'Bah! If I was a player in a virtual game right now, my status window will display:
[ Mental Health Condition: Dying (PANIC ALERT!) ]
I didn't even have a chance to choose my own schedule and study load just like when I was on my way to college. Even if I did have the choice to select the subjects to take, I won't be able to escape Madame Xenia's Etiquette classes.'
Alist can handle any subject but not Etiquette, or Propriety.
Never in Alist's life did she experienced such a class especially when she once worked at a construction site with her back bent from carrying her own hollow blocks.
And once she left that brutal job, her posture remained at a slouching stance even while reading her web novels.
Although she did a lot of parkour back in her days as a street rat like running and jumping on the rooves just get to the job site early, such body stretch didn't even help as that activity sucked out all her stamina and kept her hunching.
At that time, it didn't matter whether she crawled on her four limbs just to get to work as fast as she could.
Not even a single teacher corrected her pose and poise.
Confidence was also something she can't easily show to others even though she really is confident.
All the time.
"What good is your confidence when you've wasted your energy showing it at the wrong crowd, the wrong people?" That was the question she asked herself.
When she once presented her favorite history lesson enthusiastically, she couldn't seem to capture her classmates' attention though she was very knowledgeable and very sure about what she was doing.
After wondering what she could have done, she found out that it all lies on the rapport he or she presents to the audience.
She even exaggerated that the concept of confidence can be seen on widely-searched celebrities and how they look like in the sea of flashing cameras.
That was when she started comparing and contrasting herself to those influential people.
If only she could stand straight and tall…
If only she was an expert in putting on her own make-up…
If only she could strut down the streets and hallways as if she was a talented model on the runway…
If only she was this actress with a stunning personality that made everyone feel she was born to be a queen…
If only she was a person worth admiring…
then—
…her classmates would have given her the attention that was worth the confidence she exuded.
With that, she even found herself occasionally watching how the most enviable celebrities project their styles and routines then replaying those videos over and over again.
It then becomes what was called a stuck thought, but she liked to think of them as "saved videos" that she can copy in her imaginary world.
There, your imagination can run wild from wearing the dresses that celebrities wear to demonstrating the stunts they pull off when fighting against villains to going into the characters of the meanest personalities they act off with the lines "Oh my gawdd! I am so sorry that I haven't got a sip of that latte I've just ordered. Well, at least you've gotten a taste of it. Your cheap clothes, I mean." to gaining the vocal cords of your favorite song artists.
But in that heavy string of melodious "I'm so jealous" vibes, she found out that she couldn't take the stress from keeping those "saved videos".
Those "clips and videos" were so cluttered that she regretted storing them.
She also realized that if she could just act them out, then she would be set free from the anxiety she kept within her.
Which is why Alist made a decision that in spite of wanting to stay by her parents, she never forgot about taking her formal education as early as she can.
As someone who is interested in the History subject, she notes that the novel has a very unique setting.
'The author was quite particular in adding anachronisms of Earth's different historical periods to the novel. There may be guns or artilleries, the concept of pants for women, metal ships, and other stuff found the previous world timeline but all the highborn Specialists adhere to the sophisticated practices of the Middle Ages.'
Manners, or etiquette, is one of those practices under the formal noble education.
Knowing that the elite etiquette is as strict as fashion models' regimen in her old world, Alist subjected herself to that ordeal in the hopes of curing her "loser's envy".
Nobles and royals created many sorts of rules in which manners are needed in like greeting, table manners, precedence, and the others.
This was a subject used to discriminate themselves against commoners in show of the so-called classism where the highborns are highly favored than the low-borns.
Although having powerful Specialist powers is the definition of strong and exalted, people born of high status were still considered stronger than commoners because they were lavished with manuals and mana treasures that will broaden their mana plates and Specialisms.
For Alist, it seemed that she might experience another bouts of jealousy or anguish when she attends at the academy with the nobles inevitably jeering at her standing.
Thus, she decided to adapt to their practices through the help of her "fairy godmother".
But, who would have thought that the author himself or herself made Propriety a frighteningly OVERPOWERED quest for Alist.
'I seriously blame the author for putting me to this misery. I know this sort of stuff was like the status symbol of their pride but this is way too much of their arrogance!'
At this time, about twenty glasses of colorless glass goblets remain on top of the dining table.
Alist endured her first ordeal of maintaining a great posture while slicing her turkey tenders and sitting up properly but after her meals, there was no dessert.
Instead, fifty quarter-filled stem glasses lay waiting for her.
The contents in each glasses composed of expensive light wines, flavored juices, sparkling flavored water, milk, and spring water.
But no matter what beverage was served, the glasses were her biggest problems.
These well-crafted symmetrical glasses may be colorless but when evoked with the correct hand hold and Mana Release, the holder will reveal the nature of his or her aura.
The more magnificent and bright the aura is, the more dignified one's Specialist power is.
This is similar to awakening and magic stones in cultivation novels wherein the toucher displays what or how strong one's magical attribute is.
Plus, the stemware makers crafted glasswares that fit with distinct finger hold styles that it takes a lot of patience to memorize them all.
In ballrooms and royal feasts, the high-borns use these mana glasswares to show off not just their aura but also their hand hold.
Those ignorant of the different known hand holds are considered lowly, uneducated, no decorum, commoner, and powerless.
Even if you tried to copy the finger positions, you have to maintain the balance of your fingers on it for hours.
The Specialist has the option not to reveal their aura but as long as your finger hold is correct, then you won't be the gossip of the mean classists.
"Wrong position! Wrong place!" Madame Xenia interjected. "You should lift your pinkies upon recognition of this certain goblet. You are down to twenty goblets left and you couldn't even remember this one? We are still practicing finger holds on glasses that are not even half-full so how much more would it be if it was filled to the brim?"
There were stemwares that needed to be grasped with the left hand, with the right hand, with both hands, with just your index and thumb fingers, with stemware's bowl seated in between your middle and ring fingers, and many more in order to display her aura.
Not only did Alist struggle with her finger holds, she also had to maintain her back posture.
The only reason why she was able to tolerate these etiquette practices is due to her water abilities.
One of the greatest disadvantages of a Water Specialist when it comes to displaying his or her full potential fighting in an area is the location's lack of water.
Classism isn't the only prejudice amongst the social classes of Deo's Continents.
There exists the so-called attribute differentiation.
The six major elemental specializations or attributes are divided into two power conventions: the Autogenic and the Pervasive.
The autogenics are self-generated conventions of power that can be produced innately or conductively.
These conventions can be amplified by the conditions of the existing environment.
Lightning, Fire, and Ice are autogenics.
The pervasives are power conventions that are dependent on the ever present environment.
Earth, Wind, and Water are pervasives.
Wind is a pervasive that is simply everywhere no matter where one Specialist moves while Earth and Water are only amplified due to favorable areas.
As Specialists are mostly on land, Earth Pervasive power thrives well as land is the largest mana vessel ever created.
Even when the Earth Specialist is in sea, he or she is still able to manipulate the aquatic plants and seafloors depending on the depth of their powers.
Water Pervasives depend heavily on bodies of water or anywhere were even the smallest drop of water is present.
But since not all bodies of water are present near certain battle areas, Water Specialists were deemed the weakest.
This prejudice of attribute differentiation will be prevalent by the time the mandatory military conscription is enacted.
Water Specialists had to carry space rings or bags filled with water just so they could fight their opponents.
They also have the lowest offensive power in combat.