"Go! Get into the portal!"

"F-father?!"

The girl watched helplessly as the face that once belonged to her father contorted with pain. "Go now! Please, while I've still...got a hold of myself…!"

"But what about you?" the girl cried. "And where will this take me?"

"A better place," her father said. "A better...time. It's the least I can do for...having to put up with a father like me."

"Please don't say that, Father." Tears started streaming from her eyes. "I don't consider you a burden, and I don't want to leave you behind!"

"Tell me...do you still have the book I gave you? The one we used to read together?"

"The strategy book? Of course! I have it right here…" The girl started to pull it out before her father stopped her.

"So long as you have that, I'm sure that you'll be able to find your way back. Now quickly! Before he comes-" Before he could finish, he let out a roar of agony. A black aura began to manifest around him.

"FOOL! I WILL BANISH HER MYSELF!" The father yelled in an ominous voice. His eyes flashed red and his right hand began to glow with purple flames.

"Don't you...lay a finger on her!" With his other hand, he attempted to direct the magic away from his child. "Please, my daughter. Go!"

"Father...I'm so sorry!" The girl rushed towards the portal.

"YOU WON'T BE GOING ANYWHERE!"

"I won't let you!" Knowing that he won't be able to stop the spell in time, the white-haired man quickly whispered his own incantation, hoping to mitigate its effects or, better yet, change them entirely.

"THIS IS THE PRICE FOR FAILURE. BEGONE!" With those last words, a burst of fire shot forth from his hand. The girl turned back to see the magic coming towards her and could only put her arms in front of her for protection as she braced herself for the end.

Morgan woke up with a start, the picture of searing flames still fresh in her mind. She could feel her heart pounding against her chest as she quickly looked around to get a bearing on her surroundings. She realized she was no longer on top of a castle overlooking a barren wasteland; she was in the safe confines of her bedroom in her apartment.

The girl with neck-length black hair took a few breaths to ease herself. Her hands instinctively reached towards the scar that ran diagonally up her face. "The week hasn't even begun yet and I'm already reliving bad memories. I hope this doesn't become the norm…" Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she checked the clock sitting next to her bed on a small desk. It read 8:43. 'It takes about twenty minutes to get from Heimdallr to Trista, right?' she thought. 'And the ceremony begins at 10:30. I COULD sleep in for a little bit longer…' She let the thought linger for a moment before shaking her head. 'On second thought, sleep doesn't sound so welcoming after that nightmare, and besides, I wouldn't want to be late to my first day of school, now would I?'

Getting out of her bed, Morgan walked over to a nearby window and drew back the curtains that were covering it. As the light from the morning sun entered the room, she was greeted with the familiar view of a large city with busy streets and buildings made from red bricks. Visible in the distance was an enormous palace situated in the middle of a large body of water.

After taking in a deep breath, she clapped her hands on her cheeks. "All right, Morgan!" she said to herself. "You're not on a battlefield anymore; you're just another normal student getting ready for her first day at school. What's there to be afraid of?" Feeling better than she was when she first woke up, she turned around to get herself ready for her first year at Thors Military Academy. "'A good tactician has nothing to fear!' Father...Mother...just watch me!"

Around 20 minutes later, Morgan was on the next train heading towards Trista. In truth, there was little need for her to get ready that morning; she had already finished packing the night before, and the only things she needed to have on hand for the first day of school according to the guidebook that was issued to her were a weapon and an odd device that appeared to be an orbment, also issued by the school. Oh, and the school uniform, but that was something that was self-explanatory for a military academy. Anything else that was deemed necessary, like extra changes of clothes, toiletries, and other essentials, was already packaged and sent to the school many weeks prior. Morgan didn't worry about it too much, however; since Trista, the town where the military academy was located, and Heimdallr, where her apartment was, were so close to each other via train, she figured that in the off chance she did miss something (which she likely didn't; she always made sure to check and recheck anything with her name on it), she could easily go back to Heimdallr to pick it up and then come back to Trista. She had considered commuting to school so she didn't have to move out of her apartment, but she ultimately decided against it. Going to a formal school was something Morgan rarely had the chance to do, and she was determined to get the full authentic experience.

As she was sitting in the train, she looked around at the other passengers in her train car. There were some elderly folk and a few people in business clothes, but the people that caught Morgan's eye were the teenagers around her age that were wearing green jackets in contrast to her red one. If it weren't for the lion emblem that was etched onto the left arm of all of their jackets, any person would have assumed that they were each going to different schools. 'From the looks of things, it's probably to tell which class each of us are in,' Morgan thought. 'Although, I'm a bit surprised that I haven't seen any other people wearing red jackets. Makes me feel kind of lonely.'

Eventually, a jingle sounded over the intercom, grabbing her attention. "We are now arriving at...Trista. When disembarking, please ensure no belongings are left behind," said a female voice.

"Well, I guess that's my cue!" Morgan took hold of her weapon, or rather, her weapon that was in a brown lute case, and felt her shirt pocket to check that the school orbment she placed in it was still there. Once the train entered the station and came to a complete stop, the black-haired girl stood up and moved with the rest of the uniformed teenagers to exit the train.

Trista from the outset looked rather small, but that did little to dampen its welcoming atmosphere. There were various shops with signs posted on the buildings all placed around a little park with benches and flowers in it. Upon further inspection, Morgan saw that there were lino flowers growing on the trees surrounding the park. "I've never seen this many bloom in one place," she remarked to herself. "I wonder if they're local?" She moved on from the park and noticed a giant building far off in the distance. Judging from its size, she determined that it was the academy and started walking towards it.

As Morgan moved onward, she took note of the people she walked by. The various locals who weren't dressed in uniform all seemed to know each other, as the adults were casually talking amongst each other and the children were running around and playing with each other. The smiles on their faces made her feel fuzzy inside. The soon-to-be students who also made their way to the academy were mostly wearing the green jackets she saw before, though Morgan also started seeing some who were wearing white clothes as well. Judging from the way the students in white carried themselves to the way they talked to their peers to some of the colors of their hair, Morgan guessed that they were primarily nobles or at least people of similar status. Likewise, she guessed that the students wearing green jackets, based on their larger numbers and more casual attitudes, were commoners. This did raise a question in Morgan's head: would her class be comprised of mostly commoners or nobles? She had yet to encounter anyone who wore a red uniform like she did, though she attributed that to her arriving earlier than usual. However, she had begun to notice a couple of people pointing at her uniform and giving her an odd look, and it was starting to make her feel a little uncomfortable. She made a mental note to ask the people at the school about it later.

At last, she reached the entrance to the academy, where she took a moment to look at her surroundings. Before her was what she presumed to be the main school building, a large two-story structure with a belfry in the middle. More trees with lino flowers were planted in front of the building. To the left of the main building was what seemed to be an auditorium of sorts, as the students that came through the front gates were all motioned to make their way over there. Just as she was about to follow the crowd, she heard a voice say: "Excuse me! You there in the red jacket!"

Morgan turned to the direction of the voice. Walking towards her were two people, one a chubby boy wearing yellow clothes and goggles and the other a petite girl with brown hair wearing the green Thors uniform and holding a clipboard and pencil in her hands. "Hi! Welcome to Thors Military Academy," said the smaller girl. "We're handling the check-ins for the students in red, so could you tell us your name?"

"Um, Morgan," the girl replied. "Morgan G. Daraen from Heimdallr."

"Morgan…" the smaller girl looked at her clipboard and checked off a name. "Yup, I got it. You're the first one here!"

'First one?' Morgan thought. 'I'm definitely not the first student here, so maybe she means the students in red? If so, then that means there has to be others, right?'

"Is that your weapon you've got there, Morgan?" asked the chubby boy, breaking Morgan's train of thought. "If so, I'll need to hold on to that for the time being." Morgan handed the chubby boy her lute case without protest. "Thanks. We should be able to return it to you before long. You'll hardly even miss it."

"And with that, you're successfully checked in!" The petite girl gave a thumbs up. "The entrance ceremony is going to be held in the auditorium where the other students are going, so go out there and have a good first day at Thors!"

"Will do!" Morgan gave a thumbs up back. "But before that, is it okay if I ask a question first?"

"If it's about which class you're in or why you're wearing a red jacket, then I'm afraid we can't say much right now," said the petite girl apologetically. "However, I promise that once the opening ceremony is over, there will be time for you to ask questions to a designated expert, so could you hold on tight until then?"

Morgan breathed a sigh of reluctant defeat. At least she tried. "Sure," she said. "I've waited several weeks for this; I'm sure I can handle at least another hour or so. Thanks anyways…" Morgan took a moment to look at the two people in front of her. "Uh, sorry, who are you two again?"

"I'm George Nome, second year, Class III," replied the chubby boy in yellow. "And this little munchkin here is Towa Herschel from Class IV, surprisingly also a second year." He put his hand on her head, further accentuating the difference in their height.

Towa immediately started pouting. "G-George! Stop teasing me in front of the new first years! You're getting as bad as Crow!"

George chuckled. "Hey, blame him for being a bad influence last year. And besides, I'm only saying what everyone else is thinking every time they see you." He looked at Morgan in the eye. "Come on, you thought she was young too, right?"

"Well…" Morgan put a finger to her chin, wondering how to best express her opinion without offending anyone. "You were already wearing the school uniform so I figured you weren't that much younger than me...but yeah, I didn't think you were a second year."

Towa started whimpering. "Ooh, there goes a solid first impression." She cleared her throat. "A-anyways, we can't help you now, but if you have any questions in the next couple of weeks, just feel free to ask us. Oh, and there's no need for formalities when you're with us; we're all students here, after all."

Morgan nodded. "I'll keep that in mind. Thanks, you two."

Waving farewell to the two upperclassmen, Morgan started to head to the auditorium. Before she entered, however, she decided to turn back. "I've still got plenty of time until the assembly starts," she said to herself. "How about I take a little walk and scout the area?" With that, she started walking around the school campus to familiarize herself with her surroundings. Once her time was up, she headed for the auditorium.

"'Arise, O youth, and become the foundation of the world.'"

The academy's Principal Vandyck, a tall, broad-shouldered man with matching gray hair and facial hair, recited the school's mandate as part of his welcoming speech. "Though much has happened these past two and a quarter centuries, the world is still the domain of the young. Yet the question still remains…" The principal paused briefly for dramatic effect. "What qualities must one possess to become a part of its foundation?" The air in the auditorium turned serious as the principal let the question hang in the air. A few moments later, however, he gave a reassuring smile to the new students. "I hope this credo will serve as a guide and an inspiration to you during your two years at this academy. Go forth, my students. The world awaits the great things you will one day accomplish." With those closing words, the room roared with applause.

'The youth shall become the foundation of the world,' Morgan recounted the words in her mind. 'Those are certainly words to live by.'

After this, one of the teachers announced that students will be gathering to their assigned classes as specified in their notebook. The students wearing green jackets and the ones wearing white jackets all got up and exited the auditorium in an orderly fashion. But as for those who were wearing red jackets...

"The class designated in our guidebook?" asked a boy with red-orange hair. "I don't remember seeing anything like that…"

The black-haired boy standing next to him shook his head. "There wasn't any information on that in mine, either. I just assumed they'd tell us where to go after the ceremony."

Morgan took this opportunity to look at the students who remained in the auditorium. Including herself, she counted that there were ten students wearing the red uniform, five boys and five girls. All of them seemed different in both personality and physical appearance. For instance, there was one boy who was taller than the rest, had darker skin, and wore a red vest rather than a blazer. In contrast, a short girl with silver hair had her school tie crudely put together and didn't seem to be interested in what was going on at all. Seeing such a colorful group of individuals gathered together in one place made Morgan feel oddly nostalgic inside.

As all of them were wrapping their heads around the situations a loud female voice called out to them from the front of the auditorium. "All riiiiight! Students in red uniforms, if I can I have your attention please?" The students turned to see a young woman with violet hair tied up to a knot wearing a yellow shirt and dark blue jacket. "By now you're probably all confused and thinking 'where's MY class assignment?' That's perfectly understandable, though - your situation is a little more complicated than the other students'." The woman stressed the word "little", likely indicating that things were actually very complicated. "But before I explain, I'd like all of you to join me for a special orienteering exercise."

A few mumbles emerged from the other students. A girl with blond hair questioned if the woman meant 'orientation' rather 'orienteering'. "Worry not! Everything will be made clear soon enough!" assured the woman. "Now, right this way, if you would." She motioned for the confused teens to follow her out the door.

The students were hesitant, however, and they all looked at each other as if each of them were silently asking another person if following the perky woman was a good idea. Morgan, however, wasted no time in getting up from her seat and following the female instructor. "Well, no point in just standing around worrying, am I right?" she reasoned as she exited the building. After taking a couple of steps away from the auditorium, she looked back to see that the other students wearing red were following her. Morgan snickered at the thought of her playing follow-the-leader and started picking up her pace to catch up to the instructor.

Eventually, the violet-haired woman came to a stop at an old rundown building that appeared to be an old schoolhouse. 'It looks so old,' Morgan thought. 'I wonder if it's haunted?' Meanwhile, the female instructor walked up to the front door and started humming to herself like there wasn't a care in the world. She brought out a key and started fiddling with the door.

"What does she even want us to do here?" the blond haired girl asked to no one in particular.

A green-haired boy wearing glasses looked like he was a few breaths away from fuming. "Is she ever going to tell us what's going on?!"

If the instructor heard anything, she showed no intentions of responding. In fact, from the looks of things, she secretly seemed to enjoy toying with the confused teenagers. At last, she unlocked the door to the old schoolhouse and kicked it open, surprising the students with her behavior, before casually walking in.

The students were left speechless for a few moments. A girl with long blue hair tied into a ponytail finally spoke up. "I suppose we'll have to go inside and see for ourselves what awaits us."

Morgan decided that now was a better time than ever to stop waiting. "Last one in's a rotten egg!" Surprising the other teens with her enthusiasm, she promptly dashed up the stairs and entered the old schoolhouse. One silent moment later, the other students cast aside their worries for the time being and followed her in.

"The name's Sara Valestein," said the female instructor once all the students were inside the old schoolhouse. She was standing off to the side on a higher platform, which gave her a sense of authority over the clueless masses. "I'm the instructor in charge of Class VII, which means you get the pleasure of seeing me all year. Glad to finally meet you!"

Morgan was about to say "Nice to meet you too", but upon noticing that the other students weren't keen on saying "hi" back, she abstained her comment.

"Hang on," said the green-haired boy with glasses. "Did you just say 'Class VII'?"

The boy with red-orange hair looked around at the other teenagers. "U-us?"

The girl with long blue hair put her hand on her chin. "I'm not sure I understand. I wasn't told anything about this at enrollment."

"E-excuse me, Instructor Sara?" asked a girl with braided brown hair and glasses. "I was under the impression that there were only five classes at this academy and that students were split among them based on their social class and home region."

The female instructor gave an approving smile. "Right you are, Miss Top Scorer on the Thors entrance exam! Students in each year are divided into five classes: two for the nobility, and three for commoners. And it's been that way for ages…" Instructor Sara paused for dramatic effect. "Right up through last year. But this year, we decided to shake things up a little." This elicited a few mumbles from the students. "We now have a sixth class," the female instructor continued. "Fittingly titled 'Class VII.' In this class, we recognize no distinction between nobles and commoners."

"Wait…" said the black-haired boy. "You just jumped straight from V to VII?"

Morgan snorted and couldn't help but let out a retort. "That's what you're worried about?"

"Y-you're really putting nobles and commoners in the same class?" reiterated the blond-haired girl.

"This must be some kind of joke!" yelled an irate voice. It came from the bespectacled boy with green hair. "And why is this the first I've heard of it?!"

Sara turned to the bespectacled boy. "Well, you see...uh…" The female instructor tapped her finger to her head trying to recall the student's name. "Sorry, who were you again?"

"Machias Regnitz!" said the bespectacled boy. "And with all due respect, Instructor, it's ludicrous to intermix nobles and commoners like this! Must I be forced to spend my next two years shoulder to shoulder with those arrogant, stuck-up hedonists?!"

Morgan winced. Not only was he angrily proclaiming his apparent distaste for nobles, he seemed to deliberately polish up his word choice to make it seem like he was mocking them. Still, the boy's name sounded familiar to her. Regnitz...where had she heard that name before? Then she remembered. The name of the current Imperial Governor of Heimdallr and the first commoner to ever hold the seat was...Carl Regnitz, a man who Morgan just remembered also had green hair and wore glasses. Given that information, it was safe to assume that Machias was his son. Recalling that little tidbit only made Morgan more annoyed with the boy; though it was true that Governor Regnitz attained the position through years of hard work, that doesn't change the fact that the son of the Imperial Governor shouldn't be one to give a lecture on the importance of social standing. At least, that was what she thought.

As she was thinking this, Machias continued to argue with the female instructor until a regal-looking boy with blond hair made an offhand remark about the irony of his behavior. From the judgmental look in his eyes, it looked like he recognized the family from which Machias came from as well. Machias naturally didn't back down. "It seems the scion of some noble house has left the comfort of his mansion to grace the unwashed masses with his wisdom!" he proclaimed sarcastically. "Please, milord, do share your esteemed name with us so I can give you all the respect you deserve!"

It was for a brief moment, but Morgan thought she saw the blond-haired boy's eye twitch. "Not that I would expect the name of an arrogant, stuck-up hedonist to lodge itself in that hard head yours, but since you asked so politely…" He put his hand on his hip and turned to face the rest of the students. "My name is Jusis Albarea. I believe that should speak for itself." That sent a wave of surprise through the students, save for the tall, tan boy who seemed confused as to what the name entailed and the silver-haired girl who merely stifled a yawn.

The Albarea family were part of the Four Great Houses, with the other three consisting of the Cayenne, Hyarms, and Rogner families, and each of those houses ruled over a major Erebonian province. With the exception of the imperial family, they were without a doubt the most powerful and influential nobles in the country. Even Machias was taken aback for a moment upon realizing his status, but he quickly regained his anger and was about to fire back another comment before Sara intervened. "I'm sure a couple of you have a few grievances, but now's not the time. We've still got our orienteering exercise to take care of, so if you still have any other complaints, I can hear them later." Machias and Jusis gave one last distasteful look at each other before respectfully turning their attention to Sara. "Thank you."

"You keep mentioning this…'orienteering exercise'," said the blond-haired girl. "What exactly does that involve?"

"It's a form of outdoor competition, isn't it?" wondered the bespectacled girl. "Something like a cross between a map-reading exercise and a scavenger hunt?"

Competition...exercise...scavenger hunt? After pondering those words for a bit, something clicked in Morgan's mind. "Is that why those two asked for my weapon back at the front gate?" she thought aloud.

That caught the attention of the instructor. "You're a keen one, aren't you? Yup, all of that was in preparation for this." She then took a few steps back towards a stone pillar, an impish grin starting to emerge on her face. "Buuuuut I don't want to spoil the fun, so let's get started, shall we?" Winking at the puzzled students, she reached over to the pillar, revealed a secret button, and pressed it. The ground suddenly started shaking beneath the students' feet.

"...!" Before her mind could even process what was happening, Morgan's body shifted to autopilot and immediately started moving. Not a moment later, the floor gave way from underneath the students, revealing a trap door that lead to who-knows-where. The sudden shift in terrain threw the teenagers off balance, causing them all to slide off the incline into a lower level...with the sole exceptions of Morgan, who successfully managed to jump to the side, and the silver-haired girl, who was hanging from a ceiling ledge with a grappling hook.

Sara was not amused. "Come on, Fie. No cheating. You're going with them, and that's that. What's the point in having an icebreaker if you don't make a couple of new friends?" She brought out a throwing knife and expertly tossed it at the grappling hook, cutting the wire. The silver-haired girl could only let out the word "Lame" before gravity took hold of her.

Sara then turned to Morgan, who was dusting herself off. "And you!"

Morgan immediately straightened up. "Y-yes, ma'am?"

"I'm surprised you managed to react so quickly. I'd commend you right now, but unfortunately I'm going to have to ask you to move on down there. We can't start the icebreaker unless everyone is accounted for. Also, don't call me 'ma'am'; it makes me feel old."

"Um, alright ma-Instructor!" Morgan inched closer to the steep incline and peeked her head over one of the sides. Though it was fairly dark, she could see the bottom. "This thing is safe, right?"

"Don't worry about it," assured the instructor. "This thing was designed to as non-lethal as possible. Now go on and get moving...unless you want me to use force?"

"Nope! I'm perfectly fine! I'll go down by myself." Morgan took a couple deep breaths to ready herself. 'I certainly didn't expect this when I woke up today,' she thought. 'This is going to be an...interesting two years, isn't it?' And with that, she hopped onto the incline and started sliding down to the bottom.

Watching her disappear from sight, Sara couldn't help wonder about the girl with black hair. "Her actions were quick and precise. Even some of the jaegers I've seen couldn't react to a trap like she did. It's just like with Fie; that girl has definitely seen combat before...and not the pleasant kind either." The twenty-five year old woman let out a sigh. "I've gotten quite the handful of kids, haven't I?"

Morgan successfully landed at the bottom of the incline. The other teenagers in red were already standing up, though Morgan couldn't help but notice that the boy with black hair was holding his cheek as if he'd been hit. She nervously scratched her cheek. "Um...did I miss anything while I was gone?"

She received a multitude of different answers all at once. "N-no!" "I guess…?" "Maaayyybe." "Hmph!" Morgan decided it was in her best interests to abstain from asking for the time being.

Just then, the students heard a ringing sound. Or rather, several ringing sounds. Each of them checked their pockets where they kept their school-issued devices to find that the sounds were coming from them. "I've been wondering ever since I got this," Morgan said, "but are these supposed to be orbments? They sort of look like them."

"Right you are!" a familiar voice said from each of the orbments. "These handy little devices are a special kind of battle orbment."

The sound of Instructor Sara coming from the devices surprised the students. "Is that...Ms. Valestein?" the tall boy asked to make sure.

"So these devices have built-in communications functionality, then…?" inquired Machias.

"W-wait, don't tell me these things are…?!" the blond-haired girl started to say, but she was promptly interrupted by Instructor Sara. "New model battle orbments made through a partnership between the Epstein and Reinford Company. Newly made fifth-generation battle orbments, in fact. They're called ARCUS units."

"ARCUS…" The black-haired boy whispered the name to himself.

"So these are battle orbments," the bespectacled girl restated. "That means they'll allow us to use arts, right?"

"Sure will!" the female instructor confirmed. "Just set a quartz into one of its slots, and you can use arts all the live long day. And as an added bonus, I've prepared enough quartz for each and every one of you to help you get started." As she said this, the room suddenly started to light up. The lamps adorning the walls that were once dark were now turned on, revealing the presence of several small desks, each with a person's luggage and a small box on it. "The weapons you brought are all here too, each packaged neatly along a little box containing a quartz. Find yours, and try setting the quartz into your ARCUS." After that, the instructor hung up, leaving the students no choice but to do as she directed.

Morgan spotted her lute case in the far right of the room and walked towards it. After opening the case to see that the weapon concealed inside it was undamaged, she opened up the little box that was put alongside it. The box, as Instructor Sara mentioned, contained a quartz that was to be inserted into the ARCUS. Morgan's quartz shone a brilliant blue color and had the pattern of what appeared to be a staff with a jewel in the center of the head engraved into it. After gazing at it for a little bit, Morgan inserted the quartz into the center of her ARCUS, where it fastened itself with little trouble. Once that was done, a blue-white light began to emanate from both her chest and her ARCUS unit. Similar lights began to appear as each of the other students inserted their quartz into their respective ARCUS units.

"What in the world?" Morgan heard the black-haired boy say.

"That light means that you've successfully synchronized with your ARCUS." Instructor Sara's voice promptly replied. "Congratulations! Now you can use arts as much as you want."

'Provided that they don't run out of energy, at least,' Morgan thought to herself.

"These ARCUS units have plenty more nifty features," the instructor continued,"but I wouldn't want to bombard you with too much info all at once, so we'll cover those another time. Anyway, since you've got your ARCUS all set up and ready to go, here's what I want you to do." As if on cue, a door in the opposite side from where everyone fell opened on its own. Morgan wasn't sure if it was remotely controlled or if the old schoolhouse really was haunted. "When you step through that door, you'll be in an underground testing area. Basically...it's a dungeon."

'A dungeon on school grounds?' Morgan thought. 'I know this is a military academy, but who thought that was an okay idea?'

"It's pretty large and full of twists and turns. I'd almost guarantee that you'll get lost at least once. But when you find the exit, you'll be able to return to the first floor of this old schoolhouse."

'Good, there's an exit.' Morgan breathed a sigh of relief. 'At least we won't be stranded here until-'

"There ARE monsters wandering around though, so don't let your guard down even for a moment!"

'Ooof course there are.'

"With all that said, let's commence our special orienteering exercise! Your objective is to make your way through this area and back to the surface. Make it back in one piece and I'll be happy to field any complaints you might have. If you make it back safely, I might even give you a kiss, free of charge! ...On the cheek, of course." On that note, the call ended.

All the students gathered in front of the open door and stared at each other in silence.

"U-umm…" the boy with red-orange hair tried to say something to break the tension.

"...I don't think she's joking," said the blond-haired girl nervously.

'The orienteering exercise, the monsters, or the kiss on the cheek?' Morgan wondered. She figured it probably wasn't the last one.

Jusis, meanwhile, gave a small "hmph" and started walking to the open door. Unsurprisingly, it was Machias who immediately took note of this. "And just where do you think you're going? Were you planning to wander off on your own without saying anything?!"

The noble turned to face the green-haired boy. "I have no interest in becoming friends with anyone here," he answered, "and I'm surprised that you, of all people, give a damn what I do. Unless…" Jusis started to stroke his chin, the same judgmental look appearing in his eyes. "You've suddenly decided that you DO want to keep company with one of those 'stuck-up hedonists' after all." This elicited a growl from Machias. "Still, if you're afraid of the monsters, I suppose I could accompany you," Jusis added sarcastically. "After all, what kind of Erebonian noble would I be if I didn't have at least some degree of prowess with a sword? And noblesse oblige dictates that it's my sacred duty to protect powerless commoners such as yourself."

"Wh-WHAT THE HELL?!" Machias fumed, his anger reaching his limit. "Nobody's asking your high excellency to DEIGN to help us!" He started making his way to the door. "But if that's how you're going to be, I'll just...find my way out of here before you! I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself without some relic of an outdated class system dragging me down!" With those words, he huffed and entered the dungeon. Jusis gave a silent scoff and followed him shortly after.

The rest of the students simply watched them go. "Is it just me, or did it seem like he was deliberately provoking him?" Morgan asked once both of them were out of sight.

"You're not the only one who got that vibe. This is going to be a difficult year if this keeps up…" the blond girl sighed.

"Um, I'm not sure if you're one to talk, considering you and Rean are still...you know," piped the boy with red-orange hair.

Both the black-haired boy and blond-haired girl perked up, as if remembering something unsavory, before the latter crossed her arms and let out an angry snort. Seeing that confirmed Morgan's suspicions that something happened between the two of them while she was still up there with Instructor Sara.

"A-anyways," the girl with glasses interjected, "what should WE do?"

"The only thing we CAN do," answered the girl with blue hair. "We should begin exploring these ruins ourselves. I believe it would be prudent to remain in small groups, however." At this time, the silver-haired girl, who up until this moment remained disinterested, started walking towards the door without saying a word. The other students took note of this, but none of them made any moves to stop her. They had just witnessed two of their numbers enter the dungeon by themselves, after all; the fact that the girl was willing to enter alone meant that she was at least confident enough in her capabilities to not warrant any help. "Perhaps we'll run into her along the way and she can join us then," the blue-haired girl noted before turning to the other three females left. "Would the three of you have any objections to accompanying me?"

"No, that's fine," replied the blond-haired girl.

"It would be a huge help, actually," answered the bespectacled girl.

"I'll join you, but would you mind waiting a moment?" asked Morgan. "I want to ask a question to one of these guys. I'll catch up with you in a bit, don't worry."

The blue-haired girl nodded. "That is fine. Take all the time you need. We'll move on ahead." She turned to the other two girls. "So, shall we be off?" They nodded and entered the dungeon as a group.

Once they were out of sight, Morgan turned to the three boys who were left, or rather, she turned specifically to the boy with black hair. "Let's see, you're name was...Rean, right?"

"Yeah, that's me. My full name is Rean Schwarzer, and I come from Ymir."

"I suppose now's a better time than any to ask: did something happen between you and that blond-haired girl earlier?"

Rean gave a light blush and held his left hand to his left cheek. The boy with red-orange hair asked, "You sure you want to know about that?"

Morgan nodded. "Of course! It doesn't feel good, not being in the know about something practically everyone else knows. Makes me feel left out, and it's only the first day of school! So...let's hear it. I want to hear an eyewitness testimony."

Rean sighed. "Promise you won't label me as something unsavory?"

"Yes. Well...maybe. Depends on how the story goes," she admitted.

Rean resigned himself. "Okay, here's how it went…"

Rean started telling his story. When the other students were sliding off the trap door, he saw that the blond girl had lost balance and was in no way prepared to brace herself for the fall. Reacting quickly, he moved to her position in the hopes of cushioning her fall. It worked, but it resulted in Rean getting a face full of the blond girl's chest. Once the girl realized the situation she was in, she slapped him. As he was explaining, Morgan's face switched between a myriad of emotions, from placid to surprise to intrigue to eventually laughter. "So basically, you, the gentleman that you are, tried to save a girl from falling, only to end up getting a faceful and being labelled as a pervert by said girl?" she summarized.

Rean hunched over. "Well, I guess that's one way of putting it."

"Wow, and I thought my day started badly!" Morgan continued laughing for a couple more seconds before regaining her composure. "Okay, in all seriousness though," she finally said, wiping the tears from her eyes, "thanks for telling me, and sorry for laughing."

"You're not going to get angry?" Rean asked.

"Why would I?" Morgan tilted her head in confusion. "I don't think I need to be angry at someone for something that could clearly be explained as an accident. Honestly, I'm just glad I decided to hear your side of the story first; if I talked to the blond girl, she probably would have skewed the story a bit."

"And you're just going to take my story at face value?" Rean pressed.

"You don't seem like a bad guy." Morgan leaned towards Rean as if she were inspecting him. "Plus, the other two guys seem to agree with everything you said, so yeah, I'll believe you. I just hope the two of you can make up soon. We've already got enough problems in our class, as I'm sure you've already saw with our two…*ahem* prideful warriors."

Rean gave a nervous chuckle. "You've got a point."

"Well, on that note," Morgan said, clapping her hands together, "I think I'm going to see if I can catch up with the other girls! Oh, but before I forget, could the two of you tell me your names?" She pointed towards the other boys standing beside Rean.

"Uh, I'm Elliot Craig," said the one with red-orange hair.

"Gaius Worzel," said the one with tanned skin. "A pleasure to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too. My name's Morgan Daraen. Well, hope to see you on the other side!"

"Are you sure you're going to be fine?" Rean asked, a bit worried.

"Wow, you ARE a gentleman, aren't you?" Morgan said to Rean in a teasing manner. "But no worries needed! I came prepared." She brandished her weapon for the three boys to see. It was a one-handed axe with a longer, more curved blade and a handle that was divided into two parts. "Well, see you later!" And with that, she ran excitedly into the dungeon. The dissonant thought of a teenage girl freely wandering around a dungeon while gleefully handling an axe was one that the boys found both humorous and slightly unsettling.

Author's note: This is just something that I felt like writing up a while back. Apologies if this comes across as amateurish; this is the first fic I've written that I've taken substantial consideration into planning and writing. Will plan on completing the prologue in a couple days, but anything beyond that will have to depend on my mood and the overall reception to this.
But if you did end up enjoying this, I'm glad I was able to hold your attention. Comment any things you liked, any criticisms, and other whatnot if you wish.
Also, one last thing: Morgan will be the only character from Fire Emblem playing a substantial role in this, so apologies to anyone who came here looking for an actual crossover between the two universes. Sorry! (~_~;)