Chemistry, numbers, and history.

Those were all the classes I had after Combat Magic. And despite its name, it was more of a Combat class than a Combat Magic class since there didn’t seem to be anything magical involved.

Chemistry came next, and while it was a lot different from the chemistry I knew and hated, I recognized it as a tedious class all the same. Instead of identifying elements, electrons, protons, and molar mass, based on the curriculum, the class seemed to focus more on what constructs magic as well as the nature of things.

Numbers class was literally basic algebra running under a different name. I had a good grasp of everything math-related up to calculus so I should be fine with that.

History was history. It was self-explainable.

Other than that, I had some classes in the afternoon but I chose not to worry about those for now.

A serious problem has come to my attention though, and it was the fact that I couldn’t read. It all looked like medical jargon to me. For example, ahem—pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.

If I knew what that word meant, that was great. But I didn’t. The only reason why I could remember it was because it is the longest word in the English language. I could barely pronounce it as is, and it was hard to deconstruct with the eye.

That was basically how it felt looking at this world’s common language. I just didn’t understand why I could listen and talk but not read and write. Which bastard damned me to this fate? I couldn’t even learn Spanish from my seven years of intermediate school and high school! How am I supposed to learn this? What even is this language called?

‘Oh boy.’

Anyway, with that tangent aside, I had made it to Eigenvalue’s classroom.

As I placed my hand on the warm handle, the door opened on its own.

“Ah! Daniel, you’re here!”

In front of me was the professor. His beard had become a little disheveled, but it was good to see that he had on a new robe.

“Good good, I’ve been waiting for you,” he said with a chuckle. “Come in, come in.”

He welcomed me into the giant gymnasium as he asked, “Have you had lunch yet?”

“Yeah.”

‘I’ve had yesterday’s lunch.’

“That’s good. You can eat as much as you want in the cafeteria so you should take advantage of it. It’s not good to starve yourself in these prosperous times.”

He said that, but he was the reason I didn’t go to the cafeteria like everyone else.

Before I could bring up the question of why he wanted me, he started talking again.

“You want to know why I called you here, right?” He looked at me after closing the door.

“I noticed you have a lot of potential in that demonstration, so I am here to officially recruit you into Grimphon University’s Combative Squadron.”

“Combative Squadron?”

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“Yes, the team will represent our Institution for multi-collaborative events such as the prestigious yearly Grand Tourney. You’ve heard of it before, right?”

“Yeah.”

I didn’t. But it wasn’t hard to infer from the name that it was some sort of tournament.

“Our university has never participated in such events directly because we never had a combat class. And because of that, most students attending this school and those who choose to enroll are usually aiming for a career that does not involve direct combat. In fact, almost everyone who attends this school are aristocrats that are second in line for their family title. That’s also why our university is renowned throughout the kingdoms. But because everyone who graduates ends up being some sort of manufacturer or researcher, our achievements have become especially restricted. Do you understand?”

“Uh… Yeah?”

‘The fuck does this have to do with me?’

“Good, so what do you say? I’m not going to pressure you to do it, but if you do choose to join, you can use the university’s special training rooms that were recently built. I can even coach you personally. So?”

He looked at me with some variant of puppy eyes; though I had to say it looked disturbing coming from an old man. He was overly expectant for a positive answer.

“Why are you recruiting me?” I asked, a bit worried. Was it because I fought with a stick just like the one he had in hand? That sounded biased as hell, but it was the reason, wasn’t it?

“Well, you have a knack for fighting don’t you? That tactic you used to lure Melissa in was phenomenal!”

“Tactic?”

I was lost. What the fuck was he talking about?

“Well of course, you decided to take the hit so you could catch her with a counterattack, didn’t you? That’s pure genius if you asked me! You even directed it so that it hit the stomach and not any vital organ! You may be a rookie at using a staff, but the power behind that swing is undoubtedly planned.”

Wha?

‘What drugs did you take for such a fantasy to manifest?’

I seriously wondered.

As if noticing my skepticism, he continued chiming, “I may be rustic and old when it comes to fighting, but my eyes can still see through that level of tactical planning. You can’t fool me, boy. Not to mention, you knew how to pack a punch with the staff.”

“I’ll… I’ll think about it.” I didn’t know what else to say.

He was a professor which meant he intrinsically held more value than me. If I disrespected him or turned the offer down rudely… I could only imagine all the unfair scenarios that would be unleashed upon me as a student.

“Good, good. I understand that you’ll have to think about it. Ah, come with me to my office. I’ll get you the contract real quick so that you can read over it as you decide.” He rushed past me and I followed him to another door inside the already large gymnasium.

In this secondary room that he called his “office,” there was a large desk filled with piles of papers scrambled about.

After scrambling for a second, he passed me a paper.

“It’s nothing too major. You just need to be 12 years old and have a recommendation from a professor. I have the recommendation part covered and since you’re here as a student, you should be old enough to sign at the bottom. You can read the benefits of becoming a member at the top.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Rights

1. Able to use reserved training facilities.

2. Access to the third floor of the library.

3. Usage of specialized uniforms (artifact).

4. An allowance of 5,000 Crystals every week.

Responsibilities:

~~~~~~~~~~

There was a strand of blonde hair hanging onto the bottom of the paper. Its end was a distinct bloody color.

I flicked the paper and it fell off just like that.

After looking through the paper a little, I had no choice but to say, “The offer is very enticing, can you give me a day to think over it? I’ll give you an answer by tomorrow.”

“Hmm? Ah. Yes. Right. I’ll see you tomorrow then.” He waved his hand as I left. I waved back while leaving the office room. Once that ordeal was over, I dashed to the door and—.

“Uh, hello?”

The blonde-haired heterochromia girl happened to be at the door.

“Oh hey,” I gave a quick response as I side-stepped past her and made a break for the cafeteria.

The moment I heard from Professor Eigenvalue that I could eat as much as I wanted…

*Grrrr

My stomach knew what’s up.

*Grwrw

Everything else could wait.