Chapter 19: Fisherman
"Excuse me!" One of the regulars said getting off their seat.
"What does the 'best seed' behind some of the names mean?" He asked.
Lero ro smiled softly.
"Best Seed is the title given to people that performed well in the previous tests. It provides extra marks throughout the tests and bonus points in the final selection." He explained.
Hearing his words, some of the regulars were surprised.
"What? How come we only get to find out now?!"
"You should've told us something like this was going to happen!"
"What the hell is this?!"
One of the regulars, the woman in Laure's team pointed to Shibisu.
"And how come he gets selected?!" She exclaimed.
"Yeah?! What did I do?!" Shibisu exclaimed in agreement. "Did I bribe someone?" He muttered softly to himself.
Lero ro shook his head.
"All results of the positioning test are fair and have been made according to all of your performances."
His eyes turned into a sharp glare, quieting down the regulars. "If you couldn't perform at your best in the face of failure in the test or even death, then there's no possible way any of you would be more motivated to perform better at the allure of Best Seed position. Now stop asking stupid questions, you regulars."
As his words landed, there was silence in the hall for a moment.
Nobody spoke, not wanting to enrage the ranker through bad conduction of their words.
At that moment, Khun spoke up.
"Hey, administrator Lero ro. What about the ones that are injured? How will they take their test?"
Winston looked towards him, not finding Bam with him.
He's still injured huh... thinking over the peculiarity of the boy, Winston's eyes narrowed imperceptibly.
"When they are cured they will have to take the classes. However, points are given based on the attendance score so missing any classes is a disadvantage." Lero ro explained.
"Isn't that unfair?" Khun countered. "The injured ones will obviously miss some classes." He said.
Lero ro shook his head.
"It's perfectly fair. In the first place, it is their own responsibility that they stay in optimum condition. Injury can only be blamed on them. It is their own fault for not being careful." He said simply.
"It's obvious that people pay for their mistakes... isn't it?" He said.
Khun didn't say anything in response.
"Well, that's it for today. Oh right. One more thing." He continued. "There's some issues with the wave controller instructor so their classes will start after 3 days. The rest of the classes will operate as per their schedule starting from tomorrow.
"For now, the position instructors will provide you with your schedules. Please follow the guides to get to where your instructors are." He clapped his hands together.
"Dismissed!"
With that Lero ro walked out of the room.
The regulars sat in silence for a moment before they too began to head outside.
Winston looked at Amon who seemed happy to have been given the Scout position, while for Zarhan...
"So... your full name is Zarhan Zulasekail?" He asked.
Zarhan turned to him, his eyes filled with annoyance.
"Shut up!" He yelled.
Winston shrugged his shoulders.
"Hey, its not my fault you didn't get fisherman. If you wanted that position, you ought to have enough sense to not carry around a spear with you." He said.
Zarhan clenched his teeth in further annoyance.
"Um. Why are you so mad over your position Mr. Zarhan?" Amon asked.
Hearing that, Zarhan puffed out his chest and exhaled from his nose.
"Let me tell you about my family then!" The pride in his voice couldn't be mistaken for anything else. His hand was pressed to his chest as he looked towards the ceiling as if in deep reverence towards his family.
"The Zulasekail family us a family with over 7000 years of history! That's older than even some princesses of Jahad!" He boasted.
"The main branch of my family, which I hail from has always produced Fisherman! While the secondary branches have produced the other positions such as Spear Bearers, Light Bearers, Scouts and Wave Contollers!"
Amon nodded in enlightenment.
"Then why not carry around a needle or a hook as a weapon?" Amon asked in puzzlement. "Aren't those the signature weapons of the fishermen?"
"There is a single reason." Zarhan's expression turned serious. "Because spears are cool."
Winston and Amon looked at him blankly.
"You're not very bright are you?" Winston said.
Amon chuckled at the side.
"Huh?! What's that supposed to mean?!" He yelled in his face.
"Didn't you family tell you to practice with any other weapon?"
"No? Why would they?"
So there's no family expectations to speak of... they're really all right with any position. It seems he's really just an idiot. Winston sighed. It seems that his initial judgement of Zarhan being somewhat intellectual was wrong.
"How many rankers does your family have Mr. Zarhan?" Amon asked.
"Close to 100." Zarhan said scratching the back of his head.
"Well, now that you've been assigned as a spear bearer, there's nothing you can do to change that." Winston said with a shrug.
"Let's do our best, Mr. Zarhan!" Amon exclaimed from the side.
Zarhan, with a sour expression nodded.
Well, that takes care of that. Winston smiled in satisfaction.
~~~
The Fisherman training grounds weren't too far off from the mothership, only being about 10 kilometers or so into the west. Or at least what would pass as the west if one figured the movements of the floating ball of fire in the sky. It only took 3 minutes for Winston to reach the grounds.
The training ground was a giant expanse with huge pillars erected up from the ground so high up as if they wanted to hold up the sky. Each pillar was a perfectly smooth white in colour, the top of which was plain for the regulars to stand on. The total length of a single pillar was anywhere between 300 to 320 meters as per Winston's deduction.
Winston looked around as he stood atop one of the pillars. The regulars that had been elected for the fisherman position were 18 in number, out of which only 4 would pass for the final position. It was worth mentioning that 5 of the regulars had previously been injured, meaning that they were currently not present.
Winston looked towards the sky, where a lone figure sat atop a conch shell like object. It was a woman, her face adorned by a giant glass helmet with two long pig tails extending from her head.
"Welcome to the regulars that have made their way to the fisherman class." The ranker spoke.
"My name is Hex, your fisherman teacher and one of the judges for the final position selection as well. As you might've been notified, each class carries points that will be added to your score. So, even missing single class can be disadvantageous." The ranker's voice echoed in the air.
"For the first day at work, I will provide you with a schedule as well as the basic principles of shinsu and contracts." She said. The shell that she floated on began to slowly descend down from the air.
"For starters, let's begin with the shinsu." She said, suddenly jumping down from her mount and landing upon one of the pillars without any damage.
"Shinsu is the world itself. It can be fire, water, light or any other conceivable form. It is what allows us to breathe and live. In fact, there is no single form of word that perfectly encapsulates the essence of shinsu and it is the basis of all energy." She said, her fist getting surrounded by a whirlpool of light.
Winston hurriedly activated his spirit vision to look at her actions.
The ranker Hex stopped for a split second, too fast for anyone to notice, save for Winston himself. And although her eyes couldn't be seen from below her helmet, Winston felt as if she had just looked at him.
Did she sense the spirit vision? He thought to himself.
The ranker spoke again without giving him any time to ponder.
"Shinsu can be used to anything. It can easily destroy an entire floor in the hands of someone capable enough." She continued, the light and waves around her growing more restless.
Winston carefully read through the waves, noticing how the ranker wrapped them around her arms and fists.
"As such, on each floor, one needs to sign a contract with the administrator to utilize it. Any object that controls shinsu already has an in built contract that has already been signed in the workshop, that is why it can use shinsu.
"For the first day, you will all sign a contract with the administrator. Mr. Winston, I believe has already signed one with the administrator."
Winston, at being called out was a bit surprised. But his body language remained relaxed and nonchalant, a smile on his face.
"Well, yes. I have." He said.
He had read previously about the conditions to use shinsu, finding that he, as someone that had not yet established a contract should not be allowed to use it. However, somehow he was.
He gave that credit to his uniqueness in bring an irregular, someone that defied the common sense and the rules of the tower. This led him to conclude the fact that he should simply lie through his teeth should anyone ask him about a contract.
As for making the contract himself?
Having read Lord of Mysteries, Winston wasn't too keen on making contracts with Gods. There was also the fact that: why would he seek permission to use something, when he can already use it without?
"Close your eyes everyone and set your pockets to visible mode."
The regulars did as commanded.
"Now, say 'Contract with the administrator'."
~~~
The first day of the class ended with the administrator contract. And later, the schedule was sent to each of their pockets. There was also a brief session of shinsu theory, amid which Hex explained to them about the various terminologies of shinsu.
It explained terms lime Baang, Myun and soo. Baang is the basic unit of shinsu which is measured. It generally refers to a singular coalition of shinsu made by a user. Myun can be thought of as the amount, while Soo can be thought of as purity.
Winston sunk into his bed as he contemplated the happenings of the day.
He held up his fist into the air, thinking over the ranker's actions and the ball of shinsu he had made.
It is very hard to manipulate shinsu... generally that is.
With a simple though, Winston concentrated his thoughts and spirituality with the help of cogitation.
Then, he coalesced the surrounding shinsu into a small sphere by the side, a small ball of light.
Winston stared at it for a moment with his spirit vision activated and then, a light bulb seemingly went off inside his head.
Right in front of his vision, the ball of shinsu began to undergo certain changes.
Heh. Imagination is the limit in the case of Shinsu. He thought. It would seem that he would be pulling another all nighter with his research.
~~~
A/N: Throw some stones.
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