Morning came quickly at Aegis Academy.

  Sunlight spilled through the dorm windows as students slowly made their way through the corridors. Compared to the chaos of the training arena, the academic wing felt strangely calm.

  Oscar stepped into the classroom with Aster right behind him.

  The room was spacious, with four rows of wooden desks arranged neatly across the floor. Large windows stretched along the wall, overlooking the academy training grounds below. From here, Oscar could see other classes already practicing outside.

  Oscar dropped into a chair near the back of the room and stretched his arms.

  “Finally,” he muttered. “A room where no one is trying to punch me.”

  Aster sat at the desk beside him.

  “Give it some time,” he said. “Clarence or Kakeru will probably throw some punches at us.”

  Across the room, Kakeru suddenly sneezed.

  “Someone must be talking about me.”

  Students slowly filled the classroom.

  Tokiya and Charlotte entered together, continuing a quiet conversation from the hallway.

  Alexander took a seat in the back right corner by the window. He turned and waved.

  “You two missed out on the best spot.”

  Aster smiled.

  “I don’t want to get distracted while in class.”

  Vega sat directly in front of him.

  Kageka slipped into the room almost silently and took a seat near the window.

  Yuki sat calmly toward the center of the classroom, her posture perfectly straight.

  Lillie entered cheerfully.

  “Good morning everybody!”

  Several students greeted her back.

  Elaina followed behind her quietly.

  The mood in the classroom was lighter than it had been the previous day.

  Across the room, Tokiya glanced toward Oscar for a brief moment.

  Their eyes met.

  Neither said anything.

  But the tension was obvious.

  Before either of them could speak, the classroom door opened.

  Clarence walked inside.

  The room went quiet immediately.

  He stepped toward the front of the classroom and placed a small stack of papers on the desk.

  “Sit down.”

  Everyone quickly took their seats.

  Clarence turned to face them.

  “Yesterday’s sparring matches revealed several things.”

  His eyes moved across the class.

  “You all possess impressive cores.”

  He paused.

  “But most of you lack experience.”

  No one argued with that.

  “Today’s lecture will be about what it means to be a Guardian.”

  He raised one finger.

  “A Guardian’s strength isn’t measured by power alone.”

  A second finger.

  “It is measured by discipline.”

  A third finger.

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  “By awareness.”

  A fourth finger.

  “By the ability to protect innocent lives.”

  A fifth finger.

  “And by surviving while doing so.”

  The classroom remained silent.

  Clarence turned and pointed toward the windows overlooking the training grounds.

  “You have now seen two places where you will train.”

  Several students nodded.

  “There will be more as your training continues.”

  His gaze sharpened.

  “But those places are not where you become Guardians.”

  Some students frowned slightly.

  Clarence continued.

  “Aegis Academy trains Guardians to protect the world outside these walls.”

  He turned back toward them.

  “That world is far more dangerous than anything you’ve seen so far.”

  Oscar nodded slightly.

  He’s right. The corrupted lands are far more dangerous than anything here.

  Clarence crossed his arms.

  “Today’s lesson will be simple.”

  The class waited.

  “You will learn how to fight without relying on your cores.”

  The reaction was immediate.

  “WHAT?”

  Kakeru jumped to his feet.

  “Our core is how we fight!”

  Several students nodded.

  “Yeah!”

  Clarence sighed.

  “That mindset is the problem.”

  The classroom froze.

  “What will you do if your core becomes unstable?”

  No one answered.

  “What if you run out of energy?”

  The weight of his words settled over the room.

  Clarence turned toward the door.

  “Let’s go.”

  The students stood and followed him immediately.

  Aster leaned toward Oscar as they walked.

  “There was your five minutes of peace.”

  Oscar shrugged.

  “That’s what makes it interesting.”

  The class followed Clarence toward the training grounds.

  The morning sun had fully risen now, casting long shadows across the academy fields.

  They approached a smaller training building near the edge of the grounds.

  Clarence stopped and turned toward them.

  “This is where you will train today.”

  He pointed toward two changing rooms.

  “Go change and meet me in the arena.”

  The boys went to the left room while the girls entered the one on the right.

  Inside the boys’ room, Aster leaned toward Oscar.

  “What do you think we’re doing?”

  Oscar shrugged.

  “No idea,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting this.”

  Vega finished changing quickly and stepped past them.

  “It’s swordsmanship.”

  Everyone turned toward him.

  “How do you know?” Aster asked.

  Vega tightened the strap on his glove.

  “How else would we learn to fight without our cores?”

  He walked out of the room.

  Alexander laughed.

  “Well, that answers that.”

  He picked up his training clothes.

  “Let’s give it our best.”

  The rest of the group nodded.

  Meanwhile, in the girls’ changing room, the conversation was different.

  “Elaina,” one of the girls asked, “have you ever fought with a blade before?”

  Elaina turned toward them calmly.

  “Only when I was younger,” she said.

  She paused slightly.

  “But I’ve never really needed to use one.”

  The other girls blinked in surprise.

  “Wait… really?”

  Elaina finished adjusting her uniform.

  “My core handles most situations,” she said simply.

  The girls exchanged looks.

  “You’re way more normal than we expected.”

  Elaina paused for a moment.

  This feeling…

  It was strangely unfamiliar.

  Lillie suddenly clapped her hands.

  “Alright! Let’s hurry up and kick those boys’ asses!”

  The girls laughed.

  “YEAH!”

  Soon the class gathered in the center of the training arena.

  Behind Clarence stood a rack filled with wooden training weapons.

  Swords.

  Spears.

  Practice bows.

  Wooden staffs.

  Clarence gestured toward them.

  “Choose one.”

  The students hesitated.

  Then they slowly stepped forward and selected their weapons.

  Oscar approached Clarence.

  “Is it alright if I fight with my hands?”

  Clarence nodded.

  “As long as you don’t activate your core, you can fight however you want.”

  Aster picked up a wooden staff.

  “I have absolutely no idea how to use this thing.”

  Across the field, Tokiya selected a spear.

  Peter lifted a massive practice hammer as if it weighed nothing.

  Kageka chose two wooden daggers.

  Alexander, Vega, and Elaina each selected basic wooden swords.

  Once everyone had armed themselves, Clarence waved them forward.

  “Today we begin with the basics.”

  “Pair up.”

  He pointed toward two students.

  “Except for you two.”

  The class turned.

  “Vega,” Clarence said.

  “You will spar Oscar.”

  Vega noticed that Oscar wasn’t holding a weapon.

  “Understood.”

  Oscar grinned slightly.

  Clarence stepped backward.

  Let’s see how the two successors of our greatest Guardians fare against each other.

  Excitement spread across the class.

  The other students quickly moved aside, clearing the arena.

  Oscar and Vega stepped forward.

  They stood several meters apart.

  Both took their stances.

  Clarence raised his hand.

  “No cores.”

  He lowered it.

  “Begin.”

  The two launched forward across the training field.

  Wood and fists were about to decide which prodigy truly deserved their reputation.