Ultimately, Rod still got what he desired and handed in a special student application.
However, the red armband told him that his current strength was too weak, with barely any combat capability, so the area assigned to him would only be within the safe zone.
Despite Rod's insistence and repeated claims of having killed countless creatures and a Doomsday Cult follower who even a high-rank combatant failed to kill, they refused to remove the words "no combat experience" and "novice" from his application.
The red armband solemnly told him that exaggerating one's strength was a taboo among combatants, as teammates might trust you and make wrong judgments in the face of danger, thus leading to tragedy.
This lesson had been learned through countless tears and blood, so the first credo etched into the soul of every combatant was to recognize oneself.
If you can't recognize yourself, then be cautious.
The principle of the red armband was too strong, and Rod could only give up on persuading.
Being able to leave the academy was good enough; he could find a way once he was out.
After leaving Heidler Training Ground, he returned to the dormitory building of the third institute, just in time to run into Kashan, who was beaming with excitement and clearly had received the same notice as the red armband.
Kashan gathered ten group members and ordered everyone to submit an application.
Just like that, Rod handed in another application, this time as a member of the third institute's tenth department and group.
Although he didn't know what would happen with two applications.
But having an extra one might grant an extra opportunity.
——
The arrival of an unprecedented practical combat class made the entire Jinworth Academy boil with excitement, with students everywhere talking about the topic.
Most people were very excited because they were about to put into practice what they had learned.
——And this was content usually reserved for the fourth-term students towards the end.
However, the teachers seemed worried. They kept emphasizing the dangers of actual combat, the discipline of patrolling, and especially highlighted that the Lower City District of the Royal City and certain specific areas were not as safe as assumed. They required the students to be very vigilant, to signal immediately if they encountered danger, and not to act recklessly, as this was an official operation and so on.
Although the teachers tried hard to instill this concept, most students just barely took note of it; the notion that "The Royal City is safe" was deeply ingrained in their subconscious and couldn't be easily reversed all at once.
A few students, on the other hand, were completely different; they didn't want to go to the battlefield or face the creatures bred from the Black Fog and tried various methods to be assigned to safe areas.
The red-haired fat boy Habulin was one of them.
Upon hearing the news, he immediately wrote to his father, asking him to assign him to a "completely safe area where he could be alone with Kashan." He also reported Rod's intentions to his father, saying that at the Heidler Training Ground, Rod was particularly keen to participate as a special student, must be plotting something, and advised his father to reject his application, not allowing him to take part in the combat classes.
After writing the letter, Habulin took out the Spirit Crow Messenger his father had given him, stuffed the letter into the pocket on its back, and upon releasing it, the crow radiating with Spiritual Light took off into the sky, flying toward the distance.
At this moment, there were many crows like this one; they flew over the academy, passed through the Spiritual Power Barrier, and delivered countless messages back and forth.
Upper City.
Internal Affairs Court.
This was a group of castle-like buildings with a darker color tone, with sharp towers and massive fortresses forming a stark contrast to the light and vibrant atmosphere of most buildings in the Upper City.
Its surroundings were comparatively empty, as not many dared to approach this place.
In a dark hall, Manolo Bana Gula, one of the four Great Judges, finished reading a letter from his son.
With a flicker of Spiritual Light at his fingertips, the letter turned to ash.
He rang a bell, and shortly after, a middle-aged man entered and bowed, saying, "At your command, Great Judge."
"Bring me the application of Jinworth's first-term student, special applicant Rod. I suspect he has ties with the Doomsday Cult and requires thorough scrutiny."
"Yes."
Soon after, both of Rod's applications appeared on the desk.
Manolo Bana reviewed them for a moment, then set the application of the tenth group aside and placed the special student application in front of him. He picked up a Bone Pen from the side and added several lines of information under the Description section.
Killed five Dead Souls personally.
Killed Bas, the Priest of Lies of the Polluter Sect, with his own hands.
Implicated in the obliteration of Redstone Village, this application is classified as top-secret and will not be reported to the academy.
——
After reviewing the changes a few times, Manolo Bana's pale, gaunt face revealed a hint of a smile. He then changed the "no" to "yes" in the line about combat experience, stood up, and personally returned the two applications to the scrutiny office.
"Even fools have their uses, Mibor, Black Bear, your kindness will not keep you alive."
——
With the mobilization efficiency akin to a total call-up at the academy, the "Combat Classes" began swiftly.
The students were surprised to find that their schedules differed greatly: some in the morning, some in the afternoon, some in the evening, and some at dawn. Their courses were modified accordingly, and teachers were no exception.
This is an extremely large and complex project, and it is hard to believe that it could be so quickly managed by fewer than a thousand faculty members of Jinworth Academy.
However, most of the students didn't think so deeply. Excited, they followed the scheduled time, boarding the Spirit Cars at the academy's entrance to arrive at the corresponding area of the Military War Department's Defense Department.
Under the Defense Department's arrangements, they would patrol the assigned areas with the designated personnel.
The task lasted for a whole hour, after which they returned to the Defense Department and took a Spirit Car back to the academy as a group.
To ensure the students' safety and the orderly and efficient progress of the task, the academy had made many strict regulations, the two most serious being that they must follow the Defense Department's instructions and were not allowed to leave the designated area or linger outside the academy at will.
Violators could not only face expulsion but might even be sent to the Internal Affairs Court.
To ensure deterrence, the academy had specially invited a group of "Black Crows" from the Internal Affairs Court to be stationed at the academy. These strange people, robed in black and wearing cowls, always hiding their faces in the shadows, indeed brought considerable fear to the students.
But for Rod, they were not much different from pallbearers, and that bus called a "Spirit Car," with its massive double-decker frame, gave him a particularly strong sense of dislocation.
Especially when he boarded the bus and the driver stamped on the pedal, causing the bus to take off into the air and perform a beautiful floating drift to the south—his feeling of strange eeriness intensified even more.
Really? Drifting in a 'Spirit Car'? Isn't that ominous? Aren't you afraid that if a student died outside and their ashes were being carried back, they might accidentally be spilled?
Rod found it somewhat hard to accept.
He sat on the second level by the window, watching the buildings and lights passing by below. The Spirit Car was flying fast, its body covered with a hazy Spiritual Light, clearly powered by Spiritual Energy as well.
If one ignored the surroundings, it almost felt like a glimpse into a cybernetic future.
But if one looked in the distance, layers of Black Fog could be seen shrouding Royal City from above, tilting in a way that resembled a toppling building.
Rod now understood that this was due to Holy Fire.
Holy Fire was located in the Upper City, its powerful force pushing the Black Fog far away, and it was said that the inhabitants of the Upper City lived under perpetual daylight.
As the distance increased, the radiation from Holy Fire weakened and the Black Fog pressed down in layers.
By the time one reached the Outer City District, the fog was almost right above one's head.
This phenomenon was not noticeable on the ground, it was only from a high vantage point, looking into the distance, that its trend became clear.
Rod felt a sense of unease deep in his heart, as if it were foreshadowing something.
He was different from the other students, patrol areas for one-year students were uniformly within the academy, and there was no need for them to take a Spirit Car. The reason he could board was due to his "special student" status.
It seemed "special students" were all rather formidable people; he was assigned to patrol the Iron Cross District in the Outer City from night to morning, which meant from midnight to six in the morning.
This was the most dangerous period.
Rod now knew that this world also had a sun, it was just obscured by the Black Fog, making it normally unobservable.
But its influence was still there, as the sun rose, the strength of Holy Fire was enhanced and the Black Fog was suppressed.
And when the sun set, the Black Fog would become active, whereas Holy Fire would be suppressed.
Therefore, the period from night to morning was the most dangerous.
Because the Outer City District was far from Holy Fire, it was also the most dangerous area, but it was also home to the majority of civilians, purportedly as many as tens of millions.
As Rod gazed at the houses and roads stretching into the dark horizon, he found the figure somewhat believable.
Many of Royal City's important factories were located in the Outer City District, such as the renowned Simans Factory, Byron Alchemy Pharmaceutical Workshop producing various Spiritual Medicine potions, and the Sigve Food Factory that supplied almost all canned food, among others.
They were the crucial pillars of industry for Royal City, and also the livelihood of most civilians. The patrolling duty they performed here was to ensure the safety of the residents and the smooth progress of production.
Rod should have been happy, as the higher the danger, the more likely it was to encounter monsters, increasing the opportunities for him to harvest Souls.
But something was odd, especially since his second patrol application was also approved, requiring him to patrol near the academy's main gate with Kashan and others from Noon to dusk.
That meant he had two patrol duties, taking up half of his day.
This seemed highly unreasonable, but Rod didn't dare to report it to the academy.
If the academy had made a mistake and canceled his work thanks to the "special student" privilege, wouldn't he be shooting himself in the foot?
Despite certain dangers, this was his only opportunity; if the Blue Star faded, it would be exceedingly difficult to turn the tables.
Moreover, the performance on patrol would be included in the "Goldenworth Star" evaluation, and to motivate the students, the academy had significantly increased the rewards for the "Goldenworth Star." Recipients of the First Level medal would not only gain the privilege of free access to the academy but also a reward of ten thousand silver coins.
For Rod, this was an opportunity of a lifetime.
The saying went, 'One must risk riches within peril,' and this was the rationale.
A turnaround with a single move—it was now or never.
Rod's eyes sparkled with a cold light.
All in. No matter what cards you hold, I'm going all in. Your move.