Chapter 18: First Classes
The alarm blared at 5:30 AM, shattering Lin Feng's sleep. He fumbled for his phone, silencing the noise, and groaned. Across the room, Chen Hao made a sound that was half-groan, half-whimper.
"It's too early," Chen Hao mumbled into his pillow. "This is inhumane."
"Physical Conditioning in thirty minutes," Lin Feng said, forcing himself to sit up. "We need to move."
They stumbled through morning routines in a sleep-deprived haze—washing faces, brushing teeth, changing into workout clothes. By 5:55 AM, they joined a stream of equally exhausted students heading toward the main training grounds.
The Physical Conditioning class gathered in one of the massive outdoor training yards. Over 400 first-year students assembled in rough formation, representing the combined enrollment across all four academy programs. The early morning air was cool and crisp, which helped wake Lin Feng up slightly.
Three instructors stood at the front, all of them looking far too alert and energetic for 6 AM. The lead instructor—a muscular woman with short-cropped hair and the build of someone who could probably deadlift a car—stepped forward.
"Good morning, first-years! I'm Instructor Yang, and I'll be making your lives miserable for the next four years!" She smiled cheerfully, as if this was a pleasant prospect. "Physical conditioning is not optional. Your mecha is only as strong as the body piloting it. A weak pilot creates a weak synchronization. Am I clear?"
"Yes, Instructor!" the students chorused, though many voices were hoarse with sleep.
"I can't hear you!"
"YES, INSTRUCTOR!"
"Better. Today we start simple. Two-kilometer run, fifty pushups, fifty sit-ups, twenty pull-ups, and basic stretching. By the end of the semester, you'll be doing twice that. Let's move!"
The run was brutal. Lin Feng had maintained decent physical fitness during his preparation years, but he'd never been particularly athletic. By the one-kilometer mark, his lungs burned and his legs protested every step. Chen Hao was struggling even more, his defensive-type build favoring endurance over speed.
Physical exertion: heart rate 165 BPM, energy expenditure high, muscle fatigue accumulating, recommendation: pace yourself, maintain steady rhythm, avoid sprinting.
Even my Analysis Protocol is telling me I'm pushing too hard, Lin Feng thought wryly, slowing his pace slightly.
They finished the run—Lin Feng in the middle of the pack, Chen Hao near the back—and immediately moved into pushups. Instructor Yang walked among the students, correcting form and shouting encouragement that sounded more like threats.
"Proper form! I don't care if you can only do ten perfect pushups—that's better than fifty sloppy ones! Quality over quantity!"
By the time Physical Conditioning ended at 7 AM, Lin Feng was drenched in sweat and questioning his life choices. Around him, students collapsed onto the grass, gasping for breath.
"This is every morning?" someone moaned nearby.
"Kill me now," another student responded.
"Shower and breakfast," Chen Hao panted, pulling himself to his feet. "We have one hour before Combat Fundamentals."
They rushed back to Building 7, took the world's fastest showers, changed into academy uniforms—simple but professional, dark blue with the academy emblem on the chest—and grabbed quick breakfasts from the cafeteria. Lin Feng barely tasted his food, shoveling rice and eggs into his mouth while mentally preparing for the next class.
At 7:55 AM, they arrived at Combat Training Hall One, a massive indoor facility designed for practical mecha combat instruction. The space was enormous—at least 200 meters across—with reinforced floors, high ceilings, and energy barriers creating separate practice zones.
About forty students filtered into the hall, representing one section of the first-year class. Lin Feng recognized several faces from the entrance rankings—some from the top 100, others from lower ranks. The students naturally clustered by rank and social circles, with higher-ranked students claiming spots near the front.
A grizzled man in his fifties entered through a side door. He wore an instructor's uniform but carried himself with military precision. A scar ran down his left cheek, and his eyes had the hard look of someone who'd seen real combat.
"Sit," he commanded, his voice cutting through conversations instantly.
Students scrambled to sit cross-legged on the floor. The instructor waited until complete silence fell.
"I'm Instructor Liu. Former military, Tier 18 pilot, 30 years combat experience. I've fought in the Land of Origin against beasts, hostile races, and rival human factions. Some of you will become elite pilots. Most of you will become average. A few of you won't survive to graduation." He let that sink in. "My job is to teach you fundamentals that might keep you alive. Pay attention."
He activated a holographic display that appeared in the center of the hall, showing a basic humanoid mecha in a neutral stance.
"Combat Fundamentals begins with understanding basic principles. Principle one: Balance. Your mecha weighs anywhere from 20 to 50 tons depending on type and size. If you lose balance, you're dead. The enemy will kill you while you're falling."
The holographic mecha demonstrated various stances—wide stance for stability, narrow stance for mobility, forward-leaning for aggression, backward-leaning for defense.
Lin Feng watched carefully, his Analysis Protocol automatically categorizing the information: Combat stance analysis: wide stance provides 40% better stability against lateral forces, narrow stance increases movement speed by 25%, optimal stance varies based on combat situation and enemy positioning.
Instructor Liu continued for an hour, covering fundamental concepts: weight distribution, center of gravity, momentum management, energy efficiency in movement. It was all basic material—nothing Lin Feng hadn't already learned through his own research and practice.
This is foundation-level teaching, Lin Feng thought, taking notes more out of habit than necessity. They're assuming students know nothing and starting from absolute basics.
The second hour shifted to practical demonstration. Students were called up in pairs to practice basic movements under Instructor Liu's watchful eye—forward steps, backward steps, lateral movements, pivots, defensive postures.
When Lin Feng's turn came, he executed the movements competently. Instructor Liu watched for a moment, nodded, and moved on without comment. No praise, but no criticism either.
Chen Hao struggled more with the mobility exercises, his defensive mecha being heavier and less agile. Instructor Liu stopped him mid-movement.
"You're fighting your mecha's nature," Instructor Liu said bluntly. "You have a defensive type. Stop trying to move like a speed specialist. Use your weight. Plant yourself. Make the enemy come to you."
Chen Hao adjusted his approach, and his performance improved immediately. Lin Feng filed that away: Instructor Liu identifies mecha-type mismatches quickly, provides targeted corrections, teaching style: harsh but effective.
Combat Fundamentals ended at 10 AM. Students had a two-hour break before the next class.
"That was intense," Chen Hao said as they left the hall. "I thought I knew the basics, but Instructor Liu made it clear I have no idea what I'm doing."
"He's thorough," Lin Feng agreed. "Everything he taught was fundamental, but he explained why each principle matters. That's valuable."
They grabbed early lunch and spent the break reviewing notes. At 2 PM, they headed to Lecture Hall B for Mecha Theory with Professor Zhang.
Professor Zhang was everything Instructor Liu wasn't—elderly, soft-spoken, academic rather than military. He wore traditional professor robes over his academy uniform and carried a tablet filled with decades of research.
"Welcome to Mecha Theory," he said gently, his voice barely carrying to the back of the room. "This course explores the scientific and theoretical foundations of mecha systems. We'll study soul space mechanics, energy flow principles, material science, and the underlying physics that makes mecha piloting possible."
The lecture that followed was dense with information. Professor Zhang displayed complex diagrams showing soul space structure, energy pathways, synchronization theory, and consciousness-mecha interface mechanics.
Lin Feng found this more engaging than Combat Fundamentals—the theoretical framework helped him understand why his Analysis Protocol worked the way it did. Soul space energy flow follows quantum entanglement principles, consciousness acts as bridge between physical and mental dimensions, synchronization rate represents bandwidth of information transfer, higher sync = more precise control and faster response times.
But again, most of the material was review for Lin Feng. His ten years of preparation had included extensive reading on mecha theory. Professor Zhang's explanations were clearer and more detailed, but the core concepts were familiar.
I'm ahead of the curriculum, Lin Feng realized. Not by a huge margin, but enough that these foundation courses aren't challenging me.
After Mecha Theory ended at 4 PM, students had another break before dinner. Lin Feng used the time to visit the academy library—a massive four-story building filled with physical books, digital archives, research papers, and study spaces.
He browsed the advanced sections, looking for material beyond first-year curriculum. The library had extensive collections on tactical analysis, advanced combat theory, soul space manipulation techniques, and even some restricted materials on experimental mecha development.
This is what I need. The classes teach fundamentals, but real growth comes from self-directed study and pushing beyond standard curriculum.
The next day followed a similar pattern. Physical Conditioning at 6 AM left everyone exhausted. Then Energy Management with Professor Chen at 8 AM—a detailed exploration of mecha energy systems, consumption rates, recovery mechanics, and optimization techniques.
Professor Chen was methodical and precise, explaining everything with mathematical rigor. Energy capacity formula: base capacity times tier multiplier times equipment modifier, recovery rate calculated from core quality and pilot metabolic sync, optimal energy allocation: 30% movement, 40% weapons, 20% defense, 10% reserve for emergencies.
Again, Lin Feng found the material valuable but not revolutionary. His Analysis Protocol already tracked energy consumption in real-time and optimized usage automatically.
Land of Origin Studies with Colonel Xing that afternoon proved more interesting. Colonel Xing was a retired military officer who'd spent twenty years fighting in the Land of Origin. His lectures were filled with practical knowledge that couldn't be found in books—real combat experiences, survival tactics, understanding of different beast types and hostile races.
"The Land of Origin is not a game," Colonel Xing said, his tone grave. "It's a battlefield where humanity fights for survival and resources. Beasts there are intelligent, aggressive, and hungry. Other races view humans as competitors or prey. Your mecha is powerful, but overconfidence will get you killed."
He showed recordings of actual combat encounters—students watching in horrified fascination as human pilots fought Tier 10+ beasts in desperate battles. Some recordings ended with pilot deaths, the academy not sugar-coating the reality of their future profession.
Land of Origin threat assessment: Tier 1-5 zones relatively safe with preparation, Tier 6-10 zones require experienced teams, Tier 11+ zones extremely dangerous for students, beast behavior patterns vary by species and tier level, environmental hazards as dangerous as creatures.
By the end of the week, Lin Feng had a clear picture of first-year curriculum. The classes taught solid fundamentals, but they were designed for students with minimal prior knowledge. For someone like Lin Feng who'd spent a decade preparing, the material was more review than discovery.
Friday's Tactical Basics class with Director Wang confirmed this pattern. Director Wang taught systematic thinking about combat—how to analyze situations, identify advantages and disadvantages, plan tactical responses, coordinate with teams.
It was all material Lin Feng had internalized years ago. His Analysis Protocol automated most of these thinking processes, making decisions in microseconds that other students would struggle to calculate at all.
That evening, Lin Feng sat in the soul space meditation room, reviewing his first week of academy life. Chen Hao had gone to a dorm social event, leaving Lin Feng with quiet time for reflection.
In his soul space, Logic Frame stood surrounded by the glowing networks of his enhanced systems. Lin Feng had been gathering data all week: Combat Fundamentals: 47 techniques demonstrated, basic proficiency established across all movement categories. Mecha Theory: 23 theoretical principles covered, mathematical models for energy calculation acquired. Energy Management: optimization formulas documented, efficiency baselines established. Land of Origin Studies: 15 beast types catalogued, tactical threat assessments recorded. Tactical Basics: decision-making frameworks presented, team coordination principles outlined.
The Analysis Protocol had absorbed everything, categorizing knowledge, identifying useful information, discarding redundant material. But Lin Feng felt a growing restlessness.
"The classes are good for building a foundation," he murmured to Logic Frame. "But they're not pushing me. Not really challenging my understanding."
He pulled up his class performance tracker: Current academic standing: estimated top 15% based on comprehension and participation, actual capability: significantly higher than demonstrated, growth rate: minimal from formal instruction, recommendation: supplement academy curriculum with advanced self-study and practical application.
I need more than lectures. I need combat data. Real challenges. Opportunities to test my systems against actual opponents, not just theoretical scenarios.
Lin Feng opened the academy's mission board on his tablet—a digital listing of available opportunities for students. Most were restricted to second-years and above, but a few first-year options existed: supervised training expeditions to low-tier Land of Origin zones, assisting with beast specimen collection, participating in research studies.
None of it would be particularly challenging, but it was better than sitting through lectures about material he already knew.
The classes teach fundamentals that most students need. But I'm not most students. I need to supplement the standard curriculum with practical experience.
His tablet buzzed with a message from Tang Yue: "Study group tomorrow at the library? Going over this week's Energy Management material. You, me, Chen Hao, and a few others?"
Lin Feng considered declining—he didn't need to review the material. But study groups weren't just about learning; they were about building relationships and understanding how other students thought.
"I'll be there," he typed back. "What time?"
As the message sent, Lin Feng made a decision. He'd attend classes, participate appropriately, and maintain good standing. But his real education would happen outside the classroom—in the VR training rooms, in the soul space meditation halls, in practical missions when they became available, and in the continuous development of his Analysis Protocol.
The academy could teach him fundamentals. But reaching the top would require going far beyond what any class could provide.
Week one complete. Rank 47 among first-years. The gap between me and the top students isn't knowledge—it's combat experience and tier progression. That's what I need to focus on.
Lin Feng closed his eyes and dove deeper into his soul space, beginning the real work of the evening. He'd spent all week gathering information through classes. Now it was time to integrate that knowledge into his systems, refining the Analysis Protocol with new theoretical insights and optimizing its decision-making algorithms.
The academy provided structure and resources. But Lin Feng's true advantage came from what he did with those resources when no one was watching.
Week one was foundation. Week two would be about starting to build something more.
And somewhere in the academy's combat rankings, Zhao Wei and the other top students probably weren't worried about someone ranked 47th. They were focused on their own training, confident in their advantages.
Let them underestimate me, Lin Feng thought, his hands moving through the glowing code strings of his Analysis Protocol. Every day they rest on their talent, I'll be systematically improving. Every advantage they take for granted, I'll be analyzing and learning to counter.
The rankings will change. They always do.
And I have four years to make sure they change in my favor.
The code pulsed with potential, ready to grow alongside him. First week complete. 207 weeks remaining until graduation.
The systematic path to the top had truly begun.