37 Chapter 36

Let's go back a little to the moment Estelle entered the canteen.

She went and sat at the highest table together with the other people in the top ten. And, soon after her, the prince came as well.

She took her seat at the table's head, and prince Rick immediately sat down next to her.

'Does he intend to follow me like a duck forever?'

Estelle couldn't help but think it this way.

"Miss Estelle, would you tell me more about yourself? I think this is a perfect occasion to learn more about each other!"

'How annoying… tsk. But I think there's not much I can do besides going along.'

Trying her best not to show it on her face, Estelle answered.

"What would you like to know?"

"You've got some monstrous strength! How did you train to get a body like that? You're a girl too! Weren't it for my cultivation, I would have lost in all the physical examinations."

"I just trained my body like anyone else? Maybe a little harder, but it's not like there's a secret technique or anything of that sort."

"Really? That's strange! You must be extremely talented for managing to build a body like that."

Soon, the attendants brought a myriad of dishes to the table. They were genuinely deserving of a royal. They were maybe even better than what Estelle used to eat at home.

Not giving the matter much thought, Estelle started getting one dish after another.

The whole table was looking at her absentmindedly because of the amount of food she was eating.

Andre von Rais, ranked second, suddenly asked her a question.

"Do you always eat this much?"

"Ah, yeah. Maybe even slightly more, but I'm not particularly hungry today."

"She's not particularly hungry. That's what she says."

Once she was done eating, she slightly laid back and noticed everyone was looking at her.

"What? Why is everyone looking at me?"

"Oh, no particular reason."

As she was about to stand up and leave, Prince Rick stopped her by grabbing her arm.

'Now, what does this guy want?'

"Miss Estelle, sit down a bit more! I have to ask something important!"

"Ah, fine. Tell me."

"You might not know, but in a few weeks, we'll be asked to form some teams. Many of the subjects taught in this academy are centred around teamwork. In the next placement exams, we might even get a team trial. So, in short… How to say it… Would you like to join my team?"

'Teams, huh. Who should I team up with? For sure not with this annoying dude. He might be the most skilled of them all, but he's too insistent.'

"Thank you for the offer, but I'll kindly reject. I already have in mind whom to make the team with."

"But I'm sure I'm stronger than him! Anything he can do, I can do it better!"

'This guy is so arrogant…'

"Well, even if you are, that's beside the point. A team is more about teamwork than anything else, right? I think getting a teammate I can work well with is better. So, you are not a good fit."

"What do you mean by that?"

"It's simple. I don't think I could work well with you at all."

"Don't say that! I'm sure we can fix anything that might not work with little effort! Come on! Could you help me find others? The teams are composed of six people, so we must look for four more. Let's start looking for them immediately before all the skilled guys join a team."

"See, this is the problem. I tried to be nice, but you simply won't get it. I don't want to team with you. That's it. It's not teamwork or anything that worries me. I simply don't want to team up with you. Now, could you leave me alone? I have better things to do!"

Thus, the prince burst out crying and ran away from the canteen.

Andre von Rais, who had listened to the whole of it, couldn't help but ask Estelle something.

"Don't you think you were a bit too harsh?"

"I sure were, but if I hadn't done it this way, he wouldn't have stopped!"

"Yeah, you are probably right. But now you just made an enemy out of one of the strongest guys in this school."

'Whoops. He is right. Oh, well. Happens.'

"Ah, it's fine. I'll figure something out. I'll go now. See you."

"See you, miss."

Estelle strolled out of the canteen, acting as if what had just happened was not her fault at all.

***

The next day, Vince dressed up nicely.

It was because it was the first day of lessons.

They would have cultivation theory for the whole day. Since it was considered a crucial subject —if not the most important, it had an entire school day dedicated to it.

Learning how to fight was essential, but cultivation always came first. They also had a lot of free time on the other days with the intent of letting them cultivate.

Vince made his way towards the classroom where this lesson was to be held.

Along the way, he met Nicole Ware, the crimson-haired girl he had gotten to know the day before.

"Good morning."

"What's up, Vince? Are you ready to learn everything about cultivation?"

"Can't wait."

"That didn't sound convincing."

"Oh, don't worry. I tend to act very stoically. I'm looking forward to it, though."

"Stoic? What does that mean?"

"Let's see. A stoic person traditionally has left behind any earthly attachment, and just accepts whatever happens impassively. But the adjective is commonly used to refer to those who don't show their emotions."

'It's incredible how even in this world, there's a philosophical movement similar to stoicism.'

"The more you learn."

They then proceeded to walk into the classroom. Well, calling it a classroom was an understatement. It was big enough to allow for a few hundred students to sit.

Vince and Nicole sat next to each other somewhere in the middle rows. A few minutes later, Estelle also came, but she sat in front.

'She still doesn't want to speak with me, after all. I'll have to keep my distance for a while longer then.'

Then the prince came into the classroom. He tried to sit next to Estelle, but she moved away as soon as he sat down. That repeated itself three or four times until the teacher came in and they stopped. In the end, they sat next to each other.

"Welcome, everyone. I'm the teacher who'll guide you in cultivation for a while. As you all already know, this is class 1A. Since you all have ranked in the top one hundred, you'll start in the A section for every class. Please consider there are a total of thirty-six sections. Depending on how well you rank in each subject, the section you are in will change accordingly. Falling a few sections in some subjects is normal for everyone, especially at this rank. But there are a few subjects you should never be left behind in. First and foremost, cultivation theory."

"Cultivation theory is what gives you all the fundamentals of your power. Cultivation is the most important thing for a cultivator. Over ninety percent of the time, whoever falls behind in cultivation theory, will rank way below in the successive placement exam. So, work hard."

"Now, some personal advice. For the next three years, you'll also all learn Common and maths. Many underestimate those two subjects because they are not fighting-related, but you shouldn't fall for that trap. Knowing Common very well will allow you to read more complex books and understand more deeply cultivation manuals. As for maths, it'll become essential when you start Magic Theory. Spells are heavily related to maths!"

"Any questions?"

Half of the class raised their hands.

"No questions, perfect."

Saying that, the teacher smiled and opened his book.

"I'll introduce very quickly; then we'll move on and start the lesson."

"I'm Kris Ware, a cultivator in the Body Enhancement Realm."

'Ware? May he be related to Nicole in some way?'

Vince thus slowly turned his head and looked at the girl next to him.

Understanding what he was about to ask, she whispered before he could open his mouth.

"You are right; we are related. He is my older brother. We are not born from the same mother, though."

'What speed!'

As they both turned their heads, they saw a crimson-haired young man in front of them.

"No chatting during class, alright, little sister? And who might be this guy you are associating with?"

The whole class had turned their heads towards them. Nicole became red in embarrassment and couldn't utter a word.

"Hello. My name is Vince von Sideria. It's my pleasure."

"Vince von Sideria… oh right, you're the kid who scored perfect on the theory!"

"Yes, sir. It's me."

'Why does everyone remember me because of that… maybe I shouldn't have scored that high. I thought the questions were all elementary… I thought at least a few would get a perfect score.'

"Then, feel free to keep on associating with him, little sister! Just don't do it during my lesson. Was I clear?"

Still unable to utter a word, Nicole merely nodded.

"Perfect! Now, as I said, let's start with the lesson for real this time."

"So, let's start from the basics. An awakening happens through the accumulation of mana. Everyone but the prince has to Awaken, so that's what's most important to you all. As for the Prince, you are free to go and cultivate on your own. As you probably already know, you have to keep on accumulating mana to move through the stages, so you should go and to that!"

"No, sir, it's fine. I'll stay and listen to the lesson in any case. I might always learn something new."

"As you wish. Since that is now sorted out, let's move on. I brought here one mana stone for each of you. Before trying to awaken, you have to feel what mana is. To do that, we'll use mana stones. Most of you have probably already experienced it, but I'll explain in any case. To sense mana, hold the mana stone tightly with your dominant hand. Then you have to focus on it. You have to focus so much all of your senses become dull. At this stage, your sense of mana is still very lacking. Even the smallest interference would be enough to overwhelm your sense of mana. As you advance through cultivation, that will not be the case anymore. So, for now, everyone must be dead silent. Or else all of this will be wasted effort for everyone."

The teacher thus proceeded to give one mana stone to each student.

"Now, let's start practising. From now on, no one shall dare to utter a single word."

'May as well make good use of this time. Let's see how far my mana control has reached.'

As soon as he started practising, the teacher approached him.

After staring at him for a while, the crimson-haired took a piece of paper and wrote down something.

'Could he have sensed that?!'

He then proceeded to hand the piece of paper to Vince.

Vince thus read it and…

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Pretty big cliffhanger, huh. In any case, it's the author here and I just wanted to let you know that I made a discord server. If you are intersted in chatting with me or other fellow readers, feel free to join through this link: https://discord.gg/4cJv2EZvg6

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