Academy And Guild

"Out of everyone, it had to be her…" Mika grumbled quietly after his teacher's introduction.

He still refused to accept the fact that Ophelia was his teacher now.

Ignoring Mika's reaction, Ophelia continued with the lesson and began explaining the curriculum.

The focus of Loogam was magic.

Therefore, academic subjects like math were less relevant and could only be studied in so-called voluntary courses.

Here, it was only mandatory to attend the courses for physical combat, magic theory, magic practice, and history. Aside from those, a student can spend their free time however they want. Be it attending voluntary courses or doing nothing, students could do anything they wanted.

"In your dorm rooms there will also be a handout from the teachers in which everything I just said was summarized. Including the upcoming exam." Ophelia stated indifferently.

"Exam?"

"Isn't today our first day?"

The students started to whisper amongst them.

Not tolerating any disturbances, Ophelia clapped her hands twice.

"Quiet everyone."

Then, she continued.

"I assume that you all have noticed that during today's morning speech that there were some students with different uniforms than you. And maybe there are some smart ones here who were pretty observant and managed to deduce that the black uniform was the most represented among the students. Let me explain this."

Ophelia's hands gripped the edges of the teacher's table.

"This is the black class. In other words, this is the lowest-ranking class. You were all put into this class according to your performance in the writing and magic aptitude exam."

A lot of students were gasping by the statement.

Some acted surprised, embarrassed, or indifferent.

"It's embarrassing to say it, but E-rank is the highest rank in this class…"

Ophelia shook her head in disappointment.

[At least you're not at the bottom here.]

"…"

"But no need to fret. Just like I said, there will be an exam."

The chitchat between the students stopped as soon as Ophelia mentioned the exam.

"Every three months the academy will hold an exam for the students. Depending on the results, an individual can be promoted to a higher class. In your case, you could move up to the silver class."

The entire class erupted fiercely after Ophelia gave them a bit of hope.

[I see… Will-]

"I have no intentions of moving up." Mika cut off the system coldly as if he knew what it wanted to say.

[…]

Then, a boy raised his arm.

"Ms. Ross, I have a question. If we get a promising result, then we can move up, but what if we don't achieve good results?"

"Nothing. I forgot to mention this, but this exam is not mandatory. In other words, you can decide if you want to take the exam or not."

As soon as she answered the first question, another arm shot up.

"Teacher, I have a question, too! What kind of exam will we face?" a student asked.

Hearing that, her smirk got even more sinister.

"The exam you will face will be a tournament."

"A-a-a tournament…?"

"You will participate in a tournament involving the entire year."

"B-but isn't it unfair if we face a student with a higher rank?!"

"Then you have to train hard until the tournament starts."

"Bu-"

"Don't worry about facing a stronger opponent. If you face, for example, a student from the white class, then we will take that into account and if you can hold your ground against that student for three minutes, then you will receive the right to move into a higher class."

"In addition, based on how many rounds you've won, you can get certain rewards."

"Rewards?"

"Yes, but I won't tell you what kind of rewards." she replied slyly.

Following that, Ophelia waited a moment to see if someone still had a question.

"Seems like nobody has a question. I guess, I can move on to the last agenda for today then."

Her expression was stern.

"Most of you know that every big city has a guild, however here in Loogam it's a bit different."

A guild.

It is a place where one can get an adventurer license, which allows the person to officially accept quests and get rewarded if they clear them.

Every nation had multiple guilds except for the nation of Loogam.

"This nation only has one guild."

Many students wondered what the guild was called due to them never having heard of a guild in Loogam.

"And that guild is right here."

Another confusion was caused.

"What is she talking about?"

"This is a guild? I thought this was the academy!"

Having enough of playing around, Ophelia started to clear up the misunderstanding.

"The academy of Loogam is acting as this nation's official guild at the same time. But compared to a normal guild, the rules are a bit different here."

"First of all, students have to form a team with at least three members. Secondly, every team has to clear a quest once a month. If a team is unable to do so, then they will be expelled. And last but not least, a team has to take on a quest with a difficulty that corresponds to the ranking of the highest-ranked student in that team. In case you team up with someone with an S-rank, then you are also obliged to get an instructor to accompany you."

"Well, that's it for today. I recommend that you use today to get to know each other. Your first assignment is to form a team by the end of this week."

Thus, Ophelia left the pedestal.

Mika's and her eyes met for a second as she took a quick glance at him.

"I look forward to seeing your team." she whispered to him anticipatingly.

Mika returned her words with a cocky smile.

"I will do nothin-"

"Considering your strength, I wouldn't be surprised if you team up with an S-rank student." she interrupted him as her back faced him.

Then, she entered the portal and disappeared from the room.

He looked in the direction of the portal.

"Hmph. As if I would be so stupid." he huffed.

The class was causing a ruckus again.

They were shocked by the news that they had to form teams to clear quests which were designed to be for guilds. Above all, they could get expelled if they fail to clear a quest.

Most people were rather frightened of entering a guild due to the danger of peculiar quests. Unless someone was thrilled by the idea of an adventure or facing threats, then the guild would not be a wise choice to enter.

Amidst the chaos, Mika casually stood up and was about to exit the room.

[Where are you going?]

"To my dorm room."

[But wouldn't it be wiser to use the time to make friends and form a team?]

Mika was smiling from one ear to the other.

"Hey, I already cleared the quest, right? I entered Loogam. So it doesn't matter if I fail now, right? Therefore, I will fail and return to my life in the village." Mika declared proudly.

[…]

Mika heard the system sighing.

[I guess, it's my fault. I forgot to mention that the punishment is still valid if you try to deliberately get expelled from the academy.]

"Huh?!"

Mika frowned.

"You've just made that up, haven't you?!"

[I have never told a lie.]

"You damn-"

Suddenly, words flew in front of Mika.

Instead of calming him down, the words made him only angrier.

Mika held his fist high up as he cursed his fate.

[The quests from now on will only get more difficult. So brace yourself.]

"Just what have I ever done to you…" Mika muttered while clenching his teeth and forcing a smile.

The new quest stated the following:

Recruit a student with an S-rank into your team within a week.

Reward: Information about Lily Hayth.

Punishment: The sword will be confiscated for three months.