There was a knock on the door.
"Dean Willis, I have some news to report."
A brief pause passed before there was a reply.
"Come in."
Instructor Margaret walked inside the office, closing the door softly behind her. She made her way to her employer's desk stopping only a few meters away.
Gwen Willis looked up from her documents for a second to meet the mech pilot instructor's eyes before reimmersing herself back into her work.
"What is it that you needed to report? I have something to attend to later in the evening therefore I won't be able to show you much hospitality I'm afraid."
Instructor Margaret shook her head slowly.
"It won't take long. Have you been keeping up with the first-year students?"
That was an odd question.
The dean's expression remained unchanged as she continued to sign papers.
"I've heard we have a good batch this year. Dominic Folin from the prestigious Folin military aristocracy of our state, as well as Christina Garland from Garland Electronics. Not to mention the biggest star of them all: Nia Sterling. This is the first time our state is hosting someone from the galactic heartland, I'm told."
After scribbling a couple more signatures down, she placed her pen down resting her cheek on the back of her hand without looking up.
"I'm assuming something has happened between these students?"
The instructor wore a forced smile.
"Well…you are correct."
Dean Willis raised a brow.
"Out with it then. If it's something as trivial as Miss Sterling dominating her class, that's to be expected. Although she only has received a few years of training under her family's watch, the amount of resources they've spent on her is something our state can never hope to match."
The difference in upbringing between a small state from the galactic rim and the upbringing from the heartland was insurmountable. In fact, if it wasn't for the unique policies of the Sterling family, a regular citizen from the Terran Federation would never even step in such a backwater state.
"No, that's not what I've come to report today."
"Oh?"
The middle-aged woman inhaled a deep breath before continuing.
"The transfer student of the first-years, Zephyr Vael."
The dean's gaze focused. That wasn't a name she was expecting to hear. Then again, it was possible her academy's instructors were requesting his expulsion. However, Gwen didn't expect complaints to come in so soon.
"I had almost forgotten about him. How is he doing?" She asked with a neutral expression.
"I've heard from the other instructors, that aside from mechanical engineering, all of his other grades are the lowest any student of our academy has produced."
Although Gwen expected that to be the case, part of her was still disappointed. Zephyr Vael had confidently declared that he would be able to manage somehow. Maybe she had misplaced what little expectations she had.
"What's the point of this update, Margaret? If it's just to confirm his poor performance, then you're wasting both our time."
The instructor shifted uncomfortably before speaking again.
"That's not the main reason, Dean Willis. It's about his recent duel."
Now Gwen's interest was piqued.
"Go on."
"Nia Sterling had challenged Zephyr to a duel…which he ended up winning."
Silence ensued.
The dean's eyes widened, her composed demeanor slipping for a brief moment.
"He what?"
Margaret nodded.
"Although I wasn't the instructor overseeing the match, news spread that Zephyr Vael had defeated Nia Sterling in a sanctioned duel. From the information I've gathered, he had used a Squire to defeat a foreign current generation model."
Gwen leaned back in her chair, her expression odd.
"That…should be impossible. Although the Squire was a core model in our military for decades, its capabilities shouldn't be able to come close to matching anything a current generation machine can output. Are you sure the news is true?"
"I've already sent the footage to your computer. Please take a look at it whenever you have the time."
The dean held up her hand slowly, "No…I believe you. That is certainly surprising news, however I'm assuming this is not the reason you came personally to report."
"Correct. Due to Zephyr Vael's less than ideal academic abilities, he has not been able to participate in mech piloting courses. Even without any prior training from the academy, he had managed to defeat a stronger opponent."
Margaret paused before continuing.
"I wish to request that he be given special permission to attend. Someone with that amount of talent needs to be nurtured properly. Although the circumstances were skewed in his favor during his duel, he was already battling under a disadvantageous situation."
It took a while for Gwen to formulate a reply. Although the news had to be true given how passionately one of her instructors was talking about it, the truth was that it was too shocking to accept. A student originating from the outskirts of her home state had battled and beaten a pilot hailing from the Sterling family.
Without actual eyewitnesses, who would believe such a statement?
"I had even boldly declared that he had no talent."
She pursed her lips.
"Ma'am. Please grant him permission to attend mech piloting courses. If he manages to keep up this performance, graduating through duels isn't impossible. Not to mention, he is a citizen of our state. Nia Sterling is not. In the long term, she will eventually move to a higher state to pursue greater achievements."
The duel overseer's expression was urgent.
"Recently, the Mech Corps' intelligence sources have been reporting a build up of forces stationed on the border of the Killis Star System. It's nearly certain the next Crescent-Rust War will erupt in the coming decade. Our academy only requires students to serve in our Mech Corps for a minimum of two years. The government does not hold much confidence in foreign students to remain in our Republic after they finish serving their minimum."
It was a good argument. Gwen Willis was not stupid. If Zephyr Vael's performance was not a fluke, he would most likely grow to be a powerful pilot or commanding officer in the future. Even if it was, spending extra resources on a single pilot wouldn't hurt their state all too much.
"...Alright. Notify his lecturer that he will be exempt from supplementary classes from today onwards. If he doesn't continue to show results however, I will revoke this privilege, understood?"
"Thank you dean!"
Gwen waved her hand dismissively.
"Save your thanks. I'm assuming you made this decision because team training is beginning soon?"
Instructor Margaret's gaze turned serious.
"Yes. It would be disastrous if Zephyr is unable to join a team when the rest of his peers do so. If he is unable to integrate, even if he does manage to graduate, he wouldn't be able to work in group operations effectively."
The instructor narrowed her eyes.
"Maybe I might be optimistic about his capabilities, however I feel like he may have more potential than Dominic Folin."
Dean Willis gave her a rueful smile.
"Don't tell him you said that."
***
After catching a few more hours of sleep, Zephyr decided to head to class for the first time in two weeks. Winning the duel had taken a lot of stress off of him, and he no longer needed to train on the Squire day and night, at least in the short term.
As he walked through the academy's pristine corridors, he felt the weight of countless eyes on him. Unlike the curious or dismissive glances he had received when he first arrived, these were laden with wariness, fear, and perhaps even a hint of respect. The duel had evidently reshaped his social standing in ways he hadn't anticipated.
Once he made it into the lecture hall, a hush fell over the room. Students who were blocking the way obediently moved aside as he came closer like a school of fish scattering before a shark. It was certainly an odd feeling.
It was only until he sat down that his peers resumed their own conversations.
'This is somehow worse than before,' he thought wearily.
Well, at least he should be able to study in peace now, right? Zephyr pulled out his laptop and began catching up on the assignments he had missed over the past couple of weeks. The soft hum of conversations filled the lecture hall, but it was easy to tune out as he focused on his work.
About ten minutes later, he heard the chair next to him scrape against the floor. He glanced up to see a familiar beauty sitting down beside him.
"Why are you sitting next to me?" he asked, puzzled.
Nia gave him a blank stare. "Is this seat taken?"
"Well, no."
"Then I see no problem."
Zephyr blinked. "Didn't you used to sit near the front?"
"Only because it was faster to leave the classroom that way."
"Uh…I see."
He turned back to his laptop, trying to concentrate on a particularly tricky calculus problem that had been giving him trouble while ignoring the jealous stares from the other guys in his class.
She leaned over, peeking at his screen. "Do you need any help?"
"If I can't figure it out in the next few tries, I might," he replied, his gaze still focused.
She nodded, watching him for a moment before settling back to her own seat.
A few minutes later, Zephyr sighed in frustration. The problem wasn't getting any clearer. He had to be missing a step somewhere.
He took a tentative glance towards Nia only to find her staring back at him.
She raised an eyebrow.
"Need help?"
"...I would appreciate it."
She slid her chair closer, her shoulder almost touching his.
"Let me see."
Zephyr hesitated but then turned the laptop slightly towards her. Nia studied the problem for a few seconds before pointing at a specific part of the equation.
"You're missing a crucial step here. Have you learned all the basic derivative rules already?"
'Derivative rules? What are those?'
Zephyr scratched the back of his head a little embarrassed.
"I had actually just finished up algebra recently. Although the term derivative sounds familiar, I haven't had much time to study because I needed to prepare for the duel you had challenged me to."
Nia's expression softened slightly, though she still looked unimpressed.
A while later she said:
"If you want, I could tutor you."
"Really?"
"If you accept a rematch that is," She quickly added.
Zephyr rolled his eyes.
"Nevermind, I'm fine on my own."
"I'm joking."
The first thing that came to his mind was:
'This girl is definitely not good at jokes.'
Her face was practically emotionless last he looked.
"Seriously, I can help you," she said again, her tone more genuine now. "We can start with the basics okay?"
Although Zephyr was still skeptical, in the end he gave in. It wasn't like he had anyone else to turn to anyway.
As she began to explain the concepts, surprisingly enough, he began to slowly understand the material. Unlike the instructor that briefly skimmed over the lesson expecting the students to self study, Nia started from the very beginning and clarified everything he had questions on.
"What should I do after I apply this rule?"
"Go in order. Apply the next until the problem appears simpler. Only then can you solve the problem."
Minutes ticked by like seconds, the only thing breaking his concentration was the sound of another seat being pulled out behind him.
Zephyr turned around and looked upward only to find Christina now sitting directly in the row above his own.
"Good morning," the petite girl said with a shy smile.
"Morning…"
Something was weird. Wasn't he the loner that no one wanted to be around? Today, not one, but two people sat next to him! This was a record!
"Do you need any help with anything?" Christina asked, pulling a laptop out from her bag.
"Nia's been helping me, but thanks," he replied with a grin.
The girl pushed up her glasses giving him a nod before turning her attention to her own work. In the meantime Zephyr was wondering what was going on.
Is this what it felt like to be popular?
Was he finally fitting in properly?
He turned forward only to see even more people beginning to glare daggers towards him.
'Yeah…no.'
Shaking his head slightly, trying to focus on his work again while Nia continued with her explanation.
Gradually, the chattering in the lecture hall grew louder as more students began to arrive. With Nia's guidance, he somehow managed to finish three worksheets much to his delight.
"Instructor Irrad just arrived. We can continue this later," Nia said, shifting her seat back to its original position.
Zephyr looked up from his screen as the familiar gray-haired teacher arrived, causing the conversations around him to die down.
The older man gave him a deep stare before he greeted the class.
"Today, I have an important announcement to make. I will only go over this once so pay attention."
He paused until he had the entire class's attention.
Finally, he cleared his throat before beginning.
"As you all know, it has been a month since classes have begun. There have been two duel days held since and I assume most of you have familiarized with one another's mech as well as individual skill."
Zephyr scooted his chair closer to the desk.
It was true. He had already managed to gauge most of his classmates' capabilities already, aside from those who still haven't participated in a duel, which were the minority.
"Today, everyone will be forming teams of three or four chosen by yourselves. We will begin basic coordination practice starting tomorrow. This is mandatory. I'm sure most of you have already heard of this before prior to enrollment as it is one of our most important training courses first-years hold."
Zephyr scanned the room, noting how most of his classmates nodded in understanding. His stomach tightened. He felt a wave of uncertainty wash over him.
'Uh…'
It would be awkward to interrupt and admit he didn't have any clue, right?
He leaned over towards Nia and whispered:
"Did you know we were forming teams today?"
She glanced at him.
"Why do you think I'm sitting here now? Christy, you, and me. The three of us will be forming a team."
Her tone was bland, as if she was stating the obvious.
Zephyr furrowed his brow.
"How come I've never heard of this until now?" He hissed softly under his breath.
"What, are you not willing to form a group with me?" Nia turned her head to the side, hiding her expression.
"If so, good luck finding one on your own."
He felt his eyes twitch. The bluntness of her words stung, but she was right. There wasn't exactly anyone else he could call a friend. Could he even count Nia as one?
Exasperated, he let out a deep sigh.
"Fine, let's form a group. I would appreciate it if you notified me of these matters earlier. In fact, you could've done so earlier this morning!"
"I forgot."
'This girl…'
However, now that he thought about it more, Nia would be the most ideal member for his team. She was still quite literally the strongest pilot in their year. Christina on the other hand was still a mystery. Zephyr still had no idea what kind of mech the blond girl piloted, much less her individual skill.
"Do you have anyone in mind to be our fourth member then?" He asked, expectantly.
Nia brushed a few strands of hair behind her ear.
"No need."
Did he hear her correctly?
"Can you repeat what you just said? I'm afraid I didn't quite catch that."
"No need," she repeated, her tone flat.
Zephyr blinked trying to process her words.
"An additional mech can make a serious difference in combat. I'm sure we'll be able to find someone to join us with your popularity."
Nia shook her head slightly.
"Quality over quantity. There is no one else in our year that meets my requirements. Adding someone we're not sure of will weaken our group's cohesion."
He rubbed his temples, trying to keep his frustration in check.
"And you think we can handle everything with just the three of us?"
"Yes."
Zephyr raised a hand placing it on his forehead.
This conversation was going nowhere.