As a bonafide natural loner, it was already pretty much guaranteed that Kaiel would be one of the students who had no choice but to be randomly assigned.
It wasn’t as though he knew no one. But of those he did know, they could all be distinctly categorised into those that avoided him and those that had a vendetta against him. Given his prickly nature, he was sure that he would always be that student, the one picked last. The option that one had no other choice but to take. Not that he cared.
If lucky, he would find himself in a safe environment. But if he was even the slightest bit misfortunate and happened to land himself with individuals that he would not be able to get along with, only two things could happen. He would first kiss the "no trouble” next three years of his life goodbye and instead welcome a beyond “stressful” three years with open arms.
He had to think about this carefully.
Silva continued to explain how the system would work, “Alongside your monthly individual assessments. You will now have to also perform a series of assessments alongside your team. They will be much more difficult than your standard individual tests as they are designed to be completed with your team. So if you’re not careful, some of you will get seriously injured. Well, I’m sure us instructors will be worked to the bone to ensure that doesn’t happen.”
The students weren’t too happy with how she basically indicated she found saving them, should anything happen, a matter of inconvenience. It made her seem unreliable. They hoped that if the time came when it was really necessary for her to step in, she would do so without holding anything back.
“Remember, the deadline is two weeks. So if you want your options open, you better get your asses moving later. If you have six people on your roster, you can submit it to the faculty office. All six of you have to be present to give explicit consent. We don’t want you signing up people without their permission.”
Once she was done with the announcements, she trashed the piece of paper by channelling mana into it. The piece of paper disintegrated into thin air, “Enough of that. You can all discuss it after today’s lesson,”
"We left off last time on the topic of Mana Theory, "
“I’m sure you all know the basics regarding mana. But you must understand the intricacies of mana and how we use it to cast our arts. I'll go over a brief recap. Using this incredible energy, we can manipulate the elements and physical nature of the world. Mana Arts can come in a range of forms depending on the person. It could be in the form of elemental manipulation, simple strength augmentation or even enchanters. Though, the latter is quite rare. Most people fall into the first two categories. Besides casting powerful arts, what other functions does mana have?”
The question hung in the air for a while. Most students were too lazy to answer, did not want to answer or did not know the answer. Finally, after a few seconds of awkward silence, a student raised their hand. It came from a graceful girl with long light blue hair.
“Other than the most prominent feature being an enabler for powerful arts, it can act as a purifier to the body. As a result, individuals who wield mana do not often fall victim to common illnesses and are typically always healthy should there be no other circumstances.
Mana has the trait of naturally enhancing an individual’s body over time, and skilled manipulators can use it to strengthen their body, even if their speciality isn’t strengthening arts. This is a skill most arts users use and rely on as a fundamental basic. Additionally, it is rumoured that some individuals are so adept at this technique that it is mistaken as their speciality. Sometimes, they even surpass individuals who specialise in it.
And, while elemental manipulation and body augmentation are the most common forms of mana arts, there are more unique forms it can take as well. For example, there are rumours that the Divas of the Ghalys Empire to the south specialise in some kind of sound arts, their songs as forms of attack, illusion, and mysticism.
Outside of individual usage, mana is commonly used as a power source in the Empire and neighbouring nations. Moreover, in most of our technology, mana plays a large role in their function. And without it, many of the day-to-day devices we use and rely on would be rendered useless.
Another example would be….”
Silva interrupted her, “Enough, enough. I’m starting to think you should be standing at the podium instead of me.”
Wouldn’t that be right up your alley? That is what the students thought. Many of the surrounding students noted that she would’ve continued on forever had Silva not stopped her. This was a common occurrence, and it was the norm for their year’s top-ranked honour student. Rinne was her name. She was the one who Kaiel had attempted to defer Rohan to. She was indisputably the most intelligent student and also one of the strongest. Despite being so capable, she was not of noble lineage, which initially earned her the spite and disdain of some of the more elitist nobles. They did keep their discontent to themselves. Words coming from someone inferior did not mean much if they did not have the ability to surpass you.
This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.
Even in Kaiel’s opinion, she was worthy of admiration, and it was not wrong to call her a walking encyclopaedia. She was different to him, whose only saving grace was his effort. She was naturally gifted and had an almost eidetic memory. Once she had the opportunity to express knowledge, she wouldn’t know when to stop.
Silva smiled slightly as she watched the enthusiastic girl blush in embarrassment, realising that she had lost herself in her explanation.
Classes went on for another few hours before they were released for the day.
Immediately after Silva had left the classroom, the students rushed to different locations. Some went to the other classes where their friends were located. The team system was a momentous occasion that was of tremendous importance. None of them wanted to waste any time in making the best possible choices.
Kaiel packed his stuff and left the classroom promptly. In another corner of the classroom, Leo saw this from the corner of his eye and stumbled after him.
As Kaiel made his way to the entrance, he glanced one more time at the ranking board.
Overall Ranking
1st Place - Thea Von Astrea
2nd Place - Rinne Zoldar
3rd Place - Altair Vanshire
...
Combat Ranking
1st Place - Thea Von Astrea
2nd Place - Faye Luvisol
3rd Place - Altair Vanshire
4th Place – Rinne Zoldar
...
Theory Ranking
1st Place – Rinne Zoldar
2nd Place – Thea Von Astrea
3rd Place – Raymond Taratsia
4th Place – Altair Vanshire
5th Place - Kaiel Dreyar
...
While the overall rankings were primarily based on the theory and practical results, if that was all it was based on, then the overall rankings would differ slightly as one would just take the average between the other two rankings.
In both the overall ranking and combat ranking, his name was nowhere to be found in the top 300. In the theory ranking, however, his name was at the 5th rank. But this was to be expected. It corresponded to the amount of effort he put in. Compared to last month, he had risen by two ranks. It was a praiseworthy achievement to rank 5th for the entirety of the year, but Kaiel was not satisfied.
He was disappointed in himself for not ranking higher.
Other than that, the rankings had not changed much since last month's initial release. Of the top rankers, he knew two of them were in his own class, Rinne and Altair. The only other student whose name he recognised was Thea Von Astrea. But then again, no one in the Academy did not know who she was. She was currently regarded as the most talented first-year. During their induction into the Academy, she was the representative who spoke in front of them inside the Academy's Auditorium.
Like Altair, she was from one of the highest-ranking noble families in the Empire, the Astrea House.
She was an extremely friendly person that befriended anyone who approached her, irrespective of their background. On top of possessing the highest degree of talent, her personality was also spectacular. Thus, she was idolised by many others as the ideal person.
How true that held up was something Kaiel could not comment on. He had never personally interacted with her and had yet to form his own perception of her. Without interacting with someone, the amount you knew about them was superficial at best.
----------------------------------------
The moment he moved a single step out of the main entrance, a voice called out to him.
“Wait!”
He turned to see the boy from earlier, Leo. He could guess what he wanted. “I already received an apology. You don’t need to do it again.”
He said his piece and tried to leave.
This did not satisfy Leo. The boy grabbed him by the shoulders gently. Kaiel didn’t want to shrug him off, so he was forced to face him again. He noticed the boy was all smiles and with a ninety-degree bow. He once again apologised, “I know I said it earlier, but I really wanted to say it again. I’m really sorry for getting you involved.”
Kaiel looked at his fellow student up and down. He could tell that he was genuinely apologetic towards him. It irked him slightly. Truth be told, the boy was never at fault, but he decided to blame himself for the actions of others.
Kaiel was curious about something, “Apologies are great and all. But why don’t you stand up for yourself?
Leo was a bit speechless, “I….”
“Are you afraid of their families? You don’t particularly have to be. The academy specifically forbids bringing conflict from inside of the Academy outside of it. In cases where it does happen, it results in immediate expulsion….”
In preparation for any situations that would arise due to the constant friction between the nobles and commoners, the Academy had made it extremely clear that they would not tolerate any abuse of power. This was the safety net that allowed a lot of commoners to attend the Academy without hesitation.
“No… it’s not that.”
If it wasn't that, then there wasn't really anything else Kaiel could think of that would warrant him to act in such a way.
“I took a look at the board just now and found your name, Rank 102nd Leonhardt. You’re not too far from that idiot in strength. And judging from your expression, I don’t think you’re afraid of him. I could be wrong, though.”
This was precisely why Kaiel was confused. Rank 102nd meant that the boy in front of him was actually within the upper echelons of the first year in terms of combat potential.
"..."
Leo stayed quiet.
Kaiel sighed, “It’s not like I care, but letting them mess with you like that will do you no good in the long run.”
“….”
Everything he said was reasonable, so Kaiel thought that there must be some other reason that he wasn't comfortable speaking about. Looking at Leo's face, Kaiel was startled. The former did not have a troubled expression at all. Instead, his eyes were wide open as if he had heard something surprising.
Kaiel couldn't help but ask, "What?"
"No, nothing."
Kaiel did not understand what he meant, "...?"
"No, ignore what I said. And don't worry about me. It doesn't affect me that much." Leo patted the area on his chest where he was rubbing sorely not too long ago with great force.
Kaiel was doubtful but decided to leave it at that.
After separating from Leo, Kaiel headed south. Normally, he would go back to the dorms and undergo another training session, but with the release of their rankings for the month, he had other matters to attend to.