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Notes from Author:
Hello readers, I wanted to say sorry for not posting chapters recently. I do not have any stockpiled, so once I finish one I edit and then post it. The novel is getting contracted, so expect a more consistent release schedule from now on. I am looking forward to writing more, developing the story, and hearing everyones feedback.
Thank you for reading and consider joining discord: https://discord.gg/zEpATCuRRZ, I will be managing it much more from now on.
- Tripple1ZRO
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It has been a week since Max joined the academy. He made friends with his roommate Oliver and with a few other peers, but with Max's soul being a few decades older than them and him retaining all of the memories from his previous life, Max did not find their conversations or gossip truly entertaining. His communication with them was more him networking with them instead of attempting to make friends. Max understood that most children in the academy had their families standing behind them. Some were either renowned merchants, mages, or nobles. Communicating with them would be beneficial long term for his future, and Max did not find it all too difficult or bothersome, since they were all well educated and talented, most likely growing up into great people if not mages and knights in the future.
Attending theory, history, language, and many other classes, Max realized that a lot of the students already knew some parts of the material, so whenever he had questions about homework or some doubts about something that was not talked about in class, he would inquire his friends.
Through his networking and high talent for becoming a mage and a knight, Max has secured a leading position in the group. Not that it matters, or was ever established, all his friends simply understood the fact that he had an extremely high dual talent and that his future limits would most likely be higher than theirs, so establishing a good relationship with him would also be beneficial for them in the long run. And Max was happy to see this because he was sure that his friends have mentioned him to their families in their letters. This was sure to happen because due to their family statuses, their lives have been fully guided and trained since birth, so whom they socialize with within the academy was of great significance. He was confident that these families have already checked his background through some means and confirmed that he is indeed a good person to befriend. If they have not done this, he would question how they got to their positions and achieved success.
Therefore, Max was glad that he surrounded himself with some smart and talented kids who come from good background, which he could use in the future to inquire about his father's whereabouts, acquiring resources, or solve any troubles he comes by in the coming years.
Besides making friends with these children, Max has also considered looking after Lily and Lucas, the children who travelled with him to the academy with Faust. He knew that they did not possess any background or a strong talent at that, but also coming from an insignificant background and studying at the academy which was of privileged students, could be challenging and he wanted to ensure that they wouldn't get bullied or taken advantage of. Sadly, they were put in different classes, and until now he did not get a chance to see either of them, so he could only wait until he ran into them on the street.
Today Max woke up in a lazy manner. It was not because he stayed up until morning chatting with his friends about school, life, girls, and many other things, but because yesterday Instructor Brunt made them run until the last one of the class fell. There was no lap or reward system. Students were only required to do one thing, and that was to run until their legs can no longer carry them. Although the class had already gotten used to the rough exercises and daily hour runs that Instructor Brunt enforced, this was next level. After the usual exercises they could still remain conscious and catch their breaths, but yesterday, most of the class passed out while running, planting their faces against the ground. Even Max was not an exception, as even though he was the last one to remain running, the exercise would not stop until he collapsed.
That is the reason behind Max struggling to open his eyes this morning. "Sigh, I wish I did not wake up today," said Max, as his roommate Oliver has already left the room to prepare for class. The reason Max did not wish to wake up today was honestly simple. He could still hear Instructor Brunt's scream in his ear:
"DO YOU ALL HONESTLY THINK THAT THIS IS ALREADY GOOD? YOUR BEST RUNNER COULD NOT EVEN RUN FOR THREE HOURS AT AN OPTIMAL PACE, AND YET YOU ARE STILL COMPLAINING AND CRYING. NOW THAT YOU HAVE TRAINED FOR A WEEK AND GAINED A TINY BIT OF STAMINA, TOMORROW WE START FIGHTING! NOW SCURRY BACK WHERE YOU CAME FROM AND EVERYONE BETTER BE HERE ON TIME TOMORROW, OTHERWISE, Heh."
Max vividly remembered the shiver that went through his spine hearing the threat. Even though he was excited to learn to fight, he was confident that he did not want to find out what would happen if he were late. That is better left to never be found out, and if anyone were to find out the hard way, he was sure that everyone would pray for their wellbeing.
With these thoughts, he prepared for the day and set out to classes.
So far Max's favorite class has been magic theory. Although no one in his grade has yet to awaken their talents and control the mana, Ms. Fairmont has done a great job in explaining the basics and helping the students understand the process of awakening.
She taught that awakening most of the time occurs naturally. It is an event when students have absorbed enough mana for them to finally feel in inside them, circulating within their meridians. They have learnt that although all living being contain mana in them, not all can awaken, as meridian flexibility, width, and strength play a significant role. They have to be strong enough to withstand the amounts of mana constantly circulating through them. This is where talent comes in. The higher the talent, the stronger and better are the meridians being able to carry more mana. Talent also determines how fast they can absorb mana. No living being can produce mana by themselves, therefore requiring consuming it from environment. Humans and other species like elves, which also possess talents, are able to increase the amount of mana that they can contain within them through training.
Ms. Fairmont has explained that the process of awakening can take anywhere from weeks to years, with some failing to ever awaken. It is a process that cannot be rushed because any tiny mistake can result in a failure and lead to catastrophic consequences. Some can awaken during fights, life and death moments, while walking, or in rare cases, sleeping. What awakeners have in common is that before awakening, they have all absorbed mana to their limits before breaking the shackles and breaking through into novice ranks.
A few hours have gone by.
Finishing up the rest of his classes for the day, Max rushed towards the training grounds where the fights were going to take place. Entering the grounds, he saw that most of the students have already arrived, so after spotting Andrew, a kid who kept up with him until he fainted during the first battle training class, he quickly made his way towards him.
Seeing Max quickly approaching his side, Andrew looking at him with a determined look and said: "Max, you might have a higher talent than me, but I have been learning to fight for a year now, so be prepared to be beaten to pulp by me".
"Andrew, you have still not given up? I might not have fought before, but I will be sure to beat you up if we get to fight." Responded Max.
"Well, let's see what will happen, anyway it is better than being late. You have no idea. Most of the people have skipped the previous class. They were so worried about the punishment that they dared to skip a class to ensure that they are not late," informed Andrew.
"You know, that might be smart, but watch them still be beaten by someone else. Haha." Joked Max as he calmly looked at Andrew. After Andrew passed out during the first run, he has been trying to beat Max and overcome him, taking him as a rival, which Max found both entertaining and motivating. Their shared anticipation crackled in the air as they eagerly awaited the start of the training battles.