With the wind blowing from the north, the weather was especially chill in the lower reaches of the Damar lands.
Aric stood undaunted by the cold on the small hill that he was getting attached to through the days, it became like a second home and a place where he can train in peace without having to deal with the disturbance of others as it was rarely visited by other students.
He was wielding his new oak staff in his arms and was practicing his usual routines using it and getting familiar with his new weapon's weight and flexibility.
It's been a week since he acquired the staff, and both his grasp over it and his accomplishments in the fire dawn art had grown by leagues.
He also decided to use the other pill three days after taking the first one, since they were the lowest tier of pills out there, Aric doubted they would provide devastating changes to his power enough to ruin his foundation.
Nevertheless, he was training with the oak staff and every strike he threw would leave a whistle through the air, the weight of his casual hits was no doubt above 300 kg of power.
Reaching the end of the routine, Aric kept on building up momentum, and when he reached the last strike of the art, he stabbed it with full force at the heart of an arm thick tree.
The staff drilled all the way through the oak and wood, leaving behind a hole that was two inches wide in the core of it.
" ...awesome !" Aric was exhilarated by his progress so far, he looked at the bright sky, and decided to end his training today right here.
He hurriedly made it down the hill and back into the dorms, he then rushed into his room and found Evan changing into a flexible white fighting robe and was checking on his bow and other equipment.
" hey! good morning Evan " Aric said to Evan in an amiable smile, he got used to the boy's presence through the last couple of days, and they had gotten to know each other a lot since they met.
" Oh hi, Aric! Decided on which courses you will be attending yet? " Evan replied with a bright smile, this boy seemed to have the ability to pull a perfect,10 points smile at any point in time no problem, and Aric has yet to decide whether that's adorable or terrifying.
" Well, for the most part, yeah. " Aric went to his side of the room, took off his robe and started wiping the sweat off of his sculpted body. " I'll probably be attending the basics of mysticism and the study of monsters and arcane beings, those two courses are essential to all paladins so it's quite obvious I guess, as for the third, I thought of attending the course of the basics on staff wielding "
Evan, seeing Aric disrobe, averted his gaze to the side and replied, " a white robe has the right for three basic courses and one intermediate class a year, all three you picked are basic, what about the intermediate one? "
" I don't know, there's too many to choose from and I'm honestly lost on what to do, they all seem so great and none less important than the others, what about you? " Aric finished cleaning himself up and wore his white robe back again.
Aric didn't have a change of clothes , and although he could buy a pair of robes with merit, he decided to leave it for the next time he went for a hunt.
" Me? " Evan asked and noticed Aric all dressed up, he turned around and mounted his bow on his back and replied " I will also be attending the basics of mysticism and beasts characteristics study, I choose the secrets of bow mastery as well, and my last choice went for a course named the art of trailing and pathfinding, it seemed like a worthwhile course for a ranger. "
Hearing Evan's reply, Aric was bewildered and asked " wait, tracking arts are considered an intermediate course ?!"
" Funny enough no !" Evan shook his head and answered, " it's the bow training that's my intermediate course, bows are harder to apply to regular mystic laws, and so they're sturdy and mastery is much harder ."
Aric was surprised, and felt bad for Evan at first, only to remember that the value of a Bowman paladin outstrips that of a frontal regular paladin ten times over, especially in a battlefield where they're utility is indisputable, whereby it all made sense all of a sudden.
" So that means we'll be attending two courses together, right? " Aric asked Evan in a friendly tone before he packed some small utilities, rations and water in a small clean linen sheet, that he wrapped around and then over his shoulders, forming a small backpack, he then picked his staff up and hung it on his back.
" Well, the first session in the basics of mysticism will soon begin" Evan did a full check on himself to see if he forgot anything and then continued " the instructor will probably mention and explain on a bunch of intermediate courses and which are best to attend, you might find something to your liking there. "
" Hopefully, shall we go then" Aric straightened and fixed up his generic white robe, opened the door of the dorm and walked first with Evan following closely behind.
....
The first course of the year, and the most attended by all, is the basics of mysticism, it was a generic course that would summarise and explain a lot of concepts and knowledge that is vital to new paladins.
It's a teaching course on common sense for students who didn't grow up in a world populated by paladins or who didn't have much contact with it in the first place.
Aric throughout his stay with Evan, has discovered the origin of this boy, and it came as no surprise that the guy was in no way a nobody at all, he was the born child of the guild master of the red blood leagues.
The guild itself was one of the biggest and most influential organizations in the Damar Empire, it had several sectors in the different counties and even the surrounding empires alike and was known for their strength and influence.
Such a boy would never have in normal circumstances taken his training in a public academy like the paladin's legacies school, but he did and didn't seem willing to state why.
Nevertheless, he wasn't as clueless in mystical matters as Aric was, and he proved to be a great guide for the last couple of days of their stay together.
Aric thus decided to sit beside him when they reached the small stadium where the course will be held.
The place was already full of people by the time they made it into the stadium, and they were all first-year students.
They squeezed through and managed to find a small place in the back where they settled and sat down.
About half an hour later, the stadium had filled up to the brim, and finally, a middle-aged, white-haired, bearded follow climbed into the stage and presented himself.
" Hey students, my name is Gabrielle Union, and I will be your instructor through this session of mysticism basics." He smiled gently at the crowd sitting in front of him, and his entire aura appeared like the halo of an angel.
" Well then, shall we begin? " The man leaned back and sat on a small wooden chair in the middle of the wooden stage standing in the center of the stadium, ready to begin today's class.