Chapter 422:Curriculum.

Chapter 422: 422:Curriculum.

Several students glanced around.

Peter continued.

"I dislike unnecessary problems." His eyes moved across the room. "Do not become one."

Silver heard Ravenna quietly whisper, "I like him."

He turned his head slightly.

"Of course you do."

Peter’s gaze snapped toward them.

"Something to share, Ruddington?"

Silver paused.

He knew his name already.

"No, sir."

Peter looked toward Ravenna.

"Arkland?"

"No, sir."

Peter stared for another second, then continued.

Silver waited until Peter turned away before smiling covertly at Ravenna. She squeezed his hand beneath the desk, trying not to smile.

He almost laughed.

Peter touched the control on the desk and the display changed.

CLASS FOUR

Thirty names appeared.

"Before anyone asks, no."

A student near the back slowly lowered his hand.

Peter looked at him.

"You were going to ask whether Class Four is the fourth-ranked class."

The student nodded cautiously.

"Yes, sir."

"It isn’t." Peter looked around. "Class One isn’t first. Class Seven isn’t last. Anyone who tells you otherwise is either misinformed or desperately trying to make themselves feel important."

A few students smiled.

"The academy could have named the classes after animals, letters or vegetables. Numbers were simpler."

Silver heard someone whisper, "Vegetables?"

Peter continued as though he hadn’t.

"Your placement was generated using multiple criteria."

The display changed.

SOUL CAPACITY

CONTRACTOR RANK

AWAKENED ABILITY

COMBAT PERFORMANCE

WEAPON SPECIALIZATION

TACTICAL JUDGMENT

TEMPERAMENT

LEADERSHIP POTENTIAL

TRAINING REQUIREMENTS

Peter turned.

"If the academy wanted to put the strongest thirty students in one classroom, we could have done that in ten minutes."

His eyes briefly passed over Silver, then Ravenna and then Helena.

"We didn’t." Peter began walking slowly across the front. "A field unit containing thirty people who all solve problems the same way is a bad field unit."

He stopped.

"Thirty attackers?"

Peter shook his head.

"Bad."

"Thirty defensive specialists?"

His gaze moved toward Helena.

"Also bad."

Helena didn’t react.

"Thirty ranged Contractors?"

He shook his head again.

"You’ll discover very quickly what happens when something reaches them."

Several students laughed quietly.

Peter continued.

"Your class contains different abilities because you are expected to learn how those abilities interact."

The display changed again. A simplified tactical diagram appeared. It contained the vanguard, defender, scout, ranged, support, control, and command.

"You will not be permanently assigned one of these labels." Peter pointed toward the display. "They describe battlefield functions, not identities."

He looked toward the class.

"A defensive Contractor may become an excellent commander. A ranged specialist may function as a scout. A physically strong Contractor may discover that the most valuable thing they can do during an operation is carry an injured teammate instead of killing another beast."

Silver carefully listened.

Peter’s teaching style was direct.

"Likewise, your class placement is not necessarily permanent."

That drew attention.

A student raised her hand.

Peter nodded.

"Sir, we can change classes?"

"Yes."

The room became noisier.

Peter raised one hand and silence returned.

"Not because you dislike someone."

Several students looked disappointed.

"Not because your girlfriend is in Class Six."

A boy near the back suddenly looked very interested in his desk.

Peter continued.

"Not because you believe Class One has better students." He paused. "Class transfers happen because of specialization requirements, development patterns, instructor recommendations, disciplinary circumstances, operational needs or academy restructuring."

Silver glanced toward Ravenna. She looked at him, her eyes widening. Neither said anything despite the news putting a damper on them.

Peter noticed anyway.

"Ruddington. Arkland." Both looked forward. "Don’t panic. I’m not separating you today."

A few students laughed.

Ravenna’s face immediately reddened.

Silver stared at Peter.

"Thank you, sir."

More laughter.

She looked at him in disbelief.

"You didn’t have to answer."

Peter heard her.

"He’s correct. He didn’t."

Silver smiled.

Ravenna squeezed his hand hard beneath the desk.

Peter continued as though nothing had happened.

"Class Four currently contains thirty-one students."

Silver looked toward the list.

Thirty-one?

"One additional student was placed here due to ability distribution. That may change later." Peter gestured toward the display. "Your academic year is divided between theoretical instruction and practical training."

The screen changed.

FIRST-YEAR CORE CURRICULUM

Peter began explaining.

"Beast biology and identification. Zone ecology. Contractor physiology. Core development. Field survival. Sanctuary defense. Tactical theory. Basic medical response. Equipment maintenance. Operational law and regulations."

Antony will hate at least half of those.

Silver smiled at the thought.

Peter continued.

"Practical instruction includes physical conditioning, primary weapon training, secondary weapon training, ability development, controlled combat, squad exercises, navigation, field operations and scenario-based assessments."

Ravenna looked increasingly interested.

"Later in the year, students who meet minimum requirements will participate in supervised operations outside academy grounds."

That changed the room.

Silver could feel the excitement.

Peter immediately destroyed it.

"If you are imagining yourself heroically killing beasts in a Red Zone, stop."

Silence.

"Your first supervised operations will probably involve Green Zones."

A few expressions fell.

Peter noticed.

"Anyone disappointed by that is precisely why we start in Green Zones."

Silver smiled.

Peter was growing on him.

"Field training isn’t entertainment. Green doesn’t mean harmless. Yellow doesn’t mean guaranteed death. Red doesn’t mean you become impressive simply because you crossed a line on a map."

His voice became slightly harder.

"Zones change."

Silver’s expression shifted. He had experienced those horrors himself.

Peter continued.

"Maps become outdated. Beast populations migrate. Outbreaks happen. Weather changes terrain. Human intelligence is incomplete. If you enter a field operation believing the classification system owes you predictable danger, eventually something will kill you."

Silver felt Ravenna’s fingers tighten around his. He rubbed his thumb across her hand.

Peter moved on.

"Then we have class assessments."

The atmosphere changed again. A few students leaned forward.

Peter saw it.

"Those got your attention."

He tapped the display.

INTER-CLASS ASSESSMENTS

"Throughout the year, Classes One through Seven will compete."

Immediately, whispers filled the class.

Peter allowed them for several seconds.

"Combat matches are one form."

The excitement increased.

"Not the only form."

The display expanded.

COMBAT

TACTICAL OPERATIONS

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT

RESCUE

TERRITORY CONTROL

SURVIVAL

OBJECTIVE MISSIONS

SQUAD COMPETITIONS