It’s been several weeks since starting classes with Instructor Liesel. I have to say, the woman’s approach to teaching was quite different from how Teacher conducted his curriculum. For one, although the lessons were by no small means filled with propaganda in favour of the Schwarzerberg Clan, they still proved to be far more entertaining to sit through. I wondered if it was due to how Liesel’s voice would sometimes lilt in a singsong style while speaking on certain subjects.

All in all, this new instructor of ours was both friendly, unbiased towards her students and didn’t drone on with drivel that I deemed unnecessary to learn. She often adopted a hands-on approach to her classes, with a majority of them held outside the claustrophobic classroom. Instead, she would regularly take us to the training grounds where a soft and cool breeze would frequently blow through and brush past my fur.

Although Liesel didn’t make myself and the other crystal beasts spar against each other as often as I had done in Penfallow, she still provided us with ample activities to perform. I believe my favourite one was when we got to run through an obstacle course that had been dotted with many tasty treats! Oh, there was also the class where we were rewarded with a treat for attacking a stone repeatedly! “Ah, getting treats is the best!”

As for Teival, since his first close combat lesson, he’s really cranked up the level of training we did every day. As usual, my master would have us wake before dawn – feed me some snacks – then head straight for the training grounds. I have to admit, I was somewhat surprised the first few days we ventured there since there were other people also present. I guessed it had something to do with the morose mindset of the weak being left behind as the strong progressed exponentially, but I wasn’t one to speak on such things.

Every dark morning, Teival would have us run laps and race each other around the training grounds until we were exhausted. He then allowed us to rest while feeding me some delicious snacks and channelling his mana through my body. I have to admit, this was one of my favourite times of the day since it was just the two of us basking in each other’s presence.

Of course, our training regimen wasn’t all fun and games! Teival had determined that my next line of development should be in communing with the land again – thus expunging my previous efforts in mentally drafting grey landscapes with the colours of wind. Or, if I was to be more exact with my description: visualising scenarios while using the grey particles riding the currents of the wind to develop a sense of oneness with the element and subjugate it to my bark and call.

Instead, I was back to burrowing my paws beneath the sandy soil and enveloping myself in the soothing stableness I experienced when linking with it. I am glad to say, though, that Teival didn’t command me to focus on digging this time. No, he had me attempt to do something far more meticulous and time-consuming that I feel would take too long to explain to a plebeian with no knowledge – if I ever had to, that is.

Along with the increase in personal training, my master had deemed it necessary to also increase his intake of calories. Not only did I witness him eating double the servings he usually consumed at every meal but I swear I saw him snacking several times between meals, too! Of course, I wasn’t privy to this whilst being excluded. With Teival’s sudden love of food almost matching my own, he must have realised how underfed I’d been as of late and so added a vast amount more to my twelve meals a day. “Master is the best!”

As for Teival’s classmates, apparently the vast majority of them had been scouted from the same town with Armin being among them. After several weeks of eavesdropping on their conversations and being largely ignored by most of the class, I managed to pick up a few interesting tidbits of information. I have to admit, one such piece I managed to glean from them was that Armin’s town was one of the closest settlements outside the city – with strong connections between them.

Another intriguing anecdote I caught hold of was that Armin had two brothers who were already members of the Schwarzerberg Clan. “No wonder he has a ‘mightier than thou’ attitude towards us. He comes from a family that already has successful cases of entering the Clan.” Learning more about Armin’s brothers, apparently, they were part of the border patrol and had been rumoured to be taking part in the Schwarzerberg Clan Tournament.

Although I knew a small amount about the Neveah Clan Tournament, hearing mention of this specific Clan tournament piqued my interest. “Do they hold separate tournaments in conjunction with the multi-Clan one? Or are they a stepping-stone to reach it as a form of preliminary show of skill?” As I pondered over that, my quandary was resolved upon hearing another classmate say how he believed the two had the potential to go further and become regional representatives in the Neveah Clan Tournament.

Since I wasn’t too fussed over filling my brain with information pertaining to individuals I was not ever likely to cross paths with, I decided to discard any further mental material gathered from this reconnaissance mission of mine. Well, I say ‘reconnaissance’, but I was more like a starving beast hungering for morsels of meat no matter how rancid just to sate my desire for knowledge, but I digress.

Though I had deemed the facts about Armin’s brothers as unneeded, I did however believe that discovering more about these different tournaments could prove helpful in my research into the Clans. As such, I shelved the name of the local tournament in the hopes of gaining access to a book in Teival’s possession that detailed the process and history of it. With a small goal created, I followed my master back to the training grounds for our pre-planned evening session of intense training.

After several hours of abusing our muscles and energy reserves, Teival and I returned to our room in the inductee boys’ dormitory. Of course, I protested over the name designated for this section of the building on the grounds of me being a girl, however it fell on deaf ears – like usual. “It’s discrimination against crystal beasts, I say!”

Jumping onto the bed, I purloined the pillow and snuggled into it – ensuring my scent was thoroughly covering the comfy object. As my ears twitched from hearing Teival sigh upon witnessing my territorial act, they were soon scratched by him which made me decide to relinquish my belonging. “Just this once. I expect many extra snacks as payment!” I wagged my fluffy tail while eyeing the cold storage unit that housed the most delicious of my treats.

Teival – being the observant boy he was – unhurriedly strolled towards the large device before taking out my greatest desire of that moment. “Ah, I knew master was benevolent and wonderful!” I swished my tail along the bed, pushing the pillow off, before I jumped down and bounded towards the food.

“Haha, you really are easy to please. Just give you food and you yield immediately. Such a glutton, but a cute one.”

“I’m not a glutton! I am a gourmand! No wait, that means I eat too much! I’m an epicure!”

As I quietly yapped my protests in being labelled a glutton, I was subjected to the sounds of Teival’s laughter. Brushing my fur while humming, I stroked his arms with my fluffy tail as I delighted in the peaceful rhythm of life we had established since arriving in the city. Yes, there were still some problems regarding the exclusion from interacting regularly with my master’s classmates, however at least they weren’t accusing him of attacking unprovoked like the village children were.

Closing my eyes as I sprawled over Teival’s lap, I relished in the feeling of freedom from pesky people picking over the minutest of minor errors. “Ah, this is the life! Lots of food! Lots of playing with Teival! No severe headaches! And best of all, no Anders!” Feeling my consciousness slip from my master’s ministrations, I had the most pleasant dream of witnessing Anders end up bald. “Pure bliss!”