Chapter 157 Getting An Idea

"Ah, Mr. Chang and Mr. Yamada, if I could have a word with you two, please." Mr. Icarus motioned. Lee Seng and Ritsuka turned around and moved closer to Mr. Icarus.

"Yes, sir?" Ritsuka asked. Mr. Icarus took some time to study the two boys before speaking.

"I have actually noticed you two ranked pretty well in the exam. Yamada has gotten good marks from Lady Akali during the goblin invasion while Chang got a lower mark that is still great." Mr. Icarus cleared his throat. " I just wanted to have a chat with both of you and let you know what we've been working on for the last three months and debrief the goblin invasion from you two. What things you learned from being on the field and what things you need to improve on. You two have great potential, so I want to make sure you two are pushed in the right direction."

Lee Seng and Ritsuka looked at each other. They both didn't think Mr. Icarus would go out of his way to learn about his students. He taught hundreds of Third Year students everyday, so why would he have time to teach them in particular?

"Uh, that's really great, sir." Lee Seng spoke, realizing they had awkwardly created silence in shock. "As for what happened during the goblin invasion, isn't the report enough to go off of, sir?" Ritsuka nervously looked at Lee Seng before turning to look at Mr. Icarus.

'Did he just say that to, Mr. Icarus?' Ritsuka was panicking on the inside. He knew this could go south with Lee Seng's blunt remark. Mr. Icarus simply nodded.

"I have read the report, but I would like to know what you two did in regards to fleeing back to the base and the surprise shifter and goblin fight. Lady Akali has mentioned her order for the students to leave, but it seems like there were some complications your team ran into while fleeing. And as for the surprise attack by the shifters and goblins while guarding the dig site, Lady Akali has only mentioned she met three out of four members but didn't have a clue what you four were doing." Mr. Icarus explained.

"Oh, I guess she wouldn't have known about that.." Lee Seng muttered.

"Well, when we were told to flee, Lady Akali was fighting a hobgoblin." Ritsuka started. "The hobgoblin was one of the many empowered goblins that were given some sort of power in the form of black liquid. We ran and Lee Seng started to doubt if we were going the right way when he heard another group coming at us. It turned out to be Sir Xavier's group. They had an injured teammate, so we decided to team up with him and his group in order to get back to the base."

"We had to fight a small horde of goblins, too. There were five of them that had the black liquid coursing through their veins. The black veined goblins or anomalies were tougher than the ones we originally fought with Akali. These ones seemed more adept in their use with the black liquid." Lee Seng added.

"Other than that, that's all that happened going back to the base. As for what happened during the dig site surprise invasion, I was on patrol when it happened." Ritsuka switched subjects. "SW-4 was attacked with an array of goblins, anomalies and shifters. The shifters had led the attack and were trying to reclaim the point. I killed some goblins while trying to find the other teammates on patrol. Ran into two anomalies and struggled to hold them off. Thankfully Lady Akali found me in chaos or else I'd be dead." Ritsuka explained the rest of his experience. Mr. Icarus nodded and looked at Lee Seng.

"When the goblins and shifters attacked, they trapped multiple people in the earth and shoved them my way. I managed to split the earth, but caught the attention of a female shifter. As soon as she came for me, I debated on whether or not I was <strong>capable</strong> of killing a shifter… A female one at that." Lee Seng shook his head. His thought process sounded foreign to him now that he was saying it aloud.

"You actually did fight the female shifter?" Ristuka asked. Lee Seng nodded.

"I fought the female shifter off of the fact my power was at a B-rank rating… Maybe that's why I think I sound cocky recalling this now, but I do think my lack of fighting experience with all these different types of monsters just made me realize I needed to push myself so I could find that wall."

"And what was the outcome of the battle?" Mr. Icarus inquired. Lee Seng had noticed Mr. Icarus patiently listened to the boys recount their experience.

'He doesn't seem so bad

"I created a crater and sliced her head off." The silence had filled the space between them. The bell rang and the two boys looked up.

'School's done.' Lee Seng thought.

"Cutting off a female shifter's head is no easy feat, Chang. Your gravity powers must pair well with weapons, then?" Mr. Icarus asked.

"Mmm, I use it with weapons because the negative doesn't really affect me at all. It keeps me mobile."

"A good way to combat your negative while fighting. That's good." Mr. Icarus nodded. "And what of that thing you did earlier in class? With those little lights coming off of you? Is that part of your power?"

"Uhhh…" Lee Seng's head was racing for excuses. "It is, I guess. I can, uh, shift gravity to my will, so why can't I reverse the laws on myself? I thought about that and, uh, came up with the whole light stuff coming off of me." He hoped Mr. Icarus would take his lie.

'There isn't anything stopping me from actually doing that, though. I've done it before. I just haven't tried ever since the exam.' Lee Seng thought. Mr. Icarus simply nodded.

"Anything else to add, Chang? Yamada?" Mr. Icarus looked at both of the boys. They both shook their heads and Mr. Icarus nodded. "Good, good. Getting yourself on the field is what the Third Year is all about. If you were to start as a First Year here, you would be doing a lot of field exercises just like the mandatory one coming up soon. These mandatory field exercises are put in place throughout the year and fine tuned to the curriculum based on what year you're in. We put you in the field through our many different field areas, so students like you guys are ready for anything.

"Exposure to different monsters, different terrains and sometimes different teammates helps us, the teachers, gauge your strengths and weaknesses based on these tests. Students typically do this for their four years here, but get the opportunity to start doing special field exercises with the three big corporations. The Numbers Academy maintains great relationships with the Adventurer's Association, Police Force and Army, so we can implement our students on the field.

"I read your files and I know Yamada is thinking between the Police and the Adventurer's Association while Chang has his sights on the Adventurer's Association, correct?" Ritsuka and Lee Seng both nodded.

"Correct, sir." They both responded.

"There are particular things you need to achieve and pass in order to get into your respective area. Since Yamada has two in mind, we'll go through both of them more in-depth at a later time. Today I just wanted to get an understanding of how the transfer events were over the weekend and to get to know you a little bit with your personal goals. With that, I'll see you on Wednesday, Chang. See you tomorrow, Yamada." Mr. Icarus finished up.

The two boys saluted and Mr. Icarus saluted in return. The two boys released their salutes and waved goodbye.

"Study hard, you two." Mr. Icarus waved.

"Will do, sir." The boys responded. The two moved to exit and the bustle of students grew louder.

"That went well." Ritsuka spoke.

"Mmm, Mr. Icarus doesn't seem so bad to what information Garcia told us about him." Lee Seng nodded. The two exited and turned right. The halls were thinning but students were still about, training and goofing off.

"You still want to get a workout in before we head back?" Ritsuka asked.

"Mmm, we could. They have weights here?"

"The section across the hall. We could leave our stuff in the lockers and head that way. I just want my earbuds and phone so I can do my thing."

"Let's do that then." Lee Seng split off from Ritsuka and moved to his locker. A couple of the guys from their class were finishing up changing. Lee Seng pulled his phone out and pulled his student ID QR code out and lifted it up to the locker. The locker beeped and Lee Seng fished for his earbuds.

'I guess this would be a good way to get to know Ritsuka better.' Lee Seng nodded. He slipped the earbud case into his pocket and closed the locker.

"Ready?" Ritsuka asked.

"Mmm, let's go." Lee Seng turned and nodded.