Arne grabbed Emil by his collar and picked him up like a baby.

"Everyone, look at this guy."

He showcased Emil to the whole class as if presenting a rare item to an auction house.

"This, is the textbook definition of a fool, an idiot. Can anyone tell me why?"

Nobody said a thing. They only looked at each other, and then at Arne and Emil in silence.

It took a few seconds for someone to shakily raise his hand.

"B-Because he was reckless..?"

"EXACTLY! don't ever, ever fight like this guy.

There's nothing more dangerous to him than himself."

Arne said with great vigor, spit flying out of his mouth.

"He knew the opponent was stronger than him yet still chose to confront him directly.

He used his only spell against him once, and that didn't work.

So what was his plan? Abandoning his weapon and using the same spell again, without any extra effort behind it whatsoever.

Do you know what this is? It's insanity!

If you ever see an opponent out of your own league, you run away.

If you have to fight, then look for a chance to escape as you do so.

And if you ever find yourself in a situation where you can't escape, where there's certain death waiting, at least make use of yourself arsenal to deal as much as damage to your opponent as possible, make them feel pain before you go out.

Emil tried his best, I'm not mad at that, that's commendable, his fighting style takes courage.

What I'm mad about is that he doesn't understand the difference between courage and stupidity.

He used his own body twice to earn himself a chance to strike.

Today was just a spar, but if he fights like this in a real life and death battle, he's gonna get himself a fast pass ticket to hell."

Arne's words reverberated in the students' head. What they saw was a one sided battle. To them, Emil was reckless, or even desperate at best. But in the reality they couldn't see, Emil was insane.

They took this moment to appericiate Arne. He might be a rough around the corners, but he was certainly a decent teacher. Someone who cared about his students.

Piers didn't interrupt Arne and only watched. Arne knew how to deal with his student best. For the most of the part.

"Are my words clear?"

"YES SIR!"

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"good."

Arne finally let go of Emil and looked him in the eye.

"Are my words clear Emil?"

Emil nodded sheepishly, but Arne wasn't settling for that.

"Are, My Words, Clear?"

"YES SIR!"

Arne nodded, satisfied, before calling the other boy over.

"You, you got overconfident in your own abilities and fought arrogantly. This attitude will get you killed on the battlefield. Take every fight seriously no matter how easy it may seem, one mistake could have your head flying out there."

"Yes sir."

"Good. And as for you Emil.

Prioritize your life over everything else. There's no point in wining a fight if you lose your limbs, or if you don't come out of it alive."

"Yes sir."

...

Not long after, the bell rang and the class came to an end.

As Emil was about to leave, he was stopped by Piers.

"Come to our office this afternoon, at 4 o'clock. We can have a little chat."

His usual warm smile on his face, he extended an invitation to Emil.

Emil didn't know what they were gonna chat about, but he had no reason to refuse.

"Yes."

"Attaboy, don't be late."

Arne patted Emil's back before walking out with Piers.

Emil too, started leaving the class.

All his mandatory classes for the week were over.

the school curriculum consisted of three types of classes.

The first type was mandatory, all classes had to be attended. You could ask for leaves, but only under special circumstances.

The second type were the non-mandatory classes.

Lectures regarding each subject were held from Monday to Thursday after mandatory classes. Students could partake in this class for free if they felt like they were falling behind a subject, or needed further insight into it.

The third type were specialized classes.

Specialized classes were job-specific classes held outside of the normal school curriculum, from Friday to Sunday.

Only people who passed a test and paid a certain fee could get in.

Specialized classes had limited seats, but if you got in one you'd receive the best education possible regarding that subject.

Emil was attending no class beside the mandatory ones yet.

His biggest dilemma was getting stronger, he couldn't afford to split his attention elsewhere.

As such, he had the entire three off-days to himself.

The first thing he decided to do was...

"Yawn."

He couldn't get much sleep last night, so he was gonna hit the bed until his appointment with Piers and Arne.

He knew there were more important things he could be doing right now, but he couldn't do any of them without a functioning body. And a functioning body required sleep.

...

*Knock*Knock*

Emil knocked on the office door.

Arne's muscular figure greeted Emil's eyes once it was opened

"Where were you boy? We've been waiting. Take a seat."

Emil looked at the office. It was spacious and clean, with two desks and a large bookshelf, as well as a table and six chairs in the middle.

Piers who had his head buried under a pile of paperwork peeked out upon seeing Emil enter.

"Welcome Emil, how'd you like some tea, or some wine?"

Emil's eyes spread open.

The man in front of him, with the gentlest of smiles and the most normal of expressions was offering him Wine.

Seeing young adults drink wasn't exactly a weird sight, nor was it prohibited in Arran kingdom. It was similar to high schoolers smoking cigarettes.

However, adults were still a bit strict, or somewhat sensitive around this subject, so Emil was surprised when he recieved such an offer from Piers.

Piers, noticing his blunder, started waving his hand.

"Oh that came out the wrong way. It's not too strong, i offered it for its medicinal properties."

Medicinal properties? Did Piers know?

Seeing Emil's expression, Arne spoke.

"Yeah, we know. You've forgotten us after all you little bastard."

Emil looked over, confused.

"Forgotten what?"

"..."

Piers decided to speak this time.

"We were friends of your parents. We've visited many times when you were small. But I guess you were too young since you don't remember."

"...you knew my parents? From where?"

*Chuckle*

Arne started laughing when he heard that.

"We knew them? We were brother in arms! Me, Piers, Hamlin and Rebecca. we used to be in the same Mercenary group, we were comrades for years!"

Emil fell silent.

He didn't know how to react to this information.

On one hand, he was glad to find friends of his parents, specially in a place like this.

On the other hand...

He felt conflicted. Angry even. But he didn't want to burst out. Not here, not now.

Piers took notice of his darkening expression.