Winal's mandibles trembled open and close. He tried to find the words to say, but nothing came out. Just an endless clattering as the fire on one side of his mandibles flared and the lightning on the other sparked in response.

Uchronia wasn't done with him. She continued her tirade.

"Why didn't you stop when I told you to stop? I don't like the guy any more than you, but this was supposed to be a sparring match. You've gone too far."

His mandibles just hung open this time. Winal couldn't even close it if he wanted to. The flickering elements on his body accompanied Bion's groans to punctuate the silence.

Finally, Winal said something.

"I thought he was stronger."

Uchronia opened her mouth about to launch into another long rant, but Mind Alwin stepped in before she could get a word out.

"I'll handle this."

Before Niwla could protest, there was a flash of light, and the Yin-Yang Slime was back.

"What are you doing now?" Uchronia's voice shot up again. "And thought he was stronger? What sort of excuse is that? What's going on inside that empty head of yours?"

"Yes," Alwin said.

Her face twisted into a mix of confusion and anger. "What do you mean what?"

"I—"

A sudden scream filled the room, followed by the sharp smell of burning metal.

"Oh my goodness. Dear, are you okay?"

Alwin and Uchronia turned toward the door. Over there was Brie, smoke rising off her whole body, like it was the latest fashion trend. Standing next to her was a monster dressed in light-blue scrubs, carrying a first-aid kit. It was another plant-monster. However, it was not another new species. A huge sunflower head, with long, lumbering green limbs.

It was the same nurse who'd brought him to the entrance of the hospital earlier that morning.

What was she doing here?

"I'm fine. Just help my darling, please," Brie pleaded.

The sunflower nurse turned around and spotted Bion sprawled across the floor. Her eyes went wide. "I'm sorry. I'll check up on you later, dear."

She rushed over to Bion's side. Uchronia took a step back while Alwin gave a quick hop out of the way.

The nurse dropped to her green knees and opened the first-aid kit. Inside was a myriad of basic medical supplies. Vials filled with Mana and Healing Pills—he wasn't sure what size. Gauze of different lengths and thicknesses. Scissors. Tweezers. And lastly, a huge assortment of gloves to accommodate the smorgasbord of appendages that a monster may have.

She grabbed a pair of green colored gloves and pulled them over her stubby hands. It matched her skin tone exactly, and you couldn't tell she was wearing anything at all unless you looked close. Then she grabbed another pair—a swampier shade of green—and pulled them over the vines that emerged from her neck, just below her sunflower head.

Her gloved hands reached toward one of the wounds, just at the edge of the hole. It was jagged with torn metallic and seared tissue. She palpated the area gently. Each press caused Bion to groan out in pain.

"What are you doing?" Brie screeched.

Everyone ignored her.

"What happened?" the nurse finally asked.

"Spar day, gone wrong," Alwin said.

She raised an eyebrow at his response. Uchronia exhaled hard and took over.

"He penetrated him using an attack. Fire and Lightning in nature. I gave him a whole vial of emergency Small Healing Pills, and it seemed to have stopped the bleeding."

The nurse nodded. "Next time, you should dose based on the patient's size and severity of the injury. Over-prescribing might help deal with the immediate threat, but may lead to a longer recovery as it interferes with the body's natural ability to heal."

"Sorry," Uchronia muttered. "I thought I was doing the right thing."

"It's alright. Better than having your friend here bleed out. He's currently stable, but he needs to be brought to the hospital for proper treatment."

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"Is there any way we can help?" Uchronia asked.

"There's a wheelchair out front. If it's not in use, it'll make the journey to the entrance easier. Monsters with metal attributes tend to be a bit… heavy."

"I heard that!" Brie shouted.

Again, everyone ignored her.

"Alwin?" Uchronia asked.

"I know," he sighed.

Together, they walked out of the sparring room, past Brie, who kept insisting that she wasn't heavy at all. They ignored her and went outside the classroom. Conveniently parked right by the door was the wheelchair Alwin had ridden to school.

"I thought Milvus would've returned this by now," he said.

"Mr. Milvus is a busy teacher. Maybe he was planning on doing it later part of the day."

"Yeah, but why just dump it here?"

Uchronia paused. Alwin could see the gears in her bulbous head spinning. "I don't know. Maybe there wasn't a convenient place to store it."

"Whatever you say, boss." Alwin had already summoned out his Spirit Hands, which floated up to grip the handles. "Still seems pretty weird."

Uchronia stood there for a moment, lost in thought. Meanwhile, Alwin had hopped onto the wheelchair and let his Spirit Hands push him into the room. A few seconds later, Uchronia jogged after him, still lost in thought as they passed by Brie again. This time, complaining about how she should be the one helping Bion, not them.

They ignored her.

Inside the sparring room, Alwin got off his throne—wheelchair—and presented it to the nurse. Very reluctantly, he might add.

The nurse wrapped her vines around Bion's body and, with the help of Alwin's Spirit Hands, lifted him up and onto the seat. When they let go, the wheelchair creaked under his weight, and the seat sagged under his heft.

"Thanks. You kids can go off now. I've got it from here. A team's already on the way to the Academy entrance."

"Will he be okay?" Uchronia asked.

"I can't promise anything, but things seem to be looking up."

As the sunflower nurse pushed Bion, her face straining from the weight, a symphony of screams filled the air with every step.

It was Brie.

Every time the nurse brought Bion closer, it triggered the restraining order, which zapped her backwards, exactly one step. The smell of singed metal filled the air as Brie continued to be assaulted by jolts of electricity.

Almost everyone ignored her.

"Are you okay, dear?" the nurse asked. "What's wrong?"

"Restraining order," Alwin said nonchalantly.

"I see... Perhaps it's best that she gets checked out at the hospital as well."

"You mean I get to spend some quality time with my darling?" Brie squealed.

This time, everyone ignored her.

The nurse resumed pushing Bion out of the classroom. Every step was accompanied by screams and flashes of electricity, until the sunflower couldn't take it any longer.

She sighed, "Please keep your distance, dear."

Brie ignored her, continuing to chase them down the hallways, only to be repelled again, screeching with each jolt. And the cycle continued.

As they disappeared down the halls, the sounds of Brie's yelps growing softer, Alwin turned to Uchronia.

"So… do I still need to explain myself? If yes, I require at least one working day to provide an adequate reason. Three days if you want full details. And five for diagrams and pie charts."

Uchronia didn't respond right away. She was still staring at the doorway, distracted. "Huh? Oh. Not now."

"So, I'm off the hook?" Alwin gave her a wide, gummy smile.

"No. You still need to explain yourself."

His smile dropped into a gummy frown.

"What are you thinking about then? How awesome I was against Bion?"

"No. I'm just wondering why Milvus left the wheelchair right outside the class. I might be reading too much into things, but it was as if he knew that we'd need to use it."

"Milvus isn't a book. There's nothing to read. Case closed. In exchange, let's just say I don't need to explain my earlier actions."

Uchronia shot him a look. Her leaves bending towards Alwin at an almost perfect ninety degrees. She looked like she wanted to rip the slime apart. Alwin felt uncomfortable under the gaze, as he shrank underneath her. Instead of victory jiggles, it was fear tremors.

"How about you come along with me and give me that reason once I'm done asking some questions."

Without waiting for a reply, Uchronia turned and started to walk away. Alwin bounced after her, his usual springy gait more cautious than usual.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"To see Mr. Milvus."

They walked down the halls of the academy, even past the door leading to the staff room. Milvus was one of those rare special teachers who had a room just for him.

Uchronia reached and knocked against the wooden door using one of her stiffer leaves.

"Come in."

She grabbed the bronze doorknob shaped like a triangle and twisted. With a slight push, the door swung open without a sound.

Inside, Milvus stood by the window. Two of his thin tentacles were folded against his back as he gazed outside. It was a beautiful view of the open sky. Clouds—white, purple, yellow, pink, orange—wafted through the blue expanse. That sight was the best thing about the otherwise drab room.

Apart from the alluring scene outside, the rest of the room was the epitome of blandness. A single plain wooden desk with nothing on it and three brown wooden chairs, two for guests and one for Milvus himself. And unless you counted the ceiling crystals as part of the decoration, that was it.

"Have a seat," Milvus said without turning around. "I've been expecting you."

Alwin hopped onto the chair and wiggled his tush until it felt just right. Uchronia, however, remained standing. Her root-legs clenching tightly against the floorboards, as if anchoring herself in place.

"So you know why we're here?" Uchronia asked.

"Yes," Milvus said, finally turning around. A calm smile played across his face. "I know why you're here. What you're going to say. And how you're going to react."

He started moving towards them.

"So let's cut to the chase, shall we?"

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