Ms. Turner [2]

I was back in the room where I had made a fool out of myself, with most of the other students giggling like teenagers when I arrived.

It did make some sense though, in this world, we were only 17 years old, though in the eyes of society we were already fully fledged adults.

Luckily I had been able to, with my amazing spatial perception and awareness, at least managed to learn the names of my classmates by using yet another secret technique. Eavesdropping.

On the front row, there was Arthur and a girl named Suzan, with a well-developed, although slimmer than average, body and bright yellow hair.

Behind them were two guys, bald twins who were both built like bodybuilders. From a glance, they were probably the same height as Arthur, but because of their imposing size, they felt a lot bigger. The only difference was that the one named Brad had a scar over his left eye while the one named Bradley didn't.

On the next row of seats was the elven princess, Adriana Aldon, carrying the same name as the country she was supposed to rule in the future, and another girl named Trisha Scald a tall but incredibly flat girl with dark hair. In my eyes, a complete extra when compared to the princess.

Lastly, we had the guy was sitting in the back row with me. A strong, silent type with purple hair who looked a lot like someone I would assume to be Arthur's rival in the game, if not for the fact that he had been placed in the B-class. His name was Sebastian.

One of the biggest demerits of me attending this class was that I couldn't remember most of the characters as they weren't relevant to the story.

Do keep in mind that I only played the game for a week. Yes, I did play for more than a hundred hours, but most of that time I spent grinding EXP while skipping the lore.

"Today you are going to get to choose the four courses that you will attend during your first year. Do keep in mind that your schedule might change depending on if there are events to be had."

We all got sent a list of possible courses to choose from to our watches.

'Elemental alignment class, herbalism, basic combat...'

There were so many to choose from that it almost made me a bit dizzy. As I was scrolling through the list, I was keeping in mind the requirements that I had before choosing a course.

The first requirement was obvious, the class had to be suited to my future vision of surviving and becoming a real Trickster.

Secondly, I didn't want to have to reveal my tricks before I had awakened the second skill of my Manual, a skill that would help me immensely to keep on fooling everyone around me.

Thirdly... I didn't want to attend the same courses as the idiot of a hero...

"As soon as you have chosen your courses, you are free to leave. Remember that you will be attending your different classes on an A and B schedule. Every other day will be an A-day where you attend one class in the morning and the other after lunch. The B-day will be the same, only that you will attend the other two courses that you have chosen."

It was a pretty simple, yet effective, system.

Shortly after she had stated the last bit of information that we needed, almost all of my classmates stood up and began to exit the room, with me, Arthur, and Adriana being the exceptions.

I had already chosen three courses and all of them were pretty clear-cut for me. First, a mana cultivation course, secondly, a mana manipulation course, and finally, a physical training course, which was basically just weightlifting.

Although I didn't know to what extent mana manipulation might come in handy, I figured that because this was reality, there might be a lot of things I could learn by using mana.

The last choice, however, was incredibly difficult to make. I desperately wanted to pick the basic combat course, where I would get to practice using my scythe, but there was one major problem.

It felt embarrassing to show everyone my clumsy way of handling my weapon...

Even if I had come a long way from where I started during these few days, I was still miles away from being able to use it in actual combat.

In the end, I chose yet another magic-based course, the elemental alignment course where you could try to awaken an inherent element that could augment your Manual.

There was a clear difference between using an elemental Manual and having an inherent element. Most of the time, these would align, like in the case of Mike who had an inherent affinity for fire and used a fire-based Manual. However, this was not always the case as some nobles got forced into using a Manual that didn't fit their affinity because of the traditions of the family.

Sometimes, one could even have a more general mage Manual but, because of their affinity, they would specialize in using one element.

In the case of someone like Sophie, who used a physical-based Manual, they could use their element to augment their attacks even more.

'It would look pretty cool if she could set those blue dragon paws on fire...'

In the game, these affinities would come in the form of trinkets that you equipped your character with, but in this world, it was inherent traits that one was born with. Also, I hadn't cared much about it in the game as my Trickster Manual and my Side Manual had been good enough on their own.

'That reminds me... I wonder how I will get my hands on my Side Manual...'

The Trickster Manual in itself wasn't strong and although it wasn't weak either, its strength was mostly based on what Side Manual the user had. On earth, I had used a pretty unique Manual that complemented the Trickster immensely and made full use of the high intelligence stat and agility.

Thankfully, the Spellblade Manual was only a 3-star Manual, meaning that although it wasn't that common, it wasn't that rare either.

"James! Are you alright?!"

"Huh?!"

Snapping out of my thoughts, I was met by a worried Arthur who, apparently, had tried to talk to me for some time already as I was lost in thought.

"Do you have a fever or something? Did you train too much for your body to handle?"

'He truly is like a puppy or something...'

Frankly, I found the man quite repulsive. His genuine care for other people and his glowing demeanor sent shivers down my spine.

"I'm fine. If you are done with choosing your courses, shouldn't you get going?"

Although I might have been a bit too blunt in my approach to get him to leave me alone, that wasn't the way he construed my words.

"You are right... There is no time to waste after all! Thank you, James! I'll send a text to Sophie right now to see if she wants to train with me!"

He turned around and quickly made his exit. However, just as he was leaving Adriana chose to leave as well. 'Is she interested in Arthur?'

Now, with me being the only one left, I was making myself ready to disconnect this clone body of mine and continue my training again.

This time, my main body was doing physical exercises and practicing the scythe as I felt bad about forcing clone-me to do it every day.

"Mr. Jackson, would you mind staying for a bit?"

Ms. Turner approached me with an aloof face, a face that I couldn't quite get a read on. Most of the time, it was quite easy for me to read the emotions of other people, a skill I had picked up in order to avoid unnecessary trouble. However, her face right now was an enigma.

"Yes? I guess I have some time?"

After all, I was already training my ass off at home.

Having reached my desk, she took another chair and sat down, "Good. I just wanted to talk to you for a bit."

"Hmm? Okay?"

I didn't understand what she wanted at all. Was she here to reprimand me for yesterday or did she have some other goal in mind? 'Maybe she fell for my irresistible charms...'

Clasping her hands together and putting them on the desk, she explained her purpose, "James, I can see that you are hurting yourself. There is no need to be so desperate just to grow stronger. You are young! You should live life, find friends, and maybe even someone to love."

'Does she know that I can barely sit down to take a shit because of my never-ending muscle soreness?!'

Playing it cool, I retraced my steps to act like I just wanted to try my best at the academy like a diligent commoner who got the chance to study at the academy, "Ms. Turner. I only have one chance here. There are no second chances for me. Therefore, I have to try my best. After all, my future is dependent on it."

Suddenly, she just took a stand and turned away from me, "I understand... I understand James. Just promise me that you will talk to me if you need help..."

And then she walked away, leaving me scratching my head in confusion.

'She is one strange lady, isn't she? Gorgeous but strange.'

Having, very suddenly, concluded my business for the day, I dismissed the clone and spent the rest of the day training once more.