Lukas made his way through the forest as each breath of his gave a cold air. Though he was slowly utilizing his Fire Magic by creating a small flame to heat himself up as he progressed with a moderate pace.

Lukas: "How much further...?"

Veladora: "Round about a few steps. There is maybe two nearby, but I think one of them is fighting something."

Lukas: "That's.... reassuring..."

Lukas was being a little sarcastic towards that as he continued walking, though he then stopped in place as he heard a ruffling sound coming from one of the brushes. He looked towards the bushes, only to see Saruei come out. Though he never noticed her attire before, he found it rather unique, but he kind of blushed when he actually got a proper look.

(Her current attire is the far left one)

Saruei: "Hey Lukas. Fancy meeting you here huh?"

Lukas: "Y-Yeah... But what are you wearing...? Aren't you cold..?"

Saruei: "Not necessarily as I feel fine. Though I will say, my suit can be a little revealing at times... But enough about that, have you found anyone else?"

Lukas: "No I haven't... It was mostly quiet from my end."

Saruei: "Well then, I guess we're stuck together until we reach that town."

Lukas: "If we can make it that is..."

Saruei: "Oh I'm sure we can get there. Besides I may be not as strong as you Class 1A students, but I am for sure can keep up."

Lukas: "But I never..."

Saruei: "No need to explain. I know you didn't say anything, but I am just making sure that you get the picture. Now come on, I think I saw a few others this way."

Saruei then began to lead the way as the two continued their chat, though it wasn't about much as the two didn't have much to talk about. Yet as they managed to reach some distance, they noticed someone fighting two C-Rank monsters. They both decided to stand back a bit, watching how this individual was being able to outmanoeuvre them.

He had a single knife that was radiating with some form of Magic that Lukas didn't recognize as it was a bit Unholy to say the least. He was dodging and weaving as the monsters tried to strike at him, but he simply was able to stab the two monsters with ease and finesse, blinding them and eventually killing them off. This individual is definitely a skilled individual for his age as he sighed, sheathing the knife. Saruei recognized him immediately.

Saruei: "Oh hey Shoto!"

The individual, now revealed to be Shoto turned around, taking off his hood to reveal his features.

(His current attire is the far left one)

Shoto: "Hey Saruei. Wait, is that the Omni Magician of Class 1A? What's he doing here?"

Shoto looked a little confused as he looked at Lukas. Lukas understandably wasn't really getting why he was being suspicious as he never really met Shoto before, at least from his knowledge.

Saruei: "Relax Shoto. He's a friend of mine. I may have only chatted with him during lunch breaks, but he is a good guy. I found him first, so he is sticking with us."

Shoto: "Are you serious? How do we know we can trust him and he ain't buttering you up?"

The two were beginning to get into a light argument as Veladora decided to chime in with Lukas, making Lukas miss the conversation between Shoto and Saruei.

Veladora: "You know, I do find it rude that he ain't liking us."

Lukas *Thoughts*: "We hardly even know him Veladora... So all I can think of is to earn his approval.."

Veladora: "Seriously~? I can definitely tell he is Human, but that dagger is of Demonic origin."

Lukas *Thoughts*: "That meaning..?"

Veladora: "There's a possibility that he could be a Demon Hunter."

Lukas *Thoughts*: "A... Demon Hunter...?"

Veladora: "Yep~ As far as I remember from my time, Demons were highly regarded as threats to Humanity. More Humans took arms as they formed different groups of Hunters to counteract against the Demons who were taking advantage of the weakness of Humanity. Though as time went on, they continued to slaughter countless Demons over time, but they weren't just slaying the dangerous ones, they were also slaying the innocent ones. Which is why I decided to take a drastic measure by making sure that they don't cause more trouble anymore."

Lukas *Thoughts*: "Doesn't that mean-"

Saruei: "Hey Lukas!"

Lukas snapped out of his thoughts as he realized that Saruei was right up to his face, snapping her fingers to try and get his attention. He understandably was embarrassed about that as his face was a bit red.

Saruei: "Earth to Lukas. You with me?"

Lukas: "W-With w-what...?"

Saruei: "Did you have a daydream?"

Shoto: "I think he's a deep thinker."

Saruei then sighed as she backed off a bit to give Lukas some breathing space as she began to explain what Shoto and her talked about.

Saruei: "Shoto and I have agreed to allow you to accompany us for the time being. Shoto is a little cold at the moment, but he'll warm up to you alright?"

Shoto: "I don't trust you as of yet Omni Magician. You prove that you are on our side, then I'll start to trust you. So can we get a move on? I managed to find some tracks of someone else who recently travelled this direction, though it might've been covered up by the snow now due to the fact I ran into some of the native wildlife."

Lukas: "Which direction..?"

Shoto: "Right this way, though I will just have to go off of scent."

Lukas: "S-Scent..?"

Saruei: "Yeah, Shoto here as a keen nose. He is able to track others down by smell and can recognize others from their species."

Lukas: "I think I get it...?"

Shoto: "No time for talking right now. We should get a move on."

Shoto then began to lead the way as both Saruei and Lukas began to follow close behind. Lukas was keeping his ears open to make sure he could hear anything suspicious, though there was one thing that Lukas never bothered to ask, but since he was getting a strange vibe from Shoto, he felt like he needed to ask.

Lukas: "I do apologize for talking while walking but... is there a reason that you hate me...?"

Saruei: "Look, Shoto doesn't hate you per say, he just doesn't trust you. Have you ever checked how the Classes System worked in the Academy?"

Lukas: "Umm.... No...? I never really got hold of that as I was too focused on... other things..."

Saruei: "Well then, I guess I shall have to explain. You see, the Classes System is sorted out in a particular way to assign each student to their perspective strong suits. Class 1A specializes in the Magic department mostly, though somehow Machina X Flayon got in there. He must have a form of Magic that could help him transport those Mechs he has. But anyways, Class 1A is the type to improve in their Magical ways and aspects as you all like to use Magic more than other kinds of things."

Lukas: "I think I get it... Though, what does Class 1B and 1C do...?"

Saruei: "Class 1B is more of the type to focus on the balance of both Magic and Technology, though I feel like Flayon should've been in that category then. However they mostly focus on being more supportive and corporate types. So they help out the SSF when they need to as they are highly recommended as being great mechanics, blacksmiths and so on."

Lukas: "T-The SSF..?"

Shoto: "The Supernatural Special Forces. They focus on taking down Supernatural threats before things can get out of hand and before Humanity learns of too much."

Lukas: "I see... And 1C?"

Saruei: "Well since Shoto and I are in 1C, we are the types that don't really have any form of Magic at all. Though you do get some that have Magic, but we tend to be rather crafty with the Magic instead. Instead of increasing things like raw firepower or making ourselves known, we instead use our intellect and intelligence to outsmart and take down our enemies. It is mostly made out of people who can technically take on assignments that involve Recon, Assassinations and alike."

Lukas was taken aback that the Academy thinks this far ahead when it comes to sorting out their students and applying them to different fields based on their skillsets and knowledge. 

Lukas: "So you both don't really use Magic..?"

Shoto: "We don't. We just use different methods to do what we must. As she said, some students in our Class do have Magic, but they don't like being as flashy as you lot."

Saruei: "Shoto. Try to be more nice will you?"

Lukas: "It's fine Saruei..."

Shoto simply sighs as they all reach a clearing, where Shoto would have no idea where to head to now as this is as far as the tracks would lead in the first place. He could pick up a scent, but due to having so many students, it is slightly harder to pinpoint which scent he was following.

Shoto: "This is as far as I can lead us. We need to find an alternative to tracking down the other person I tracked."

Saruei: "Well depending on who it was, we could possibly-"

Before she finished what she was going to say, the three noticed a little drone just fly out of the brushes as it floated before them, confusing them until a voice went through.

???: "Hey there Shoto~!"

Shoto then sighed, recognizing the voice immediately that was playing through the drone.

Shoto: "Serious Wilson?"

Wilson: "Oh come on~ At least I gave you one hell of a game~"

Shoto: "This is an Exam Wilson, not a game!"

Shoto was slowly snapping, which Lukas recoiled a bit, realizing that he could've been on the short end of Shoto's anger if he didn't meet Saruei a bit earlier. Saruei then walked up.

Saruei: "Can you just lead us to you? It will eventually get dark."

Wilson: "Okay~ Sure thing milady! Follow the drone~!"

The drone then began to fly slowly towards where the owner of it would be as the three followed it. Soon enough, after about a few minutes, they arrived to where the owner should be as the drone went invisible. Lukas then felt a presence above on top of one of the branches as he was simply sitting there, swinging is one leg back and forth, also taking off his goggles. 

Wilson: "Hey there! Yu Q. Wilson of Class 1C at your service!"

Wilson then jumped down from the branch as he landed gracefully on his feet, making Shoto roll his eyes.

Shoto: "Show off."

Saruei: "That is one way to introduce yourself Wilson. Can't you see we are with-"

Wilson: "Lukas Misaki! The Omni Magician of Class 1A! It is great to finally make your acquaintance!"

Wilson was being a bit boastful as Lukas was getting a little uncomfortable.

Lukas: "I guess I really am p-popular..."

The four then decide as a group to continue until they can figure out where they can camp for the night. So Lukas alongside three students of Class 1C decide to continue their journey...

A/N:

With it now getting closer to the end of the Acceptance Arc, I might as well explain something regarding images. When I introduce their outfit attire in pictures, that will be what they would mostly wear when they are either, outside of the Academy grounds doing missions for the SSF, or doing particular things like physical Exams and certain Exercises that the teachers and Co-Founders plan. So if I introduce them with their attire or I give a picture of a character that is already introduced, that will be their official outfits in this story going forward that is not in the Academy Student Uniform. With this out of the way, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll see you in the next update!