Nikita stands in front of the stage where the students will do their very first mock battle, just minutes before it starts. She's

  looking down at a notepad, checking off all the things that need to be done and prepared before the event starts. Procuring the [Standard-issue Chestplates] and weapons made for [Dungeon Crawling] for the students to use, check. Cleaning the bleachers and the main stage, check. Making sure every student is present, check.

  Nikita stops for a moment. There was one student missing.

  “Has anyone seen Ashley Williams?” Nikita asked the student.

  Waves of shrugs and “I don't know” flooded the room.

  “Maybe she just chickened out? It's gonna be pretty hard to compete, let alone win with her [Skill].” The students chimed in. “Yeah, that's to be expected. Even if she manages to get here, she'll just fail anyway.” Another student added.

  Laughter and jokes were passed around at Ashley's expense. No one in this room even thinks that Ashley would even have the capabilities to do anything.

  “Hey, Alicia.” A girl with lime green hair reaching down to her shoulders styled into a bob, wearing the standard Raventhal uniform styled to be more fashionable, poked her friend to get her attention. The dark blue blazer meant to be worn is tied around her waist. Her skirt hiked a little high, just barely enough to show skin but not be scandalous. “Wanna bet whether she even arrives or not? I'll bet 50 bucks that she won't.” The girl declared with a smug smile.

  The girl's friend sighed as she rested her head on her hand. “Can we not do this so early in the morning, Ressner?” Alicia replied, accompanied with a yawn. Her brown hair flows down to her waist smoothly, almost like a spider's silk. Her eyes resemble a fireplace’s hearth. A raging, fiery red, ready to consume anything it touches.

  Compared to Ressner’s chill and relaxed fashion style, Alicia is much more elegant and formal in how she dresses. Keeping the signature dark blue blazer buttoned up with a neck tie underneath. Her skirt drapes up to the middle of her thighs which is covered by a pair of fashionable and elegant black stockings.

  Not wanting to bother with Ressner's festering, Alicia caved in. “Fine, if you're betting she's not gonna come, then I'll bet the opposite. There, happy?” Ressner's smug smile widens as she has successfully annoyed Alicia once again.

  “You can't take back what you said, okay? This is literally free money. There's no way she would come.” Ressner laughs at her ingenuity.

  “You know what? I'll bet 100 dollars more that she'll win.” Alicia fires back as she looks at Ressner trying to feign shock.

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  “Oh, looks like someone's feeling brave today, huh? Well, we just have to wait a couple more minutes before this whole thing starts anyway.” Ressner chuckles to herself. “Get ready to pay up, buster!”

  Alicia chuckles with Ressner. Her gaze rests on Nikita who's still finishing up preparations.

  A few minutes pass by. The mock battle is about to start. Nikita looks at her clock, as she looks around the room for Ashley who still hasn't arrived. With a sigh, she declared once more. “Once the first mock battle starts, anyone who isn't present is listed as absent. I better not see any one of you complaining to me about it.”

  With a myriad of nods and “yeses”, the students continued chatting away. Nikita sighs. She at least hoped that Ashley would try to attend, even if she doesn't get a passing grade. Despite her harsh words during their last meeting, Nikita genuinely wants Ashley to do better. But Nikita doesn't believe that the [Skill Research and Development] course is that path.

  “Okay, we'll soon start the mock battles. Anyone who isn't here is listed as absent. I will give three counts for anyone who might join at the last minute.” Nikita repeated.

  “Look, this thing is about to start.” Ressner pokes at Alicia once more, grabbing her attention. “You’re gonna lose this bet!”

  “I know, just shut up already.” Alicia sighed.

  With a deep breath, Nikita started counting down.

  “Three!” Nikita shouted, grabbing everyone's attention.

  “Two!” Ressner stands next to Alicia in anticipation of her win.

  With one last deep breath, Nikita counted down to the last number.

  “On—” Suddenly, the entrance to the training grounds swung open, slamming against the wall. Everyone's attention was immediately taken hold of by whoever just arrived.

  “I'm sorry I'm late, Professor Nikita.” Ashley grips the side of the door as she holds herself up, her breathing running ragged. There was a bandage across her face and on her shoulder was a small, worn duffel bag.

  Nikita couldn't help but crack a smile. Fortunately, she was quick enough to hide it.

  “No, it's alright. You were just in the nick of time, actually. Find yourself a seat in the bleachers.”

  ———————————————————

  Hours earlier, as Ashley holds the device she just made, marvelling at her creation, it suddenly slips from her hands.

  She knew she wouldn't be able to catch it. Instead, she tries to jump away from the jar, diving towards her kitchen. She hits her head in the process, making her wince in pain. But she couldn't focus on that for long as her makeshift nail bomb exploded, shooting the ball bearings straight to her wall.

  “Goddamn, sweaty hands…” Ashley grumbles to herself.

  She stumbles up, rubbing her face which was directly planted on the floor, the pain still not subsiding. She looks at the impact and damage that her project has produced and she can't help but be in awe.

  Her wall looks like it was shot with a 12-gauge shotgun. Each ball bearing pierced the wall, staying lodged in place.

  Ashley tries to look if there were stray shots that went elsewhere but most of it was directly on target. Ashley smiles as she sees her efforts paying off for once but inevitably coughs as she realizes her room is covered in steam. She opens the door to let it all out when suddenly, somebody walks up.

  “Hey, is everything alright in there? What were you doing to cause such a loud noise?” A woman in her mid-40s stands outside the door, her hands across her chest.

  “I'm sorry, Ma'am. It's just a…” Ashley tries to find the right words to explain this mess. “Oh, yes. It's just a science project. I messed up some stuff and it just caused a loud explosion. Don't worry, nothing was damaged.” Ashley lied as naturally as she breathed, trying her best to block the bullet holes in her wall.

  The woman stands there, looking at Ashley's face. Her smile and innocent expression was enough to fool her. “Well, if that's all, then it's okay. Just make sure to not make any loud noises, especially at night. You already know how much everyone around here needs sleep.” The woman said.

  “Also, I just want to remind you about the rent. I sent you a letter earlier this morning but I just want to make sure you remember. I know you're in an… ‘unfortunate’ situation but you still need to pay up. Just bring the money to me until next week so we won't have any problems.” Ashley nods to the woman's warning.

  “Of course, I'll find a way to pay you the money.” The woman waves her hand, dismissing Ashley and walks off. With a sigh of relief, Ashley sits back inside.

  She wanted to scream but the pain near her forehead which hit the ground forced her to stop. She didn't even notice that it was bleeding slightly.

  Nevertheless, this is a massive achievement for Ashley. She looked back down on the remaining two jars as she prepared for tomorrow's mock battle.