From the moment he arrived at the Academy of Sword and Sorcery, the first thing Elijah did was find a quiet place suitable for his secret training. Elijah knew that being good at physical attacks, even if he was a mage, was unnatural in this world. So, rather than risk being looked at strangely by someone, Elijah decided to do his physical training in secret.
Elijah found a place behind the dormitory, where there was a small area surrounded by a large tree that could cover his actions. Elijah took out his sword at that spot. The teenager took a deep breath, then began to swing his sword tirelessly.
After entering the Adventurer's Guild, Elijah finally knew that he could increase his level and physical abilities just by swinging his sword. Although his EXP increased so slowly if he didn't fight enemies, swinging a sword was at least better than doing nothing in his spare time.
SWOOSH!
Elijah took swing after swing seriously. Occasionally, Elijah recalled the battles he had faced so far, then imitated some enemy moves that he felt could be useful to him. Elijah deliberately occupied his mind with various things. That way, Elijah could forget the nightmare he had just experienced over time.
Only when his stamina had almost touched zero, Elijah finally lowered his sword again. By now, his body was drenched in sweat again. Fortunately, the academy was also generous with providing a lot of clothes to its new students, so Elijah immediately changed clothes when he returned later.
"Fire."
After practicing his physical abilities, Elijah also did not forget to practice his magic power. Using lightning magic in the open could attract the attention of others. So if Elijah wanted to practice secretly, he could only clear a little empty land and shoot his fire into the ground until his mana ran out.
Elijah's mana capacity had increased drastically from when he first arrived. Because of this, it took a long time for Elijah to exhaust all of his mana. Coupled with the physical exercise he had previously done, it was already evening when Elijah finished exhausting his stamina as well as his mana. The teenager panted heavily, then dropped his body to the ground to rest for a while.
"Hah...."
Elijah let out a long breath, then looked up at the leaves of the tree that covered the sky above his head. Though, the atmosphere of the place was the right atmosphere to make someone feel sleepy. But for Elijah, who was always haunted by nightmares, the best thing he could feel in that place was just the feeling of being awake even though his body had been exhausted.
"Mom ... Dad ...."
Elijah called both names in a low voice, then said nothing more. Elijah continued to lie on the ground until his mana and stamina were replenished. Then after both had recharged enough, Elijah got back up to continue his training again.
The teenager kept repeating the cycle until he returned when it was already very late.
When Elijah finally returned, some of the light magic that served as the dormitory lights had been deactivated because it was almost midnight. Elijah walked alone in the deserted dormitory hallway without using any light magic. The teenager opened the door to his room and was immediately surprised by Damian, who was waiting for him with a worried expression.
"Why did you come back so late? You also came back with a messy look, no less."
"...I was practicing."
Elijah felt he couldn't offend the elven prince, who probably had a big role in the Rhodes Continent, too much. The teenager answered his question briefly, then entered the bathroom without looking at Damian again.
"Practice? He practiced that hard before his first day at the academy?"
Damian stared at Elijah's departure in confusion. To him, Elijah was already strong with just his basic magic and physical abilities. With abilities that could already get him into the special class, should Elijah continue to train to the point of exhaustion like that?
Damian shook his head. It seemed that, no matter how hard Damian thought, he would never understand the way of thinking of a human like Elijah.
***
Elijah finished bathing and was relieved to see that Damian was asleep and had no intention of disturbing him again once he got out. Talking to Damian was tiring. However, even if Damian was just an NPC, Elijah thought it would be bad if he had a bad relationship with the prince.
Elijah plopped down onto the bed, unsure if he should sleep too after what he had experienced earlier. Having nightmares was never a pleasant thing. But apparently, continuing to avoid sleep when he needed to do so much wasn't a good decision either.
Elijah frowned, then forced himself to lie down on the bed. Elijah kept praying that he wouldn't be given any more nightmares this time. He needed sleep, even if he only had a few hours left.
***
"Elijah! Wake up! The others said that the academy has announced classes for all new students!"
This time, Elijah didn't have any nightmares, so he was able to wake up quietly. Damian's noisy voice made Elijah speed up his movements to get ready. Elijah could only surrender as Damian dragged him to the bulletin board on the first floor of their dormitory. The place was already filled with people when Elijah and Damian arrived. But when people saw that the one who had just arrived was the prince of the elven race, everyone immediately stepped aside to give Damian a way so that he could check the announcement comfortably.
Of course, Elijah, who kept getting dragged by Damian also got special treatment thanks to the elf's presence. Elijah silently looked at Damian. Perhaps one of Damian's uses was to allow Elijah to do things without the need to queue or jostle.
"As I would expect from my idol, they put you in a special class!"
Elijah heard Damian's words, then looked at the bulletin board. His name was indeed among the list of students placed in special classes. Elijah nodded in satisfaction. This way, he had secured a place to work on various missions even if he had to study at the academy.
"By the way, I was placed in a special class for the warriors' group. Specialized classes with the same year are usually often assigned to do many missions together. I hope we can work together in the future, Elijah!"
"Good for you."
Damian told his class proudly, and Elijah responded briefly. If it had been anyone else, they might have been punished for speaking disrespectfully to the elven prince. But Damian smiled and nodded instead. He wasn't bothered by Elijah's answers and attitude that always seemed half-hearted.
"It's a pity that the special classes for warriors and mages aren't placed next to each other. We should go to the class now. See you at lunchtime, Elijah!"
The warriors' class was to the left of the academy dormitory. Meanwhile, the mages' class was on the right side of the dormitory. The buildings of each class were almost similar to their dormitory castles in terms of shape and construction. It's just that, for the academy building, on the walls of each there are carvings of swords and magic books that symbolize the strength of each group.
Elijah nodded in reply to Damian's words, then took a different direction to go to his class. The special classes were organized separately from the regular classes in the magic section. The special class on mages was on the fifth floor of the magic academy, which was the top floor where a good view of the academy's surroundings could be seen from.