“Welcome all of you, the Class of 4187, to your First Year at Vesemir School For Affinities.” Then, clapping his hands loudly, the Head Dean stated authoritatively and disappeared from the stage.
The Head Dean’s disappearance marked the end of the dull and cumbersome Orientation. To summarize the speech, all he did was tell everyone where they could get a map, briefly explain the Academy Stores and their locations, and list the times the Grand Hall was open for meals.
Cynrik already knew all this, but it wasn’t until the Head Dean mentioned everyone had to take a minimum of four credit hours a day, with no more than 40 credit hours in a five-day week, that Cynrik finally paid attention. (Saturday and Sunday were for rest and training)
As it turns out, picking and choosing classes were all done through the Academy Website, so he wasn’t worried and tuned out the rest of the speech.
But now that the Orientation was over and the Head Dean was gone, the arena started getting noisy as the new students began making their way to the marked hallways for enrollment.
Casting a final look over his party, Cynrik motioned for Gabby and Benny to head to Hall A while he, Brance, and Selene moved to Hall S.
If one were to look down at the arena floor, one would see a massive tide of children moving toward Hall D to the south, C to the west, and B to the north. Finally, however, the herd significantly thinned out as a group broke off from the pack and moved towards the east side of the building, where Hall A and S were located side by side. Once inside, the single Hallway branched off to the left and right, one side for each Rank.
Cynrik nodded at the Sanfords, giving them the silent signal to behave yet not get bullied, and ventured down the well-lit Hall S with Selene and Brance in tow.
[[ Were either of you able to get an accurate headcount?]] With eyes on the backs of a handful of people who made it to Hall S quicker than them, Cynrik threw a question to the other two.
[[Before we entered the forked path, I was able to count over a hundred A’s, but I wouldn’t rely on that number too much because there were still a lot of people walking over, not to mention slackers.]] Brance had been keeping tabs on Gabby and Benny until they were out of sight, so he reported his findings.
[[Shit, was I supposed to be doing that too? I was too worried about the people behind and in front of us in Hall S. So far, I counted 25.]] Selene said, pouting slightly.
[[I didn’t expect you to have our level of multitasking yet, Selene, it’s good enough that you were checking the S-Ranks without me asking. Honestly, we won’t get an accurate number until we see the cluster in the Enrollment office. But, overall, I am only slightly concerned about their numbers, especially since there were clearly more than expected that can hide their Mana Fluctuations.]] Tilting his head to the side and releasing the built-up stress in his muscles, Cynrik spoke his mind to the others.
[[Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask, but what are these Mana Fluxuations you keep talking about, and how come you guys can see them, but I can’t?]]
This topic had been bugging Selene since she gained access to the mind link. Every time Cynrik and Brance observed their surroundings, they would comment on people’s strengths, leaving her in the dark.
[[Eh, did you not read through our skill list? Brance and I have an inherited skill called [Mana Sight] passed down from our Dad’s side of the family. With it active, we can observe all the ambient Mana particles in a specific area; as such, it can work as a power-scanner of sorts.]]
[[The stronger someone gets, the more Mana flows through their bodies, and unless they have a way to contain it, the particles will radiate from their pores and codex into the open air, creating a hazy mist-like effect around them. Over time we worked out a scale formula to determine how strong someone is based on the amount of Mana they are radiating. The more intense the hazy waves are, the stronger the person is. ]] Brance added.
[[On the plus side, it’s like a cheat for figuring out an opponent’s Affinities, everyone lights up like a Christmas tree, and it’s pretty flashy. Unless you have a skill or are particularly in tune with Mana, you wouldn’t even realize. For example. With a casual glance, I can tell roughly how much MP you have along with the Tier of your Codex. Also, because Mana sight shows the particles in their natural color, so long as I know the entire spectrum, I can determine what Elements you have.]] Picking up where Brance left off, Cynrik finished the train of thought as they made it out of the Hallway and into a comprehensive office building filled with kiosks and attendants ready to help with enrollment.
[[Kinda looks like the bank I used to work at back in the day,]] Cynrik said with a smirk.
[When the hell did you work at a bank? I thought you only ever worked at a Vet clinic and the skating rink pre-Airforce.]] Shocked by the revelation that Cynrik ever held down a semi-normal job in his life, Brance couldn’t help but feel he had missed a significant achievement in Cynrik’s growth on Earth.
[[Don’t hurt your brain trying to remember, it lasted less than a month before I rage quit.]] Cynrik’s face scrunched up as if he smelled something foul at the memories of that job.
[[Nah, nope, you are lying, you didn’t rage quit.]]
[[OHHH, I SMELL DRAMA, SPILL!]]
Brance and Selene immediately pounced on Cynrik verbally when they realized something was fishy with the story already.
[[Tsk, fucking gossip queens, FINE, some bastard kept taking my lunch every day for a week, so when I found out, I beat the fuck outta him and got fired. I lasted like two weeks at that job; that’s why I never told you, Brance.]]
[[Now, can we please focus on the topic at hand? Let’s find three open kiosks and get this shit over and done with. The longer we are separated from Gabby and Benny, the more likely they will get in trouble.]] Ignoring the obnoxious laughter coming from Selene and Brance, Cynrik shoved his hands into his pockets angrily and stormed off to the far side of the Enrollment office, where he spotted five vacant kiosks.
Wiping the tears of laughter from their eyes, Selene and Brance hurried after Cynrik while taking jabs at him about how even the shortest employments they had on Earth were at least two years.
By the time the three made it to the vacant kiosks, the two meddlesome fellows had finally stopped their annoying laughter and put on serious expressions, falling in on opposite sides of Cynrik, who was already greeting the young lady behind a glass window.
“Hello, my name is Ivar Ragnarsson; I am here to complete my Enrollment procedures and receive my contracted benefit items.” He pulled down his hood and flashed the pretty woman his most charming smile.
Unfortunately, since he only looked like he was 13 or 14, the lady just responded with the same smile an older sister would give her younger sibling, peeving Cynrik.
“Not a problem; first, could you please remove your Watcet and place it on the dish for me? I need to verify your identity and the device’s authenticity before continuing.” The woman said, pushing a few buttons on her keyboard, making a small metallic dish rise up from the desk.
Cynrik nodded and complied, but first, he had to unequip his Assassins tool, then is Watcet. His left eye never stopped twitching as it was the first time since he was little that the device had left his wrist. What he wasn’t expecting, however, was the moment he pulled back his sleeve and flashed the brilliant Platinum exterior of his device, the staff woman sucked in a deep breath of air.
“Tha..that’s, platinum, you’re the new SS-Rank student.” The woman stumbled through her sentence with wide eyes and accepted the Watcet as if it was the most fragile thing in the world.
“Yes, ma’am, that would be me.” Fighting his hardest not to lose his temper with the woman, Cynrik affirmed his identity, and after a couple of minutes and a quick laser light show when a machine scanned his device, Cynrik placed his Watcet back on his wrist where it belonged.
“Thank you; I have your information brought up and have verified that everything is in order. I have already installed the appkey for your dorm in the Methia’s wing, Room number 001; all you will need is to press your Watcet against the panel on the door, and the door will unlock, allowing you to enter. To lock it, all you have to do is tap on the panel a second time when leaving.” Then, acting like a professional who hadn’t been caught off guard minutes before, the woman went back into work mode and explained things to Cynrik.
“Your Watcet now holds a personalized tag, allowing you to use it to access all the training facilities available to First-Year Students.”
Next, she opened up a drawer and pulled out a platinum-colored Creditcard before placing it in the little tray and passing it over to Cynrik on the other side of the glass.
“This is your Merit Point Card; as per your contractual benefit terms, it has been preloaded with 500 Merits, on top of enough credit to cover the expenses for your uniforms and textbooks. If you wish to check your balance at any time, just hold the card against your Watcet, and it will automatically pull up your balance on the Academy website.”
“The card itself is essential, so please take care not to lose it. If for some reason you do, you will be charged 1000 Merit points for a reissue, so it is best to keep it in your inventory where it can’t be lost or stolen.”
Cynrik nodded that he understood, and after examining the card in detail for a second, he carefully put it away in his inventory.
“I have finished filing all the correct forms and paperwork, so all that is left is for me to go retrieve the items detailed in your contract; please allow me a few minutes to do so.”
The woman gave a brief smile and jumped out of her chair, taking off at a full sprint towards a back room without waiting for Cynrik to respond, leaving him stunned.
‘Well, she sure is taking this seriously,’ he thought to himself and checked in with Selene and Brance, who were also waiting for their signing items.
Their experience so far wasn’t as irregular as his own since the two of them were regular S-Ranks, and the staff was well acquainted with new students of their Rank. Only the woman dealing with Cynrik was a bit off.
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