7 Chapter 6: Graduation

It has been some time since that day, at least another two weeks. Josua had integrated into the third years proper. They no longer consider him to be a new guy, and simply as one of them. In fact, some thought of him as the guy to go to whenever they wanna ask something related to combat. Witnessing his battle in the training field, they could tell that he's no rookie, and some would even go far as to say he's the closest one to a proper ARKS operative that they can get in the academy.

Everyday he was in class, at least one person would come up to him and ask questions related to combat or techniques. It should be noted that while his Photon Arts (PAs) were all at level 1, however, he only need to raise his levels to get it back to their supposed levels, with most originally at level 15. Hence, he has much more knowledge on them than most, if not, all of the cadets within the academy. However, the extreme familiarity was only for PAs that he often used as a combo rotation for the weapons he had in his various loadouts. As for PAs for certain classes, like Bouncer, Techter, Force or Bouncer, he was less than familiar with them.

For your information, prior to his transmigration, Josua primarily used Braver as his main class, with Gunner as his sub-class. He also had proficiency in Ranger, Fighter and Hunter (Fighter mainly as his sub-class). Of those, he had maxed out Braver, Gunner and Ranger at level 75 (prior to the supposed Episode 4 release). Meanwhile, his Hunter class was well into its 60s and his Fighter was on the 40s.

Aside from him attending the academy, he would also periodically return to his home on Earth. He would return there at weekends, cleaning up the place and pay the bills. He also built a new computer that he plans to bring into his Personal Quarters on the ARKS Ship.

"An i7-6700K with cooler and an Asus ROG Maximus VIII Extreme for the MB... A GTX1080Ti for graphics... Samsung 850 PRO 2TB 2.5 SSD for storing the OS and a Seagate 4TB HDD for the rest of the stuff... A Cooler Master MasterCase H500P as the case... Corsair RM850x... Aaaaand Corsair Vengeance Pro RGB DDR4 32GB for the RAM..." He mumbled while he searched and ordered the parts on the local online retailers.

He had picked various parts, and considering that his rig in his previous reality was still four years away, this had to do for now. And given his wealth in this reality, this wasn't much of an obstacle anymore for him.

Of course, it would use the old Windows 10 Operating System, since it was still available at the time. It functions as his database, where he would store information on things that he knew off and what he'd gather by himself directly.

"Also, should get a monitor... Hmm..." He mumbled while browsing once more, this time for a monitor. He would spend some time until he found it.

"Yep, this one should do the trick. The Acer Predator X34..." he said as he ordered it.

Also, he got some new stuff to furnish the Personal Quarters. He bought a washing machine from the furnishing store on the Shopping Plaza. He also bought a new phone, the Samsung Galaxy Note 5 (given that the Note 7 also had been launched in this reality at this point, he couldn't tell if it would explode or not like in his previous reality, hence his reluctance to get that) to replace his current Samsung Galaxy Note 3 (it's like his phone in the previous reality at the same date).

While most things were the same, as iterated before, the software was changed, given that ESC-A OS superseded every single existing OS at this point. While it's only a few months old, it has the advantage of the new Aether Network that was still being set up (at this point, each region has placed an Aether Tower to help with the initial dispersion of the Aether particles). The pre-existing OSes couldn't take much of the advantage that Aether (and Aethernet in the process) offered.

"Hardware shouldn't be too different up to 2020, but after that... Hmm..." He muttered.

Before he was done ordering, he finally recalled to order a headset, mouse and keyboard.

"Sennheiser GSP 670, should also get the Steelseries Arctis Pro Wireless, Logitech G502 Proteus Core, and a Corsair K95 RGB Platinum. Yep." He said as he put those in the shopping cart on the site and finished ordering.

He was about to be done with it when he finally remembered: he wanted to buy some curtains to cover the windows in his Personal Quarters.

"That was close..." he said as he ordered a number of curtains online.

After several days, the items he ordered had arrived. He assembled the desktop and after an hour or two of struggling piecing the parts together, he was done with the desktop. He placed the finished desktop back into the box of the PC case, while he kept the monitor, headset, mouse and keyboard in their respective boxes. He also had the curtains inside their bags (along with their attachments). He turned on his PC and started PSO2.

"Let's hope this works..." He said as he then dived in, with the intent of bringing the items with him.

It was one thing to bring things with him inside a bag or a suitcase. It was another thing for him bringing things that he wasn't touching directly. This was something he forgot to test, and this was the perfect chance to do so.

Fowooong!!

He was back inside his Personal Quarters. And this time, the test was a success. The items he willed to be brought alongside him as he dived was there as well, on the floor in front of him.

"Nice." he smirked as he then began putting everything together.

He brought out an Oracle Table and Chair, setting them inside his bedroom. They're placed to the left side of the door (when entering the bedroom from the living room). He initially planned to place it on the right side, but he saw the cupboard that was there, and forgot he had placed it there prior to his transmigration.

After setting up the table and chair, he placed the desktop, monitor and its accessories on the table. He connected the power cables to a power outlet that was somehow conveniently placed near the table. He booted up the desktop and proceeded to create a local account, since he's not connected to the internet. After confirming everything worked well enough, he proceeded to began inputting things he had found out up to this point, and the expected things that will happen for the next 10 years.

Following that, he installed the curtains on the windows of his bedroom, living room and bathroom. With those done, he was finally free, to a degree at least, from his immediate worries for the time being. His privacy somewhat secured, he then took a bath and went to his bed.

Time passed by once more.

.....

AP 230/06/15

Exam Field, Naverius.

Today was the final exam for the third years. It had been around eight months since Josua had joined the academy, and six months since the . The third year students, including Josua, were given proper weapons, and this time, they're facing captured Sylvants (native creatures). Every student, be they Human, Newman or CAST [1], they must meet the objective of the exam: which was to defeat a set of enemies assigned to them, which includes but not limited to [2], Udan, Za'Udan, Grulf, Phongrulf, and Garongo. Once a student has finished this objective, they can choose to finish the exam and wait it out, or go for the extra mile by fighting an assigned "final boss": a Rockbear [3].

"This should be easy enough..." Josua thought as he listened to the explanation given by the field instructor just outside the Exam Field.

For him, this was like his first days playing PSO2. It was like he was facing the Forest Exploration critters, but instead of having to wander around and reach the final area, they brought the sylvants to him instead of having him search for them himself. The only failure condition of the exam was to fail to defeat the first set of creatures or even got KOed and had to be teleported out of the Exam Field. It would be extremely embarrassing for him to fail like that.

To his advantage, he already had prior experience, albeit indirect, in fighting them. For the rest, however, this was the first time they faced actual flesh-and-blood enemies. All this time, they were fighting simulated creatures. Hence, while they have acute senses in fighting, they weren't used to fight actual creatures.

One at a time, they went inside the Exam Field. The test began as soon as they reached the designated position. On average, the exam for most students took around 5 minutes. Like what you'd expect, some failed, while some succeeded. The clock continued to tick as each student went in and conducted the exam.

On the occasion that a student got heavily injured during the exam, they had a medical team on standby at the side, in case things got that serious.

"Well, not that it would happen... Wait, did I just set a flag..?" he muttered as he looked to the side before turning his attention back to the display in front of him, which was showing the exam that was being conducted at the time.

Hallix was currently inside the Exam Field. By this time, he had already learned several basic AR PAs. He was on-track to graduate and get into ARKS as a Ranger. He also planned to get Gunner as his sub-class later down the line, though it's mostly due to its perks that complimented his Ranger class. The only thing that he needs to finish now was only the exam.

BRAKAKAKAKAKAKA!!!

The continuous fire from the AR subsequently downed the Phongrulf. Now, he was only one enemy away from finishing the exam, a Garongo. He knew that he wouldn't be able to handle something like a Rockbear, given he lacked more PAs.

As he reloaded his AR, the Garongo was put into the field. It was like an armadillo, but way larger, green in color, and loves to form itself into a wheel and literally grind aggressors to death. It walked very slowly, but when it goes into its so-called 'Wheel Form', they could roll fast and roll over its target flat. Right now, it's doing precisely that.

Guruguruguruguru!

The beast rolled up into its 'Wheel Form' and began whirring, charging itself up with enough spin to crush the humanoid in front of it. Hallix, seeing his opponent in front of him readying up, began firing at it.

Ratatatatatatata!!!

Despite the barrage of fire, the bullets didn't penetrate the shell of the Garongo. It only dealt ever-so-minuscule amount of damage. It then accelerated over to Hallix, who then proceeded to dodge to the side and then continued to fire his AR. The Garongo hit the field's boundary and was turned upside down. Seeing his chance, Hallix launched a Grenade Shot on it and topped it off with more barrage of fire from his gun.

KABOOM!!! RATATTATATATATATATATA!!!!

The Garongo shrieked before it perished. And with that, Hallix's exam was over. He chose not to participate in the extra opponent one, as stated before. He then went over to the side and proceeded to drank a pouch of Monomate. He gazed over to the display as it showed another student entering the field.

Before long, the flag that Josua somehow triggered was raised. An unfortunate Female Newman student got heavily injured when she was fighting against the last enemy of the main exam, the Garongo. As the Garongo was about to deal the final blow, Josua who was outside the field, went inside and immediately fired his Twin Machine Guns on his hands.

RATATATATAATTATATA!!!

The Garongo was aggroed by his actions, and went instead for him. He smirked, and dodged from its trajectory. He sped up towards the Garongo that hit the field's boundary and flipped over, exposing its underbelly. He then used Bullet Hail: he kicked the Garongo as he went upwards into the air and rained down fire while rotating himself.

WHACK! BRATATATATATATATATATA!!!

It went over as you'd expect: He rolled the Garongo like it was Friday and he was ready to go home. While he was dealing with the Garongo, the injured student was successfully teleported to the medic team and was able to be treated. However, the student would be out of commission for the time being, and since she had already reached the last stage of the main exam, she was given a pass for the exam. After half a minute, he dealt with the Garongo and exited the field, which was somewhat redundant, since his turn was next.

With that out of the way, it was Josua's turn for doing the exam. Like before, he rolled through the main exam like Dio smashing a road roller into Jotaro. The main show, however, was when he decided to do the extra exam, in which he had to win against a Rockbear, which would be put into the field.

"Fooooh~... Let's do this then." He said as the Rockbear appeared in front of him.

He changed his weapon to a Launcher, and went to town with it. He blasted the supposed head of the Rockbear, aiming particularly at the crystals on its head. Starting with Triple Shot, he blasted the Rockbear so much that he managed to stun it for a few seconds.

KABLAM BLAM BLAM!!! BOOM BOOM BOOM!!!

He launched a shot with Divine Launcher, which exploded magnificently and further stun it.

KABOOOOOOM!!!

And then he ended it with a Positron Blast directly at its 'face'.

SHIIIIIIIIINGG!!!!!

A continuous stream of light blasted at the Rockbear's head, dealing constant amount of damage until he depletes his Photons or the Rockbear succumbs to it first. in this case, the Rockbear roared and succumbed first, not given a chance of counter-attack. His grade was assured to be high with this. He joined the ranks of the geniuses that finished the main and extra exams, which numbered to only about five people, amongst the hundred of the entire third years. And so, his graduation was all but assured.

.....

Graduation day, AP 230/10/23.

The auditorium hall, which was located near the main campus, was filled with students from the third year and the junior years as well (first and second years). Today was the graduation day for the third years. It was about 10 minutes before the start of the whole event. Many third years were still entering the hall. By all accounts, it should be about 100 people. This is small in the large scheme of things, but it was large enough for an elite batch.

Technically speaking, one doesn't have to join this academy to get into ARKS. The academy simply fast-track them into ARKS, and give them advanced knowledge (and more preparation in various aspects). One can join ARKS at the age of 16, which was considered to be old enough. However, those enrolled within the academy would join ARKS after they finished their third year, in which typically, they'd be 18 years old. Those that dropped out can still join ARKS, but they would be treated like any other people that joined ARKS. They simply have slightly more knowledge, but not enough compared to those who fully graduated from the academy.

Regardless, of the thousands that initially joined for their batch, there were only 100 people left, including Josua, despite him technically joining them midway into their final year in the academy. The clock was ticking, and soon the ceremony began.

Regius stood upon the podium in the auditorium hall. He looked upon the new graduates of the academy. He felt proud when he saw the lineup in front of him. These were the best that they could raise. Perhaps this time, they'd stand a better chance against the Falspawn and their masters. This, however, was simply his wish. He knew better than to think too far ahead, but he knew at least to keep some hope inside.

"Maybe... One day..." he muttered inside before he began his speech.

"Cadets. I stand here before you now, at the same place when you all first entered the academy. You were all still fresh, inexperienced hopefuls with many a dream or ambition."

"But many are no longer with us. Even though they may have left, you are all still here. You are the proof that hope is still alive. You are the best that we have to offer in the fight against the darkness. For you are all students that I'm proud of."

"I pray that you all will never forget your dreams as you dive into the real world. It will be much harder than what you've been trained for. And everything will not be as what you've learned. We can only prepare you so much."

"So walk away from this place with pride, and help ARKS in our war against the darkness. Godspeed." He spoke.

Clapping sounds roared the entire venue. Some were crying, some were laughing out of joy. Others were just stoic or simply clapped for the lack of words to express themselves. This all lasted until Regius raised his hand, asking them to be silent.

"And now, we shall proceed to the top ten cadets of this year! For those whose names are called, step forward to receive your commendation." He said, before he started to list the names.

"Sierra..."

A Female CAST stood up and went to the podium to receive her commendation. She was then gestured to stand in line. Then the next name came up.

"Curio..."

A Male Newman went up and got his commendation. He proceeded to stood in line as well.

.....

And finally, Josua's turn arrived, to the surprise of no one. The students of his class pretty much were already expecting him to come up any time by that point.

"Josua..."

He stood up, went to the podium and received his commendation. He went in line like the others and was in full view of the audience.

"These are the top ten cadets of this year! Like I said during your enrollment here, should you be able to graduate as the top ten cadets of the year, you will receive certain benefits! Now, I shall list them all!" Regius said.

"They will be allowed to postpone their registration into ARKS! This means that they will have the time to tie up anything that needs to be done and still join ARKS directly without having to participate in the exam! Also, they will be allowed to request for a custom item of their own choice! Be it a weapon, unit, clothing, or camo, they will be allowed to request one custom item only!" He continued.

This caused Josua to raise his eyebrow. This was a first of him hearing of a custom items and the such. Since in the previous reality, the game doesn't really give players the ability to actually forge weapons or anything else aside from custom PAs or certain things, you can't actually get those kind of items in PSO2. But now...

"It would be nice if I could get something like a Cosmogenic Arm... But I do hope it's not made by Luther. That would be bad." he muttered.

Not long after, the whole ceremony came to an end. The top ten cadets went to Regius' office. They then listed what they wanted for the custom item, and if they wanted to join ARKS immediately upon graduation or postpone it. Of course, Josua chose to postpone it, since he had planned for it for sometime now. But for the custom item, he was caught in a dilemma.

"Should I just... Maybe a weapon... I mean, I could just keep it inside the inventory." he muttered.

After deciding on which he would want, he said to Regius he wanted a custom weapon, with a side note of it being forged by Zig. This caught Regius by surprise, since not many in the younger generations know of Zig the blacksmith. He then agreed to Josua's request, and after the ten cadets finished with their decisions and wish, they left the office to attend the class photo.

Once the third years took their class photo, they went on their separate ways. Josua, of course, returned to his Personal Quarters. As he had just sat down, the bell to his door rang. He looked on the display of the camera at the front door. It was Maria, and suprisingly, Xiao. He let them inside and the two person in question sat down in front of him.

"This will get complicated..." He sighed as the two then barraged him with questions and the such.

Note:

1. Prior to AP 238, Deumans (or Dewmans) hadn't exist yet.

2. Naverian Sylvants (or rather, every single native creature of a planet) are typically categorized based on the biomes they came from. Since the exam was done on the Forest Area, the Sylvants chosen for the exam came from the local area.

3. Rockbear was the final boss of the Forest Exploration expedition during the earlier versions of PSO2, before being replaced by the Fang Banshee in the current version.

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