“Ahem… Class, it appears that we’ve arrived at the stopping point of our lesson for today. I wish you all best of luck in your future studies. Ms Enjoy will see you out. Don’t forget to collect the extra learning materials before you leave.”

“Thank you very much for instructing us, teacher Shao Lin!” The students gave their proper gratitude to the old master before leaving.

Elder Shao Lin made sure to reciprocate their kind gesture. “Take care. I look forward to our next lesson together. Those who are interested in choosing Word Mage as their main mastery will receive further instructions in the near future.”

“Alright, Elder Shao Lin. Goodbye for now.” Teacher Enjoy gave a respectful bow before turning to leave with her students.

Unlike Ms Ever Moist’s prompt practical introductory lesson, Elder Shao Lin’s lecture was more informative, visually entertaining and also satisfying. Dam Son discovered that out of all of his introductory lessons thus far, he had learnt more from Elder Shao Lin’s class. Now he was looking forward to getting accustomed to Word Fu Mastery.

“I wonder what our Word Fu classes will be like. I can’t wait…” A wave of expectation washed over Dam Son’s body as he galloped onwards towards the next destination.

“This way class…” Teacher Enjoy led her students towards the back of Caromine Institute where a rundown dojo was located. By the tall weeds which surrounded the dojo’s entrance, everyone could tell that not many persons traversed that area aside from wild insects and critters.

“Is this the right place?” A student asked in shock.

“It can’t be. Where is everyone else?” They looked left and right. Still, aside from themselves, there weren’t any other students in sight.

A dainty girl almost soiled her pristine apparel when she walked by the dojo’s entrance. “Gosh, this place is so dirty. Is this unmanned dump supposed to be an institute of learning?”

“It couldn’t be.” Most of the students were repulsed by the abysmal state of the Word Fu Mastery classroom. Noticeable trashes were at every corner they glanced; almost as if the dojo was the gathering place for recalcitrant youths and not for sagacious intellectuals.

“Ms Enjoy, what is this place.” Babe Blade asked as he covered his nostrils with the folding hand fan. The repugnant scent almost knocked him out cold.

“Hold on a moment; allow me to clean up.” Ms Enjoy summoned her Guide; afterwards, she utilised a series of Wordsmith Scripts to quickly renovate the unpleasant décor of the desolate dojo.

“There, all cleaned up.” Finished adding minor touches, Ms Enjoy alighted her slim figure at the centre of the dojo. She faced her students who still had revolting scowls. “I know that many of you might be feeling the urge to leave right now and I won’t stop you. But first, let me explain the situation that Caromine Institute is currently facing.”

Ms Enjoy looked solemn as she spoke. “Our institute was once equated with renowned balance among the Word Masteries. But due to the recent evolution in Wordsmith, Word Mage and Word Augmenter Mastery, many young masters found it boring, moreover, a waste of time to study Word Fu Mastery. Hence the drastic decline in Word Fu teachers at this academy. Out of all the 6 institutional learning facilities inside Raixom Academy, Caromine Institute has the lowest potential when it comes to producing Word Fu talent. However, we are second to almost none in other fields of learning. I know I told you all previously that a Word Fu teacher would be joining us soon, but it turns out that he refused our proposal to go to Adommine Institute instead. They have more talents in Word Fu Mastery. I’m very sorry for those of you who were looking forward to studying Word Fu with us.”

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“Huh?” Dam Son’s excitement took a nosedive as he listened to teacher Enjoy’s explanation.

“Once again I sincerely apologize to all of you.” Ms Enjoy bowed a few times to her students. “However, don’t be too discouraged. For those of you who are still interested in learning Word Fu, this facility is equipped with versatile automated teaching dummies that can train your skills to some extent close to the professional level. Also, if you would like me to, I can put in a request to have you transferred to Adommine Institute, but your lessons in other Masteries would be drastically declined. Are there any volunteers?” As she asked this question, Ms Enjoy surveyed the unchangeable expressions on her student’s faces.

“Hm, huh?” Only a handful of students looked like they were considering Ms Enjoy’s proposal to transfer institutes; Dam Son included. “This is such a big let-down. I was looking forward to this lesson too.”

“Hmm…” Ms Enjoy could clearly discern what Dam Son was thinking about. As a result, she said again: “So there is no one willing to transfer institutes…? Very good. It would be unwise to switch gears here. Let me just tell you. In this current age, Word Fu is a dwindling mastery. One that many people don’t seek interest in anymore. Don’t get me wrong, Word Fu is by no means inferior to the other masteries. I am affiliated with Word Fu Masters who far supersedes my expectations. It is just that Caromine Institute doesn’t focus so much on that topic. There is nothing I can do about that. All that I’m capable of doing at the moment is providing this dojo for those who are willing to learn. No one is stopping you from seeking outside help either. In your spare time, you could visit the other institutes to learn more about Word Fu Mastery. For now, this is all that Caromine Institute has to offer. Once again, I’m deeply sorry for those of you wanting to learn Word Fu as your main mastery.”

After delivering another bow, Ms Enjoy told the students that she had no further instructions for them. She swiftly vacated her presence from the dojo. Other students who weren’t interested in learning Word Fu, also followed her trail and left. This was the majority of the 50 students. Only Dam Son and 3 others remained inside the dojo. These other 3 students were Xuan Li, Sugar Bun and Babe Blade.

Sugar Bun was an animalistic Demi-Human on the fattier side. His plump torso was comprised of a robust turtle shell. Other than this eye-catching mutation, his physique was mostly humanoid. He had a soft face that many people would find comforting.

“I can’t believe that there isn’t a suitable Word Fu teacher in Caromine Institute.” Sugar Bun ventured further inside the dojo while glancing at some of the training equipment. “What should I do now, transfer institutes?”

As Sugar Bun pondered about his decision, Xuan Li walked by him, going over to where the automated teaching dummy was idle. “Is this mechanical thing supposed to teach us, Word Fu?”

Xuan Li kicked the base of the dummy a few times. Unexpectedly, his soft assault activated its properties. Its chest opened up a noticeable interface, followed by a simulated voice.

“Good afternoon, loveable student. What Word Fu topic are you interested in learning today? Please select the desired topic from my interface and I will do my best to assist you.”

“Huh?” Sugar Bun along with Dam Son hurried over to where Xuan Li was to get a proper look at the automated teaching dummy. After closely inspecting its chest interface, they identified a series of topical displays that showed various martial arts techniques, basic theoretical comprehensions, along with a wide assortment of Word Fu Script execution.

“Should we select one of these just to see what happens?” Dam Son suggested.

“Why not.” Xuan Li voluntarily pressed the chest interface.

The dummy responded with a beeping sound followed by a voice, “You’ve selected the basic volume martial arts skillset. I shall now perform a visual demonstration. Please take a couple of steps back and watch carefully.”

Dam Son, Xuan Li and Sugar Bun retreated to where Babe Blade was standing idle with his folding hand fan. “Ok, let’s see what that thing can do.”

The floor near the centre of the dojo began to open. As it got wider, several Paper Golems crawled out of those orifices and stood steady. Their biological make-up varied in shape and size. They waited for the automated teaching dummy to act.