The room 642 that Jin entered was large and spacious, and it also had a private bathroom, which excited Jin immensely.
"I never thought I would have a room with its own bathroom," Jin smiled as he explored the rest of the room.
There was a large bed that could fit at least two people, and there was also a wardrobe. Initially, Jin didn't know what wardrobes were, as he had always kept his tattered clothes in a box next to the shack where he lived with his grandfather.
Jin opened the wardrobe to explore it and found inside the academy's uniform.
"Wow, these are the same clothes I saw at the city entrance," he exclaimed as he pulled out the uniform to put it on.
When Jin wore the uniform, he wondered, "How on earth did they know my clothing size?"
"Anyway," Jin looked at the wardrobe and found several other items like underwear and sleepwear. There was also a golden necklace with his number on it.
Jin held the necklace tightly, afraid it might break, as a golden necklace would undoubtedly be expensive. "Number 9801, what an unimpressive number," he sighed, then placed the necklace back and closed the wardrobe. He stood in front of the desk mirror to see himself.
"I look handsome in these clothes, haha, I can't wait to turn down all the women who will be interested in me," Jin boasted arrogantly.
He then removed his clothes. "Well, it's time to test out my private bathroom," Jin ran excitedly to enjoy a quiet bath.
"Phew, what a relief. Am I in heaven already?" Jin smiled happily as he looked at the ceiling, enjoying the bathtub.
After a few hours, Jin got out and threw himself onto the bed, extremely happy, and soon fell asleep, snoring contentedly as the 21-day journey had been incredibly boring and exhausting.
Jin woke up the next morning, rubbing his eyes and stretching. "What a comfort, this bed is a thousand times better than the medical center," Jin smiled and jumped out of bed, elated.
Then there was a knock on the door. "Student Jin, are you awake?"
Jin opened the door. "Hello, teacher."
Teacher Howell adjusted his glasses and held his book. "Put on your designated uniform with the number and follow me."
Jin went with teacher Howell, who informed him, "Tomorrow, the opening ceremony for new students will take place. It will last for three days."
Jin looked at his number. "I'm number 9801. Does that mean there are this many students this year?"
Howell replied, "Yes, actually 10,000, but not annually. Every five years, new students apply to the academy."
He added, "The academic term lasts two years. If a student fails to awaken during this period, they are considered to have failed and are expelled from the academy. Therefore, every five years, only half of the total number of students succeed."
Jin put his hands behind his head and asked, "What do successful students do in the remaining three years?"
Howell answered, "They fight chaos, of course, and hundreds of them die every year."
"Don't worry about that for now. You need to focus on learning the locations of the halls."
Jin followed Howell to the first hall, which was the ceremony hall. Howell informed him that he would be here tomorrow, so they couldn't enter the hall at that time.
They then headed to the science hall complex, called the Scientific Complex.
In this complex, there was a hall dedicated to biology, where the awakened students learned about the types of chaos creatures and their weaknesses.
Next to it was the chemistry hall, where the awakened learned how to make health potions and essential components that would help in combat, such as bombs or poisons that affect creatures and other chemistry-related sciences.
There was also the wilderness hall, where students learned how to survive and deal with hardships they might face in the wild and the seas, how to prepare food, and identify toxic and edible food, among other survival skills.
Finally, there was the human sciences hall, a hall for those interested in human medicine, where the awakened learned about the human body, its capabilities, and how it grows.
Jin and Howell then moved to the Western complex, which was specialized in combat.
In the first hall, students trained to become awakened and learned about the essence of the soul and how to acquire skills and abilities.
Next to it was the hall where the awakened learned to control their powers and adapt to them.
The third hall, which was the most important to Jin, was the hall specialized in the science of killing.
This hall taught the awakened how to face chaos, how to kill or escape from them. In this hall, students also learned how to kill humans, which made Jin uneasy.
"Why would a human kill another human?" Jin asked Howell.
Howell replied as he moved to the next hall, "Because humans can be more dangerous than chaos."
Jin didn't understand, but he didn't ask more questions, knowing he would learn sooner or later during the academic year.
The last hall in the complex was reserved for the elite and royal families only. Jin couldn't find out what was in that hall, but he wasn't very interested.
They then moved to the Study complex.
This complex contained halls larger than those in the other complexes.
The first hall was dedicated to teaching magic. Here, the awakened students who had magical awakening powers, such as healing magic or offensive magic like fire, were taught.
Next to it was the hall for teaching weapon combat. This was the largest hall Jin had seen so far, indicating that most of the awakened relied on weapons for their powers.
In this hall, students learn how to use the weapons they awaken with, such as swords, spears, scythes, archery, and various other types of weapons.
Jin wondered to himself, "Do my blood powers count as weapon skills, I wonder?"
Then, Jin and Howell headed to the last hall, which was the history hall.
According to Howell, this hall had the fewest visitors. It seemed no one was interested in history, but this hall was important to Jin because he was particularly interested in history, especially since his grandfather had told him some of the continent's history.
Afterward, Jin and Howell went to the last complex, which was the Entertainment complex. This complex had two halls.
The first hall was the general entertainment hall, where the cafeteria, restaurants, and other entertainment facilities such as skating and sports like weightlifting were located.
The second hall, which was more important than all the other halls, was the one Jin was most excited about!
It was the library. Jin had loved reading since his childhood. He had no other form of entertainment in his life, so books were his only source of amusement.
After exploring the three complexes with their various halls, Howell told Jin about other places within the academy as well.
He mentioned the training grounds, which were available to everyone at all times.
He also told Jin about the forbidden areas that students were not allowed to enter, especially warning Jin about a basement called the Idris Basement.
"There is something very important as well. Despite the heavy security here, for whatever reason, do not even think about approaching that basement. Entering there will result in your expulsion and, in the worst case, your death," Howell warned Jin in a stern tone.
"What is in that basement?"
Howell replied, "I don't know, and I don't think you want to know."
Jin muttered to himself in annoyance, "But I do want to know, you four eyes fool," mocking Howell's ridiculously large glasses.
Then Jin and Howell moved on to see the other places in the academy.
There was a refreshing river with pleasant air and a beautiful view, food stalls, and many places to sit in front of the river view, usually visited by lovers and couples.
There were also vast squares where students walked or jogged.
Finally, there was the last building called the Graduation Building, where graduates visited to receive awards and honors for their success.
"Well, this is the academy. I hope you like it," Howell said, adjusting his glasses as he looked at Jin.
Jin smiled, tired, "It really is huge. It took 4 hours to explore this place."
Then Jin added respectfully, "Thank you, Teacher Howell. You've worked hard with me."
Howell smiled, "I hope you enjoy your time here. But I'll give you an important piece of advice before I go."
Jin looked at him, "What is it?"
"Do not encounter with the royal families. It's best to avoid approaching any of them."
He added, "Especially the three great families: the Artavalia, the Shanzu, and finally the most dangerous, the Malekith family."
"And also, avoid talking about the saints or the combat factions."
Jin was uneasy about what Howell told him. After all, Lamar and President Saruman had warned him about the royal families.
"Why does everyone warn me about them?" Jin muttered to himself.
Then Jin sighed and said, "Well, Teacher Howell, thank you."
Then Howell left, and Jin returned to his room in the dormitory. He sat on the chair opposite his bed, thinking.
"The royal families..." Then he closed his eyes and said, "O Amon's guardian, summon me to the tomb."
After a few minutes, Jin was indeed inside Amon's tomb. Jin had learned this during the 21 days of his journey. He was so bored that he had nothing else to do.
He learned during that time that he could control his subconscious to find himself in that tomb. He always sat there meditating, and sometimes he would talk to a mysterious spirit that responded to him on a paper called Amon's guardian.
But the conversations were always boring and related to Amon and his will. But Jin didn't mind this, as his mind felt clear and greatly relaxed whenever he entered that tomb in his subconscious.
Jin asked Amon's guardian, "Do you know anything about the royal families?"
The paper appeared before him, writing "The only supreme and revered king is Amon"
"So Amon was a king, huh."
Jin asked, "What about the other kings?"
The writing on the paper changed to "The only supreme and revered king is Amon; there is no other."
Jin scratched his head, "You're a damn useless," then left his subconscious to return to reality.
After that, Jin went to his room, decided to take a warm bath, and then get some rest to prepare for the entrance ceremony the next day.
"Welcome back, Leonard," Saruman greeted the saint Leonard with a smile.
Leonard took off his coat and placed it on the chair, sitting in front of Saruman. "Ah, thank you. How are the preparations for the ceremony going?"
Saruman replied, "There are many promising candidates this year, especially that girl from the Artavalia family."
Leonard responded, "Artavalia, this indeed sounds promising."
Saruman smiled, "There is another boy who will catch your interest, Leonard."
Leonard looked at him, "Is he from one of the other royal families?"
Saruman scratched his chin, smiling, "No, he is Arthur's son."
"Oh, so he is here," Leonard smiled, then his expression turned serious after a few moments.
"Anyway, there is something more important you should know, Saruman."
Saruman replied, "Oh, what is that?"
Leonard's gaze turned cold as he looked at Saruman, "There is..."
Saruman listened to what Leonard was saying, his expression becoming very serious and angry.