(3RD POV)
Lyon couldn't figure out what these instructors actually wanted. They had returned to the home classroom after finishing lunch and were briefly instructed on what the teachers planned to teach them. The rest of the morning class was spent conducting more student tests.
By the time the afternoon classes were wrapping up, Lyon was disappointed that no more ability tests had been conducted. He had been gathering useful data throughout the day, and some of it might prove valuable in the future.
He knew the teachers had put them into groups in hopes of bringing out the best in each student. Lyon decided to use that as the basis for his own deductions. Why think twice about it?
Since the teachers had grouped all the students together, there had to be reasons behind their choices or things he hadn't noticed yet. Lyon took the break from the intense activities, when the afternoon class transitioned into free time, as an opportunity to further refine his observations.
Already, he could see people beginning to distinguish themselves. Those who had been trained professionally were markedly more consistent with their movements. They followed the optimal techniques for their future professions, making for a visually superior showing.
Still, Lyon considered those students to be the most mediocre of the class. Anyone could draw a perfect circle, but only an artist could draw a perfect moon. Lyon wouldn't consider himself an artist when it came to Kei Mastery by any means.
Nobody could claim to fully understand Kei. Kei Energy was more than just the energy source of the world; it was the very foundation upon which all of reality existed.
Locksmiths throughout the realms had spent countless centuries studying Kei Energy, hoping to understand how it worked and where it came from. Their results were complicated and ultimately too inconclusive to prove anything for certain.
That didn't mean they hadn't made groundbreaking discoveries. The very techniques and professions being taught that day were based on the results of the Locksmiths' research.
Naturally, the class wouldn't review such basic information. Lyon was fairly sure that half the class didn't actually know where their techniques and professions came from in the first place.
The major focus of the rest of the day was learning the proper ways to control Kei Energy, both the energy their bodies naturally produced and the natural Kei Energy found throughout the world. There was more than one method for controlling Kei Energy, though most people learned to subconsciously control it while in deep meditation.
It was similar to training your mind not to think certain thoughts. It sounded impossible at first; how could someone actively avoid thinking about something when the very act of trying not to think about it required them to think about it?
Still, with enough practice and a gradual comprehension of what Kei Energy actually felt like, a person could eventually learn to control it during a fight. This was only the most basic and inefficient method, however, and it could take years of dedicated practice before someone developed any significant measure of power.
Naturally, for gifted students, even using this method would be much faster than it was for everyone else. That didn't mean the Locksmiths hadn't created easier or more efficient ways to cultivate and utilize Kei Energy.
Many of the students were already using customized techniques handed out by the Imperial Palace. These techniques were available to anyone who managed to train to the peak of the First, or physical, level and activate their attribute.
In Lyon's opinion, it was a great method for ordinary people with talent and a strong work ethic. Even if the Emperor's main goal in doing so was to more accurately identify talented commoners from poor backgrounds for his private troops.
Not to mention how useful those same methods were for keeping an eye on the descendants of less friendly families. Lyon couldn't deny that the Imperial Palace had found a remarkably effective way to turn cultivation into another method of maintaining control.
Upon returning to the classroom, however, Teachers Virden and Levina each took a group of students into another dimensional space. There, the two teachers tested the cultivation methods the students were currently using and handed out better ones to anyone who could make use of them.
As far as Lyon could tell, the only students who hadn't received a better method were the arrogant and cold royal elf, Alicia; the super-average human, Derrick; and the enigmatic, impossible-to-read Zesher, whose lineage Lyon still wasn't certain about.
Lyon himself had received an amazing new method that focused on absorbing Lightning and Dark elemental Kei Energy. It allowed him to increase his efficiency while decreasing the time required to purify Kei Energy by a mind-boggling tenfold!
At first glance, that might not sound very amazing. However, as the only heir apparent to a dukedom, even if he declined to use it, there was already a wide array of Kei methods available to Lyon.
He had always assumed he was already using the best method that could be found. To suddenly receive something that could improve his efficiency by such an absurd amount was far beyond what he had expected from the Academy.
Even still, the biggest surprise for Lyon had yet to come. Not long after the students' utilization of Kei Energy and their cultivation methods had been checked and tested by the teachers, they brought all the students together to make an announcement whose reasoning Lyon couldn't understand.
Lyon could clearly recall every word.
"As of now, we will be placing you all into groups of four. Your group will all live in the same dormitory room. Hold the groans, because I don't care.
"You will all be expected to help each other with class assignments and homework, and you are expected to recognize and bridge any gaps you have amongst yourselves. This will be part of the requirement to make it through the first week of Hell Month.
"I will tell you now that these groups will not and cannot be changed. If you refuse to work together with your partners, you and your group are out.
"If you are caught bullying or forcing them to do anything, you and your group are out. If one of you chooses not to help your team, your whole group will fail and immediately be kicked out from the Heaven Class."
Lyon remembered the heavy silence that hung in the air after the teachers finished explaining the rules. Even then, he could already tell that this wasn't going to be an easy experience.
Still, looking in front of him now, standing outside his dorm room were three people he was sure were hiding just as many secrets as he was, if not more.
Zesher Pitch, the inscrutable current number one. Alicia Everbright, the ice-cold number two. And Derrick Prown, the suspiciously average number four.
Combined with himself as number three, Lyon knew he was in for a headache. Most people might have been ecstatic at having the strongest team, but Lyon could only see an almost impossible task ahead of him.
Not only would they have the biggest target on their backs, but they were also the best of the best. Inevitably, each of them had developed strong convictions in their own ways of doing things, and changing those beliefs would be nearly impossible in a single week.
Not to mention, Lyon was sure they each had more secrets than probably any of the other students. The teachers certainly knew that as well.
They were forcing the four of them to give up a sizable part of their individual secrets, all in the hopes of passing the assignment. Lyon couldn't help but wonder exactly what the teachers expected them to discover about one another during their time together.
Lyon fought to keep his expression neutral, but his eyes narrowed with frustration. He had already considered carefully who he wanted to try bringing into his inner circle, and those plans had never included any of the types he was currently facing.
No plan ever survives first contact, he chanted mentally, forcing back a long sigh. Resigning himself to roll with the punches and change his immediate plans again, Lyon stepped forward, cleared his throat, and looked at the three pairs of eyes that had been staring at him since he opened the door to their new dorm.
It was a small miracle that Lyon's dorm had been chosen for their group cohabitation, and one he intended to use to his own benefit. Though he was certain the teachers had done this on purpose, he wasn't going to complain about their overt scheme.
He would simply use his own.
"Well, people, there's no point in crying over spilled milk and spoiled plans, so let's go inside and reintroduce ourselves before we end up getting pulled for corrective training."
He grinned and couldn't help feeling a little excited now that he wasn't freaking out. After all, if everything went according to plan, life would be too boring for him.
Even though he was here on a mission, it couldn't hurt to have a little fun every now and then, right?