The Adventurer's Guild Academy was located in the southeast of the city right up against the city wall. It wasn't as big as the Guild's building in the center square but it did have walled off training grounds. A lot of classes were for weapon and martial arts Skills so they would have to be held outside. Colthorn wouldn't be surprised if the class even went out into the surrounding forest.
"Alright, Little Coal, you remember your schedule?" His mom said. She was dropping him off for his first day of classes.
"Swordsmanship is everyday from 6am until 10am. Meditation is every odd day from 1pm to 3pm. Then Adventuring 101 is every even day from 1pm to 3pm,” Colthorn recited.
They were standing in front of the Academy’s doors, the sky was dim in the pre-dawn light. It was still about thirty minutes until sunrise, but already there was the sound of practice coming from behind the wall.
“Good,” Alagossa said, “Then I’ll leave you here. Just remember to have fun and to make a lot of friends, ok?”
“I know, Mom,” Colthorn groaned as she ruffled his hair. With that, she was gone.
Colthorn didn’t waste any more time, he adjusted his backpack’s shoulder strap and walked in. Inside there was a small reception area with a counter and a hallway. At the counter was a dog beastkin woman with large floppy ears. She was using her arms as pillows on the counter as she slept, her ears twitching every so often. On the counter next to her was a nameplate saying Sana Goldaxe and a small bell.
He walked up to the counter and, tip-toeing to see over the edge, he quietly said, “Excuse me, Miss...”
She stirred and mumbled, “Yesh, I wan’ shteak fo beckfess...”
“Um, Miss Goldaxe?”
“Huh!? Wuh?” She jolted upright and quickly rubbed her eyes, “I’m awake, I wasn’t sleeping!... Huh?” She looked around for a moment before spotting Colthorn barely peeking over the edge. “Oh, hi there little guy. Is your mommy or daddy with you?”
“Miss, I’m young but not that young. I’m here for classes,” he said, pulling out the schedule he had received from the academy a couple days ago out of his backpack and showed it to her. “I have Basic Swordsmanship at six a.m. and was wondering where to go for that?”
“Kyaaa~! You’re so cute!” She squealed, then leaped over the counter to hug him tight. The woman’s droopy ears and half-lidded eyes made her look sleepy and unenergetic... completely the opposite of her personality.
Colthorn tried to dodge but she was too fast. He was already used to these kinds of hugs because of Alissa, so he didn’t care that much. But before he could say anything, or push her away, a voice spoke up from behind them.
“Sana, let the kid go. He needs to get to his class.” The voice came from a tall dark skinned human man, whose muscles pulled his white button-up shirt tight. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. His shirt, which had the first two buttons undone, was tucked into a pair of black pants which were tucked into a pair of mid-calf boots. His hair was also black and was cut way short.
“Aaaaah, but Bosssss~,” Sana whined, holding him even tighter.
“No buts, let Young Colthorn go.”
“Fine...” She sighed and let him go. She ruffled his hair and gave him a grin. “I’m Sana, by the way, but you can call me Big Sis!”
Colthorn blinked. “Uh... Hello, Big Sis, I’m Colthorn Leokast. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“And I’m Brandan Kerrain,” the man said, “The Headmaster of the Academy. Now that introductions are over, Sana, he really does need to get going or he’s going to be late. Colthorn, if you’ll follow me.”
“See you around, Thorny!” Sana waved, as Colthorn and Brandan left down the hallway.
At the end of the hall was a set of doors that probably led outside. Colthorn and the headmaster walked in silence for a bit before Brandan spoke up.
"When your father came to me, asking if you could join the academy even though you're only eight years old, I almost didn't believe it was possible," he said with a sigh, "Eight years old and already almost Tier 1... You've worked hard training your Skills and leveling up. You should be proud, you're the youngest student this academy has ever had."
"Thank you, Sir."
"I look forward to seeing all that you will achieve," Brandan said, opening the door when they got to the end of the hall. The door opened to show the training grounds, lit by a sliver of the sun just barely peeking over the horizon. The small walls wrapping around the grounds on three sides, with the massive city wall on the far side. On one side there were targets for archery, on the other side there was a large shed that was open to reveal training equipment, in the middle was just a large field of grass that was worn down to the dirt in several spots, and around the field was a dirt running path. There were several groups scattered around. Some were shooting the targets, some were sparring in the field, some were sitting in rows listening to a teacher, and others seemed to be doing their own thing.
“Marcus!” Brandan shouted, catching the attention of one of the teachers. Marcus, a human man, was chatting with one of the students near the equipment shed. Marcus started jogging over and after a second the student followed. Wasn’t that Romeo? It was. His newest friend was also here.
“Marcus, meet Colthorn Leokast. Colthorn, meet Marcus Lawson, your swordsmanship teacher,” the headmaster introduced them.
Colthorn stepped forward. “Hello Mr. Lawson, I look forward to learning from you.”
“No need to be so formal,” Marcus laughed, slapping Colthorn’s back and sending him stumbling. “Romeo’s been telling me all about you! You really are tiny!” He laughed again.
“Pipsqueak, you’re here!” Romeo shouted as he arrived, “Dad, you didn’t tell me Colthorn was in the class!” Romeo also clapped Colthorn on the back. “You’re taking Basic Swordsmanship too?”
Colthorn rolled his shoulder with a groan. “Hey, Romeo, it’s been awhile. Yes, I’m also taking the class...”
“That’s awesome!” Romeo laughed, “My swordsmanship Skill is already level 85, what’s yours at?”
“I don’t have the Skill yet.”
“... Eh? But Mom said that you’re higher level than me?” He tilted his head.
Marcus laughed and sent both Colthorn and Romeo stumbling with a pat on the back. “That’s ok, Colthorn, everyone starts somewhere! Come on, it’s time to start class, let’s introduce you to everyone!”
Marcus led Colthorn and Romeo over to the group of students gathered near the shed. Colthorn looked behind, back towards the doors of the building, but Headmaster Brandan was already gone. The group was about twelve students, ranging from ten to thirteen years old. Casey Powell was also there in the class.
Casey gave Colthorn a pat on the back and welcomed him to the class. Colthorn was going to say something, but Marcus cut all through all the conversations.
“Alright class, gather around!” He shouted, and all the chatter of the groups of friends quieted down. “Another year is here, meaning we have new students joining us for the first time. Be sure to help them out if they have any questions, and don’t beat them too badly when sparring, okay? Okay, enough chat. Give me 10 laps around the field!”
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And everyone took off, following the dirt path. Colthorn was glad he wore his field clothes. He wasn’t sure what to expect from the academy, but since he had a swordsmanship class, he wore clothes he could get sweaty in. Which didn’t seem to matter that much since most of the boys just took off their shirts anyways. There were only three girls in the class, most seemed to prefer the daggers or the archery classes across the field, and obviously they didn’t take their shirts off. Colthorn also didn’t take his shirt off. He was already used to running through the forest with his shirt on, so why bother taking it off? He tossed his backpack next to the shed and started running.
Colthorn only had fifteen Constitution, so he was a bit sweaty compared to everyone else. It seemed that everyone else placed more points into Constitution in preparation for them getting a fighter type class. Colthorn liked using his bow and stalking through the forest, the only reason he was taking this swordsmanship class was because his mom said to. So, despite not having properly placed Stats for this, he was still going to stick to placing his free Stat points into Alacrity and Acuity... besides, he finished all of his laps first. He may not have the Stamina like the others, but he sure was a lot faster, so he was fully rested by the time everyone else finished.
Running gained 2 levels. +2 EXP.
As soon as the last person finished his laps, Marcus had everyone grab a wooden sword from the shed then line up in rows, spread far enough apart that they wouldn’t get in each other’s way.
“Alright! New year means we’re starting from the top for the newbies. Diana!” Marcus shouted, pointing a wooden sword at one of the girls. “What is a pommel? Explain and point to your own sword to show the newbies.”
For an hour, Marcus went over the different parts of the sword and explained a bit of their purpose, history, and development. He even brought out various different swords and explained each of their parts and why they were important. Then he showed everyone how to properly hold the sword.
“James! What is rule number one?” Marcus shouted.
“Always keep your sword between yourself and the opponent!” James shouted back.
The longsword was special in that it could be used with one hand, but also with both hands. So, Marcus showed everyone both ways. Dominant hand up closer to the cross-guard, but not against it as that could limit the movement of the sword, in both cases and if holding with two hands, the non-dominant hand could either hold the pommel directly or just above the pommel.
After showing everyone how to hold the sword, he showed everyone how to stand. Feet shoulder-width apart, dominant foot slightly forward, sword held in the front with the tip pointed up in a forty-five degree angle.
Once all the "newbies"---which consisted of Colthorn, three other boys, and one of the girls---were holding their swords properly, Marcus finally started showing everybody some moves. Basic slashes, a guard position, and a thrust. He showed everyone how they should move their feet while performing each of those moves, saying that keeping proper footwork is vital. He even showed everyone how to turn around, calling it a "pivot".
After showing everyone how to do each of these moves he put them all together, performing them one right after the other. Slash straight down, thrust, block, slash from top right to bottom left, slash from top left to bottom right, block, thrust, pivot in place 180 degrees, and repeat. He went through that cycle another three times before stopping.
"That was the Basic Form. There are more advanced forms, of course, but each of you will first need to learn the basics and repeat it until you can perform the Basic Form in your sleep. Now, repeat after me!"
All together, they slowly went through the form until the Basic form was memorized, then they were left to perform the forms by themselves. Marcus walked around to individual students to give advice and corrections.
The next hour was monotonous training, and Colthorn quickly settled into a groove. Slash, thrust, block, slash, slash, block, thrust, pivot, and repeat. He also quickly became sweaty and was breathing hard while the others seemed to only have a light sheen. Just how much Constitution did they have? Well, judging by how much Alacrity and Acuity he had, he guessed that they probably had around 40 in Constitution and Strength. That is, of course, if they focused on them to be a front-line fighter.
Casey, who was going through the Basic Form next to him, noticed Colthorn breathing hard.
"Hey, Colthorn, are you doing ok?"
“Huh?... Oh, yeah,” Colthorn breathed, “I’m good.”
“... You know you can stop and rest right?”
“Yeah,” Colthorn gasped as he started another cycle of the Basic Form.
“What’s your Constitution at?” Casey asked. Romeo, who was on the other side of Colthorn, also stopped to pay attention.
“Fifteen,” he said as he lunged a thrust.
“What!?” Both Casey and Romeo gasped.
“Only fifteen? Why’s it so low? And should you rest if it’s so low?” Romeo asked.
Colthorn didn’t pause as he responded, “Because I’m focusing on Alacrity... What are your Constitutions at?”
They both answered fifty.
“If you... got so much... Constitution, then why... are you both resting?... your Skills could... have been Capped by now... The longer you train... without stopping, the... more EXP you get... from that training session,” Colthorn said, breathing heavily as he kept to the forms.
Both Casey’s and Romeo’s eyes widened.
“Is that true?” They asked.
“Yep.”
They both went back to practicing their forms, and for the next hour they all practiced. Occasionally, Marcus would walk by and comment on his form saying that he was lunging too far or overextending on a slash or that he needed to raise his elbows more when blocking or that his feet were positioned wrong. When the hour was done, Colthorn sat down heavily, sweat dripping off of him. Romeo and Casey both also sat down next to him, they were breathing heavily as well, but they looked better off than Colthorn.
“Alright, everyone!” Marcus shouted, “Now it’s time for spars! There’s an even number of you so everyone has a partner, get to it!”
Colthorn groaned and slowly stood up.
He was paired with one of the other “newbies” to spar with. The boy was ten years old and was grinning as he looked at Colthorn. He was bigger than Colthorn, but Colthorn wasn’t worried once he used Analyze. The boy was only level 45.
Colthorn immediately darted in and slashed down onto the boy’s shoulder. After the boy stopped crying, Marcus paired Colthorn with one of the twelve year-olds who have been practicing for a while. This time the boy he was paired with was level 76. Colthorn was faster than him as well, and was able to get hits in, but at least he was fighting back.
The rest of the class was sparring with an occasional break.
After the class, they all headed inside and were shown where there were large baths. The boys and girls all split up and went to their own baths to wash away the day’s training.
“So, what other classes are you guys taking?” Colthorn asked once they all settled into the hot bath water.
“I’m taking Wilderness Herbology, Meditation 101, and Dungeon 101,” Casey said.
“I’m also in Meditation and Dungeon 101, but Dad’s making me take History and Geography...” Romeo said, sinking low in the water.
“History is interesting!” Colthorn said, “My dad teaches me a bit about the history of Malroth by telling stories of old kings and queens and other people that did amazing things.”
“Yeah, the stories are cool and stuff, but the teacher here is boring! And right after sword training and a hot bath... I just fall asleep!” Romeo sighed, “Anyways, what about you, what classes are you taking?”
“Oh, I’m also taking Meditation 101, but I’m taking Adventuring 101. What is Dungeon 101?”
“It’s a class that goes over the different layers of the Malroth Dungeon and some tactics on how to deal with everything,” Casey explained, “Adventuring 101, huh? Isn’t that class only given to students who are about to Tier-up and become actual adventurers? How did you get in?”
“Is it?” Colthorn shrugged. “Well, then I got in because I’m level 98. The only reason I’m not Tier 1 yet is because my parents wanted me to learn how to use a longsword.”
"What!?" They both yelled, shooting to their feet in the bath.
"What did you say!?" Romeo shouted again, pointing a finger at Colthorn.
"I said that I'm level 98," Colthorn said, pushing the finger out of his face.
"How are you already level 98?" Casey asked with a voice filled with awed disbelief. "You aren't even ten yet..."
"Can you both sit down first and then we can talk?"
They both splashed back into the water, staring expectantly at him.
Colthorn sighed and told them about the Quest he had gotten when he was four years old. He also told them how he wanted to be like his mom, so he trained all the prerequisite Skills for the Class she had and capped them.
"So that's why Mom said you were higher level than me..." Romeo muttered.
"Woah... that's cool," Casey said.
After the bath they all got dressed into their spare clothes they had in their backpacks and then split up for their separate classes. Well, Romeo and Casey did, Colthorn's next class was in a couple hours, so he went to find something to do. Eventually, he ended up wandering back outside to the training grounds. He thought about shooting some arrows at the target range, but decided against it. He didn't want to interrupt the people practicing there. So, he just found a bench in the shade of the building, overlooking the grounds, and sat down to start drawing. He sketched out some of the teachers. The tiger beastkin lady with a stern look on her face, teaching a young human girl how to shoot a bow. Marcus, teaching one of the older students, a dog beastkin, how to properly parry and counter. A dwarf man, thicker than he was tall, showing a student how to tumble safely.
After finishing those sketches, and after eating a sandwich his mom made him for lunch, it was time for his next class. Meditation 101.