The lunch was uneventful in the weirdest way. Sure, the service, food, and atmosphere were top class, but there was nothing else to it. The people there chatted lightly, the kids acting like adults, pretending to be snobbish about their food. Adel sat with Donis, the two talking about the classes they had so far, with Adel taking charge of the conversation.
Donis had nothing to input really, since he wasn't at all interested in what the lecturers had to say, but he tried to humour the boy. At least this alleviated the boredom somewhat. He knew the stuff he'd learn in his first year might not actually be different to what Corvig had already taught him.
With the lunch ending, Donis was actually excited for the next class. He didn't know how useful a strong body could be, but he knew at least it would alleviate the stress he'd build up during the day. Right now he had no good way to relieve stress from acting, studying, and trying to stay awake. So while this may act as one, it's also another good way for Donis to experiment with his Will, magic, and body enhancements.
His greed for knowledge never truly lessening. Especially over the last few years, it only grew more intense. Ever since Raul kidnapped him, he's been getting thirstier and thirstier. Not even the news of the lord behind the kidnapping getting brutally cut down by Lorenzo eased his need to become stronger.
About two years ago, Donis was contacted via [Pigeon Paper] that they had found conclusive evidence about the person who ordered the kidnapping. Donis wasn't told the exact methods used to trace back the contact behind the [Pigeon Paper], but he knew it required some serious permissions from the government or whatever equivalent this world had.
Donis requested for permission to read the compiled evidence. He secretly wanted to test out the Side-Quest+ function of his [System], because it gave him [+25SP] for more evidence. He was right, there was no limit to the quest completion, as it just kept giving him [+25SP] each time. He ended up getting [920SP] after reading the whole report, which not only blew his mind, but let him concentrate on his goal of upgrading the [System].
He used [120SP] to buy some skills that he was looking at early into the report, thinking there was going to be more to it. Thankfully he didn't buy all of them, just a few, but it wasn't a big deal. Knowing the way the quests have worked so far, he knew he'd get more as time went on. He's sure that it wants itself to be upgraded too, since it wont shut up about it.
Sadly, over the last 2 years, Donis received no new quests. He had no way to acquire them anyway right now. There was no way for him to leave the house on his own after the kidnapping. His parents weren't people who would have complete mental break downs if he did, but he wanted to ease their suffering as much as he could. He hoped the [System] would give him something after maxing out so many skills, but it did nothing.
So, maybe starting a new journey on body perfection would prompt the [System] to do something for him. Shaking the memories from his mind, he beckoned Adel to come with him.
The two made their way to the next class, and there was a man already waiting for them. Tall, burly, built like a brick outhouse. A man in his prime with wild dark red hair reaching his lower back, wide shoulders, a sharp nose and many scars adorning his face.
He truly had the face of a warrior that loved fighting using his hands and legs. His entire body exuded this aura that made everyone slightly weary of him. Even Donis felt it from a distance. Knowing that this man is their lecturer he felt no fear towards him, it was just his body reacting to their strength difference.
[Name: Erin Vorrhard]
[Age: 34]
[Level: 68][? EXP]
[Mana State: Breath]
[Health: ?]
[Mana: ?]
[Occupation: Lecturer at Vernaic Magisterium]
?
"Line up!" shouted Erin. Everyone looked around confused. Where do they line up?
"Did I stutter? I said line up!" shouted Erin even louder this time, somehow reaching everyone there.
Everyone did as told, even though no one knew exactly how to line up for this man, if there were rows or anything like that. Yet it seemed the man before them didn't care. They were actively trying to do as their told, so he'd let them figure it out.
"Good. I am Erin Vorrhard, and I am of the Vorrhard lineage. I am your Physical Training lecturer, and I'm going to be breaking all of you. This isn't going to be easy, but none of you have a choice," said Erin matter-of-factly.
Almost all of the 1,000+ students swallowed hard. It was an odd scene. Hundreds of 10 year old kids around Donis began slightly trembling. Most of them looking like they have never even taken a leisurely stroll around their mansions, let alone participated in any training.
"If you collapse, you collapse. If you vomit, you vomit. If you break a bone, we have in-house healers ready to help you, potions to remedy you, and therapy to bring you back in within a days notice. I am here to make your life hard, so that when you leave this place, you'll be able to handle yourself no matter the situation," said Erin blankly.
"Come, we're going for a jog, a lap or three around the Academy should do us well for a warm-up," said Erin as he began jogging.
Everyone stared at him in disbelief, yet they were compelled to run along when they heard the maniac in front of them scream at the top of his lungs for them to move.
So they ran, and ran, until most of the class collapsed, some of them vomited, some of them actually made it the whole way around the Academy once. Donis wasn't amongst those, though. With his Agility and his Strength being so high for someone so young, he had an incredibly easy time with these exercises. This actually surprised him to no end. Leveling up was really broken.
Yet that didn't stop him from trying to sneakily use his healing magic to try and replenish his stamina. Much to his surprise, it actually ate up his stamina like crazy. He felt even more out of breath after trying to heal himself when he was uninjured.
'The hell? Why is it draining me? I know it only heals wounds, but it shouldn't work like this. I've healed myself many times after I cut myself on a corner, or branch or all those self inflicted wounds to level the bastard up,' thought Donis in between breaths.
Eventually the class was then forced to do even more exercises, Erin living up to his word of breaking them. Some even cried, most just threw up, never having done this much physical work in their lives.
When they were dismissed, even more cried from happiness.
They slowly made their way to the next lecture, Weapon Classes. Each one trying to recuperate any and all energy they can before they're forced to do anything else. Even the usually talkative Adel was barely mentally there. Donis was thankful for that, the boy could chat for the Kingdom probably.
When Donis arrived at the next class, he found himself in a very open room. It was a large room, with desks arranged in a semi circular pattern facing a blackboard like normal, but what wasn't normal was that in front of the blackboard there was a small fighting ring. It looked brand new and made from stone. It was even slightly risen from the floor.
Everyone quickly rushed to any and all seats available, collapsing immediately on their desks. No one was talking, but the room was full of their voices panting still. Even then, no one heard the man walk into the room until he announced his presence with a loud cough.
[Name: Ronoroa Aden]
[Age: 80]
[Level: 140][? EXP]
[Mana State: Essence]
[Health: ?]
[Mana?]
[Occupation: Lecturer at Vernaic Magisterium]
?
"I am called Ronoroa Aden, of the Aden Lineage. You may call me master and nothing else. I'm here to teach you about weapon theory, weapon usage, and to train you in whatever weapon you find most apt. I do not care for your names until you decide on a weapon, then we shall talk. For now, sit and listen, we will go over the theory starting immediately," said Ronoroa.
He was a middle aged looking man, with a slender stature. He wore black overalls, and a tight belt with a sheath on his back. His brown hair greying, but not entirely there yet. A round nose with an unscarred, cleanly shaven face.
Donis felt a weird familiar tug at the name, but he put no real thoughts into it, glad that this is theory for now, and that he can actually focus on understanding this worlds use for weaponry when magic was so abundant.
They went over weapon types on the first day, from swords to hyper specific sickle-type long range weapons. The class had never heard of so many types, not that many had even seen a weapon not wielded by the city guards. Yet they were all enamoured by the idea of having a weapon of their own.
Donis wondered what sort of weapon would suit him. He was super content on the idea of using a staff as his weapon of choice, but maybe in melee combat if he ever ran out of mana, or something prevented him from using his spells, it would be good to be able to fight back still.
Looking at his skills, he noticed that he's actually suited for a cover ops type of position. His previous choices of trying to survive the life changing ordeal actually made him a nearly perfect assassin. Yet he had no call to be an assassin. He couldn't see himself sneaking around and silently killing his enemies.
'How would I be able to show off my op powers?' mused Donis.
***
As the class got dismissed, Donis was ready to head out back to his carriage, glad that the day was finally over. As he got to the carriage though, a man was already waiting there for him.
"Hello, Donis Laurent?" said the man.
"Yes, who are you?"
"I'm just here to guide you to the Genius class as an official member. Your family has been notified that you'll be staying late every second day for these extra classes," said the man as he handed Donis a parchment with the info.
It told him where to go, yet the man continued guiding him to the class, Donis accepted this weird tidbit and followed.
They arrived to a relatively close and nondescript set of doors. They looked just like any other. Yet when they opened the doors, there were so many people there, and with Donis scanning them all quickly, he noticed that they were all at [Wisp] Mana State, and all had a single title. Each one of them also had an aura when Donis activated the mana vision part of [Ocular Inspection].
Uncertain of what being a genius meant this early on in the year, quite literally being the first day, Donis sat down. The people around him seemed to be of all ages, from 10 years old to 17 years old.
Lorenzo Galathris walked up to the front of the room, and silence reigned.
"Greetings young ones. This year we're starting a new project, the Genius class. Now you're wondering why now, and why you. Well, it's simple, there are so many talents amongst the youth, that we found it unfair on them to keep them learning at the same speed as everyone else. The people chosen all have a blessing, or an incredible track record of skill and study. This class will be dedicated to furthering your knowledge on everything related to specializations. Class, magic, jobs, and weapons. The Academy will support any and all of you in these roles, so do not be afraid to use our resources, you are the most promising candidates yet, do not disappoint us for placing you here."
After the speech, Lorenzo explained that today wont be a normal class, this was for just the introduction. Donis was upset, but he also needed a proper break already, the whole day was starting to take its toll on him.
'I'll finally be able to get answers on the stuff that no one has bothered explaining to me yet. Like what in hell are job transfers, or what even are combat jobs,' Donis thought excitedly, his little greedy heart unable to be teased of info like this.
His excitement soon wore off, as the ride back to his home still took a while, which made him realise just how tired he was. He nearly dozed off in the carriage but held on by sheer willpower of a 10 year old boy. The entire day may not have been that taxing to him when taken bit by bit, but together it ended up getting to him. It was one of the most exhausting days he's had in a long time.
As soon as he got home his mother had already a meal prepared, and asked him about his day. Hearing her child was barely there and falling asleep while eating, she took it upon herself to get Korrin to bring the boy to bed. He was adorable. The two mused that this might be one of the last few times they'll still need to care for him. It was painful to realise that their boy was growing up, but they knew it would happen. It happened to all of their other kid, this'll be no different.