"...absorbing Qi into your body is the way to achieve the Strong Body realm. As students in the wood tier class, this basic knowledge might not have been within your scope of knowledge."
Professor Fredrick recited, as if repeating from a memorized book. His lifeless eyes looked around the classroom. He spotted a lazy, unkempt haired teenager playing with a pencil with his nose.
Professor Frederick rubbed the bridge of his nose and threw a chalk at the young man. "Xuan Li, just because your circumstances are special doesn't mean you get to not pay attention." he reprimanded.
"But-,"
"No, buts! We have been through this seven times in these few weeks. The information I am repeating isn't even for the other students but for you!" Frederick halted any retortion while everyone's eyes flipped to Li.
Feeling the countless annoyed but helpless gazes, Xuan Li hung his head low and shut up.
'It's not like I need to know this! I just wanna die."
Looking around him when the class continued listening to Professor Frederick, like usual, Xuan Li looked around the class instead. It fascinated him how similar this room appeared to ones he could find in his previous world.
The college-like desk arrangement with the teacher's podium in the middle of the room and a blackboard behind Frederick, with pristine-white walls and two doors at the ends of the room.
'This feels like I'm back home…'
Xuan Li felt a pang in his heart at that thought. His memories resurfaced, and his grandfather's death rang in his mind like giant bells waking him from his stupor.
'Why is it so wrong to reunite with you, Grandpa…'
"Xuan Li! What did I just tell you?!"
Li looked at Frederick, whose blond hair seemed and with eyes blazed in anger. Three more chalks headed his way and, with no ability to react, they landed in the middle of his forehead. Each chalk landed at the same spot like aimed bullets.
Holding his head with a pitiful expression, he looked at Frederick as if wronged. "I did nothing this time…"
"Oh, really?" Frederick tapped his right leg repeatedly. "Then, since you were so engrossed in my class that you missed no words of what I said, repeat everything I just said about Mages?" he demanded.
Xuan Li's eyes widened in horror.
Quickly searching through his scattered memories, he barely scrambled what little knowledge stuck in his head and mumbled it out.
"Mages would have all affinities since birth. Umm, but those affinities would differ from one person to the other. They are tiered… tiered, oh, they are tiered as low, average, medium, high, and peak."
After saying that, Xuan Li looked at Frederick with confident eyes.
'I said everything, now you can't hit me any-,'
A chalk landed on his head.
Students laughed at the comical scene after holding it for a while. It was always fun watching someone get in trouble.
"Wrong," Frederick said, making Li grimace. "What you said is something we covered in old classes. To be honest, I am surprised that you were even able to remember that much. For that, you have my sincere gratitude, at least my teachings weren't all in vain." Frederick's voice was too serious. If his hand gestures weren't so sarcastic, students might have believed him.
"What I discussed in today's lecture, if you actually paid attention, was that as you know, Mages absorb the Mana from magical beast cores. And here is where the affinities you mentioned previously come. After all, depending on the natural affinity and tier of the Mage, they focus on absorbing the element through the beast cores' muddled and mixed energy."
Frederick knew his students appeared confused by their expressions and continued, "You see, Beast Cores has mixed energies of all kinds in them. They aren't like Pure Qi stones that have a condensed amount of energy that cultivators can absorb to cultivate. Instead, Mages have to carefully select what elements to draw in, following what I said previously, this should seem simple now, doesn't it?" Frederick smiled.
Frederick's concise and easy-to-understand words made the complicated process seem as simple as it can get and the students dropped their hands as all questions they had had been answered.
Xuan Li watched the warm expression of Frederick, which reminded him of his grandpa's care and love that he gave him.
'He really loves his students and doesn't discriminate.'
When Xuan Li first entered the Wood Class, he expected uncaring teachers and neglect, but to his surprise all teachers acted with utmost care and dedication. They didn't look down on them because of their ages and talent, but taught them with all their hearts.
The class continued and this time Xuan Li actually paid attention as he didn't want any more chalks to land on his head. Yet even through that, the thought he had for a long time kept drifting his thoughts, 'When. Can. I. Die?!'
***
In another room in the Ascension Academy, Flav looked at the man in front of him. His build was larger than him and he looked down at Flav cross-armed, his smile taunting.
"Come on, already! Let's see just how strong you are!"
Flav looked into the man's eyes emotionlessly.
'Should I release it? But I don't want to scare the others away and at such a close distance… I don't know if I can suppress it completely.'
His mind whirled with such thoughts.
Around the two, students encircled the two and a scarlet headed ghost looked between Flav and the man, her eyes shifting between the two and every time they landed on Flav, worry flashed in them.
"Flav! Don't do it, it's not worth it."
Joanna said, trying to break the ice, but her words only fueled the huge man's anger.
The man's glare at Flav intensified, and Flav had helplessly sighed.
'Your aren't helping!' He wanted to scream but stayed silent.
Flav sighed for the umpteenth time, "Let's just get this over with, Deluc." he said coldly.