Silence reigned in the office as 2 pair of eyes glared at each other.
"You're Guendouzi, aren't you?!" Ramon suddenly said loudly.
"…" Instructor Guendouzi's eyes twitched.
He wanted to yell back at the little brat but thinking of something, he reacted differently and answered. "No, I am not Guendouzi".
"…!" Instantly, Ramon's head went blank.
"He is not Guendouzi?" His eyes grew confused as he questioned out loud.
"You are not Guendouzi?"
"..." Instructor Guendouzi's eyes twitched even further. 'He really bought that? My gosh, this fool!'
"My life was a lie!" Ramon cried out. "My mom never told me that people could be so identical…," He paused as he remembered something.
Ramon stared at the instructor with brightly shining eyes now brimming with confidence. "You're Guendouzi's brother!" He declared.
"No! Hell no, I'm Guendouzi! How on earth can't you tell?" This instructor glared at his student as he berated him. "Hell! I was your teacher for 5 years, how and why on earth can't you tell if you saw me?!"
The instructor's outburst caught Ramon off-guard, he paused. "You're Guendouzi?"
"Yes! I am your teacher!"
"But you said you're not Guendouzi". Ramon stared innocently.
"…!" Instructor Guendouzi gritted his teeth in frustration.
2 seconds later…
"Ouch, my ears! I believe you! You're teacher Guendouzi!"
Instructor Guendouzi finally released the little boy's ears, feeling satisfied after the draining conversation that almost drained all his brain cells.
Ramon rubbed his hurting ears as he stared at his teacher grievously.
Calmer now, this instructor finally addressed the 10-year-old boy. "When your dad, the patriarch of the Brenden family met me to become your personal teacher 5 years ago, I rejected instinctively".
"Despite the amount of money that he offered me, you know, in Stoneflower State, instructors in Centerpoint Astral Academy are highly respected".
"Children of the most influential astral warriors and statesmen across Tiberia gather here to learn the fundamentals of astral energy".
"We have one of the highest statuses in the whole state and even the country, so confining ourself to a single kid as personal teacher is unbefitting of our status".
"The only reason I accepted your dad's offer was because of the other benefits that he promised, and most importantly because I never believed that a kid of the Brenden family could get a scholarship into the academy".
"I never expected you to be so talented that we'll meet here".
"This is why I want to propose an agreement between us, I don't want to take advantage of you by simply imposing rules on you while not sacrificing anything".
"During your stay in Centerpoint Astral Academy, I need you to promise me never to mention anything about our 5 years relationship to anyone".
"No one here needs to know that I once homeschooled you".
"And in exchange, in the academy, I'll be your secret backer. You know, here in Centerpoint Astral Academy, a scholarship alone is not enough to survive".
"You need a backer to survive".
"Do you understand what I said?" Guendouzi stared at the 10-year-old boy, partially worried that all his words were just wasted.
Ramon scratched his head as he looked at the instructor. "I don't know why you don't want them to know about us…"
"Know about us? Don't put it like that, that's so weird". Guendouzi complained.
"Huh?" Ramon stared at him, confused but he continued nonetheless.
"Ok, I don't know why you don't want them to know about me and you…"
"…" Guendouzi's lips twitched.
"…Anyways," Ramon continued. "I agree to keep my silence but in payment, I don't need a backer in the academy, a rather need a secret teacher".
'He's not speaking like a 10-year-old at all,' Guendouzi narrowed his eyes.
"Once I start learning how to fight and become a strong astral warrior, I want to put in more effort than all the others".
"If the others train once a day, I want to train twice".
"And since you teach here, you're qualified to be my secret teacher to help me become a strong astral warrior faster".
Silence.
Instructor Guendouzi stared at the 10-year-old Ramon in shock. 'This boy…,' He was amazed. 'One moment he can be so foolish and clueless but another moment, he can somehow switch to be so mature and intelligent?'
'He's grown up'. He felt complicated emotions.
Instructor Guendouzi tried to bargain but seeing how adamant Ramon was, he relented. "Fine, I'll be your secret teacher".
"But first, go learn your astral energy type".
'Yes!' Ramon pumped his fist in celebration in his mind.
'Mom was right, it looks so cool feigning maturity'.
…
For today, Monday, the freshers had only 2 general course classes.
The first one was in the morning by 7 while the last one to end the day was at 3 in the afternoon. After completing the class for AST 101, basics of astral energy, Ramon met up with Shaggy again who continued his escort and tour mission.
With hours left till his next class, Ramon finally had the time to go round the big territory of the Centerpoint Astral Academy.
There were 3 gates that led into the academy premises, the big East and South gates, and the small Northern gate.
To the east was the department building of the Wildlife department. The east was also home to the office of the academy Headmistress, Lady Openda and most of the offices of the high-ranking officials and instructors of the academy.
Most of the lecture halls were located towards the big South gate, including the department buildings of the history and education departments.
The academy library was also located towards the big South gate.
Only the weapon department and its vassal departments were located towards the small Northern gate. This was also where the sports complex and combat arena of Centerpoint Astral Academy was located.
The wildlife deposition department that was in charge of exchanging the hunt of students to contribution points, also where Shaggy and Frank took on this escort mission was also located towards the small Northern gate.
Going round the school, Ramon was fascinated by all the locations and the numerous new faces of the students that he met.
Every student in this school had awakened astral energy, this was truly a hub of astral warriors. The realization made Ramon even more excited.
After the tour round the school, Shaggy took Ramon to go eat where he answered all the questions that the little kid had about the tour.
They still had an hour before Ramon's next class.
"Shaggy," Ramon looked up at his escort that he already grew to like. "What is the academic schedule of the school like till graduation?"
Shaggy was surprised. 'Why is he being so inquisitive and intelligent today?'
Despite his thoughts though, Shaggy answered. "The normal academic schedule of students in Centerpoint Astral Academy lasts 5 to 7 years".
"It varies because graduation depends on your instructors".
"They're the ones to give the verdict if you are ready to graduate after evaluating your performance in the graduation tournament".
"Only 1st, 5th to final year students wear white academy uniforms. 2nd year students wear yellow uniforms, 3rd year students wear red, while 4th year students wear black uniforms".
"1st year students like you are freshers and are mostly taught theory about astral energy usage and combat theories".
"It's from the 2nd year that you graduate from white to yellow which shows your readiness to be plunged into the danger of the astral world".
"From the 2nd year upwards, instructors can lead your class to expeditions in the wild where you'll encounter astral beasts and fight them".
"3rd and 4th year students are already bonafide astral warriors".
"From your 5th year, students are certified hunters and are eligible to get the hunter badge of the Astral Hunter Union".
"From the 5th year is where students become masters".
"I'm currently a 6th year student of the academy," Shaggy introduced with pride. "I'm a low tier Knight Stage warrior".
"Knight?" Ramon was confused.
"Oh, I forgot that you've not attended the class for the power system of astral warriors yet, you'll learn it probably during your next AST 101 class".
Ramon nodded as he thought through everything that he just learned, then he suddenly raised his head again and looked at Shaggy. "Thank you, brother Shaggy, thank you for being my escort".
He grinned. "Don't worry, in the future, after becoming the King of astral travelers, I'll definitely pay you back".
"King of astral travelers? That's weird".
"Ahh," Ramon scratched his head. "I mean the strongest in the world".
Shaggy laughed. "I can't wait".
Looking at his time, the young brown-haired man stood up. "It's time for your next class Ramon, let's go".
"Ok," Ramon stood up but before leaving, he stared at Shaggy again, this time his focus was on his escort's face.
"That scar on your face, how did you get it? You fought with your brother?"
Shaggy was dumbfounded. "Who gets blade scars from fighting with siblings?" He laughed. "It's a long story, I'll tell you after you become a strong astral warrior in the future".
"Promise?" Ramon's eyes brightened.
"Promise".
"Good!" Motivated, Ramon skipped away to his next class.