‘Nightsbane, isn’t that the last name of an old legacy family in the capital. Even I’d heard of them. Although not as influential as the 5 founders, his ancestors also played a role in the establishment of the Empire. I’m supposed to kill one of them?! Why would the college even issue a mission targeting a noble?’
“The target details are as follows: Aric Nightsbane is the only legitimate grandson of the Nightsbane family. However, despite their illustrious history Aric was unsuccessful in all three of his attempts to awaken an affinity.”
“He’s not even 1-star then. Why is the difficulty of the mission worthy of receiving 350 credits?”
“Despite his status as an ordinary person, he is nevertheless the legitimate heir of the Nightsbane family, therefore strict measures have been taken to ensure his safety at all times. Elite 5-star guards ensure that nobody above 3-stars is able to approach him unless they have been authorized by the family patriarch, his grandfather Edric Nightsbane—a 6-star beast-tamer.”
“Great…Great! So you want me to kill the grandson of a 6-star beast tamer!”
Kain was beginning to feel like he was in way over his head.
“However, the guards are the least challenging obstacle you will have to overcome. Similar to the mouse in the test you just undertook, Aric is adorned in spiritual equipment of at least 5-star quality that prevents assassination attempts by both physical and poisonous means.”
“Haaaa…. So not only a high-profile target, but also one stacked with security measures. How exactly am I supposed to accomplish this?”
“The target rarely appears in public, and chances of successfully infiltrating the Nightsbane mansion to successfully launch an attack are miniscule. Therefore, the College will notify you of a suitable assassination opportunity when it arises, you are expected to follow the details of the notification immediately upon being informed.”
“So that’s it…you won’t provide any more details until it’s time to start the mission?”
“Correct. You can go about your daily life as normal.”
“Well, it’s kind of hard to go about my daily life with this hanging over my head. What if the notification occurs years from now? Am I supposed to not go past 3-stars in all that time? Can’t you give me at least a time period I can expect the mission to be?”
“Apologies. In order to keep the vigilance of the target to a minimum, you will only be made aware at the moment the mission is to occur. Student Kain has now officially accepted 3 concurrent missions and is unable to accept any more. Please make way for the next applicant.”
Since he had been practically kicked out, Kain didn’t insist on overstaying his welcome and left the stall.
‘So I guess I’m just supposed to go to my first day of classes then, and not think about how my future attendance relies on being able to kill the son of a NOBLE family. If it ever leads back to me I am doomed.’
He had spent quite a while in the mission hall and there were now mere minutes until his first Introduction to Spiritual Skills class. Therefore, he sprinted across the campus as fast as he could, only arriving at the class with seconds to spare. No time to try and find the others, he just sat in the closest empty seat he could find.
Almost at the same time he sat, Assistant Professor Nightingale
“Welcome students to Introduction to Spiritual Skills. I’m sure you all know me from the entrance exam so I will not bother to re-introduce myself. I’m also sure that you’re already fed up with long drawn out speeches on your first day of classes, so I will dive straight into the lesson plan”
‘Oh, thank god!’
“Some of you may have already been exposed to using spiritual skills when taught by your families. However, in order to ensure that everyone is caught up we will start from the very basics.”
“Many of you will not be used to using your spiritual power in a meaningful manner. The use of spiritual skills requires extremely fine control. Therefore, we will begin with actively manipulating your spiritual power in a controlled manner to trigger the most basic sense enhancements. These do not require any special technique and can be performed by anyone with fine enough control.”
“Please close your eyes and try your best to follow along. Direct your energy to your head. If you have a migraine, then you have to use too much force. First, we will concentrate the energy to your eyes. If done correctly they should feel warm, if you were to open your eyes you would find that your vision has been magnified several times over.”
“The next key locations are the ears, now listen to see if you can hear the sounds of your classmates’ heartbeats.… To the nose, can you smell anything new? I had rubbed the oil obtained from a Ribbon Eel on the bottoms of each of your chairs…and then the mouth, to amplify your senses of taste.”
“Thankfully these senses are all within close proximity to one another, so moving between them is extremely simple.”
‘No it’s not!’ Kain wanted to scream. He had superior mental strength compared to the average student, which is supposed to help with control of spiritual power, but even he hadn’t successfully been able to channel the energy into his eyes without feeling as though they were going to burst. Then he had a painful ringing in his ears when he attempted the next location.
Then he just had an overwhelming urge to sneeze due to his nose tickling, and now his tongue just feels heavy and swollen in his mouth.
“Now we will work on the last sense, the sense of touch. Move the energy in your head to the palms of your hands. You can try stroking your chairs. Can you more acutely feel the fine lines of the wood?”
“This rotation among all the five senses will be the subject of your first assessment. However, if you were not able to successfully amplify all 5 senses, don’t be discouraged, the assessment will be not be performed until 2 weeks from now.”
‘I’m not even sure if 2 weeks will be enough time for even me to complete the full rotation, I hope Bridge will be okay’
“The next few classes until the assessment will consist of independent studying. Therefore, for those of you confident in passing, you can choose whether or not to attend lectures. One of the rare few times this semester when attendance in classes will be optional. These first two weeks are intended to give those of you whose families may not have been able to teach them, an opportunity to catch up.
Therefore, take advantage of this time and come to class to have any questions answered. This will be the only time that the College will show such leniency.”