it was 7 AM. I was sitting on the bed while trying to absorb Ether. I read the book's instructions over and over but my progress was still very slow.
I have a full hour before the start of the classes and I felt very exhausted from all my failed attempts, so I thought of walking around the institute a little and getting a cup of coffee to improve my spirit a bit, this tour may be just an attempt by me to escape from the tiredness of the failed attempts and it may be true.
What I'm sure of is that the pain I'm feeling in my lungs is real and that could cause me some permanent damage if I keep trying recklessly so the idea of taking a quick walk around the institute might be a bit good for now.
The last time I checked, it was December so I put on my black raincoat just in case anything unexpected happened to the weather.
I took some money with me to buy groceries if I had some extra time, then I got out right away. I still have 40 minutes until the classes start and I didn't want to waste my time in this apartment.
The dormitory was quiet as I expected since it was still early, and I did not forget to say hello to the guard of the dormitory who had not left since yesterday. Now that I can distinguish a very small amount of the Ether in the air, I am 100% sure that this guard is an Ether user.
I don't know what to say, I should have expected this from the Imperial Institute, all the workers here might be powerful Ether users, not to mention someone responsible for protecting the first-year students' dorms.
About 90% of the students in the Imperial Institute are either damn rich or people who got scholarships somehow, if I'm not mistaken, one year at the Imperial Institute could cost many years' salary for an average family, after I saw the pictures, the necklace and the letter in my father's bag I'm pretty sure he's an Ether user of some kind.
But according to my little knowledge, even the users of Ether are not necessarily rich enough to pay the cost of the institute, and my father didn't only pay for a full year, he even left me a good amount of money that would last for a normal family for a few years.
All this means that my father is not an ordinary person in all respects, whether in terms of power or money. I do not know if my mother was aware of all this, but I almost do not believe that he was able to hide all this from me for more than ten years.
"I must learn Ether at full speed!"
I could hardly restrain myself from going back to the mysterious cave and trying the silver pendant, and I don't think I would be able to hold back for long.
When you get the chance to discover a large part of the world's history and find your missing father, you don't simply hold back, but rush at full speed to uncover the truth!
I suddenly heard a loud scream and my thoughts were immediately interrupted, needless to say, these sounds were coming from the Colosseum since no one else inside the institute would dare to shout like that.
The electronic board at the top changed and revealed the diamond classification instead of the silver as the last time. This classification is the strongest in the institute, I think, and all those in it are the legends of the school. Is Elior among them?
I remembered that huge person and couldn't help but think that he wasn't normal, his aura made me uncomfortable even though I didn't know what the Ether was, very vague and made me think that the end was near.
I looked at the names on the classification and made sure to memorize them well. I may benefit from memorizing the names of these people in the future.
[
Diamond-ranked people in the fighting arena, the higher the rating, the higher the reward at the end of the month!
1- Alexander Krasnov
2- Bella Moretti
3- Cassius Novak
4-Dante
5- Elena Ivanov
6. Gideon Fisher
7- Jasper Bergman
8. Kayla Johnson
9-Leo Tanaka
10- Nadia Petrovic
]
I memorized their names and noticed something strange, I vividly remember Flame telling me about how strong Elior is and that he is one of the strongest students in the institute but I can't see his name anywhere, is he not interested in his monthly coliseum bounty or is something wrong with him?
It's not that I care too much but I'm still curious and I couldn't hold it back, I'll have to ask Flame when I see him again I don't think he was exaggerating when he described him.
I then went to a store to buy some important cooking materials since I haven't eaten anything for a long time. Hunger is no joke, and my body may be really damaged if I continue to neglect it like this.
I still have half an hour left and I think it will be enough to prepare something basic for breakfast. The corridors of the institute became a bit crowded a few minutes ago and this is probably because classes start soon. Surely no one will risk being late on the first day of the new year.
Today is the time for third-year students to graduate and for each generation to move forward. Therefore, today's classes are very important, not only because of their content, but because students have to take a certain examination on the first day, and missing this examination is something that no one wants to do.
Angering the institute's teachers is something no one wants to do, especially new students like me, so I'll probably have to hurry to arrive on time and avoid the teachers' rage.
I will not deny that I was a little lost while wandering in the wide market, but I barely finished on time. It seems that my previous hope of preparing a suitable breakfast disappeared with the lack of time, so I decided to fill myself with some fast food, needless to say, that I did not like it.
I've never liked junk food in my life because of the strange fog that fills my mind every time. My biggest fear is not being able to think straight, I believe that this is understandable.
I hurried towards my apartment and luckily the guard didn't stop me this time, I still suspect he did a quick check but I'm not sure, I still haven't successfully absorbed the Ether so feeling the Ether around me is very difficult but I still trust my gut feeling.
I put everything in its place without order and it looked messy, but I did not want to waste any amount of time. I put the things that required preservation in a cool environment inside the refrigerator, and the rest in one of the wooden containers near the refrigerator.
I rushed out immediately, but a silvery sparkle in the corner of the room immediately caught my attention. In a state of urgency and pressure, I didn't think much about it and went to take the black pendant hanging next to my father's shield.
I slammed the door with some force, not forgetting to lock it with the key that I took from the guard yesterday.
"What do you do?"
I heard a familiar voice to my left and immediately recognized it. Flame put a surprised expression on his face while looking at me and I didn't understand why.
It's still 7:50.
Confusion became evident on my face, and I did not understand what Flame wanted to say.
"Won't classes start ten minutes from now?"
I realized something and drops of sweat started flowing down my forehead from the intensity of anger, if what I'm thinking is true...
"Who told you that?! The first lesson starts at half past eight!"
I wanted to grab Flame with both hands and yell at him, but I restrained myself at the last moment and spoke relatively calmly.
"Didn't you tell me to be ready at eight?"
"Yeah, be ready! I wanted to go out for a bit before we go to the first class, I don't remember saying class would start at eight!"
"You knew it..."
Well, looks like I'm the dumb one here since everything Flame said was true, a simple misunderstanding that almost ruined my morning.
"It's okay, let's go."
We quickly forgot about it and got out of the dormitory after a short while. We haven't toured since I did one a while ago, and Flame's expression when he realized I took a tour alone was so amusing that he called me a traitor.
We ended up buying some drinks and we talked a lot about a bunch of things, I brought up the topic of Elior.
I don't know where Flame got all this information from, although he is a freshman just like me, I guessed some wild things and some of them were correct, Flame's full name is
There are many noble families on the continent and although I don't know all of them, I still know some big names like the Inferno family.
Rulers of the Volcano City and owners of one of the great Gates of the Fire Realm, Volcano City is one of the most wealthy and powerful cities, not only do they have a vast and comprehensive source of high-quality fire minerals, but the Gates of the Fire Realm helped them obtain a small army of fire creatures and It happened with a collaboration between them and the Monsters Guild.
Although taming a monster with traditional methods was thousands of times worse than summoning one through a contract, it was still an excellent way to raise the level of a family's strength.
There are many elemental gates spread all across the continent, and each element has several gates, and each portal leads to a different area. There is a portal to the world of fire, a portal to the world of lightning, and a portal to the world of death, and each element has a couple of gates.
The main source of strength for the Inferno family is the Fire Realm or the Gate to be more specific, not only the many monsters that can be tamed but even the very large number of valuable treasures in every corner.
coming back to Elior, Flame said that he was the strongest student in the entire institute several months ago but something suddenly changed in him and he became very weak.
Detecting 10% of his strength became very difficult and he was no longer able to summon his Gear.
In the end, in front of the difficult final exams, Elior became completely helpless and was forced to repeat the second year again.
What's really sad is that all of Elior's friends left him so quickly and suddenly as if they weren't friends in the first place.
All this information confirmed my previous guess, however stupid a person may be, a scheme like this is as clear as the sun and the moon. I am really surprised that such schemes can pass peacefully inside the institute without any consequences.
"Don't worry about him, if you ask me to describe Elior in two words, I'll tell you he's a ferocious beast! I'm pretty sure he'll come back to the top again, in fact, I think the third-year students should be in a panic right now."
From the top of the academy to the bottom in one night and still as steady as a mountain, I can't imagine a better example of a man.