Blue was confused but nonetheless obeyed and tore it apart. When the scroll completely tore, the pages then turned into a streak of light and entered his glabella, stunning him in the spot. His Primordial Auditor alerted him of the four elements foreign aether effect on his soul and when he understood the effect it shocked him to his core.
"Unbelievable. So this scroll was the mystery behind all players signature skill?"
He inwardly exclaimed in an enlightened tone. The first teacher also didn't left him hanging as he started explaining,
"Calm down, there's no need to be alarmed. Through this scroll an awakened human will finally have the only skill that is common among all of us players. Student Blue, say status window in your mind and announce to your peers the base stats of yourself."
"Yes, sir."
He pretended to show an obedient expression while he had already checked the Status Window skill and was dreading facts. Through the Primordial Auditor he had ended up learning some terrifying secrets behind this skill.
"To think it was actually a slave collar all along. If not for me modifying the effect then this skill might have figured out the system residing within me. That scroll is no longer something an inner denizen could make or even understand. If they could then wouldn't they have gleefully still been using that slave collar. Sigh… the Core Area is involved in this. Even I would have been turned into their slave if not for my early preparations against four elemental methods."
His heart still trembled from learning the truth behind the most sinister conspiracy of player civilization.
Yet he still had to obey the instructions or they would notice his oddness,
"Base stats are strength of 7, constitution of 3, dexterity of 3, intelligence of 5, wisdom of 7, charisma of 5."
He replied truthfully. The base stats itself were similar for everyone that the six indicators would have been given a number from the total stats of 30 divided among them according to the class one got. This was one of the information he acquired from the Primordial Auditor about the effect.
The first teacher then explained further,
"When you later check your base stats the skill would show how much improvement you have made through leveling up your class compared to the initial base stats that had been allocated based on your Blight Paladin class right now. It will also keep track of attribute comprehension, class skills proficiency, main weapon mastery, inventory for storage purposes, achievements as a player and your social information that could be used as the identity card anywhere from now on."
"There's also many quests that the academy issues which will help you in gathering academy points. Quest information and the reward of quest completion could all be received through this skill when you accept a quest. But be warned that after accepting a quest if you didn't complete it within the time limit then there will be a failure penalty."
"Quest are two types. Compulsory and voluntary. While the voluntary quests are further divided into two types. Main quest and side quests. When you will receive your first quest from the academy the other details regarding it will become clear to you."
The first teacher explained all the usage of this skill to him and also to other young Paladins so they wouldn't be overwhelmed by it. Blue however couldn't help but snicker disdainfully within,
"You, a righteous Paladin, still hides so much? Sneaky location tracking on players associated with the same faction, forceful command of death execution upon conditional quest failure, Zero privacy of status window information in front of three rank higher social status. These are all something even you an inner denizen would know. Tsk! Tsk! Righteousness, my balls."
He further felt how much of a quagmire the player society was. The funny thing was that these "teachers" might be laughing inwardly from seeing the naive youths they called their students right now but the fact remained that the mastermind in Core Area behind this Status Window skill had all the information gathered even about them while being able to do far sinister things that they could only scratch at right now while thinking they had got all of it figured out.
"No wonder this empire was made from rebels, deserters and traitors from all the other empires. The very foundation of the player civilization turned out to be a slave collar with pretty coloring. Karla still hadn't gotten the skill yet so I have to fix it up for her later. There's also the matter of Clara, sigh… my already busy schedule just keeps getting worse."
He heaved a tired sigh inwardly as he listened to the next set of instructions from the first teacher who still hadn't introduced himself,
"Blue, access your inventory and you will find a smartphone. Bring it out and show it to others."
After he accessed the inventory, which was just a 1m² subspace with no functions like his personal one, he found two items inside there just like he learned prior from the Primordial Auditor. He took out the smartphone this time, which was just a phone screen glass with a small handle on the side, and showed it.
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"This smartphone will allow you to communicate with your family and friends left back in your home. Just load the contact information from your original phone on it. It will also be replacing your phone or other electronic devices that you brought from outside. By the way, the previous phone won't work here anymore. If you hadn't realized yet the academy is located in a place far away from the world you came in from. Yes… calm down now. There's more of it."
The young adults got riled up from learning about it and the first teacher waved his hand to calm them before explaining further,
"With this smartphone you can also contact friends from the academy or with teachers themselves as long as you are aware of their contact number generated on the Status Window skill's social information option. As I was saying previously, many of you might have realized that not all of you are from the same hometown you left from or to be more precise the world. However there had been no discrepancies in communication so it had eluded you. Sigh… be steady younglings!"
The young Paladins became boisterous as they couldn't contain the shock inside thus earning a tired sigh from him before being rebuked as he continued again,
"Listen now. You all have a temporary comprehension of runic language that allows seamless communication in writing and through speech. This is however only until your midterm test so be sure to study hard on the compulsory subject of the official language as it's part of the first year syllabus. Now we will move onto the final section of this gathering."
"Student Blue, you can now choose a preferred personal teacher. We will introduce ourselves first so it is convenient for you. My name is Walter and my class is naturally a Paladin. I have been the preferred personal teacher of many young Paladins and the average of them was able to graduate within three years. There were also a dozen prodigies who were able to do so in just two years. I am confident that under my nurturing you will also be able to graduate within two years."
The remaining five teachers also pitched in after first teacher Walter tried to convince him to choose him as the personal teacher. His answer however baffled them,
"I am very grateful for all the teachers who value me so highly, but during the entrance test I promised Teacher Nicole that I would choose her as my personal teacher. I hope that esteemed teachers won't take offense in my decision."
"Ah, this…"
"Teacher Nicole? But her class's different."
"It seems she pulled a fast one over us, sigh…"
The teachers started lamenting over his choice. They felt that a top student slipped away from their hands. They could only sigh bitterly as the choice had already been made. Well, since he would still be present to take the compulsory lesson on Paladin class, they still had plenty of opportunities to show off their teaching experiences and he would surely change his decision after the midterm test.
"If you feel that Teacher Nicole was not up to par then don't feel burdened over the promise. Since you would have already fulfilled it by choosing her earlier. You still have a chance to change your decision after the midterm test. So keep your options open as our expertise might convince you otherwise."
Walter said as he patted his shoulder and just as he was about to dismiss him a thought flashed by his mind. Why did she go out of her way to make him promise to choose her as early as the entrance test? His results and variant Paladin class would naturally be attractive since he even got in the top ten but given her personality and pickiness over students who she deemed worth teaching there's no way she would approach him at just the entrance test where most of it was more focused on measures against abominations, right?
Then…
"Wait, student Blue. I have never asked about your attribute. What attribute did you awaken?"
"Ah, I was actually never told by Teacher Nicole."
"Hmm? Didn't you get the analysis result from her? Eh… now that I think about it she didn't mention anything about your attribute when we got the results."
"Well, she only told me to give a slip of paper if somebody asked for my attribute. Please wait a moment."
He put his hand inside his jeans pocket and brought out the slip before handing it over to Walter.
"No way…"
"Don't tell me…"
When others saw the slip they all seemed to have figured out the ins and outs of the matter. Their expression became livid but just like the speech they gave earlier the emotion didn't get hold of them as they kept taking deep breaths to calm themselves lest they ran to confront Nicole at this instant.
Walter took the slip and read it with an extremely ugly expression on his face before crumbling it in his fist. He had to exercise immense patience to not to tear this paper into pieces as he slowly gave it back to him and said in a calm tone,
"I understand. This will be all for today. All of the students can now exit through the teleportation circle at the distance. Three days later all the Paladins are to gather here at nine in the morning. Being late will deduct your points automatically by each second. For these three days you are to adjust to the academy's environment and may visit the premises a student was allowed to go to. Joining any recreational club is voluntary. Make sure to get the Status Window skill when you return to student quarters. Have a good day."
With that he turned around and left towards the teleportation circle along with his other colleagues who all wore a complicated expression on their faces.
The young adults were curious at the sudden shift of events. So they asked him what was written on that slip for the teachers to react so strongly. To their question he just showed the slip to them which had void words written on it. They couldn't understand it as it was only meant to be intended for those Nicole wished to convey her intentions to. So they all left with a puzzled expression.
Blue walked towards the teleportation circle as he couldn't help but shake his head in amusement.
"From teacher Nicole, I call dibs on him."
That was what was written in the slip.