There was a period of eight days between when Mikayla and Keldryn had arrived at Cloudscraper and the first day of classes.

  Mikayla had fully expected to spend those days sorting out the finer details of her enrolment, meeting her new classmates, preparing both her living space and her study materials. Generally, getting settled in.

  So how had she ended up standing on a rickety platform fastened to the crown of a tree, watching Nya glare down at an oblivious Kaiju with killing intent?

  It had all started when Nya had suggested that they take a couple of days to do team-building exercises, get to know each other and learn how best to cover each other's strengths and weaknesses. And the best way to do that was, of course, live combat.

  Really, Mikayla should have guessed this would happen.

  At the northwest edge of the Cloudscraper campus, hiding in the shade of the Cloudfingers, was a heavily fortified train station. It was built around a tunnel that burrowed straight through the mountains and into the Kaiju Coast beyond, coming out at the midway point between two large and sprawling networks of valleys that almost resembled nature preserves.

  Of course, this was the Kaiju Coast, so naturally the reality was far more bloody. These two valleys were the Hunting Grounds, environments carefully maintained by the Goliath Guard to provide 'safe' - or close enough - places for Cloudscraper's students to find level-appropriate encounters. The Eastern Grounds were packed full of Kaijus at Tier 6 and below, while the Western Grounds catered to higher-level students. Nya had explained that their populations were monitored and culled by a semi-retired Level 90 veteran of the Goliath Guard known as the Huntsman.

  Mikayla wondered what he was like, but Nya had been too impatient to waste time investigating the lodges nearby in hopes of catching a glimpse of the senior Guardsman. Well, she was sure that she would meet him eventually.

  She'd also gotten a brief rundown on the level ranges believed to be standard among the Goliath Guard; she, Nya, Keldryn and their other classmates were expected to be in the range of Level 40 to 50 by the time they finished studying. The average Guardsman, depending on how frequently they fought, would reach approximately Level 80 by the time they retired - provided they lived that long. Those who had the skill and the drive to push beyond that and enter the range of Level 100 and above were considered living legends. Having peaked at Level 90 put the Huntsman at almost the peak of his field.

  With that digression over and done with, we return to Mikayla and Nya venturing into the Eastern Grounds to find practice dummies.

  In the maze of massive trees and platforms connected by precarious rope bridges, Mikayla was discovering that Nya was much more of a battle maniac than she'd given her credit for. No sooner had they laid eyes on their very first Kaiju than she was charging towards it, spoiling for a fight.

  They'd made their way across rope bridges and platforms precariously draped around the most massive trees Mikayla had ever seen. If she'd and now Nya was peering down at a large, furry creature rooting in the dirt at the base of the tree.

  Mikayla fished out her phone and took a quick picture.

  [FOREST BOAR - TIER 3 - Type: MAMMAL (Subtype: KAIJU)]

  "We should demonstrate our abilities, that will help us work out how to account for each other in combat. I'll go first," Nya asserted, leaping down without waiting for Mikayla to respond.

  Moonlight Rose formed up around her, and a long, spear-like weapon with a chain at one end and a blade at the other appeared in her hands. The length of the chain trailed behind her as Nya used the force of the fall to drive her weapon into the Boar's face. She hadn't even grown to full size.

  The massive pig squealed and bucked, and she leapt clear before it could throw her off. Her foot found the bark of the tree, and there was a burst of Stamina that adhered her to its trunk.

  The Boar wasn't satisfied to just glare up at her. A crackling line of blue energy appeared between its tusks, forming a ball of plasma. It bucked its head and flung the projectile up at Nya.

  Nya's chain weapon flicked backwards and wrapped itself around the tree, seeming to snake of its own volition around its diameter and lock into place like a lasso. Without even bothering to test it - for she had complete confidence in her Technique - Nya jumped off the side of the tree, chain stretching and trailing behind her. The bolt of energy flew harmlessly through her wake.

  With a burst of expanding green-and-purple light, Moonlight Rose grew to full size. Mikayla could faintly make out a green glow from her friend's Core Controller as Nya activated another Core while growing to full size - from her personal experience with trying to change size on the fly mid-fight, she was amazed that Nya had the mental fortitude necessary to multitask like that.

  Nya's latest Core conjured a bandolier of knives, and with speed that the human would have thought impossible for a sized-up Armour Core, Nya flicked the knives downwards as she soared over the Boar, carving them into a U-shape.

  She hit the ground, and in the same moment the knives grew exponentially, becoming huge, sharp pillars that trapped the monster pig in place. Mikayla could see that there wasn't enough room for the pig to squeeze through, and it it tried it would be torn to ribbons. Its only avenue of escape was the opening that Nya had left, that she was now using to square off with the monster.

  The Boar's tusks glowed with plasma again, but Nya wasn't having it. The chain of her weapon - Mikayla thought she recognised it, wasn't it called a kusarigama? - was still wrapped around the tree, stretching over the Boar's head to where Nya had landed. A fourth Core added pink light to the mix, lifting Nya a few extra metres into the air as her feet were changed into wicked and straight swords.

  The chain in her hands retracted as she leapt into the air, pulling her forwards and driving her bladed feet into the Boar's face and shoulders. The trapping knives blinked out of existence, and so did the kusarigama. Expertly shifting her weight, Nya forced the beast to the ground and re-summoned her weapon, driving it past the Boar's spine and into its heart.

  Mikayla stared for a moment. That had been brutal.

  Nya's Armour shrunk to regular size, then a glowing chain flew past Mikayla's head and dug into the tree's trunk behind her. Mikayla watched as the chain retracted, pulling Nya upwards, until she had rejoined Mikayla on the platform.

  "Apologies. That wasn't a very good showing. It was too weak to survive more than a mere two of my strikes. I wasn't even able to demonstrate the true depths of my skillset,"

  "No worries," Mikayla lowly whistled. This was her first time seeing someone else use the 'Yevgenia style' of shrinking and growing mid-fight, and eventually this brief demonstration had hammered home how bad her early attempts to mimic it with Mana Assistance had been. "I think I got the idea,"

  "Excellent. So, your turn? Would you like to take some more time to test out your new Cores?"

  "That's what we were doing all of yesterday evening. I think I've got a handle on it," Mikayla assured her roommate.

  "Alright. Let us locate a target, then,"

  As they searched, a muttered command brought up Mikayla's new and improved Ability list.

  [ABILITIES:

  CORES:

  LAPIS OF BLACK KNIGHT (CORE): Expend Mana continuously to conjure an Armour of the Black Knight. Enhancements: Goliath

  RUBY OF SWORD (CORE): Expend Mana continuously to conjure a Sword. Enhancements: Goliath

  LAPIS OF OAKEN PROTECTOR (CORE): Expend Mana continuously to conjure a Shield. Enhancements: Goliath, Attractive, Durability Aura

  LAPIS OF CANNON (CORE): Expend Mana to conjure a Cannon and a projectile ready to fire. Mana can be used to reload the Cannon and fire again. Enhancements: Goliath

  PEARL OF MOTOCROSS (CORE): Expend Mana continuously to conjure a Motocross Bike. Enhancements: Efficiency Up

  JADE OF BLUNDERBUSS (CORE): Expend a small amount of Mana continuously to conjure a Blunderbuss passively, or expend Mana to conjure a Blunderbuss actively with a projectile ready to fire. Mana can be used to reload the Cannon and fire again. Enhancements: Goliath, Lethality Aura

  TECHNIQUES:

  CIRCULATION OF STAMINA (Basic): Expend Stamina to accelerate the natural healing process.

  FIRESTARTING PUNCH (Crude): Expend 50 Mana to wrap your fist in flame and strike your target with an inferno.

  PSYCHIC BOLT (Flawless): Expend 40 Mana to project your thoughts in a blast of energy. Can be used with friendly or hostile intent for either communication or offence. Damage scales with Willpower.

  HEEL PROPULSION (Flawless): Expend 30 Stamina through your feet to launch yourself in a direction. Effectiveness scales with Agility.

  ASIKA'S AWESOME LASER BARRAGE 10.0.48 (Flawless): I worked out the kink this time! It still only shoots forty-eight lasers but it isn't costing 30 Mana per laser anymore, I got it down to 15! And it's not ripping my body apart when I cast it anymore! It looks like lasers in multiples of sixteen are the sweet spot. Next I'm gonna try to get it up to eighty!

  If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.

  POINT DEFENCE (Flawless): Infuse Stamina into a Firearm-type weapon to fire rapid shots that intercept and deflect incoming projectiles. Cost scales with Dexterity, efficiency scales with Intelligence.

  MAY YOU FIND ATARAXIA WHEN YOU NEED IT MOST.

  TRUE STRENGTH COMES WHEN MANY HANDS ACT AS ONE.]

  Not for the first time, Mikayla frowned at the two lines that always adorned the end of her profile. It had originally just been the first line, but after inheriting the Rainbow Ouroboros' power, the second line had appeared. She really needed to ask Asika about that one.

  Her gaze also fell on the Point Defence Technique that Asika had gifted her during the fight against the Giant Roc. While Mikayla wanted to say that adding the Blunderbuss to her Core loadout had been done with the intention of ensuring that she could use this Technique . . that would be a lie. She'd completely forgotten she still had it.

  "Found one," Nya alerted her, and soon they were peering down at a beast that Mikayla was tentatively identifying as a gorilla; covered in fur with an elongated and colourful face, beady eyes and no tail to speak of.

  Her phone told her; [ROOTFINGER BABOON - TIER 4 - Type: MAMMAL (Subtype: KAIJU)]

  Nya frowned at the little piece of metal and glass. "What is that?"

  Mikayla briefly recapped Asika's little gift to her, and Nya nodded. "Ah. Useful,"

  "Alright," Mikayla took a deep breath, crackling her knuckles, as the Core of Black Knight shone and manifested her Armour. "You got any requests for how I handle this?"

  "Must I repeat myself? Show me what you can do. We shall start working on strategy once I have a better idea of your capabilities," Nya pressed.

  "Alright, in that case," By this point, she'd done this enough, gotten confident enough, that Mikayla was able to convince herself to jump from the platform. The Black Knight grew to size ten as she did.

  While falling, the Cannon Core appeared in her hands, gripped in both gauntlets and braced against her chest. At that massive size, her knees barely buckled as she hit the ground, and in the time the Baboon took to spin around and focus on her, she was already pulling its trigger.

  The monster was blasted back into the tree, dazed and staggering, and Mikayla dismissed the Cannon. "Nocty, how we looking?"

  "You forgot to activate the gun," Nocturnus sounded disdainful of the additional to her arsenal.

  "Oh, right," In her semi-imaginary control centre for the magical mech suit, Mikayla flicked a switch and the Blunderbuss appeared, hanging on their back around the Black Knight's back. As the Core's description had implied, it was the first Core that she'd seen with what Nya called an Aura function; as long as she didn't try to use it, it only cost one Mana point every twenty seconds and contributed bonus damage to every other attack Mikayla had.

  ". . also, why am I a talking head behind glass again?!"

  Mikayla cast his screen an apologetic look. "This is the best I can do without wasting Faith Points. At least you have a face again now?"

  Nocturnus just grumbled.

  The Baboon had recovered, but wasn't trying to close the distance. Instead, it had scooped up a handful of rocks and was bringing its arm back to throw them.

  Mikayla saw an opportunity. "Point Defence!" she barked, feeling a chunk of her Mana vanish as she brought up the Blunderbuss. The System guided her aim at the half-dozen rocks, themselves glowing with Stamina, and she pulled the trigger.

  The weak projectiles were intercepted and crumbled against the defensive burst of scattershot. Since she had the gun ready, Mikayla fired it again. No Technique this time, just damage.

  A spray of splintered pellets staggered the Baboon again, opening small bloody cuts all over its arms and torso. It collapsed, twitching and growling in anger and pain.

  Mikayla let the Blunderbuss fall back, advancing cautiously. Even in this state, the Baboon was still glaring at her, trying to pick itself up with arms that would not support its weight. She could feel its bloodlust. It still wasn't even thinking about survival, just trying to end her life even at the cost of its own.

  Not for the first time, she wondered why Kaijus acted this way.

  As easily as reaching out to take it, her Sword appeared in her hand, and Mikayla silently apologised to the monster as she ripped its throat out with her blade. It slumped, its lifeblood leaving it in a puddle.

  [YOU HAVE EARNED XP POINTS FOR KILLING A ROOTFINGER BABOON!]

  "That was barely a fight," It took Mikayla a moment to realise that what she was feeling was disappointment. She flinched involuntarily. Had she really started to enjoy the endless cavalcade of violence and gore that life in the Kaiju Coast seemed to boil down to?

  In this violent world, was that even still a bad thing?

  A thunk behind her interrupted her thoughts and alerted her to the fact that Nya had joined her on the ground. Moonlight Rose looked down at the Baboon's corpse with its permanent fanged grin, then turned to regard her. Mikayla could only guess at what Nya was thinking, but her voice played through the Black Knight's receptors. "Pretty good. Is that focus on stunning and staggering enemies deliberate?"

  "More of a happy coincidence," Mikayla retorted.

  "Good. You can't rely on that against durable foes," Nya thoughtfully hummed. "You need some kind of taunting Technique. Something to ensure our opponents stay focused on you,"

  "Right, right, because I'm supposed to be the party tank,"

  "Exactly. Otherwise, that was good. You're dealing more damage than I expected, but I should have known better from someone accustomed to fighting on their own,"

  Mikayla nodded, the Black Knight's helmet bobbing up and down. "Honestly, that fight was pretty easy. It barely retaliated,"

  "Of course. We were attacking weak Kaijus, even lower than our level. We ought to see if we can find a Tier 6, that should be a good test against which to practice our teamwork," Nya resolved.

  "Level 30, huh? Sure, sounds doable," Mikayla agreed.

  "This way, there's a small enclosed valley nearby with a ladder that will get us back up into the trees,"

  They both shrank back to normal size to conserve their Mana, and Mikayla followed Nya through the undergrowth. Staring up at the massive trees that filled the Hunting Grounds made her feel small. "How did all these trees get so big, anyway? Are they Kaiju trees?"

  "No. The environment in the Hunting Grounds is maintained by a group of Guardsmen proficient in Druidic arts. They use gardening Techniques to infuse their Mana into trees, cultivating an environment for trainees to learn to hunt. You can see the results,"

  The two students passed through a gap between two tall hills, making their way towards the far end of the valley. There were only two of the massive trees in this valley, and it was the one that was further away which bore the ladder they were looking for. Mikayla could see why the builders had put the ladder that linked the ground to the relatively safe treetop passageways here, it was quiet and out of the way, yet had enough space within for inexperienced trainees to use the mouth of the valley as a choke point from which to defend oneself.

  She couldn't quite banish the little voice of genre-savviness which insisted that, if the valley were in a videogame, this would be the site of a boss battle.

  Of course, even acknowledging the thought had jinxed it.

  It was when they were walking past the first of the two trees that it happened. There was an animalistic shriek, as well as a rumbling in the ground behind them.

  Spinning on their heels, they found that the entrance to the valley had been blocked off by a wall of metal bars, seemingly grown into a lattice from the ground. The bars reached high into the air, hitting part of the bridge that would have let them escape the enclosed valley safely, and ripping it asunder. The side of the hill broke open, and a massive furry beast emerged from its hiding place, beady eyes raking the valley.

  "To the ladder!" Nya hissed, breaking into a sprint. Grateful for the prompt, Mikayla followed, trying not to look at the Kaiju that had trapped them and was now on the hunt.

  They reached the base of the tree, and Nya didn't hesitate to start climbing up the ladder mounted to its trunk. "It's a Tier 10! We can't fight that thing!"

  For a second, Mikayla wondered how Nya had Identified the Kaiju, but then she remembered the basic Identify that everyone got. Her phone just did it better, so she'd never needed to use the normal Identify.

  "Tier 10? Really?" Mikayla couldn't help snapping as she followed. "The unreasonably strong monster appears out of nowhere? Isn't this a cliche anime trope?!"

  

  Why yes, yes it is. Am I going to let that stop me? Nope!

  Find out how they're getting out of this one right now on Patreon!