"Student Council and Peace Guard?" Leo frowned.

"Yes. The Student Council is an organization formed by the academy and is made up of the best students in the school. Apparently, the best student in a class after a year gets a chance to join the Student Council. Meanwhile, the Peace Guard is an organization under the Student Council created to further maintain order in the academy," Yin Li explained.

"Isn’t the Student Council already meant to do that? Why create a lower organization?"

Yin Li shook his head. "No, no. Don’t get it wrong. The Student Council is to maintain order and make sure students follow the rules and regulations of the school, while the Peace Guard, although not publicly announced, is actually meant to tame the gangs. Its members are sent to protect new and existing students who have potential and reputation already. For example, you."

Leo sighed. He now understood why Louis was acting friendly with him. Turns out Louis was a member of the Student Council and a big figure amongst the Peace Guard, automatically a menace to the Great Gangs and a protective shield to most students.

Leo would have gotten angry that Louis was only acting based on orders to be nice to him, but at this point he really needed him. The Great Gangs had first sounded like a joke to him, but not anymore. And if anyone needed protection, it was Mirage. He just hoped Louis was assigned to watch over both of them and they were not split. For some reason, he trusted Louis to do his job efficiently.

"So he is just being nice to you because he was ordered to," Yin Li said.

Leo just smiled. "I actually don’t have a problem with that."

Yin Li looked surprised. "Oh, you don’t?"

"Nope. If anything, it’s good. I’m still a kid after all who needs protection," he said shamelessly.

Yin Li, unable to give a reply, just nodded and looked forward as the three entered their class.

"Have you ever been told you’re a really brilliant and sound student, not just good at cooking?" Leo said and walked to his seat without waiting for a reply.

Yin Li’s cheeks turned red as he staggered to his seat.

Leo briefly glanced at Lucien, who sat down, having said a single word after the encounter with Louis. With a grim expression, he turned to the board.

Their first class was Survival’s Guide. A class meant to teach Aura Farmers other aspects of survival aside from spilling each other’s blood. They would have to spill the blood of monsters as well and other realms. They would one day be caught in a deadly landscape. They would one day be caught in the middle of a ravaging war. They would one day be thrown into responsibilities.

Aura Farmers had to go through all of that. So this class was meant to teach them how to make survival decisions without allowing emotions or anything else to overcome it. How to survive hunger, how to survive a hellish landscape, and much more.

All of it was still, at best, rudimentary, but it was more than enough knowledge for Leo.

If there was one thing that was bothering him, it was Yin Li and Lucien’s expressions. Even the calm pink-haired boy had a grim expression, which meant Leo needed to be alert.

But alert of what? The class? The harmless topic? The teacher?

Speaking of the teacher, she was a young woman wearing official clothing that looked more like a tight bodysuit, fitting her frame and bringing out her shape. Ah, the shape.

She had long black hair that fell neatly behind her shoulders, dark eyes that never seemed to settle in one place, and a sharp composure.

She stepped away from the board and began walking slowly across the classroom while speaking, her footsteps light. Her eyes moved from student to student as she passed.

Some students avoided her gaze immediately, while others tried to hold it and quickly regretted doing so. Leo stayed still, watching her carefully, noticing how the room seemed to shrink slightly whenever she came close.

"Survival is not about strength alone," she said calmly, continuing her walk without breaking rhythm. "It is not about talent, or rank, or how much Aura you can control in a clean environment."

Her voice carried evenly across the room, neither loud nor soft, but precise enough that no one needed to ask her to repeat anything. Yin Li beside Leo had already stopped fidgeting completely and was probably frozen out of fear of something, while Lucien’s condition worsened every second.

She stopped briefly beside a student near the middle row, looking down at him without expression. The student stiffened immediately, not daring to move, while she continued speaking without acknowledging his reaction.

"Survival begins when comfort ends. When planning fails. When strength is not enough and time does not wait."

She moved again after that, continuing her slow path between desks, her presence forcing attention even from students who tried to ignore her.

Leo noticed something strange as she spoke. The more she talked, the less it sounded like a lesson and the more it sounded like preparation for something he could not place his hands on yet.

He glanced briefly at Yin Li again and saw the same tension there.

The teacher finally returned toward the front of the class, stopping near the board once again. Her gaze swept across the entire room one last time, lingering just slightly longer, as if making sure everyone had understood her completely. Then she spoke clearly, without raising her voice.

"Survival is not theory. It is recognition and experience."

The moment those words finished, Leo and the rest of the class fell into darkness.

Leo wanted to move but he could not. He could still feel his body, but he was no longer standing or sitting. He was not doing anything, and yet he was doing a lot of things, which made him feel really weird.

His thoughts were interrupted when shapes started forming around him. Then the teacher’s voice returned, but it did not come from one direction. It came from everywhere at once.

"Survival begins when instruction ends."

The world fully formed after that sentence. In seconds, he found himself in a large thick forest. The trees rose high as if trying to pierce the artificial red sky. The sky itself looked ominous, blood red. There was no moon or sun in sight, neither was the Crimson Orb.

"Illusion abilities?" Leo frowned.

Still, he did not know what true purpose throwing them here served. Leo was all alone and only surrounded by the black trees.

The teacher’s voice echoed again. "Capricorn Class D. This is a test of survival. Do not worry, it is meant to suit your rank and will not exceed it. All you have to do is survive. No missions or fighting amongst yourselves. You are just to survive for a maximum of three hours."

Leo heard what she said, but his mind was in another place.

"That aside," he scoffed and glanced at the surroundings. "I do not really have a good feeling about these three hours."