Chapter 44: 2.10. Academy Life

A large gathering of enforcer trainees at the sages hall regardless of their year. Third year students who were going to graduate in twelve months time would soon be dispatched to the different dungeons and forts for practical training. The academy hoped that this assembly would give them that extra drive to do their best.

Comparing second year students to first year students, the number was disparaging, with nearly one point seven times more students in the first year classes compared to that of the second year. Not even the price hike for the enforcer courses could dissuade the public from enrolling. That said, it should’ve been an expected outcome due to the coming of the hero, not to mention, they did increase the scholarship accommodation by almost twice this year.

In the Sage’s Hall, Sequencee and Schwii were seated at the far back with the other first years of his class. Today would be their first official day of ‘school’, and they will be kicking off with a speech from the hero and some princess from Equestria. At the distance they were at, they could barely see the stage. Ro and Lilian were put into other classes, which would explain why they weren’t with them.

Sequencee peeked at the yawning Schwii. The enforcer attire of the academy suited her quite well. Black blazer over the white collared uniform, the silver lotus flower pinned to the black tie. The black socks underneath the pleated skirt and white skin peeking out a little from between the two zones was tempting. Her hair was too short to be made into a ponytail but Iona had weaved a little braid to the side, tied off with a ribbon. A dash of adorableness to her alluring everything.

Noticing his gaze, Schwii turned to him.

“Anything?”

“Nothing.”

Sequencee thought her beauty stood out like a sore thumb. Though it made him feel somewhat proud that such an attractive girl was his fiance, yet was also annoyed by the flies that would come sweeping by every so often. Which was another reason why they chose the backmost corner seat, with Schwii’s towards the corner aisle.

With a tired smile, Schwii reached out to his hand and clasped it. Sequencee’s brow’s flinched to the silky texture of her fingers. He looked down at the point where their hands met.

“I’ve always wanted to do this. Sorry if I’m being selfish,” she looked away, her ears reddened a little.

Sequencee didn’t know how to reply to that. He could only accept her advances with an open mind, feeling cognizant of it in his mind.

The note Leticia left him remained in his mind. It was a warning to open his eyes to the possibility of being tricked, something Sequencee can’t deny the possibility but.. what could he say in this situation? Schwii was someone he was heavily indebted to, having provided him with basically everything he needed, it wouldn’t be wrong to say he was a gigolo in this situation. And to doubt someone like that?

‘I don’t know if Leticia sent me the warning because she’s being jealous or that she’s worried about me.’

Sequencee didn’t know how to properly respond to Leticia’s message either. He may assert that Leticia likes him, but he was also aware that he had never actually received an official confession from her. It might all just be a made up story in his mind. And even if she held feelings for him, It’s likely her goals would change once she’s experienced more of life.

The assembly started with a flowery speech by the principal of the ‘esteemed’ academy by Vice Principal Cabural. A ‘wise’ elf with willowy gray hair.

‘The hell can someone like that be the vice principal for the entire enforcer division?’

Sequencee didn’t say his thoughts out loud, but a deep frown formed on his face. Schwii tuned into his speech, being unaware that he was the one who threw Sequencee into the ditch last time. Sequencee made up his mind to let the bygones be bygones, but if however he tries anything on him next time, he will have no mercy.

Finishing his deplorable speech, an applause rang out to welcome the next guest on stage.

Sequencee didn’t have anything like farsight magic so he couldn’t tell if his eyes were playing tricks on him but..

“It’s a pleasure to stand before all of you today. I am the second princess of Empire, Evelyn Equestria–

.. the moment she introduced his doubts were cleared.

‘She actually made it huh?’

Sequencee recalled the mess he and his mother got caught up in during their visit to the capital. They had planned to go to Rika Nation on the way but due to some unexpected developments in the castle, they had to change their plans. To summarize, Her Highness Evelyn’s life was in jeopardy and they had to keep her safe from harm while His Majesty worked behind the scenes to find the culprit. The most likely cause of it was likely the succession war, but determining which brother was trying to kill her and why was as ‘easy’ as finding a needle in a haystack.

They never found the culprit in the end, but her safety was secured when she announced that she would drop out of the succession war– even though she had no interest in it in the first place.

In the history books, half of the hero’s accomplices sacrificed themselves for the greater good of the world. And those that did make it back mysteriously died soon after. It was the dark side to the supposedly bright story. Becoming the hero’s companion was no different from sacrificing one’s own life. She was risking her everything for the brief moment of glory.

‘But why would she do this though?’

Maybe she didn’t want to become a political piece? Was she forced upon it? Maybe she didn’t want to be forced into an arranged wedding?

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Knowing that everyone has their own set of challenges in their own lives Sequencee smiled wryly. Everyone was fighting a lonely battle, which meant that everyone was in it together.

‘Compare to many out there, my life is a lot better than most.’

But that didn’t mean he was going to give up on his goal.

The stuttery speech of the anxious hero siblings caused many to burst out into laughter. It was quite an embarrassing sight for sore eyes. Nevertheless, they had just arrived to this world so their klutz was to be expected. What makes a hero a hero isn’t where they start, but where they end. No one on sight doubted that the hero wouldn’t make it– maybe for a few.

The assembly ended with a speech given by one of the third year students in the first class enforcer course which wished everyone their best.

Now everyone knows who the princess and two heroes are, the class which will accommodate them will likely be swarmed.

===

“...”

“...”

When Sequencee and Schwii entered the class, the student’s silently turned their heads towards them. It was quite obvious here that they still recognized them from the appraisal two weeks ago. Unfortunately for them, Sequencee barely remembered anyone while Schwii could only recall some of their abilities.

The class had a theater design where long seats curved down towards the podium below. The students may choose their seat to their liking so Sequencee took the seat beside Schwii who would be sitting against the wall. Was he being overprotective? Possibly, he didn’t know himself.

The self-proclaimed pedagogue Grian entered the class and greeted everyone. He swiftly moved from announcement to the selection of a class representative.

“Sequencee, Schwii. You two will be the representative for this class, I want no objections.”

“...”

“Understood,” Schwii’s agreed calmly.

After which Grian tossed them a copy of the name list and yearly plan. Grian began to brief everyone on the curriculum for the year. As the secretary, Schwii drafts notes on any important details which had been missed in the write up.

The first two weeks will involve a lot of theoretical knowledge and controlled practice sessions out in the field will be drilled into the students. After that, the students will move to a practical session where they would challenge the trainee dungeon built on the campus repeatedly. As a side note, this trainee dungeon is linked to The Black Ravine so the final examination for the first semester, in the third month mark, has to do with the trainee dungeon.

“Understand that the curriculum is different from those in the first class. Compared to their standard, what you’re doing is much lighter. I hope you show good results and perfect everything that will be taught in this semester.”

For the first hour, Grian answered the questions the students might have regarding the course. The two more popular topics were how big the trainee dungeon was and the difference between the first class and second class course. It is unprecedented that there are more students in first class than in second class.

“Information about the dungeon will be disclosed during the classes. I won’t be touching on it here, but in brief, the dungeon is a Rhizome-type cave dungeon with monsters ranging from D-rank to A-rank. The size of it is around 10 square kilometers by estimation.”

‘A-rank monsters in a trainee dungeon.. that has to be a joke..’

“As for the difference between the first and second class, those in the first class will be required to learn more during the two month session and afterwards, they will be permitted to enter red zones inside the trainee dungeon where monsters with a minimum of C-rank will spawn. Of course, the criteria for their exam would also be much harder.”

Red zones are critical areas in the dungeon where difficult monsters were likely to spawn. An unexplained, mysterious phenomena which some believe has to do with the higher level of miasma in certain parts of the dungeon.

With so many students in first class in it for the bigger game, wouldn’t these limited red zones become over-expended? Sequencee thought maybe joining the second class course might’ve been a better choice.

After Grian, they proceeded to theory class where the fundamentals of survival were taught. Sequencee had gone through these best practices with his mother many times in the past, so he didn’t have trouble understanding the nuances behind the teachings. As this was their first class, Miss Willy only talked about procurement of water and food. Water should not be a problem as even the worst of magicians should be able to generate enough for survival. As for food– monster meat should be alright. Just make sure it isn’t poisonous.

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