Day 3 of Cadet training led off for Death Squad at the Equipment/Gear class. They were going to be assigned gear as they were going to be going on their first expedition outside of the Academy the next day to do their first ever hunt.
The forest on the outskirts of the Academy were dense with Standard and Intermediate beasts and were perfect for teaching the basics for the cadets. The Intermediate beasts were extremely slow beasts that resembled turtles but with a hairy shell, a bear like face, and their tail was both a weapon and a paddle in the water making them extremely fast underwater. Most also stayed near the water and the group would stay clear of the water so minimal encounters would occur. The strength of the beast was that it could kill someone who is unprotected with ease so caution was to be taken if one was to be engaged.
The main teacher who Andrei could never remember his name kept droning on about the safety precautions that they must abide by while on their expedition. Andrei was running his "Identify" on all the gear around trying to figure out what the best selection would be for him. He was not sure if it was one item or many he would get to choose from but he already knew the helmet he was grabbing from day 1.
Most people stopped at minimum to look closely at the helmet that Andrei made up his mind on. The design of a white tiger head whose mouth opened where the user's face would be with what would be black stripes were the same blue as the eyes. The eyes were a blue that pierced the soul if you looked too long at it. The material made it look alive as well as extremely solid. But what Andrei wanted to see the most was its Active Beast Skill.
[Otto's Advanced Helm of Beast Duplicity]
[+100 Strength +100 Agility +100 Spirit]
[+10 Defense]
[Summoned Pet gets duplicated. You now have two of the same Pet following your commands. Cloned Pet can die but won't kill Original Pet, Original Pet dies and cloned Pet will die as well. Cloned Pet will step in on a final blow to Original Pet if possible.]
He also figured if he only got two things he would grab a belt which is that he was currently pandering over. The Advanced tier gave so many options that he started to forget which ones he liked and which ones he didn't. There were increases to his base stats that were helpful, as well as the elements one at a time. The +1 Wind from his boots had unlocked a new Wind Skill for him so he was thinking he should try out another element.
Then he saw the belt that screamed his name "PICK ME PICK ME!" without saying a word. Andrei was completely fixed on the description.
[+1 to all Elements. Skill acquired when equipped with "Elemental Surge". "Elemental Surge" when used will instantly replenish the Spirit and Stamina of the user to full. Has a 1 hour cooldown]
"So let's begin by each of you heading to the walls and trying on the gear and equipment to see what works best for you. Take your time, this will only be for tomorrow's hunt and since you are the first class you do get the pick of the liter so to speak." The main teacher had just gone silent and Andrei jumped up towards the helmet.
No one was expecting him to move so quickly but since he was their captain they figured he would get to choose anything he wanted anyways. It was not like any of them would object or say no to him.
He grabbed the helmet and then the belt and had a huge smile on his face. Everyone had paused to watch him and when he wasn't going for anything else most of the students decided to go and find their own.
Andrei was done so he decided to start helping others pick. Paul had noticed the selections and that there were only two made by Andrei so he slowly made his way over to where Andrei was helping Goombi put on shoulder armor.
"You can use more than two pieces of gear from these shelves, you know that right?" Paul asked from behind, startling both Andrei and Goombi. He seemed to have mastered how to sneak up on someone as Andrei wasn't even sure why he was startled.
Andrei turned to look at the teacher and that is when he thought "Activate Armor" and the entire set showed up as his body let off a light glow and then the gear was instantly there. Paul, having seen the slingshot disappear, was less startled but also quite impressed at the gear that Andrei had already amassed.
"Activate Armor" and the gear disappeared. "I don't want to be greedy when I know the others will need the protection much more than me. The two items I chose I want to test out their active beast skill in hopes to find gear with that power on it."
[New Skill learned: "Wind Walk" LVL1]
["Wind Walk" allows the user to elevate off the ground. Users can walk over any substance when activated. Can be applied to self and others. Being attacked with cancel "Wind Walk" on the user]
[-5 Spirit per use]
[New Skill learned: "Ice Nova" LVL1]
["Ice Nova" causes an explosion from the user of Ice in a 5 yard blast radius. Opponents caught in the "Ice Nova" will be stunned for 2 seconds. Multiple hits from multiple "Ice Nova" will result in less chance of stunning.]
[-25 Spirit per use]
[New Skill learned: "Storm Bolt" LVL1]
["Storm Bolt" Summons lightning from above the target striking down the opponent.]
[-40 Spirit per use]
[New Skill learned: "Fireblast" LVL1]
["Fireblast" channels fire from the user's hands. Combine hands to increase power.]
[-10 Spirit per second channeled]
Seeing the amount of Spirit needed and even with Mini's bonus he would barely be able to use most of his skills, he decided maybe Paul was on to something. Andrei went searching for what he remembered the main teacher talking about, that was jewelry.
He had glanced at them originally but he remembered one had a nice Spirit attribute to it. That is when he saw it and realized it was actually quite similar to Jojo's Dojo symbol. He ran his "Identify" and knew he found the perfect match.
[+++Advanced Necklace of the Split Atom]
[+1,000 Spirit.]
[+1,000 Stamina]
[+1,000 HP]
[When Spirit or Stamina runs out, get a 500% regenerative bonus to the depleted property. While one is regenerating the other will have a 0% regenerative bonus and will lose 1% of its total per second till the other is full or it is empty and triggers 500% to itself.]
He added to his "Activate Armor" and then put it all back on so he could check out his stats. Looking at the profile page he then noticed he could see the stats without having to have the gear on and thus he deactivated the gear. A couple of the kids struggling to get the gear to fit or stay on looked on in frustration as Andrei had no issues.
The Tactics class displayed the types of beasts that they would encounter on the expedition and showed in detail the critical points to attack and those to avoid. Everyone was paying close attention as they wanted to make sure they did a good job the following day, nonetheless stay alive.
The intermediate beast they could possibly come across was known for its defensive abilities. It had an outer shell with two weak points at the shoulders that could remove the shell. The shell was covered in long fur that gave the beast cushion from blows before even hitting the shell. Jaws on the beast were extremely strong and that is the one thing you didn't want to happen was the beast to get its mouth on you.
Hand to Hand combat class Jojo had the class work on defense skills. The entire lesson was defense as he was confident in their offensive abilities. Endurance class actually was an endurance to fight against simulated beasts, they kept coming and coming giving no break. Andrei had the most fun in this one as he watched everyone get involved.
Weapons class was the last one so they thought they had slim pickings. What they did not know is that the equipment automatically replenished during their recess break. Andrei walked over to the longsword and looked around to see if anyone wanted it. He was actually the only one in Death Squad who could probably wield it given how large it was.
[Advanced Longsword of Elemental Fury]
[+100 Strength]
[+100 Agility]
[+100 Stamina]
[Beast Weapon Activated: Longsword of Elemental Rage. The user's attunement to the elements will be on full display as the sword is encased in the elemental abilities of the user. Elemental attacks can now be utilized from the longsword at no cost]
Andrei added to his "Activate Armor" and proceeded to work with everyone else to get them geared up. This time he spent extra time with Mini hoping she wouldn't run away after class. She had been debating trying out a pair of daggers or if she wanted to have a ranged weapon.
Andrei took a look at the pair of daggers and asked Mini if she knew what the Beast Skill was for them. She did not and was afraid to activate them.
"They appear to allow the user to amplify their ability into the two of them and allows the user to control them even at range. So in a way they are both a melee and ranged weapon. Do you think your ability would allow you to control them at range?" Andrei was trying to put some confidence in her since he had a nice pick up in his step from her wake up call.
He then grabbed them and using Element Wind he started to twirl the daggers around the two of them. Mini was amazed again seeing the daggers do a dance circling their bodies. Andrei playfully slapped her butt with the handle end of the dagger which caused her to jump up. Then the other dagger slapped the other buttcheek and now Mini realizing what was happening got red in the face from embarrassment. "Why you little…" and Andrei kissed her to get her to not finish the sentence.
"Hmm, hmm there is no PDA allowed on Academy grounds. Obviously there are no rules against doing what you will in your free time but during class there will be none permitted." Jojo chimed in at the cadets.
Mini grabbed the daggers from the air as Andrei brought them to eye level for her. The Daggers that had a white aura radiating off of them from Element Wind then turned to a dark green color that was different from Element Nature's green. They had taken on her ability and soon she was doing the same thing Andrei just did.