Harold then called out to his wife and said "Let's go and get the supplies." Anya nodded and everyone exited the building together.
While walking Blake asked Simon "What are these supplies they keep talking about?"
Simon replied "Nothing much. Our academy robes, some books, and every soul master must have a weapon on them. So you can choose a weapon."
"What? A weapon? Why is that?" Blake asked.
Alan tapped Blake's shoulder making him look in his direction and said "In the past century scientists have a metal called Serenium which can let the properties of one's soul spirit be applied to it. For many decades, this metal was rarely used by soul masters because of its rarity, but now it is available in abundance on the different barren planets we have discovered. So now soul masters also carry weapons because using soul spirit alone is very tiring and they can't last as long as Knights. This is one of the reasons why two academies are being merged. So that soul masters can fight knights using their weapons which makes soul masters good at combat even if they are running low on mana."
"We have different planets?" Blake asked in a shocked expression. He then looked at Simon who said "Blake I didn't tell you because it was too much information. When you start the academy you will be given information about this little by little." he then looked at Alan and said "Don't bombard him with unnecessary info Alan"
Alan gave an embarrassed laugh and said " I am sorry Blake but for now understand to increase soul masters' fight time and physical capabilities weapons made of Serenium metal are used. Though it increases our overall strength, it is nowhere compared to those knights who have monster strength due to having animals as their soul spirits. Now for example, if Arya uses her soul spirit fire whip to fight then she can last for half an hour but if she uses a whip made of Serenium metal then she can last more than 2 hours. Serenium is naturally found in liquid form so shaping it in whip or sword isn't too tough of a feat."
Simon also added his information by saying "The liquid Serenium is fused with Carbon steel to make weapons. I will select a two-handed sword while Arya will select a whip. And I assume Alan will choose a spear." Simon looked at Alan who nodded.
'Uncle Harold or even Aunt Sheila and Anya never told me I will have to choose a weapon. I hope they have something in mind.' Blake thought.
As they were walking through the campus they saw people in robes while some were wearing light armor on their chests and arms.
'So knights keep some armor on their body even when they are not fighting. I don't know if they are heavy or not but they look sturdy. They do have some gaps that can be attacked.' Blake thought as he was looking at a group of students who were a year or two older than him.
After a few seconds, they reached a round building that had the words 'Maintenance Bay' written on them in bold.
"Why is it called Maintenance Bay?" Blake asked Simon who was walking beside him.
"Here not only are supplies distributed every start of the year but if damaged is repaired as well. The distribution of supplies is only done at the end of the year so the rest of the year is full of people wanting their robes, armor, and weapons repaired or replaced." Simon said.
As they entered the building they saw that there were 6 counters and there weren't many people in the lobby.
Harold called the kids and said "Its good that it isn't crowded yet. Let's go" Three counters had the symbol of mana on them while the other three had symbol of knights which was the claw mark.
Everyone started lining up at the counter with their parent or guardian. Blake stood with Sheila while Simon stood with Harold and Arya with Anya. Alan stood with his parents. As Blake and Sheila approached the counter Sheila stretched her hand which had a paper in it and gave it to the lady behind the counter. The lady looked at the paper and with a smile looked at Blake and said
"Ohhh...someone of the S-class. You have a bright future kid." Blake thanked her and then she then typed something on the screen in front of her and then gave the sheet of paper back to Sheila. She looked back and Blake and said.
"Blake keep your right hand on this machine here. You may feel a prick but don't worry." she then placed a square device that had a glass screen and the outline of a hand on it. Blake followed her instructions and placed his right hand on the screen inside the outline. After a second, he felt a prick on his ring finger. The woman nodded and then Blake lifted his hand only to see a drop of blood where he felt the pricking sensation.
The woman then picked up a bag from under her counter and pushed it toward Sheila. Sheila looked into it and then at the the lady. The lady smiled and said
"I know you must be wondering that the robes aren't of the generic Red color but black. This is because only S-class students are allowed to wear Black robes with red lining. The red lining depicts that you belong to the fighting class major and black represents that you are from the S-class. Along with 2 sets of robes, this bag also has some books which have your 1st-year syllabus. Now you both can go to the first floor and select your weapon along with its training manual."
Blake and Sheila thanked the lady for her explanation and left the counter. As they came back they saw that everyone was already done with the procedure and waiting for Sheila and Blake so that they could go to the 1st floor. Arya had already taken out a set of robe from the bag and was looking at him.
"See it also has the roman number one in a hexagon woven in gold color threads on both shoulders." Arya said excitedly looking at her mother and the others. They all were a little excited to see it because the combination of black, red, and gold looked quite good and this was the first time it was being issued in junior academies.
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