring sometimes. It was hard not to, it was a wolf in the middle of the class after all. Maybe it would be part of the lesson plan eventually? Shaking himself out of those musings Trey stopped and looked at his maybe teammate Lotte Chaubert. If he hadn't been told prior he would've mistook her as a student, but apparently she was staff. Just someone to assist if they ran into any unforeseen problems, but a welcome addition nonetheless. Trey didn't say anything to her, but he did offer a small smile and a wave as he waited for his other teammates to show up.

Speaking of, here comes the other person he didn't know. Sonia Weaver, another arachnid apparently. This was certainly turning out to be an interesting team, not a single one of them was human it looks like. As with Lotte, Trey merely offered Sonia a small smile and a wave as he waited for Duncan to show up and join the team.

Duncan watched with a slightly amused air as Sonia panicked a little upon hearing that they were leaving in five minutes. Though to be fair, Duncan was also grossly underprepared. Without weapons, he wouldn't exactly be the most useful member of the group. Just then an owl brought Sonia a bag of potions. Duncan grinned outwardly, but inwardly, he was sweating. And he was also sweating outwardly a bit too. He needed a bow.

"I know we've only just met, Sonia, but can you do me a favour and tell the teachers that I'm grabbing a bow from the armory? I won't even be three minutes!"

And with that, he galloped through the empty corridors towards the armory, as fast as he could, threw open the door, grabbed a bow, quiver and about twenty arrows, put the bow and arrows into the quiver, fastened it to his body, and then cantered the return journey carefully, as by now, students who weren't on missions were beginning to go to their classes or otherwise disperse. He reached the assembled group of Tholl, Kromric, Lotte, Sonia, and Trey with one minute to spare.

"Sorry about that. Just arming up. I can't do any magic. I wasn't holding us up, was I?"

@Ryonara@floodtalon@KoL@Awesomoman64@Lonewolf685

It wasn't long after his introduction that a pat had landed on his shoulder, casting his sight to its maker. Roland, smile from cheek to cheek had spoke words of comfort before dashing towards his other teammate Circe. Lumen didn't disperse the smirk from his lip, in fact his eye just narrowed at the sight before him. Guess that rumor was true, but something was rather off about Circe, she didn't seem too gleeful to see Roland approach, Ceiran spoke, now taking on his full attention. He too, attempted in his own manner of form to console young Lumen. Which he did, in some respect, but what Lumen followed up with was a chuckle and a shrug to that comment. Of course, Lumen appreciated the thought more than anything, but the glint of his eye demonstrated another thought. How evidently obvious of them. But with this everything could commence, the team was together and they could all finally get this mission on the way. Now, it was a matter of joining together with Yurius who stood at his lonesome punching the air, and Mako who just smiled incredibly peaceful in her stance. As he and Ceiran walked towards their destination, Circe and Roland passed us together and enclosed themselves in a room. Now that was really odd... What could require silence in the time where they were about to leave? Regardless if they're really a couple, was this really the time to be having a one on one? Ceiran voice shook Lumen off his thought, he has slight animosity emanating from his tone. He did, however, opened the venue to some snooping, in which Lumen wasn't at all against to. "Lets. I have a distinguishing feeling that we might get to the root of something we are unaware off." After a hearty sight, Ceiran asked about Lumen's thought on what was gonna be their opponent here. "Unlikely. If it was against that, risking our lives would place the staff on a rather slippery slope. Regardless of how military they can be, they're not gonna place us where the enemy is. Or at least something they themselves are laughably unaware of." He lied, of course the possibility was high enough that they could find something concerning the beast there.

It was almost a given, the mission all correlated to each other in some way. He and the other teams needed to clear areas that were uninhabited or worse of, abandoned. If this was the case then there were certainly nests around with enemies at each interval. But what Lumen wanted to do more than anything, was allow the surprise of it all to envelop them. Yes, that nature of curiosity and knowledge brought a sense of wonderment to Lumen. "We should still keep our guard up, still. Who knows?" The smile still plastered on his face, as the doors slid open and Lumen along with Ceiran were met eye to eye with out other teammates. "He's right there." Lumen spoke before allowing any response from Circe, pointing his finger beyond the door, there in lied a boy who seemed to have had a little bit too much of something. "You guys seem to be having fun." Lumen spoke sardonically. "Lover's quarrel?" Lumen's tease lingered and he followed forward, hesitating, but he needed to be sure that this happened so that they trusted him. He removed his hood, allowing his eyes to take in the full sight of his surroundings, the curse would not be at full view, but if they were in this mission, perhaps in time they would be able to ignore its effects. His right hand was brought up to his mien and unbreaking smirk on him, a flame emerged from his finger, one that shifted in a variant of hues like a rainbow."Before anything, we have to assign a leader." He continued not place much eye contact on his teammates as he prepared himself. "I personally don't want to lead. I leave that to others. And I have a distinct feeling that there's someone here who could serve us better in that position... considering his overwhelming popularity as of late." His eyes trailed to Roland, making eye contact with the boy. Lumen began to trace small flame sigil's on his wrist, a floating flame hovered inches away from flesh, and three lines two tracing the eye brow to the commence of the bridge of the nose, and one in the center of that. The flames stood there in their luminescent glory.

Kresnik would be proud of how he mastered this. A spell which allowed him better control of his fire, with his they would continuously focus the flame will all that Lumen needed to do with execute, however, this made the severity of control rather stagnant. He couldn't output beyond a certain point, but if he had it at least he could work with it. "So, Roland. Good to have you as our captain." He said, eliminating any process of voting, and he continued down the path to his teacher. "What are you guys waiting for? We need to hurry before the staff gets angry."

---

Roland stood motionless with sparks flying from his head as he tried to make sense of what Circe had told him. He understood the first part. He and her were clearly the targets of Reiko’s call out, so it stood to reason them being on the same team was no accident. The rest, however, caught him completely off guard. She wanted him to be team captain? Sure he’d take the job, could they get the others on board? And hold on, what was she saying? They were going to tell people they were dating, even though they actually weren’t, but it wasn’t off the table just not an option currently? Girls are confusing.

“Let me get this straight,” He said after a few moments of processing what he’d be told. “You want us to pretend to be a couple so people aren’t suspicious about our time together? Great. Except what happens when someone starts asking questions? Like you said, we’re study partners, we haven’t exactly been socializing and getting to know each other. Not to mention we don’t really like a couple in the first place. If we’re not careful this could really blow up in our faces.”

Though Roland still had doubts about the plan, they would have to wait. Just as Circe opened the door to leave, Ceiran and Lumen appeared in the doorway. From what they were asking about what they were doing, especially Lumen, it seemed they had tried to catch the two in a compromising position of sorts. Huh. Maybe pretending to be a couple could work after all?

“What? I mean, uh, yeah. We were just talking. About stuff. You know. Stuff.” Roland answered. His face turned a light red as his eyes snapped away from Lumen’s. Maybe pretending to be a couple could work, if Roland wasn’t terrible at it.

Luckily, the very same person inquiring about them changed subjects to team captain. Surprisingly, he too nominated Roland, while doing some sort of fire drawing. That meant Roland had majority. “Oh, thanks. Glad to be chosen.” He stated almost instantly he shifting from embarrassed teen, to proud commander. “Well, let’s not waste anymore time. U team, move out!”

@Strange Rodent@Sync@Cerces22

---

---

Kromric wouldn’t have to wait long for his students to show. Thanks to Tholl’s declaring their departure time, most of the students had scampered off to find their teachers. It wasn’t long before their team had assembled ready and waiting; all but Duncan who had run off to grab some weaponry. As the centaur galloped back, Kromric pulled out a pocket watch and checked the time.

”Don’t worry, Mr. Chiron. You got here just in time.” He said closing the watch with a flick of his wrist. ”But perhaps next time you should check with us first. If you think five minutes is nary enough time to grab your gear then you’re right. If I am correct then Miss Lotte has already packed your bags and gathered any equipment needed for the mission. We’re not about to send students out defenseless to meet time constraints.” One could find humor in a dwarf under 5 feet lecturing a towering centaur, but to point such a thing out would not be a wise choice anyone.

With everyone assembled and ready, Kromric looked to Tholl and nodded. ”Alright, I think we’re good to go.”

@Silver Carrot@floodtalon@Ryonara@Lonewolf685@KoL

---

"Hot damn you guys booked it fast. I didn't think you'd be ready for at least fifteen. Hope you didn't forget anything in the rush." Tholl declared to the gathered students, bouncing on her heels in impish glee. She hadn't thought they'd actually succeed, but it served as a good measure of their response time. If they made asses of themselves trying to fumble there way to the dorms and back then Tholl was going to have to really hover over them close for the mission. "Maybe things will go better then I expect."

---

There destination wasn't the least bit appealing. No air conditioned warehouses awaited Tholl and Kromric's lot, as the Arachnid teacher dropped through an open manhole to alight upon the banks of flowing sewage. Twin tracks of cracked, worn concrete lined a putrid river parting the middle of the tunnel which stretched inwards in either direction with the only light coming from the aperture directly above. To Mrs. Tholl's gaze it was clear that there were the encased bulbs of emergency lights set into the upper reaches of the cylindrical walls, yet there seemed to be no power to offer their illumination.

Her every step was met with the squelch of fetid dampness, not a dry spot to be seen that wasn't rife with mold or refuse thrown from the water upon a rain surge's violent tide some weeks or months past. It was a blessing that Tholl wasn't the sort of predator reliant upon a sense of smell, and doubly so that she had left the wolf behind for this class as well.

"Alright class, come on down and acclimatize yourselves. This stink is everywhere, so get used to it. I don't want anyone hesitating because the grossness repelled them from stepping in a puddle." She bellowed back up towards the manhole, and waited to be joined by the others in their own time. Considering her group and the tightness of this space, she was rather fortunate to be receiving the one with such drastically different students in terms of body type.

"If everyone can manage to keep their lunches down, then let's get on with the mission. You already know we are here to remove an infestation. Of what, we do not know, but whatever it is has got to go or we are going to have major sanitation issues soon enough, and that is always a precursor to wide spread sickness and disorder. You hear me so far?"

"According to reports, the sewer workers were attacked in that direction," Tholl pointed off down the stretch of sewer, precluding the other from the investigation, "So we are going to spread out along either side of the sewer and move carefully. Be mindful of each other and try not to get in one another's way. Because whatever is down here likely won't have any such difficulty on it's own home turf."

""

@Awesomoman64@Strange Rodent@Sync

Circe gave a copy, knowing smile to her other team mates. Leaving little doubt towards what could of transpired in the classroom. Roland took the team captain nomination as planned, so everything was coming together.

"It's ok Roland, don't be shy, just don't go bragging either ok?? A girl's gotta retain some mystery." She said giving him a gentle reminder to watch what he said. If these two knew what they were planning behind everyone's back, team or not, they could run to the staff.

"We should head over to Mako and Yurius, we need to start Team U's first mission. Which should be coming up with a better name." Circe said giggling, she linked an arm into Roland's as she waited for the others to move on. Yes this was going perfectly.

Sonia knew they were getting close to the sewers by the smell alone. She didn’t have super smell but the sewers were still a very overpowering stench. Granted she smelled worse at her family’s dye and tanning workshop, but that doesn’t mean she liked the smell. It was also going to be quite a tight fit considering how large their party was, and how big some of the students were. Sonia doesn’t consider herself a big girl but her spider abdomen was larger then most human teens. Good thing she could walk on the walls at least.

Inside the sewers Sonia, much like Tholl, had no issues with the darkness. In fact the light level didn’t change even as she was going from the topside to down under. Perks of being an Arachne. Still this place was uncomfortably moist and putrid. For her own sake, Sonia imbibed an anti-plague to immunize herself ya any diseases lurking down here. And just for good measure, an antitoxin too. For any venomous or poisonous things creeping about. Tholl went over their task again and pointed them in the right direction. Sonia took charge shortly after.

”Since we’re splitting up, let’s move in two teams. Move quick and carefully; we could be attacked from any angle. Since Professor Tholl and myself have perfect darkvision, we should work together to make use of our heighten senses. We shall be the recon team. Let’s see... I suppose Duncan should also accompany us. I see that he relies on a bow, which will be helpful neutralizing threats afar. Trey, Lotte, and Professor Kromic will act as our vanguard. Go on ahead of us and if there is any heavy resistance, hold them off until the recon team can come assist you. Or eliminate all threats, that’s fine too.”

Sonia moved on over to Duncan, touching her spell book. She placed a hand and leg against each of his hooves and casted Silence on them, ensuring that his footsteps won’t give them away. ”I hope you don’t mind Duncan, but I’ve silenced your hooves. Now you can move stealthily through the tunnels, though I don’t thunk there’s anywhere for you to hide. Still if a threat is near, at least they won’t hear you coming yes?”

@Lonewolf685@Awesomoman64@Silver Carrot@floodtalon@KoL