Dong! Dong! Dong!
The sound of the bell echoed through the entire castle; it was like thunder streaking across the sky, and the castle trembled slightly.
The bell rang three times in a row and finally quieted down. The castle returned to stillness, and quite.
Throughout the corridor, every door on each side opened, and members walked out one after another, some wearing pajamas, others without shirts.
Their expressions were drowsy: some yawning, some furious, and others walking out with their eyes still half-closed. It was as if they had been enjoying a pleasant dream and were suddenly dragged awake by someone.
"Who disturbed my good time!?"
"Ahh, my beautiful girl, where are you!?"
"I dreamed about a girl… but she seems to be faceless. Ahh, I can't remember her appearance at all."
"What's going on!?"
"It seems to be the sound of the bell."
...
The silent corridor instantly turned lively, filled with all sorts of sounds, some furious, some frowning, and others shocked.
It was the first time in their lives hearing the sound of the bell. Even though they knew what it meant, they just couldn't react in time.
It was like an exam where you remember every answer, but because of nerves, you end up forgetting everything.
Lilian was among them, yet she showed no emotion at all. It was as if she already knew what had happened.
James also among them, his eyes were dark like a panda's. He kept yawning the entire time, as if he hadn't slept all night.
In the room, book were scattered haphazardly across the floor. Among them lay pajamas, pants, shirts, and even underwear. The room looked less like a bedroom and more like the chaotic workspace of a researcher.
Marcus, who had been sleeping soundly, suddenly jolted awake. He quickly surveyed the room, and after confirming that nothing had changed, his gaze fell on the clock hanging on the wall, it showed 7 o'clock.
Huh! I actually didn't dream about anything. It felt like I just closed my eyes a moment ago… strange!
Since he was eight years old, the nightmares had always haunted him. Every night, he would find himself trapped in a dream of collapsing buildings. Because of this, nightmares had become one of his deepest traumas in life.
But today, under the sound of the bell, he hadn't experienced any nightmares at all. It was a peaceful sleep.
Was it because of the sound of the bell?
Out of nowhere, the noise outside drifted into his room like a chaotic breeze, soft yet disorderly.
Marcus quickly crawled out of bed. Dressed in a set of white pajamas, he opened the door and peered outside.
The moment he did, all sorts of sounds rushed into his ears like rolling thunder.
He couldn't help but survey the corridor. Everywhere, family members were gathered outside their rooms, talking among themselves about the announcement.
They all knew very well what the ringing of the bell meant, that an announcement was about to be made. But since it was their first time experiencing it, and they had been awakened so suddenly, most had forgotten in the moment.
It took several minutes before everyone finally calmed down and began discussing what the upcoming announcement might be about.
As Marcus stepped out of his room, Lilian slowly approached him. Her face was expressionless, as if she already knew everything that was going on.
Upon seeing Lilian, Marcus couldn't help but smile widely.
"Good morning," he said cheerfully.
Marcus took the initiative to greet her first.
It was only natural that a man should greet a woman first, it was an act of gentleman.
He had learned such things from the novels he read; in fact, many of his manners and habits were copied straight from the novels.
Upon hearing his greeting, Lilian didn't return it. She simply stared at Marcus for a brief moment before speaking. "I thought you'd still be asleep. But turns out the sound of the bell actually woke you up."
Marcus had a habit of waking up late. It wasn't that the servants hadn't tried to wake him, they had used every possible method, yet Marcus would still sleep soundly entire time.
The reason they never dared to barge into his room was because of a order from the Lord himself.
The servants had always been puzzled by this command, but none of them dared to question it. After all, the one who issued it was the Lord of the First Area, his aura alone could suppress the entire household.
Marcus was at a loss for words. He didn't know how to respond, and after a brief moment of hesitation, he opened his mouth to speak, but before he could say anything, a weak voice rang out.
The voice was slightly loud, yet weak at the same time, as if its owner hadn't slept all night.
"Good morning,"
Lilian and Marcus shifted their gaze to James, who walked toward them with a slow, measured pace. His back was bent slightly.
On his right hand, there were no bandages anymore. It looked clean, though slightly pale.
Upon seeing James, Marcus couldn't help but blurt out, "Your hand has already recovered?"
"Yes, but it still hurts if I use too much strength." James replied in low voice.
"What's up with you? Your voice is so weak, it's like you didn't sleep at all last night," Lilian asked.
"Yes, I didn't have a good sleep last night."
Without waiting for them to asked, he continued, "The novel Marcus mentioned is so good it made me addicted. I kept telling myself, just one more chapter, then I'll sleep, but I ended up reading until 1 AM. Then I was suddenly woken by the bell," James replied, his voice growing weaker as he yawned slightly.
"Yes, it must be The Fallen Hero. The novel I recommended never disappoints," Marcus said with a wide smile. Placing his hand proudly over his chest.
"Actually, if you spent your time on novels instead of doing homework or learning other things, it might have been a source of pride," Lilian said, giving James a mocking glance.
"You know nothing but studying. You don't realize that novels can teach us too, especially about the outside world, their lives, cultures, and unique foods," James replied without hesitation.
As the two argued,suddenly a loud voice echoed through the corridor, like a booming thunderclap.
"Attention!"
The corridor immediately fell silent. Every member quickly stopped what they were doing and hurriedly clenched their fists and place over their right chest and bowed, unsure to whom exactly they were bowing.
They all knew that the voice belonged to a higher-up, perhaps even the Lord himself, so showing respect was mandatory.
Everyone bowed, including Marcus and his friends.
"Ahem…"
"Good morning, everyone. This might be the first time for many of you. Today, we rang the bell to announce the establishment of a new rule. This rule is very important. It has been carefully considered by the upper echelon, and we all agreed upon it."
"It has been twenty years since a new rule was established. This rule is called The Future Star. Perhaps it's better to call project Insteat of rule but hear me out first."
"This rule will unlock your potential and encourage you to work hard from this day onward."
"The rule states that when everyone turns twelve, you can go outside the family and experience the world outside."
Hearing this, all the members in the corridor were stunned. Even though they remained bowed, their expressions betrayed them: some puzzled, some excited, some shocked, and others filled with complex emotions.
But no one spoke. The corridor was silent, though the atmosphere had shifted, no longer calm, but charged with anticipation.
It was the first time they had heard they could go outside. It was like a dream come true. They had always heard about the outside world from professors's teaching or from the books they read.
They were all thrilled at the thought of the outside world, marveling at the idea of exploring a place filled with wonders, unique foods, vibrant cultures, magnificent buildings, and so much more.
Normally, they could only go outside once they became magician.
However, becoming a magician was like a lifelong dream for them, not only was it extremely difficult to achieve, but the path toward it was also filled with countless dangers.
After a brief pause, the voice echoed again:
"But you only have three years in the outside world. After those three years, you must return to the family."
"As for the rules: to go outside, you must first work hard and achieve a C grade or higher in all subjects. You cannot go out without knowing anything, right?"
There are five subjects in class: Combat, Sword Skill, Experience, Foundation, and Knowledge.
Combat is a class where students learn how to fight. It focuses on fighting experience, and various combat techniques. This class also has a field where students can spar with one another, all under the supervision of a professor.
Sword Skill is a class focused on learning how to use a sword. Students train on controlling the sword, developing skill, and mastering techniques. This class is unique because, in addition to basic sword control, students also learn specialized sword techniques.
Combat techniques and sword techniques are different. Combat techniques focus on the energy within the body, channeling it to a specific point to achieve a certain effect. It is somewhat similar to magic, but slightly weaker and easier to control.
Sword techniques, on the other hand, focus on spiritual energy within the body. They are very complex to use, extremely powerful, comparable to magic, and difficult to control.
Experience is a very unique class. Its purpose is to give students real combat experience through one-on-one fights. The opponent they will faced was monster. Or sometime they can also spar with other.
Foundation focuses on body conditioning, physical endurance, and energy control. It is the basic training that every student must have before advancing to more specialized classes.
Finally, Knowledge is a very important class. It covers subjects such as geography, history, monster ecology, and magical languages. Knowledge is considered the most important subject of all. There is a saying:
"Knowledge is the strongest weapon in the world." Without knowledge, the world might still be ruled by divine beings.
Each subject is graded on a scale of five levels: A, B, C, D, and E.
Upon hearing that they had to get a C grade in all subjects to go outside, their expressions immediately dropped, a mix of shock and disbelief settling over them.
The most disappointed and wary of all were none other than Marcus and James.
They couldn't help but exchange looks, silently asking each other the same question: How are we supposed to manage this?
How am I supposed to go outside with this rule? Marcus thought, his heart sinking. It's impossible. Not just me, there are plenty of others who can't even get an E grade, let alonea C grade... Marcus thought to himself.
C grade… in all subjects? Are you serious? I can barely pass Knowledge, and I can't evenpass other subjects... James felt his heart pounding faster as he thought of this.
"From this day onwards, the project will begin. Dear students, please work hard starting today if you wish to go outside and see the world. We must not bring shame to our family name."
"I hope everyone will bring me a pleasant surprise," the deep voice continued, leaving no room for argument.
After a while, the voice finally stopped abruptly. The room sank into deadly silence, with only the morning breeze gently sweeping past them.