After a lunch, in which Gaius tried to feed Nakama as much as possible, they headed down to the Sheltered Duelling Grounds. For reference, there was also an unsheltered version, but no lecturer wanted to hold classes with snow falling on their students, so it was treated as an extra venue to hold duels.

But no one used it for that either, since the idea of duellists having to clear snow off the duelling rings before using them was a tad ridiculous. Therefore, its most frequent use was a spot for recreational gatherings, like picnics, although Gaius’ face, when he heard that from Nakama, was rather delightful to see.

“Ah, new faces! And a little one too!” The slender man waved delightfully at Nakama, with a brilliant smile on his face that revealed four canine fangs. Unlike her reaction to Lecturer Ziegler, Nakama smiled happily back, and the lecturer let out a small squeak of delight.

It seemed that children were truly bringers of happiness.

“Now,” said the lecturer, “when did the five of you join this program?”

The moment Gaius heard these words, he felt a headache coming on. Forcing his discomfort aside, he replied, “The two of us came just yesterday.”

“Excellent. How about you lot?”

There was a moment of silence, and then the ringleader of the trio replied, “Last Wednesday.”

As he continued his words, the other two covered his mouth, so the resulting words came out as a garbled mess. But this disguise evidently didn’t work on the lecturer, whose face darkened instantly. For a moment, Gaius thought that he was going to blow his top like Lecturer Ziegler did, but nothing happened.

His eyes, however, were looking at the trio like they were dead men. “I am Senator Alexandre, lecturer for Advanced Combat. Unlike the other Senators, however, I don’t like politics all that much, so I came here instead to teach my speciality: fighting. Since we have new students today, we should start off with an exhibition match instead. The three of you, get up and go into the ring.”

Senator Alexandre looked at the rest of the class, some of which, Gaius belatedly realised, had been in the Apothecary lesson before lunch. “I want three volunteers to demonstrate why people should take this Advanced Combat class at least once, before they head into Heritage. Who will do the honours?”

A myriad of hands shot up. “Excellent. Austen, Li Sheng and Valliere, you’re up.”

The senator turned back to the trio. “I suppose I shall offer you one last piece of mercy. Do you want a group battle or a solo battle?”

The trio didn’t even get a chance to confer between themselves before the ringleader said, “A group battle, sir.”

Shaking his head, the senator then motioned at the selected students to stand on the other sided of the duelling ring. “Same rules: everyone has one minute to prepare their equipment. When I clap my hands, the battle will begin. Whoever I call out are to drop on the floor and stop moving. As for Austen and company, I want you to act as snowpyres for their…benefit.”

The chosen of Senator Alexandre grinned.

“Preparation time starts now.”

The trio, who had been labelled as idiots by Gaius, stood together and breathed in deeply. Gaius could faintly recognise them as using the first step of the mantra, though he couldn’t tell the reason behind them doing so.

As for the students the senator had picked out, they were busily assembling the equipment Gaius had received when he became a Harvester, and then some. The biggest of the trio, who was probably called Austen, had assembled a saber that reached up to his chest, while the others were holding on to a rod with a knife on top — a impromptu weapon that could be assembled from the equipment given to all Harvesters.

“Sir…” One of the idiot trio raised his hand. “They have weapons.”

“Where are yours? Let me guess, in your first trip into Heritage, you didn’t take your equipment along, did you?” The senator shook his head. “Why else would you not bring them when you’re outside your tent? Live with it.”

The senator clapped once, and the Harvesters that he’d selected dropped everything else onto the floor and dashed towards the trio. The trio raised their hands reflexively, but nothing happened as the other group split into three to surround them.

“First guideline in Heritage,” said Senator Alexandre, as he looked at Gaius and Nakama. “Snowpyres are intelligent beings. In a group, they will attempt to surround their prey, especially if they have equal or larger numbers.”

As he spoke, the group surrounding the trio closed in, and started striking out. Blood flew as Austen caught the ringleader with a mighty, backheaded swing of his sabre.

“Second guideline in Heritage: incapacitation is a death sentence, unless you happen to fall near a teammate.” Austen kicked at the fallen ringleader, sending him rolling across the ring and knocking him out decisively.

“Last, and most important,” added the Senator, “always go in prepared.”

Austen’s teammates reached into their pockets and tossed out small balls, which promptly exploded with a blinding light. There were a couple of thumps, and then Austen’s group jumped off the ring, leaving two groaning bodies behind.

“Li Sheng,” said Senator Alexandre. “Call the medic over. As for the two of you, I hope you learnt something from this.”

Gaius and Nakama nodded their heads rapidly.

“Good.” He turned to address the class. “Today, as per schedule, we’ll be talking about tailing snowpyres. Snowpyres are beings that arise from humans who died in Heritage, excluding those who went missing because they were covered entirely by shadow. Like us, they require sustenance, which for them is in the form of gems or human flesh. Following them can lead Harvesters to bodies or small reservoirs of gems.”

“The basic requirement to do so is that you have masking concoctions on hand. If you can’t remember how to make one, ask Lecturer Ziegler,” continued Senator Alexandre. “Use it as how you would, but remember its effective range. The goal is to keep between sixty to eighty metres of you. If you’re too close, the snowpyre’s route will change; if you’re beyond eighty metres, you’ll lose the monster in a couple of seconds.”

“The main part of this lesson, hence, is to emulate a snowpyre’s travelling pattern. For one, it likes to walk in shadowy areas, so everyone should be careful. Second…”

And for the second time in one day, Gaius found himself scribbling on the notebook. Nakama wanted to slack off, but after a stern glare by Gaius, she relented. Minutes flew by, and just as his hands were beginning to feel sore, Senator Alexandre kept his notes.

“The theory segment is over. Everyone is to break up into pairs and spar with each other.” His eyes glittered as he looked at Gaius and Nakama. “I’ll teach the new kids the basics. We’ll be using…that space there.”

Gaius nodded and got up. It was high time he stretched some muscles.