It had been exactly one week since I registered at the Academy. Although I tried not to create an intense schedule, I kept doing various things. The most important of these was, of course, trying to improve my stats. For now, I wasn't focusing on either physical training or magic. Instead, I was training in a way that allowed me to work on both at a certain level. What I did physically was simple: one hundred push-ups, one hundred sit-ups, one hundred squats and a ten-kilometer light run every day. I wasn't sure if I would be as strong as someone following that program but it was ideal for a start.
For the development of my magic, I conducted small experiments. These were harmless things like lighting a candle or freezing the water in a glass. I couldn't just throw magical things around for no reason. Using magic is dangerous and the penalties are particularly discouraging. I would only be able to work seriously after my first written exams.
So what were my results? The first thing I did when I woke up in my room this morning was to check everything.
Strength: F
- Physical Strength: 14 (F-)
- Strike Power: 11 (F-)
Agility: F
- Speed: 16 (F-)
- Dexterity: 26 (F)
Intelligence: F+
- Knowledge: 47 (F)
- Logic: 33 (F)
Endurance: F
- Defense: 36 (F)
- Resistance: 2 (+5) (F-)
Charisma: E
- Persuasion: 40 (F)
- Appearance: 100 (E-)
Magic: E-
- Magic Power: 30 (F)
- Magic Control: 76 (F+)
I wish I could suddenly be at SSS level but that's not the kind of story this is. Moreover, I had learned in history class that the legendary adventurers or war geniuses who reached S level were few and far between. To wrap it up, I was doing what I could and progressing steadily, even if it wasn't noteworthy. My overall strength rating had increased from F- to F. This was the only significant development for now, and there was a difference in one of the sub-stats.
The reason for this was one of my skills.
Abilites:
- Blacksmith Apprentice
- Disciplined +1
- ???
Ability Descriptions:
Blacksmith Apprentice: You have worked alongside a blacksmith for many years. You have the capacity to produce various weapons and tools.
Disciplined +1: You were trained by a soldier. You possess the discipline to fulfill your desires. (Each time you gain an additional point in this area, your resistance receives a temporary buff of 5 points.)
???: Unknown.
My abilites had an impact on the development of my stats. Being disciplined showed me that I was becoming stronger, even if it was just temporarily. The next challenge was to find a way to make those temporary points permanent. I believed that as long as I remained disciplined and worked tirelessly every day, I could find a way to do that. Aside from that, there hadn't been any noteworthy changes related to my magic path yet.
As for what else I was doing, the theory lessons were quite interesting for me. In history class, the topics covered included the general history of the Heiben continent, some dangerous cults that dared to name an F and a few important figures who had cemented their names in history. I also saw Alex in this class. In technology class, we talked about how difficult it used to be to travel and carry things and inventions that had been developed as solutions to these problems were discussed. Additionally, everyone participating in this class was given an important item.
It was a kind of cube and the size of a die. We were instructed to place it in the compartment designated for our wallistics and we learned that we could inventory our equipment in this cube. After the training battle, everyone was given better versions of the weapons they had received. Since the weapons we used in battle had been intentionally dulled, I couldn't use them. It was wonderful to have a storage space where I could safely put my tomahawk and my other belongings.
The most interesting class was about resources.
It was exactly as I had thought because the resources of this world were extraordinary. I had mentioned that many regions in the Heiben land were undiscovered and held countless dangers. Even what my father had seen during that year he was missing was immense but since we were children at the time, I didn't know if he had really seen those things. He had talked about giant spiders and a mole-faced lizard that attacked from underground. I'm sure he encountered much more than just these.
All these creatures and the natural resources in the areas where they resided are like a treasure. It was even said that the water flowing there was different. I heard you drink too much of the ??? water, you might become a few years younger. When I heard that, I really didn't know what to say but our teacher was like a library on this topic. Teacher Wanda was a woman in her sixties, but her face appeared as if it had been forties. Still, a large portion of her black hair had turned gray, she couldn't see without her glasses, she had started using a cane and of course, there were wrinkles on her body. She was a very friendly person and easily answered our questions. I had asked her what the ingot was that I used for the dagger I made for Hanbel. I learned that the greenish, flower-scented ingot was the "iron" of the demons.
Speaking of flowers, the Sin of the Flower was also included in this class.
Since I had no right to question why it was here, for now, I had no choice but to ignore it. Teacher Wanda must have liked my interest in the class because she asked for my contact information after the lesson. My experiences in the theory classes were quite uplifting. However, the practice lessons had not been as interesting as I had thought, aside from Class Philosophy.
Class Philosophy was the only class in which we were required to participate as Class 1-A. Therefore, the entire class had entered the yellowish building next to that red building. I was with my group of friends and while we waited for the instructor to arrive, we had a brief conversation about what we were doing. Iris was talking about how she wanted to become a successful doctor and healer. Stefan had attended the classes I wasn't in and complained about their difficulty. Ela, on the other hand, chose not to participate much in our conversation, mentioning that she had picked a relaxed schedule like mine.
Class Philosophy was being taught for the first time. That's why we were the first people to take this class. The reason was simple. Classes had been as I had thought until this year. Warrior, archer, or mage. There were other classes as well but it was said that these classes were a bit unique, like Bard or Assassin. These simple definitions had become quite complex due to the structure of this year's wallistics.
Instructor Tom was a young man. He was perhaps a few years older than us. He was short, wore round-framed glasses, and had a strange sense of fashion. I don't know much about fashion but if someone else wore the clothes he did, they would likely look ridiculous. He told us that he wanted to give examples from those who already had a class to provide more information about the changing classes and he first asked Viola about her class.
Viola stated her class and the instructor wrote it on the board. The name of her class was Fallen Duelist and our instructor asked her a single-word question.
"Why?"
He then mentioned that this answer could only be provided by Viola. He talked about how wallistics that look into our souls perceive what we see ourselves as when determining a class.
At that moment, my fight with Viola came to mind. I remembered that strange state of mind she had entered before she lifted me. She seemed as if she had lost everything.
What had she lost? Was what she lost that important?
At that point, I thought about all of Viola's behaviors. Her indifferent attitude, her clumsy attempts to bully me and other things. I didn't know what was going on in her life. I'm not impressed by the complexities of the nobles, but I had a guess about Viola. Still, it would be prudent not to make definitive statements. The topic could turn out to be something entirely different.
After that, instructor Tom asked Zui to state her class. Interestingly, her class had become the Sin of the Flower, which was her nickname. When I thought about the nature of classes, it seemed that a person's inner self and how they displayed that to the world around them had an effect. After this, I witnessed those who had classes state them. One of the three demons in our class had a class called Guardian of Animals. Other than that, there hadn't been anyone else who caught my attention.
Even if my other practice classes weren't interesting, they were perfect for me to train. While I was learning how to use the tomahawk effectively, I was also taking a class where I could use a secondary weapon. For now, my weapon was an axe but I hadn't set aside sword. Lastly, there were the private lesson. To be more precise, it would be more useful to call it private torture.
I had learned the name of the nalia that was training me in the end. His name was Borrow, and as I had guessed, he used to be a soldier. He mentioned that he was once one of the generals of the Quintah army and boasted about it to me. The reason he was here was because he had lost a significant part of his combat skills due to an injury he had received to his stomach. After leaving the army, the Academy had welcomed him. This man was trying to train me as he trained the Quintah soldiers. For our private lessons, we weren't using a training room or any other place. That day, he had me running around the Academy area with weights attached to me. Besides that, he had asked me to try to move him. No matter how hard I pushed this nalia, he didn't even budge.
In short, that day I was completely exhausted.
I spent the weekend with my family and told them about my experiences.
And it was time to start a new week.