Chapter 142: Chapter 142

Elise had never been good at sleeping on the nights before big days, and the night before classes started was no different. She had a hard time falling asleep in the first place, then woke up once in the middle of the night, and again half an hour before she was supposed to get up. Her dreams were disjointed and nonsensical, but all featured an odd medley of her best and worst memories from her days in school on Earth. The only upside to her restlessness is that she felt mostly wide awake when she got out of bed. She knew it wouldn’t last, and that she would start to crash around midday, but for now, she felt full of energy.

When she went downstairs after setting up her outfit, she found that Sophie was much the same way. She knew for a fact that Sophie had stayed up late reading, but here she was in the kitchen, decked out in her own first day of school outfit as she helped Bianca with breakfast. Usually, her classes at the Academy would start before Elise’s own University classes, but for this day only, she would be shadowing Elise at the University so she could attend the orientation that took the place of an ordinary lesson in the two mandatory classes, History of the System, and Modern Language.

The first class, History of the System, wouldn’t start until around nine in the morning, and it was only seven thirty, but as Elise had learned recently, the Grays were nothing if not punctual. Anything less than 15 minutes early was late to them. At least they wouldn’t have any problems finding a seat.

Breakfast was marginally fancier than usual with an assortment of sugary pastries from the bakery down the street in addition to the usual heaps of eggs and bacon. Irylax enjoyed this, eating about half the pastries herself while everyone else talked. After breakfast, Sophie and Elise ran through a checklist of school supplies that they had bought and stashed away in spatial storage bags. Then, together, they left.

The journey to the campus was a short one, and Sophie never stopped talking the whole way. She talked about the classes she was taking at the Academy, and how she thought they might compare to the ones at the University, and what her friends at the Academy said about the same topic, and ideas she had for ways she and Elise could study and just about every vaguely school-related subject in the world. Elise barely said more than ten words the entire way, just nodding and occasionally agreeing with what Sophie said.

Sophie quieted down though once they made it to campus and they joined the stream of other students walking toward the campus’ various lecture halls. As the other students crowded closer, Sophie got closer to Elise, partially hiding behind her as if she didn’t want to be noticed. It actually worked pretty well. Tall half elf girls weren’t exactly common, but they were nothing compared to Elise’s white hair.

Elise felt awkward with not only so many eyes on her, but also with Sophie hiding behind her. Elise’s first instinct would have been to do exactly the same, but Sophie beat her to it, so now she had to walk with confidence as the older sibling. Fortunately, her training with Oberon wasn’t for nothing, so the feigned confidence came naturally. For more chapters visıt N0velFire.ɴet

Suddenly, a few people screamed, and the entire crowd gave a collective gasp. As a group of people whizzed over their heads, flying faster than a car. A few more followed, and many of the people on the street ducked, but Sophie and Elise remained upright, staring in awe. Elise could fly just fine, but her flight was odd and unusual, relying on {Fey Wings} that didn’t obey the laws of physics at all. The people flying above them, on the other hand, were using pure mana. Most likely, they had skills to assist them, but still, the precise use of mana was impressive.

Elise sensed more mana to her left and looked over to see Sophie surrounding herself with it and lifting slightly off the ground. Elise gently put a hand on her shoulder, pushing her back to the ground before too many others could notice.

“You can mess with it later,” she said.

It wasn’t too good to let too many people know that Sophie had {Mana Manipulation}. Elise assumed that word would get out eventually, but she didn’t want them to get swarmed with questions before they even got to class.

“Right,” said Sophie, nodding. “Let’s go!”

The rest of the journey to their assigned lecture hall was uneventful, but there were enough students flying that Elise had to assume that there was a class where they could learn it. Either that, or it was just a very common mage Skill for whatever reason. Either way, Elise wanted to find out. If it was a class she could take, she wanted to take it. She would be getting {Mana Manipulation} soon, theoretically, but the Skill had a minor downside.

While it was incredibly versatile, {Mana Manipulation} required the user to do most of the heavy lifting when it came to fine control. A {Fly} Skill or something similar would handle the fine details, letting the user just direct it, but if she wanted to do the same with raw {Mana Manipulation}, it would take a lot more effort to achieve the same effect. But with the way Skill Recipes worked, if she could use {Fly} as one of the unattributed mana spells she needed to make it work, it would be included in combined Skill.

That was, of course, assuming their flight skill was unattributed, and didn’t use gravity magic or something. She didn’t think she felt any attributes as they flew over, but they had been moving so quickly it was impossible to say for certain.

The lecture hall that the first class was in was enormous. It felt more like an opera hall than a lecture hall, with a second level of seating above the first and balconies around the edges. Actually, it probably was an opera hall, sometimes. It would be a waste to have such a space and not use it for performances.

Elise and Sophie were far from the first to arrive, but they didn’t have any trouble finding good seats. They picked a spot right on the edge of the aisle about a quarter of the way back from the front. Far enough to give them a good view of the entire stage, close enough to see the finer details if needed, and on the aisle so they could get out quickly and make it to their next class in time to get a good seat there as well. The only downside to this seat was that as more students arrived, they had to repeatedly stand up to let them into the seats deeper in.

It wasn’t long before the lecture hall filled up entirely, and the professor emerged from backstage somewhere to stand at the podium. He was an old man who couldn’t have been younger than 80, and he walked with a hunched back and a hobbled gait. When he reached the podium in the center of the stage, he gave a small, weak cough to clear his throat, magically amplified by some device, then started speaking in a voice that made the entire audience jump.

“Welcome, new students, to Jelor University.”

All at once, his frail facade fell, and he seemed to grow 20 years younger as he stood up straight and started smiling, showing off a set of perfect white teeth. His voice was deep, rich, and sonorous, and sounded almost like an old time movie star. Silence fell across the hall, which made his smile widen before he started speaking again.

“Thank you for your attention,” he said. “My name is Professor Engelbert Feckle, and I will be your instructor for this semester’s morning first block History of the System class. While this class is a mandatory class, I can assure you, it will not be a boring one. The history of the System is long and interesting, and far more impactful than many realized. For example, did you know that there was once a war that was lost due to a poorly timed System update? It’s true! But you’ll learn more about that later.

“For now, I’ve been assigned to give you all a quick orientation to the University. I’ll be starting with some basic rules, then talk about the format of the classes, then I will talk about the extracurricular resources available to you as students here. And yes, that includes the Dungeon.”

A ripple of murmurs passed through the room.

“Unfortunately, with a class this large, I cannot take questions this lecture. Luckily for you, one of the resources I’m about to tell you about exists precisely so you can ask the kinds of questions you may have after my explanations, so make sure you pay attention so you don’t miss it. Without further ado, let’s begin!

“At Jelor University, we are firm believers in the phrase ‘practice makes perfect.’ Practicing every day whenever possible is the best way to improve. That can be difficult in the city where use of Skills is largely restricted, so on campus, we have exactly 1 rule on Skill use: Use. Common. Sense.

“Want to practice {Telekinesis}? You are more than welcome to float your bags next to you as you walk, or to go out of your way to avoid using your hands as you eat. Want to practice {Fireball}? Well, there’s no rule against using it on campus, but you will have to bear the consequences of your actions, including potential assault charges and property damage, so maybe keep that to the reinforced practice rooms. I say that every year, and somehow, every year a student fails to recall that particular tidbit and ends up blowing something up. Will this be the year when everyone finally listens? We can only hope.”

The students chuckled.

“Of course, this rule doesn’t cover illegal Skills. If you have {Mind Control}, for example… well first of all, don’t tell anyone you have it.” There was more laughter. “Second, don’t use it. It is just as illegal here as it is out in the city.

“Similar to our stance on Skills, we are firm believers in freedom when it comes to travel, but due to the unfortunate nature of young people such as yourselves, we have had to implement a few rules when it comes to restricted areas. All ordinary privacy laws apply, so when it comes to dorms and private teacher residences, you are, of course, not allowed to enter without permission. You are also not allowed to enter the Dungeon without permission, but that topic is more complicated, so I will come back to it later. Everywhere else, you are more than welcome to visit, even if you have no particular reason to. Just try not to disrupt other classes.

“We have numerous other rules, but most of them are too boring to cover here. I’ve gone over the most unique ones, and the rest are largely administrative. Don’t cheat on tests, don’t bully fellow students, don’t collude with foreign nations… Things like that. If you’re interested, you can read more about them in the student handbooks you all should have received at registration.

“Now, as for the format of the classes…”

The following explanation of the class structure took the better part of the next quarter hour. On the surface, it was quite simple: There were three morning class slots, and three afternoon class slots, and three evening class slots. However, in addition to that, there were multiple different types of classes, and while the students should have been briefed on that before registration, the professor explained that many students didn’t fully understand it, so he went into more detail. He also explained that many chose to make last minute schedule changes after hearing this part, so it was important to listen.

Elise and Sophie had already received all the proper warnings and knowledge from Nick and Bianca, so their schedules were fine, but many of the students around began to frown as Professor Feckle explained.

In short, there were four different types of classes: lectures, labs, practicals, and independent studies. The lecture format was self-explanatory, but its importance for scheduling was its consistency. It would always start and end around the same time. The labs weren’t quite the same as the lab classes Elise was familiar with back on Earth, but they were somewhat similar. In a lab class, the instructor would guide the students through the process of trying to achieve something in a structured manner. Depending on the student, they could get out early if they finished quickly, or late if they ended up needing a few extra minutes. Additionally, labs tended to be moderately mana intensive, so it was not recommended to have two back to back so that the student would have time to recover.

Practicals were similar to labs, but more intense. Practicals were less about specific methods, and more about creativity. Students would be given a goal and would be tasked with finding a way to accomplish it. Similar to labs, depending on the goal and student, they could end very early, or they could keep the students late. These tended to be even more mana intensive than labs, so it was important to schedule them with multiple hours of rest afterward before anything else that required mana.

Finally, independent study was self explanatory as well, but despite its name, the students still needed to show up to their assigned lecture halls every session to report their progress. There were generally no scheduling concerns with independent studies, but the professor did warn that many students underestimated the workload involved in these courses, and that they were often the first to be dropped when students realized that they had taken on too many classes.

After going over the class formats, he talked about the student resources, which took even longer. The campus boasted a wide array of resources, including multiple libraries, one of which housed the most extensive collection of magical texts in the world, practice facilities reinforced to handle attacks from people up to 8th tier, a robust tutoring pipeline, regular demonstrations and events from outside parties like the Jelorian Knights, and more. The one that Elise and the students were most interested in though was, of course, the Dungeon.

“The Dungeon,” said Professor Feckle, pausing for dramatic effect. “I know you’ve all heard of it. Many say that it is the thing that makes not only Jelor University, but also the nation of Jelor in general, the military powerhouse it is today. It helps us produce the strongest knights, war mages, monster hunters, and mercenaries in the world.

“This next part won’t be news to most of you, but bear with me, because it is necessary to clear up any misconceptions and to catch the more ignorant students up to speed.

“The Dungeon is a cave system spawn zone that runs under the entirety of Jelor City, and even a little beyond. No two spawn zones are alike, but even so, none are as unique as the Dungeon. The Dungeon goes deep, with some caves reaching more than a mile underground, and the deeper the caves go, the more powerful the monsters become. The ones near the surface are quite manageable, not reaching higher than tier 3, but there are rumors of monsters as high as tier 9 spawning in the deepest depths.

“The Dungeon got its name from the nation that ruled this land before Jelor because they would send their prisoners there as punishment for their crimes. The vast majority of these prisoners died to the monsters below, and the ones that didn’t were executed when they escaped. Of course, this backfired horribly, and one of those very prisoners made it to the deepest levels, and then back out, and when he emerged, he was a 9th tier who proceeded to destroy the nation’s capital, rendering it vulnerable to invasion from outside.

“The Dungeon was then left alone for some time until Archmage Anne Jelor moved here and started her school. Ever since then, it has been used as the educational facility it is now known as today.

“It is very difficult to be allowed entry into the Dungeon. Jelor requires that anyone who wishes to enter apply for a license, and the licenses are not only expensive, but are difficult to get approved for. However, that does not apply to you. All Jelor University students may access the Dungeon freely… with a few conditions.

“You still need a license to enter, but unlike an ordinary license, a student license is quite easy to acquire. There is only one thing you need to do, and that is take a class that gets you a student license. We have many, many of these classes available, all of them practicals. In these classes, you will be taken into a controlled section of the Dungeon by a qualified instructor and taught the basics of whatever their class is intended to teach. Most will be combat-related in some way, but regardless, if you pass the class, you will automatically receive your student license, and if you demonstrate the necessary ability, the instructor may grant you your license as early as two weeks after classes start.”

He paused, allowing the students to talk amongst themselves for a few seconds, and right as the swell of noise was about to reach what Elise thought was the point of no return, he spoke again, quelling it all.

“Before you get too excited,” he started. “Let me make a few things clear. The Dungeon is not under anyone’s control. It is a wild area filled with wild monsters. While it has been generally consistent for the past few centuries, there is always the possibility of unforeseen danger. Powerful monsters coming up from the lower levels, criminals sneaking in, or even just ordinary monsters that you didn’t prepare for properly. Every year some students enter the Dungeon and don’t make it out. We try our best to minimize this, but it is simply impossible to watch over everything.

“So, for your own sakes, be careful. This isn’t a game. It’s not a competition. It’s a learning opportunity, and a dangerous one, so you should treat it appropriately. Am I clear? Good.

“Now, since we’ve still got a bit of time left, let’s talk about the System!”

During the remainder of the lecture, Professor Feckle gave a brief overview of the class and what they would be covering, from the pre-System era to the present day. The course would be split into modules, each focusing on a different major version of the System and its subsequent updates and what they added and changed. Elise thought it was all rather interesting, but Sophie was clearly unimpressed, and kept looking up at the large clock near the ceiling. The moment it reached the end of the lecture period, as Professor Feckle was still dismissing them, she stood up and almost dragged Elise out of the room so they could reach their next class.

The next class, Modern Language, was much more boring. Elise found it entirely worthless, and even a bit confusing. While {Tongues} handled pretty much everything language-related, it didn’t handle explaining the grammar rules of Common very well. She wondered if she could possibly get permission to skip this class, as she didn’t see herself gaining much from it. At best, she could disable {Tongues} and struggle through it without being able to understand half the words, but that sounded unfun and pointless.

After that class was Introduction to Mana, which was certainly one of the classes of all time, and then, it was lunchtime. Elise and Sophie had a lot of fun checking out one of the University’s six robust cafeterias. They had eaten a lot for breakfast, so they didn’t eat much for lunch, but it was not due to lack of options. There was food of every kind imaginable available, and Elise personally couldn’t wait to try it all out as the semester went on.

Because they had such a light lunch, they had a bit of time to kill afterward, so they took a walk around the campus before heading to their next class, and the class Elise was simultaneously excited and nervous for: Aetheric Illusions.