New Training

The Commander dismissed the students after that after that and everyone was free to go to the cafeteria for breakfast.

As usual, chatter among the students filled the hallway as they made their way out. Some were of excitement over the provided beast gear, some were of fear regarding the dungeon and others were curiosity.

Ian falls in the latter category as he too was curious about these humans who can shapeshift. Of course, there were a variety of shapeshifting quirks but the Commander was specific about beasts which was unusual since humans are not known to shapeshift into beasts.

"Hey, Ian," a soft voice called and Ian looked up to see Jake beside him in front of the cafeteria door.

"Hey," Ian said curtly, unsure of what next to say.

"Wanna eat?" Jake asked.

Ian stared at him in confusion for a few seconds, causing Jake to let out a nervous laugh. "That's a stupid question."

Ian just shrugged as he made his way to the door.

"I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable," Jake apologized following after him. "I was just trying to make small talk.

"You didn't make me uncomfortable," Ian said as he pushed the door open. "I'm just not good at small talk."

"Oh....." Jake managed to say before they walked in.

The cafeteria was well arranged all blue, including the walls, ceiling, tables and chairs. It matched with the students who seem to have managed to stay orderly in the cafeteria. There was the usual noise from their chatters, but there was nothing else.

"Oh, who do we have here?" a guy yelled staring at them from his table on the opposite end. "If it isn't the tall retard. How have you been, fake?"

Ian thought he was the one being referred to but immediately looked over to Jake when the word 'tall' was mentioned. Jake looked away nervously as he made his way to the woman at the counter with his tray. He didn't wait for Ian this time.

Hey! You dare walk away from me?!" the guy yelled as his expression changed. "You just wait until I'm done eating!"

"Why is he calling you a fake?" Ian asked as he stood behind him with his tray.n

"It's a long story," Jake smiled. "But they simply replaced the J in my name with an F."

"That's some lame-ass naming sense," Ian said. "If they're so bad at trash-talking, then why do you let them talk to you like that?"

"Obviously because he's stronger," Jake replied immediately with an expression that said 'you should already know'. "And I'm no good at trash-talking either."

Ian stared at him for a few seconds before sighing. "If you can't fight them with your fists then you can always use your mouth," Ian said. "Of course, they will still whoop your ass, but they won't enjoy it as much as they do when you cower in fear."

"Huh?" Jake said. "But...."c

"I'm not asking you to provoke them," Ian said. "Do everything you can to avoid getting hit. But if you are gonna get hit anyway, at least reduce the satisfaction for them. They prey on the weak because they enjoyed the fear we show them."

"I see," Jake said as he made way in the line for Ian to take his food after he took his.

"I won't help you if you get in trouble," Ian said calmly as he collected his food. "As I said, avoid getting hit at all costs. That means I would not do anything that would make me a target."

"I know," Jake laughed nervously again. "Thanks."

"I didn't do anything to earn a thanks from you," Ian shrugged as he got his food and made his way to a table where Alia was sitting with Jake following close behind. "I'm just saying that if they are gonna hit you, then at least limit the satisfaction they derive from it. It might not work all the time though."

"What are you guys doing?" Alia said as she saw them approaching her. She was the only one on the table.

"What does it look like?" Ian said as he sat down. Jake hesitated for a little bit as Alia glared at the both of them, but eventually sat down also.

"Don't sit with me," she hissed. "I'm not a loser like you both."

"You are," Ian said calmly as he ate his food, his hair covering his eyes even more. "As long as you're a part of the F class then you are."

"I'll be leaving that class after this raid," she harrumphed. "I'll prove my worth to the academy and show you two how different we are."

"Good luck," Ian said nonchalantly as he continued to eat. This angered Alia but she decided to keep her temper down as it wouldn't do her any good to get in the academy's bad books."

Jake on the other hand was a little amazed and scared at the same time. He's been the most involved in the training sessions with Alan and he's seen how strong she is. In terms of raw combat prowess, she outclasses Alan who is a teacher which makes Alan's ability the only edge he has over her. He believes that with a high-rank beast gear, she could easily be the strongest first year even without an ability.

†††††††††

They finished their meal without any interruptions as the guy who mocked Jake was summoned by someone after he was done eating, and Alia left the second she finished eating without saying a word to them. Ian bid Jake goodbye as he made his way to his class while Jake went to his.

He took a deep breath as he approached the door, memories from his last training flashing through his head and causing a shiver down his spine.

"Oh well," he sighed, taking in a deep breath before letting it out immediately. "Here we go again."

The door opened to Alfred sitting in his usual spot as usual but this time, something was different about him as he was dressed in his full beast gear.

"What's the meaning of this?" Ian asked, making sure to stay as close to the door as possible, ready to bolt out at the mere hint of danger.

"I've told you not to ask me questions," Alfred sighed as he stood up. "You heard the announcement by the Commander today."

"How do you know?" Ian asked. "You were not even there."

"Now, we would be having a different training session until the day you go on the raid," Alfred continued, ignoring his question. "From today onwards, we will be having beast gear training."