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After half an hour of walking around and getting lost, I finally found the guidance counselor’s office, when I walked in, there was a secretary at her desk, and behind that desk was a door with a name plaque with the name “Frieda”, followed by some other titles on the door. I pass my partially filled-out course application form and my new student pass to the secretary and was asked to take a seat and wait for a bit.

After a few minutes of twiddling my thumbs, a student exits the counselor’s office and I am called inside.

When I entered the room, I saw a woman who looked to be in her 50s or 60s, putting away a stack of papers, then she looked up at me, paused awhile, then smiled and asked, “Hello, deary, what can I do for you?”

I took a seat and said, “Good afternoon, Mdm Frieda, I am here to consult about which courses to take, I am going to be starting my 1st year of higher education in a week.”

“Of course, but first let's see your grades from your lower education.”, Frieda said as she picked up my documentation along with a folder from a tray at the corner of her desk.

As Frieda looked through a file, which I assume is my personal info, her eyebrows started to rise as she kept reading. She then looked up to give me a good look over, then back down at my file.

After a while, Frieda finally spoke as she gave me a final once over, “You sure are big for an 8 year old.”

“My parents fed me well.” I replied with a shrug. I do not regret those years of accelerated growth when my aura was on a passive burn, but I am reluctant about doing it again.

For all the good that it brought, it also came with the side effect of always being hungry. Being the son of a noble, food was of little concern to me, but ever since I became able to activate my own aura, I had come to realize how much time I spent actually eating while the aura was on passive burn, on a slow day I would have been eating 5 meals a day, 8 or more on days with physical activity, and now that I was busy with life and school in general, I would much rather not be bothered with stuffing my mouth throughout the day.

“Indeed.” Frieda replied with an unamused voice but continued professionally. “So what can I help you with, young Ironcrest?”

“Emm, I… have a few courses that I want to take, but besides the courses “Advanced Spell Theory” and “Advanced Combat & Tactics” that were highly recommended I take, there are 4 other courses I would like to take, but on the application form, it was recommended I cap it at a maximum of 4 courses total.” I then told Frieda the courses I would like to take.

Hearing my concerns, Frieda nodded as she looked over my choices and asked, “From what I can see of your records, you have a high aptitude for magic, so I understand you wanting to take up “Array Architecture” and “Enchanting”. “Languages of Power” is good if you are aiming to be a scholar in the future. But why Blacksmithing? Excuse my bluntness, but you come from a noble house, and blacksmithing is usually looked down upon as somewhat of a… commoner’s profession.”

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Blacksmithing is seen as a commoner’s profession? Sure, it is tough and dirty work work, but where do they think those fancy swords and armor they use come from? Is that why the blacksmith back home refused to teach me? Was he afraid Dad would blame him for me picking up “commoner sensibilities?”, not that I think Dad would mind.

Seeing the inquisitive look on Frieda’s face, I decided to tell her my plan, “I actually intend to take up “Mana Smithing” in Year 2 of higher education.” I pointed at the course list and continued, “As it says here, he requires the basic knowledge of “Blacksmithing” and “Enchanting”.”

Hearing my choice, Frieda showed a mild look of surprise, “Are you sure about that? You did see the warning on that course, right? Even if you do have a high mana pool, it is going to take a lot out of you, especially in your 2nd year of higher education when the curriculum gets harder. If your mana pool is not up to the task, I guarantee you are going to be dead on your feet from mana exhaustion, it does not bode well for good grades.

Only the more crafting focused students take up that course, in your case, I see from the remarks of the Royal Invigilator that you are highly adept at combat, casting, and even aura for your age, you have options, many great options that are not as taxing or niche.”

Now that she mentions it, I may be underestimating their warning of “Copious amounts of mana to practice.” when it comes to Mana Smithing. But that does not deter me from my dream. But I still want to try. That means the 4 courses I will be taking this year are “Advanced Spell Theory”, “Advanced Combat & Tactics”, “Blacksmithing”, and “Enchanting”.

I guess “Array Architecture” and “Languages of Power” will have to wait until Year 3 due to “Advanced Spell Theory” and “Advanced Combat & Tactics” being a 2 year course.

Just as I was about to fill out the course application, I saw 2 sheets of paper posted on the wall behind Mdm Frieda, they were course timetables, but the interesting part that caught my attention was the 1 on the right, it was titled “Night Courses”

“Mdm Frieda, what are these night courses?” I asked while jerking my head to the night course timetable.

She looked back at the timetable I was referring to and then back to me. “Oh, that is mainly for alumni or outsiders doing part-time studies to attend classes.”

An idea started to form in my head, “Are we allowed to attend these night classes?” I asked.

“I don’t see why not, quite a number of full-time students attend them to brush up on what they missed out or don't understand, and besides, your school fees paid account for your whole stay here at the Royal Academy, you technically are allowed to study any and every class, both day and night classes.”

Apparently, I was giving a look on my face that showed my intentions so she continued, “From that look on your face, I know what you are thinking and even though I can’t stop you, I recommend against it, taking 4 subjects a day is already stressful enough, do not add more burden on yourself by taking up night classes.”

Damnit, she got me. Although I doubt I am the first aspiring overachiever she has ever seen, so I guess she saw that coming.

After asking a few questions, I filled in the course application with my 4 subjects and left to enjoy my week of holiday before school starts.

Once I get out of the office, I go take a walk around the school to familiarise myself with the class locations.

As I ponder my academic future, I feel somewhat impatient knowing that knowledge is all around me but I may not have enough time to fast due to other courses taking up time.

So eventually, I decided to go against Mdm Frieda’s recommendation and plan to take “Array Architecture” and “Languages of Power” during night class. Apparently, all I have to do is notify the lecturer directly 3 days before school starts, and boom, I will be in their class. Turns out the course application form was just a way for administrators to streamline the course registration process.

And besides, worst case scenario, if I can’t handle the pressure, I can drop the night classes and wait till Year 3.