We walked down the hallways of the school, following the teacher.
The man with the chains creates an irritating dragging sound through the ground. He still continued explaining, though it was clear that most weren't paying attention to him.
"An exorcist will have the freedom to do almost anything once they're out there in the world. In some cases, the government will even ignore the murder charges. Though if you kill too much, you'll be declared as a rogue exorcist."
By now, the manga would have skipped to the field. Meaning most of this shouldn't be any important information. But I still paid it even more attention than in the classroom, since this wasn't something I already knew.
"Also, some of you are from Exorcist Clans and probably know quite a lot about inner energy. Or as it is called by most Exorcists: Ord. It is a combination of the spirit and body. The reason why most clans don't teach how to even control or manipulate such energy when you were younger was because of the volatility of the technique. You might end up creating an ability based on emotion, or momentary gain. Something like wanting candy, and a Warrior getting the ability to get a boost in power only after eating candy. Something nonsensical like that."
His explanation made me stop in my tracks. I always wondered why the clans didn't teach their kids how to manipulate their Ord when they were young. They would have an absolute advantage in that case, and the clans wouldn't have to worry about exorcists from commoner backgrounds taking over their position in the exorcist circles.
Was this something the author planned out but never wrote down? Or maybe the world itself had filled in the gaps? There was also a chance that this world existed before all of that, and the author just wrote about it somehow.
We arrived outside, and the sun finally greeted my face.
By outside, I mean a grass wasteland in the middle of nowhere. The placing of exorcist schools was strategic. Having something grand built was like asking the demons where the weak point was, and begging them to form a coalition and attack the future exorcists while they were weak.
Once outside, we walked a bit more until we reached a hill that had a signboard. A soft wind blew in the fields, tilting the grass. A whiff of clean oxygen entered my lungs. The air was so clean. My whole body was rejuvenated in one deep breath.
“Okay, here are the top scores on the written exams,” he pointed at the top of the board. Where the names ‘Anika’ and ‘Bets’ were written. They both had one hundred points and were tied for first place.
Anika was the silver-haired girl. While Bets… I glanced at my new muscular friend. He was smarter than he looks. My written test score was 13th ranked, so I was a bit above average in grades.
The teacher punched the board. Shattering it into a dozen pieces. “This doesn't mean shit. An exorcist school is only a school in name, and while you will learn some basics of math and reading. Most of your time better be concentrated on learning exorcist techniques and strategies. Because you can’t beat a demon by being a nerd!”
I would like to disagree with that last part. But he just punched a board out of nowhere.
Punching a board might not sound like a big deal until you thought about the logistics of this. He had to write the exam results on the wooden board, then come and put it here while everyone was sleeping. Just so he could do something like this.
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He might have made someone else do all that. Which was even crazier.
These were things I never even thought about before. I felt like he might slap me with a chain if I said something that refuted his words. He would probably make an example out of me.
“So instead of this nerd crap. We will be learning how strong you wimps are. So we will start with stamina and speed, each of you will run ten laps around this hill,” he stated and I immediately started sprinting.
“Someone knows what to do,” those were the last faint words I heard before the sound of chains rattling intensified. I couldn’t help myself and took a glance.
The teacher turned to the other students, and the chains he had been dragging until now floated and moved fast. Hitting every single student in the stomach before any of them could react. “Next time, when I tell you to do something. You do it!”
The main character crouched down, coughing out his lungs and looking at the teacher with hate in his eyes. “You bastard! You even hit the girls!”
“Ah yes, because demons will spare women and kids. They’re known for being gentlemen after all. Everyone knows demons have a code of honor,” the sarcasm was dripping off his voice. “Say something dumb like this again and…”
I was too far away to hear what he said next. But it couldn't have been good as the main character got hit in the face once more by a flying chain.
…
We ended up running, doing pushups, squats, and crunches on the grassy field. Some did more, while others did less. By the end of it all, everyone was tired.
I lay on the ground and felt like no matter how much I breathed my burning lungs couldn’t get enough oxygen. When was the last time I exerted myself so much? I don’t remember.
“Good. You weaklings are all cushioned out now,” the teacher clapped his hand with a smile on his face. The kind of smile that you would want to punch.
He took out a small jar, filled with dark mosquitoes the size of someone's thumb. Everyone's face paled at that.
"Uh, teacher, sir. What're you going to do with that?" Asked the main character of this world. His name was Agon. Gotta remember to call him that in the future, and not accidentally address him as; the main character.
The teacher's smile widened even more, almost splitting his face in two. "These are called Bloodthirsty Mosquitoes. Some demons use them for hunting delicious prey. They can determine someone's main potential, based on the color they shine after drinking their blood. The brighter they shine, the more talented you are in your affinity. Also, demons will find you more delicious, the more talented you are. Something about the soul being more condensed."
"You, come first," he pointed at me.
"Me?" I was surprised he picked the side character.
"No, the guy behind you."
I looked behind me, and there was no one. Turned around and there was a chain up to my face.
"You listened well the first time. So I'm going to forgive this indiscretion, next time, you're getting your nose broken," he stated coldly. There was not a doubt in my mind that he would do it.
So immediately I got up and extended my arm to him. He took out a mosquito from the jar, making sure to pinch it hard enough, as even as the bug wriggled it didn't have a chance of escape.
Now that I was looking closer. The wriggly mosquito looked disgusting, and it was big enough that I could see quite a lot of details. The wings were a bit wet, its body was hairy, and its stinger had some gross green liquid around it.
But the sting came painlessly, as my whole arm turned numb and flipped to the side after.
"Oh yeah, they also have some paralysis poisons. They might be considered only lingering demons, not even low-class demons. But that doesn't make them completely harmless," the teacher said after pointing at the next person. He happened to be some random guy I don't remember from the Manga. He had a confident smile on his face, so I assumed he was from a clan. No normal person would act like that after seeing a gross bug about to bite him soon.
None of the small details no longer entered my mind, as I glanced at the mosquito as it started lighting up.
With my knowledge from the Manga, as long as it wasn't Warrior, I could make any affinity work somehow. Not like Warrior would be a completely terrible choice, but one needed a lot of Ord behind any ability created.
I didn't have a minuscule amount of Ord. But I didn’t have a lot either to the level where by the end game I would be considered strong.
Fuck, I don't even know the end game. By chapter 400 they were on the ship ride to explore some new lands to try and find a fix-up for how screwed humanity had gotten.
Hints of green started appearing on the dark mosquito that slowly started turning greener and shining brighter.