I overslept.
Taisha sat on my hips, watching my sluggish attempt to wake up with clear disapproval written all over her face.
"Sorry, Instructor…" I rasped. "Can I get up?"
"Boy, you're disappointing me," she said coldly. "Put on your training gear. I'll be waiting at the usual spot."
Thankfully, she wasn't angry enough to push me to the point of collapse. Training went as usual, and I headed to my first class alongside ten of the eighteen first-years.
"I wonder what this theoretical-practical class on dealing with entities is about," Alma said thoughtfully, studying her schedule.
"Oh, looks like we only share one class," I said, leaning over her shoulder.
Robert, Matthew, and I had compared schedules over breakfast. Turns out everyone had a different number of classes, and lesson time had been cut down to an hour instead of ninety minutes. Meanwhile, I had eight classes a day—both practical and theoretical—every day except Saturday.
"Must be tough being the best in class," Robert smirked as I let out a heavy sigh. "Glad I've got fewer badges. Never more than five classes."
"Having the most badges doesn't make me the best," I muttered.
"In this academy, it does," Matthew said—and I caught a hint of resentment in his voice.
The first lesson of the second trimester took place far from the main building, in what looked like a long, windowless barn.
Inside, it was brightly lit. The walls were covered in metal plates, and I could clearly feel currents of power radiating from them.
A man greeted us—around forty, with a stern face and thick black eyebrows. His skin was covered in scars—face, neck, forearms—and I had no doubt the rest of his body looked the same beneath his clothes.
"Welcome to the class that will teach you your primary duty as specials—dealing with entities," he said. "My name is Grek Ivanson. As of today, easy days are over for those of you who have reached the minimum level of power control."
He swept his gaze over us.
"There are more of you than I expected. Pair up."
I saw Alma and Robert moving toward each other—and stepped toward Matthew instead.
"You mind, Vauser?" I asked.
"Of course not," he replied, stepping closer.
Robert and Alma shot us both annoyed looks before heading off to find other partners. I had no intention of getting dragged into their arguments again, so I chose the safer option.
"Good," Ivanson continued. "Today you'll be working with a ghost—a second-stage entity. You've already studied exorcism in theory, so I won't waste time repeating it. I want to see if you can apply it in practice."
"Instructor," one of the students asked, standing beside Alma, "why are we working in pairs?"
"As you know, ghosts—like all entities—avoid power," Ivanson replied. "One of you will restrain it using power, while the other attempts the exorcism. Three attempts, then you switch."
"But how are we supposed to restrain it with power if it avoids power?" Alma asked.
"Khvon," he said flatly, "I told you—I want to see how you apply theory. Out there, no one's going to hold your hand. This level of entity is handled solo. So figure it out."
He walked over to one of the metal panels and pressed it.
The plate slid open.
A cloud of milky-white smoke drifted out.
"First pair."
We instinctively lined up, trying not to end up at the front. The slower ones were forced to step forward.
I watched from behind Alma as two students circled the ghost. One tried to send a stream of power through it to establish contact for exorcism—but the ghost slipped away easily.
After several failed attempts, they realized they had to hold it in place first.
One started firing streams of power from multiple angles, while the other tried to connect.
They managed to pin the ghost—but the one restraining it was clearly burning through his energy, while the other still couldn't complete the exorcism.
Three attempts. Failure.
They switched.
Same approach.
This time, on the second attempt, the smoke thinned—
then instantly returned to normal.
Third attempt. Failure again.
Alma and her partner couldn't even hold it in place.
Another pair couldn't cooperate at all—when the first failed to land a hit, the second deliberately interfered out of spite.
I leaned toward Matthew.
"Listen—when it's our turn, I'll handle the restraint first. You take the exorcism. My combat magic should work perfectly."
"I was just about to suggest a restraint method," he said quietly. "Did you notice? Combat magic either drains too much energy because you have to keep moving—or it's completely useless."
"Yeah, but mine's a bit different. Still, you're right—your method would force you to keep moving too, placing plates around it. So what's your idea?"
"Use a basic flow," Matthew said with a shrug.
"…You're a genius," I blinked. "Didn't even think of that."
He was right.
A simple flow of power doesn't harm—it just feels like a faint tingling, a mild warmth, something barely noticeable.
You can't destroy a ghost with force.
So combat techniques are useless.
But a second-stage entity can feel power—and avoids it.
If you surround it with a steady, enveloping flow, it freezes—unable to push through the constant pressure.
When it was our turn, we moved into position immediately.
Matthew stood opposite the ghost.
I stepped slightly to the side.
I released my tether, sent it forward, and looped it into a circle around the entity, suspending it in the air.
I had only learned that recently.
Before, my power behaved like a normal rope—bound by gravity.
Now, with enough focus, I could make it hover.
Just enough to close a ring around the ghost.
Matthew calmly sent a stream of power into the entity—and frowned.
Connection established.
The ghost flickered—
but didn't disappear.
Second attempt.
Same result.
Third—
no change.
"…This is harder than I thought," Matthew said as we switched places.