The Exchange Teacher - Welcome to Dyntril Academy

The third-year round went quickly, partly because there was no Class E, meaning four fewer matches. But that wasn't the only reason. Class A was far superior to their Class B, C, and D opponents. The shielded round lasted less than ten seconds in most cases. The unshielded portion was over just as quickly, with the opponent going down in an unconscious heap.

Basque covered his mouth with the top of his fist as he noticed that when it was noble-on-noble battles, they didn't go for kills or injuries that could maim. It made Basque wonder just how ingrained the class divisions were.

Despite the strength of the Class A students, the student who drew the most attention and applause from the crowd was a boy from Class C, Daymein, the mage. When his name appeared on the scoreboard, the crowd went insane, yelling and screaming his name while waving their arms in the air. When he came out to the arena, the crowd somehow managed to get even louder, with some people screaming so hard, they turned red in the face.

A single attack from him zeroed his opponent's shield. When the unshielded battle began, Daymein toyed with his opponent, dodging attacks while yawning and waving to the crowd. He waited until the crowd got to "one" and then flicked the other boy's head.

The boy collapsed in a heap, and the medical staff rushed out. Daymein ignored it all and pranced about the arena, goading on the adoring spectators. Daymein was more of a monster than a fifteen-year-old kid, and from what Basque saw, whoever faced him in the final was sure to die a gruesome death. Basque grabbed the sides of his robe, like he was physically holding himself down so that he wouldn't rush out and try to stop the boy from continuing on.

The final match of the Class A student and Class D student was anticlimactic in comparison. The Class A student way outclassed his opponent, but he had none of the flair that Daymein did.

After the match finished, the announcer declared the third-year's battles to be done, and announced it was time for an intermission. That was the signal for the first-years to gather in the waiting room. Basque stood up. "Avae, Ryleegh, Reianna, Xav, let's go."

As he led them to the waiting room, he tried to hide his nervousness. He had faith in their abilities, plus Krill's favoritism for Class A actually made things easier for Basque's students. They didn't have to face that gap. He told himself they would be okay.

Natt greeted them at the door. She smiled at them, but Basque could see the tension in her neck muscles. She was just as nervous as he was. Before they went in, Basque addressed them, "Remember, the plan: one initial hit, then run and dodge. The crowd will boo you, but it's okay. They'll boo everything you do. We don't care about them. We only care about one thing, and that is?"

"Survival!" they said in unison.

"That's right. You guys will be able to do it. There is nothing to worry about. So, go out there and live."

"Yes, Gerenet-Shr!" The three girls and one boy nodded to him. They walked past Natt and into the room.

Natt lingered at the door. "How are you doing?"

"I'm holding on, somehow. I need to keep it together for them."

Natt nodded. "I'll be with them during the wait. Nothing will happen in here."

"I trust you."

Natt smiled. "It'll be over before you know it."

Basque returned the smile. "I hope so."

Leaving his four students and Natt, Basque returned to the rest of the class. He sat down next to Taraia, but didn't watch any of the fourth-year matches. He covered his mouth and nose with his hands, and his leg bounced uncontrollably.

He looked over at his class and saw that most of them were pale; his nerves had transferred to them. He took a deep breath and exhaled. "Okay! Listen up, class, we're going to do some image training while we wait. We will take the position of the lower-lettered class's student.

"When the higher-lettered student makes an attack, you must call out which direction to dodge. I'll call out the correct answer half a second later. Keep your scores in your interfaces, and tomorrow, we'll see who did the best. If there are any you get wrong that you're curious about, do your best to make a memo about it, and we'll go over it as well."

"What if someone cheats and lies about their score?" Saevi asked.

"There's no point in cheating. I'm not going to ask who had the most or anything. It's solely for your personal knowledge, so any cheating would be just cheating yourself."

"Understood, Gerenet-Shr!"

The fourth-year girl from Class B lunged at the girl from Class C. There was a mixture of "twist left"s and "spin right"s, Basque called out, "Left!"

The students who had guessed incorrectly groaned while those who were correct cheered.

"Left!" some kids called.

"Right!" said others.

"Duck!" said one voice.

"Jan's correct!" Basque said.

"Only cause he's short enough!" Braelyne yelled.

"We can't all be golly greens!" Jan replied. The class laughed.

Next to him, Taraia said, "He means Braelyne's a giant."

Through the rest of the fourth year matches, they played the game, and the heavy gloom that had consumed the class vanished. During the intermission between the fourth-year and first-year rounds, the students buzzed, comparing their scores and talking about moves that they had seen.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Up next, we are pleased to present our first main event: the incoming first-years!"

A murmur tore through the spectators. "First-years as a prime draw?" someone behind Basque said.

"I thought maybe they weren't doing them this year?"

"Same, and that's why they skipped them."

"You morons, it was written on the betting card!"

"Well, ain't you special, Mr. Reader!"

Basque put the noise out of his mind as the announcer continued, "This year, our Class E students have been trained by one of the Hianbrun ambassadors!"

The muttering was replaced by "Oohs".

"We'll all get to see firsthand if our future potential trade partner has anything worth teaching!"

The crowd cheered. Basque raised an eyebrow at the announcer's derision. Though it stood to reason, if he and Rakelle weren't getting the feeling that this country was a country with which they wanted to trade, the feeling could well be mutual.

"First up, we have representing the Grand Kingdom of Kruami, Class D's Son of Baronet Faroid, Eoghwin!"

The crowd went wild. Though probably none of them knew who the baronet or his son was, they were solidly behind the "Kruamian" representative.

In a monotone voice, contrasting the sing-song introduction for Eoghwin, the announcer said, "Next, we have representing the country of Hianbru, Ryleegh Candler."

The boos were overwhelming. With Harnel's grand speech about how he would never forget about the place where he came from, Basque would have expected the commoners in the sections around him would cheer. Their booing was just as vigorous as everyone else's, maybe even more so. He wondered if it had anything to do with her being assigned as a "Hianbrun Representative"

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The spectators' reaction washed over Ryleegh. She didn't react at all; she just stared at Eoghwin. Taraia stood and screamed, "You got this, Leegh!"

That got the rest of the class joining in, and they screamed for Ryleegh. "Ry-leegh! Ry-leegh!"

The coral-red-headed girl stood straight with her head held high and looked up at their section. Over the lingering boos, Basque doubted she could hear them—this was more about showing her classmates her fearlessness.

With a flourish, Eoghwin drew his saber and pointed it at Ryleegh. "Saber" replaced "unknown" on the scoreboard as he saluted with the blade before assuming a ready position.

Turning away from her class, Ryleegh looked at her opponent. She didn't draw a weapon because she didn't have one. She wasn't there to retaliate or attack.

"Oi, unripe raspberry cuffing?" someone said in the crowd.

Taraia leaned over, "They're surprised that someone as small as Ryleegh is fighting with her fists."

But she didn't stand in any sort of bare-fist fighting stance, either. Ryleegh just stood there, looking at her opponent. The scoreboard's "unknown" didn't change. More people began murmuring around them. While they probably thought Ryleegh was standing there, waiting for her doom, Basque could see that the balance of her feet was spread evenly. She was ready to dodge in any direction.

Basque covered his mouth with his hands and muttered, "Take the first one, Ryleegh."

"Begin!" The announcer cried.

Eoghwin launched himself at Ryleegh. She stood there unflinching as his saber crashed into her shield, knocking a tenth of her health off.

"Ha! Pants pissed!" that voice called out again.

Eoghwin went for a second strike that never landed. Ryleegh sprang into action and twirled out of the path of the blade. As close as Eoghwin was, it should have been impossible for her to dodge such a close strike.

The crowd fell silent in shock. Ryleegh danced around the saber-wielding boy. After the first strike, none of his attacks came close to touching her. Her movements were so fluid and graceful that they mesmerized the crowd, and the silence continued.

But, she didn't attack back. Eoghwin's comparatively awkward and unskilled movements left him wide open for any number of attacks. If Ryleegh had actually struck him, the match wouldn't have lasted thirty seconds, yet over forty had passed, and she'd done nothing.

The hypnotism that her dancing and twirling had placed on the crowd wore off as they were there for blood. She was denying them that. The boos returned in full force. Then, the sixty seconds finished and neither of them was on the ground.

The boos were deafening. Eoghwin panted with his sword drooping down. Ryleegh wasn't even sweating. Basque wanted to smile, but the most dangerous part was next.

The static of the announcer's mic going live crackled for a second before she said, "Ladies and Gentlemen, we'll now begin the unshielded, ten-second round."

Once again, Ryleegh's captivating dance began as she spun around Eoghwin's attacks. Despite the increased stakes, she closed her eyes and smiled. The crowd counted down the last five seconds, but unlike when they counted before, there wasn't an edge of excitement in their voices; rather, there was an anger to it.

When they hit zero, ending the round, a siren sounded, but Eoghwin didn't stop his attacks. The smile vanished from Ryleegh's face, but she continued to dodge. The attacks went on for another three seconds before the announcer came back on. "Mister Eoghwin, the match has concluded."

The boy screamed in frustration and threw his weapon to the ground. He stalked out of the arena. Ryleegh bowed to the crowd, and they booed again.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, due to the difference in health in round one, the winner of the first round is Mister Eoghwin."

"What the hell sort of match was that?"

"I still win my bet, right?"

"I hope they're not all like that."

Basque listened to the complaints of the crowd around him, but he didn't care. Ryleegh had performed brilliantly. Her classmates cheered their approval and ignored the annoyed glares surrounding them.

"Our next matchup, representing the Grand Kingdom of Kruami, is Braxton, son of Baron Phileef!" The excitement in the announcer's voice reverberated in Basque's chest.

The jeers of the crowd turned to thunderous applause as they welcomed their next champion.

Then back to the monotone. "His opponent, the representative for Hianbru, Xav Alnwick."

Xav came out smiling and waving to the angry crowd. He blew kisses at them while raising his hands over his head, shaking them, as if he were already the victor.

"Don't be a coward, too!"

"Another red!" someone said regarding Xav's darker cadmium red hair.

Braxton was an archer. He pulled out a bow and stood at the ready. Xav looked in the first-year student section for classes A through D. He kissed two of his fingers and flicked them in that direction.

Class E went wild. Half the girls squealed and screamed at his antics. Taraia muttered, "Ass."

Basque didn't mind what he'd done on his entrance, but he was going too far. He was antagonizing people who would be around him for the next five years. If Basque had been within shouting distance, he would have yelled at Xav to stop, but as he was too far away, Basque just crossed his arms and glared.

At last, Xav looked up to the section where his class sat and caught sight of Basque. He made an "uh-oh" face, then bowed to Basque. When he stood up straight, his face was serious.

"Begin!"

Just as Ryleegh had done, Xav stood there and took the first blow. The arrow stuck into Xav's shield. He pulled it out and tossed it aside. The second, third, and fourth arrows were already on their way.

Where Ryleegh had been smooth and graceful in her motions, Xav was wild and powerful. He wasn't jerky or spastic, and there was a definite rhythm to his movements, but it was at the other extreme. Ryleegh was captivating, Xav was exciting.

However, the crowd disagreed with Basque's interpretation, and there was never a break in their booing as they realized what was happening again. Xav never tried to close the distance on the archer. He just stayed where he was at the beginning. Being an archer, Braxton also didn't move from his spot.

Once again, Xav's playful nature reared its head as he turned his back to the archer. It didn't make a difference as he knew where the arrows were coming from. Instead of simply dodging the arrows, Xav began acting. Pretending there was a fly or something buzzing around him, Xav would wave at the arrow as it swished past his head, like he was waving an annoying bug away.

Class E laughed at his antics. The crowd mostly booed, but others began to laugh as well. Braxton's face turned red as Xav picked up one of the fallen arrows, timing his motions to dodge the newest incoming one.

He inspected the arrow and scratched his head like he was curious as to where it'd come from. All the while, every motion he made in his act caused the newest arrow to miss him, like he and Braxton were performing a comedy routine.

Down in the prime seats, several people got up and wandered over to where Krill and Yasher were sitting. The audience members pointed and jabbed their hands in the direction of the match.

Basque smirked. Complain all you want. That's all you're getting.

"Time!" called the announcer. "Begin the unshielded ten seconds."

Xav looked up as if he was looking for the speaker, keeping his clueless act going. No matter where Braxton shot, Xav avoided the projectile with comedic ease. When the crowd hit zero, Braxton threw his bow at Xav and screamed. Braxton stomped off. Xav looked at the crowd and shrugged.

"Once again, due to shield difference, the winner is Class D's Mister Braxton."

The crowd didn't know how to react. Many of them had enjoyed Xav's performance, but it wasn't what they were there for, so there was a mixture of cheers and jeers. Xav snapped his fingers as if he were disappointed in the loss, then shrugged again.

He waved at Class E, and some of the girls squealed. Xav ran off, and the spectators fell to a mumbling hum of conversations.

"Oh, Yani, Xav's so cool," Braelyne said.

"I'd not paid much attention to him before, but he's amazing!" Maecy said.

"Tell me about it," Miya said.

"Hey! Avae's already going for him!" Emilisa said.

"Who isn't she going for?" Miya said.

"All you guys are sick," Taraia said. "It's Xav! He's a goof, and you're all like twelve. What are you going to get married tomorrow?" She blew a raspberry.

The other girls glowered at her, but they stopped talking about Xav.

Time passed, and the announcer didn't call for the next match. Around them, the people shifted in their seats and mumbled to each other. Glancing down at Krill and Yasher, Basque's stomach knotted. Where was the announcement? It should have already been over, and Avae's match was underway.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! We are so sorry for the delay, as there was a rule change discussion going on. It's been decided that for the following two matches, the order of the rounds shall be reversed."

Basque stood up and stared at the empty sky from which the voice was coming.

"The matches shall begin with the unshielded ten seconds, then follow it with the shielded ninety seconds. To make the matches more entertaining for you all, we are not informing the students so that you may see how our skilled students can handle sudden changes."

"Hey!" Basque screamed at the disembodied voice. "What the Yani are you on about, you bitch?! Hey! Hey! You can't do this!"

"Oi! Bath guy! Sit down!"

He had to go warn Avae and Reianna. Just like Ryleegh and Xav, they would just stand there and take that first hit, expecting the shield to be there, just like they'd practiced. That one hit could be fatal.

Basque took off down the stairs. As he passed Aevari, the azure-haired man grabbed his robes.

"Where are you going, Master Basque?"

"I have to warn them."

The man shook his head. "They won't let you in. And even if they would, you wouldn't make it there in time." He pointed down at the arena.

"...and representing Hianbru, Avae Abbott!"

The crowd booed, and Basque went weak in the knees.