Still bloodied, Wang Jin picked himself up and walked in the direction of his class. For some reason, he didn't feel lost and was able to get there relatively quickly.
Staring at the cadet watch in his hands, Wang Jin noted the time. There was still a good amount of time before class started, so he could go to the cafeteria if he wanted to…
But he didn't. Instead, he took a deep breath and pushed the door to his class open.
He was greeted with the same deceitful faces, along with a few subtle grins from the people he knew were in Lilian's inner circle.
He ignored all of them, though, and instead walked to his seat with a blank expression.
"Heh. Told you, buddy." Denzel's condescending voice echoed through Wang Jin's ears.
"Shut it. It wasn't me who approached her, anyway." Wang Jin retorted.
"Either way, just make sure you stay a good distance away from her and her boyfriend. Here, this'll help you."
Denzel threw a small sticker at Wang Jin, which he caught easily.
"What's this?" He looked at the colorful sticker in his hand.
"It's a small device my family created. It conceals your presence, as well as the flow of your mana for a certain period of time. And it recharges through contact with mana, so just refuel it whenever you feel safe."
Wang Jin was still suspicious. "Why are you helping me?"
"Why?" Denzel brought his finger to his chin and stared at the ceiling. "Maybe I'm just sick of the stunts that bratty princess and her consort keep pulling off. She thinks just because she's the younger sister of the strongest hero, she gets to do anything."
"Ah… so that's why everyone's scared of her." Wang Jin replied.
Somehow, he had not realized the similarity between their surnames.
"Yeah. Anyway, continuing with my explanation, it's the first time her toy has been an honor student. I just want to see how you can turn your situation against her."
"Hmm." Wang Jin nodded, still looking at the sticker he had stuck to his undershirt.
But their talk wouldn't last long, for the door opened and revealed Shiloh Calliope as she walked through.
With a smile, she greeted the entire class and urged them to take a seat.
Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Wang Jin, who had numerous bruises on his face and small scars on his neck. The particularly thick uniform didn't do well to hide them.
"Wang Jin. What happened to you?" Shiloh asked with a worried expression.
The person in question, not bothering to listen, was surprised when Denzel pinched him in the side.
"Ah! Well, I tripped." Wang Jin replied nonchalantly.
"Are you sure? Those injuries look more serious than what you'd expect from a trip. Do you need to go to the infirmary?"
"Hehe, you know me. I'm pretty clumsy, clumsy me. I'll be fine, don't worry about me."
"I see. Do tell me if you begin experiencing any discomfort. Now then, should we start our lesson?" Shiloh brought out a copy of the books she had handed out earlier.
"Urgh…" The entire class, including Wang Jin, groaned in response.
"Don't worry, it won't be difficult. It's just the first lesson of the year anyway. In fact, I'm sure most of us will be happy to hear it'll be a practical lesson."
Indeed, when she said this, the entire class' mood immediately shifted for the better.
"I see everyone is excited. Now then, should we head for the Travel Room? The Outlands are waiting for us!"
***
The environment Shiloh had chosen for her class was different from what Shib did. Instead of a dry, barren desert wasteland, she had led everyone into a portal that led to a giant cave biome.
As everyone from class 1-B poured out of the portal, Shiloh counted heads to make sure no one was left behind.
After all the students had been counted and had gathered together, she spoke out in a loud voice,
"Alright! Everyone stay close now. We've just entered the underground cave region of the Outlands. So from here on out, I need all of you to be careful."
"Your assignment for today is to gather five Limeum Crystals and to bring them back here. And you aren't allowed to use your skills and magic."
"How are we supposed to mine the crystals then, you might ask? For that, I need you all to please turn to the first page of the book I gave you all."
Without question, everyone turned to the book Shiloh had reminded them to bring.
The first page focused on a particular type of fighting that didn't require much expertise.
While both skills and spells needed mana to be casted, styles and arts were different. They could be learned by anyone, regardless of the affinity.
They could be considered weaker versions of their mana-hungry counterparts.
After flipping through the book for a bit, Wang Jin stopped, returning to the first page.
His eyes turned to the perfectly illustrated drawing of a human punching at a brick wall. There were labels pointing to the foot of the wall, showing that it was bolted to the ground via some kind of magic.
The human didn't look any different than a normal person. He looked midly weak, and perhaps a little bit on the famished side.
And yet, the drawing clearly showed the human punching through the wall with ease. Wang Jin's eyes immediately turned to the base of his arm.
It was grey, and looked shiny.
"This is the Iron Style. It allows a person to fortify and harden parts of their body. With this, they are easily able to destroy small boulders and even reinforced barriers if they train it enough."
"This is what you all will be using! The book says that you need at least a week to be able to use the style, but since you all are mana-fluent, the time will drastically lessen to around five minutes."
"Go ahead! I urge you to try. Just follow the instructions, and focus on strengthening your limbs."
"Hmm… so like this?" Switching his focus between the book and his arm, Wang Jin began following the steps required to manifest the Iron Style.
And almost in an instant, he felt his arms harden at a surprising degree. The feeling in his hands began to disappear, and they became much heavier.
"Good job, to those who were able to cast it on their first try. The Iron Style is known for being easy to learn, but difficult to master." Shiloh praised the students.
Wang Jin looked around. A good amount of students were able to manifest the Iron Style relatively easily, the good amount being the top half of the class.
"Once you all get the hang of it, I want you all to head to your partners and proceed to head in the direction I tell you to."
Shiloh then went on to explain about the wristwatches in the same manner Professor Shib did.
Wang Jin only noticed this now, but the cave they were in was connected to pathways that led in many different directions.
It was like they were in an annex that connected the entire cave system.
And as if waiting to ruin his day, Wang Jin spotted Lilian heading towards him with her usual goons.
"Fuck, I should head out."
Just as Wang Jin was going to leave, he felt something spiky pierce his feet.
Looking down, he was surprised to see translucent blue crystals stabbing through his shoes.
They were small, and the attack was subtle, so no one was able to sense it.
But the more Wang Jin tried to move, the more the crystals gripped him in place. Even he was surprised at how durable they were.
The threat from earlier began to present itself now. Wang Jin felt a familar mana signature, one belonging to a certain water user.
"Hello, Wang Jin." Lilian's voice echoed through his head, the despair and shame he experienced earlier already coming back.
As if she was his best friend, Lilian closed the distance between her and Wang Jin.
"Do you remember our agreement? Remember, you…have… to…do…your best. Or else I'll leak the video." She leaned into his ears and whispered, emphasizing each word with her voice.
Wang Jin merely nodded with a solemn expression.
He knew he could most likely defeat Lilian if the fight were to be between them, but that wasn't ever going to happen.
She had a full security detail with her at practically every moment she was at school.
The moment anyone got closer, her bodyguards would stare at the person with murderous intent until they left.
"Good. I'm glad you understand, hmhm."
After a few more minutes of ridicule and humiliation, Lilian left, along with her goons.
And just in time, it seemed like Shiloh had finished answering the inquisitive students' questions.
"Well then! Go on, now. Five Limeum Crystals."
Wang Jin saw Lilian wink at him in the corner of his eye. She was telling him to follow her through the pathway.