The scores being broadcast were meant to signal to those who wished to challenge for points, so depending on perspective, it could mean trouble or an opportunity to acquire Combat Magic/Mage-Knight Training Points, since one wouldn't have to search for opponents who would be searching for them instead.

"It's not just us on here," Eloise said.

She had found it possible to request that the screen show the results of other teams and had also realized that while they had been busy with the Burrow-moles, others had completed various pacifications and earned points that had also been broadcast. In fact, as she swiped across the screen that was projected in front of her, more scores were being broadcast causing adjustments to already projected scores.

"What about Caius?" Aylin asked then, leaning hard against Eloise almost as though she were trying to push the golden-brown haired beauty aside to make the search herself.

"Ow," Eloise said at the collision but didn't bulge. She also didn't do anything different with her screen swipes because even before Aylin asked, she was already searching.

"Here," she said then as she stopped on a screen where Caius, Delia, and Aurelius had their names listed.

"They already got started," Aylin said as she eyed the points in front of the names of the three.

"Of course they did," Kaya said and she sounded like she was still pissed that Caius hadn't picked her to be on his team. She couldn't shake the feeling that it was with him that she would have gleaned the most excitement in the mid-semester tests.

It just made sense to her to arrive at that conclusion because everything Caius had done, including handing them Arcane Tools, seemed to have been in preparation for something far more than just tending to Beasts or dueling classmates.

"Hang on," Eloise said then. She reached out and pointed at a small arrow at the edge of the screen.

She had swiped across the screen many times thus far and she had never thought to click the arrow. It seemed to her like it would perform the same function as the swipe but now she began to rethink that thought because there wasn't an arrow at the other edge of the screen even though she could swipe the screen in both directions.

For some reason, her brain just told her the arrow was for something else. So she tapped it.

The names and avatars of Caius and the others didn't change but the heading at the top changed from 'Study Of Magical Beasts Points' to 'Combat Magic Points'. The scores also went down to zero.

Another tap on the arrow and the heading changed to 'Mage-Knight Training Points' while everything else remained the same.

"Well, that makes things easy to follow," Kaya said and narrowed her eyes as she eyed the nonexistent scores and determined, "They haven't fought anyone yet."

"Hmm," Eloise said, and not wanting to scroll on and on, she just called out to the spinning disc, "Show me our scores, please."

The screen returned to a visual of their faces and names with the 'Study of Magical Beasts Points' they had gained thus far. Eloise clicked the arrow and the header changed to 'Combat Magic Points' but unlike how it had been for Caius and the others, the scores were not zero.

Aylin looked taken aback and then she smiled.

"Fighting those annoying little things counts for Combat Magic Points," she said.

"It would appear so," Eloise said with a similar smile.

"Makes you wonder what Caius and Delia dealt with if they're still on zero," Kaya said with a smirk and her head cocked to the side.

"Something fluffy and harmless, I'd think," Eloise said.

"Maybe the Wind-Puffing Rabbits," Aylin said and moaned with some longing as she pressed her palms to her cheek, "Oh to snuggle up with that soft fur…"

"People are starting to lose points," Eloise said then as she began to swipe through screens again.

A group she had just seen had lost a chunk of their 'Study of Magical Beast Points'.

"Let's get moving," Kaya said then, "If no one's coming to challenge us, we might as well find and challenge them."

"Or maybe we just find another Beast Habitat to take care of," Eloise said, "I see no reason to seek out trouble."

"And I said it's not trouble, sweetie," Kaya said with excitement and then raised a brow at Eloise as she added,

"Don't tell me you're worried about losing."

Eloise shrugged.

"Who knows?"

"In any case, there's no point standing here," Aylin said.

And then a voice called out.

"There you are."

The voice was familiar to all three ladies. Especially the grey-white haired perfect beauty who furrowed her brow at the speaker.

"Baler," she said while letting out a breath like she was already tired of dealing with him just from those three words he had spoken.

Indeed, the team that now approached was made up of Baler Khoine, Marcus Arognite, and a third whose name none of the ladies knew.

Marcus looked a bit fidgety. He occasionally glanced at Aylin but always looked away quickly as though her beauty scared him. Really he would have liked to just stand there and stare but the moment he eyed her for more than a second, her eyes would move to him and he'd hurry to avoid her stare.

"Hello, Sister," Baler said with a confident smile, "To meet you first… Must be fate."

"That's more words than you've said to me in total before today since we've been at Lochxen," Aylin said, "I assure you, brother, I preferred the silence."

Kaya and Eloise shared a look that said the same thing: Family Drama.

Baler looked at Eloise then.

"Eloise," he called, "You look well."

"Thank you," Eloise said graciously with a smile.

Baler's smile turned sad. That was the first time she had addressed him directly in weeks. The early days at Lochxen before Caius rooted himself in her routine had shown such promise to his developing crush. Now everything about a potential relationship rang hollow and desolate. Devoid of any real future.

Baler only thought this in his head but there was an air around him that revealed those thoughts. The look in his eyes became one of intense longing that took Eloise so much by surprise that she recoiled a bit and then looked concerned.

"Baler, are you alright?" She asked.

Somehow, the concern only made Baler all the more hurt and that hurt turned into upset as he strained to control himself from an outburst. Veins popped out in his forehead due to this strain and intensified Eloise's concern.

"Gods Baler," Eloise said, "You don't look fine."

"Eloise," Kaya called out.

Unlike Eloise, Kaya was not at all oblivious to Baler's obvious attraction to her best friend. And she could read meaning into Baler's current visage.

In all honesty, she felt it was far too much. Especially for an interest Baler had never spoken about to Eloise herself and just let stew inside him but still, Kaya was aware. She would have to be blind or a bit of an airhead not to be.

Speaking of airhead…

Eloise looked at Kaya calling her name, looking confused.

"What?" She asked, "He looks constipated, doesn't he?"

Silence…

'Con- Constipated?' Baler repeated in his head as his face flushed in a bit of embarrassment.

Kaya stifled a laugh at not just Eloise's description of Baler's issue but also at the look on his face at hearing her diagnosis.

Aylin wasn't so kind. She raised a hand over her mouth and laughed heartily, causing Baler to flush even harder and reminding him that Eloise and his feelings for her were a bit more secondary to why he was here.

"Oh, gods," Aylin said as she flicked a tear droplet off the corner of her eyes and then gestured behind her at the netted dome where Burrow-Moles still lay unconscious,

"The field's all yours. We're done with it anyway."

"We didn't come here for the field," Baler said then and stood more upright. His fists clenched.

To be honest, Aylin had known he hadn't come for the Burrow-Moles. Even if he had, she guessed he and his team wouldn't have anything to do there anymore as that particular exercise was done with.

The reason she went ahead and pointed the Dome out despite this was that the alternative reason Baler would be here made even less sense to her than if he were trying to redo an already completed exercise.

Surely, her weakling of a brother wasn't here to challenge her to a duel, was he?

Baler raised a hand and pointed a finger at Aylin's face.

"I challenge you to a duel," he announced in a voice that carried.

Aylin blinked and she froze in place for a good couple of seconds. And then she laughed once… twice… thrice… Until it became a loud and rumbling sound of amusement that was louder than Baler's challenge had been.

"You— challenge me?" Aylin asked in between her laughs like she truly was in disbelief.

Baler's face twisted at the mockery but he managed to control his rage, if barely.

"What?" He asked through gritted teeth, "Are you scared?"

Aylin paused again.

And then she threw her head back and laughed even more.

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