[5/15 - Morning]
Zipping around the room, the arm of the doctorate-bearing man became a blur with chalk streaking in rapid motions. Hastily drawn yet remarkably accurate diagrams and notes flooded the blackboard at a speed rivaling Ruby's when she moved within her Semblance.
In less than a minute, the once-empty surface of the blackboard was filled to the brim.
Placing the chalk on his table, the professor pushed his glasses up as he scanned the lecture hall.
"Greetings, everyone! I am Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck—emphasis on the Doctor title; I did not study for years to earn this doctorate for it to be ignored—and I will be responsible for teaching the known history of Remnant. We shall begin with the first chapter of our syllabus: a brief revision of Remnant's origins—"
The disheveled doctor produced a retractable pointer seemingly out of thin air, snapping it to its maximum length before jabbing it toward the relevant section of the blackboard. The abrupt introduction and immediate dive into the lecture caused Cleval to freeze for a moment in stunned silence before he scrambled for his pen and paper.
The speed of Doctor Oobleck's lecture was blindsiding. One moment, he was explaining a point in the chapter; the next, he had already veered off into a tangent that seemed unrelated, yet somehow shared distinct parallels with the original topic. And his rapid-fire speaking pace—keeping up was a painful endeavor; the doctor spoke so fast that it was hard to jot down everything without hurting his hand from all the writing.
The only break they received came when Doctor Oobleck paused to take a sip from his mug of endless coffee. Seconds later, he plunged straight back into the lecture without warning.
During one such break, Clerval glanced over at his classmates beside him. Aside from the few diligent souls still furiously jotting down notes, most of them had clearly surrendered, with their eyes unfocused, expressions blank, and notepads empty.
Two hours of listening to their professor enthusiastically explain the first signs of the history of the world later, the bell rang as the clock struck twelve, prompting a wave of relief to sweep through the lecture hall as countless students let out long, exhausted breaths.
At the sound of the bell, Doctor Oobleck cleared his throat and retracted his lecture pointer.
"Hmm, right on time. Thank you all for attending today's first lesson. For homework, I expect a three-page essay covering the material and history discussed in today's class, due by our next session."
Ignoring the collective groan sounding from his assignment, the doctor gathered his notes and mug of coffee before blitzing out of the hall.
Shaking off the strain from using the pen in his hand, Clerval stared at his notebook that was filled with hastily scribbled notes.
He hadn't been able to keep up with the lesson at all. Perhaps if his Knowledge and Proficiency was at a higher level, he might have been able to absorb everything the lecture had thrown at him.
But at the very least, he could feel his Knowledge grow somewhat from all that cramming.
His neck was suddenly wrapped in a muscular arm, accompanied by the faint scent of lilac.
"Hey, Gray, that was a tough lecture, huh?" Yang said, leaning in as her gaze drifted to the notebook in front of him. "Yeesh—you actually managed to catch what the prof was teaching? Not bad at all, you nerd."
He shrugged as Weiss stepped closer to inspect his notes. After a brief scan, she gave a satisfied nod. "Good. At least there's someone on this team who can somewhat keep up on their own. You two, pack up—we're reviewing today's class and finishing this homework after lunch."
"What?!" Ruby yelped, turning to her partner with an exaggerated, cutesy pout. "But I promised Jaune and Nora that we'd play Road Brawlers Five later after they're done with their team training. C-Can we do it tomorrow or something...?"
Weiss was having none of it. A single glare was enough to shut the younger girl up entirely. "No buts. We're settling this today. Blake, restrain your partner."
Her response was a dismissive hum, never once lifting her eyes from her book. Weiss sighed in frustration.
Since they were free of lectures for the day, he grabbed his Scroll and turned it on to look at the time. Sliding the arm off his neck, he asked if they were allowed to leave campus for Vale with the thought of exploring the city to sort out his finances.
"Hmm? Yep, that's allowed," Yang replied as she packed up her belongings. "Honestly, from what I've heard from our seniors, as long as we're back before curfew—ten at night—they don't really restrict us."
Ruby, being tugged along by Weiss, perked up and pointed. "Hey! Why can Clerval go to Vale when we're stuck doing homework?! As team leader, I order you to stay and endure the torture with us!"
"At least he actually managed to keep up in class. Plus, I believe that he will complete his assigned homework in due time. Compared to you, who almost slept through the whole lecture, he is a responsible person." Weiss raised an eyebrow at Ruby, who looked sheepish.
It didn't hurt to be transparent with his team, so he explained his reasons for wanting to visit Vale. That immediately prompted a barrage of suggestions for part-time work from Yang, who was the only one among them with actual experience in that department.
As for the others...
Ruby scratched the back of her neck sheepishly. "Dad didn't let me try it out... and talking to strangers is scary!"
Weiss snorted, arms crossed. "Why would a Schnee ever need to do part-time work?"
Blake simply turned a page in her book. "I'm not from Vale."
And just like that, the only advice he could rely on came from the, if he were being honest, rather explosive member of the group.
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[5/15 - After Classes]
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Stepping off the Bullhead filled with fellow students, Clerval slipped both hands into his pockets and began walking away from the station with the intent of exploring the streets of Vale.
Being one of the four Kingdoms Remnant had to offer, Vale was without question the safest haven against the Grimm on the Sanus Continent, with second place going to its eastern neighbor, Vacuo.
Still, seeing was believing.
Even Clerval couldn't hide the surprise on his face as he made his way toward the heart of Vale's commercial district. Everywhere he looked, thousands of people filled his vision—humans and Faunus alike—with the streets alive with movement, voices, and color.
A lot of color.
Glancing down at the map in his hand, he noted his current location: Zone 8 of Vale's twenty-two designated zones.
Zones 1 through 6 were residential. Zones 7 through 12 housed the commercial districts. Zones 13 through 18 marked Vale's industrial sectors. The remaining zones belonged to Beacon Academy, with the majority of that space devoted to the Emerald Forest.
Moving the shock out of the way, however, he quickly focused his attention back to the crux of the matter.
Shaking off his initial shock, he quickly refocused on the matter at hand.
Finding a part-time job. And doing a bit of window shopping for furniture or small items to help pass the evenings.
Yang had already highlighted several part-time jobs she'd picked up over the past few years on the map, so he decided to start there and try his luck. Hopefully, they'd be willing to offer him a decently paid, flexible part-time position for a Huntsman-in-training; he'd read online that many stores tended to hesitate when it came to hiring students like him.
The general public does not enjoy being around Huntsmen, from what he gathered.
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A/N: I had to take a break for a few days. I came back home dead tired, and I was supposed to post a chapter yesterday when I simply crashed asleep before night came, without even eating dinner.
Going to work early in the morning with 3-4 hours of sleep for the past few weeks finally caught up to me, LOL.
NEXT UPDATE: 14 March, Saturday
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