Chapter 516:Classes.

Chapter 516: 516:Classes.

The first week of specialization training began two days later, and Silver quickly discovered that Field Adaptability and Survival was considerably more demanding than the academy’s introductory description had suggested.

Their new instructor was Major Victor Halden, a broad-shouldered veteran with a damaged left ear, a mechanical brace around his right knee, and the unpleasant habit of smiling whenever students made mistakes.

He had spent nearly two decades operating beyond sanctuary walls, including several years commanding reconnaissance teams in unstable Yellow Zones, and he appeared to take personal offense whenever a student suggested that superior combat strength could compensate for poor planning.

On the first morning, he gathered thirty-two students from different first-year classes inside an outdoor training compound and placed a collection of equipment on a long metal table.

There were medical kits, ammunition boxes, water containers, portable shelters, signal devices, maps, and several damaged weapons.

Halden folded his arms.

"Congratulations. You’ve all chosen the specialization most likely to make you miserable."

Several students exchanged glances.

Silver smiled faintly.

Jude Dero stood several meters away with his hands in his pockets, also completely unconcerned by the threats.

Halden continued, "Some of you probably believe Field Adaptability means learning how to survive in the wilderness. Others think you’ll become experts at improvising weapons, building shelters, or navigating dangerous terrain."

He paused.

"Those things are part of it. But they’re not the point."

A student raised his hand.

"Sir, then what is the point?"

Halden smiled.

"Making the correct decision when every available option is terrible."

The students became quiet.

He approached the equipment table.

"Imagine you’re leading a squad of six Contractors through a Yellow Zone. Your transport breaks down. Your communications fail. One member suffers a serious injury. Your ammunition is running low, and your reconnaissance specialist reports a Tier Four beast approaching from the north."

He looked across the group.

"What do you do?"

Several students raised their hands.

He pointed toward one.

"Speak."

"Establish a defensive position and prepare to engage the beast, sir."

He nodded.

"Reasonable. And when your squad runs out of ammunition?"

The student hesitated.

"Retreat?"

"With an injured teammate who cannot walk?"

The student fell silent.

Halden pointed toward another.

"You."

"Use the transport as a barricade, sir."

"And when the beast destroys it?"

The student frowned.

He turned toward Silver.

"Ruddington."

Silver straightened.

"Sir."

"I’ve read your Hollow Creek report."

His expression became serious.

Halden continued, "You faced a creature significantly stronger than yourself and eventually managed to divert it away from an evacuation route. Tell me what you’d do in the scenario I just described."

Silver considered, then answered, "First, I’d want to know why we’re assuming we have to fight the beast."

Halden smiled.

"Continue."

He gestured toward the map.

"If our communications have failed and the transport is disabled, then our first priority should be determining whether the beast has actually detected us. If it hasn’t, we avoid contact entirely. If it has, we identify terrain that can slow it down while we move the injured teammate away."

Halden nodded.

"And if there’s no suitable terrain?"

"Then we create some."

Several students looked toward him.

Silver continued, "The transport is disabled, but that doesn’t mean it’s useless. We could use its remaining fuel, equipment, or mechanical components to create a diversion. Depending on the environment, we might also use its signal system to draw the beast away."

Halden raised an eyebrow.

"And if the beast ignores the diversion?"

He smiled faintly.

"Then we stop pretending the original plan is working."

Halden laughed.

"Good." He looked toward the other students. "That answer isn’t perfect. None of them are. But Ruddington understands something important."

He tapped the table.

"Your objective isn’t to defeat every threat you encounter. Your objective is to complete the mission and bring your people home."

Silver’s expression changed slightly.

For a moment, he remembered Elias, then he slowly nodded.

Halden continued, "And if you remember nothing else from this course, remember that."

Ravenna’s first week in Research and Beast Studies was equally demanding, although for entirely different reasons.

The department occupied several interconnected buildings near the academy’s eastern research district, with laboratories, specimen storage facilities, analysis chambers, and specialized classrooms designed to accommodate students with different research interests. Access to the more sensitive areas required additional authorization, and several corridors were guarded by military personnel rather than ordinary academy security.

She noticed that immediately, also noticed the number of restricted doors, and the fact that several laboratories appeared to have been closed following the Tier Seven containment incident.

Her introductory instructor was Professor Miriam Ross, a middle-aged researcher with short black hair, rectangular glasses, and an expression that suggested she had little patience for students who enrolled simply because they thought research sounded prestigious.

On the first day, she placed three preserved beast cores on a reinforced laboratory table. One was pale green, another was dark blue and the third was an unusual mixture of red and black.

Ravenna leaned forward to observe it.

Professor Ross noticed.

"Arkland."

She straightened.

"Yes, Professor?"

"Tell me what you see."

She examined the cores.

"The first two appear to be relatively stable. Their energy circulation patterns are consistent, and the outer structures haven’t suffered significant degradation."

Ross nodded.

"And the third?"

Ravenna frowned before she responded.

"The third is different."

"How?"

She leaned closer.

"The energy distribution isn’t uniform. There are several areas where the circulation appears to have been interrupted and redirected."

Ross smiled faintly.

"Good answer."

Ravenna continued, "It also looks as though two different energy signatures are present."

The professor’s expression changed slightly.

"Interesting observation."

She looked up.

"Is it a mutation?" She curiously asked.

Ross considered.

"Possibly," she replied.

"Or an integration?"

The laboratory became quiet.

Professor Ross looked toward her.

"What do you mean?"

Ravenna hesitated, then answered, "I’ve read about cases where beasts absorb incompatible cores or undergo abnormal mutations after exposure to unstable energy sources. Sometimes the resulting structures resemble partial integration rather than ordinary evolution."

Ross studied her.

"Where did you read about that?" She asked.

Ravenna paused.

"Public research summaries. And some archived reports."

The professor remained silent for a moment, then nodded.

"Be careful about confusing theoretical compatibility with successful integration, Miss Arkland. Most attempts to combine incompatible biological energy systems result in catastrophic failure."

She nodded.

"Understood."

But she continued studying the third core cause something about it bothered her; the uneven circulation, the overlapping energy signatures and the strange way the outer structure appeared to have adapted around the internal abnormalities.

She had seen something similar before at the Transit Research Station in the records connected to Project 006.