Mystic Grove Academy

13: Elemental War Prologue (Part 2) - Spring Term Begins

2 Months Later (Tuesday, January 8th):

Mystic Grove Cafeteria (Lunch) - Mara P.O.V.

The first day of the new semester is hectic no matter what school you go to. Even back in Sturgis, the change in semester sends people in different directions depending on the elective they chose. Here in Mystic Grove, the change in semester means a whole new group of classes that are more tailored to your Element. In terms of us second years, we now have classes with the upperclassmen and with new first-years and transfers joining the mix - things are going to get interesting. Right now, I'm with my team during lunch as we look over the list of the spring events we can participate in.

"Alright," Marcie lays out the events taking place from now until the end of April, "I got the list of all the spring events - especially the Big Three."

I look at Marcie after the way she said Big Three. "What's the Big Three about?" I question my friends; I'm still new so I'm getting to grips with understanding how everything works here.

Alya smacks her forehead. "I forget this is only your second semester here." She turns to me with a copy of the list in her hand. "The Big Three are the school's biggest events. Unlike the fall term where we had the Balstead and the Blitz, the spring term is when the third-years, the fourth-years, and those on A-Rank and S-Rank teams start showing out. We second-years nickname this term as the Power Players' Paradise."

Marcus continues reading through the list. "The Big Three events are: the Clash of Hearts which goes down on Valentine's Day; the Fire Dancers' Exhibition which goes down right before Spring Break and it's a one-week tournament; and the Space Lights event which pops off the week following Easter."

I take a look at the list at the minor events but almost instantly, the Clash of Hearts stands out to me. "It almost looks like we should go for the minor events, right?" I question my friends all looking at the list to figure out our next move. "But we should be mineful that we're still training under the Leaders, right?"

"Normally yes," Darren admits staring at the list like we all are, "but there's the team competition that follows Clash of Hearts and that's a mandatory event for all teams regardless of rank."

"I never understood the whole rank thing anyway and what's our team's rank?

"Of course," Myesha takes up the discussion. "Teams are ranked based on performance in school events and combat prowess. All teams are ranked on a scale from D to A with a Rank S designation for select teams. Teams ranked A and S are the combat teams that are allowed to go on high-risk combat jobs."

"Remember when we first met we referenced a previous job where I blew up a factory?" Darren makes me recall the first day I met this group. I nod letting him continue. "We had just been upgraded to Rank A before you joined. Thanks to that fight Alex, Amaya, Joanna, and I won against Aurora's former assistant Hendrix, both our team and the Valkyries were promoted to S-Rank."

I'm now understanding things a bit better. "So, how many teams are there at this school and how many are either Rank A or Rank S? I'm curious."

"Nothing wrong with being informed," Marcie picks back up the conversation. "Last check, there are seven S-Rank teams, including ours, and five A-Rank teams. In total, there are thirty teams that are registered here so far." I'm in shock that there are so many high-level teams.

"Whoa."

"Just under two-thirds of the teams here are C-Rank or lower since they're either the first-year teams or those teams that just formed," Darren continues. "That's why we told you when you first started to join a good team quickly. There are very few lone wolf types here."