"Good grief..." Clipboard muttered, shuffling into the bleachers behind us, a tablet in his hands.

  Elysia... Stella and Sparrow disappeared in a flash, and I could feel the barrier dome solidifying around them, sealing off any outside noise or distractions.

  "Finally." a familiar sighed, behind me and watching as they faced off. I turned in surprise. She was practically hanging over the railing on an elevated platform between the bleachers.

  She was blonde with a blue domino mask, dressed in a tuxedo. This time, she had her hair done up in a side-ponytail, and her domino mask had intricate golden filigree. A blue rose adorned her hair, matching the accents of the mask and the black tux.

  "Ace?" I asked in surprise, standing up to face her.

  "Hey Luxie," she said, smiling, hanging with torso draped over the railing. "The one and only. Ace of Diamonds!"

  Ace of Diamonds?

  That was the first time she hadn't introduced herself as 'Ace' alone.

  "Diamonds...?" I muttered blankly.

  She winked "Yup. That's right. That's the name I go by, but it's too stuffy. Kinda. So, I'm just Ace here."

  "Huh..."

  Ace's team was the strongest I'd seen so far in the freshman class. She'd given me a mysterious and playful vibe in her interactions with me, and even in her speech, but now it felt more... grounded. She seemed a bit less aloof. Her smile was a lot more relaxed than the last few times I'd seen her.

  "Anywho, Sparrow there's been itching to fight Elysia since Tesseract's training exercise," Ace said. "And it was super annoying trying to calm her down. So this'll be nice to watch. Sparrow's a real handful when she's like this, ya know?"

  I shivered, thinking back to the terrifying, feral expression Sparrow had made at Elysia a few days ago.

  I couldn't help but feel sorry for whoever was on the receiving end of that gaze. Even if Elysia was a match for her, that kind of intensity would make anyone nervous.

  Ace stretched out her limbs, taking in a deep breath and sighing as she let it out and draped herself over the rail again, looking a bit tired.

  "So I'm really happy she finally gets to spar Elysia. She wouldn't shut up about it," she sighed.

  "Y-you call that a spar?!" a boy's voice exclaimed.

  "Hmm?"

  We turned around to face a small group of students that were standing behind us, having heard our conversation.

  I blinked at the group.

  A girl with a neon rainbow ponytail, the same color scheme as her uniform.

  A Mediterranean girl with bright green waist-length hair and a green and white ensemble.

  My eyes landed on a girl who looked like a stereotypical corporate secretary. Except, she looked like a comically de-aged version of one. She had glasses that glowed a faint purple and had neatly cut straight black hair tied into a high ponytail, and she wore a formal white blouse and black pencil skirt combo.

  Clipboard gawked at the spectacle unfolding in front of us next to her, his eyes wide and jaw slack.

  The corporate girl looked on impassively, but she seemed interested in the brawl breaking out in the arena. She took notes on her notepad with a mechanical pencil. "That was a rather intense opening attack. It seems Raging Sparrow has been training hard. She is quite strong, but so is her opponent," she muttered to herself.

  I blinked in surprise, realizing who this was.

  "Spreadsheet...?"

  She looked at me with a curious, yet impassive expression. "Yes?"

  She glanced at Ace, who gave her a wave from her dangling position before she turned to give me a slight nod.

  "Hello. I do not believe we have met in person yet, have we?" she said. "I am Spreadsheet, a member of the Office Interns trio. You must be Lux?"

  She had a soft, almost monotone voice, which sounded rather strange coming from her.

  "I'm surprised you know my name," I replied, smiling sheepishly.

  She nodded. "It is my duty to gather and organize data on every cadet, especially those with impressive showings in orientation and training exercises. You are one such cadet. As are the other students brought in through emergency contracts. And, of course, Elysia. You all are impressive, especially given your lack of formal training and education."

  She spoke like she was a computer reading out of a textbook.

  "Oh... well... thank you. I think," I muttered. "You're impressive too. Your team doesn't like to use your full transformations, right?"

  Spreadsheet nodded. "We have a very versatile and unique set of abilities, and we have trained hard to master them. Our goal is to become a highly sought after, efficient support unit. So we focus more on developing skills outside our transformations. I am very pleased to meet you, and I look forward to working with you in the future."

  She spoke very matter-of-factly.

  "Oh, thank you. I appreciate it."

  The other girl with a neon ponytail and rainbow outfit was practically gawking. "Man, Elysia took me out in a couple of seconds and she's on the back foot?" she exclaimed, watching the brawl below us. "And she was using a lot of defensive and enhancement spells! I thought she was supposed to be a cold type!"

  "She's an all-rounder. Her magic is extremely adaptable. It allows for a wide range of offensive, defensive, and supportive capabilities," Clipboard explained. He was muttering under his breath, too quietly to make out, as he observed Elysia and Raging drop their weapons to take up fancy-looking martial arts stances.

  "Wait. You were the girl in the training exercise. The one who was an absolute jackass about me having an emergency contract," I spoke, staring at Rainbow Girl.

  She turned to me and stuck her tongue out. "Neo Dymium, don't wear it out."

  I stared at her, confused, before realizing that was her name.

  She gave me a cheeky smirk.

  "Anyways," she continued. "Sorry about that, by the way. You proved yourself pretty good, I guess."

  She glanced at the fight, wincing as a blast of frost slammed Raging Sparrow into a cliff face, and she immediately bust out of the icy prison. Neo let out a whistle. "Those two have to at least be Class 5. That's some insane Arts weaving!"

  Spreadsheet nodded in agreement, jotting down more notes in her notepad.

  "Yes, that would make sense given their physical skills alone."

  I looked down at the fight below us and watched them blur across the field in a mesmerizing back and forth exchange of kicks, punches, elbows, and knees. For some reason, it was giving me a nagging sense of deja vu...

  A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  The two fighters blurred from one end of the field to the other, trading hits in a dazzling dance of strikes and blocks as they tore up the terrain.

  "H-how..." I heard Verne say over by Instructor Strike. "T-those are real, right?"

  "Huh?" Azraq asked.

  "There are some scary folks in this year's class, huh?" Nivalis mused. "I'm gonna have to keep my guard up."

  "Wait... what do you mean?" I asked.

  "Raging Sparrows has insane control over her mana, even if her style is pretty raw and crude. It's honestly quite amazing how much force and power she manages to put behind each hit. It's no wonder she has such high ratings as a close-range combatant," Clipboard observed.

  "Ratings?"

  Clipboard looked up at me. "Knights and Pioneers who are registered with the Heroes' Guild are rated periodically on a scale of 1 to 10 based on a variety of factors. Their overall magical aptitude, the amount of mana they have access to, and the quality and potency of the spells they use. Some choose to opt out of registration or formal ratings, but it's a requirement for most teams and formal commission opportunities within the Guild. Unregistered heroes and villains alike who make enough of a splash will sometimes be given an unofficial rating by the Guild or various other institutions."

  "Ah... so her details are publicly available?"

  "Indeed," Spreadsheet answered. "Sparrow's last assessment two years ago had her rated at Class 3, but she has physically developed since. Her ratings were already a 5 out of 10, which put her firmly in the middle of the road for adult knights as a barely pubescent teenager. But I dare say she may be the most dangerous close-range specialist in our cohort. Her speed and precision are truly awe-inspiring."

  "That was over a year ago, right? If she's improved this much..." Clipboard mused.

  "She'd be a Class 5. Maybe even a 6, depending," Nivalis said.

  "Elysia seems to be holding her own, though," Ace said, watching as they both threw a punch and clashed, the air between them exploding out. "And you're close. All three of us actively train at parity with our state's adults. Sparrow's the best of us at one-on-one combat."

  "You think they're a Class 5, then?"

  "Maybe," Clipboard muttered.

  Spreadsheet nodded.

  "Probably. They're both strong, that's for sure."

  "I see," I muttered.

  I looked back over at the battlefield to see Elysia crackle with magic as her speed shot up, her body practically a blur as she moved faster than the eye could follow. She'd activated Lightning Overdrive at some point, but Sparrow seemed to be keeping pace with her. The ground was starting to freeze around the edges of their brawl, and Sparrow's attacks were leaving behind shockwaves that split the terrain.

  "Hmmm...."

  A deep rumbling in Strike's throat broke through my thoughts. He was stroking his chin in deep thought. He'd stopped eating his popcorn, his gaze fixed intently at Elysia and Sparrow's fight.

  I stared at him curiously, and noticed that Ace's attention had drifted to him too.

  "S-Something wrong sir?" Azraq asked, noticing the sudden shift in his mood. Even Verne and Nivalis stopped chatting with each other, glancing over curiously.

  He stared quietly as he put his popcorn down, watching as Elysia's aura flared a brilliant blue, her speed and agility reaching an incredible peak.

  Strike blinked, before looking back at us with a smile. "Oh! Nothing to it, kids. I was reminded of a cherished cohort of past students. It was so nostalgic that it brought me right back."

  He picked his popcorn bucket up, popping another piece in his mouth and chewing loudly.

  "Ooohh. You're really, really old, huh?" Screen Dream said, smiling playfully.

  "Screen Dream!" Aurora scolded.

  Instructor Strike chuckled. "No, no. It's okay, Miss Aurora. I know how old I am. And yes, you can say I'm no spring chicken! But that's what I love about being an instructor here, I suppose. There are so many bright kids, all from different walks of life."

  His gaze drifted to Elysia and Raging Sparrow. "And that's what makes you special, isn't it? Each and every one of you are unique and amazing in your own ways!"

  I followed his gaze, my eyes widening.

  Raging Sparrow tackled Elysia out of the air, her wings arching back as she grappled my sister in mid-air and pounded fist after fist into her ribs. Sparrow shot forward like a missile, the shockwave rippling outward in a cone and shattering the frozen landscape in front of her as she slammed Elysia deep into the ground, sending cracks rippling through the ground.

  "Ah!" Azraq gasped. "That's so brutal! How is she still standing?!"

  "Is Elysia alright? I-is this normal?" Luna Noirette whispered, clutching onto Nivaliis's arm.

  Nivalis whistled. "Normal? Not really. Most of the fights in our year haven't been like that. It's pretty rare for someone to go that hard at the beginning of the year, but Elysia seems fine."

  "Sh-she's fine, Luna. Look at her. If anything she looks pissed off," Aurora said, her eyes wide as Elysia kicked up and reversed the position, her eyes sharp and cold. Elysia was clutching onto her ribs with one arm as Raging Sparrow bucked up and broke free. She was grinning, a gleeful and wild look in her eye as she wiped blood from her forehead and spat onto the ground.

  "Frozen Void: Expansion!" Elysia roared.

  The temperature in the entire arena dropped, ice forming around her and freezing the ground around the two of them. Raging Sparrow's footing was thrown off, her face twisting as Elysia leapt forward.

  "Ice Pillar!" Elysia roared, a pillar of ice shooting up beneath her.

  Raging Sparrow tried to fly out of the way, but the expanding ice slammed her into the ceiling with a thud. Her wings beat as she struggled to orient herself in her fall, her aura glowing a brilliant red as the steam from the contact of their magic billowed out and blinded our vision.

  Strike sighed. "Great Scott! I will have to lecture these two on proper use of school facilities..."

  We winced as we heard another loud, resounding crash and watched as a blast of hot wind and a shockwave rushed outward from where Elysia and Sparrow were.

  "Uh..." I started, but the words died on my tongue. "That was..."

  "Yeah. That was... intense. I think they're legitimately throwing with bad intentions. This stopped being a normal spar a while ago," Nivalis explained.

  Strike stood up, placing his popcorn down.

  I stared at the two girls, who had just managed to regain their footing and were staring daggers at each other. Raging Sparrow's aura had turned a brilliant, violent red as the ground around her started to steam and crack. Elysia's eyes had narrowed into slits, her aura was a blindingly bright blue as her body tensed and her arms crackled with energy. I could sense their magical presences from here. They were preparing for their final attacks.

  They looked at each other with mutual, murderous intent, their bodies coiled to spring, their eyes burning with anger.

  Then, their bodies shot forward in a blur. I could barely cry out in concern and alarm as a greatsword rapidly formed in Elysia's hands. It glowed a brilliant blue and white, crackling with energy and frost.

  "Off I go then. Be back in a Kaleidoscope minute!" Strike said cheerfully.

  I stared at him, confused.

  Before I could say anything, Strike suddenly crackled with a golden shroud of energy and blurred in front of me. Then he disappeared, a gust of wind and a rush of air hitting me in the face as I heard the sound of cracking glass.

  "Rime Breaker!"

  "Apocalypse!"

  The air itself shook, the world around the two combatants seemed to warp and distort as the ground below them exploded outward in a shockwave. My vision was filled with steam and ice. It looked like the whole arena was engulfed in an explosion of ice and fire. The air was filled with a roaring sound of rushing wind as a cloud of dust, dirt, and debris flew upwards.

  "Holy... that was insane," Azraq said in a hushed voice.

  "It was a lot of mana. That's for sure," Clipboard muttered.

  I stared blankly as a small shockwave hit me, knocking the wind from my lungs. A huge gust of hot air blew past me as I saw a flash of light. It was followed by a thunderous boom that echoed across the field, sending shivers through me.

  And then, as the smoke cleared and the dust settled, there stood a single man in a narrow stance, his arms extended in an exaggerated narrow pose as he stood between the two girls.

  Elysia and Raging Sparrow both stared in amazement, their eyes wide and mouths hanging open. I couldn't help but be dumbstruck myself.

  "Is... is he T-posing...?" Luna muttered in disbelief.

  "T-posing?" Nivalis asked.

  "Is it some sort of martial arts thing?" Clipboard asked, confused.

  "No," she answered quietly. "Uhhh.... it's like... standing in a T shape. It's an internet thing," Luna said, her cheeks turning red as everyone stared at her.

  "Anyways. Goodness gracious, you two!" Strike beamed from across the field. "That's enough! Good fight. I'll let this slide for now. But no need to take it so seriously, you're not trying to kill each other here."

  The two of them stared blankly at strike for a second, before scowling simultaneously, glaring at him.

  "Stay out of this!" Sparrow shouted. "This is our fight!"

  "Old man....!" Elysia whined.

  "Old...!" Strike gasped, placing one hand on his chest in an exaggerated gesture. "Listen here, young lady! I'll let you off with a warning since I'm so nice, but I am the primary combat instructor here. I will not stand idly by while you fight like a couple of rabid dogs in MY arena."

  "But Uncle Strike..." Elysia protested. "We aren't..."

  Strike gave Elysia a sharp glare. "I'm your instructor, not your uncle here, Miss Elysia," he stated firmly. "You've both already pushed the limits of my patience. So no more nonsense, okay?"

  "Uncle Strike?" the girl in the green and white exotic dress finally asked, staring blankly at the giant.

  What was her name... Ves... Vesper? Right. Vesper Nightshade.

  Vesper stared in disbelief as Instructor Strike gave Elysia and Sparrow a firm glare, a look that would have sent me quivering in fear.

  "Oh. Uh..." I said, trailing off.

  That was awkward. It just occurred to me that Stella was probably familiar with the Star-Sprangled Thunderstrike.

  "I don't wanna hear another word," Strike said, ignoring the comment. "Get cleaned up. The fight is over, and the rest of us have more matches to see."

  "Hey, old man! I said this was our fight!" Sparrow shouted.

  Strike frowned, but before he could respond, Raging Sparrow lunged forward at Elysia. She came in swinging, aiming a punch right at Stella's face, but Instructor Strike just looked at her lazily.

  Suddenly he was by her side, holding her in the air by the back of her breastplate with one arm. She squirmed and kicked as Elysia looked at the two of them, bewildered.

  "Why I oughta..." Sparrow hissed, flailing her arms.

  "Goodness!" Strike muttered out loud. "I see I have my work cut out for me with this year."