15 Trials
Satisfied with his little foray into the library, Aser quickly decided to check out the other areas before starting his cultivation for the day. Even if it was his first day in the Academy, he had no intention of falling behind. He also needed to figure out an efficient way to finish reading all the books in the library with Ashes! Briefly checking his System Panel, Aser quickly headed onwards to the large Arena building in the distance.
...
[Name: Aser Scholt]
[System Class: Mind's Eye - Ashes]
[Attributes:
Strength: 6
Constitution: 5
Dexterity: 6
Intelligence: 15
Charisma: 6
Attribute Points: 5]*
[Age: 7]
[Race: Human]
[Rank: Unknown Level 5]*
Essence to Unknown Level 6: 160/3200*
Essence Cultivation Rate: 22 Essence per hour (Max 5 hours/day)
Knowledge:
1. Southern Seas topography (10/50)
2. Shelfield Seas topography (12/25)
3. General History of the Enlightenment Era (2/100)
4. General Descriptions of Aquatic Beasts (1/30)
5. General Knowledge on Beginning Essence Cultivation (12*/20)
6. General Knowledge on Professions for advancement from Unknown Rank (4*/70)
Innate Skill:
1. Mind's Eye (S) (Rank 1): Your body has unlocked the mind's eye. Your inner eye allows you to sense the [Essence History] around your surroundings, changing it into knowledge. By actively using the skill, you are able to sense within a 5ft. area around you, as well as investigate other people and objects. [+5 Base Int]. Upgrade Conditions: Observe more people (1/50).
Passive Skill:
1. Starlight (S) (Rank 1): The starlight is your friend, you are blessed by the stars and have gained their trust. [+2 Int per rank]. Upgrade Conditions: Unknown.
…
Remembering the notice he read earlier, Aser assumed that the Arena was where he could participate in the so called "Trials". While walking, he finally decided to read the Academy Guidelines book to increase his understanding of the Academy. Surprisingly, he very quickly found out that even though most of the trials were in the Arena, but the trials could be anywhere on campus, including during classes and even in the cafeteria and library. The Crystal Processor for the campus maintained and monitored the trials, and would release them periodically when certain conditions were met. Almost all the buildings in campus other than private areas were monitored to both prevent any unforeseen accidents as well as track conditions and progress for trials.
He also figured out that there were school wide ranking boards as well as age specific ranking boards. Realizing that although the Academy seemed harmonious, there was still a lot of competition for everyone, Aser gradually let go of his frustration from earlier. He thought that his desire to compete and prove himself was an anomaly, but it was more the fact that the Academy forbid any sort of public arguments or fights. As such, the harmonious atmosphere he witnessed was simply a facade and almost all of the students seemed to be scheming behind everyone to get further ahead. Most people would feel uncomfortable with the scheming and competition behind the scenes, but Aser actually felt invigorated. He didn't know why, but just the thought of being able to outwit his peers made his blood boil. On the other hand, he didn't actually have as much excitement when imagining duels or combat competitions, as he instinctively felt apprehensive about being close to others, spilling blood or exchanging moves.
Walking up to the large Arena building, Aser saw kids standing in front of a large Crystal board. Assuming that it was the ranking and Trials board, he approached it to witness the top students of the current First Son's Academy.
-First Son's Academy Trial Ranking Board-
The First Son: Jonah Shelfield, 6th Year, 4390 Points
The First Daughter: Juno Shelfield, 6th Year, 5320 Points
Second: Barry Lowe, 6th Year, 3250 Points
Third: Richard Preston, 6th Year, 3200 Points
Fourth: Lars Anderson, 5th Year, 2100 Points
Fifth: James Porter, 5th Year, 1940 Points
...
Ninety Ninth: Hannah Nor, 2nd Year, 540 Points
Hundredth: Miles Cyrus, 2nd Year, 535 Points
…
It was evident right from the beginning that the two people ranked at the very top were exceptional among their peers, not to mention being from the City Lord's family! The students in the 2nd and 3rd ranking were further below them, and the gap grew bigger from the 4th ranking onwards. This continued until near the middle after the 50th ranking where each rank would differ by only a few points until finishing at the 100th rank.
Looking at all the names there and understanding that only 2nd Year students are able to get on to the Top 100, Aser readily decided that his goal for his 1st Year would be to get in the Top 50! He was sure that there were plenty of 1st Year students that were able to rank within the Top 100, just as he was sure that being in the Top 50 as a 1st Year would be almost impossible. The current rankings didn't have a 2nd Year until the 85th rank!
Moving past the ranking board, Aser saw smaller crystals around the entrance of the arena, presumably the crystals for viewing and registering trials. According to the Academy Guidelines, after registering for a trial, you would have to go to the building where the trial would be conducted. Most of them were in the Arena, but Aser didn't want to compete there at the moment. He wanted to take part in the trials that would take place in the library, and he knew for sure that there were quite a few of those as well!
Locating an empty crystal, Aser went up and asked Ashes to connect to the Crystal Terminal. Approving the request for connection, Aser saw a list open up in his mind similar to his System Panel. Looking at all the Trials, such as "Win 5 Combat Matches in a row", or "Collect information regarding the Conquer Era", Aser knew that these trials were made to suit every kind of Cultivator.
"Filter for Knowledge based and Library based Trials Ashes."
[Filter Applied. Showing results…]
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1. Library Trial 001: Read the following 100 books. Trial Completion Requirements: Pass exam for Library Trial 001 with 90% or above. Reward: 10 Points
2. Library Trial 002: Read the following 100 books. Trial Completion Requirements: Pass exam for Library Trial 002 with 90% or above. Reward: 10 Points
..
61. Information Research 001: Gather information regarding the subject "Cultivation and its merits to human society". Trial Completion Requirements: Submission of paper on the given subject, paper reviewed and approved by Education Board. Reward: 150 Points
62. Information Research 002: Gather Information regarding the subject "Enlightenment Era for the Unknown - Improvement of the general populace". Trial Completion Requirements: Submission of paper on the given subject, paper reviewed and approved by Education Board. Reward: 150 Points
..
139. Exploration and Exploitation Task: Survive, explore and exploit the ruins below Shelfield Son's Academy. Trial Completion Requirements: (1) Survive for 1 month, Reward: 20 Points. (2) Explore unmapped areas, Reward: 30 Points. (3) Discover features humanity can use to exploit the natural environment for advancement, Reward: 100 Points.
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The large list of trials available to him both excited Aser but also made him realize that finishing any of them was not an easy task. Each trial had its own requirements, and there were multiple different kinds to test different areas. Asking Ashes to save all the trial information as well as create a new Trial Module to keep track of his progress, Aser decided to skip exploring further and head back to the Library so that he could start cultivating and set up a plan to efficiently spend his time in the Academy for the next month.
