"Did you find a team for yourself?" one guy asked while sitting at his desk.
"Not really," his friend replied.
Currently, first-year students were still forming their Hunter Teams. Apart from a few, the majority of the students were still considering various options.
"But I heard all the rankers are spread in two teams!" a girl suddenly interjected.
"Well, we're not competing for the top spot anyway, but it would be fun to be on that team," the first guy mentioned.
"What fun? I don't want to be near those guys, too much trouble for people like us," his friend replied, frowning.
"Personally, I would be happy to be on Kevin's team," the girl sighed.
"Not Asher Greville?" the first guy asked.
"Ah, him, he's too scary for me," the girl replied.
"Well then you would lose," the first guy laughed while the girl punched him lightly.
It was true, Asher's image among all the first-year students was that of a monster.
He was not as friendly as others so approaching him was out of the question.
At the moment, Asher was standing in the Duel Class where all the Top 200 students among the first years were gathered that day.
"As you know, today will be a joint class with your seniors from the second year," Dahlia said, looking at all the Top 200 who had gathered.
However, Alyssa was not present. She had informed Dahlia that her health condition was poor.
Skipping Duel Classes affected your grades, but Dahlia had granted Alyssa a one-class leave because rankers were allowed to use such reasons to skip classes.
And she had skipped because, at that moment, not only first-year but second-year students would also be present.
Nobody messed with her from the first year, but second-year students were a different case.
And if someone pushed her too far, she might reveal her strength in front of others, so she just skipped the class for that day.
Asher had already told her to use her leaves on such classes as they were informed of these classes in advance.
"Don't worry, only a few rankers will train with you, and most of them will be friendly spars," Dahlia said, as some students had nervous looks on their faces.
Previously, Erwin was in charge of the Duel Class, but Dahlia was temporarily given this class, and she was continuing the tradition that had continued inside the World Academy.
Each time, after the first years had adjusted to the environment of the World Academy, they would spar with the second years so that they knew the difference between them and the second years.
This was done so that these students, who were the top talents of their batch, would perform even better.
"But wouldn't we just lose?" one of the students asked.
Dahlia looked at the student who had asked the question.
"It's a spar, it doesn't matter if you lose, learn from it," Dahlia said.
"Learn to spot your own mistakes, and train yourselves so that after each fight you become stronger," Dahlia added.
"Not every time will you find someone who would help you correct your mistakes," Dahlia continued.
"If you can't even improve your battle instincts in a controlled spar, what will happen when you fight monsters?" Dahlia looked over the students.
She raised her voice a bit so that everyone understood why such spars and learning from them were important.
Even though they had instructors who taught them, it was up to them to learn and improve themselves from that knowledge.
"I will assign most of you to people from the second year," Dahlia announced, pointing at 20 senior-year students who were standing there.
'Dammit,' Sam thought, noticing that Jack was also present among the people that Dahlia had called over from the second year.
But knowing that they were in a public setting, he was sure that Jack would not go too hard on him.
"Isn't he Blake Cranston?" Kevin asked Elena quietly.
"Yeah, he is the Rank 1 among the second-year students," Elena replied.
Kevin looked towards Blake, who stood confidently among the second-year students, and he could feel that Blake was a C Rank Hunter.
He could see why Blake was the Rank 1 student in the second year. Reaching C Rank while being a second-year student meant that he was a very talented individual.
But he noticed that Blake's eyes were fixed on a particular place, and following his gaze, he saw Asher standing with Damian and Amelia.
"I will assign each of you 10 students; you have to spar with each of them," Dahlia said, looking at the 20 second-year students.
"And remember, don't go overboard, or I will deduct your grades," Dahlia reminded them once more.
She turned and announced the groups, and lastly, all the rankers were placed under Blake, who was the Rank 1 student.
Most of the 20 students belonged to the top 100 students of the second-year class.
"All of you will spar with Blake, but we have one less person in the rankers," Dahlia said, as Alyssa was not present.
Her mention irked many students who disliked her, but they were too busy going to their assigned seniors.
"Ria Adler, you join them," Dahlia took Rank 11 student, Ria, and placed her in the same group as the other rankers.
"Hello, I am Blake Cranston, as most of you might know about me," Blake introduced himself.
"Professor, do I have to spar with every one of them individually?" Blake asked, looking at Dahlia.
"What do you want to do then?" Dahlia asked.
"Let them form a team of three and attack me. It will give them a fair chance as well," Blake proposed.
"Are you sure about this?" Dahlia asked.
"Okay, apart from Asher Greville, all of you will form a group," Dahlia told the 10 first years in front of her.
She could sense the mana of a peak D Rank Hunter coming from Asher.
'What a monstrous talent,' she thought while she excluded Asher from teaming up.
Not only her, but Blake could also sense that Asher was already at the peak of D Rank.
At his pace, it was possible that Asher might even reach C Rank, which was the same as Blake, by the end of the year.
"Well, who would be first?" Blake turned and surveyed the group.
In his eyes, everyone could see the arrogance. It was obvious that Blake could act arrogant as he was not only more powerful than them, but he also belonged to the Cranston family.
The only one who was not irked by Blake's mocking stare was Asher.
"Kevin, Elena, and Lishia will form one team," Dahlia said.
"Amelia, Damian, and Matthew will be in another team," she continued.
"And Ria, Venessa, and Eva will comprise the final team," Dahlia announced.
She had specifically chosen Blake so that all of them could go all out and learn from their mistakes.
Two other star professors were observing the other duels, ensuring that nothing went awry.
"As you guys will be attacking as a team, you are not allowed to use Aura or launch lethal spells. Remember, this is a spar," Dahlia reminded them.
Blake had also been instructed not to use aura and avoid targeting critical areas.
"So, which one of you wants to start first?" Dahlia asked.
Kevin was about to raise his hand, but Asher spoke first.
"I will go," Asher said, looking at Dahlia who glanced back at Blake. He nodded to confirm.
"Remember, don't use aura. I will end the spar the moment you do," Dahlia reminded them as both Asher and Blake took their positions.
Asher picked up the practice swords that were given to them, as Blake was also a swordsman.
Asher observed Blake, who stood there confidently, his gaze locked onto Asher's indifferent eyes.
Blake differed from other Elite Family kids; the Cranston family had always used harsh training methods on their children.
'Leonard told me to avoid him, but I don't really care,' Blake thought, recalling the advice Leonard had given during the last meeting.
It was well-known that Asher had chosen the mage course, despite being a swordsman, which made Blake think that Asher was overly confident in his skills.
Their fight attracted many curious onlookers. A significant number of students turned to look in their direction.
This was a spar between two Rank 1's, and it was going to be an interesting watch.
"Let's start this show," Blake announced, adjusting his footing.
"Is he using his family's sword art in a spar?" Kevin observed as he noticed a change in the air around Blake.
Asher regarded Blake, who had taken the first stance of the famous sword art that belonged to the Cranston family.
Blake adjusted his footwork as he watched Asher.
"Now come at me," Blake taunted, staring right into Asher's eyes and smirking.
'So he wants to out-duel me in swordsmanship,' Asher deduced, seeing through what Blake wanted to achieve.
