A shockwave incomparable to the previous blasts ripped over the training grounds, and scorched chunks of hay flew all over. A small cloud of smoke slowly rose where the training dummy had been standing.

What had once been a straw-stuffed dummy was now a blackened and burnt wooden post.

Kai stood there for a few seconds, staring at the damage from his spell as a wave of heat rolled past him.

I was expecting a lot, but what the hell is that?! Even if Brewan was using his grimoire, he can’t make anything close to that, and he’s both a higher level and more focused on magic!

[Heh. You should turn around and look at the expression on Angela’s face.]

Kai quickly spun around, and he wasn’t disappointed. The annoying girl’s mouth hung open in disbelief, and a few small chunks of straw and even a splinter of wood were hanging onto her robes. Her surrounding lackeys also had a suspiciously large amount of straw debris on their robes, almost like the spell had been detonated behind the target so as to fling junk toward Kai’s new classmates.

“What tier did you say you were again?” The teacher blinked a few times, looking back and forth between Kai and the decimated target.

“I’m still just at tier 1, why?”

[Oi, stop trying to act cocky. I only did that to make fun of that annoying chick, not so that you can brag.]

Before Kai or the instructor could say anything else, Angela’s accusatory voice rang from the middle of her group of lackeys.

“He must’ve cheated, he’s using his grimoire!”

Angela stomped to the front of the class, then thrust her finger in Kai’s face as she pointed at him. With every word that spewed out of her mouth, she got closer to poking him in the forehead.

“You must take our academy for a joke!”

How much trouble would I get in if I cut off her arm? Back home, this would be considered enough to have a death duel.

[Kai, can you cut off this bitch’s arm? The instructor’s grimoire is still on the post over to the side, we might be able to escape before he can come after us.]

Kai’s lip twitched up into a slight smile as he thought of something even better.

“I’m not using a grimoire, that’s just a normal fireball. I don’t know why yours was so much weaker, it might be a skill issue.”

Kai lifted up his robes to show that he didn’t have a book on him anywhere.

“Besides, even if I had a grimoire, it wouldn’t have helped me. I’m illiterate, so I can only cast fireballs the good ‘ol fashioned way.”

Angela’s face went as white as a sheet of paper, and she stumbled back away from Kai.

“Y- you’re illiterate too…? That’s impossible…”

Kai shrugged and turned back to the class. Spotting Leo and Brewan standing close to each other, Kai walked toward them while speaking loud enough for Angela to overhear him.

“Leo, want to study with me again after class?”

Leo couldn’t keep a smile off his face as he gave Kai a fist bump.

“Of course.”

Up at the front of the class, the professor clapped his hands, trying to regain the attention of the students. He’d already retrieved his grimoire from where it’d been sitting on the post.

“As everyone has seen, there is a lot you can all do to improve on! Many of you who had powerful fireballs casted them much too slowly for them to be of any use in actual combat, but you can fix that through practice. I want all of you to continue practicing both with and without your grimoires, and we’ll see your improvements in two weeks.”

Eh, is he dismissing us already? He’s hardly taught us anything, and now he’s saying that we’ll next be tested in two weeks?

“I’ll be expecting all of you to practice in your free time. Our class time the next two weeks will be dedicated to basic survival techniques, so you’ll have to make improvements on your own. I look forward to seeing what you all accomplish.”

A frown grew on Kai’s face as the teacher finished speaking. To him, basic survival was useless. The amount of time he’d spent outside the sect’s walls had been higher than what he spent inside.

Heck, back at the sect, he’d even taught some of the newer disciples how to survive out in the wilderness. Even if this was a different world, he highly doubted that there was any good knowledge he could gain from a basic level class.

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

If I’m not going to be able to gain anything from the mage class for the next two weeks, it might be worth it to check out the knight side of things. I’ll still go to the library every day, once I can read, I might find books that can help me integrate my martial techniques with mana.

After providing the class with a few more words of motivation, Instructor Ken dismissed the students. Angela and her cronies scurried off without causing any more trouble, and Kai decided to head down to the town beneath the academy instead of heading for the library right away. It was still early in the day, and there would be plenty of time to study later.

Leo and Brewan decided to join him, and before they could head for the academy gates, another figure approached. It was the skinny kid who was also on his first day at the academy.

[Kiin- Level 5]

“C-can I study with you as well? This is my first day of classes…”

Leo stepped forward, his eyes lighting up. “Wait, are you illiterate too?”

Kiin lowered his head, then jumped in fright as Leo let out a whoop.

“Awesome! We can have an entire study group!”

Leo slung his arms over Kai and Brewan’s shoulders like they were best friends.

“We need to come up with a name for our group! Hmm… Study Buddies. No, not cool enough. We need to think of something much cooler than ‘Heritage’.”

Kai snuck out from under Leo’s arm, then straightened his robes.

Leo’s a lot different than my initial impression of him. I certainly didn’t expect the kid sitting quietly at the back of the classroom to act like this. He’s almost a bit like Halia… but more earnest. Hmph, I’d much rather have a friend like Leo than one who tries to prank and embarrass me in front of random cultivators!

“I’ve got it! The Illiterate Quartet!”

Brewan shook his head as he stepped away from Leo. “It’s just the three of you, I can read just fine. Also, aren’t all of you planning on learning how to read?”

“I guess I’ll have to workshop it. Anyways, want to head down to the town to get some lunch?”

Kai and Brewan had already been planning on heading down to the town, and Kiin was willing or too meek to protest as Leo pulled him with. Leo pestered the skinny fellow with questions as they started down the hill, and Kai started learning more about his backstory.

Similar to quite a few other students at Hillhold, Kiin had been recruited from a nearby village due to his potential as a mage. He was only level 5- tied with Leo for the weakest in the entire class.

“I used to bring crops from our village to the academy to sell them, but there have been a lot more beasts near the roads in the north. My village decided to send a strong tier 1 mage to defend the shipment, so I wasn’t needed for it anymore.”

Kiin glanced over at one of the stone towers sporadically placed along the side of the hill. “The beasts near my village have been way more active than normal, and I heard that there are even professors up there right now to deal with the situation. I want to become strong enough to help defend everyone up there.”

“Nice!” Leo fist-bumped with Kiin. “My parents were wanderers, so I don’t have any valorous goals like that. I just want to get strong enough to slap all those who think they’re better than everyone else. I’ll start with that Angela girl!”

Leo poked Kai’s side with his elbow. “How about you?”

Both of them seem like the type of people I’d want to recruit… but they are a bit weak. I don’t think it’ll cause any trouble, though, so I guess I’ll tell them the truth.

“I want to find my friends, then start an academy.”

Leo’s foot paused mid-step. “Wait, really? You’re pretty strong, but you have to be, like, super strong to do that. I don’t think I’ve heard of a single new academy being founded in my entire life!”

Leo rubbed at his chin for a few seconds before looking back up at Kai, his eyes shining.

“I’ve decided, I’ll join you!”

[Kai, your new friend is a bit too impulsive.]

“If we’re going to make a new academy, we’ll need a name for it. Hm… I’m sure I can think of something cool…” Before Leo could come up with any disgraceful names, Kai cut him off.

“It’s already been decided on, and it’d be better if you didn’t tell people what my future plans are while we’re here. I doubt we’d get off lightly if a professor overheard us planning to make a new academy.”

Leo covered his mouth, then nodded. “Your secret is safe with me.”

The group had already reached the town below the academy, and Leo took the lead once more as he brought them over to his favorite lunch spot. Kiin also vouched for the restaurant as they approached, mentioning that he’d often sold grain to the owners in the past.

It was a small tavern that looked like it only had room to seat two dozen people tops. The entire building was made from wood, and the outside looked disheveled, but it was surprisingly tidy inside. There were few tables arranged with just enough space to walk between them, along with a long bar at the back of the room.

“Oh, Liz is working today!”

Leo immediately headed for the bar, waving to the woman standing behind it.

“Leo, are your classes already done for the day?”

Leo nodded as he hopped up onto one of the barstools, and the rest of the group followed him over. There were a few people already sitting at the bar, but there was enough space for all of them to sit in a group. Kai ended up on the side, closest to two other customers. One was wearing plain clothes, while the other had dusty brown robes that vaguely resembled the ones worn by mage students.

Leo was already starting up another conversation with the barkeep, but Kai’s attention was snatched by the strangers’ talk next to him.

“-... Skeletons?”

“That’s what they said. I never saw them myself, but multiple villagers described them the same way.” The robed man took a sip of his drink before continuing.

“In the last few minutes before sunset, on a small hill overlooking town. A few villagers were going to watch the sunset, but they all fled back to town before the skeletons could notice them.”

The man wearing plainclothes shrugged. “Eh, I’ve heard plenty of stories like that before. Nothing ever comes of them, especially when it’s news from a small village. You said it’s a week’s travel west of here, right?”

Kai rubbed his chin as he listened.

Skeletons appearing just before sunset? Hmm…