It had been a couple of weeks since the start of classes at the academy. In a sizable meeting room, a gathering of students was present, dressed in the traditional red garb of the student council.
Iris was seated next to a grumbling Barron, leafing through a book, as the other council members seemed uninterested. The sound of footsteps approached, and suddenly, the door opened, revealing Hope and Thomas.
"We... We came on time!"
"... Everyone's here, you idiot, we're anything but on time."
A young man with short blond hair coughed to impose silence and the two men went to Iris's side in embarrassment.
"Alright, now that the stars of the day have finally come, we can start the meeting."
"Sorry, Miss Iris, this crazy guy has a fetich for training and doesn't know when to stop."
"Hey!"
"Hm, it's all right, it's never a failure to train, but let's try to be on time next time, okay? So as we said before, today we're going to decide the list of students who will be selected for the school exchange, so I ask the representatives of each division to provide their suggestions."
Three students stood up, a sheet in their hands, Hope looked at them intrigued and leaned towards his mentor.
"Um Thomas, what is the school exchange?"
"… Of course, you haven't listened, you have 1000 muscles and none of them is a brain. Like I told you, the Royal Academy represents the sword of the kingdom, to put it simply, we are the noble who vowed to use force to defend our people, concretely, the academy needs powerful people and is therefore technically open to any person... any person who would be an emissary, of course. Next to us, we have Saint Nova, the academy strictly… You know what is Saint Nova, right?"
Hope pretended to think, causing Thomas to sigh in despair, but the young hero patted his shoulder and smiled.
"I'm kidding, I know what it is, Nova academy is like our magnificent academy but is strictly reserved for nobles without powers."
"Now listen here, you idiot, It's not nobles without power but nobles of higher social rank! If Nebula Royal Academy is famous for no class distinction, at least between nobles, Saint Nova is the exact opposite. This is the playground for the very heirs of the kingdom, the children of the royal family study there, the future duke, some of them are emissaries but since they're fated to rule the kingdom, they are forbidden to risk their lives like us."
"… Technically, since we're the ones fighting, aren't we more important?"
"Oh my God… If we were that important, do you think we would be sent to the Rifts? Why do you think the highest-ranked people are in Guilds? Most of us here are descendants of knights for this reason, we are the SWORD, and they are the CROWN, if a high-ranked noble is among us it means that he's either a genius or a disposable asset, can you fix that in your head."
Hope frowned for a moment, for him, this concept was incomprehensible, he had been told that the nobles of the academy were the most important people because they fought actively for the kingdom, but now he heard the opposite.
"Okay, I understand… So, what's the deal with the school exchange?" He asked, but the answer came this time from the blue-haired girl.
"The deal is, dear Hope, that as Thomas said, we are destined to become defenders of the Kingdom, and the best of us will join the royal guards, like your sister. It's not just a matter of power, it requires particular distinctions in many fields, such as education, wisdom, performance, and sometimes status. It's also a big chance to build relationships with the top of the hierarchy, and show off the progress of the academy, some of us could even be recruited as personal knights."
She turned to the other members of the council and continued.
"It's like a contest between us, they will show us how distinguished they are and we are going to show them that we are the best knights they've ever seen. So, it's time to start the selections."
Meanwhile, somewhere in the wild, motionless on a lake, Dora levitated, a wooden bow in his hands, his eyes closed. Beneath him, waves and bubbles occasionally tore the surface.
"Snipe Art…"
A gigantic shadow appeared under the water and the next moment a colossal black snake appeared, mouth open under the young man.
|Subquest:
Collect 10 Black Blade Fangs
|Black Blade Fang: 08/10
"Lightning Rain"
A multitude of luminous arrows pierced in an instant the interior of the monster which fell back into the lake, coloring the water in green.
|Subquest: Completed
|Kill 50 monsters with an archer skill: 50/50
|+7800 exp
|Reward received:
|1 soul stone / 7 elemental stones
|New skill unlocked, Poison dart, Shoot the target with a poison hit, dark element attack. Chance to inflict [Poison] and [Paralysis] on the target and when successful, reduce the target's defense.
Mana Cost: 20
Poison Rate +40%
Paralyze Rate +20%
Foe's defense reduction: -15% physical def
|Subquest: Completed
Collect 10 Black Blade Fangs
|Black Blade Fang: 10/10
|Jobs have leveled up
|+5 stats points
Jobs
Warrior lvl1
Knight lvl1
Healer lvl16
Swordmaster lvl1
Archer lvl26
Rogue lvl12
Mage lvl29
|Special Job (Locked)
"… Say, Midget, can I use the stats point on something else? The physical jobs never change."
(Sorry I can't hear you, I'm too busy doing your homework.}
(Are you mad because I killed your people?)
(… Is that Gamma in control again?)
After the unsuccessful attempt to exterminate the Dire Wolf, Dora, and Midgard made a strategic decision to prioritize the sub-quests involving the collection and elimination of small groups of monsters.
This approach aimed to maximize their experience accumulation, and it proved to be more successful. The increase in Dora's power growth was heavily influenced by his stats, prompting them to target larger adversaries. However, they encountered a couple of challenges along the way.
Firstly, despite their efforts in slaying numerous monsters and assimilating elemental stones, their levels remained stagnant in the areas where they needed improvement the most: tanking and physical damage.
Secondly, an unexpected issue arose as Gamma and Midgard developed a strong dislike for each other. Gamma, who had previously held the role of the main fighter, resented losing his position due to Midgard's presence.
(Couldn't you talk about it for a while? We're all partners.)
(That's a lot of assumptions there, darling, but whatever, we can't let you have a weakness so keep focusing on the physical stats, we have the soul stone for the rest and besides, don't compare me to those ridiculous water snakes, not all snakes are the same, you are living proof.)
(I take that as a compliment, okay, all stats in attack.)
|Stats:
|Attack: 67
|Physical Def: 53
|Intelligence: 29
|Magic Def: 23
|Speed:39
|Stamina:38
|Mana:55
|Agility: 33
|Sensitivity: 48
|Luck: 6
|Stat Points: 0
(Done, what's on the menu next? Can we return to the Wolfy?)
(Not until you unlock the tanking job, I refuse to take any more risk with you, next week will be full of study classes so we better find a way quickly.)
Midgard's mood was tense following the clash with the death hounds. At first, Dora believed her frustration was due to wounding her body, which had since been healed. Nevertheless, she insisted on his rapid leveling up and avoiding quests he wasn't absolutely confident in completing. This proved to be the catalyst for Gamma's anger.
(Hmm I heard students say that they would have free time next week though, isn't it possible for the best students to… Skip some classes?)
(Maybe I should let you put some points in intelligence, it would help you to not… Wait what did you say?)
(I knew you were still mad at me.)
(No, no! That's a great idea! You're a genius! How did I not think of that? You're amazing!) It was the first time she complimented him since the hounds fight.
(You told me I needed intelligence.)
(I was an idiot! You are awesome!)
(...The teachers said that I look like I have no bright ideas.)
(The teachers are incompetent fools, you are the brightest star in the sky!)
He teased her like that for a little while, he felt uncomfortable when she was quiet and angry so he decided to make her pay, but with a good mean.
(You are the most beautiful bird in this forest, my little toy, you are a phoenix!)
(I heard that phoenixes were ugly before reincarnation.)
(You are so handsome that 3 girls confessed to me when I used your body.)
(You lie.)
(Even the boys!)
(... What?)
(And that's exactly why we're going to succeed! I know exactly how we're going to save free time.)
(You won't dare make me date an ugly man, will you?)
He couldn't see her, but clearly felt her happiness rising and so, cold sweat ran down his forehead.
(Better yet, you'll date a frog.)