After I finished with my dinner, I began to browse the internet, for ways to make money. This brought me to an interesting idea, does this world have AI? I began to search and to my delight there was indeed AI. These programs however costs a lot of money, so I had to go with a different idea. I began writing code for a phone app that featured a little yellow bird and some green pipes.
The coding was easy, and the art was even easier. Simply by knowing what picture I wanted, it would look exactly like that. I quickly finished the product and posted it into the app store. I knew it would take a while before my app because widespread, so I decided to go to bed. I fell asleep in my bed while thinking about what I was going to eat tomorrow.
****
Overnight there was a wave of pandemonium as people discovered an unassuming app on their phones. It was so simple, but it made it all the more addictive. Overnight there were already over 6.4 million downloads. It was priced at only 2 credits, so pretty much everyone could afford it.
****
When I woke up, I did my normal routine, and sat on the balcony eating my food. While I was browsing the news, I saw an article about a game with a stupid little yellow bird. I read the article, stopping at the part where they mentioned that it had over 6 million downloads, and counting. I quickly checked my bank account and jumped up from my balcony chair.
"T-t-t-TEN MILLION?!"
I ran inside and kicked my bed. The mattress was comfortable, but it was in no way luxurious. I would make sure that while I was at the academy, I would have the most comfortable bed possible. Oh yes, I said the Academy. I had enough money to take an entrance exam now. Even though classes had started a few weeks ago, I was confident that they would still accept me.
I quickly headed upstairs to John's apartment, and asked him if he could get me a recommendation so I could take the exam. I told him about how my app blew up in sales, and I now had enough money for the school fees. He congratulated me for the financial success, and made a few calls. After not even five minutes he told me that I could take an exam at the Academy in two days. The trip from here to the Academy was almost two whole days itself, so I excused myself and went to go back. John understood the time crunch, and simply wished me good luck.
He gave me his phone number, for when I do eventually get a phone, and told me to get my butt moving. I was actually really grateful to the old man, so I ordered a heated blanket for him, to be delivered in a few days.
****
I took a train to the Academy. I booked a first class ticket in a luxury car, and slept in the incredibly soft bed. I slept for almost the entire first day, but on the second day I was going around trying to finish quests.
I had finished a quest to help a little girl find her teddy bear, and another quest to assist an elderly lady get to the bathroom.
[Sixth Sense skill learned.]
[Acupuncture skill learned.]
The two skills were welcome, however I was still bummed that I couldn't go into the general ticket area, as the conductors wanted to make sure no one caused problems. I acquiesced, spending the rest of the time in my room. Once the train arrived at the Academy, I grabbed my luggage and got off the train.
The Academy was situated on top of a flying piece of land, and the way up was a carefully controlled portal on the ground. I walked up to the building near the portal, and began to go through the admission procedure. After I showed them my Flying Sword skill, they told me that I had passed.
I quickly got through the process, they gave me a school badge and told me my uniform would be sent to my room. After which, I was directed to the portal. I walked up, and the person controlling the portal activated it. I felt an energy condense around my body, and before I knew it my surroundings had changed before me.
An attendant was already by my side, and handed me a puke bag. However, when I didn't show any signs of nausea the attendant took the bag and showed a slight sign of surprise.
He most likely was here because most people would feel sick, however I think that my Improved Psionic Strength skill helped me resist the feeling of nausea. I then walked further in, towards the building in front of me, labelled. 'Admissions'.
Once I went through that building, I got my dorm room number and told that I should spend the rest of the day there. My classes would be sent to my email, and I would start tomorrow morning. I was in class A1, since it was the only class that had an opening.
I nodded and thanked them for the help. I went to my room and made myself comfortable, but I noticed my bed was not very comfortable. I accessed the Student Handbook online, and read through it in an instant. I was able to confirm that I was allowed to furnish my room anyway I want.
I quickly ordered a luxurious mattress I saw online, and looked around my dorm room. It was incredible nice, sparsely furnished, but very modern. I found fresh ingredients in the fridge so I took some time to cook for myself. I began to watch a tutorial video on how to cook, while I was cooking. With the assimilation I was able to cook while the video played in my vision at the exact same time, helping me to follow along better.
After I had my fill, I became bored and started to watch movies for the rest of the night. I checked my email and looked over the classes I had from now on.
My days followed the same schedule for the most part, with my mornings filled with Combat Practice, Weapon Mastery, and then lunch. After lunch I had one of five theoretical classes. History, Mana Theory, Blacksmithing, Mathematics and Political Studies. We then had Survival Studies, and Party Practice. The final class we had was Strategy and Development.
After that it was entirely up to us how to spend our time, and there was an entire town here for us to explore. The town was operated by different businesses run by students or the trusted employees who live on the floating island as well. I would explore tomorrow night, since I wanted to get a good night's sleep before class. I then heard a knock, and when I went to answer it I found that it was actually my uniforms. I was handed several sets, and if I needed anything tailored I could visit the boutique in the town.
I tried the uniforms on and found they fit very well. They were white uniforms with black trim, and I finally looked at myself in a mirror. I hadn't really looked at myself yet, because I was still suffering from a bit of imposter syndrome.
As I stared at myself there were two golden eyes looking back at me. I had short black hair that was flowing down lightly. I was a young, but handsome teenager. I would actually rate myself a solid 7/10, which was much better than my previous life where I would rate myself as exactly average.
I messed around after that answering emails about my app, accepting or declining ad deals, and I even spent a good amount of time just watching the number of downloads go up. Once it got late, I decided to go to sleep, since I was so bored from having been cooped up for the past few days. Between this dorm and the train from before.
I was just so excited to start taking advantage of people's systems.
****
Morning came, and I was currently sitting in a classroom I had never seen before. It was the room where my first class, Combat Practice, takes place. My system had been going crazy since the moment I entered the classroom. It had been scanning the kids around me for vulnerabilities, yet none of them had shown one yet. The different Systems interested me though, for example there was one kid who's System was the Sword Saint System.
Once the teacher walked in, I started to zone out and once she got finished with the introductions we headed outside to a training field. After we arrived outside the teacher, Ms. Silver, began to talk.
"As I said in the classroom, we have a new student, so today we will do another class ranking test. Line up in your current ranking, and Praetorian? Could you stand at the very end of the line please? This way it'll go faster."
I simply nodded and went to the end of the line. I then watched as all the kids began to showcase an amazing array of abilities.
Emily Jones, a blonde girl with twin pigtails who used incredible fire magic. She was the holder of the Igni System. A system that when used more and more she becomes closer to the Igni Djinn, a powerful Djinn who controls flames.
Ryan Hakket, a tall boy who was the owner of the Sword Saint System. He was stoic and quiet, but his sword style was sharp and ferocious.
Alan Richter, a boy with glasses and the ability to create golems. His system was the Alchemist System, working towards making him the greatest Alchemist of all time.
There were so many talents in the class, that it was tough to point at which one would be the most useful. As the class went on it eventually go to my turn, where I simply used a training sword to impale the dummy. My attack power was really impressive as just by using a drilling motion, the piercing power of the sword greatly increased.
I could feel the stares of the top students, but I ignored it while walking back to the rest of my peers.
Ms. Silver clapped and got everyone's attention again.
"Okay, looks like the rankings have moved around a bit, so here is the updated list."
She then put a piece of paper onto the dummy for everyone to see.
----
1. Ryan Hakket
2. Emily Jones
3. Aaron Lucco
4. Michelle Malmont
...
...
13. Praetorian Crow
...
...
----
I had managed to rank 13th, and I was pretty happy with that. Ms. Silver then announced that we will continue with our daily sparring, and that we should choose a partner. I saw a prompt that made my choice for me, but also would possibly result in getting my ass beat.
[Quest: Anger Emily Jones in a spar, and make her lose control.]
[Reward: Access to Igni System's skill library. +1 Igni skill. Establishes a connection with the Igni system to send back information to Host. Emily Jones will then have trouble controlling her emotions around you.]
The last sentence was not good to hear, but since I didn't really know her I don't think it really mattered. So I walked up to her, and egged her on.
"That fire magic is pretty good, but what happens when someone hits you with a longer ranged attack?" I asked, making it seem like an innocent question.
I saw a small vein on her head bulge a little.
"Haahh.. You're new, so I figured you probably just don't know, but I put a lot of effort into my physical fitness to make sure I am quick enough to protect myself."
I cringed on my inside as I said my next sentence, but I would do what it took to finish my quests.
"Fitness this dick in your mouth."
Then there was a complete silence before a roar of laughter burst out from the boys of the class. The girls were simply shell shocked, and even Ms. Silver was out of words. However, Emily Jones's reaction was a stark contrast.
The vein I saw earlier was now protruding from her forehead, accompanied by several others. Her face was red, and I saw her knuckles were white from having them balled into fists so hard.
"You... You don't have a sparring partner yet, do you... Why... Why don't you be my partner?" she barely was able to say those words through gritted teeth.
I laughed a little in my mind, not because the joke was funny, but because the whole thing was so childish. However I turned serious after accepting her proposition, and entering the sparring ring with her, because I knew she could actually kill me.
Right now, I was a normal person, while these kids had their systems that enhanced their physical traits since they were kids. I actually was like a baby compared to the girl before me, but thankfully I didn't have to defeat her. My goal was to piss her off.
"Okay, both of you should remember that you aren't here to seriously injure each other. Attack with the intent to subdue, not kill. Alright, and... Fight!" Ms. Silver said, she was refereeing the fight.
The moment she said 'fight', I threw my sword at Emily. I saw she began to gather fire in her hands, and with the sword coming at her she panicked, moving out of the way. Interrupting her own spell casting, she wasn't able to cast her spells. I kept harassing her, preventing her from using her spells. While my sword was attacking her, I began to throw insults.
"I told you that you had an obvious weakness. You talked about your speed, but forgot that the point wasn't to hit you. It's to prevent you from casting spells. Good thing you're a student, maybe you would never have realized this flaw if it weren't for the learning environment. You know I think it's weird that chose to fight in heels. Almost like you don't take the learning here seriously. Is the Jones a famous family? You carry yourself like an aristocrat."
She was slowly losing her patience, I could tell she was on the edge of blowing up. I knew exactly what would make her lose her top.
"I know you're only 15... But aren't you a little..."
She stopped moving for a moment and glared at me.
"Underdeveloped?"
Once again, everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at me with wide eyes. They couldn't believe that I would say such a thing, but even more they knew the reaction Emily would have.
It was while I was inspecting the reactions of those around me, that I had my focus pulled back, because I suddenly felt a large amount of searing heat.
I turned and looked at Emily. She was engulfed in flames, and I saw that her eyes were white. I knew I had passed the quest, because I heard the ding, but all I could do was watch as her fist flew towards my head. My vision immediately went black.