The whole class stared at the floating crystal bobbing up and down, and the charred onion crumpled on the floor.

Milvus, unsurprised by all of this, began to speak.

"Class, the love lady on the floor is the MOH, Minister of Healing. And this floating crystal is the MOM, Minister of Magic."

"Thanks for the introductions, little Milvee," Lapis said. "Fun fact, did you know that I used to be Milvee's teacher. He was a terrible student."

"Now, Minister Lapis, let's not spout any falsehoods," Milvus said. "You're here to give a demonstration on the study of magic. Though given the vastness of the field, you were slated to go last, right after the MOH's demonstration of healing."

"Yeah, I don't want to," she said. "Besides, this way is much better. The only way to demonstrate healing is when you're injured. And magic just so happens to be very good at injuring things."

"That's not the only thing it's good at," the onion on the ground said.

A small green aura coated the charred side. The blackened skin slowly lightened until she was back as a regular-looking brown onion—except for the fact that she possessed thin noodle-like hands and feet.

After pushing herself off the ground, she said, "Sorry you had to see me like this, class. My speciality is in healing, not blocking sneak attacks. As I was correcting Minister Lapis earlier, magic is not only good at hurting, it's good at healing. And that's where the Healing track comes in. It used to be a subset of the study of magic, but was deemed important enough to have its own dedicated study."

"Blah, blah, blah. Who wants to see a demonstration of magic?" Lapis asked. "You there."

She was referring to Uchronia, who was just about to bolt out of class after making a revelation about the MOP's hidden message.

"Naughty little girl trying to play hooky. You get to be the live demonstration."

"What?" she said.

"You heard me."

"I'll use you to show off the study of magic. And little miss onion will get to show off her healing using you."

"What?" Uchronia repeated.

"Minister Lapis," the MOH said. "You can't be serious."

"Yes! How did you know I'm unable to be serious? You get a Gold Star!"

Multiple golden shurikens appeared in front of Lapis, zooming off towards the brown onion.

The MOH screeched.

Using his tentacles, Milvus caught the Golden Stars before they could harm a single layer on the MOH's body. It was too late.

Her skin reflexively peeled off, releasing a fine mist into the classroom.

Recognizing the potential consequences of being affected by such mist, Niwla unleashed his very own. "Withdrawal. Brainfreeze."

The two blue mists seeped out of him, forming a protective layer around his body, especially his head—the most important part of him. His classmates, either oblivious or ill-equipped, did nothing to defend from the MOH's reflexive attack.

All at once, his classmates began tearing up. They were completely blinded by the constant stream of tears pouring out of their eyes. Chairs, desks, and even the floor became drenched.

Gus, while crying, munched on his muffin. Sensing a potential new flavor profile, he dipped the muffin into his flowing tears before bringing it to his mouth. In between bites and tears, he let out little moans of delight. His own tears weren't enough. Gus went around the room, dipping his muffin into all of his classmates' tears and enjoying the extra flavor they added.

When he approached Niwla, the little Fluffpaw was sad to find no tears to dip his muffin into. As planned, he was completely unaffected. The barrier of mist around his body protected him from the MOH's ill effects.

However, that didn't stop Gus from dipping his muffin into the blue mist. The confectionery delight froze instantly, shattering into crunchy chunks the moment Gus bit into it.

"Settle down, Minister," Milvus said.

Despite being the closest to the MOH, he was completely unaffected by the mist she emitted. There wasn't even a hint of his own mist to counteract the MOH's ability, nor did it seem like any defensive skills were in place.

How odd. More knowledge was required.

"Yeah, settle down, Minister. We're here to demonstrate Magic, not Species Skills," Lapis said.

She, too, was completely unaffected.

"I-I-I apologize," the MOH said.

The peels of her skin quickly curled upwards, wrapping up her body and stopping the spread of any more tear-inducing mist.

"Dispelling Aura," Lapis said.

A shine of white light rippled throughout the classroom. The MOH's mist was blown away. His own misty blue barrier wasn't spared either, dissipating into nothingness.

"Evaporator-inator," Lapis added.

A beam of energy shot out from the top of her head. She moved her entire body, up and down, side to side. Wherever the beam passed, all of the spilled tears vanished. Within seconds, the classroom was completely dry, even his classmates' bodies.

Intriguing. Lapis had never shown off such spells before.

The rest of his classmates stopped crying, except for Gus. He wasn't affected by the Species Skill anymore; he was just sad that all of the extra dipping sauce was gone.

"See, class. Isn't magic cool?" Lapis asked. "Much more exciting than Healing."

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No one dared to speak up. None except for Niwla.

"As per what the Minister of Healing has mentioned, Healing is a part of Magic. It would be illogical to denounce Healing as less exciting than Magic, since it is a part of Magic."

Though Lapis lacked eyes, she could feel her scowling at him.

"You! Student whom I don't like, come here."

"May I request the reason?"

"No. It's that or the girl gets it."

Lapis was referring to Uchronia.

Niwla sighed. He knew that whatever Lapis was up to would never be good. He would spare Uchronia the suffering that she undoubtedly had in store for her. After all, whether she liked it or not, Lapis still required his aid.

"Very well," Niwla said. He turned to the Potted Sprout, saying, "Uchronia. I suggest you return to your seat and continue the observance of the Minister's demonstrations, rather than pursue the Minister of Pills. It may prove meaningful to your future endeavors."

"R-right," Uchronia said, returning to her seat.

Niwla walked to the front of the class, stopping right in front of Lapis.

"Yes, Minister Lapis," Niwla said.

"You're going to be our live demonstration."

"Lapis, you can't be serious!" the onion yelled.

"We've already gone through this."

"Do not worry, Minister," Niwla said. "Of all the students in this classroom, I believe that I have the lowest likelihood of sustaining permanent injuries."

"See! The bird boy—I mean bird brain's okay with it!"

"But—"

Niwla raised a wing, stopping the MOH from speaking.

"I apologize for my rudeness, but this is the fastest course of action. Am I correct, Milvus?"

The triangle monster simply smiled and nodded.

"I—Fine," the MOH said. "But don't you dare go overboard, Lapis."

"Overboard? What are we on? A ship? If that's the case, we need tons of water. Calling Tide!"

A huge wave of water materialized right in front of Lapis. Milvus dragged the MOH to his side, setting up a defensive bubble around them. As for the rest of the class, a transparent magical shield was conjured up. Though Niwla was unsure if it was Milvus's or Lapis's doing.

He took in a deep breath, preparing for the inevitable as he stared at the incoming wave. It crashed into him, forcing the air out of his lungs and replacing it with water.

Almost as suddenly as the wave appeared, it vanished, along with every drop of water on the floor, as Lapis used Evaporator-inator again.

Niwla lay on the ground, drifting in and out of consciousness as water filled his lungs.

"Lapis!" the MOH shouted, running over to him.

She placed a hand on his chest. It glowed blue as she started rubbing upwards, moving from his chest all the way to his throat, over and over.

Warmth seeped through his feathers. He could feel the suffocating water being coerced out until his bodily functions kicked in. Niwla jerked forward, coughing hard. Water spilled from his mouth by the buckets, splattering across the floor as his lungs fought to clear themselves.

"See, class. Isn't magic cool? You can do all sorts of things, like drowning people. Or you can be a boring Healer who saves drowning people by manipulating the water in their lungs out of them."

"Lapis! You're too much!" the MOH shouted. "Students shouldn't be treated this way, even if they're Core Monsters."

"Too much? There's no such thing as too much! That's why magic has so many categories! Beyond all of the boring Elemental stuff that everyone is aware of and that I've just demonstrated, you've got stuff like this."

Multiple Lapis started to appear, floating right next to the original. They charged forward, intent on crushing Niwla, who was still on the floor.

"Minister!" the MOH shouted, standing in front of Niwla and defending him with her body.

The duplicates of Lapis crashed into the onion, vanishing upon contact.

"Fun, right?" Lapis said. "You've got studies such as Illusions, Evocation, and Conjuration. All great for attacking people. There's even the boring, but sometimes useful, defensive spells. Of course, it's quite common to mix them in with an Element of your choice to make them even more fun, but we've only got time to show the most basic stuff."

"Are you done? Can you stop hurting the student?" the MOH asked.

"Nope. One last thing.The most basic of basics, Species Skills. You just know it. It uses Mana, and it's not part of Magic studies. Doesn't mean it's not powerful. Now, observe. Reflecting Refraction."

Lapis's diamond form began to shine. A small ball of light within her bounced around, growing brighter and faster, until it couldn't be contained anymore.

A blinding beam of light erupted from the tip of her diamond-shaped body. In an instant, it tore a hole straight through Niwla's wing. He let out a sharp, guttural scream that made his feathers tremble.

"Minister!" the MOH shouted.

"Bye! Hope you enjoyed the demonstration class. I see someone who did."

She was referring to Bion. He clapped his tentacles and snickered, watching Alwin—it was actually Niwla—squirm and scream in pain.

"Your time to truly shine, Healer. Bye."

Lapis vanished in a burst of light. She had Teleported.

"Hold on. I'll heal you," the MOH said.

Placing her hands right above the gaping hole in his wing, a soft green glow emanated from her noodle-like palms. Nerves, muscles, and bones began to stitch themselves together, closing up the hole. And with it, Niwla's pained shouts.

He sat up, panting and drenched in sweat.

"How are you feeling?" the MOH asked.

"Surprised. The extent of Lapis's demonstration wasn't within my calculations."

"Okay, I was referring to your wing."

"I see." Niwla lifted it up. The hole had been healed in its entirety, skin and feathers regrown. "The wing is good."

"Try not to fly for the rest of the day and drink plenty of water." The MOH turned to address the rest of the class. "Healing is a vital skill. It can heal many wounds, but the most important thing to remember is that Healers are not gods. We cannot bring back the dead, no matter how much we desire."

"That's all for the demonstrations," Milvus said, suddenly cutting her off. "You all are dismissed, and remember to take the time to think about which specializations you want to pursue."

The MOH turned to face Milvus, glaring at him. "I would like to have a word with you. In private."

"Very well," he said, bringing a tentacle to the side and guiding her to the door.

The barrier defending the rest of his classmates went down. Immediately, his classmates—not Bion or Brie—rushed over to help him, steadying him as he walked back to his seat.

Uchronia and Gus supported him by the wing, while the rest moved their desks out of the way so that he wouldn't bump into any of them.

"Are you okay?" Uchronia asked.

"Muffin?" Gus asked.

"Yes, I am okay. No, I do not require a muffin."

"You sure?" Gus asked. "It's really good."

"No, thank you, Gus. Though I appreciate the offer."

"More for me."

Niwla slumped into the chair, breathing out a sigh of relief. The rest of his class, except Bion and Brie, stared at him with concern.

"Worry not, classmates. I am alright. I simply require some rest, and I would prefer it if you give me some space, for I have something private to discuss with the members of my squad."

"If you need anything, pardner, just shoot," said Flintlock, the Powder Monkey.

"Yeah! Anything," echoed the rest of his class.

One by one, they vacated the room, off to discuss the demonstrations that they had just witnessed. No doubt one of the topics was why Lapis had treated him in such a harsh manner.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Uchronia asked.

"I am physically okay. The Minister of Healing patched up any damage I had sustained from the Minister of Magic."

"Okay." Uchronia bit her lip. "What's this private thing you wanted to talk about?"

"I am curious about this message that the Minister of Pills seemingly hinted at. Would you allow me the pleasure of accompanying you?"

Uchronia lit up.

"Yes, please."

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