Quinn was waiting in the classroom the next morning when Zack arrived. As per his usual, he was among the first to show up for class. This time he had been beaten by Tessa, who was conversing with the teacher.

Sitting down at the back, he munched on a nutrition bar and listened in on the conversation.

“I understand that!” Tessa said in exasperation. “But it makes no sense. Why are we the only living things allowed through the portals, and why can’t we bring back any parts of the monsters when they’re already dead? I know travelers have eaten them on the other side before. Does the meat just vanish from their stomachs when they come back?”

“It depends on how digested the meat is,” Quinn answered her honestly. “I have heard of people who suddenly toppled over with intestinal issues after coming back. They had eaten monster meat, and it didn’t have enough time to digest. When they came back. It was indeed pulled from their stomachs.”

“That’s what I mean,” The girl growled. “It makes no sense! All kinds of mana crystals can all be brought back. What makes plants, fruit, and the meat and other pieces of a monster so different?”

Quinn sighed and shook his head. “We don’t know. As I keep telling everyone in the class, there is very little that we actually know about the portals. You would think that after a hundred years we would have made progress, and to a small degree, we have. Everyone seems to forget, though, that the portals are fundamentally different from everything we thought we knew before they showed up. All our sciences have had to be rewritten, new courses of study and thought created. The bulk of the progress that has been made in relation to them, have all come within the last few years.”

The desk screeched as the teacher stood and stretched, his back popping loudly. “You should understand all of this better than me in any case. What does your father say on the matter?”

She looked around at the question, her eyes lingering on Zack before responding. “He refuses to talk about anything regarding the portals with me until I go through for the first time. He also refused to let me go through one before the official school expedition.”

“Good,” Quinn pushed his desk back into position. “It would have been bad for someone in his position to break that particular law. The country has forbidden anyone from taking newly awakened teens through the portals. The only exceptions are when they go through as a class group. Like what happens at the other schools and academies, or if they are already employed by a corporation. Trust me, they monitor each group we take through for the first time rather closely. It would have been very visible and obvious if he had disregarded it.”

Tessa folded her arms and sulked. “I’m aware.”

Rolling his eyes at the suddenly childish action, Quinn moved over to the whiteboard and unrolled the posters. It was time to prepare for class.

Zack had his own thoughts on what they had been discussing, not that he could tell anyone about them. Only a few people knew that he had gone through the portals as a child. Without going through them in person, there was no way he could explain away what he knew.

It was easier and better to just say nothing in this case. He was sure there would be another chance to talk about the subject at some point in the future.

Quinn started speaking as soon as the last student was seated. “For those of you who can’t read a calendar, today is Mittwoch. The middle of the week. That means after training and lunch, you will be going to the Mana Tech and Applications building. After the class there is done, then you will come back here, for your final class of the day with me.”

With that out of the way, Quinn directed their attention to the board and started right into the lesson. “Yesterday, we ended the class after talking about the twelve basic types of monsters. Today we are going to talk about affinities before you head off for training. Now, who among you knows what I mean when I say ‘affinity’?”

Tessa and Zack both raised their hands at the same time.

“Interesting,” The teacher nodded at them both, and motioned for them to lower their hands. “It’s not that hard of a question and in recent years, the term has even made itself a part of the standard lexicon. In a fashion. You should all be able to answer the question if you took the time to think about it.”

“Some of you, I imagine, have an affinity for being cruel, stupid, lazy, etcetera. That would be the standard way the term is used by normal people. For us travelers we use it slightly differently, especially when we are talking about monsters.”

“When we mention affinities, we are talking about what element of magic the monster typically uses. This is generally fairly obvious but is also useful information. If you see a monster walking around with its back on fire, its affinity is probably fire. Either that or it pissed off a monster nearby with that affinity. What that tells you is that you need to be careful of flames possibly coming your way, or extra heat at the minimum. It also tells you that it is probably weak to water or ice-based attacks.”

“Most travelers have an affinity towards a specific element as well. Generally, at the lower levels, all it will do is ever-so-slightly decrease the damage you take from that element. At higher levels, and if your affinity is high enough, you may even be able to infuse your attack with some of that essence. Your sword or arrow might become burning hot or ice cold. You get the picture.”

Quinn continued the lecture until it was time for them to leave for training.

***

“Those of you who have not taken the opportunity to explore the different weapons will be doing so today! The same goes for those who have not done any martial arts training!” Rose told the class as soon as they all showed up in their training gear. “The rest of you can split between the two groups as normal.”

The grumbles of annoyed teens filled the air as they were forced to separate. Most of them had already made up their minds about what they wanted to use or do, despite the warnings of their teachers.

Zack shrugged and wandered over to the weapons. For most people, using and exploring the different weapons was a way to help them get a class related to the weapon they were best with. All of the nobles and even some of the regular, richer kids had clearly been trained on specific weapons since they were young. Despite not knowing if they could later become a traveler.

It had long since been proven that a traveler would typically get a class related to the weapon they were best with. In some fashion. The first-class people generally got was a training class anyway. For most, it would be ‘Warrior’ or ‘Archer’, maybe ‘Monk’, if they were good with the staff. Some of the luckier ones would get something better.

For the extremely lucky or maybe talented ones, they would skip directly to a junior class.

Then there were the aberrations, the ones who were completely outside the realm of normal. They were classes that operated by their own unique rules. Zack and Zara had once been part of this group. The way they had been forcefully pushed through the portals at a young age had changed them. The classes both received had been… different.

The first recorded case of an aberration-based class had happened twenty years after the portals first appeared. The man it happened to was reportedly a rather rotund, but otherwise extremely healthy individual. Upon entering the portal, he had been given the class ‘Meatshield’.

Both he and his sister had possessed aberration classes centering around magic. To anyone who had asked, he had simply told them his class was a mage, and that Zara didn’t have one at all. It was true to an extent, but also far from the whole truth. The aberration moniker was closer to reality for those classes than most would ever understand.

From his first day through the portals to his last, the only time Zack had ever used a weapon was when there were others nearby. Even at his young age, he had been smart enough to know their classes were different. That was all though, and as a result, he refused to use magic, whenever possible in a group. Using a spell, he shouldn’t have known was too great of a risk.

Trailing his fingers over the wooden weapons in class that day brought back memories he had tried to suppress. He ignored anything he had used during those days. Instead, Zack found himself reaching for the weapon he had used since being saved.

It was a long pole, called a staff.

It was easy to make a rudimentary version of it. Even without training, the most ignorant person could still use it like a bat or blunt cudgel.

Jean kept a close eye on Zack as he chose his weapon, noting how his eyes simply slid over the rest of them. It was as though using the others had never even entered his thoughts. It made her remember some of the rumors that had circulated inside the squad after the sibling’s rescue.

There was one in particular that she had never paid much attention or thought to. It was so ridiculous and contrary to what they knew, that it was beyond silly to even waste time thinking about it. Yet at that moment, her mind remembered that rumor and combined it with some of the things the boy had said.

Was it possible that instead of simply being subjected to tests in conjunction with the portal, he had actually gone through it? It would explain a lot about the boy, and maybe even his sister. It could also be one of the reasons the Major had been interested in finding them again.

Zack looked back at her, feeling the inquisitive gaze, and held up the staff. “I’m going to practice with this one.”