As the final few students walked into class on a sunny morning, Mr. Lloyd was preparing to begin his final lecture on Creature types for the year. The children all took their seats in a spacious classroom with a large wall of windows overlooking an outdoor seating area.

  “Hello and welcome.” Mr. Lloyd stood up with nothing in hand, having memorized all his lectures weeks in advance. “Last week, we talked about type matchups and real-world utilities, and we got a chance to look at the type chart, which shows the offensive and defensive effectiveness of each type matchup. This week, we will discuss move pools and abilities, as well as some critical information about our world's magic system. I hope you all pay close attention and take diligent notes.

  Mr. Lloyd took one last sip of water. He was a meticulous man who cared deeply about the minor details of his job, going to great lengths to ensure each child had the best chance to learn as much as possible.

  “Not all creatures of the same species are the same in this world. On Earth, humanity saw many more similarities within species. However, on this planet, two creatures of the same species can be pretty different in type, size, color, temperament, ability, and move pools. A move pool is the total of attacks and defensive moves any individual creature can learn. For example, one Chameleopus might be able to learn the attack called Dragon's Breath. An attack that sends out a fire-like flame from the user's mouth. On the other hand, a different Chameleopus might have no chance of learning Dragon Breath due to genetics decided since birth. The same is true for abilities; One Chameleopus might learn the ability metachrosis, an ability that allows the user to change color, while another Chameleopus might never have had a chance to learn that technique. This is also true for humans; once a human's energy abilities awaken around six to eight years old, the types of energy they can use remain constant, and there are some moves and abilities they can utilize, while others they will never learn. I mentioned that creatures of the same species can also vary in—”

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  Mr. Lloyd cut himself off as something caught his eye. With a curious yet concerned expression, Mr. Lloyd calmly walked to the back of the classroom.

  “What are you two doing?” asked Mr. Lloyd politely.

  “Where playing Chinese Chopsticks,” Said Axel without looking up from the game he and Spliff were involved in.

  “Oh, what kind of game is that?” Mr Llyod asked plainly.

  “Chinese chopsticks is a hand game where players use their fingers to trade points and knock out their opponent's hand. Each player starts with two points, extending a finger on each hand. Then, players take turns; a player can either attack or split. To "attack," a player taps their opponent's hand with one or more fingers. The number of fingers on the tapping hand is added to the opponent's hand. To "split," a player taps their own two hands together to move points between them. A hand with five or more points is "knocked out" and is considered "dead."The last player with a living hand wins.” Axel said diligently.

  Suddenly, Mr. Lloyd was being lectured on a child's playground game, no less. The other children didn't dare laugh. Despite most of them thinking the whole thing was tremendously funny, they couldn't tell if Mr. Lloyd was genuinely curious or just so furious that he didn't know how to react.

  “Oh, that's really cool,” said Mr. Lloyd. Then, there was silence as the boys continued to play, never having looked up from their game. Mr. Lloyd gathered himself and tried to find the best way to deal with the boys, who had blatantly brushed off the authority and lecture he cared so much about. When he finally spoke, his voice lacked emotion; Mr. Lloyd was so astonished that he struggled to find the appropriate emotions for the occasion. “Please leave my classroom.”