9

Some time later, everyone was taken to a room filled with training weapons.

“Pick whatever you want. You only have five minutes. You can also bring and use any items you want, except for dangerous or illegal ones. Using such items will result in severe punishment. If you’re unsure about an item, let the appraiser appraise it for you,” Arlos said, looking at all the students.

Since some students specialized in production, they were also allowed to bring their own creations. Even if they hadn’t made the items themselves and had simply bought them with money, they were still using their own abilities to procure them.

Therefore, students were free to use whatever items they could obtain. After all, when facing monsters and diving into dungeons, you could never have too many items that might save your life.

Hayato checked out the weapons. There were all kinds, from common weapons like swords and spears to less common ones like chains and sickles.

‘Danna-sama, aren’t these all Uncommon-grade weapons? And every single one is skillfully made,’ Kursh said in Hayato’s mind.

They could share their vision and hearing, allowing Kursh to see and hear everything outside without having to leave the pendant.

‘Hmm. They’re good enough for new students,’ Hayato replied mentally.

Hayato took a shining longsword in hand and held it at eye level, studying the slight curve of its spine. The craftsmanship was excellent, down to the smallest detail.

He swung it a few times, and it was sharp enough to make a crisp shing as it sliced easily through the air. The balance was good, and it was very light. Too light for Hayato, in fact. He was used to long swords on the heavier side.

There were all kinds of swords here, so after a few tries, he found the one he wanted.

The other students were doing the same, checking out the weapons. Dune and Virion used different types of weapons than Hayato, so after arriving together, they had gone off to the other sections to find suitable ones of their own.

Hayato had his own set of personal weapons in his magic ring. The reason he was going to use the academy-provided ones was to see how they fared compared to his.

Apparently, there was a blacksmithing department, and students were free to commission weapons from its professors and students as well. From what he had heard earlier, all the weapons here had been made by students of that department.

Hayato would need a lot of weapons, especially customized throwing weapons for Kursh’s telekinesis, so it was better to check the quality in action.

After looking around for a while, he finally chose a sword, a dagger, and a shield, testing each of them a few times. He also used bows as one of his main weapons alongside swords, but he decided not to take one for now. Carrying all that equipment would be troublesome.

He already had his personal weapons stored inside his magic ring. If he really needed a bow, he could simply take one out of the ring.

After gearing up, Hayato checked some of the items in his possession. He had a bag hanging at his side and pretended to take things out of it while secretly retrieving them from his magic ring, keeping his hand inside the bag.

He was mainly checking his potions and scrolls for any problems. After all, he had made them himself. He was a high-ranking alchemist and well-versed in magic engineering, too.

As he was minding his own business, someone stopped right in front of him.

‘Oh, it’s that brat, Danna-sama,’ Kursh said in his head.

Hearing her words, Hayato looked up and saw Joonhyuk, his former classmate from school, standing before him with a black scythe in hand.

‘His two side chicks are also here,’ Kursh said, looking around after coming out of the pendant. No one noticed her presence as she was currently invisible, except for Arlos, who glanced in Hayato’s direction with a curious look.

The two girls Kursh was referring to were Ivanka and Haruka. Just like Joonhyuk, they had also attended the same school as Hayato.

Both girls were surrounded by boys and girls who were busy chatting with them. While Ivanka glared slightly at the boys who kept pestering her, Haruka cheerfully chatted with those around her, a smile on her face as everyone selected the weapons they needed.

Even though Ivanka was dressed like a gyaru, wearing only a shirt with her jacket tied around her waist, no one seemed to mind. After all, she was a famous model.

As Kursh looked around the room, Hayato turned his attention back to Joonhyuk.

“What?” Hayato asked with a blank expression.

“Oi, Nakamura! What rank did you get?” Joonhyuk asked.

“Is that why you came?”

Sigh.

Hayato sighed and brought out his S-Card, which displayed only his rank.

“34th? Why is it so low?” Joonhyuk muttered as he looked at Hayato’s rank.

“Well, it doesn’t matter. Looks like I won, you bastard,” Joonhyuk said with a smug expression, crossing his arms and nodding to himself.

“Is that so? Good for you,” Hayato replied indifferently before returning to checking his items.

“Huh?! Aren’t you gonna ask about my rank?” Joonhyuk asked, looking pissed.

“Do I need to? If you don’t have anything else to say, just leave,” Hayato said without looking up.

Joonhyuk gritted his teeth in anger. However, he soon calmed down and smirked.

“I’m rank 2,” he said, shoving his S-Card in front of Hayato.

“As expected. You’re still rank 2. Should you really be happy about that, Eternal Number Two-san?” Kursh suddenly said, appearing beside Hayato. She looked at Joonhyuk’s S-Card with a teasing smile, covering her smirking mouth with one hand.

“Huh?! Shouldn’t he be the one feeling ashamed? He only got 34th!” Joonhyuk said, pointing at Hayato while looking at Kursh. He wasn’t surprised to see her suddenly appear, as he already knew about her.

“Hmph! Danna-sama could have done much better if he wanted to,” Kursh said, looking displeased.

“Heh! That’s what all losers say,” Joonhyuk retorted.

As Kursh and Joonhyuk bickered, everyone’s attention was drawn to them. It wasn’t because of their argument, but because of Kursh herself. She was a wraith, after all, and seeing one here was bound to turn heads.

“Hey, is that a w-wraith?” someone stammered.

“How did it get here?”

“Is it safe to stay here?”

Questions like these filled the room as everyone stared at her. Wraiths were, after all, among the highest-ranking undead spirits.

“Hey, do wraiths wear such wild dresses nowadays?” someone muttered.

Even in the middle of all this, some of the students were more focused on her backless, knee-high-stockinged, sexy maid outfit. Add Kursh’s own beauty to that, and it was impossible for the young boys to not be interested.

“Is that your familiar, Nakamura-kun?” Arlos asked, suddenly appearing beside Hayato.

“Yes,” he replied.

“Are you sure it won’t harm anyone?” Arlos asked.

“She’s like any other familiar. What’s the problem?” Hayato asked in return.

“Hmm. Then you must know that you’re responsible for your own summons and familiars,” Arlos said, glancing at Kursh.

By then, Kursh and Joonhyuk had already stopped bickering. Arlos turned to address everyone.

“Now, gather around, everyone. It’s time to move. We’ve already passed the five-minute limit,” Arlos said, beckoning everyone to follow him toward the teleportation portal.

“Tch, I guess it’s time to leave…” Joonhyuk muttered. After thinking for a moment, he turned to Hayato with a smirk. “Hey, how about a little competition? Whoever kills the most monsters wins. What do you say?”

“And why must I bother with such a pointless endeavour?” Hayato asked calmly.

“What? Are you scared?” Joonhyuk taunted him.

Hayato sighed. “I’ll be killing every monster I come across anyway, so I’ll entertain your little game this once.”

“What competition are you talking about? Are you going to fight? Lemme in on it!” a voice suddenly called out.

They turned around and saw Dune approaching with a large halberd in one hand. He carried the massive weapon effortlessly with just one arm.

“And who the hell are you supposed to be?” Joonhyuk asked, not recognising him.

“I’m Dune Hillian. Nice to meetcha!” Dune said with a smile, extending his hand for a handshake.

Joonhyuk looked up at the towering barbarian for a moment, then took the offered hand and shook it. “Kim Joonhyuk.”

“Great! So, what are we competing at?” Dune asked.

“To see who kills the most monsters,” said Joonhyuk.

“Oh, sure! I’m in,” Dune said enthusiastically.

“Let’s go. The professor told everyone to head to the portals,” Hayato said, already walking ahead.

“Ah, wait, Arvallost is coming too,” Dune said as he spotted Virion running toward them. However, some marbles fell out of Virion’s pouch as he ran, and he became flustered when he saw them scattered across the ground.

“What’s with all those marbles?” Kursh asked when she noticed them.

Virion took his time picking them up off the floor while Hayato kept walking, so Kursh decided to give him a hand. She had the inherent skill Force Field Manipulation, which gave her the sub-skill Telekinesis.

Her earlier invisibility had been part of the same skill. It helped her bend light. Aside from that, she could create barriers and construct various translucent weapons using Force Field Manipulation.

Using Telekinesis, Kursh quickly gathered all the marbles and placed them back into the pouch in Virion’s hand.

Aside from the marbles, Virion also had gauntlets on his hands and various types of throwing weapons on him.

After a while, they all reached the portal. Joonhyuk had gone back to meet up with Ivanka and Haruka.

“The S-Cards will serve as passes for all the teleportation portals in the academy. Take out your cards so the magic circle can scan them and grant you access to the portal. We’ll be teleporting to Portal Number 33, located on the mountain behind the academy. Get inside the circle,” Arlos instructed, pointing toward the distant mountain visible from where they stood. It was part of the academy.

Soon enough, once everyone had entered the portal circle, he activated the portal. In an instant, everyone was teleported to Portal Number 33 on the mountain.

There were only trees surrounding the portal. Two other people were already waiting for them there.

From his priestly outfit, the students could easily tell that one of them was a priest of the Church of Holy Light. He was short, standing around five feet four inches tall, with white hair, a white beard and mustache, and brown eyes. His serene face made him look like a trustworthy man in his mid-fifties. He was a human.

The other person was a woman in her mid-thirties with long hair, a mix of violet and black, and sharp black eyes. Her face was beautiful, but her expression was stern behind her glasses. She stood around five feet six inches tall, behind the old priest as he leaned on his stick for support. She was an elf.

Beside them were many books on a table. Arlos greeted both of them.

Infomania:

1. The strongest of the Legendary weapons wielded by Heroes, Vassal Heroes, Saints, Apostles, Demon Lords, and Demon Kings are known as Regalia. Only thirty exist in the entire world.

2. Floor boss monsters are called Sentinels. Monsters are referred to as Irregulars when they consume mana cores from fellow monsters to become stronger or undergo sudden changes that cause them to deviate from their normal counterparts. These changes can lead to gaining new abilities or exhibiting other abnormalities.

3. Multi-cast/barrage of a single magic is called Series Magic.

Single magic that needs multiple people to cast it is called Ritual Magic.

Mixing two or more types of magics are called Compound Magic.

4. To use Aura, one must push past the body’s limits and possess natural talent as well. To achieve this, a person must first form an Aura Core in the abdomen, similar to a Mana Heart, and then develop it further through Aura cultivation techniques. Both Aura users and Mages are rare. Most people rely on the inherent and intrinsic skills they are born with or gain after their awakening. As they level up, they improve their stats and acquire new skills along the way.

Trivia:

1. Transfer Gates are used for long-distance teleportation, from city to city or even country to country. Teleportation Portals are for short-range travel.

2. Demosha: By the will of the Demon King.
Varasha: May the blessing of the Gods be with us.

Saying Demosha signifies subordination and prayer to the Demon King, while Varasha is used by the followers of the Gods.

3. Holy Mana and Holy Aura are branches of Mana and Aura. Divinity stat is reserved for those with Divine Blood.

4. The Church of Holy Light has its Saint or Saintess, while the Church of Darkness has its Divine Maiden, who is usually chosen from the Leviathan clan bloodline by the goddess Klysha.

Author’s Note: Infomania contains important information from the novel, such as details about skills, dungeons, and other world-building elements.

Trivia is for more mundane and trivial things, such as a character’s likes, dislikes, hobbies, place names, the history, behind-the-scenes details, and so on.

So, if you have any questions about any of the characters, just ask, and I will put the answers in the Trivia section.

Also, there are no comments or reviews at all for this fic. It honestly feels like nobody is reading it. I would really appreciate a comment or review, even a short one, just so I can know that someone is actually reading. Otherwise, it can be pretty demotivating.

This is my first original novel, and I am a very slow writer who is also busy with many things in my life. I am still a university student, so I have to study and sit for exams as well. And with exam season coming up, finding time to write is going to be even harder.

I really hope you will look past my mistakes and shortcomings and give the novel a chance. I hope you enjoy reading it.

Items/Potions/Weapons Grades: Common Grade, Uncommon Grade, Rare Grade, Epic Grade, Legendary Grade, Mythical Grade (Regalia).

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