Poor Jian

"His class? You mean the System turned him into a weirdo?" Drai asked in disbelief.

"Not exactly like that," Christo shook his head. "I was thinking that his bearing might be closely tied to his class, regardless of whether it is truly his own making or influenced by the System. But based on my knowledge regarding the System's workings, it's likely that Jian was an "asshole" before evolving and the System accommodated or even amplified this."

"If you're right, then it's unlikely that Jian will truly change. Most likely, he will only act normal when I'm around," Drai sighed.

"How about we talk more about this after Jian finishes? I'd like to learn more about my roommates," Christo suggested.

"Hmmm… Sure. I had actually planned to train today, but Clara said that outdoor training grounds are only used during classes. And I don't know if we're allowed to train in the forest."

"Why not train in the gym?" Christo asked.

"I never went to a gym before, so it didn't really cross my mind," Drai replied. "Maybe I'll check it out later. But I really like being alone in the wild where no one can disturb me."

"I see. Maybe you can apply for a special permit to use the outdoor training areas when they're not being used. Try talking to a professor when classes have started."

'Oh, right! I forgot to call Professor Ravi!' Drai suddenly remembered. "Wait a minute Christo, I need to make a call."

Drai then dialed Ravi's number through his comm. Soon, Ravi's voice could be heard.

"Drai! You finally called me! I thought you were busy or something."

"Hi, Professor," Drai scratched his head in embarrassment due to forgetting about his benefactor. "I'm sorry I didn't call you earlier."

"It's fine. Anyway, have you finished settling into your room? Were there any problems?"

"Yes, I have. The room's pretty nice," Drai replied. Then he glanced at Jian who had finished tidying up Drai's stuff and was now collecting his scattered items and occasionally glancing at him. "And there were no problems, Professor."

"Good. In a couple days, please visit me in my abode whenever you're free." Ravi said. "Just message me beforehand."

"Okay, Professor. By the way, do you know if I can use the outdoor training areas?"

"Outdoor training areas? You want to train there?"

"Yes. Or I can also train in the forest if I'm allowed to," Drai added.

"Students don't usually go out to train by themselves. And outdoor training grounds are usually off limits outside of class purposes. Hmmm… Let me look into it later. Let's hope I'll have an answer or alternative option for you when you visit me," Ravi replied.

"Thank you, Professor."

"You're welcome. Now, I've got to go back to my work. I'm sure you're also eager to mingle with your new friends or look around the campus."

"Okay, Professor. See you later."

"See you, Drai," Ravi said as he ended the call.

As Drai finished his call, Christo suddenly asked, "Are you a recommended student?"

"Yeah. How did you know?"

"Well, you seem to be close enough to that professor to visit his home but you still address him with his title. This means it's unlikely that he's a relative or family friend, which made me infer that you're enrolling under his recommendation," Christo explained.

"Wow, you're pretty smart! I bet you have high intelligence," Drai exclaimed.

Out of nowhere, Jian chimed in, "You're a recommendation student?"

Seeing Jian's astonishment, Drai questioned, "Is being a recommendation student special or something? Why does everyone look surprised when they find out about it?"

Seeing the clueless Drai, Christo sighed. He then looked at Jian who was standing near his bed after he finished cleaning up.

"Jian, come join us. We can introduce ourselves and talk about our classes and other things while we're at it," Christo gestured.

"There's nowhere to sit though," Drai said while looking at the sofa. Although it could fit three of them, they would be very uncomfortable unless someone really enjoyed rubbing his body against another guy.

"It's okay. I'll just stand," Christo said.

"There's no need for that," Jian objected as he reached under his bed. Then grabbed something before heading to the table.

"What's that?" Drai asked curiously as he saw a rectangle-shaped object in Jian's hand.

"It's my meditation pillow. I'll just sit on the floor, since I'm used to it."

Jian then put the pillow down opposite of the sofa at the other side of the coffee table. Since the table was rather low, all parties could still see one another clearly.

"That's pretty convenient," Christo remarked. "Then I'll start. Once again, my name is Christo. Nice to meet you two. I hope we're able to help each other out during our time in the academy. And if anyone has a problem with one of us or something else, please don't hesitate to speak up so that we can try to solve it together."

The other two nodded before Drai continued the introduction.

"My name is Drai. I just want to get stronger and my hobby is training. I don't have any particular interest outside of that. But I'm not totally against doing other things if it somehow interests me or can make me stronger."

As Drai finished his introduction, Christo and Jian was having similar thoughts.

'No wonder this guy is abnormally strong. He's a training freak!'

Shaking this thought, Jian introduced himself. "I'm called Jian. I apologize for my lack of propriety earlier. Similar to Drai, I don't have many interests. I am merely a traveler who just started my journey to seek the Dao."

Jian held his head high, looking above as if watching something intangible yet precious from afar.

Christo kept his smile with his eyes hinting insight.

Meanwhile, Drai was puzzled.

"A traveler? So you're only stopping by and will be leaving soon? What about your classes? And what the hell is Dao? Some kind of treasure?" Drai bombarded Jian with questions.

"Cough!" Jian was caught unaware. He had forgotten Drai's earlier instructions and was instantly taught a lesson. There was a reason Drai asked him to speak plainly; Drai simply loved taking things literally.

"Forget it, Drai. It's a figurative expression," Christo said understandingly.

"Y-yes, forget it. I spoke wrongly," Jian added helplessly.

"Ah, okay. I thought you would be going away soon. It would be a shame, since I heard that it's hard getting into our academy."

"You wouldn't know it, Drai," Christo chuckled. "The selection is actually rather straightforward; you just need to have great or special talent. In other words, your class must be strong or special enough to meet the academy's standards.

"This is why people say it's hard to get admitted here. We can only influence our classes to a certain degree. Beyond that, it's all the System's doings.

"So you probably would've still gotten in through normal means, since you're talented enough to get a recommendation," Christo said.

"Christo's right," Jian added. "I was also admitted because the selectors hadn't seen anyone having a similar class to mine. While I wasn't one of the most hardworking people among my peers, I was chosen instead of them. In a way, I was truly lucky."

Drai listened to the two silently. He felt that he was also lucky for being trusted by that titan and fitting Ravi's requirements for his research. Without either of these, he probably would've ended up elsewhere.

Then Drai blurted a question that came into his mind upon hearing Jian's words.

"So there's not a lot of cosplay classes, huh?"

Jian fell on his back with a thud.

Christo went speechless whereas Drai looked at Jian's sprawling figure in confusion with his head slightly tilted.

"Ahem! My class isn't a cosplay class…" Jian awkwardly said while getting back up.

"Really?" Drai replied in disbelief. Drai had seen people dressing up as fictional characters while speaking weirdly, and he was told that they were cosplaying. To him, Jian looked no different from those people.

At this point, Christo interjected. "Since we're on the topic already, I think we should introduce our classes properly lest such misunderstandings happen again."

"Uhm, sure," Drai replied. He wanted to know the truth about Jian's class because he was 95% sure that it was related to cosplay. He was also a bit curious of Christo's.

"Okay, I'll just go first since I also want to make things clear," Jian said seriously.

Christo nodded. "Alright, Jian. Go ahead."

Jian then looked at Drai in the eyes.

"My class is actually called…" Jian dragged his words in suspensefully.

Drai held his breath in anticipation, eager to know how could something that is exactly like cosplay not be cosplay.

…Cultivation Prodigy!" Jian declared as he smirked at Drai. Jian felt smug after proving that his class was special and not cosplay at all.

Hearing this, Drai was astonished and couldn't help but exclaim, "Wow, I would've never guessed it. I was pretty sure because of the way you dress and talk, but you really aren't a cosplayer at all…"

Jian nodded smugly.

"…You're a farmer!"

Once again, Jian fell on his back with a thud. Only this time, he didn't try to get up.

Sprawling on the floor, Jian suddenly missed his home.