45. { Factions : 1 }

[...

Health: 1,500/10,700 Mana: 2,100/15,250

…]

The moment Noah tried to cover his sword with ice, he knew things were getting out of hand.

Ever since he contracted with Skadi, he always had to maintain a minimum amount of mana and health to maintain the spirit contract. Till now, he had only experienced this sensation twice. The first, when he had just contracted with Skadi, and the second when he was locked up by Altar at Aruk.

Unlike then, the sensation this time was far stronger. The power held in all three mana contracts became unstable. Even if he wanted to just utilize the ice element, all three activated, draining his remaining mana even faster.

In contrast to a regular activation of the skill, the elements were constructed directly on his body rather than his surroundings. While the skin on his forearms started to freeze, he could feel the flames starting to burn on his torso.

If not for the elemental affinity he had and the training garment he wore, the damage would have been much more significant.

Making his way out of the class, Noah headed straight to the restroom, locking the door. Overcome with nausea, he started to empty the blood rising from his throat.

As his consciousness started to drift once more, Noah started to chug down the vitality and health potions from the inventory.

Until now, Noah didn't find the need to carry mana potions as his current condition helped him recover mana faster. But the current situation made him reconsider.

<<Status>>

[Name: Noah

Level: 26

Class: None

Title: None

Grade: F-

State: Weakened from Mana overload backlash. Mana poisoning state: Health -1 every 5 minutes. Mana +1 every 5 minutes. Mana capacity +1 every 5 minutes while mana capacity is reached. Level -1 every 5 days. The host doesn't have the strength to maintain contracts at all times. Spirit contracts will be released automatically if health drops below 1000.

Affinity:

Fire: 12% Water: 5%

Wind: 7% Ice: 7%

Psychic: 3% Divinity: 1%

Health: 5,100/10,700 Mana: 2,105/15,250

Strength:43 Stamina: 46

Agility:37 Intelligence: 75

Dexterity:32 Charm: 50

Luck: 22 Vitality: 19

Stat Points: 5

]

'that was close… My body was in worse shape than I thought… But why didn't the pendant activate then?'

<<Inspect>>

Description: A regular pendant.

|— Material

| |— {3}

|— Dimensions

| |— {3}

|— Properties

| |— {0}

'What? This is just an ordinary pendant!'

Dousing his head under the water tap, Noah tried to calm himself down.

'Tsk… Is it Norman? I need to keep an eye on him…'

====

In his short absence, the ice broke among the students in the class.

Unlike the initial rigid atmosphere, many were now talking excitedly about the previous matches without a care for anyone's background.

As Atlanna held the position of the class representative and the heir to the Lynn ducal house, many were already looking forward to meeting her. While she didn't demonstrate many techniques as her opponent, the raw ability of her water element earned her praise and admiration.

Noah, the dark horse, who showed a wide range of abilities across his matches including the unique blue flames of the Wyte dragon spirits rapidly changed their perception of him.

Seeing his peers' reactions, he couldn't help but feel accomplished with his primary goal.

'This should slowly shut down the rumors about me being fake and any other slander against my family, at least in the academy…' Sigh…

"Noah!" Atlanna called out from the center of the class capturing everyone's attention.

"Atlanna?"

As soon as Noah called back, the chatter quieted down.

Regardless of the match, many were interested in the dynamic of the two.

While one was the heir of the noble house who served the Equirron royal house, the other was the heir of the previous Wyte royal house who stood against them.

"Are you alright?" Atlanna continued while ignoring the atmosphere around them.

"Yeah.. maybe a little exhausted, but fine otherwise. How about you?"

"I am fine as well, thanks. Can we talk about what happ-"

Interrupting her, Norman strided into the class gathering everyone's attention, "now that all of you have completed your initial assessment, we'll join with the others in your batch at the main hall to finalize this year's factions."

===

Faction was a concept out of his reach during Noah's playthrough. But he knew for a fact, that this particular sorting formed the basis and position of parties that fought in the war during the Mad King Arc.

There wasn't much that he could do or prepare for with the limited information he had. Resigning to the situation, Noah sat alongside Atlanna and others while waiting for whatever it was to start.

On the other side, standing on the podium was Walter Whitmoor, the headmaster of Enid academy. Carefully observing the students, he soon spoke.

"I hope the day so far has already been fruitful for each of you.

As you know, every year, the staff travel across the country to find talented kids such as yourselves who are at the age of 10, when a person's potential shows the highest, and train them till the age of 16, when they reach adulthood and make a lifelong decision.

We guide and teach with a mission to nurture you as a pillar to lead the next generation.

And for that, your ability to contribute as an individual and as a group is vital. Whether it's a simple spar or an exchange of ideals, I hope from every encounter, you are able to learn from each other.

To reiterate, while you are in the academy, your personal background is not of importance. If you want to be respected, increase your rank.

For students from less amicable backgrounds, this will be your chance to turn things around. Whether your accomplishments allow you to graduate as a scholar, a warrior or even to earn the title of a noble.

For others, I am sure you understand what this means to you…

Alright, now with all that said, we can move on to selecting your factions.

Factions are and will be the temporary house that you will be part of while in the academy, spread across the entire six-year student body. Each faction will act as a single body, represented by its captain; and will compete with other factions to earn points.

As a member of a faction, it will be your duty to provide worthwhile contributions. Any error on your part will reflect on you and the faction you are part of.

A person who is not part of any faction for more than a month will be kicked out, ahem, expelled from the academy.

Beware, when a person leaves a faction, all associated with it will lose points whether the decision is mutual or otherwise.

By tradition, each class will be part of a faction chosen by the class representative. They may either decide to join an existing faction or start a new one.

Representatives, Miss Astrea Equirrion and Miss Atlanna Lynn you may now decide."

===

Hey guys,

As usual, please send power stones to help this novel reach a wider audience.

Cheers,

Kamui