-Two weeks later, Libertas Military Academy-
"Class, Attention," Westeria called out the entire class before they turned their attention to him, abandoning whatever they were doing right now. "I have two announcements to make. First, we have two new students who will join us starting today."
"Wait, two new students?" Mark exclaimed, face shocked at the announcement. "Did someone from other classes get a class promotion after the exam?!"
"Possible," Marcus said. "The students from other classes aside from Class Alpha to Charlie need to pass certain score criteria to transfer to another class. The first quarter exam is one of them."
"I heard Class Beta and Class Charlie got a handful of students from other classes who passed the first quarter exam," Carol said then slumped her head on the table. "Man, these exams are brutal!"
"At least none of us got demoted," Misty said.
"Man, I don't want to leave this class, you know," Fred said while laying back, hands behind his head. "I studied for hours!"
"Cramming is not considered as studying, Fred." Leon pointed out. "You studied at the last minute."
"And you have the lowest grade in this class, Fred," Misty said, snickering. "You were almost demoted if it weren't for the bonus question."
"Excuse me, shrimp!" Fred shouted. "Say that to my face!"
Westeria cleared his throat and the two students stopped and turned at him before an argument broke out. "I know that you are nervous and concerned about your grades but fortunately none of you got demoted." He sighed in frustration. "As I said earlier, we have two students but one of them is from the other class after receiving his class promotion. "
"Wait, one?" Ian asked. "Then, who is the other one?"
"I know who," Sephiram answered him, groaned. "I told Big Brother not to enter her in this academy so soon."
"Wait, so the other one is-" Before Mina finishes her sentence, Westeria orders the two new students to enter. The door opened and Anissa walked in, along with a timid male student with shaggy short black hair and wide brown eyes. His blazer is in the style of a jacket.
"Class, this is Anissa Davis." Westeria introduces Anissa to the entire class, which makes them turn to Sephiram, who replies 'She was adopted by us'. "Per request by the Government, she will be placed in this class. She's from the mainland, so treat her nicely."
"FROM THE MAINLAND?" The entire class, except Sephiram, shouted in unison. The timid student covered his ears with his both hands, jolted at the shout.
Westeria raised his hand to silence the class. When the class went silent, he proceeded. "And this is Ryan Tessalonica." He said, introducing the other student. "He's from Class Echo and one of the two highest scorers among the students belonging to other classes. He received a class promotion to enter this class so treat him nicely as well."
"One of the two highest students," Sasha said, hand on her chin pondering to herself. "For what I know, he's the top two, right professor?"
"Yes, but the top one got scouted by Class Beta immediately before the decision was made," Westeria answered then turned to the two. "Now you may find your seats in these vacant ones." The two only nodded and went to the seat of their choice. Anissa sat next to Mina while Ryan sat near the back door.
"Now that this one is out," Westeria said as his face went serious. "Tomorrow, you will be taking the Team Battle exam." He announced it to the whole Class, and half of them groaned in response.
"Sirrrrrrr, give us a break for once," Lena whined while the others agreed with her.
"I know all of you are still hanging over on your first quarter exams but remember that this is one of the most important exams you cadets need to take and pass so you better be prepared if you don't want to fail the test," Westeria said coldly as he saw the entire class have gloomy expression on their faces (except Anissa who is only confused) due to their first quarter exam one week ago.
The Team Battle Exam is one of the three important exams that all 13 classes must take to pass throughout their first year. The concept of the exam is Fortress takeover. Each team has a specific fortress that is needed to protect and can't be invaded by other teams. There, the teams must use their weapons, magic, and tactical skills to win. The team that has conquered an enemy fortress will declare the winner.
"By the way, the exam will be a three-way battle." He continued. "You will be battling against Classes Beta and Charlie, so I expect better performance from you."
"WHAT?" The entire class reacted violently. The timid student only covered his ears again while Anissa just tilted her head in confusion.
"A three-way battle? No way, prof!"
"Worse, it's against Class Beta and Class Charlie?!"
"We're going to be demoted! No!"
"SILENCE!" Westeria shouted at the top of his lungs, casting a fireball in his hand. The class became quiet when they saw the fireball in his hand.
Westeria annoyingly sighed, dismissing the fireball in his hand. "The higher-ups decide to compete in the three top classes, and they will be watching the exam. So, if you want to complain, go to the principal!"
No one answered.
"Now if all of you are done whining, we will begin our lesson."
*
"You're from the mainland, right?" Nadeshiko asked Anissa after the lesson was over. She, Carol, and Mina are around her. "What does life look like?"
"Very harsh," Anissa answered. "Unlike here in Libertas where all of you live a free life, the mainland is pure hell. Food is scarce, the majority of the people are taken away and sold to the auction as slaves and all of us, from kids to elderly, live in constant fear of the vampires at night."
"Oh, dear." Nadeshiko gasped, putting her hand on her face in a concerted manner. "What did you do every day?"
"I was served as one of the slaves in the Capital, " Anissa answered as she clutched her hand onto her bruised arm that was covered in her blazer. "It was not a happy experience, as one time I received these bruises on my arm when I accidentally spilled a tea on one of the-"
"That's enough!" Sephiram interrupted while grabbing Anissa's hand, prompting her to stand up and drag her out of the classroom. "We have a private talk." He whispered to her.
"Hey!" Carol called Sephiram out, but he was gone. "What's wrong with him?"
*
"You ALMOST spilled a lot of information!" Sephiram scolded Anissa in a gentle but angry tone. They are in the Rooftop Garden, where no one is around. "Big brother said that you may tell your experience in the mainland but don't tell them that you are one of the Vampire God's slaves that escaped the Capital!" He facepalmed in frustration. "What are the higher-ups thinking that they entrusted you to Big Brother?! And what will the others say and react if they find out?!"
Anissa hung her head down; tears began to form in her eyes. She tried to stop crying but Sephiram noticed her, changing his expression from anger to concern. "Stop crying. I'm not going to hurt you or anything."
"I'm sorry." Anissa apologized between sobs. "It's just that- I thought you were going to-"
"Punish you?" Sephiram tilted his head but the concerned look on his face didn't fade away. Anissa tried to stop crying but in vain. Sephiram sighed. "Listen Anissa." He held her hands gently to his, calming her down. "You're not in the mainland anymore. You've been living with us for two weeks and we didn't punish you if you did wrong and you're still adjusting to this life. I know that what you've been through is very harsh." He locked both her hands into his. "So, cry all you want. I won't stop you."
Anissa cried harder. For the first time in her life, she received a kind gesture from anyone. For all she remembered, she only received harsh words from her vampire masters, especially one of the Vampire God's harems whom she worked under. All the pain and suffering are now washed away in her tears.
Sephiram gently embraced her, soothing his back. Anissa is still sobbing, nuzzling in his chest. They were like this for three minutes until he decided to let her go. "Are you feeling better now?"
Anissa wiped her tears with her hand, relief was written on her face. "Yes, big brother." She replied with a smile.
"Good grief," Sephiram muttered before taking her hand once more. "I think we should go back to our classroom. Our classmates are waiting for us."
"Yes."
*
But the scene in front of them is somehow a disaster, which caused Sephiram to wear a 'WTF is going on here?' look, while Anissa wore a blank expression. Fred and Ian are trying to approach Ryan but said student is hiding under his table, while Lena and Mark are trying to get said student out of the table but in vain.
"What is going on here?" He asked them.
"The newbie doesn't want to talk to us," Leon said. "We tried to talk to him, but he suddenly ducked under the table."
"We do not bite. We only want to talk to you." Fred tried to approach Ryan but said student only cowered in the corner, holding the leg of the table tighter.
"How did Class Echo deal with this guy?" Sephiram facepalmed before approaching the group. Anissa only giggled and went to said group.
The students remained in this state for three minutes before their Tactics Instructor entered their classroom and proceeded with the lesson.
They didn't have the chance to talk to their new classmates the entire day, though.