Days passed like the wind at the academy as Ari continued his daily training with all the other cadets. They practiced every morning with Master Joe, becoming a smashing object for the ferocious Master Joe.

After lunch, Ari and the cadets would go to a two-hour theory class. Math, History, and Ethics are some of the theory classes that all of them are required to attend.

Their classes were followed by training with either Master Lee on Monday and Wednesday or Master Putree on Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. Master Lee's classes were almost always fun. that is if the cadets could get used to Master Lee's incredible killing aura.

Meanwhile, Teacher Putree's class was getting more and more mentally exhausting by the day. Teacher Putree's rather small and adorable body turned out to hold tremendous power. It was so strong that the cadets who had originally prided themselves on their physical abilities began to feel inferior.

*****

Since Flowy's failed ambush, she has not sent anyone to attack or harm Ari in any form. it seems that Ari's extreme measures have succeeded in making Flowy think twice about sending someone else just because of a small problem.

Ari himself felt quite happy about it because it meant he had more time to think and work on his own tasks, one of which was mastering the Technique Book.

It had been a year since Ari had arrived and trained at the Knight Academy, but Ari felt he had yet to master the entirety of his Technique Book. Ari continues to repeat and perform all the basic techniques described in the book but Ari feels something is missing, like facing a wall that cannot be penetrated but must be destroyed to reach the word finish.

Ari felt a little down because he couldn't master his Technique Book within a year, but he tried to cheer himself up and tried not to look too glum in front of his friends. Ari just didn't want to worry them.

Meanwhile, Ari couldn't help but feel envious of his two close friends, Alma and Leon. They had both managed to master their Technique Book fully and were allowed to study the next Technique Book if they wanted to. Alma and Leon were the first two cadets in their batch to successfully master their basic Technique Book, so the only thing standing in their way of graduation now was time.

Ari was a little withdrawn when he found out that his two friends had successfully mastered their Technique Book, subconsciously he felt that he was at a lower level in terms of learning ability compared to his two friends. of course, Alma and Leon did not realize that Ari was trying to keep his distance from the two of them. Ari's ability to play a fairly convincing character was able to fool the two of them and made them think that Ari was still the same as usual. hardworking and a good friend.

*****

Today, one week to the end of the cadets' first year of training at the Knight Academy, the cadets were ordered to gather at the Northern Field at five o'clock in the morning.

The cadets dutifully gathered on the field, where the three Teachers responsible for training the cadets for the year were waiting. they were Teacher Carl, Teacher Lee, and Teacher Putree. meanwhile, standing in front of the three Teachers, was the Head of the Academy Sir Oliver Poisonlake.

"Good morning, dear cadets.

I am very pleased to see you here this morning."

"Today you will be sent out in groups or individually to carry out tasks from the Academy."

"Your time is one week, more than that and you will be abandoned wherever you are.

If you are lucky, you can return to the academy and continue your education. But if you are not?"

Sir Oliver just smiled without continuing, then left the field, leaving the cadets confused as to what Sir Oliver meant. Teacher Putree then took his place in front of the cadets and began to speak.

"Make sure you get back on time, cadets.

Or you won't be able to come back at all, because the Academy won't bother to look for you even if you disappear and become food for the Northern Barbarian Tribe."

Teacher Putree then began calling out the cadet's names one by one. sometimes Teacher Putree would hold two or three cadets together before letting them walk to Teacher Carl who handed them an envelope with their assignments. the cadets then had to approach Teacher Lee who was waiting beside a portable changing room, where the cadets could put on their basic gear before finally letting them off to their assignments.

"Cadet Ari!"

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Hearing his name being called, Ari immediately approached Teacher Putree. Ari slightly wished she could run errands with her two friends, but the envy Ari felt for them made her refuse to hope to go together.

"Go straight to Teacher Carl to get your assignment. "

Ari was relieved, but also a little disappointed, because he apparently had to run the errands alone. Ari then hurried over to Teacher Carl who was waiting with an envelope in his hand.

"Cadet, this is your assignment.

Open it in a safe place and make sure this letter is safe from the sight of others. "

Ari took the envelope and hurried to the waiting Teacher Lee. As soon as Ari arrived in front of Master Lee, he immediately handed over a set of standardized clothing and armor while pointing at the weapons rack on his right side.

"Please take these standardized clothes and armor, then get a weapon for yourself from the weapon rack beside me."

Ari immediately took the clothes and standard armor that were part of it and entered the portable changing room. the clothes given to Ari were a pair of jackets and trousers made of leather, with a soft inner side and a rough outer side. these clothes are basic clothes that must be used under armor to protect the skin from the rigors of battle.

After finishing wearing the jacket and trousers, Ari looked at the standard armor given by Master Lee. the armor consisted of an undecorated standard iron helmet with cloth padding inside, on the face there was a slight T-shaped opening as an opening for seeing and breathing.

Then on the chest, Ari gets a standard, unadorned chest plate along with an iron collar and a pair of shoulder guards. Ari also gets a pair of vambraces, where the left vambrace has been made to be slightly thinner than the right vambrace so that it will give Ari an easier time when he uses his shield. Ari also got a waist protector that hangs on a thick belt and a pair of boots. all made of low-grade Magic Iron that is strong enough to protect one from wild animals and low-level magical beasts.

Ari came out of the portable changing room already wearing all her armor. Ari felt his spirits soar as he felt the armor clinging to his body, feeling the weight of the armor pressing down on his body that had grown noticeably larger in the past year. After slightly tightening the belt and adjusting the armor, Ari walked towards the weapon rack and looked at the available weapons.

Ari could see several swords that fell into the Greatsword category. Ari tried to lift one of the nearest Greatswords and succeeded, although he had to do it with both hands and with all his strength.

'Still too hard to wield, but at least there's progress.'

Teacher Lee saw that Ari was trying to use a Greatsword, a type of lethal weapon that is very rarely used by knights in the current era. most knights today prefer to use lighter weapons or weapons that can provide more space and control. weapons such as spears and long swords are the number one most commonly chosen weapons by knights today, with axes and hammers in second place.

After Ari found out that he was still unable to use the Greatsword easily, Ari decided to use a combination of weapons that he usually used. Ari's choice of the shield was a large kite-shaped shield. unlike the training shield, this shield was larger and thicker. the height and width of this shield were able to cover most of Ari's giant body and the thickness was promising enough to make Ari feel safe behind him.

As for his weapon, Ari took a two-handed sword with a length of about one hundred and twenty centimeters. this sword was longer than the sword Ari usually used during training, but Ari could feel that the length and weight of this sword were very suitable for him.

After Ari finished choosing his weapon, he turned back to Master Lee who immediately handed Ari a scabbard.

"Use this sheath to store your sword, then show me your ring."

Ari wrapped his sword in the scabbard given to him by Teacher Lee and then gave his ringed hand to Teacher Lee, who immediately took a good look at Ari's ring.

"You are quite good at taking care of things, I can see that from the condition of your ring."

Teacher Lee then took out a large leather bundle and handed it to Ari. The bundle seemed to contain a variety of interesting items but unfortunately, Ari couldn't examine them first.

"These are both supplies and equipment to maintain your armor and weapons.

I have activated your ring. you can press the jewel on your ring and then touch your ring to the item you want, the item will then be stored in your ring. do you understand?"

Ari's eyes widened with excitement, even though his face was currently hidden behind a metal helmet. Ari immediately tried it, pressing the crystal stone on his ring with his finger and then attaching his ring to the bundle of goods given by Teacher Lee.

Bwuutt!

The package instantly disappeared, but Ari could still feel the presence of the item. It was like feeling someone looking at Ari from an invisible angle, but Ari knew that it was actually his own item.

"Make sure you have prepared the items you need before you do anything dangerous. You haven't had time to learn about magic, so your method of storing items is still very slow and it could endanger you."

"Thank you, Teacher Lee."

Ari bowed respectfully, which was returned with a small bow by Teacher Lee. after making sure his sword and shield were safely stored in his ring, Ari quickly walked out of the academy's north gate to carry out his duties.

Just before he exited the north gate, Ari remembered that the envelope containing his assignment had to be opened in a safe place. Ari had never doubted Teacher Carl's word, if he had asked Ari to open his assignment envelope in the middle of a pitch-black night, Ari would have done so obediently.

Ari looked right and left, found a corner that looked safe, and immediately headed for that place. Ari leaned against the corner and opened the envelope. Ari slowly lifted the paper inside the envelope and read the assignment.

Name: Ari

Academy: Mountframe Knight Academy

Task: Kill Alpha Orthos

Details:

Orthos is a dog-like magical beast with the characteristics of having two heads and being able to produce fire. a pack of these magical animals was spotted on the south side of the Grandframe Kingdom, to the north of the city of Seaframe.

kill the beast and bring home the two heads of Alpha Orthos to complete the task.

Note: if you can bring the carcasses of other dangerous magical beasts during the task, you will get an additional bonus in the form of money.