Chapter 95 - Fifth Year (Patreon)

Arien spent the last days of the inter-semester break sightseeing around the city with his sister, training with Will, and practicing magic on his own. He had originally intended to focus on Lightning, but the expedition had given him several new ideas he wanted to test in the privacy of his room.

The System rewarded his efforts with several Skill levels and another Profession level. Magic Explorer granted him more than twice as many Attributes per level as his previous Profession, making every advancement considerably more valuable. Progress was slowing after his Second Specializations, but the additional experience gained from Skill levels should help compensate for that. He had calculated that the Magic Explorer specialty provided twenty percent additional experience per skill level.

He also finally did something he had postponed for years and spent his remaining Free Attributes on Agility.

Name: ArienRace: HumanAge: 13Profession: Magic Explorer (Rare)

Traits: Emissary of ▉, Avenger

Level: 23 → 24Experience: 188/2500 (+528)

Stamina: 110/110Mana: 900/955

Endurance: 11Agility: 11 → 13Strength: 11Perception: 57.5 → 62.5Intellect: 91.5 → 95.5Wisdom: 15Vitality: 59.5 → 63 

Free Points: 0

Assigned Skills 8/9:

Mana Sense (Uncommon): lvl 40 → 41First Specialization: Hawk Eye

Mana Manipulation (Rare): lvl 56 → 57First Specialization: Magic ResearcherSecond Specialization: Mana Weaver

Lightning Aspect (Rare): lvl 33First Specialization: Lightning Mage

Fire Aspect (Uncommon): lvl 50 → 52First Specialization: Fire MageSecond Specialization: Pyromaniac

Unshakable Mind (Rare): lvl 40First Specialization: Blissful Sleep

Life Aspect (Rare): lvl 55 First Specialization: HealerSecond Specialization: Guardian of Life

Earth Aspect (Uncommon): lvl 31 → 33First Specialization: Earth Mage

Words of Magic (Rare): lvl 29 → 30First Specialization: Inner Voice

His duel with Liam had finally convinced Arien to address his greatest weakness: close combat.

For years, he had reassured himself that once he graduated and joined a Ten, someone else would usually be there to keep Warriors away from him. Before that happened, however, he still had several years at the Academy, and Liam had demonstrated how dangerous that assumption could be.

Fifth year also marked the point when students were expected to become far more responsible for their own development. Arien had heard that often enough, but the change only became real when his new schedule arrived.

Where before they had been buried in classes from morning until evening, his timetable was now reduced to:

Fifth Year Academy — once a week

Healing (Practical Training) — twice a week

Advanced Mana Manipulation — four times a week

Magical Defense — thrice a week

Fire Aspect — once a week

Earth Aspect — once a week

Life Aspect — once a week

Mana and Its Aspects — twice a week

Fifteen classes a week, each lasting an hour and a half. About a third of what he had been used to.

At first glance, that left an enormous amount of free time. In practice, most fifth-years spent those hours training alone or in groups, working with private instructors, or pursuing their chosen specializations.

So when Arien took his familiar seat for Fifth-Year Academy, the class that opened the new academic year, he felt both excited and slightly uneasy.

The other nineteen students seemed much the same. Some discussed their new schedules, while others crowded around Reyna to hear what had happened during the competition. Rumors of Adam’s victory had already spread through the Academy.

The moment the classroom door closed, everyone returned to their seats. Years under Master Sonnia Terynheim had taught them better than to keep her waiting.

"Welcome back, my dear students," she said in her gentle voice.

Though she was strict and tolerated no excuses, she cared about them in her own way.

“I’m happy to see you all again. I hope you spent your break productively and still found some time to rest, because I’m afraid the easy days are behind you. Before we move on to the challenges awaiting you, however, please give a round of applause for Gilly Sunderhall. In the competition organized by the Academy, her team took first place."

Loud applause erupted throughout the classroom. Everyone liked Gilly, who now sat with her face completely red, unsure what to do with her hands.

"Miss Sunderhall, together with Miss Voltorey, who managed to gather enough points, will be visiting the city's Portal this month and will have the opportunity to explore its lower instances."

Murmurs and sighs spread across the room. Some students only nodded, while others immediately began whispering about the reward.

"Don't worry," the Master said, looking at them seriously. "Every one of you will have such an opportunity if you work hard enough. There will be numerous competitions in future semesters, and Portal access will often be one of the rewards. And these won't be competitions focused solely on combat, so those of you concentrating more on the civilian aspects of magic won't be disadvantaged. During our classes, besides organizational matters, we'll be discussing and preparing for events of that nature.

"Any questions? No? Good.

"Then let us move on to the most important change that begins in the fifth year. I'm sure you've all heard of the Arena?"

The question was clearly rhetorical, as there wasn't a single person at the Academy who hadn't.

Arien had heard that even people outside the Academy followed the matches as well. Supposedly there were semi-legal establishments where one could watch the duels, and entirely illegal betting houses where people wagered on the outcomes.

"Today I will begin by explaining exactly how the Arena system works, so that we can separate rumors and legends from facts. Listen carefully, because I will not repeat myself."

Arien doubted anyone needed to be told to pay attention. The Arena was one of the most talked-about parts of Academy life among younger students. He already knew some of the rules from Reyna, but he still pulled out a clean sheet of parchment and spent the next hour recording the details.

The Arena encompassed students from the fifth through seventh years. There were twelve divisions in total, and each awarded a corresponding number of points every month. During the first month, fifth-year students competed among themselves for places in the bottom three divisions. After that, once everyone had been assigned a division, the regular competitions began and a student’s year no longer mattered.

There were two hundred and forty students, and most were required to participate in at least one duel per week. The only exception was the top ten, who occupied positions in Divisions One through Three. Everyone else had to fight within their own division or challenge someone in a higher one.

A victory within your own division granted the winner two points, while the loser lost two points. If they had no spare points left, those points would instead be deducted from their final semester score.

On the other hand, a student could challenge someone from a higher division. Winning such a challenge resulted in the two students swapping places. Losing, however, cost the challenger three points and awarded that same number of points to the challenged student.

Fights and reshuffling, especially in the lower divisions, were very common, because nobody wanted to end up in the twelfth division for one simple reason.

At the end of each month, the thirty-four students occupying it received no points at all.

Students in the higher divisions received one, three, five, seven, and ten points per month respectively. Naturally, the number of students gradually decreased from division to division until only a single Arena Champion remained, occupying the First Division and enjoying a staggering fifty points every month.

For the past two years, Prince Cedrick had occupied the First Division uncontested.

For Arien and his classmates, however, the highest divisions were still a distant concern. Older students held a natural advantage, and most fifth-years competed for positions between the Eighth and Twelfth Divisions, with only exceptional students climbing higher.

Arena points could be exchanged for resources, but they also affected a student’s final semester score.

That was what made the system so valuable to Arien. Strong fighters could compensate for weaker examination results, while students without wealthy families gained another way to earn access to artifacts, training, and other resources normally beyond their reach.

The cost was pressure. Falling into a lower division meant losing monthly points, and choosing the wrong opponent could directly hurt a student’s semester result. Some students reportedly became so consumed by rankings and challenges that their academic performance collapsed along with them.

For the first month, fifth-years would compete in a randomly generated tournament without penalties for losing. Once everyone had been placed into divisions, the normal rules would begin.

Arien was looking forward to it far more than he had expected.

The competition in the Reznan Forest had raised several of his Skill levels far faster than weeks of grinding through the same spells over and over again. Even Skills unrelated directly to combat, such as Magical Voice, had improved because fighting forced him to use mana under conditions he could never reproduce in normal practice.

They spent the final minutes of class writing down classroom locations, exam dates, holidays, receptions, and other organizational details.

When the bell rang, everyone headed toward a part of the Academy they had seen countless times but had never been allowed to enter.

Advanced Mana Manipulation, already shortened to AMM by some students, was taught inside the Tower, the multi-story building at the center of the Palace that constantly radiated magical energy.

They made it halfway there before the barrier stopped the class. In previous years, any student who tried to pass through it had been thrown several meters backward, which had naturally led generations of older students to send unsuspecting first-years there with false directions.

The punishments were severe whenever someone got hurt. The tradition survived anyway.

Reyna eventually stepped forward and placed a hand against the barrier.

Nothing happened.

She walked through and turned toward the others with a smile.

Arien still tensed when his own turn came. Some irrational part of him expected the Academy to have forgotten to update the barrier for his mana, but he passed through without incident.

The difference on the other side was immediate. Mana filled the area far more densely than outside, yet instead of feeling oppressive, it made the air strangely pleasant to breathe.

Arien had heard that hundreds of artifacts inside the Tower enhanced magical perception and casting.

Experiencing it himself was another matter.

You have entered a special location (Rank: Rare) — The Tower. While inside, you gain: +15 Perception, +15 Intellect, +15 Vitality.

Next week on EoN:

Monday → Chapter 96 The Basic FiveTuesday → Chapter 97 Not SufficientWednesday → Chapter 98 The Correct WayThursday → Chapter 99 The First DuelFriday → Chapter 100 Leaving Ribenne