"Alright class, today we're going be learning the basics on how to kill magical beasts. Like before, you will be in the same group of four, and I want you guys to demonstrate your understanding of what I've been teaching you," Vivian announced.
"Yes!"
"Finally!"
This aspect of Vivian's class was one of the reasons why most of the students attending it applied for it. Although battling against magical beasts wasn't the main focus and the class was more about teamwork and the art of war
"We're together again it seems," Francis turned to the students sitting at the table with him with a large smile. After that exercise earlier in the semester, the instructor had decided to restructure the classroom so that everyone sat next to those with whom they were teamed.
So at their table were Francis, Jess, Cormier, and Bell.
Vivian led them all out of the classroom and down a narrow corridor that Bell hadn't been through before.
As they walked deeper, the air changed. It was cooler and faintly metallic.
One of the girls uttered, "Do you smell that muskiness?"
A few students near her nodded in agreement.
Once they reached the double doors at the end of the corridor, Vivian pushed them open, revealing the room on the other side. The crowd of students was immediately drawn to a hush.
Lined up all the walls were dozens of cages of varying sizes.
Inside the cages were the magical beasts that they were going to be facing off against. The beasts were shifting around, hissing, roaring, or simply watching the humans in silence.
Most of them shared a resemblance to ordinary animals that you could find at a zoo: a fox, a boar, a hawk. But each of them had features that reminded you that they were indeed not ordinary.
A fox with translucent, ember-lit tails.
A boar with stone plates fused into its hide.
A hawk whose feathers ended in razor-thin crystal.
A three-headed chicken the size of a lion.
Jess, the team's archer with light pink hair styled in soft voluminous curls, whispered while leaning forward, "Whoa…"
Francis, with pale gray hair that reached his shoulder, sharp teal eyes with a slight upward tilt, and pale skin, let out a low breath. "Oh yeah. This is way better than the images in our textbooks."
He looked like he was staring at an assortment of beautiful women he was going to court.
Silent, Bell's eyes moved from cage to cage. With really meaning to, he was already recalling every last detail he knew about these beasts from the studies he had done. He was also analyzing the personal details of each creature before him, such as its current temperament, size, and whether it was pressing its head against the bar, ready to pounce, or staying back.
"I've assigned a beast to your team based on what I think you'll be able to handle the best. Let's start with what we're comfortable with, then the next time we do this, I'll pick harder ones."
Vivian called up the first group of four, which was Team 1. She was going to go in order by the number.
"Pay attention class. You can learn by watching your classmates as well. Not only what they did right, but also their mistakes."
Team 1 moved stiffly, trying not to look intimidated as Vivian stopped them in front of a waist-high cage. Inside, a creature that looked like an oversized raccoon paced in tight circles, its fur threaded with faintly glowing veins.
They were intimidated by the creature, but they were also excited.
This would be their first time fighting a magical beast. Some classes in their first year did let the students get hands-on experience against magical beasts, but those classes were usually pretty competitive to get into.
The second year was when they had more access to an assortment of classes that could provide them the opportunity they'd be looking for.
Jess grimaced and uttered, "That ugly thing looks harmless. Which means it's definitely not."
Francis nodded, "Yep. Rule one of magical beasts. If they look cute, they will want to kill you."
Cormier, the tall man with broad shoulders, a dark honey complexion, and scars all over his back, front, arms, and face, nodded silently.
Bell glanced at the three, then back to the cage that was about to be opened at any moment.
"It's a Hexmink Raccoon," he said. "See the glow under the fur? Their beast energy's saturation is high. It'll discharge if cornered."
Jess blinked and asked in awe, "You just know that?"
'He's soooo hot. And soooo smart.'
Bell shrugged, "Read about them before."
He had gotten more comfortable with these three after being around them all the time during this class. He didn't consider them friends exactly, but they were acquaintances.
Turning his body fully towards Bell, eyes bright, Francis praised, "Of course he does. He's a genius."
The first team hesitated, discussing in low voices about positioning.
One of them, who was trying to get a better view of the beast, stepped too close to the bars.
"Too close," Bell muttered under his breath.
As if on cue, the Hexmink Raccoon lunged, slamming into the cage. Blue sparks crackled against the bars. The student stumbled back with a yelp.
Jess sucked in a breath, "Bell called it."
Francis grinned, not even trying to hide the admiration he had for his teammate, the unofficial de facto leader of Team 3. "He always does."
Cormier shifted his weight, arms crossed.
"They're panicking," he said quietly. His first words of the day.
It was natural. No matter how excited someone is, facing danger that they'd never experienced before is still scary. Fighting other humans, that was something you had a reference for. A magical beast, you have no point of reference.
Barking an order to the team, Vivian helped them regather themself and allowed them to reset their nerves.
As Team 1 prepared to start as soon as Vivian opened the cage, Francis leaned closer to Bell and asked, "So, what's the kill method on that thing?"
"It's rather anticlimactic. Blunt trauma to the skull," Bell replied. "Or overload it with energy and let it burn itself out."
Jess stared at him. 'He says that it's obvious. He's soooo cool. Should I also try and be more nonchalant like him? Would that make me seem more attractive?'
Bell could sense her intense gaze filled with heat and ignored it.
She then laughed under her breath and said, "I swear, we won the lottery the day that we were grouped with you."
It almost felt like cheating the class, even though it was totally legit.
Francis nodded enthusiastically. "Same. I just show up and listen to the lectures, and whenever we have practical tests, boom… perfect score."
Thanks to Bell.
Cormier said nothing, but his eyes flicked to Bell with quiet agreement.
'They're happy now, but in a few weeks when it's time for individual exams, they'd better be prepared not to have my help then.'
Team 1 succeeded in killing the Hexmink Raccoon, though it was quite messy.
Their combat uniforms were stained with purple blood, and they looked sticky.
Vivian tore into their mistakes before praising them on what they did right.
As they were dismissed, Jess rolled her shoulders, exhaling. "Alright. After watching that, I feel way better knowing Bell's on our team."
Francis pointed at Bell like it was a settled fact.
"Yeah. We just do whatever Bell says. That's the strategy."
Bell opened his mouth to say something, then stopped. He looked back at the cages, at the creatures watching with intelligent, alien eyes.
And as Vivian called the next group forward, it was clear all three were all thinking the same thing: whatever was waiting for them in those cages, Bell would make sure they walked out with perfect marks — again, like always.
"We are after them."
* * *
"It's our turn now," Francis said, a little nervous but mostly excited as his grip on his sword tightened.
"Team 3, come up," Vivian's voice cut through the lingering murmurs that came whenever Bell was on the stage.
He was always a popular name at the academy, but ever since the start of the semester, a combination of his looks, his stoicness, his lack of responses and desire to befriend people, and his display of talent had made him into a celebrity of sorts.
Everyone knew his name, but now, everyone was intrigued by him. Were fans of him. And wanted to become his friend badly.
In the center of the stage, Francis cracked his neck and rolled his shoulders as he tried to get loose.
Jess adjusted the strap of her quiver and, exhaling slowly through her nose, trying to regulate her heartbeat.
Cormier said nothing like usual. Shield in hand, he simply stepped into place with the steady calm of someone who'd been in the face of danger his entire life — which could be seen on the scars that decorated his body.
Bell was the last to rise up to the stage.
He felt as it as he got closer. There was this pressure that was coming from the beasts. It felt like the air around them was distorted. Most students, if not all of them, didn't notice. To them, they just saw strong beasts but that's probably because they weren't as powerful as Bell.
Whether it was a result of the powers given to him by Diana's vampire blood that now flowed through him or just his natural strength, he didn't know.
'Is that their beast energy that I'm feeling?' he wondered.
Vivian stopped before a cage that was only marginally larger than some of the larger cages.
Inside was a beast that resembled a wolf.
Its body was long and lean, ash-gray fur lying flat against powerful muscle. Dark black streaks ran naturally through its coat. Its orange eyes were alert but calm, tracking movement without hostility. Antler-like horns curved back from its skull.
The beast sat there, breathing evenly. Watching.
To anyone else, it looked like another beginner-friendly magical beast — dangerous for students, but manageable.
Bell focused on the horns and the creature's chest.
This was the beast that he had been keeping his eye on the entire time he had been watching Team 1 and Team 2's performance.
He had a feeling that this would be their selected opponent.
This wasn't beginner-level. It was a clear tier above, and only those who were extremely familiar with magical beasts would be able to tell the difference between this beast and another weaker beast that was similar to it in looks but didn't have the dark streaks.
'I didn't expect any different,' he thought.
He didn't look at Vivian as he walked back towards the crowd of students watching from afar. He didn't need to.
He said nothing even though he knew that this was punishment.
Punishment for the crimes he committed against Diana. He knew that Vivian hated him. This was simply her way of getting back at him.
However, Bell would have never guessed the truth.
If he had looked at Vivian in that moment, really really looked at her, he might have noticed that he was wrong. This wasn't punishment. There was a clear absence of anger and resentment in her eyes. Whatever feelings she'd once harbored over the incident with Diana had long since dulled, pushed aside by something far more pressing.
His genius. His skills. His brilliance that shone brightest on the battlefield.
Her thoughts no longer circled around his disgusting past, even though it did cross her mind a few times whenever she thought about Bell.
Her focus was mostly fixed on the present and on the student standing at the center of it rather than the past version of him from a few months ago.
Bell wasn't being punished.
He was being tested.
Ever since she saw his brilliance that was a head, two heads, no multiple heads above the rest of his peers — she'd been watching him with careful and professional eyes, trying to assess whether or not she was correct about him.
Every time she observed, he proved her right.
His decision-making under pressure was as if he couldn't feel it.
The way he adjusted on the fly without hesitation or hesitation becoming visible at the very least — a great trait for a leader as it would lead to less demoralization.
This choice she made on what magical beast Team 3 was going to face wasn't about discipline or resentment; it was about testing Bell's capacity.
It was about finding the limits of his current ability and pressing against them, not to break him, but to see how much farther he could go once he had no choice but to grow.
Because Bell was a prodigy.
Not in the shallow sense most instructors used the word, but in the rare, unsettling way that forced teachers to develop a bias that they could never throw away, even if they understood it was unfair.
A prodigy she hadn't seen since Gerald Hartley.
He learned too fast. Adapted too cleanly. And more importantly, there didn't seem to be a limit to how far he could grow.
That was what interested Vivian now.
If she was going to have a hand in shaping him, then she would do it properly. Carefully to ensure that he didn't break. But ruthlesslly if necessary, so that he didn't remain stagnant. She also needed to make sure that he didn't go back to his old ways and become poison, killing humanity rather than aiding it.
This decision wasn't one that she had made alone, although she would've done it regardless of what the other person thought.
Who was this other person?
Well, the headmistress.
The headmistress had given the order herself. It was subtle and indirect when she brought it up but Vivian didn't miss it: push him.
Test him beyond the standard curriculum of the class. See what happens when the pressure rises.
That decision of the headmistress was the part Vivian didn't understand.
The headmistress despised Bell more openly than anyone else at the academy. There was no warmth in her eyes when she talked about him. No pretense of approval.
And yet this — this was clearly something that would benefit Bell.
Vivian didn't know why the headmistress would sharpen a blade she claimed to hate.
But she followed the order anyway.