Ray finally gets out of bed.
'I'm still confused about that Hermes guy'
Ray looks over at the man waiting for him.
"I'm ready professor."
The man stands up.
"Shall we?"
Professor Gravesborne guides Ray to the other side of the school, where several students are seated at desks, likely registering for their classes. Ray turns to the professor.
"I never asked how many applicants passed the exam this year."
The man looked back at him.
"A little less than 50."
Ray nods.
'That's honestly more than I expected.'
They continue walking until they are in front of a desk. The lady sitting behind the desk greets them.
"Hello how may I help you?"
Ray turns to his professor before glancing back at the lady.
"I'm here to schedule the rest of my classes."
The lady nods.
"Great, what is your name."
Ray walks closer to the desk as if not wanting anyone to hear what he is about to say, it seems he's still trying to stay as a background character.
"Ray Valric."
The woman gasps, then attempting to regain her composure, she looks back at Ray.
"I heard you fought against a two star gryffin, everyone on campus knows about it by now."
Ray sighs.
'There goes my anonymity'
Ray lifts his head back up.
"It's true, but I wouldn't call it a fight; I was just doing my best to survive."
She nods.
"I believe that has its own merit, recognizing your opponent's strength is valuable in itself. Now, let's focus on getting your classes organized."
She looks over at her computer.
"It says here that you are enrolled in the hero course."
Ray nods.
"I'm not sure what courses I'm required to take."
She nods.
"the classes you are already signed up for are, intro to foreign diplomacy, basic hero studies, and the hero combat course."
Ray gazes down at his feet for a moment as if to think. He then looks back up at the woman and nods.
"Are there any monster hunting related courses?"
Thanks to his abilities, he had grown significantly stronger during the hunting phase of the exam. However, after his discussion with Hermes, he is now crystal clear on his next steps.
Kill as many monsters as he can.
The lady looks at him with a concerned look.
"I would have thought that with what you've been through you would've wanted to stay as far as possible from monsters, but yes we have a class called, guide to monster extermination, they take routine field trips so to speak to areas heavily populated by strong monsters."
Ray's eyes light up.
"I've made up my mind, I want to take that class."
Professor Gravesborne, who has been discreetly observing Ray's decision-making process, believes that now is the ideal time to express his thoughts.
"Are you sure you don't want to look at any other classes before you make up your mind."
Ray nods.
"You know about my ability, this is my best way to get stronger."
the man nods in aggreance despite his previous comment.
Certainly, if you're absolutely certain, then I see no issue. However, now that everything is sorted, I must bid you farewell. I wouldn't want the students to think I'm already showing favoritism.
Ray nods.
The man starts to walk away, but before he gets too far, he turns around.
"Oh, and I almost forgot, here's the key to your dormitory."
The man throws the key to Ray.
"Thank you, but where is the dorm."
The man keeps going without pause.
"Sorry, but I got things to do, you'll figure it out."
Ray sighs.
"What a rip-off."
The woman behind the desk laughs.
"I can tell you where the dorm is."
Ray nods.
"That would help a lot."
He continues the conversation with the woman, discussing the recent events that unfolded while he was asleep, before eventually walking in the direction of the dormitory.
'Whose idea was it to make this school so big.'
Ray drifts around for a bit, exploring the school until he eventually stumbles upon a building with a sign that says boys dormitory.
'Thank god, or gods, I don't know.'
Ray opens the door and starts looking for room 307.
'Judging by these numbers my room must be on the top floor.'
Ray continues through the halls.
'Oh here it is'
Ray tries to open the door.
'Huh'
'It's locked?'
Ray knocks on the door.
No response
Ray knocks again.This time he hears some rumbling in the room.
Ray has to jump back as the door swings open.
A dark skinned young man with scarlet red eyes opens the door.
"Oh ray what are you doing here."
Ray looks around to make sure the numbers match up and then back at Malik.
"According to this card, this is my room."
The boy smiles.
"Ah, I understand now! We're roommates. Please, come inside."
'Wow'
The room turned out to be more spacious than he had anticipated, featuring a TV, a kitchen, and a private bathroom, along with two generously sized beds on opposite sides of the room.
"Wow they don't hold back."
The boy nods his head.
"Yeah, I know, I'm not used to rooms this spacious, to be honest I didn't expect to pass the exam, I was fully prepared to go back home."
Ray seems to agree.
"Yeah me too, especially after i woke up days after it was over, i even missed a whole phase of the exam.
The boy looks at him with surprise.
"I was originally surprised when I didn't see you after the hunting exam, but it doesn't take long for rumors to spread throughout a place like this, plus a witness testimony proved those rumors true."
Ray sighs.
"Yeah I heard."
'I really didn't want this to happen.'
Ray glances over his shoulder at the young boy.
"To be honest, I never wanted to draw so much attention to myself."
The boy laughs.
"I get it, but I think you are unfortunately past the point of no return."
Ray is laughing.
"Yeah I guess so, anyways do you know when classes start."
The boy nods.
"Yeah it should be tomorrow, have u signed up for all your classes."
Ray nods in agreement.
"I stopped by scheduling before I came here."
The boy stands up.
"That's good, I was thinking about going to the duel center, wanna come?"
Ray gives him a weird look.
"What's that?"
Malik glances back at Ray.
"Well do you remember after the written exam when two applicants were fighting, for safety the school outlawed combat outside of classes, but the student response to this was negative, all the students that weren't in combat oriented classes had no chance to test their abilities against their peers."
The boy stops for a moment before continuing.
"And so the school created an area for students to safely engage in combat with one another."
Ray nods.
"I guess that makes sense, yeah I guess I'll come with you, but I'm not sure if I'm in the mood for a fight."
The boy nods.
"Understandable."
The boys leave the dorm, headed for the student dueling center.
'Wow'
There were more students present in this area than Ray had seen anywhere else in the school.
"So this is where everyone was."
Malik answers with a nod.
"I've heard from some upperclassmen that after orientation, new students usually tend to stay here."
"Considering that most of these individuals have been training for years, it's only logical for them to carry on with what they've been dedicating themselves to."
Ray looks around once more, he's not used to any of the things that have been happening since he came here.
Malik then explains to Ray how the duel simulation works.
"At this school, duels take place in a virtual reality simulation."
"Each player can choose how realistic they want the combat to feel, you can even edit the percent of pain you will take in relation to reality."
Ray nods.
'Doing it in that way makes perfect sense as it allows students to cultivate an authentic understanding of combat without exposing themselves to the risk of physical harm.'
"This school doesn't mess around."
Malik nods his head.
"Its no.1 for a reason."
Ray nods.
"You know what, I change my mind, I think I'm up for a fight."
Malik's eyes light up.
"You care to duel."
Ray nods his head in agreement. Then gestures his hand to point towards one of the open rooms.
"After you."