It was a bit hard seeing why they would be getting so excited over it and its specialty when it wasn't doing much at the moment. But at least fighting against it was better than rotting away in a classroom.

A few minutes after staring at the machine, it finally decides to show some movement. Many different areas and holes in it started blowing out small amounts of steam again, and the metal chest began to slide apart from the others. I moved backward along with everyone else, away from the smoke, and took more notice of what was inside it. From within the smoke, an unfamiliar man emerged and walked as a wooden staircase unfolded before him, following his movements toward the ground. The smoke fully vaporized into the air, leaving me with a few questions as to what was even going on.

"Hello, new students! My name is Lad Oden, but you may call me Principal Lad, and I would love to say congratulations to everyone who passed the first test of coming into Bour Academy," said the man, applauding us with a proud smile. "Even if someone didn't reach our full expectations, we are still happy with your results. Our staff had to hide themselves to see how you would perform on your own."

A few trees and bushes near the forest had some of their leaves starting to drop due to the presence of many teachers and other staff members. There were even teachers hanging from underneath the school roof and others coming from within the school. Whispering and chatting were starting to form among them, with excitement fueling their curiosity about the test, but they were still mainly focused on the machine in front of them.

"Ho-ho-ho, I can see everyone has their eyes on our big friend here: Dyion the Dragine." Lad chuckled at his words and tapped the machine's steel leg. "This is one of the newest machines Bouer had officially made part of our national defense system and given the school one to be used as a little guard hound if you will."

Well, I couldn't say I was too surprised. It made sense that a machine of its size was added to the defense force. But if it were an absolute beast, I would have sent it running behind its tail, and more importantly, why do we even need such a thing when they have a hero in the making here?

"Excuse me, but do we need these things to defend us?" I spoke up among the talkative group with my hand in the air, trying to hide the annoyance I felt at the so-called "Dagine". Lad had an expression of amusement from my words, but I saw him take a form of interest as he approached.

"These machines are built with the strongest of equipment and built to face any foe that might endanger our grounds. A large tool that comes with the odds of ascendency over a beast that lurks around," he responded with a polite and joyful tone. "It would take more than a hammer to put it down for good if anyone would try to do so."

Okay, he didn't have to add that last part, but he was somewhat right. If I had used all of my true strength in that swing, there would only be broken scapes left of it. Then I definitely would get in trouble for causing the damage. It was pretty apparent that I was holding back the entire time.

We all listened to his rant about Dagine mechanics, and a whistle blew through the air, bringing our attention toward the teachers heading inside. Lad chuckled with a light-hearted smile and waved his hand in the clear ocean above, signaling us to follow. "We can all have a great discussion about our big friend here, but we shall head inside," he said, holding the large wooden door open for us and giving a peek at what was to come inside.

"It's time to get you all familiar with a new part of your daily lives. Welcome to Bouer Academy."

My eyes took in the sight of the gleaming shine of unthinkable, imposing work playing around me. The walls and floor reflected my footsteps, giving them a shiny, yet disordered, look. The furniture was polished, and towers of artwork stood still around every corner, with people nearby placing more suitable items. The rest of the area was filled with brown and yellow colors, adding amazing decorations to the rest of the building. The fact that this was just the main entrance almost made me want to eat my words from early on about this place.

Looking up towards the second floor by the edge of the rails, square-shaped boxes fell downwards. Clack! Snap! Clack!  Right in front of me, the wooden parts slide off and on themselves and transform into a horinod-like body. Leaks of steam pour through its slots and around the backside while a glowing beam of light appears right in the center of its body.

"Greetings, young students. I hope you are ready for learning and have a spunk-tacular day."

I don't know if my brain was damaged hard early, but I think I just heard it talk.

Lad walked ahead of everyone and almost looked like he was trying to hold back his laughter at our reaction to the talkative machine. "Everyone, I would like you to meet another special friend from our school: M.O.D." Lad gladly gave the spotlight away to "Mod" as everyone lit another spark of interest inside them, but I was only curious as to how they even brought a machine to life. Theory one: They had found some way to take souls out of the body and place them into objects. Okay, I am not Vidor, but my theory here has a good chance of being right.

"I am here to assist and to protect you if there is any trouble needed throughout your time here as your personal mechanism of defense," Mod said with a voice that sounded alive yet emotionless. "So I will grant your cards for entering and your class list."

The front section of its chest opens a slim, rectangular hole, allowing the sound gears to move rapidly and freely through the sound waves. The paper touched the ground afterward, still attached to his chest. "James Rayhen, Mayton Soren, Waton Desoa, Rauen Bottom-" The list of names being called out formed a line, and they took their schedule, leaving faces of excitement behind. The rest followed suit in engaging in conversation about which classes they were bound to get. But for me, I was back to rotting away due to looking at the sea of heads moving in front. Just great.

"Oh, Kaipo, you don't have to wait in line with the others. I will be the one to show you to your special class just for you." "Wait, really?" I replied with curiosity and a sense of shock at my surprise. "Oh yes, it is a class that I think you will take great interest in."

Now, this is much better. No waiting around for me. This school may turn out to be something good for me after all, and not become a sleep fest. Just hope Lad is actually telling the truth here.