The night was drawing to a close and most of the children had long since fallen asleep. Only one refused to follow.
His eyes were puffy, for it was long past his bedtime. His mind was foggy, for he had memorized more than 20 dances in the past three to four hours.
However, he was determined and his target was in front of him. It was Ashley Thomas, one of the most popular girls in the village. Her red hair was legendary, and getting punched by her became somewhat of a rite of passage amongst the boys in the village.
Now, it was time for a new one to step up to the plate. Ashley was talking to her friends when she saw a young boy wobbling towards her. He looked unsteady, but he was definitely walking towards her.
“Is he okay?” one of her friends asked.
Just as Finn was about to grab Ashley’s skirt to steady himself, his feet gave way. The girl dodged his grasp, and he fell asleep on the floor.
"Hey kid, did you want a hug or what?"
The crowd parted ways, and the bride and groom stepped forward. Noticing the green color of both the boy and bride’s hair, Ashley panicked and tried to pick him up.
“I didn’t do anything, I swear.”
“I know,” Elizabeth bowed down and picked up her boy. “Ashley, is it? Can you do me a favor and give him a kiss? It would mean a lot to him.”
Though slightly confused, the girl nodded and kissed Finn on the forehead.
[Quest Kiss Ashley goodnight: Half assed
Reward: Teacher acquired.
Teacher status: Too drunk to care.]
Three months later, the first semester of Shallow Creek village’s primary school began. While Joe and some twenty other men worked on building accommodations for the winter, classes were held in the middle of an open field.
A large rock served as the teacher’s desk and two large oak trees offered shade. A river flowing nearby was the bathroom, but Finn would have much rather died again than use it.
They used sticks to carve words in the soil and every lesson had to be learned on the spot. Perhaps unsurprisingly, besides the freshly reincarnated Finn, everyone else’s progression was terrible.
Finn became frustrated with his colleagues, and they became frustrated with him. Nobody would walk home with him, and they shoved and poked him on the regular. Even so, the boy didn’t relent.
“I understand, miss Brown. Can we move on to multiplication?” They had spent the past week learning basic addition, and it was driving Finn mad.
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“Not until the rest catch up,” Martha sighed. “Be patient.”
‘God damn, these kids are slow.’ 19 pairs of eyes stared daggers into his back, but he couldn’t care less. ‘Whine and shove me all you want, you little shits. I’ll flip you goodbye when I leave for the academy.’
Suddenly, the nun stopped talking. She was watching him intently, so the boy was taken aback. Martha then placed her hands on her hips and snorted.
‘You think you’re hot stuff?’ She seemed to be thinking. “Kids, why are you all here?”
Several hands went up.
“To get into the academy,” Finn answered.
“Why?”
“To get a good job, to raise my status.” Again, Finn spoke over the others.
“Yes, everybody’s trying to do that.” Martha leaned forward with a curious look. “Did you know that most exams are handled in teams?”
Finn’s eyes went wide.
“Almost every academy hands out practical quests in order to asses its students. These quests are meant to assist the empire's efforts, so they usually require knowledge from multiple different fields.
For example, you'll need a team of at least three warriors and two ranged fighters to take on a monster subjugation quest. You'll need a team of specialists in order to rebuild a village. Do you know which academies hand out quests that can be handled by a single person?”
For once, Finn was quiet. His cheeks turned red, and he shook his head. A girl raised her hand.
“The bad ones?” she answered after Martha gave her a nod.
“Good job, Annie. The Bad Ones.” Martha stared daggers in Finn’s direction. “Subsequently, the only academies you can enter without a team are The Bad Ones.
Now, tell me little Finn, since you’re so sharp: Presuming you don’t want to enter a bottom ranked academy with God awful teachers and terrible prospects for the future, how do you plan on befriending the kids from other cities, or God forbid, nobles if you cannot even make friends with your neighbors? Do you think the promising students of neighboring towns and villages will team up with an unknown kid instead of their own classmates?”
The boy’s head hung low.
“No, Miss Brown,” he answered in a hushed tone. Satisfied with the response, Martha addressed the entire class.
“I’ll tell you this as someone who failed three academies’ exams and just barely made it into the fourth: if you wait too long to make a strong team, you will have to make do with the leftovers.
Be it for the admission exams or all that will follow, the lot of you will swim together or pray to God to keep you afloat on your own. And the God I know is not particularly merciful. Understood?”
“Yes, Miss Brown!” The entire class answered together.
“But Miss,” Annie raised her hand, “When will we learn magic?”
Finn’s eyes lit up. For a while now he too wanted to bring up the subject. ‘Actual powers, moving matter with your mind...’ His mouth drooled at the thought.
“About that,” Martha averted her eyes. “You won’t.”
“What!?” Finn stood up from his spot on the grass.
“I don’t know magic,” Martha shrugged. “I studied theology for the most part. Mister Griffin agreed to teach you swordsmanship starting this weekend, but that’s about it.”
“Won’t it affect our admission?”
“Greatly.” Again, Martha shrugged. “That’s why you can’t afford to be cocky or slow. You lot must grab hold of every opportunity you’ve got because, although you’ve started school a year earlier than most, you’re already behind.”
[Name: Andrew Finn.
Nickname: Achoo.
Age: Five years old.
Race: Quarter elf.
Abilities:
- Sleeping and pooping {master}
- Eating solid food {Master}
- Walking and running {Master}
- Language: {Master}
- Gardening {Intermediate}
- Raising chickens {Intermediate}
- Clay construction: Miniature models {Master}. Full scale clay construction {beginner}
- Dancing: {Beginner}
- Patience: {Five year old level}
Comments: Hmph.]