Chapter Eight: A Year’s Time

As the melodious sound of the school bell rang out, Zhao Jie and his companions finally arrived at the school, several days late. The Digital Monster Class had its own dedicated building, something they had learned upon first entering the school, but only now were they finally allowed inside to uncover its mysteries.

“Classroom 5 on the second floor—this is the one,” Zhao Jie said, appearing at the classroom listed in the message sent by the teacher the previous day, with his Rolling Ball Beast in tow. By now, the classroom was already filled with quite a few students.

“Jie, over here!” Liu Cheng, who had arrived even earlier than Zhao Jie, waved at him enthusiastically. At Liu Cheng’s loud call, almost every pair of eyes in the classroom turned to Zhao Jie. After all, the “Sharp-tongued Queen” was something of an online celebrity.

“Nice spot, huh? I got up extra early this morning just to save these seats,” Liu Cheng said with a hint of pride as Zhao Jie sat down next to him. Their desks were near the front and center—prime real estate in any classroom.

“Hey, Rolling Ball Beast, here, this is a little raccoon snack I brought for you,” Liu Cheng said, pulling out a bag of crispy noodles from his desk and handing it to the creature perched on Zhao Jie’s shoulder.

“Ooh!” Rolling Ball Beast accepted the snack, its eyes sparkling as it glanced at Liu Cheng’s desk. Don’t think I didn’t notice—there are plenty more treats stashed in that drawer!

Meanwhile, Bukka Beast, who had already evolved into the second stage of infancy, crawled out from under the desk, yawning under Rolling Ball Beast’s envious gaze. It simply couldn’t understand what was so good about such junk food. Sleeping a bit longer would be far more satisfying.

“Why does your Bukka Beast look so listless?” Zhao Jie asked, curious as he watched the creature yawn.

His own Rolling Ball Beast was brimming with energy, causing a ruckus late into the night before finally settling down. Zhao Jie often heard faint noises from the Rolling Ball Beast sneaking snacks even in the middle of the night, much like the now nearly extinct rats.

“I don’t know. Ever since it evolved, it’s been obsessed with sleeping,” Liu Cheng replied, baffled. He’d thought maybe only Goburimon disliked human food, and other people’s Digimon would be interested. But as it turned out, apart from Zhao Jie’s Rolling Ball Beast, none of the Digimon in the class had any interest in his little raccoon snacks.

He was quite disappointed; he’d hoped to use these treats to make friends with the girls in the class. After all, they were all high school seniors now—if things went well, who knows what might happen…

While the class buzzed with quiet conversation, Teacher Yu—the one who had posted in the group chat the previous day—finally entered.

“Alright, everyone, settle down.” Teacher Yu, a balding middle-aged man, was a top graduate of Imperial Capital University—perhaps the embodiment of the phrase “brilliant to the point of baldness.” At his words, the classroom fell silent, even the Digimon waiting expectantly for what he would say next.

“First, congratulations on becoming apprentice Digital Tamers. I believe in the future, you all have the potential to become Digital Masters, admired by all.”

Crunch.

A faint sound of chewing echoed through the classroom. At the noise, Teacher Yu’s brows furrowed slightly, but he chose to ignore it for the moment.

“Next, over the coming year, in addition to basic education, you and your Digimon will undergo rigorous training.”

Crunch, crunch.

The chewing resumed. Teacher Yu stopped mid-sentence, his sharp gaze sweeping across the students, searching for the culprit. But he was disappointed—he couldn’t pinpoint the source, and the sound quickly ceased.

“Rolling Ball Beast, stop eating,” Yang Dong whispered, pulling the snack from its mouth. But just as he was about to put it away, a shadow loomed over him.

“Zhao… Jie!” Teacher Yu snatched the crispy noodles away with a look of heartfelt disappointment. “Look at you—how old are you now? Still sneaking food in class? Are you letting your parents down? Are you betraying all my hard work? Are you disappointing yourself?”

The barrage of questions caught Zhao Jie completely off guard.

“Teacher, it wasn’t me, it was—”

“Excuses! You’re still making excuses? You’re the worst student I’ve ever had! I took these snacks right out of your hands—if not you, then who?”

Teacher Yu glared at Zhao Jie and stormed back to the lectern, shaking his head in frustration.

“Ah…” Rolling Ball Beast leapt onto the desk, gazing longingly at the crispy noodles in Teacher Yu’s hand. Ah, my delicious snack—we are parted forever.

Zhao Jie sighed. The worst part was, he really hadn’t been the one eating. He’d taken the blame completely unawares. From now on, no more snacks for Rolling Ball Beast.

Sensing a chill run down its spine, Rolling Ball Beast had the feeling something bad was about to happen.

Back at the lectern, Teacher Yu cleared his throat and continued, “As I was saying, regarding your training: your instructor for the year will be Instructor Li Ping, one of Wuling City’s resident Digital Tamers. Please welcome Instructor Li Ping.”

Amidst enthusiastic applause, a burly man with a square face and a crisp white shirt strode into the classroom. His gaze swept across the students with an unspoken authority that made Zhao Jie and the others instinctively tense.

“Hello, everyone. I’m Li Ping from the Wuling City Digital Association. You can call me Teacher Li. I hope we’ll learn from each other and grow together in the coming year.”

Although the Digital Association wasn’t a government body, it had close ties with the authorities, and every city had its own association. Whenever a minor, uncontrollable Digital Rift appeared, the local association would work with government officials to handle the situation.

After a brief introduction, Teacher Li got straight to the point, addressing the issue that most concerned Zhao Jie and his classmates: Digimon evolution.

“I’m sure your Digimon have all reached the second stage of infancy by now. But advancing from infancy to the growth stage is far from as easy as progressing from the first to the second stage.”

“Many people have Digimon that linger in infancy for years. Only once your Digimon reach the growth stage will you be eligible to pursue further studies in Digimon specializations at the university level. You have only one year!”