Chi'go was a Dragon Newt with one of the best offensive abilities in the entire Grade, particularly Class 1-A. By placing attributes on iron, he could practically turn a random object to an Enchanted Item, alter its shape, and so much more. It was an all-rounder Skill that he mostly used to his advantage in combat.

As invincible as Chi'go was, though… "Chi'go down, Ad'oni wins."

… There were certain walls that he could not overcome, no matter how hard he tried.

'Impressive…' Those were Rey's thoughts as he watched the final individual match to its conclusion.

It was Chi'go versus Ad'oni, and while Rey already knew the outcome deep down, he expected more of a fight from his teammate.

In a way, Chi'go dished out a proper fight. However…

'I guess he was just heavily outclassed.'

Rey already knew the Status Information of both opponents, so as much as he wanted his side to win, he already had the outcome in his head. What he didn't know was just how much power Adonis would be willing to reveal, and the level of skill he would employ in combat.

By watching this fight, he could finally see it.

'He's improved, combat-wise. A lot, actually…' Rey smiled. 'I know he's holding back, but from what I can see… Adonis, you've grown in more than just Stats and Skills, huh?'

The finesse that Adonis displayed throughout the fight, and how he made Chi'go, one of the class' giants, go out in such a humiliating manner, caused everyone—particularly Rey to smile in amazement.

'Now then… I better go tend to Chi'go and his bruised ego.'

**************

[Later That Day]

The Practical Session finally came to an end after several hours of its commencement.

The students displayed clear signs of exhaustion, and all of it was perfectly normal, considering how much energy they had to expend. Not only were the exercises tasking on their physical bodies, but they also had to utilize Mana for most of these Skills.

In essence… it was a very exhausting experience.

'As I expected, Chi'go's ego was bruised after fighting Adonis. Thankfully, he was able to redeem himself in the last part of the Practical Session.' Rey thought to himself as he looked at his two teammates.

'Weapons are his forte, so he helped out the team in that. I guess that's why he can still smile, even after he was humbled so badly…'

In the end, Practical Sessions were training simulations and exercises, so as long as not only Chi'go, but everyone else, took it as an opportunity to learn something new and improve, they would be fine.

'Speaking of everyone…' Rey looked around him and caught the students—all in their respective groups—either gnashing their teeth in nervousness, or talking very excitedly amongst themselves.

The only students doing the latter belonged to Lucielle's group.

As for Adonis and his team, they were mostly silent. Even the usual loud and optimistic Mor'ucho was quiet—probably because he lost so miserably in the Individual Match, and he probably never had a chance at redemption… unlike Chi'go.

Ultimately, everyone was seated on the floor or standing, waiting for Instructor Isra'il to finish compiling their scores and announce their positions and points.

It didn't take long before all of this was done.

"Now then… I'll announce your positions and points, starting from the first position to the last." Instructor Isra'il spoke, his voice stern, though his gaze soft on the students.

All the listening students gulped and waited—their eyes darting around to perfectly guess the winner of the round before the Instructor spoke.

Rey already knew the answer, though. It was—

"Group 3 Mi'ja,: Luc'ia, and A'manda… you are first place, with a total of eighty-four points."

Indeed.

Their team had the most outstanding performance, and Rey already knew they would be the victors. While most people were more concerned about their victories and survival, Rey had spent most of his attention on the other teams in order to assess them, as well as copy all their useful Skills.

It was because of this that he now had a fair understanding regarding the capabilities of each student. He knew their strengths, weaknesses, their effectiveness on a team, their personalities, and most importantly… their level of ability.

Realizing that Lucielle's team would win was merely a consequence of that.

"Second place is Team 5: R'ai, Chi'go and Lu'ffa… with seventy-eight points." As the instructor said this, Rey smiled and nodded.

He also expected this much.

'And then, third place will be Adonis' team… with at least—'

"—Seventy-two points."

It was fun doing mental calculations in his head, but Rey made sure not to get too carried away by his internal thoughts. After all, there was something else he had to achieve in the current scenario.

"We didn't get first place, but we did really well. Thanks for your help, guys!" He turned to his team members and flashed them a proud smile.

"Hehehe! Just glad we didn't end up with last place." Lu'ffa took it all in good faith and gave his usual loud laugh, covering his eyes as he chuckled.

As for Chi'go…

"W-whatever. You weren't too bad yourself."

… He tried to put on a tough front, but it was clear that he was the most excited among the three boys. He couldn't even hide the sparkle in his eyes, or the slight hints of pink on his cheeks.

Much to everyone's relief, even the last place got relatively high points, and that was mainly because each round in the Practical Session catered to certain kinds of students in certain teams, so they had an advantage in at least one thing.

No team was too much of a loser, since they had a decent victory in at least one round.

"Good work, students. Now… back to the classroom."

The teleportation technology of the Dragon Empire was so advanced that they didn't have to walk to their classroom. They were simply teleported there, so all they had to do was find their seats and return there.

As everyone did so, Rey found himself fist-bumping the two Dragon Newts that were his team members, and he could see that Lucielle was also doing the female equivalent of that with her own allies.

'Good. This was a good way to blend in more with the class and make friends.' Rey smiled, subtly nodding to Lucielle, who reciprocated almost instantly

Everything was going smoothly.