A week after the Banquet that was held inside the Palace, the Royal Academy resumed their classes. However, something in the air was different. The usually cheerful hallways, although not devoid of laughter, were more solemn compared to before.
The students that had experienced the baptism of the Dungeon Outbreak now understood how fragile their lives were. They had seen how even a small mistake could cause them to lose their lives at the jaws of monsters that were many times stronger than them.
Because of this, everyone took their studies seriously which made the professors double their efforts to teach them the lessons that would give them the highest chance for survival, if they found themselves in similar situations.
Even the arrogant top students in the past were now doing their best to further increase their strength.
Many students had died during the Dungeon Outbreak and all of their names were written on the newly erected monument in the main plaza of the academy to honor their bravery and sacrifice for the kingdom.
Their friends would often look at these names and shed bitter tears. Partly blaming themselves for being afraid and for not being strong enough to make a difference.
They were not strong enough to save them so, because of that, they poured their hearts into their lessons. They appreciated that the teachers had to come up with more effective training regimens in order to accommodate their drive to become stronger.
-----
"The Werehyenas are class C beasts that hunt alone or join with others to form a 'Cackle'," Oswald Hartelle, the Bestiary teacher of the First Years said in a calm manner. "Among the Therian Groups, they are often called opportunistic beasts because they don't care whether they steal their prey from others, or eat the remains that are left after other creatures have had their fill.
"Although they are weaker than Werewolves, they have characteristics that Werewolves don't have. For example, they can transform anytime of the day, while the Werewolves are limited to only being able to transform at night."
Everyone was paying close attention to Oswald's lecture. Even William, who had the chance to face off against these beasts, was listening properly to the professor's explanation. He was quite amazed by how strong these beasts were and the scary part about them was that they could transform into humans.
Fortunately, there was a clear identification whenever a Werehyena transformed into a human. The iris in their eyes had a yellowish tinge, which identified them as the notorious therian creature.
Due to this distinction, that couldn't be hidden even when using spells, Therians stayed away from human cities and only lived on the outskirts, fearing that someone would be able to see through their identity.
Kenneth, who was seated beside William, was also paying attention to the professor. After experiencing the great battle in the Southern Regions of the Hellan Kingdom, his thirst for knowledge about Magical Beasts had also increased.
"In our next lesson, we will be talking about Wendigos," Oswald ended his lecture with a smile. "Until then, make sure that you stay away from Werehyenas until you are strong enough to fight them."
With that final reminder, Oswald left the room. Classes for the day were now over.
The classes inside the Royal Academy started at nine in the morning and went until two in the afternoon.
Surprisingly, the names of the days in Hestia were similar to the names of the days back on Earth.
On Mondays, Wednesday, and Fridays, they attended the more physical lessons. Lessons like Equestrian training, archery, swordsmanship training, spear training, axe handling, throwing weapons mastery, etc.
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, they attended the more lecture focused lessons like History, Bestiary Lessons, War Strategies, and Topography.
Over the weekends, some of the students would go out to complete missions and commissions, while others would go explore the dungeons and domains that were currently available.
After their lessons, the entirety of the First Year Students headed towards the Equestrian Field of the Martial Division.
After the impressive Aerial Performance of the Angorian War Sovereign, many students from different Divisions had applied to become part of the Knight Order.
The majority of those who applied were commoners who were hoping to become official knights.
William didn't discriminate and put them all on a "Probationary Period".
The commander of the Angorian War Sovereign understood that some of the members who joined them were merely the nobles' spies sent to keep an eye on their actions. Nevertheless, he took them in because he had the confidence to make them his own double agents.
Information was a very powerful tool and it went both ways. The nobles had a very famous saying, "Everyone has a price".
For the most part, this was true. Everyone had a price. However, William was not everyone. During the banquet, the nobles did their best to bribe him to work for them, but he politely turned all of them down.
The Crown Prince even subtly hinted that it would be best for the Angorian War Sovereign to become the personal Knight Order of the future King of the Hellan Kingdom.
William just smiled, but didn't agree or disagree with the Crown Prince. He took a neutral stance and the Crown Prince was smart enough to take the hint.
"Ride your mounts!" William ordered. "Make sure that all of you stay in formation!"
Since only the original members of the Knight Order had magical beasts, the rest of the new members had no choice but to ride on Mountain Horses that were bred in captivity.
Aside from William's officers, and the thirty-six original members of the Knight Order, one-hundred-twenty new recruits had joined their ranks.
"Captains, you take the lead!" WIlliam ordered.
""Yes!"" His officers replied in unison.
Dave, Conrad, Priscilla, Spencer, Drake, and the newly appointed officer, Samuel, took charge of the formation. Each of them had Six Knights, and nineteen probationary members under them, forming a platoon.
Samuel was the noble that gave William the spear in order to force the Gryphon, Lionheart, to submit into becoming Dave's contracted beast.
The young noble was already sixteen years old, and the third son of their barony. Since he had no magic powers, his family didn't care much about him and pampered his older brother, who had a Grade B Talent in Magic.
This was also why he did his best to enter the Hellan Royal Academy to make a name for himself. He was always looking for an opportunity to raise his status, so when William formed a Knight Order he hurriedly joined it, thinking that it was a golden opportunity to make a name for himself.
When William asked for a spear, he had presented it without a second thought. He had long decided to hug William's legs and follow him as a loyal subordinate.
William recognized him because a person who took the initiative was someone worth grooming. Since Kenneth refused to lead a team of his own, the role landed on Samuel's head, which made the young noble ecstatic to show William that he hadn't made a mistake in choosing him to be one of his captains.
When William asked Kenneth to lead a squad of his own, the delicate looking boy firmly rejected his offer. He insisted that he would stay by William's side to assist him in his personal squad.
William didn't reject his proposal and allowed him to become a permanent member of his six-member team. Spencer tried to join them, but William kicked him out. The shameless shepherd even insisted that if Spencer couldn't even create and manage a squad of his own, he would be expelled from the Knight Order.
Facing such a threat, the siscon had no choice but to begrudgingly obey William's order.
As the Commander of the Angorian War Sovereign, William had his own private squad which was composed of Kenneth, Wendy, Ian, and the twin brothers, Brutus and Bruno McKaeser.
'I'm only missing a healer then our team is good to go,' William thought. "Wendy, do you know of any healers that could join our team? It would be best if they are a person you trust."
Wendy thought for a while before answering William's inquiry. "I only know of one person, but she's a Third Year in the Spirit Division."
William became curious and asked Wendy for more information. The latter was very weak when it came to William's request, so she decided to accompany him to the Spirit Division after their equestrian training had ended.
Since William was the Commander of the newly established Knight Order, the guards in the Spirit Division didn't block his way.
Right now, William was like a celebrity inside the Hellan Royal Academy. Everyone wanted to form a connection with him, so it was very easy for him to gain access to the different Divisions in the academy.
"Big Sister Amelia, are you here?" Wendy knocked on the door. "It's me, Wendy. Can I have some of your time?"
The door slightly opened and a girl with long green hair, and wearing eyeglasses, peeked out from inside the room.
"Wendy?"
"It is me, Big Sister."
Amelia looked at the boy behind her good friend and recognized William instantly.
"What does the Commander of the Knight Order want from me?" Amelia asked.
William gave a light bow, "There is something that I would like to ask of you, but can we talk in private? I don't want to discuss this matter in the hallway."
William glanced at his left and right and saw several girls that were chatting in the hallway. All of them were curious about why the commander had visited their dorm so they trailed after him.
Although some of them had guessed William's intention, without getting the confirmation from him, their guesses would remain as guesses.
Amelia reluctantly nodded her head and invited the two inside her room. She also didn't want to make it difficult for Wendy because the two of them were good friends that had known each other for years.
The moment the door closed, the girls in the dormitory flocked in front of Amelia's room and tried to eavesdrop on their conversation. Unfortunately for them, William had come prepared and made sure that not even a single word of their discussion would be heard outside of the room.