Tales of the First World

"Welcome my dear students. For a lot of you today will be the first time we meet. I am the Headmistress of this grand Academy. I am Ms. Eva Sathariel."

"I have come to our assembly to deliver important news."

"A month from now we will be having our annual Carnival. Being one of the school's most important events, I hope that all the participants do well this year."

"When you return to your classes, details of the coming events will be disseminated amongst you."

"Professor Ulrich, you may resume with the assembly." Speaking her last words before leaving the stage with the thought of reaching another meeting in her office, one she prayed no one would discover.

Despite a momentary presence of their headmistress on the stage, the First-years stood in awe throughout her entire time, captivating most and stunning the rest, all of them fell under her allure...with a lot of the seniors remarking on how they were at first star-struck...only for Ulrich's proceedings to bring them back from the same angelic bonds of her charm.

With the professor discussing the coming occurrences of the week, Torren caught Erai's attention, whispering among the silent crowd that he would be visiting Aurelia and her committee before class, hoping that he would relay his detour to Ketsuiko.

Erai nodded with no issue, prompting the now grinning Torren to ask if he could do the same with Reiss.

Twisting Erai's expression so fast that in his silence, he was met with a cold stare towards the presentation.

After the assembly, the students moved to their classes with bell announcing the start of the day

Moving through the corridors of the school, the air was electric with students exchanging cheers and vibrant chatter about the coming event.

"Move to class all of you, or none of you will be alive to see the next month." Dr. Colt pressed the frightened group in a sudden sprint to class.

"Honestly..."

"So, how was your trip?" Vaceris asked Erai while they all got seated.

"..." Staring blankly after hearing her words, her look of annoyance left him uneasy

"...alright, but it was more Torren's trip...he needed help and asked me to join him."

"Torren huh, why would you need to go on a Quest?"

"Ah..."

"Because I wanted to get some experience since Erai had already been on a few, it made sense to have him on my side" Torren entered, coming to Erai's rescue.

'Good...I couldn't come up with anything on the fly.'

"Then the whole lot of you won't mind being side by side during detention unless Mr. Ketsuiko you would like to inform the rest of the class to quiet down." Reiss appeared as if from nowhere with not a single one of them having heard the sound of his entrance.

"To be fair sir, we made it to class on time this time."

"Yes. And next time you might manage to be seated at your desk without creating a ruckus, now please seat yourself. Now! Mr. Sujing."

Swallowing whatever words he had to confront the crimson-eyed professor, he ultimately chose to seat himself as everyone else quieted down.

Reiss began his class, running through the first few hours of the day with every few minutes, taking a sharp turn to his class noting the excitable at best and restless at worst. Realizing the way his class had seemed unusually unruly.

'Sigh…All she had to do was make the announcement.'

Motioning with a stick of chalk to the clock hung on the wall, and reminding them only to wait until after the recess before they may have their intrigue answered.

The entire group lit up with smiles of excitement…and with that little piece, he managed to once again hold their attention.

Several hours and a well-sought recess for the exhausted class passed before they returned to class.

"Surprisingly, you're all here. Look, it's just as the Headmistress said. A month from now our school will be hosting one of the most prestigious events for the youngest students entering the Academy."

"Okay but what exactly are we supposed to look for?" A skeptical tone resounded from Stephen's mouth surprising his classmates who could barely contain their excitement.

"Hmm, seems like there is always a weird one in every class." Reiss said with a dismissive tone.

"What? You–"

"As I was saying. The event will take place over three days, with the challenges being decided at random and during the festivities so no you will not know what to expect until it's time for you to perform."

Removing his Notebook from his side-bag, Reiss began paging through it before stopping at his desired page as he gave a quick nod before a projection appeared from his book displaying a window of graphics text that filled the room, taking away the breath of the students that stood in awe.

"This is the Carnival. The first opportunity all of you get to strut your stuff as students of the Academy, and a way of introducing the people of Melodoria to their future Guardians."

"So, as my class, if you intend on participating, you better aim for the top, because this will be your debut."

The lights of the room turn back on as the projections recede. Turning back to his students, Reiss found them to be unexpectedly quiet, though their gleaming expressions still shone strong. Knowing exactly what they were asking, he answered them with his trademark grin.

"If you're wondering what it's going to take to enter the event, well you kids still have a ways to go, though I will say that you're a lot further than most, take a look." Gesturing against his Notebook, he sent an update to all the students Notebooks. Prompting them to take a look,

"So for your class to be considered as entrants for the Carnival, you'll have to earn two thousand points. Points for a class are the aggregate of all the points earned by each student through notable achievements, which meant doing well in class, same with your club activities will earn a student a decent amount….but."

Catching their attention with his sudden pause, Reiss' gaze flickering between his problem children before letting out a slight chuckle as he continued:

"The best way to gain to points is through exemplary behavior that demonstrates participation in Guardian and Guardian-like activities–"

"By that, you mean like battles between students and taking on Quests?" Ketsuiko voiced his opinion with an inquisitive expression.

"Well yes, that is true. I mean, I was going to say that, but sure, why don't you take over since you seem so knowledgeable Mr. Ketsuiko–" Reiss said all the while pouting in annoyance.

"Not a problem sir. From how the Professor's glare was hovering over you guys, I had a feeling that it had something to do with your recent...eh exploits. Having taken a look at the update we received on our Notebooks confirmed it."

Trinity Cross Academy. Class 1F Point Score: First Quarter.

Academy Activities.

Class vs Class Combat Challenge: 100 pts.

Shynerai Astrapordt Quest Record(x3): 750 pts.

Torren Sujing Quest Record(x1): 250 pts.

Club Activities: Club activities have not reached point qualification.

Torren Sujing Music Club: 0pts.

Tersia Lamiastell Machine Lab Club: 0pts.

Sergei Performing Arts Club: 0pts.

Academic Record.

Vaceris Ieollavard Astembridge: 90 pts.

Ketsuiko: 98 pts.

Stephen Markholdz: 90 pts.

"Looking at this, I knew that our battle with 1A would pay off. That's why...we are going with what works." Ketsuiko took over for Reiss with a certainty that left him hanging for a bit as he watched the group continue.

"And what would that be?" Vaceris asked.

"It's as Professor Reiss said, Guardian-like activities. In fact, you could say that the groundwork has already been laid. Right now, we have a little before we are ready to go, that's a bonus for us because it means we can dedicate a lot more time to training for the Carnival."

The group's focus remained intently on Ketsu's words.

"So, what's the plan, are some of us going to start battling other classes with the rest of us taking Quest?" Stephen wondered, posing the question to Ketsu.

"You're exactly right. Or to be more specific, we are forming a pincer attack. All of us will take on a task simultaneously, allowing us to score all the points we need at once." punctuating his intent with a raised clenched fist.

"That means, two Quest and one battle should be enough to get us what we need. I'm sending everyone the setup for the schedule we'll be looking at."

"Tersia, Vaceris and Stephen will be taking on Class 1C in a battle at the end of the week."

"Shynerai, Torren and Sergei will be completing a Quest and I will be completing a Quest as well. I'll make sure everyone gets the details for each of their tasks, so for now just make sure you're ready."

"You've been planning this for a while haven't you, that's why you were so willing to let Erai take on Raon?" The class' excitement fell to a calm at the sound of Vaceris' words.

"It's alright, right now, his decision ended up helping us out. Ketsu knew what he was doing, he wanted to see what I could do, isn't that right?" Erai assured her.

"He's right, and so are you. I knew that Shynerai would take on the challenge, and I knew he would come up on top, but if you did not, I still needed to see how far I could push. Look around you, I have seen the limits of every one of them, and I've seen them push hard against them.

"If I want to get the best out of everyone then I cannot afford unknown elements…but that was before your fight." Ketsu smiled as he said so, standing beside Erai with his arm resting on his shoulder.

Vaceris was staring daggers at Ketsu before the bell for the next class began tolling. Reiss, having composed himself from being left in the cold, called them to order so they may prepare for their next class.

Taking the chance to avoid her piercing gaze, the captain took off in a cheer prompting the class to continue discussing his plan after class:

"Don't worry, Vaceris, I have no intention of having one of you lose, that's my duty as your class captain. Now get on to your next class, we will finish the plan later today. I'll be waiting in our homeroom class."

Left with quite a bit to think about, everyone began moving to their Guardian classes for the day. As the vermillion sky lit up by the setting sun took shape, the last of the day's classes concluded, with the students slowly clearing out from the courtyard while Class 1F once again met up in their homeroom.

Torren and Erai met with Stephen and Sergei as they were stepping into their class.

To their surprise, being tossed a drink by Stephen from the many that filled his grasp, the usually silent figure remarked that he thought they would like some snacks.

The pair thanked him energetically, mostly inspired by his surprising act of kindness, but as the group reached for the door, the sound of an argument greeted them through it.

Not sure of what was going on, they entered with a sense of morbid curiosity.

"Look I can follow the idea of a pincer attack, I can even understand why you worked to set up a battle between our class and another, but what I don't understand is why you would put Stephen with me and Tersia?"

"Hmmm....so you're saying you won't need any help?"

"Well, I'm pretty sure Tersia and I can handle it."

"I see, well if it were any other case, my faith would rest firmly, but this isn't solely about having faith, it's about guarantee. Working as individuals you and Stephen are without a doubt some of the most capable people I've met, but we are going to have to learn to work as a team if we want to multiply our efforts."

"It's not about whether I trust you to handle it, it's about being able to put your differences aside for a common goal. I wouldn't choose to fight you if I didn't trust you to win."

"Sigh. Fine…but he shouldn't think for a second that I've forgotten what he did to the class."

"I don't expect you to, nor do I want any sort of special treatment from your Ketsu." Stephen spoke up as he entered the classroom.

"Oh, you guys are finally here. And you brought snacks too, thank you Sergei." Ketsuiko's attention moved to the snack-bearing classmate while Stephen continued.

"I did what I did because I believed it was the best choice, whether I was right or wrong, that's something I have to deal with, consequences and all." At this point he was close enough that he stood over her with a stern sterling glare.

"Trust isn't easily re-forged. Know that you're going to have to commit to the task before things can be the same–but if you do, then…I think I can work with you I guess…for the good of the class I mean."

"Aww, I knew you had a soft side, Vaceris." Tersia teased her as her wrathful nature had calmed.