"Let's see what my first class is," Alex says as he grabs his schedule from yesterday.

In his classes, Alex envisions the time of day as though he were attending lessons back on Earth. He imagines the classrooms and identifies the teacher for each subject.

"Potions, oh boy," Alex sighs.

Once Alex manages to eat something, he discovers that potion class is on the 4th floor. However, he has no clue which direction he is going in. Following a few students, he locates the staircase and goes to the 4th floor.  

When Alex arrived on the 4th floor, he needed to find the potion classroom. He chose to trail other students in search of the right room. Just five minutes before the bell, Alex discovered the potion's classroom, stocked with cauldrons, potions, and various ingredients for their upcoming creation.

Alex enters the classroom, and some of the students stare. The white snake lifts its head and hisses to alert Alex to his movement as he searches for his desk.

"Oh, it's wonderful to see you again, Newbie!" A student beams with a bright smile.

Before Alex could respond or sit down, he noticed he was sharing a desk with another student. This student has hair as black as a raven's wings, eyes as red as blood, slightly pointed ears, and skin as pale as porcelain.

His outfit features a bat theme in shades of black and blood red. It resembles that of a noble, but his top consists of a dress vest worn without a shirt underneath. Lastly, he wears ruby earrings in both ears.

Alex sat beside him; he heard other students whispering. The boy smiled at Alex. However, Alex sees within the boy's mouth that he is showing his Fangs! Everyone is in shock at what they see within his mouth.

"Oh my goodness, I'm sitting next to a vampire!" Alex shouts in his mind.

The classroom doors swung open without warning. The resounding noise startled everyone into silence. Footsteps echoed as someone approached, along with a staff clattering softly with each step. Alex spotted an elderly teacher dressed like a Voodoo high priest or shaman, adorned with a skull face paint.

"No nonsense allowed in this class," the teacher declares while walking to the front of the room.

"Hello, Fresh Meats. I am Professor Skull Head," he introduces himself, facing them.

A few second-year students smile as they watch Professor Skull Head lead the class. In contrast, Alex takes a deep breath, feeling anxious; a first-year student trembles slightly due to Professor Skull Head's commanding presence.

"The art of potion making is exactly what it sounds like: art! You can create the deadliest poisons, cure any illness, or even cast curses if you want," Skull Head says, teaching the class. 

"Knew this, Fresh Meats. Failing my class means you'll be retaking it, and it will be wonderful for me, but not so well for you," Skull Head adds, teasing and warning all first-year students.

"Okay, I doubt I'll enjoy this class," Alex muses inwardly.

"I love this man; he knows how to instill fear in his students," A student named Marcus mutters, admiring the professor.

"Alright, students in their second and third years, please start with page 51 on the Nightmare Potion," Skull Head announces.

Marcus and the other upperclassmen turned to page 51 of their textbook, "The Nightmare Potion." There, they find a list of ingredients and instructions for preparing the potion.

"You have three minutes to create a vial of the Nightmare Potion. Your time starts now," Skull Head tells the class.

Upperclassmen start hearing others moving around, gathering ingredients, and even burning their cauldrons to brew the potion. Alex is amazed at how fast they're going, but what's more nerve-wracking is that it's the first year's turn with the professor.

"Fresh Meat, you'll begin at level 1 by studying the ingredients. Turn to page five of your textbook, where five ingredients are listed. Your task is to note them, grasp their significance, and determine how many potions each can produce. You have five minutes, and your timer starts now," Skull Head instructs the first years.

Alex and the other first-year students start their session by reviewing the list. All first years student head to a shelving area to gather some ingredients. He believes potion making resembles science from Earth, something he doesn't particularly enjoy, so Alex understands the ingredients he needs to collect for job requests.

Suddenly, not even five minutes into their lesson, Marcus raised his hand, capturing Professor Skull Head's attention.

"Yes, Mr. Whitescale?" Skull Head inquires, glancing at Marcus.

"I've completed the Nightmare Potion, Sir," Marcus replies, grinning widely.

Shocked to hear that one student has already finished making the nightmare potion, Alex watches as Skull Head walks over to Marcus deck to check the potion's content and quality. Seeing the shimmering black liquid inside the potion bottle, Skull Head shakes it to assess its shimmering value.

"Hmmm, four stars is not bad, but to ensure it is, we need to test it," Skull Head explains to the class.

"Of course, Sir," Marcus responds.

"Let's find out who will have the courage to be our Lab Rat," Skull Head teases.

Hearing the staff clank as he walks around makes Alex anxious. He's looking for someone to test that potion. Suddenly, the sound of footsteps comes to an abrupt stop.

"How about you, Mr. Lightningstorm?" Skull Head smirks as he hands him the potion.

"*gulp* S-sure... S-sir," A boy named Rex stutters.

The bitterness hits hard as Rex drinks the potion, reminiscent of swallowing ginger root and other roots. Suddenly, Rex's world turns black; Alex notices his eyes have darkened as if he is blind, and he sees his body trembling as if fear has taken hold.

"AH!!!!" Rex screams in terror.

Rex fell out of his desk, terrified, trying to defend himself. Alex got up from his desk, trying to comfort him without angering the professor.

"As demonstrated, the Nightmare Potion compels you to experience your deepest fear. This effect is only temporary and will fade over time, or you can use an antidote potion to alleviate it," Skull Head explains to the class.

Marcus remained silent despite his classmates' laughter as they witnessed Rex's misfortune. Suddenly, the vampire student beside Alex approached, holding a different potion. Its iridescent sheen sparkled like a pearl. The vampire uncapped the bottle and gulped it down before reaching Rex. To everyone's astonishment, the vampire boy kissed Rex, spilling some of the potion during the kiss.

Hearing Rex's gulp echoes, his vision returns all clear, and he sees the vampire standing directly before him. Heat washes over his face as he realizes he is no longer under the potion's influence.

"Mr. Deathwhisper, what do you think you're doing?" Skull Head asks, irritated that a first-year student disrupted the spell.

"Curing him, of course. You're a teacher; please be more diligent in teaching your class," Mr. Deathwhisper replies.

Skull Head glanced at the desk shared by Mr. Deathwhisper and Alex, noticing the same potion that had been made. Then, the professor returned to his desk and took a seat.

"*Tsk* Bloody vampires and their knowledge of the Alchemy Arts. You and Mr. Griffin can take Mr. Lightningstorm before I change my mind," Skull Head says, irritated at Mr. Deathwhisper.

Alex and the vampire gather their things along with Rex's, and they make their way to the stairs leading to the nurse's office on the 5th floor. However, Alex can't shake off the blush that comes from remembering the sight of the two boys kissing during class. Suddenly, from the silence, Mr. Deathwhisper decided to say something.

"By the way, Mr. Griffin, my name is Xenos," Xenos playfully teases.

"*laughing* Then please call me Alex," Alex replies with a smile.

***

Ten minutes later, inside the Nurse's Office, Rex could calm down after what had happened during class. When they arrived, the nurse helped by giving him a potion that took effect in 4 minutes, then continued calming him for the next 6 minutes.

Alex decided to stay and assist him, though he was surprised to find Xenos still there. Initially, he had left but returned with their homework from potion class.

"Alright, Mr. Lightningstorm is ready to go," the nurse says, doing some paperwork.

"T-thank you, Miss," Rex replies, bowing.

Once all three boys left the nurse's office and checked their next class, Alex noticed that Rex and Xenos followed him there.

"Looks like we have the same class together again!" Alex smiles, looking excited.

"Absolutely! "Combat Spells" is mainly designed to offer some assistance out there," Xenos replies with a smile.

"Sounds like a challenge," Rex adds.

"That's why it's perfect," Xenos says.

"Um, thank you for your help in potions," Rex says, blushing as he looks at Xenos.

"You're welcome. Here's some advice: don't let the teachers see your fear, or you could end up in trouble," Xenos says sincerely to Rex.

"I'll remember that," Rex says.

***

Arriving outside, Alex sees some training dummies. He also sees Marcus among the group of students and Ms. Caellylia.

"Is everything alright, Alex?" Rex asks.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I dislike how the potion professor treats the first years," Alex replies, hoping not to offend anyone.

"You'll have to get used to it, Alex," Xenos adds, teasing him.

Alex doesn't know if he will get used to it. Suddenly, walking near the group of students, a man in his mid-thirties is passing by. His outfit looks like medieval military attire, complete with an eyepatch over his right eye.

"Attention, class!" the man shouts, capturing everyone's attention.

Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at their professor while Rex repeated the words he learned from Xenos.

"So, no fear," Rex thinks to himself repeatedly.

"I'm Professor Lycurgus, your Combat Spells Instructor," Lycurgus introduced himself.

"As some of you may know, combat magic is what wizards and sorceresses need when monsters attack, when they go adventuring, when they go on dungeon runs, or when they fight those with evil intentions," Lycurgus explains.

"So today we're going to have a little sparring match. I want to see what type of magic each of you possesses. Now, who would like to go first?" Lycurgus adds, seeking a new victim.

Xenos confidently steps forward, brandishing his Victorian-style vampire wand, poised to duel with their professor. Meanwhile, Lycurgus reveals his lunar-themed wand, adorned with animal motifs, including wolves. The two enter the battleground as fellow students look on from the sidelines.

"There are two ways of casting spells, so Mr. Deathwhisper, you make the first move," Lycurgus says, allowing a student to go first.

Beneath Xenos, a black spell circle appears, featuring a bat in the center and surrounded by bones and runes. Xenos begins to cast his spell.

"Let your dark heart corrupt you, decipher the laws of the arcane, and let death claim my target for hell," Xenos casts. "Vampiric Decay Missile!"

An eerie green beam of magic bursts from Xeno's wand, aimed straight at Lycurgus, who stands ready to counter it.

Beneath Lycurgus, a lilac spell circle appears, featuring a crescent moon in the center, surrounded by wolf paws and runes.

"Lunar's Light." Lycurgus casts his spell.

A shield-like spell resembling a crescent moon with a light circle around it appeared from the tip of Lycurgus's wand, blocking Xenos's spell.

Everyone was in awe of the demonstration of how spellcasting works. Even Alex sees there are two ways; he only hopes one of his other classes will help him.

"Amazing," Rex says, awed by the battle.

"A Mortus (Death) wizard, well done for a bloodsucker," Lycurgus teases his student.

"I appreciate the lesson, *bows* Flee bag," Xenos responds, teasing his professor.

"Be careful! Mr. Deathwhisper!" Lycurgus shouts.

"Flee bag?" Rex asks, glancing around.

Xenos and Professor Lycurgus exude an aura suggesting they could kill someone, even if it's themselves.

"Why do they look like they hate one another?" Alex asks, shielding his face.

"It's simple: Professor Lycurgus is a werewolf, and he hates vampires," Caellylia replies, pointing this out.

Rex's face suddenly turns pale; fear surrounds him, and his body shakes uncontrollably. Alex and Xenos watch as he stumbles backward, appearing to have a panic attack.

"NO! NO! WEREWOLVES!!!!" Rex shouts as he runs away.

"Rex!" Alex shouts as he runs after him.

Xenos notices Rex fleeing in terror. In an instant, Xenos morphs into a swarm of bats, swooping in front of Rex. The swarm then reverts to Xenos, and in Rex's panic, Xenos grabs him as they both plummet to the ground. Rex starts to cry, tears streaming down his face.

"What you saw in the Nightmare Potion was werewolves, right?" Xenos asks, comforting Rex.

"Years ago, my village was attacked by a pack of werewolves. I lost my dad to them. Mom and I carry the scars of our survival," Rex replies.

"More than 300 people lived in my village, but only 41 survived that night," Rex adds.

Out of nowhere, Alex and Caellylia showed up and noticed Rex softly crying while Xenos consoled him on the ground. Xenos glanced at Alex, who was recovering his breath after running.

"Someone, please locate Mrs. Griffin!" Xenos yells, hoping that Alex will handle it.

"M-my grandma?" Alex gasps, breathless from the run.

"I'll go get her," Caellylia volunteers for the run.

Once Caellylia lifted her skirt, she hurried back to the main campus in search of Alex's grandmother. Meanwhile, Alex fell to the ground, noticing that the two boys had not moved. He felt a slight blush creep over his cheeks as he observed Xenos comforting Rex while they awaited Caellylia's return from her search.