When the special lessons were first introduced to everyone in the room, there was an explanation for how things were set up. That they were put into teams of three for their own safety. That if they wished to defeat some of the beasts they would need to work together, and the fact that at times all six of them would be put in the same room together, if the beast they were going up against was a strong one.
Which was why, it was safe to say that Gary as well as all the others were deeply confused.
'Are they telling me to go on my own, because the beast I will go up against is weak?;' Gary thought, but quickly shook his head at that silly thought. 'After what I did last time, that wouldn't make any sense. I practically took out the beast on my own last time. So why would they put me on my own this time… unless they have discovered something or they want to find out something… is this a trap?'
NIRV didn't exactly seem to care for the students' lives as much as the teachers, so a trap of sorts set up for them, Gary wouldn't put it past them.
At the same time, there was one student who was part of the special lessons that was disappointed at hearing this.
'They're letting him fight on his own?' Apollo thought. 'It has to be because of his strong performance from last time. They let him fight a beast on his own, and for me… they have asked me to team up not just with my regular partners but the others as well.'
There was a mix of emotions coming from Apollo, that he needed to work harder, but at the same time there was anger. He knew there was perhaps a gap between them now, but thought that NIRV was treating him lighty it was as if they thought the gap between both of them was this big.
"There must be a lot of confusing thoughts going through your head." Crowley said, his eyes looked slightly watery as if he was worried, which didn't give Gary any confidence. "I have to admit, this is a first, for the special lessons."
Whenever Crowley would stop rhyming it usually meant what he was saying was important.
"NIRV has been monitoring you from day one, and as they witness you grow and defeat beasts more and more, they become confident in predicting what level of beasts you can beat.
"After all, this is a plus for NIRV as much as it is for you guys. So I warn you all, this time, the five of you, will be fighting a strong beast, and you won't have Gary by your side. As for you Gary…" Crowley paused for a second.
"I usually wouldn't give you my opinion as a teacher, but I believe they want to push you as far as they can. Usually we wouldn't allow a single student to take a test on their own. These special lessons are dangerous on their own as it is, but the principal has agreed, even with the professors and my rejection.
"However, at the end of the day, this is up to you. You don't have to do this, but if you do, NIRV has promised you another reward, bigger than the one that you asked for before. I also want to inform you, that if you do decide to go ahead with the lesson, that I will be very close and try to protect you, in case anything goes wrong."
It was quite a bit to think about. In the first place, Gary felt like the man called James, who was behind this whole project, didn't like him from day one. Asking for the remains of the beast's bodies already put him on the suspicious list.
If he really went up against a strong beast there was a chance he would have to transform and if that was to happen, there was a chance NIRV would get closer to the truth.
'This was going to be my last time though.' Gary thought. 'My last time taking the special lessons. The others will continue while they are here, but for me, I don't know if I'll ever get a chance to fight against a beast again.
'And as for the reward, if they really are saying I can request what I want, what if I request a beast crystal. If I eat that, with the beast body, won't I gain a lot of stats, and I plan to leave the academy after having my debut fight anyway.'
Turning back wasn't something Gary did often and since he was already here, and already had convinced himself beforehand that this would be the last lesson, he had to accept.
"I will take the lesson on my own, but only if they accept my request, of allowing me to take the beast crystal." Gary asked.
Judging by Crowley's expression it wasn't the answer he wanted from Gary's mouth but he understood and soon turned it into a smile.
"I will inform them of this."
Crowley went over through a side door while the students waited in silence, all of them seemed to be thinking about their own things. Sty was still separate from the group, but his eyes were a little less dark compared to before.
"NIRV has agreed to your request." Crowley answers. "You are to remain here though, while the others take their assessment first."
With that said and done, the other five had entered the room as the doors opened and Gary was left on the other side. He was waiting patiently and with his enhanced hearing he could somewhat hear what was going on the other side.
There was a lot of shouting from all of them, as they asked for each other's help, the use of skills. There were screams of pain as well, some of them from Numba which caused Gary to worry a little.
When he heard Numba speaking again though, he was relieved, and after what seemed to be a long fight, it looked like the lesson was over at least for these five.
Inside the room itself, most of them had broken bones, were exhausted and couldn't even keep up their altered transformation anymore.
"That was a tough one… and Sty." Numba said as he looked at him being taken away by the medical staff. "He nearly died."
In the assessment, the one that had been hurt most from the beast was Sty, and Numba, for some reason, felt bad for him even after everything that had happened to himself. Either way, it looked like Sty and the rest of them would live, but they all realised that without Gary they struggled tremendously.
James had come down with the rest of the staff, and clapped his hands as he congratulated the students.
"You all did splendidly, if you wish to rest up, then please feel free to." James said with a smile.
"I want to stay." Apollo replied. "I want to stay and watch Gary fight, is that allowed?"
"I want to stay as well." Numba added, even though his arm was completely bent the wrong way.
"Of course, of course we should all watch from the viewing room, I'm sure today we might all witness something special." James smiled.
After the room had been cleaned up, the door finally opened allowing Gary to now enter the room. He could smell that blood from the others even though it had been cleaned.
'Since the last special lesson took longer than I thought it would, it's already night time, so I get the skill and energy boost from my class type.' Gary thought. 'With this, it should be enough for me to defeat any beast that comes through there without having to fully transform.'
Up above, James was making sure all the systems were ready.
"Okay, proceed to start the lesson!" James shouted. "Let's go ahead, and see what is so special about your Altered self, and why someone like me can't even get my hands on your file."
The door slowly opened and the first thing that hit Gary was the scent of the beast. It was strong and pungent. Through his new nose he had smelled a number of different things before that he never experienced as a human, but this… the smell was reacting to a thought in his head.
This beast smelled violent. It didn't make sense, but all sorts of words were coming through Gary's head as he smelled the beast and when the doors finally opened his system reacted as well.
[Danger! Danger!]
[A quest has been received!]
[A dangerous beast has appeared]
[New quest received - Survive]
Gary had seen this before, and the last time he had done so, he had nearly died, what was in store for him this time?
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