“NOW, let me explain how this practical will go!” Professor Sharon called out. “Groups of four, made of two boys and two girls, must defeat five Almiraj in the mountains and bring back five horns as proof. You’ll have three hours. If seriously injured or lost, you must blow the rescue whistle to summon a teacher. The teachers on standby will immediately come to your aid.”
An Almiraj was a rabbit monster with a single horn on its head. Its danger level was categorized as F, at the bottom of the ranking. In terms of its strength, one adult could take it down. If you were unlucky, it could hurt you, but you wouldn’t die from your injuries.
Groups of four?! With two girls and two boys…?!
This part shocked Yuffie more than anything else. Memories of her schooling at the village church came back to her. Since she’d never had friends, forming groups with her classmates was a hellish experience. She had heard the words, “Yuffie, how about you and I pair up (said with kind eyes)?” over and over so many times from the nuns that she nearly started foaming at the mouth at the first instruction.
Thankfully for her, she was relieved to learn that the groups had been decided beforehand. She was so utterly relieved that she almost felt like she was in heaven. Yuffie went to meet the classmates that Professor Sharon had sorted into groups. However…
“Oh, hey, we’re in the same group, Lifa!”
“Omigosh, Alto! I’m sooo glad we’re paired up!”
“Jeez, Lifa, I’m right here. Don’t tell me you forgot about me already?”
“Of course not, Gill. I’m excited to have you in my group too!”
The three of them got along like a house on fire. Yuffie didn’t know if they were old friends or if they had met each other at the party yesterday.
I feel so out of place…! Flustered, she didn’t know how to join the conversation.
“So…” The girl named Lifa turned to Yuffie, her expression awkward.
“You must be…um…” Alto struggled to find the right words to say.
Ahhh! I know that look in his eyes! “Seriously? We have to team up with her?” That hurts!
Squeezing out all the courage she could, Yuffie bowed deeply and greeted, “I’m Yuffie, nice to meet you.”
“Oh, right, same.”
“What he said.”
“Let’s do our best, hm!”
The difference in their attitude from when they talked to each other to now was remarkable. Their excitement was nowhere near what it had been. The three of them looked uncertain, like they didn’t know how to interact with her.
Urk… I totally get it, though, considering how I messed up yesterday and today…
In any case, they had the misfortune of being paired up with a dung beetle like her.
So I have to try at least not to hold them back… Yuffie encouraged herself.
“Begin!” Professor Sharon commanded.
Their first practical was underway.
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AFTER grouping, the students dispersed toward the mountains.
“How many groups do you think will succeed this year?” Professor Himmel, waiting behind as a helper, spoke to Professor Sharon.
“This year’s first-year students are supposed to be outstanding. I’d like at least eighty percent to win.” Then she looked down at the student roster. “Yuffie Abisus… Her entrance exam scores were by far the lowest. Hmph, just what I expected from a commoner.”
“Is that the girl who was acting strange earlier?”
“Likely. A coward, that’s what she is. She’ll probably just whine and hightail it back to the countryside soon,” she spat.
That was the extent of Professor Sharon’s interest in Yuffie.
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“NNNGH… Where am I…?”
An hour had passed since class started. Yuffie was walking alone through the forest, grumbling and crying. She thought back to how things turned out like this.
“Gah…!”
“Gill!”
One of their group members, Gill, was slightly injured in the battle with the first Almiraj.
“Um, um… Please let me use healing magic on you!”
Yuffie immediately offered (It’s my turn!) and started using healing magic on Gill—except there was no sign of the wound getting better.
“Uh… How long will it take to heal?”
“About…about an hour?” she answered.
“Did you just say…one hour…?!”
Gill was shocked, and as Lifa stared at her with a look that said, “Are you serious?” a new Almiraj appeared.
“Shit! This is bad timing! I’ll fight! Lifa, heal Gill!”
“Okay!” Lifa shoved Yuffie aside and raised her hand toward the injured boy. “Fountain of life, have mercy on the wounded. Heal these wounds…”
As she chanted, Lifa’s hands glowed, and Gill’s injuries healed in an instant. Yuffie was astonished at the difference in their healing magic as Lifa was incredibly skilled.
“Alto, I’ll help you!” Gill, fully healed now, returned to the battle.
“Awesome, thanks!”
So, the two boys defeated two Almirajes…
“That’s the third one!”
“Good job!”
“Two more to go!”
As Alto held up the three horns of the rabbit monsters they’d slain, Lifa and Gill cheered in excitement.
“Gill, thanks for the backup!”
“You’re welcome! Thanks to you too, Lifa. I wouldn’t be here without you.”
“Oh, it’s nothing. We wouldn’t have taken them down without you and Gill, Alto!”
While the three puffed up with a sense of accomplishment at having cleared the task thanks to their teamwork, Yuffie had become invisible. Not wanting to disturb their joy, she tried desperately to disappear.
“Um, Yuffie… Thanks to you too. Appreciate you trying,” Gill stated with a kind smile.
“Oh… No… I’m sorry I wasn’t much help…” Yuffie trailed off.
That was the end of the conversation. Lifa and Alto just looked at Yuffie as if she were an eyesore. It was clear that they found Yuffie useless and annoying.
After that, Alto and Gill were in charge of the fighting, and Lifa would cast healing magic on anyone who got injured. There was no role for Yuffie. They treated her like she didn’t exist.
I’m totally useless!
In a panic, Yuffie tried to find an Almiraj at least, but during her search…
“Huh… Where is everyone…?!”
She had gotten completely separated from the group—end of flashback.
“Calling for help for something like this would only bother the teachers, not to mention way too embarrassing…” she muttered, looking down at the rescue whistle that Professor Sharon had given her. With a sigh, she started walking again, deciding to wander the forest for a while longer. She had to run into someone before time ran out on this exercise.
The forest was dark and creepy, but Yuffie wasn’t particularly shaken. All that time in the mountains practicing offensive magic until nightfall came in handy, but right now, that fact was no consolation.
“If this is how the first lesson turned out, I’m afraid of what the future holds…”
She didn’t want to think about it. Professor Sharon probably chose the groups to balance between the good and bad students, because Alto’s attack magic was obviously stronger than Gill’s. The idea was that in actual combat, those with poor grades would learn from the stronger students, and vice versa, with the good ones teaching the weaker ones. That feedback loop was designed to help them improve each other.
In fact, Alto taught Gill the tricks of offensive magic. When the former had been injured, Lifa had asked Yuffie if she wanted to learn some healing magic. However, she had turned down the offer quickly, telling the other girl to focus on healing Alto instead.
Why did I refuse?! It was too late for regrets, though.
With a strained smile and an awkward, “Oh, all right,” Lifa had gone to Alto.
If Yuffie had possessed even a basic level of communication skills, she could have learned recovery magic from Lifa.
“I just want to disappear…”
She couldn’t use healing magic, nor could she even talk to people properly. Right when she was once again feeling dejected by her own incompetence…
FWEEEEEEEEET!
…an artificial sound came from far away. Yuffie intuitively knew someone had used their rescue whistle.
“Maybe they’re lost, just like me…?!”
Her expression brightened. Someone was in the same predicament as her! A sense of relief welled up within her, but then she heard a loud thud.
“What is that…?” Curious, she headed in that direction.
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