Each school course was 3 months long, and there were 3 of them. The school had reached the end of the first course. The students learned a lot under the tutelage of the 4 teachers assigned.
Konnor Emmeric was his grumpy self; teaching about Geography, History, the Government, and other lesser-known but equally important common knowledge topics. He mentioned to the class that next course he would be teaching War Tactics, so the class was rather hyped for that.
Mila Erth was straightforward as usual; she delved into the intricacies of Biology, Chemistry, Physics, and Alchemy. Grey knew all the topics taught for the first 3, so only Alchemy intrigued him, but the other topics they touched upon, like Magic Theory and High Elven, captured his attention. He was fluent in High Elven, for it was always good to know another language, but learning other random words to increase his diction was fun for him.
Drakell kept to his gloomy nature as someone with a Dark Affinity, only coming out of his shell when interesting Magic topics were involved. He taught all about Spells and made the students do practicals against his Dark Barrier. Grey was the only one who didn't benefit from the lessons, his inability to use Spells kept him out of the loop, but he overcame the difficulty by improving his Manipulation.
Lucas Heart, was as always, a lazy bum. Grey was still confused as to how the man got a job at The Island, but the students were benefitting from his presence, if only slightly. He split the class into 2 after the first lesson; those he deemed worthy and unworthy to wield a weapon. Those chucked into the unworthy category were made to do PT for the entire 3-hour lesson, whilst those who were deemed worthy could spend 2 of those hours practicing with their weapons. Not even the high ranks were spared, as Var was made to do PT only, alongside a couple of others in the top 30.
---
At the moment, Grey was in a Home-room lesson where Konnor was recapping the Geography of Arkusia, and its Government for the test that was soon to come.
"So, there are 5 Domains. Dwarven, Human, Elven, Vampire, and Beast.
The Dwarven Domain occupies the top left of the continent, made up of mountains. They live under the ground, mining ores and blacksmithing. We also fight, but we're not as good as the others.
The dwarves elect a singular person as their President Monarch. They, alongside a team of 11 advisors, make up the dwarven part of the Tri-Government.
The Human Domain, below the dwarves, in the bottom left of the continent, is made up of plains. This means they control most of the agriculture in the Tri-Government. They also are great at fighting.
The humans don't elect people; the 12 strongest are chosen to become part of the Council. Council members include Rank 1, Jay Alv, and other famous figures like Khan Wulf, currently Rank 4. This is the human part of the Tri-Government."
'Wow! So Gramps is the 4th strongest human? Or is he the 4th strongest overall?'
"The Elven Domain is next to the Human Domain; the bottom right of the continent. The elves specialize in medicines due to their abundant forests, which make up about 90% of their territory.
They follow a monarchy, so they have a King and Queen. They also have a Nobility system. The King and Queen, alongside 10 advisors, are the last part of the Tri-Government.
The Vampires occupy the top right of the continent, that is their Domain. Luckily for them, it has a mix of all 3 landscapes, allowing them to do all that we do, but in smaller quantities. This is one of the reasons that they have been able to fight for so long.
They have a singular monarch; their 'King', and he has been slumbering for the past 1,000 years, or so we believe. They, much like the elves, have a Nobility system.
Finally, the Beast Domain. This Domain is in the middle of the continent and is a taiga biome. Eternally winter forest. The beasts there are all Mana Beasts, and have no intelligence from Rank G to Rank C. At Rank B, they can do more than just follow their instincts. At Rank A, they can strategize. At Rank S and above, they are all as intelligent as you and I. However, they have no form of Government.
That brings me to the 2 branches of the Tri-Government, the Hero Association, and the Hunter Association.
Both of them have rankings from G- to SSS+. A Hero is someone who hunts Villains and vampires, both on home turf, at the frontier, and behind enemy lines, whilst a Hunter raids Dungeons, or Mana Beast territory. You can be both, but that doubles your workload, so most people choose to be one or the other.
Now, that wraps up the class. Be sure to remember this for your test." Konnor wrapped up the lesson with that and left the room.
Var, who was sitting next to Grey, turned and asked him. "Can you help me study?"
Grey agreed and then started chatting to the group whilst waiting for Mila to come to teach theory. The group of 5 boys had long since merged with the group of 4 girls, and were now all amicable with each other. Except for Aurora —who, since their first day— had kept her distance as an aloof, cold person. She still hung out with the group though, so Grey assumed she was just keeping true to her nickname as Ice Queen.
It was then that Mila Erth walked in, looking as noble as ever. She turned to the now silent class and addressed every student.
"Hello, class. Today will be a recap. The test is next week; I expect a passing mark from all of you, and from some of you I expect a perfect score." She was as serious as ever and looked at both Grey and Aurora as she spoke the last part.
---
The lesson was long and boring for Grey, but he perked up when she moved on to Alchemy.
"To create a simple healing potion, you need 4 ingredients.
1. Blackwood Tree leaves, 10 grams. This numbs the injury.
2. Whitewood Tree leaves, 10 grams. This augments the body's healing factor.
3. Axine seeds, 5 grams. This provides energy to the potion.
4. Boiling water, 100 milliliters.
Grind each ingredient into 1 paste, using a grinder. If you like it old-fashioned, use a pestle and mortar.
The water and paste should be mixed in a Mana conductor, as it forcefully introduces Mana into the potion, allowing the paste to mix into the water and amplify the effect.
The Mana is what makes the healing effect go from slightly faster to a visible effect. For example, a 20cm gash on your arm would take 5 minutes to heal, instead of months.
Things to note: the paste won't work by itself, even if put in a Mana conductor, and if you mix them without a Mana conductor, it will barely heal a scratch.
This recipe creates a simple healing potion, it will heal injuries up to moderate on the Abbreviated Injury Scale. This includes things such as gashes or broken bones, to a certain degree. Don't forget that when working with bones, injuries must be set before a potion can be used. You don't want the bone to fuse incorrectly.
The last topics to study are Villains and Dungeons.
Villains, as they are colloquially known, are what we call 'dhampirs'. They are humans, elves, and dwarves who have given up their morality, becoming half-vampire. From what we know, they are given part of the vampire's power, but become unable to deny their orders. Vampires primarily target those who greed for power, or those who wish to take revenge. We believe that this is due to their Blood Magic, but we can't be sure, for we can't study the process."
'Fallen Star?' The process of making a Villain fascinated Grey, so he asked his partner for details.
- I believe that they transfer their blood through their bite, so whilst it is blood, it isn't Magic. Since I wasn't involved in making species I'm unsure of how exactly the process works, or why it requires consent, but I do know that a link is formed between the two once the process is done. -
'Intriguing!' Once Fallen Star answered, Grey refocused his attention, bringing his concentration back to the professor.
"Dungeons are areas where many Mana Beasts reside, and there are 2 types of them. Natural and Mana Dungeons. A Natural Dungeon is a cave-like formation where a singular species of Mana Beast lay, whilst a Mana Dungeon is a separate space where many species of Mana Beast live. A Mana Dungeon has a portal entrance; a natural conglomeration of Mana, and what we based portals on.
Each Dungeon has a Dungeon Boss, and, by measuring how much Mana a Dungeon leaks, we can rank them. A single person can clear a Dungeon of the same rank by themselves, but most choose to do so in a team.
That's all for this lesson. You will be given study time in later classes, until next week, after the test."
Mila swiftly departed from the room, leaving the 50 students alone.
"Man, she's so boring. So hot, but so boring!" A voice came from Grey's left. It was Var's. "Grey, I swear, if you don't help me, I'm going to fail. This physics shit makes no sense!"
Don't worry, I'll help you." Grey saw no reason to deny Var's request. He did not need to study, and he got to hang out with Var. Hell, he could run a study group.
'That's not a bad idea.'
---
The rest of the day went by swiftly, and so did the week.
It was time for the test.
The day started with Konnor's class.
"Good morning students." The dwarf seemed tired, he had most likely been up at night making modifications to the test.
"Good morning, Mr. Emmeric." They all replied.
"Alright, I've emailed you the test. You have 2 hours, begin!" Konnor's eyes flickered, before he went to his desk, to take a nap. "I'll know if you cheat!" He warned.
Grey scanned through the test, finding it extremely easy. He knew all the answers, but typing them all would take a while.
'Fallen Star, can you do this for me?' He asked his partner.
- Hell no. I didn't ditch God to do elementary-level tests. -
'Fine.' Grey begrudgingly tackled the easy test, finishing in just half an hour. He closed his eyes to rest, just like Konnor. He had been practicing his Magic in his room every day until he depleted his Mana Pool, which caused him to be very tired each time. Sleep was necessary.
An hour and a half later, he was nudged awake by Var, his seatmate, and was told that the test was over. Next was the Theory class.
Ms. Erth's test was just as easy for Grey, so he slept for another hour and a half.
Lucas' test was next, which meant Grey needed to be active. Luckily, the 3 hours of sleep that he had gained from the tests had energized him, so he was ready.
The students gathered in the hall for the umpteenth time, waiting for the teacher to arrive.
"Hello, students! How are you?" A voice came from the middle of the pack, cheerful and energized. It was clear that Lucas was excited for today.
"For today's test, you'll be putting your PT to work!" Lucas had designed an elaborate track for the test, and looking at it put the students into despair. They could already feel the muscle pain they would have.
---
"Congrats. You all pass." Since Lucas' test was simple, he was able to grade the students on the spot. "Now, off you go. You have Drakell next, right?"
All 50 of them were not happy being reminded of that, but they got up and left the class.
Back in the classroom, Drakell made them perform 3 Magic Spells of any complexity; for those with a big Mana Pool, it was easy, but for those without, they had to get creative.