Durreg accompanied me to the reception of the Hall of the Elites. The receptionist noticed our footsteps and looked up from the papers in his hands. He smiled cordially and stood up to greet us.

“Welcome to the Hall of the Elites. How can I help you?”

“Hello. I am Kiara Azoth, a member of the Hall. I’d like to register for classes.”

“Certainly! Do you have an identification on you?” he asked.

I fished for the adventurer card in my pocket and gave it to him.

“Thank you. Now, please give me a moment while I confirm that you are a member of the Hall… and done! Thank you for your patience. Please take a look at the schedule and let me know which classes you wish to attend. When you're done with that, please let me know what kind of class you wish to host in return, and we’ll sort out the details.” He said, pointing to the whiteboard on the side of the room and handing me back my adventurer card.

On it were the classes offered each day of the week, the time it was offered, the room it occupied, and the class instructor.

“Eh? I don’t remember saying I’ll be hosting a class?” I said in confusion.

Durreg jumped in to explain.

“Oh, right. That’s my fault. I forgot to tell you that in order to attend classes, you need to hold one yourself. Everyone in the Hall of the Elites is an expert at something, given they managed to make it here. Unlike the House of Aspirants, it functions as a give-and-take system.”

The receptionist nodded.

“That’s correct. Instruction in exchange for instruction is the cost of tuition for the Hall of the Elites – the thing that makes our academy stand out from the rest. No other academy can imitate this system because the best in the world all attend here to teach and learn from each other.” He said with a hint of pride.

Durreg and I thanked the receptionist and walked over to the whiteboard to take a closer look at the classes they offer.

“I’d invite you to my advanced strength fighting class, but that one’s full, and the instructor is rather in-demand.” He said regretfully.

Sure enough, the class in question was listed as full.

“Luckily, there’s a number of people running that class, so you can still take it. I personally recommend this one.” Durreg said, pointing to a class held by an Atria Regillus.

“Any reason in particular?” I asked.

“Oh, I don’t want to ruin the surprise for you.” He said with a smile.

I raised an eyebrow but decided to take his suggestion anyway.

“I want an arcane and force magic classes next…” I said, looking for the classes in question.

I found an arcane magic class easily enough but couldn’t find one for force magic.

“Well, that’s expected. Atypical attributed are the least common, and there’s a wide variety of types as well. It was always a long shot to go for that one.” I said in disappointment.

“Well, we can at least bring it up with the receptionist.” He said in consolation.

“Also, what class are you holding? I am wondering what to hold myself.”

“Oh, it’s that one over there.” He said, pointing to a class that’s held weekly.

‘Earth-attributed Warrior Training’ was the listing, and it was full.

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

“What do you do in that class?”

“Well, it’s a class where I go over each attendee’s use of their earth magic in their fighting style, and bounce ideas off each other on how to improve them. Given the amount of attention I am paying to each attendee, I only accept up to five people every class.”

Hmm… I think I might be able to do something similar.

I took a look at the rest of the classes, but nothing immediately caught my eye, so we went back to the receptionist. After informing him of my selections, he recorded them down.

“I am sorry to hear you couldn’t find a class for Force magic. I’ll post a request for a Force magic instructor, and I’ll let you know if we find one. Now, have you decided on what kind of class you can offer?” he asked.

“I’d like to hold a gravity-intensified weight training class. I am potentially the only person in the world capable of wielding gravity magic, and I can magnify someone’s weight many times over. Whether it’s sparring, endurance training, or anything else, I can provide the intensified gravity needed without the use of bulky, oversized, unevenly distributed weights.”

The receptionist nodded.

“That sounds like a novel idea. I expect a lot of interest for your class but be warned. If it doesn’t get any students within a week, I’ll have to ask you to come in and host another kind of class. Alternatively, you could take a look at requested classes and hold one that you think you are qualified to hold. In any case, thank you for your cooperation, and I hope you find your time in these halls productive!”

I waved at the nice receptionist as we left for the advanced strength fighting class I’d just registered for, which was being held in fifteen minutes.

“You didn’t plan for this, did you?” I asked, suddenly suspicious at the convenient timing.

“I’ve no idea what you’re talking about, cousin. Frankly, I am hurt!” He said, holding a hand to his chest.

I rolled my eyes, and we started laughing.

Soon enough, we made it to the class in question. As expected, it was being held in one of the Hall’s arenas. We entered, and we found the usual circular dome with two four-meter-tall audience stands on opposite sides perpendicular to the door. The controls for the arena were on the other side of the room, and at the far-right corner was a door to the arena’s armory. The room was in every way identical to the arenas in the House of Aspirants.

We waited as attendees began to show up, and yet, the instructor still didn’t arrive.

Eventually, the other three people who were supposed to be here were all inside and class was about to start.

“Isn’t the instructor supposed to be there before the students?” I asked.

“Well, Ms. Regillus is a relatively… carefree person. She doesn’t sweat the details.” Durreg answered, and I was already starting to regret signing up for this class.

Before I could voice my complaints out, the doors to the arena swung open, and a girl with a war hammer strapped to her back stood in front of it.

“Looks like everyone’s here before us, hahaha!” the girl said with fiery gusto.

Behind her, a similar looking, spear-carrying girl stepped next to her.

“That would be because you wouldn’t get out of bed until I dragged you out of it by the leg. In fact, we ended up almost missing your class.” She responded calmly.

“We still made it in the end so who cares!”

…

Durreg, what the abyss did you get me into?

I stared pointedly at the boy, but he shrugged.

Shaking my head, I turned back to the two girls who were arguing on their way to the arena. One incredibly energetic, while the other was calm and collected.

Was it just me, or did they seem familiar?

Soon enough, the energetic girl looked at us and recognized Durreg.

“Hey, look who decided to enroll in my class. I always knew you’d come around!” she said.

“Unfortunately, Ms. Regillus, I am only here to watch. Let me introduce you to my cousin – she’s the one here to attend.”

The girl turned towards me and took my hand, which she shook it fervently.

“Oh? Welcome, welcome! I am glad to see a new face around here! It’s been a while since anyone’s…”

The girl turned out to be a real chatterbox, simply pouring with excitement. Immediately, I remembered where I’d seen her before.

“…and so, I’d love to see what you can do!”

“Pardon me, but are you the girl who passed the Hall of the Elites exam with me and Durreg…?”

Her eyes widened.

“Oh, so that was you! I’d been wondering how you managed to pass before we did, and your stingy cousin over there just wouldn’t tell us! We’ve got to sit down after class so you can tell me all…”

The girl started talking again, and I was already feeling overwhelmed.

Yeah, she was that girl we met in the waiting lobby for the exam, after all.

“Leave the girl be, Atria. You’ve got a class to start. You can talk to her after we’re done.” The girl next to her said.

The fiery girl sighed.

“Yeah, you’re right, Silia. But we’re definitely coming back to continue this when we’re done!” she said enthusiastically, before letting go of my hand.

As the two walked away, I turned to Durreg.

“Man, I can’t handle her. She’s friendly and everything, but her endless energy seems exhausting.” I shook my head in exasperation.

The boy grinned.

“Oh, don’t worry. You’ll get used to it. She’s a lot of fun to hang out with, and her twin keeps her from running too wild.”

“Is someone like that any good at teaching?”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. She knows her stuff and makes class exciting. Best of all, she takes a hands-on approach to teaching, and I am pretty sure that you’ll get the most out of an instructor like that.”