Travel back to Balamb Garden once you have completed the Fire Cavern.
Quistis will give Squall another tutorial when the two return to the front gate of Balamb Garden. This time she will explain how Guardian Forces (GF) level with experience and AP. She will then ask you to get changed and assemble in the 1F Lobby.
You can easily travel to the Directory, warp to the Dormitory, get changed, and move on to the next portion of the game if you wanted to, however, this is a great time to get some Triple Triad card games in.
Use your newly obtained 
Ifrit Card to start challenging some of the people around Balamb Garden to a card game by pressing the 
Button.
As mentioned previously, you can use Triple Triad cards that you win from opponents to power up your characters to an almost absurd degree, so don’t worry about playing “too much” Triple Triad. But the more you play the better your characters will be for it!
Check out the Triple Triad Power Up strategy section for more information. In the mean time, here are some rare cards that you can obtain during your second visit to Balamb Garden:
Triple Triad: MiniMog CardThe MiniMog Card is a one-of-a-kind rare card. You can obtain the MiniMog Card by challenging the jogger that runs around the outer circle walkway of Balamb Garden that extends around the elevator. He is wearing blue and green.
Note: Do not refine or destroy the MiniMog Card at any point in the game. You will need it in order to obtain another rare card.
Triple Triad: Quistis CardThe Quistis Card is another one-of-a-kind rare card. You can obtain the card by challenging one of the students sitting at the table in the Cafeteria. When prompted with the option to choose one of the students, select “…The guy in the back.”
You may also want to challenge this player to a couple more matches of Triple Triad. He has a 25% chance of using an Elnoyle Card, and you’ll want quite a few of these cards if you plan on upgrading your weapons as early as possible.
You can obtain Squall’s most powerful weapon very early on in the game if you play your cards right (pun intended). The materials you need are normally obtained much later in the game, but you can start assembling them early by playing games of Triple Triad and acquiring the right cards.
More specifically, you will need 12 
Pulse Ammo which can be refined from 
Energy Crystals (at a 10 to 1 ratio). You can obtain Energy Crystals by using the 
Card Mod ability on Elnoyle Cards, but you need 10 cards to get a single Energy Crystal. This means that you need to amass a total of 20 Elnoyle Cards, so get started early and, if you’re absolutely sure you want to put in the time, stick around and try to win 20 right now!
Access the Directory at the front of Balamb Garden again and select the “Dormitory” option.
Use the Save Point to save your game and then head into the dorm room. Press the 
Button near the bed and choose the option to “Get changed” to move the story forward.
Travel back up towards the central area of Balamb Garden and, as you get closer, you will automatically be taken back out towards the hall.
Quistis will shout over to Squall and introduce him to the newest character that will be joining your party: Zell. Zell uses his fists to attack enemies and his Limit Break involves combos (similar to Tifa and Wakka). Quistis will give you an overview of how his Limit Break works.
Check out the Characters section for more information on each of the main characters in the game. Zell is one of the weaker characters in the game but he has his uses.
You can also check out the “Best Party” section for more information on which characters you should consider adding to your main party later on, when you have the option to pick and choose your 3-character party.
Quistis will tell you that Seifer is to be the squad leader for both Squall and Zell during the SeeD Field Exam. Headmaster Cid will then join the group and provide them with an overview of the Field Exam mission that they are about to undertake. The steps to complete during the mission are fairly straightforward.
The team will depart by heading down the hallway and will jump into one of the vehicles in the parking lot. You’ll find yourself back in control of the vehicle outside of Balamb Garden.
Drive the vehicle straight to Balamb Town which can be found in the southwest area of the island. The road from Balamb Garden leads straight to Balamb Town.
Quistis will beckon Squall over to the harbour area where the ship is docked. You can actually travel all throughout Balamb Town at this point, but there is nothing that you can do in the town during this part of the game. Jump in the boat to continue the story.
