I Reject Quests

"Aah! Can I not visit you without a reason?"

Zelic playfully pouted and showed an expression as if she had been wronged.

Seeing this, Rewen silently thought. 'When I used to read those web novels, I have seen these kinds of character templates and found them annoying yet lovable. Where the heck did the 'lovable' part go to now?'

Regarding her clichéd question, he didn't even bother answering it. Part of the reason is that he is afraid of triggering another random quest. The rest is her being too annoying. Unfortunately, even if he doesn't respond, he would be forced to hear her. 

"I need to go to the washroom." Without giving her time to speak, he left the classroom leaving the other party speechless.

In a way, although Rewen is a very rigid and inflexible person he isn't unsociable. He will willingly engage in a conversation if the person he is talking to would have sincere or meaningful thoughts. However, he is hell-bent on not entertaining those with the likes of Zelic and other similar people. Not to mention, his mood was ruined because of the backhead hit.

Washing his face in the washroom, he went to the crowded assembly grounds. Along the way, he heard some interesting commotions and decided to learn more about them. 

A bruised young man laid on the ground. 

"What? Are you still not satisfied? Say, I might have bad blood and my status might be lowly compared to you lots but are you so sure that the prefects won't give a damn?"

Opposite to him, two men looked at each other panting. Then, one of them glared at the bruised man and sneered. 

"Let's meet up after classes, shall we?"

Not bothering with the gathered crowd, they left. 

Some were filming the whole scene with their cell phones. Some didn't bother with the commotion. Some, like Rewen, were curiously looking at the bruised young man. Hearing the conversations of the nearby students, he got the general idea of what had happened. 

It turns out that the bruised young man is a distant relative of a "Seeker". They are part of a distinguished race in the neighbouring Frozen Fire Kingdom. Although they are technically still human, a small portion of their blood is green. Until twenty years in the past, the Eastern Dream Kingdom and the Frozen Fire Kingdom were in a cold war. Although in a civilized society like today's world, racial discriminations were frowned upon, some disputes were unavoidable.

It's indeed a very narrow-minded action but so what? Justice is merely a term. Do they have to go to jail just because they hit him? Let alone compensation, they would at most receive some lecture. 

Watching the entire show, Rewen felt a bit conflicted. 'This guy can sure boast in a place he shouldn't belong.' Getting merged with the new memories, he learned some things and developed sentiments for the country. Regarding this matter, he accepted his new emotions without any qualms. In an unfamiliar place like this, he couldn't just develop mind turmoil and had to keep things straight. 

A few seconds later, the bruised guy got up and left.

Ten minutes later, the Director came onto the stage and gave a usual speech. However, as he progressed, the contents of the speech became more and more serious. 

"... Remember to not pride yourself as the young talents of the kingdom. Don't have too much hope in yourself. I see that some of you look dissatisfied. Very well, let me tell you how the system works."

"Every year, only about 400 out of 1800 students graduate from this Academy. You can check out the records if you doubt my credibility. Coming to the point, even after you imagine you get past all the obstacles and troubles to graduate successfully having the chance to enlist yourself as a "Combatant", it is but a mere 'chance'."

"This Academy is only one of the twelve first-tier institutions in the kingdom. Although, technically cadets graduating from our Academy are more in quantity as well as quality, others are not too far behind. Each year, there are only 500 seats available for a Novice Combatant. On an average basis, out of our Academy's 400 graduated cadets, less than a hundred can acquire the title of a "Novice Combatant". Let me round it up now. The Division you are enrolled in, that is, Secondary 11th Division has 300 freshmen but as a whole, there are about 13500 freshmen in the entire Eastern Dream Academy."

The Director stopped there. He swept a glance among the crowd and took a deep breath. "You evaluate your worth yourself!"

He left, leaving the entire assembly mute. 

A few minutes later, the freshmen were told to go back to their respective classes.

On his way back, Rewen looked at the burning sun and wiped off the sweat formed on his forehead. 

"Too f*cking hot." Before he transmigrated over, the place he was living in had a moderate climate. Although there were still four seasons and twelve months, the climate was not too extreme. 'Now don't ask me why there were four seasons and twelve months.'

"Want to meet up after class?"

Just as he was complaining about the weather, he suddenly heard a female voice from behind. He was considering how to reply when he looked at the speaker and let out a wry smile.

"Sure. I actually have some things to discuss with you."

She was Svety, a tall and lively girl. Hearing Rewen's response, she nodded with a smile, then asked. "Is it serious?"

Rewen nodded back without a word.

"Alright! I was hoping to invite some of my friends but since it's serious, let's save it for another day. Let's meet at the cafeteria in the afternoon."

He chatted a bit with her, before heading to his classroom. Looking at the back of the departing figure, he sighed softly. A minute later, he came back to the classroom and sat on his seat. Soon, a middle-aged man came and gave his introduction.

"Good morning everyone. My name is Alrocit Dominic and I'll be your homeroom teacher for the first year. Any questions?"

A boy in the front raised his hands and asked. 

"What is the basic syllabus and curriculum?"

The surrounding students also nodded their heads. There is a universal law - "Before turning 18, one is not allowed to engage or deal with magic, be it theory or practical." Therefore, the first years have very little idea about what they would learn. 

Alrocit raised his eyes. 

"I'll get to that. But before we discuss the syllabus, can anyone tell me why is there a law like - not allowed to engage in magic before eighteen?"

A student in one of the front seats answered. "Isn't it because kids who try to learn magic are more prone to interference?"

Interference is a mental disability that has the same awareness as suicide. When a person's soul space gets invaded by a soul remnant, he/she loses the capability to make rational decisions. There are five stages of interference. In the worst case scenario, people can lose their rationale completely.

Alrocit nodded. "That's one of the reasons. The other reason is pretty practical and simple. I'm sure not a single one of you present here is not excited about your course, isn't that right? Now, you people are grown-ups and we can fully trust our knowledge to you. It's like - imagine a kid throwing a fireball at your windows. Should he be punished by jail time?"

Everyone turned quiet.

Alrocit then shifted the topic. "Regarding the syllabus... First, let's discuss your subjects. There are technically three in total - Mana Mechanics, P.E., History. Well, there is also 'Advanced Mechanics' but it's not a mandatory subject. There is only a single class of it in a week. Students interested can apply for it, though I recommend you do not. By the way, I'll also be teaching you Mana Mechanics.

"Coming to the curriculum, in theory, there would be ten monthly tests. No semester wise exams for theory. For practicals, there would be two mock tests and two merit-based combat programs. Mock tests would be conducted by trained instructors who would mark you based on your abilities and potential. Combat programs will be held two times a year in June and December. These two programs are also termed as "Summer Program" and "Winter Program" respectively. Here, unlike Mock Tests, you would have to duel with fellow cadets to achieve a rank. Any questions?" 

"How important is the rank?"

"Well, giving an accurate estimate, I would say that for your promotion to next year, the ranks of two combat programs would have 30% significance. Our Eastern Dream Academy is a superinstitution and it has countless kinds of geniuses. Some are proficient in combats, some in artifact forging, some in alchemy and many others. Those who aren't well-suited for combat can't possibly waste their talent suited for some other departments."

Another bout of questions erupted and the teacher was explaining things patiently. While the teacher was explaining, Rewen's mind was somewhere else. Crossing over from his world, he had been thinking about the state of his close ones. Coming to an unknown place, he was feeling distressed most of the time. The reason he didn't act unnaturally was that he understood that he won't get back to his world acting such. After a while, his mind drifted towards the system he got yesterday. It was exactly the item he needed in his circumstance. 

I have to make good use of it and not be led around by it.

He called the system interface and took a good look at it.

****

-----

Host: Rewen Klofar

Bloodline: Human (100%)

Age: 18

Strength: 5

Agility: 5

Endurance: 5

HP: 50/50

MP: 0

Skills: [Free-Style Knights Combat  (Initial Stage)]

----

[Basic Knights and Magic System]

[Male God System]

[Bloodline System]

****

'I must decide my priorities and goals. I'll have to be specific for that so I have to make notes but I obviously can't right now. I'll do that in the evening. For now, let's see… to return to my planet, I have to study about Space and become an [Explorer].  Hm, that's enough.'

Collecting his thoughts, he attentively listened to his homeroom teacher.

"Now that everyone is done asking questions, let's just jump right into the subject 'Mana Mechanics'. From the name itself, you would have guessed that yes, it is a subject concerning mana and how it works - in fields as well as in daily lives. It is just like any other forms of energy but it isn't a form of energy. Practically, mana can be created and destroyed. So is it just matter? Maybe. We don't know actually. Mana can be stored but not experimented upon.

"When you are performing a skill, what mana does is gather up the natural energy from the surroundings and trigger infinite chain reactions simultaneously. That exact moment is what we call the "alpha" stage of the skill. Theoretically, everyone in the world can reach the "alpha" stage of any skill. It doesn't matter how much your affinity with elements and properties is. The next stage, as you have already guessed, is called the "beta" stage. In this stage, you must immediately halt the chain reactions, condense and connect it to your innate mana string. Innate mana strings are nothing but the string-like structure you feel when you allow the mana to flow inside your body.

"Remember. These things I'm telling you are complicated stuff. The reason I'm explaining it briefly is that it is an introductory class. Any questions?"

A guy sitting in front asked quickly. "How do elements or properties work in learning a skill?"

"A basic but good question. The thing about elements or properties is that they are very random and unpredictable. What I mean by random and unpredictable is your inborn magic resonance. Although magic resonance to some extent can be manipulated, for the most part, it is random. Yes, genetics is a major factor but only people with more than 40% magic resonance can rest assured that their offspring will have a magic resonance of at least 30%. And our entire Eastern Dream Superinstitution only has nine cadets who have more than 40% resonance. Out of them, only one of them has parents with superior genes."

Alrocit took a deep breath and continued.