Volume 2: Adapting
At the moment, Tiana, Cù, and Ray were standing in front of a map that was being projected on the wall of a long hall. After the welcome ceremony, every single student received a notice on their phones, informing them which class they were assigned to and which classroom to go to.
The three of them had, of course, ended up in the Special Class and were right now searching for the room where they would spend most of their next year. The room was identified as 8.2.5, meaning it was in the 8th building's second floor in the fifth room.
But they were completely unaware how to get there.
By looking at a map in the hall of the cafeteria, which was close to the Central Garden, they would eventually find their classroom.
"Ah! Found it! It's not far away, if we run, there is no way that we end up late!"
Saying that, Tiana burst off running in the direction of the Hero course's building, Cù and Ray followed her.
They were using mana and aura to reinforce their bodies to a minimal level.
Arriving late to the first class was not a good look.
The three of them were completely aware of their identities. Cù being a barbarian, Tiana an amazon, and Ray an unknown variable that surges out of nowhere.
None of them were exactly the type of people that would receive great attention and tolerance from a teacher of such a renowned academy. They couldn't exactly afford to make mistakes.
Not that they were that worried, it was simply a matter of dodging problems and headaches.
It didn't take long for them to reach the building assigned to the Hero course and find the classroom meant for the Special Class.
The class reminded them of the auditorium where they had their Theory Test, although it was much smaller.
There were already some students in their places, all familiar faces.
Mara was sitting in the first row of seats, focused on a book she had brought, titled "The Enormous Feats of the Sage."
Arianne was sitting close to her, looking absent mindedly.
Zillah was around the middle of the room, looking around slightly trembling.
Jynn was a few rows behind him, talking with the girl beside him, Stelle.
She seemed to be focused on her phone until she noticed the new arrivers.
Her eyes instantly locked on to Ray, she was preparing to stand up and walk up to him when someone else's voice echoed in the room.
"It seems that everyone is here!"
It was a cheerful voice that came from behind the group of three that had just entered the room, prompting them to look back.
'I didn't sense him?'
That was the general thought crossing their minds.
"Hahaha! There is no need to get so worked up, dear students. You see, due to some accidents, I don't have either mana or aura pools, and during my childhood, in order to steal cookies from my mother, I developed quite the light feet, so there is no need to worry, hehe.
"Anyway, I'm your homeroom teacher from now on!"
Ray frowned.
There is no way things were that simple. How could a teacher of the Special Class not be special? The fact that he revealed such information, which would normally cause waves of underestimation from other people, so freely was proof of that.
The professor looked around, studying the students one by one, and then smiled.
"Umu, umu. You are indeed bright kids, none of you dared to underestimate me for a second. That's a good sign."
He gestured to Ray and the other two to sit while he walked to the podium.
"However, I wasn't lying, I truly am not a threat. I am Amon Blade, and I will be your History Teacher, besides being the homeroom teacher, of course."
Ray, Cù, and Tiana sat together at a random place in the classroom, not minding wherever they were.
As for why they sat together? Well, they had formed a good connection in the process of looking for the correct room. Both Cù and Tiana had fought each other and even came to a good understanding of one another. Ray had once fought Cù and had a long and exhausting talk with Tiana after the Theory Test.
Besides them, Ray could only talk freely with Mara.
"Well, let's start with introductions. Name, likes/dislikes or hobbies, combat preferences, and goals. I'll start."
The teacher adjusted himself and coughed towards his fist in mock preparation.
"Like I said, I'm Amon Blade. I like sweets and dislike spicy foods. My hobbies are napping, teaching, and knitting. When I was active, I was pretty good with a knife, and my goal is to survive until retirement!"
He said it with a smile the whole time. He was quite young, with reddish-brown hair and bright green eyes.
He swiftly pointed at Arianne.
Taking the hint, she decided to introduce herself.
"I'm Arianne. My hobbies are praying and cooking. I normally use a polearm in tandem with divine prayers, and my goal is to live up to the name of the past holders of my title."
"That was great, Miss Arianne. Next!"
He once again pointed to one of the students.
"I'm Cù Sith. I like hunting and dislike giving up anything in general. I use my unique affinity to boost my hand-to-hand performance. My goal is to succeed my father as the tribe leader."
"Ah! A barbarian of the Cù tribe—how intriguing. I'm sure that there are several things that the both of us could talk about, Mr. Cù."
Once again, Amon pointed towards a student.
"I'm Jynn Caster. My likes are fighting and girls. My dislikes are fighting and tasteless women. My hobbies are fencing and clothes designing. My combat preferences are focused on the use of the sword and magecraft. My goal is to find a goal."
"Hmmm. Well done, Mr. Caster, I suppose. Next!"
'It seems that even the teacher was blown away by that guy's personality.'
"My name is Mara Flamma. I like reading and studying magic and dislike being ordered around. My hobby is simply studying magecraft. My combat preference lies in magecraft. My goal is, well, do I need to really say it?"
"Haha! There is no need to fret, this is just a tradition that can be easily ignored. You are the only one who chooses what to say, Miss Flamma."
"Thank you."
Amon once again chose the next student.
Which was...
"I'm Ray. I like eating, napping, and fighting, and I dislike anything that bothers me when I'm doing those. I don't really have a hobby. I mainly fight with magic and with hand-to-hand combat, but I could get around using a sword. My goal is to grow stronger."
Ray was simple in his introduction.
Amon gazed at him with a smirk.
"Good introduction, Mr. Blank. Next!"
'Mr. Blank? Is this because I don't have a surname?'
It was odd being picked to be the first one to get a nickname from their weirdly cheerful professor.
"My name is Stelle Meyer. I like to train, and I dislike when people hide things. I don't have any particular hobbies besides training. I mainly fight with a sword and my own aura technique. My goal is to one day surpass the Last Hero."
Amon did not speak. He was still smiling, although it didn't seem like he was really meaning it now.
It was understandable, though. Ray had learned that Gideon's name had become mostly sacred, only below the gods themselves, for the majority of the people. As for the minority, in this era his name was above the gods.
Claiming to have the goal to surpass him was something that was only allowed to be said if you were a child who did not know any better.
But Stelle was completely serious as well as completely aware of the consequences of showing off her goals.
Everyone was silent.
Even Cù and Tiana, who were used to being seen as pariahs in society, were strangely weirded out by her statement.
The only ones who didn't seem to be affected by her claims were Jynn and Ray.
As someone that seemed to know her from before the entrance exams, it was normal for him to know her goal.
As for Ray, he was mostly intrigued.
He had already recognized her potential, he didn't see anything wrong with striving to surpass someone like Gideon.
"Hahahahaha!!"
Suddenly, Amon started laughing out loud.
Seemingly wiping off tears that had streamed from his eyes from laughing, he seemed genuinely happy. Even Stelle was taken aback.
"What an intriguing goal you have, Miss Meyer. Do you know about the consequences and the obstacles that will stay in your way?"
"It doesn't matter. I have set my eyes on that prize. I will not rest until it is in my hands."
"Ha! What an interesting class I got this year. Okay then, pleasure to work with you, Miss Meyer. Next!"
He once again pointed to a student.
"I'm Tiana Bellator, nice to meet all of you! I like to scroll on the internet, play outside with my younger siblings, train, nap, fight, and eat my grandma's cooking. I really like studying history too, but my favorite is definitely hunting! My dislikes... well, there really isn't something that I truly dislike, except bad people doing bad things. I have a ton of hobbies that I will definitely share with all of you! I can fight with basically anything, so I mostly use my Blood Forgery to fight. My goal is to find a strong man to produce strong warriors for the future of the amazons!"
"As I've heard, you are truly an . . . Excited person, huh? Well, it's nice to meet you too, Miss Bellator! Next!"
This time, the teacher pointed to the last student left.
"I am Zillah Emrys, and I- uhm... like to read and dislike watching horror movies. I fight with a short sword and use assassin techniques. I don't really have a goal."
"I see! Good to have you with us, Mr. Emrys!"
"Eeeep!!"
Zillah, after mostly being pressured into introducing himself, hid himself behind the table where he was sitting.
"This concludes introductions, class! For the next three years, I, Amon Blade, will be the one to guide you to become the best hero version of yourselves!"
He made a pause, he made a peace sign, and smiled like a fool before saying something else.
"Let's work hard, Special Class!!"
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Author's Note
And with this we start the 2nd Volume. It will mostly be dedicated to character interactions and fleshing out the world-building before the main plot kicks off.
What do you think of the interactions so far?