Just in case you were wondering; The interviews ended peacefully. Unfortunately, I didn't get any discounts despite my good performance. Afterwards, I met up with Eden who also finished his successfully before mine. We immediately picked our courses and returned to our homes. We were officially enrolled!

Today marked my first day of attending school and I couldn't help but feel excited.

The sun was already up when I made my way through the cobblestones that covered the main road. Ardent City was blanketed by the dawn's golden hue. People of different statures came and went seemingly uncaring of the beauty around them as they continued with their daily lives. Yet here I was, basked in the morning glow of the sun, admiring the city's appearance even after all these years. The sight of my hometown covered with blessing only served to further lighten up my mood.

I might be biased but this city really was gorgeous. Left or right, one could see buildings of various shapes, colors and sizes. Some buildings were so ridiculous to the extent that some people were doubtful to even call them infrastructure. Hanging bridges were strewn all around. The roads were well maintained, especially the main road in which I am currently treading upon. And in the distance, you could see towering gray walls used to protect us from the monsters outside of the city. However, the most eye-catching feature was not any of the ones mentioned previously. It was actually the thing at the heart of this city, even taller than the walls, and even more magnificent than anything you could ever lay your eyes upon in the place - the Ardent Tree.

The Ardent Tree was literally where this city was built around. Its roots encompassed a huge area. In fact, some buildings were designed with the roots as foundation. This majestic tree also had its leaves cover much of the space. In the morning, the warm sun's rays managed to reach those below it. However, come noon the leaves established a cool shade that only allowed the sunlight to trickle through from its gaps which left us with a lukewarm and comfortable heat to deal with. This tree was an important symbol of Ardent City.

The high amount of color that enveloped the city painted the place as lively, and it manifested through the smiles radiating from its residents.

I reached the school as I was lost in thought. And just like that, my school life began.

My first class was Physical Education. This didn't mean however that I was going to a class to learn twenty or more different types of exercises. Although exercising and strengthening the body was part of PE, it didn't end there. It also encompassed fighting. They taught martial arts and body techniques used for defeating enemies and defending one's self. Sparring was even part of the curriculum, and no, it was without protective gear. With the presence of healing magic, people in general had become lax with these things. After all, as long as the injuries weren't fatal, those proficient with magic could patch up any physical damage.

Lastly, magic concerning body enhancement as well as body deterioration were also part of PE. Unfortunately, the effects of these magic spells were temporary and were mostly used before and during combat only. Nonetheless, they were still useful within the duration of the effect and they couldn't be learned anywhere else, hence they were indispensable.

Needless to say, I entered this course to get stronger. Not only could it help in improving my body and in learning fighting techniques, it also provided actual combat experience against different kinds of creatures - my classmates-to-be. The knowledge that I could potentially acquire firsthand from this class was valuable. It is also to be noted that I could use the magic taught by the instructor. The reason I couldn't learn any good magic was only because the knowledge about them was heavily restricted. Even Eden, a proficient magician, was forbidden by his race's leaders to divulge their secrets, hence he was unable to teach me anything other than basic spells.

The instruction site of the class was in the training grounds far away from the entrance. After arriving, I immediately surveyed the surrounding people. There were more than thirty students. It was actually a relatively high number but since this was a rather popular class, it couldn't be helped. As expected, a few were also humans but majority were of other varying race. If there was one thing in common though, it was that most of those present were 'power types', meaning that their races were more capable of hand-to-hand combat or close weapon combat rather than magic combat.

After observing, I decided to just quietly wait for the professor to come. There were no chairs so all in attendance were patiently standing while allowing the heat of the sun to wash over them. Fortunately, I only needed to wait a few moments for the instructor to turn up.

"Oooohh!!"

Surprised voices were heard from the crowd. The one who arrived had lustrous crimson scales covering her body. She proudly walked with two feet as everyone gazed at the two horns sprouting from her head. Everybody recognized her for what she was in an instant. She was obviously a draconian.

Even I was awed at the sight. There seemed to have a lot of amazing existences here in this school. Just from the interview conducted the day before, I was already able to see a dark elf, and a demon spawn. And now I had a draconian as a teacher.

Draconians, like the dark elves, were very proud of their race. If the dark elves boasted of their archery and magic, then the draconians boasted of their sheer fighting prowess. Not only were their physical attributes superior than most, they were also able to use a bloodline magic specific to their race. This magic was said to be one of the most powerful fire attribute magic in the world. Hence, there was no surprise for them to be revered by many.

"Please settle down!"

Her voice managed to subdue any commotion happening. Everyone had become dead silent, anticipating her next words.

Upon seeing the reactions from the students, she sneered. "My name is Lianna Dragonheart. From here on out I am your instructor for this class and each of you must follow my orders. Are there any objections?"

'Objections? Not questions? Looks like we have quite an authoritarian in our hands.'

"This must be your first class of the year." My train of thoughts was halted when she continued speaking. "I welcome all of you to this prestigious institution. I hope that each one of you are respectful enough to not cause any trouble. Any idiot who has plans on doing so is free to leave my class immediately."

Seeing there was no reaction from the students, she nodded her head.

"Good. Let's start our lesson for today then."

Ms. Lianna started discussing about our bodies. There were countless amounts of races in the world, so it was impossible to describe each one. Therefore, her method was to mention only those which are relevant to all. She talked about the magic formation inside our bodies, the training methods for body strengthening applicable to everyone, and even the rough hierarchy of races according to physical attributes. Naturally she ranked her draconian race as one of the top while humans were at the bottom. Unable to refute anything, I just continued to listen.

"In theory, if two creatures of different races will have a battle not involving magic and weapons, then the creature with the race that has more abundant physical capabilities will obviously win. The result will mostly be affected only by the difference between the fighters' body training and combat experience. Since you guys only started now, it would be safe to assume that the ones with the higher spot on the hierarchy will win." Ms. Lianna explained further.

The students could only nod their heads and agree. Her words were reasonable after all.

Suddenly, she stopped talking and scanned the surroundings.

"You, the bug over there, you must be a pestilence. And also the human at the back. Get here in front," Ms. Lianna commanded.

The draconian teacher pointed at someone from the other side of the class. The other one she called was none other than me.

Although a bit startled, I obediently walked in front since there was no merit in refusing. The other student that the instructor called a pestilence seemed to be a beetle type creature. He was over 2 meters tall and his outer shell looked quite formidable with a lustrous jet black covering. One could tell that its shell was hard without a doubt.

"I would like to demonstrate something. You two try spar for a while. Only physical attacks are allowed. No usage of magic, no usage of weapons, and no fatal blows. And stop if I tell you to."

Most of the students frowned at her words. Looking at our physiques alone, a two meter giant versus a puny human, one would normally think that I'd be defeated in a very one-sided manner. In their minds, the teacher commanded me to get beaten up without a chance of a fight.

In my face was also a hint of a frown, but for a different reason. Actually in my mind, there was no way I could lose! Normal people might not be able to see, but before coming here, I had actually trained my body a lot for preparation. Most of these arrogant creatures had mentalities thinking that education only starts at school. This idea was totally incorrect! If someone has the drive to learn, then they could educate themselves from a very young age.

One look and I could tell that the opponent was not trained at all. Compared to me who had been sparring with Eden for about a decade, he was no match at all.

What I was concerned about was Ms. Lianna. I wasn't sure what she was trying to demonstrate. She might be trying to show that I, as a human, don't have any chance of defeating a race above me. The other possibility was that she was leading the students to believe that other factors such as training could compensate for the difference between the two races. If it was the latter, then I'd have no problems if I could defeat the opponent. But if it was the former...

As I've mentioned, draconians were proud creatures. I was afraid of offending her by disrupting her demonstration.

"Yes, ma'am!"

"Yes!"

Unfortunately, I didn't have time to ponder it. We were both forced to accept the instructions, and then were lead face to face to each other in the space between the students and the instructor. In that split second before starting, I decided to just act truthfully to my own abilities.

"Start!"

My opponent was the first to move. He launched himself to me and threw a punch with his right hand.

'Too slow!'

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Compared to the speed of fireballs aimed at me by Eden in our training sessions, this was almost in slow motion.

I immediately dodged to my right and delivered a counter punch of my own with my right fist. It hit his chest area.

His shell was indeed tough. Even when I was the one who attacked, I felt pain on my fist. I had previously read in a book that the pestilences'  shell armor was actually only extremely hard on their backs. Their front was vulnerable. Despite that, it was still quite hard to penetrate.

I continued to dodge his advances. When he punched with his left, I dodged to his right. When he kicked with his right, I dodged to his left. He was just too slow. On the other hand, I managed to land hits one after another. Sometimes I would use my fists, and other times my feet. Fortunately, even though his defenses were difficult to crack, I still managed to damage him little by little with each strike.

The spectators were startled at first, given their initial predictions. However, once they got over with their surprise, they calmly watched the fight. They soon acknowledged that I was a good fighter, and some even started to cheer for me. As for Miss Instructor, she remained to watch the spectacle with an expressionless face.

This continued for a while until I was finally able to make him stagger with a left hook.

*Crick!*

After suffering from the blow, the pestilence let out a shriek.

'This is my chance!'

I immediately tried to follow up my attack. This was my opportunity so I raised my right hands with intention to finish things up when...

"Stop!"

My right fist halted mid-air as it was about to hit the face of my opponent with a straight. The voice of the instructor resounded in everyone's ears.

Acknowledging the end of the duel, I lowered my arm and did a curt bow to my opponent. This was a gesture of respect to the enemy after a good fight. The pestilence stared at me dumbfounded. He realized his mistake shortly and then hurriedly responded with a bow of his own. Thus, the bout was officially over.

I glanced at the instructor nervously.

'Did I mess up or not? She does not look offended but it's hard to say for sure'

"The winner is the human!" Ms. Lianna declared.

A chorus of cheers erupted. The students found it unbelievable that a mere human like me was able to defeat a supposedly higher being.

"What's your name?"

The instructor turned to ask me. She still had that expressionless face. Even her eyes did not reveal any hint of emotion. By now, I was already extremely anxious.

"Teacher, my name is Zerefiel."

"Well done, Mr. Zerefiel. Both of you can now return to your previous areas." She watched us go away and continued. "It is as you've seen. Even though the hierarchy of strength is a simple way to assess a creature's strength, it's not absolute. It might work in the most basic levels, but it ignores so much of other factors, hence it's also unreliable."

I breathed a sigh of relief. My choice of fighting honestly was the correct one.

Thinking about the circumstances, it was actually quite clear what she was trying. She had been a warrior and a teacher for a long time. It would be impossible that she'd make a mistake assessing my level of power compared to the enemy. Even I, in my current level, was more or less aware about my opponent's capabilities. There was no way that she couldn't do the same. Obviously, she knew from the start that I'd win.

Sighing inwardly once again, and berating myself about my stupid mistake, I started to listen to what Ms. Lianna had to say further.

"As for Mr. Zerefiel's case, he clearly had a certain amount of training. And this training helped bridge the gap to overcome his opponent. He clearly had higher than normal speed to allow him to dodge all of the opponent's attacks. If any of you tried to improve your bodies, you could improve your speed as well."

The students nodded their heads. They thought that what the teacher stated was logical. However, one raised a question instead.

"Madam teacher! Does that mean that even a human, given a certain amount of training, can actually defeat a dragon with only physical attacks?"

"That would be quite difficult, I suppose. It would involve other factors as well. However, technically speaking, it is indeed possible. But it is made possible only because of the high magic density of the air surrounding us. Upon contact with these magic particles, even the lowest lifeforms has no limits in which they can improve their bodies. Magic has long removed the chains bounding all of the creatures. Many scholars believe that this is a unique trait of The Earth. Something that the previous earths did not have. I have no understanding further than that, however. If you wish to learn more, then the magic classes would be able to answer you better"

A human defeating a dragon without the use of magic? There was no one in history who had done it. It was quite hard to believe for an average person. However, I was nothing but normal. I was aiming to be the next God. Naturally, I already had, at least, this level of understanding of the world.

"Anyways, we've gone a bit off-track. Back to the earlier fight, Mr. Zerefiel's ability was indeed impressive. However, the way he fought was not the most optimal one. Naturally, as the loser, his opponent's fighting style was also not optimal."

I was a bit startled.

'Not optimal? Fighting style? What does that mean?'

"The pestilence, what's your name again?" Ms. Lianna inquired.

"My name is Cole"

"Mr. Cole, your stance was not good at all. You were not utilizing your innate speed to its potential. If you were, you might have been able to hit Mr. Zerefiel even with his agility. But considering your huge body, just simply throwing your entire body instead of just your limbs would have worked as well."

The instructor then turned to me.

"As for you Mr. Zerefiel, there are two fighting styles for bipedal creatures that were better to use in that situation. One is grappling, and the other is a technique humans developed called - Muay Thai"

She continued.

"Grappling is mostly used when the enemy has higher mass and strength than you. It is used to outmaneuver the opponent, exploiting the natural weaknesses of the body, to gain a positional and physical advantage. To put it simply, you use their strength against them when they attack while you find their weaknesses to form an opportunity to do a counter attack. "

"The other style called Muay Thai, on the other hand, is the art of eight limbs doing highly explosive attacks using the supposed 'eight limbs' of the body - fists (chok), elbows (sok), knees (te) and shins (ti kao). This style is quite risky however since you have to fight at a very close range which makes you vulnerable to counter attacks. But when you are faster than your opponent, then the risk lowers significantly. Since you have established that you are a level higher than Mr. Cole in terms of speed, this attack style would have been very effective especially considering that he has a tough shell protecting him. Muay Thai deals much more significant damage than wildly throwing kicks and punches."

Once again, everyone nodded in assent. Everything she said was true. Unfortunately, I had no experience using this fighting style. And even if I had, without a master to guide me there was little I could do.

"You don't need to worry for now since these are only a few of what I will teach you in the future, but don't you dare slack off!"

After those 'encouraging' words, instead of being scared, the students of Ms. Lianna's class were more motivated than ever.

We did some 'light' exercises afterwards. Most students have never received any form of body training so some of them were laboring hard. As for me, the level of the exercises was only quite basic.

End of the morning classes.

"Wow, you really defeated that pestilence!"

"Human, you were awesome back there!"

"That last punch was awesome!"

Many of those who saw my fight flocked to me. It seemed as though it was quite a spectacle for them. I became a temporary celebrity of the class because of my win. I wasn't really doing anything for fame but I didn't mind the attention either. It felt quite nice.

After the commotion surrounding me died down, I made my way to the usual place under the tree to eat lunch with Eden. However, I was stopped in my tracks by a voice near me.

"Excuse me."

I turned to the direction of the voice.

"Zerefiel, right?" The mysterious fellow inquired.

I was surprised that the owner of a voice was a tall male draconian. Behind him were two smug-looking dark elves.

'Another draconian?'

"Yes, that would be me. Do you have any need of me, sir?" Puzzled, I replied.

"Sir?" The draconian sarcastically. "Oh there's no need to be polite. Let me introduce myself. My name is Edric Dragonheart, a draconian. Ms. Lianna, our teacher, is my aunt. I saw your earlier fight, and I have to say I'm quite impressed."

A glint appeared in Edric's eyes.

Looking at him, I groaned. At first, hearing his words, you would think he was part of the common rabble flattering me. But after a while I could sense that there was something wrong with this guy. He had an aura of absolute confidence, no, arrogance. Even his sarcastic words almost made me frown in disgust. Fortunately, I was better than that.

"Thank you." I managed to squeak out a few words, trying to not let the disdain show on my face.

He smiled eerily.

"Well, that's all for now so I won't disturb you further. I hope we will get along in the future," Edric said. He then left while laughing along with his dark elf companions.

I sighed, realizing that I was subconsciously holding my breath. It felt like having just escaped from an unpleasant situation. Relieved, I also hurriedly scampered away from the place, sincerely hoping that we wouldn't have too many chances of encountering each other in the future instead.

'I haven't seen him before, did he arrive late? And did he say Ms. Lianna is his aunt? Well, they had the same last name, but the difference in attitude is staggering. And those dark elves . They enrolled in a physical subject?'

There were several questions in my mind but there was no way to answer them unfortunately.

'Looks like my school life will not be as uneventful as I had hoped.'

I thought as a bitter smile appeared on my face.