“Damn that woman!!!!”
Ingalls lay on his bed as he cursed Shia out loud. The sky has long turned dark and crickets were chirping loudly. The moon illuminated the surroundings with the help of the endless amount of stars.
“Who cares about how magical items help us and weaknesses of mythical beasts?!”
For Ingalls, living life meant taking it day by day. If there was an unknown enemy, he would charge in head first and test them. Should he lose, he would learn from it and come back again. There was no real need for any prior knowledge of mythical beasts or its weaknesses. He would find the best way to eliminate them himself. Additionally, he never required external boosts from items such as potions or charms. Everything would be solved with his own power.
Therefore, his theory component is probably even worse than a Year 1 student. Luckily for him, theory is just a fifth of the total examination. 80% of your grade solely depends on how well you apply magic.
“Meh, I’ll just sleep through all the theory classes. There was no clause in the agreement stating i could not do so.”
The dorm Ingalls was staying in is called the Demseiq. A dorm which holds half of the males in Year 4. Surprisingly, the number of girls surpasses the number of boys 6:4 thus only 20 males stayed here. Demseiq is also one of the oldest dorms in Erymneus. In order to spur the student’s drive, names of famous alumni were engraved in the central pillar of the dorm. When the students the names of legendary figures such as Wiseman Eberitais, Ludwig the Moonlight Knight and Prince of Thorns, they would ultimately feel the need to live up to the dorm’s reputation.
Ingalls however did not even recognise all those figures. He only wished that an emergency mission would help save him from the wretched hell he was living in.
“Haish… School is probably the most troublesome thing that mankind has invented. I mean even that stupid noble had some ideas. Let’s give him till the weekend. I’m sure he will cause some trouble then.”
Ingalls recalled the noble that he was punished with. Rheinhart Styne. A pedigree noble. All nobles were descendants of historical figures who have outstanding amount of mana and magical talent. Hence, majority of the nobles born today will be blessed by the blood of their ancestors and naturally inherit their talent.
Due to that fact, higher institutions will be dominated by nobles. Although it was not rare for commoners to reach a noble’s talent, commoners were obviously less privileged.
Only freaks like Ingalls can stand toe to toe and even above nobles with such pedigree.
Rheinhart was unsatisfied that he had to be punished alongside Ingalls and had a dirty look the entire remedial session. He had even released a tiny amount of bloodlust. Regular humans might not feel a thing but for Ingalls who lived in the wilderness the majority of his life and being sent on dangerous missions, Ingalls was extremely sensitive to even the slightest amount.
“No use caring about that now… Time to sleep!”
~~~~
Morning came and Ingalls did not wake up again. Causing the cycle that happened the previous day to repeat itself. The only thing different was that Shia came prepared.
“Let’s see how your rooster takes my invincible mallet of discipline!”
Shia believed that the swine would be late again hence she concocted a plan that would make Ingalls regret disobeying her.
Shia brought her notorious wooden mallet. Whenever students saw her with the mallet, none of them would dare be rowdy. One of the reasons why Shia got her nickname ‘Demon Teacher’ was due to the fact that she love physically torturing her students. And her wooden mallet is the icon of the ‘Demon Teacher.’
She crept up into the room just to see a perfectly still and snoring Ingalls.
“Seems like he’s in deep sleep.”
Shia then stood next to the bed.
“I have a legitimate reason for hitting you. Don’t blame me~!”
As her sweet thoughts raged through her head, she swung the wooden mallet down at his crotch.
Sensing danger, Ingalls' eyes sprang wide open. What he saw scared him to death.
“Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! No time to dodge!”
Being a veteran in dangerous situations, Ingalls calculated all the possibilities to leave his predicament in a microsecond. Instantaneously, Ingalls cast a spell.
“Tier 5 spell: Priwen!”
Tier 5 spell: Priwen was a spell that strengthens the body over ten times. Additionally, it would give the effect that the body will be as hard as steel.
Applied on his crotch and Ingalls gained an unbreakable sword.
Wooden mallet against a sword strengthened by a Tier 5 spell. There was no competition.
“*Pierce!*”
Ingalls sword cut through the mallet like butter and the mallet stopped when the sword penetrated halfway through.
“Ahhhh…..”
Ingalls moaned.
Surprisingly, he felt a tinge of pleasure.
“Hey! What the fuck are you doing? If my sword wasn’t strong enough it would have been broken!”
“I… You.. You… PERVERT!”
“As i said yesterday, you’re the pervert!”
Shia’s brilliant plan backfired as she underestimated the strength of Ingalls’ sword.
~~~~
POV: Ingalls
That wretched teacher. She actually tried to pop my crotch. This is why i hate school!
I walked around the plains that surround the school whilst thinking back to this morning. This academy has some resplendent scenery. Imagine a Y-junction. At the top, there is a pristine lake imbued with large amounts of mana. I suspect there is a mythical object deep underwater that keeps it that way. To the right is a rock canyon that looks like a staple in the natural world of beauty. And lastly, the place where i am at, the verdant plains that stretch for miles across. In the centre of that Y-junction is a collection of buildings that fits in with the surroundings so perfectly one would think it was made from nature itself.
I can understand why the headmaster was so adamant that i don’t destroy this place. Not like i had any intention of doing so.
Classes usually start at first light and ends during the midday lunch. After midday lunch, students will either join their clubs or use that time to study. Since i can do neither of them, i started wandering around the campus, looking for something interesting.
Walking around the campus, i could see the myriad of activities available for the students. Some were training their concentration while sitting under the man-made waterfall, others were in the canyon training their magic precision and there were those who were relaxing in the fields chatting away with their friends.
I managed to see some facilities that mirrored those in the HQ but none of them were truly used for the purposes that i used them for.
“How soft..”
None of the students here will survive in the Hunter’s association. Such a peaceful place.
As i was lost in my thoughts, a little girl that look no older than 10 years old walked towards me.
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“Onii-chan, you shouldn’t be standing there.”
Ho… A kid is giving me advice huh.
“Why not? Little kid?”
“Cause it’s a magic minefield?”
“HUH?!”
I lifted my feet off the ground and mana started bubbling from the ground.
“BOOM!”
An explosion tore through the earth and the grass a metre around the mine started to burn.
However, by that time i already sped past the blast radius and stood next to the little girl. Although such a weak blast could not harm me, my clothes would not leave unscathed.
“Phew, that was dangerous. Why would there be a minefield in a school?!”
“Onii-chan didn’t know? It is one of the training places to help high schoolers improve their danger detection. See there’s a red tape and a sign telling people to keep out.”
I looked at the minefield and indeed saw such items. While walking absentmindedly i actually strolled into a minefield. How ludicrous.
“Could Onii-chan perhaps be...”
The little girl looked at me with shock.
Did she recognise me? Even though my name is famous doesn’t mean my face is…
“... an idiot?”
“*Cough* *Cough*”
This kid…
“How did your parents teach you? Calling a senior an idiot the first time you see him!”
“My mother always said to be honest about your thoughts!”
“Even so you shouldn’t call someone an idiot!”
“Then what do you call a person who walks into a minefield?”
“...”
Wow… She’s good.
“A brave warrior who knows no fear!”
“So a stupid warrior?”
“Whaa….! How did you come to that conclusion?!”
“Mommy always said a person with no fear is stupid!”
“You!.... Fine, i give up. I’m a stupid warrior alright?”
“Yay! Onii-chan is an idiot! Lily wins!”
Wow, this kid is unexpectedly really competitive.
“Lily huh. What are you doing here? Are your parents one of the teachers?”
“No? Lily just enrolled into Year 1!”
“Haaa?! You liar you definitely less than 10 years old”
“Onii-chan! Lily is already 12!”
“No way...”
“Lily is really 12!”
Since there were no uniforms it was hard to differentiate whether a kid was a student or not.
“See this is my Student ID!”
Well, that’s the only way to find out… But if she’s 12 but so petite, that means!
“You… Could you be an eternal loli?”
“Onii-chan? What’s a loli”
“A loli is the justice of this world.”
“Lily is the eternal justice?”
“Yeap!”
“Yay!”
Hmmm… I guess i made my first friend. Calling a loli my first friend sounds sad but i have no other choice. I need to fill the 10 places quickly and given her innocence, she should be easy to convince.
“Lily, are you familiar with this place?”
“Yeap… I went through the orientation! Didn’t Onii-chan go through it too?”
Damn it! There was an orientation?! Well since i am a last minute transfer i can’t expect much.
“No, I only came here a few days ago. I didn’t receive any sort of orientation.”
“Oh… Since Lily is free now i guess i can show you around.”
“Oh! That will help!”
Following that conversation, Lily led me to various places in the campus. The garden where magical herbs are being grown. The factory where you could purchase student-made items. And many other places.
As we walked deeper and deeper in the campus, we finally reached an inner sanctum where there stood a willow tree. The tree was over 30 metres tall and had numerous branches. Too many to even count.
“Wow, such a beautiful tree...”
I have been to many places but i have never seen such a divine tree. Somehow, i felt a strong magical presence in the tree. To think i would experience such a sight here. I guess we should never underestimate magical institutions. Thousands of years of heritage might be buried here and non-students might never get a chance to see it.
“This is the Tree of Erymneus. It is said that the first generation of the Erymneus house and the founder of the school is buried under here. The founder loved willow trees and ordered his sons to grow one atop of his grave so that he could be the fertiliser for it. Over hundreds of years, the tree still stands. Legend has it that the ghost of the founder will come out from the willow tree and protect the school whenever there is danger.”
Lily explained to me while i looked baffled on how such knowledge can be cramped into a loli mind.
“So Lily is so smart huh… Are you an honour student?”
“Nope, Onii-chan is just an idiot.”
“...”
This kid is really rude…
However, this marks the end of my tour.
“Lily, thank you for today.”
“Your welcome!”
Lily seems elated to be thanked. Kids her age are really innocent huh.
“Lily, you see. Onii-chan has a task. I must find 10 best friends in three years. If not Onii-chan will forever be trapped in a hell where one has to wake up at first light and a crazy mallet holding lady threatening my dignity. Can you imagine the terror Onii-chan has to live through? Only by finding more and more friends will Onii-chan be saved. So Lily, could you be my first friend?”
“...”
Lily remained quiet.
Why?
What’s there to hesitate?
“I’m sorry Onii-chan. Mommy says if i make friends with idiots i will die early so i can’t be your friend!”
“!@$%$^*(^(()3@$”