As Alex had expected, the first day at Starage Academy was dull, with the majority of the classes going over the basics of their respective subjects, along with the expectations the professors had of their students. It wasn't until the last class of the day that things became more engaging. "Hello students, my name is Mr. McGaron, and I am your combat instructor for this year." A grey-haired, muscular man greeted the students. "Now, before we can start, let me ask you all one question. Why is combat a mandatory class?"

  "Uh, to better protect ourselves?" Answered a student.

  "That's part of it," McGaron replied with his arm crossed as he scanned his students. Pleased when he saw that every single one of his students had changed into workout-appropriate attire.

  "To better fight monsters?" Answered a different student.

  "Getting warmer."

  "Because a Rift can appear anywhere," Alex said out loud.

  "Yes!" Exclaimed McGaron with eyes filled with fiery passion. "Combat class is mandatory because a Rift can open up anywhere. One can even appear in your own home out of nowhere. It doesn't matter if you're planning to become a soldier fighting on the front lines, a medic in the back, or even a normal office worker nowhere near the battlefield; you'll eventually encounter a Rift. And as all of you should know, a Rift brings a whole bucket load of danger when they appear. The most obvious being the monsters spewing out of them if they're not dealt with quickly enough."

  McGaron motioned for the students to spread out as he walked toward a wall. Tapping on the wall revealed a large panel. He pressed a few buttons, causing a section in the middle of the gym to light up before walls of light rose to form a large rectangular room. Then the arena floor rippled and shifted, before changing into a lengthy dirt floor covered in grass. "To make a long explanation short, no matter what you want to do in the future, you'll have to fight. My job is to train you all so you don't die a stupid and avoidable death. And there is no better teacher than real-life experience. So I will have you all pair up and spar so I can assess your abilities."

  "Excuse me, Instructor McGaron." Asked a short student.

  "Yes, uh."

  "Aleisha."

  "Ah, yes, Aleisha, what is it?"

  "Why would you want us to fight each other if the goal is to get better at fighting monsters?"

  "Because monsters aren't the only foe you might face in the future." He replied as he walked up to the students crowding around the arena of light. "If I had it my way, you'd spend your whole life without ever having to fight another fellow human. But reality isn't so kind as to give a shit about what I want. So remember, despite how dangerous Rifts are, they're also a large source of precious resources. And throughout history, we are shown that human greed can bring more harm than any monster that may come from the Rifts." He looked around at the silent students. "Well, hopefully none of you will have to worry about that anytime soon. Let's get started. When I call your name, grab any equipment you might need from the storage room behind me and enter the arena. Yes?" McGaron asked a tall, lean student near the front.

  "Uh, Mr.McGaron, are there any rules, or is it anything goes?"

  "Hmm," he hummed to himself while rubbing his chin. "Eh, just go all out. The enchantments in the arena are meant to prevent any of you from accidentally killing your opponent. For example, there is an enchantment that shields anyone in the arena from harm at the cost of draining them of their stamina. There is also the echanment that puts anyone who receives sufficient damage in stasis long enough for them to receive treatment. And if worst comes to worst, I'll personally intervene. Though despite that, I'm expecting you all to understand when the battle is over, got it?" he asked, glaring at the crowd.

  "Yes/got it/yes sir/...," replied most of the students, while the rest nodded in agreement.

  "Great!" McGaron beamed. "First, let's goooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo with you annnnnnnnnnnnnnnd you." He said while pointing at two students with each hand. Both students looked around before pointing a finger at themselves, then headed to the storage room when they saw McGaron nod at them. When the students, one holding a double-edged short sword and the other a single-edged long sword, arrived at their side of the arena, McGaron walked up to the side and shouted, "First match of today's class is." He motioned to the student with the short sword.

  "Jack Verdant."

  "Jack Verdant versuuuuuuu-"

  "Neomi Konon." Answered Neomi, a lean girl, a bit shorter than Jack, with shoulder-length orange hair tied up in a bun.

  "-uuus Neomi Konon!" Jack stood while holding his sword in its sheath, keeping it on his right side. Neomi held her sword out a bit to the left in front of her, with the tip touching the ground, and the left side of the edge angled slightly upward. "You may begin when I say go. Three, two, one, GO!"

  Jack dashed forward while keeping the sword in its sheath in one hand, while the other was on the sword's handle. Neomi stood perfectly still with both hands tightly around her sword's handle, making sure to keep her eyes on Jack. The moment Jack was roughly a meter away, she sprang into action, swiping her sword forward, sending chunks of dirt flying at him. Jack kept running while he quickly closed his eyes. After a few more steps, he shot out his sword from the sheath while simultaneously slashing forward. As Jack opened his eyes at the feeling of his sword hitting something solid and the sound of metal clanging against each other, he was greeted with the sight of Neomi glaring at him with a frown.

  "You're quite strong." Despite Neomi's frozen expression, Jack was sure he heard her murmur a quiet 'thank you.' He attempted to slam the sheath into Neomi's side, but she intercepted it by angling her sword, allowing it to slide down and block the attack. Then, with a powerful flick of her wrist, she struck Jack's sword to the side before twisting her body to thrust forward and stab him in the stomach. Jack barely managed to evade the attack by kicking off the ground with his right leg and jumping to the side. Seeing this, Neomi quickly twisted her blade and slashed at him. Using his sheath to deflect the attack, Jack tried to bring his sword down to hit Neomi, only for her to drop her sword and roll back, dodging his strike. "You going to attack me with your fists now?" he asked between heavy breaths, glancing at the sword underneath him before looking at his opponent.

  "No," she answered before pointing at the sword on the ground with her right hand. With a quick flick of her wrist upwards, the sword, as if pulled by an invisible string, shot up into the air.

  "Whoa!" Jack stumbled back, barely managing to avoid getting hit by the sword as it flew past his head. The sword spun through the air before falling into Neomi's waiting hand. Not giving Jack a moment of rest, Neomi shot forward, slashing at him once she was close enough. "Ugh," Jack groaned as the sword dug into his left arm. Gritting his teeth, Jack slammed his sheath into Neomi's side, causing her grip to loosen enough for him to be able to take a step forward and headbutt her.

  The two students stumbled back as they tried to reorient themselves. Jack was the first to recover, lunging forward while slashing at Neomi's right side. She managed to block it with her sword, only for Jack to thrust his sheath into her gut. Neomi coughed out the air in her lungs as she struggled to maintain her grip on her sword. Before Neomi could recover, Jack slammed his sheath upward, hitting the pummel of the long sword, knocking it out of Neomi's hands and sending it flying a few feet away. However, before Jack could continue his assault, Neomi tightened her grip and punched him in the stomach with her left hand. Followed by using her right hand to uppercut Jack in the jaw.

  Neomi tried to use the brief moment of respite while Jack recovered from her attack to recall her sword. But before she could, Neomi was forced to jump to the side when she noticed Jack lunge forward. Regaining her bearings, Neomi realized that Jack was now between her and her sword. The two stood in silence for a few moments before Jack grinned at Neomi. "You need a line of sight to do the trick you did earlier, don't cha?" Ignoring his banter, Neomi bolted forward, keeping her body low to the ground. Jack braced himself, ensuring he obstructed her view of the sword. Jack was so preoccupied with blocking the sword that he overlooked that Neomi had dug her right hand into the ground and started scooping up dirt as she ran. The moment Jack prepared an overhead slash, Neomi threw the dirt in a wide arc in front of her, momentarily blinding him. Before Jack could react, Neomi smashed her left fist into his gut while using her right to retrieve her sword.

  "Gha!" Jack groaned before gritting his teeth hard and shooting his right leg up, kneeing Neomi in the chest. Feeling the pressure against his stomach lessen, Jack leaned to his right, dropped his sheath, and did a one-handed cartwheel using his now free hand. Landing on his feet, Jack stumbled a bit before he managed to steady himself. The duo locked eyes as they struggled to catch their breath. Gritting his teeth, Jack made the first move, gripping his sword with both hands before charging forward. Both swords clashed once more, resulting in a deadlock where neither student would back down. Screeching of metal filled the arena as both students tried to overpower each other. In the end, Neomi was the first to falter when her grip on her sword started slipping, allowing Jack to hit it out of her hands and send it flying to the side.

  Neomi tried to retaliate with a punch to Jack's jaw, but couldn't muster up enough strength to do any significant damage. "I -huff- sur-huff- ender," she called out between laboured breaths before collapsing onto the arena floor, followed by Jack soon after, his sword rolling out of his hand as his back hit the floor. The gym erupted in applause, with the students outside the arena cheering for the two combatants.

  "Great work, you two." Walking into the arena, McGaron picked up the duo with one arm each and gently placed them against the gym wall to rest. Afterward, he returned to the arena, gathered the damaged weapons, and tossed them into a large bin next to the gym's exit. Following a quick visit to the office, McGaron set down a pair of energy bars and bottles of water beside the exhausted students before calling up the next set of combatants. This continued for several hours, with the length and intensity of each battle dramatically changing depending on which students were paired together. Some fights were quick, like Crystal's and a boy named Kor's, where she created a wall of ice to block his frontal charge before encasing him in ice, ending the fight in under a minute. Other matches dragged on, such as the one between two students who fought with guns, constantly dodging each other's attacks until they both had only one shot remaining. They then stared at each other in silence for a good twenty minutes, both hesitant to waste their last shots. The fight only concluded when McGaron initiated a ten-minute countdown, causing one to panic and miss their shot, allowing the other student to knock them out with a bullet to the head.

  When there were only two students left, McGaron didn't have to say anything as they had already grabbed their weapons from the storage room and made their way to opposite sides of the arena. "Good to see neither of you wasted any time and already prepared yourself, so let's get this show on the road. Our last fight for today's class is-"

  "Alex Alveron," he answered quickly as his left eye twitched. Alex knew from the character books that McGaron had his quirks, but he never thought it would be like this.

  "Alex Alveron verussssssssssss-"

  "Mari Rosalina." Answered a muscular teen a head taller than Alex after she finished adjusting her knuckledusters. With her weapons secured, Mari took out a hair tie and tied her long blond hair into a ponytail. Once she finished, Mari cracked her neck and then her knuckles before facing Alex with a wide grin.

  'No weapons? Most likely a Spell slinger than.' Mari mused as she inspected her opponent. He stood still with a relaxed posture while mumbling something Mari couldn't make out. 'Definitely a Spell slinger.'

  "Same rules as all the other fights. You may begin when I say go. Three, two, one, GO!"

  "Who's fighting this round?" Crystal asked as she walked next to Jack.

  "Jack Verdant and Mari Rosalina." He answered while watching the two students walk to their side of the arena. "You feeling good enough to be standing?"

  "Oh, uh, I didn't really need to rest after my fight." She confessed with a light blush on her cheeks, causing Jack to laugh.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  "Hahaha, I'll be surprised if you did. You had the quickest fight of the whole class."

  "It was just a bad matchup." She tried to argue in a soft voice.

  "Hey, don't sell yourself short, you were awesome in your fight."

  "Thanks," Crystal paused as she thought about something. "Did you say Jack?"

  "Yup," he answered with a pop. "Friends of yours?" Crystal shook her head before squinting her eyes at Jack.

  "No, but I do recognize him from my Magic Studies class. Our professor specifically mentioned him, saying how impressed she was with his answer on the entrance exam. I'm not sure about all the details, but apparently he was the first person in years to solve one of the tougher questions." Jack let out an impressed whistle.

  "Impressive, I don't know how your exams compare to the ones I took. But if it was anywhere close to as difficult, then that's quite a feat." Crystal nodded. "Then, do you have any idea how he might fight?" Crystal furrowed her brow as she thought back to what she knew about Alex, before shaking her head.

  "No, but from the clear lack of any weapon, it's a safe bet to say he isn't an Enchanter. Hmm, he might not be a Spell slinger, maybe a Brawler like Mari?"

  "Not likely, from what I can tell, he doesn't have the build for melee combat. Though I could be wrong, it wouldn't be the first time in this class that I made a mistake in my judgment. Wait, that's odd."

  "What?"

  "Alex isn't wearing any shoes or socks." Squinting her eyes, Crstyal can confirm that Alex is going barefoot.

  "Maybe he is a Brawler, I've seen some fight barefoot before." Their discussion was cut short by McGaron's voice signalling the start of the fight.

  "Same rules as all the other fights."The instructor shouted as he glanced between the two combatants. "You may begin when I say go. Three, two, one, GO!" Mari made the first move by dashing forward, keeping her body low to the ground and her arms close to her chest. Watching Mari rapidly approaching him, Alex took up a basic boxing stance. After a tense moment, the two students collided, their fists impacting each other's cheeks. Mari followed her attack with a swift jab into Alex's side, which he countered by kneeing her in the gut. They kept exchanging blows until a punch from both students collided, sending each teen flying a few feet from the other.

  "Ha! To think I pegged you as a spell slinger!" Mari laughed as she stood up, her legs still shaking from their last collision.

  "Well, you're not wrong, by the definition, I am a Spell slinger," Alex replied before spitting out a wad of blood. The gym grew quiet as the other students finally noticed all the cuts and blood covering Alex's body.

  "How did you bypass the enchantments?" asked McGaron from the side of the arena, his voice calm but stern. Alex took something out of his shorts pocket and held it up. It didn't take long for Crystal to realize that he was holding a basic enchantment rune. Typically, Enchanters fight using weapons like swords or guns that they have modified with enchantments. However, occasionally an Enchanter would forgo fighting with a weapon and instead fight using spells like other Spell slingers. In such cases, they would channel their spells through modified items like staffs to improve their casting speed, power, or mana efficiency. The storage room contained many different items that students could have chosen for their fight, including the basic enchantment rune. Unlike an item such as a staff, a basic enchantment rune can't reliably be used to channel spells due to how fragile they are. However, they compensate for this flaw by being extremely malleable, allowing them to hold more complex enchantments.

  "I applied an enchantment which causes this rune to act something like a faucet for the arena's enchantments, allowing me to control how much of it can reach me. Right now, I'm blocking the part of the arena's enchantment meant to prevent minor damages, leaving only the portion of it that stops any serious injuries." Alex answered while rolling the rune between his fingers.

  "Why?"

  "Because it would only hinder me in this fight." McGaron paused at his answer before asking Alex to elaborate. "It would be faster just to show you what I mean." He took off his shirt to reveal his bloodied torso before doing some motions with his hands, which Crystal quickly realized were him weaving a spell when she noticed the glowing threads between his fingers. Along with that, she also noticed weird markings running down his sides and something she couldn't make out on his back. With Mana Threads wrapped around his fingers, he dragged his pointer and middle finger across his chest, creating a small waterfall that washed away the blood, revealing an uninjured body. "As you can see, I have a regeneration Trait-"

  "Trait?" Crystal mumbled the unfamiliar term to herself.

  "Meaning it's more energy efficient to endure and heal through the minor injuries, while letting the arena's enchantment deal with the more serious ones." To emphasize his point, Alex conjured a small Icicle Spear and cut himself across his chest. The other students and McGaron watched as the wound visibly stitched itself together. Done with the Icicle, Alex tossed it to the side, allowing it to evaporate away.

  "Regeneration, huh? Ok, I'll allow it for today, but next time notify me before you do anything like this again, am I understood?"

  "Roger," Alex gave McGaron a small salute.

  "Hey! Alex was it?" Mari called out. Alex nodded in confirmation. "Do you have another one of those runes I can use?"

  "Why do you ask?"

  "This kind of thing," She motioned to the arena. "Isn't my kind of thing. There are no stakes, no lasting physical feedback, and most importantly, there's no thrill. But what you have there can change all that!"

  "So sum up what you're saying, you're an adrenaline junkie."

  "Eh," She just shrugged. "Sure, whatever you say. So, do you have a second one I can use?"

  "I only enchanted one, so no. And even if I did, the instructor probably would disapprove of you using it." The two students turned to look at McGaron.

  "Mari, can you regenerate like Alex or have anything similar?" She shook her head. "Then, no, I would not."

  "Damn, well, nothing I could do about that." She cracked her neck. "On the bright side, it's been a while since I fought such a durable opponent."

  "You fought something that could regenerate before?"

  "Yeah, it was a purple frog-looking thing."

  "Did it have completely black eyes?"

  "Maybe? Can't really remember."

  "Hmm, it was most likely a Marsh Gulper."

  "Is that what those are? Huh, you learn something new every day." Mari cracked her fingers as she stretched her arms before getting into a boxing stance. Alex put on his shirt before copying her stance.

  "Are both combatives ready?" The two students nodded. "You may begin when I say go. Three, two, one, GO!" They both kicked off the ground and charged at each other. Meeting in the middle, the duo exchanged blows, their fists continuing to collide with each other. With each clash, blood would burst out of Alex's hands as his bones cracked under the pressure. Seemingly deciding to choose the winner with their fists, the two students forgo any strategy to focus on punching their opponent. However, when it seemed like Mari was pushing ahead, Alex suddenly, with a burst of power, sent her sliding a few feet away.

  "And here I thought you were just an Enchanter." She said with a grin. "Are you a Mage as well?"

  "What gives you that idea?" Alex replied while shaking the blood off his fists, revealing exposed bone rapidly being covered by skin and muscle.

  "That last punch had a bit more kick than it should with that frame of yours, so I'm guessing you used the Boost spell. I didn't see you do any of those fancy hand movements that Mana Weavers do. Meaning you must also be a Mage alongside being an Enchanter."

  "Mages cast spells via chants, which I did not do."

  "Pthhh," Mari blew a raspberry at him. "You're not fooling me! I've seen Mages casting spells without chanting. While I've never seen a Mana Weaver cast a spell without weaving or an Enchanter without a medium."

  "Believe whatever you want; in the end, it doesn't change the truth of the matter."

  "Ha! Fair enough." Mari rolled her right shoulder. "Well enough, chit chat, bring it, spell slinger!" With a burst of speed, Mari rocketed forward, smashing the ground beneath her. Without missing a beat, Alex pulled back his arm, waiting for Mari to get closer before fire burst from his arm, launching it toward her. Simultaneously, Alex's fist collided with Mari's stomach while her fist smashed into his face, sending the duo flying away in opposite directions. Mari recovered in mid-air by curling her body into a ball before digging her legs into the ground, forcing herself to stop. Meanwhile, Alex tumbled across the ground before eventually stopping. He got up on bruised and bleeding legs. Glancing to his side, Alex grabbed his loose arm and snapped it into place before a soft greenish glow enveloped the limb. "Ha! You know all the coolest magic! Not only do you know whatever fire magic you used in that last punch, but you also can cast Boost and healing magic!"

  With an ever-growing grin, Mari dug her hands into the ground as she took a four-point stance before slingshotting her body forward. Alex raised his left leg as a large Icicle Spear formed around his foot. With a pained grunt, Alex staked the Icicle Spear into the ground before doing the same thing with his other foot. Bracing himself, Alex took Mari's attack head-on, catching her shoulders and stopping her charge in its tracks. Without missing a beat, Alex raised his head high and smashed it down, headbutting Mari to the ground.

  "Hahahhaha," Mari's laugh echoed across the arena as she flipped into a handstand, her back facing Alex before donkey kicking him in the chest. This shattered his Icicle Spears and several bones, sending him flying into one of the arena's walls. Pushing against the ground, Mari flipped in the air before landing on her feet. She watched Alex bounce off the wall and land on the ground with a loud thud. With a groan, Alex got up and spat out bloodied teeth into his open right hand.

  "Ugh, I hate regrowing teeth." He complained while cracking his neck with his other hand. Right as he finished speaking, Alex leaned back, barely managing to avoid Mari's hammer kick. He stared down at Mari's euphoric gaze and toothy grin. Then, without any hesitation, he pushed forward, headbutting her in the face. She retaliated with a headbutt of her own. The fight then once again devolved into the duo foregoing any strategy to focus on exchanging punches with each other. However, on closer inspection, Crystal noticed Alex slowly weaving separate translucent Mana Threads in each hand between each blow. After a solid minute of punching, Alex was the first one to go on the defensive, crossing his arms to block a punch aimed at his face.

  "Hahahaha, had enough!?" Mari yelled with a manic grin.

  "No," Alex answered with steel in his voice. Twisting his right hand, Alex used his middle finger to flick something at Mari's face.

  "A tooth?" She couldn't help but murmur when she moved her arm to block the projectile, only for it to burst into flames upon impacting her body, causing her to wince at the sudden heat assaulting her. Taking advantage of her momentary distraction, Alex weaved closer and grabbed Mari's face before slamming the back of her head to the ground. Not giving her a moment of rest, Alex repeatedly smashed Mari's head into the ground. Seemingly unfazed by Alex's assault, Mari rapidly twisted her body, kneeing him in the side and sending him tumbling away. She then curled up her body, rocked up and down, before using a kip-up to get up. While a few feet away, Alex rolled onto his stomach before pushing against the ground with his arms, launching his body up. Once on his feet, Alex let out a pained cough before spitting out globs of blood.

  "YES! This is what I call a fight!" She cheered while gasping for air. "No wimpy attacks from afar, annoying traps, or any mind games. Why can't other spell slingers take a page out of your book and fight like you?!"

  "I'm pretty sure you just offended every Spell slinger in this class," Alex remarked while wiping the blood off his lips.

  "Who cares about that? Let's finish this!" Mari yelled as she rocketed forward.

  "-Sigh- yeah, yeah, I'll drink a potion after this." Alex softly groaned before catching her first punch and retaliating with a punch of his own. When it looked like the fight would devolve again into the two just exchanging blows, Alex let Mari get a hit on his face so he could grab her face with his left hand. Mari tensed her body and leaned forward, expecting Alex to try slamming her into the ground like before. Instead, a wave of ice burst from his hand, quickly flooding her face, followed by a blast of hot air that created steam, enveloping both students. Despite not being able to see them, the other students could still hear the sounds of fighting. Crystal strained her eyes to try to see which of the two was winning, but the only thing she could make out was their glowing silhouette. Despite their vague shape, it wasn't hard for Crystal to figure out who was who. While Mari's silhouette gave off a steady glow, Alex's was rapidly dimming as the fight dragged on.

  Crystal tried to watch her two classmates fight until something caught her attention. A small orb of intense light around Alex's lower half started pulsing as thin, crack-like lines of darkness started forming on it. As the tension slowly built and the steam began to thin, something snapped. The cracks on the orb of light rapidly started to multiply until it couldn't hold any more, resulting in the orb completely shattering before dying out. "The battle is over, the winner is Mari Rosalina!" McGaron announced right as the steam finally dispersed, revealing the two students. Alex was frozen mid-punch, a faint blue glow enveloping him. His body was soaked with blood and sweat, while slowly healing cuts and bruises covered any exposed skin. Despite being frozen, it was clear he was desperately trying to catch his breath. At the same time, Mari was hunched over with her hands gripping her knees while gasping for air. Unlike Alex, Mari was protected by the arena's enchantment, preventing her from suffering any injuries. "Mari, are you well enough to drag Alex to the infirmary?" McGaron asked as he entered the arena.

  "C-can do," Mari answered. She shakenly stood up straight before walking towards Alex. However, she paused when she noticed the blue glow covering him. "Uh, is it safe to move him out of the arena?" She asked McGaron, who stood next to the two students.

  "If he were in any mortal danger, the arena would have activated emergency protocols and notified the nurses. From the lack of any flashing red lights and shouting as a nurse barrels into the gym, he should be fine to leave the arena. Though we should probably ask the man himself."

  "I'm fine, my injuries should be only cosmetic at this point." Alex groaned. "Fuck, I miss-calculated, I didn't think the rune would overload when I ran out of Mana."

  "Ah, without the little rock of yours, nothing was stopping the arena from stopping you." Mari mused while nodding her head.

  "I don't have to pay for the broken rune, do I?" Alex asked while Mari ducked under his extended arm and wrapped it around her shoulders.

  "Don't worry about that. Despite their quality, all the items in the storage are cheap and easily replaceable. The basic enchantment rune is one of the more fragile items you students can use. However, this is the first time I've seen one get destroyed due to being overloaded rather than being used as a consumable weapon or targeted by another student."

  "That's, ugh, good." He groaned out as Mari tried lifting him, only for his body to refuse to budge.

  "Sorry," She said with an apologetic smile.

  "It's fine, just give it a sec. The enchantments should deactivate once it detect my lack of injuries." It wasn't long before the blue glow covering his body started to dim before disappearing. With the effect gone, Mari lifted Alex's body and helped him out of the gym. With them gone, McGaron turned towards the rest of the class.

  "Good work today, class. I've seen how well you all fight, and despite some of your flaws," he scanned the crowd, noting which students held his gaze and who avoided it. "None of you is hopeless, so I have high hopes for all of you. Starting tomorrow, we'll begin with body conditioning. With that in mind, please make sure you're well-rested and fed before coming to class. Also, make sure to bring plenty of water, and please pass along what I said to Mari and Alex as well." McGaron clapped loudly once. "This marks the end of today's class, so you all can go home now." The students cheered as they shuffled out of the gym while McGaron headed toward the panel to turn off the arena.