Chereads / Ascension of the Goddess of Decay / Chapter 52 - Academy Lessons (Part 3) Souls

Chapter 52 - Academy Lessons (Part 3) Souls

Lia and Sisha sat on the ground, mostly exhausted. Silvanna had been continuously interfering in their fight.

Initially, she was only targeting Lia with her magic. However, she proved that Sisha was not safe from her interference when a Sigil appeared and pulled her into the ground, leaving her torso and arms exposed. She did recieve a rather deep wound from Hysteria following that. She was incredibly careful going forward.

All of the other students were likewise exhausted. They did not have it any easier.

Silvanna spoke to the class after they had seemingly rested for a few minutes. "Congratulations, all of you have completed the first lesson. Which is to say, you have completed the first and easiest step. The school attempted to forbid me from having my students fight with edged or sharp weapons.

Fortunately for you all, I assured them I knew what I was doing. Class S is the only class allowed to practice using real weapons, and all of you will be better for it.

Class is dismissed."

Lia and Sisha stood up at this point. Lia's next class was supposedly the Adventuring class. She was really looking forward to this one.

.....

Lia, Sisha and Lacey sat at the back of the classroom. They weren't certain how many people were taking this class, but after a short bit of time, the teacher, Anny, entered and looked around for a moment.

There appeared to be roughly 25 students in total, most of which were human. Lia, however, was rather curious about the girl sitting towards the front.

She had long, straight, and clean white hair, ice blue eyes, and some manner of...thin metal strapped to her waist. Lia knew it was a weapon of some kind, though she wasn't sure what kind specifically.

Something felt off about her, Lia couldn't quite put her finger on what it was. Regardless, the Teacher spoke which prompted Lia to listen.

"As you may have heard from talking to me and getting an insight into what this class truly is, we will be doing four separate dungeon excursions. None of you have classes on the weekend that was done on purpose, because that's when we do dungeon excursions.

As for the general layout and what you will be learning from this class, first we will go over the basics of monster hunting. Following that, we will go over which parts of what monsters are valuable.

After that will be our first dungeon excursions, and if you wish to plan ahead any further than that; you will have to refer to the syllabus I will be passing out."

The teacher nodded once as a sheet of paper appeared on each desk.

"That's the syllabus, and it outlines the course layout for the first year. It is just a general outline so there may end up being some small adjustments to it. Please keep that in mind."

Now then, onto the basics of Adventuring..."

.....

The lesson went over the very basics of what Adventuring was.

In general, Adventurers were more akin to explorers rather than any kind of organized fighting force. They were separated into various ranks, starting with D and working up from there.

D class adventurers were typically people who have no experience in fighting or anything of that nature. They are mostly townsfolk who do odd, simple jobs for the Adventurer's Guild.

C class adventurers are the starting point for many who have an education or at least some manner of formal training. They are tasked with doing things that aren't particularly dangerous but are usually outside of the city limits. Things like slaying the weaker monsters or collecting herbs for an alchemist.

When an adventurer reaches B rank, they are granted access to Dungeoneering. However, they can only do so while in a group of Five or More. Furthermore, the dungeon has to have already been cleared and mostly explored. Aside from that, they are often tasked with locating stray monsters near cities and the general population.

A rank adventurers, which is currently the largest classification of Adventurers, are typically tasked with exploring newly discovered dungeons. They almost always have a group with them, as exploring new dungeons is incredibly dangerous.

The last classification, S rank, was a little bit harder to understand. This rank requires some great, almost impossible feat to get promoted into. They are considered legends within the Adventuring world and are usually personally requested by Royalty, Governments, or City leaders. According to Anny, there were only six S rank adventurers currently active.

The last thing talked about was Group Rankings versus solo rankings.

Apparently, adventuring groups (otherwise known as "parties") can have a ranking that is wholly separate from the individuals that make up the group. Typically, this is a result of incredible teamwork and coordination that lets them fight at a much higher average than normal. There is only one Group currently classified as an S Rank group despite all members being Rank A individuals.

.....

Lia's next class was Space, Time, and Soul magic. She wasn't entirely sure what to expect from it, however, she did hope it would be an interesting class.

Entering the classroom, it was mostly packed full of students. Lia once again had to sit at the back of the classroom. Lacey and Sisha followed after her. Most of their schedules lined up, which was rather nice for them.

After a few minutes of waiting, Silvanna entered the room. She smiled at everyone before asking a very simple, yet profound question.

"What constitutes a soul? Is it the essence of life or the gift of sentience?"

No one raised their hand and Silvanna continued.

"A soul is less something someone has or does not have. A soul is simply a state of being. You can be dead and still possess a soul and you can live without one.

This state of being is defined by three things. First, does the being possess any sentience? Two, do they have the capability to cast magic? Three, are they an animal?

If the answer to any of these questions is a 'yes', then that being has a soul.

Naturally, following that train of thought, most things possess souls. The only thing we have declared to not possess a soul are a subcategory of monsters, specifically low tier undead."

Lia sat there, thinking about it for a few long moments. This definition seemed largely...unfinished. As if it was some manner of scientific definition instead of magical. She wasn't sure why, but the definition felt like it was missing something.