CH 16
Later that day, Ivan returned to his lodge after the orientation for new students ended. Classes were officially starting the next day, and the orientation was designed to prepare the students for what they could expect over the following months.
They had first been congratulated for making it into the Red Star Royal Academy as not just anyone could attend this academy, they were told to take pride in this as their future was bound to be great. Next was telling the students to forget about their backgrounds and focus on working hard as only making progress would prove their worth in the academy.
Their family backgrounds had no meaning here and they were all on equal footing as long as the academy was involved. Of course, this was what the teachers said but the students knew it was bullshit.
While it wasn't a standard set by the academy, students still used their family status and influence to grade themselves.
In summary, there were three levels. On the first level were those from rated noble families, they had the highest standing amongst students in the academy and could do almost anything they wanted thanks to their family's standing.
On the second level were those from non-rated noble families and those who awakened powerful abilities. While they didn't have as many privileges as those on the first level, they were at least able to protect themselves and live peacefully in the academy.
As for the lowest level, these were students from common backgrounds and students with abilities that were considered trash.
This system left Ivan slightly confused. He was from a rated noble family, a first rated noble family at that. But his Paladin-class was considered trash, so what level was he?
Nevertheless, what truly got Ivan's attention was the ranking system of the academy which was released after every assessment which happened three times every year; meaning it would continue even after they graduated to senior year students.
According to the teacher who had spoken during the orientation, an assessment was held in the fourth month after three months of attending classes.
The fourth month was used for the Assessment as well as a short break for the students before resuming classes in the following month.
These Assessments had two parts, the solo Assessment and the squad Assessment. Rewards for both rankings were quite promising, this was why Ivan had become interested.
For the solo Assessment, rewards for students who made it into the ranking were mana core. While for squad Assessment, the reward was access to the academy's mana chamber and more mana cores!
"The team that gets first place on the squad ranking will be able to use the mana chamber for a whole month," Ivan thought to himself as he imagined how much his strength would increase if he could use the mana chamber every day for a whole month!
Then came the problem. He would need a team for the squad ranking and their performance had to be good enough, he couldn't do this alone since his ability as a Paladin was still limited right now.
He had to find good teammates!
"But who would want to team up with a Paladin?" Ivan thought with a mocking smile. The current mindset of humans towards some abilities was just too shallow.
Shaking his head, Ivan decided to leave this problem for later. Worrying about it now wasn't going to change anything.
He had already checked out the academy manual, class numbers, and studied the academy layout; he basically knew everything that a first-year student should at this point.
For classes, first-year students had five theory classes and two practical classes.
The theory classes were Beast knowledge, Dungeon studies, Abilities, Mana-related studies, and General knowledge.
As for the practical classes, they were combat training, and Team formation.
The timetable was inside the academy manual so students would know which day they were having which subject. Ivan had also found out which classrooms he was assigned to for each of these classes, that was the purpose of the classroom numbers that were included in the storage ring he had received.
With nothing left to do, Ivan sat in a meditative position on his bed. He focused on sensing the mana in the air around him, this process took a few seconds.
Now that he was at the second stage of the level 1 warrior rank, his sensitivity to mana was stronger than when he was still at the first stage.
Shortly after sensing the mana around him, Ivan started trying to control them. Without the help of the mana chamber pushing the mana towards him, trying to control mana on his own still took him a few seconds.
After completing this process, next step was guiding the mana towards himself and into his mana core.
'The amount of mana is too little and the flow is slow. At this rate, it'll take me months to reach the next stage.' Ivan thought to himself.
He had to gain access to the academy's mana chamber!
After hours of absorbing mana, Ivan gradually opened his eyes as a soft pain attacked his stomach.
It was hunger!
He hadn't eaten anything except breakfast with his family before coming to the academy and it was already evening, Ivan's stomach was protesting to the injustice it was being subjected to.
Letting out a sigh, Ivan got up from his bed and went to freshen up before changing into casual clothes. As long as they weren't attending classes, students weren't required to wear their uniform.
After getting ready, Ivan wore his two storage rings on his fingers and left his lodge.
The sky outside was rapidly getting dark but it was still possible to see clearly, the cool evening breeze blew around, making Ivan feel refreshed.
Coming outside his lodge, Ivan saw several other students in the lodge area.
It was already evening and with everyone having found their lodge, Ivan didn't expect the place to be as quiet as when he first came here.
He only glanced at the students before leaving, not saying anything to them. The students also looked at him from afar without approaching.
Ivan was currently heading to the cafeteria, where students were able to eat for free.
Well, it was the only place where students could get food while in the academy.
While leaving the lodge area, Ivan glanced at the first and second buildings. Since he had gotten the third lodge, he wondered who had gotten the first two.
Not duelling much on the topic, Ivan departed for the cafeteria. He came across more students on the way but didn't interact with any.
After some time, Ivan arrived in front of the huge building that was the cafeteria. It was a tall building with five floors.
According to the academy manual, first-year students were only allowed to enter the lowest first. The second floor upwards were for senior students according to what year they were in, the first floor was used by final year students and teachers of the academy.
'Is there a difference between the food on each floor?' Ivan thought as he entered the building.
He found himself in a large hall with dozens of long dining tables placed around the place and rows of seats surrounding each table.
Some students were already eating when Ivan arrived, and several pairs of eyes landed equally on him when he entered the cafeteria.
With just a glance around the place, Ivan saw something that made him frown.
'So soon?'