NOVEL NEXT Chapter 99: Hex core evolution
Even Zayn had a hundred questions in his mind.
He glanced at Liam, who was almost passed out.
This was the reason he did not know the exact details of these classes.
The novel never bothered to explain all this stuff. He only knew bits and pieces that were randomly mentioned here and there.
He stopped thinking about Liam and focused back on the instructor, Luna.
She shook her head. "No need to stress so much. Let me tell you, it's because we, as hex masters, do not use hex skills."
Many tilted their heads in confusion.
Not leaving them, she said. "Think of your hex core as a living entity that is linked to you. At level 0, your hex core is just a baby that was born with a single hex skill."
"You can think that every time you thought of using a hex skill, instead of you, it was this baby that used the hex skill in your stead."
Her explanation panicked many as they looked down with pale faces.
She waved her hand. "Oh, don't worry. It was just an analogy I used. Other hex masters have different ways of viewing the hex core, but no matter what the case, the moment you become a hex master, your hex core is inseparable from you. It's more like another baby version of you. A version that is born with hex energy."
This eased the students.
Not waiting, the hex master continued. "Now, to improve further, you need to take care of this baby and teach it so that it can create a second hex skill. Can you guess how we are going to teach this baby?"
Almost instantly, it hit everyone as they collectively shouted, "Hex art!"
Instructor Luna nodded with a poker face. "Yup. To summarize it, you will learn a hex art, and the moment your proficiency in the hex art reaches the Transmute level, your hex core will learn that hex art."
"Once you do that, you only need to provide sufficient Nythra and essence. Once all three requirements are met, your hex core will evolve and create a second hex skill, which it will derive from the hex art you have taught it."
A silence formed in the class as students started to digest the information.
Even though there were lots of steps involved, all of them were pretty straightforward. It took a bit of time, but everyone understood what they needed to do to advance further.
A dwarf asked in doubt, "Instructor, will learning any hex art to the Transmute level teach that hex art to our hex core?"
She nodded. "Yup, it does not matter if it is one-star hex art, two-star hex art, or three-star hex art. As long as you reach the Transmute level, the hex core will learn it."
One guy from the back asked, "How many minimum hex arts do we need to teach our hex core for it to evolve?"
She pointed one finger. "One art is sufficient for the hex core to create the hex skill."
"What about the maximum limit?"
"Well, there is no maximum limit. If you reach the Transmute level in multiple arts, then your hex core will learn all of them, but the thing is, the hex core will only be able to use a limited amount of knowledge in creating a hex skill."
Jake asked, "Instructor, how can we increase our proficiency?"
She sighed. "The simple way is that you need to study the theory involved in hex art and understand the workings of your hex art. Though there is another aspect to it, which you'd better ask your hex masters."
Jake asked again. "Ah, one more thing, Instructor. How do we know whether our proficiency has increased or not?"
She shook her head. "Didn't I tell you before that you can only see it through your hex core status? Take your time. It's not that hard. You can explore these things on your own."
Eline asked this time, "Instructor, our hex core can evolve only by learning a one-star hex art to the Transmute level?"
She nodded. "Correct."
"Then what about the hex skill produced? Will there be any difference depending on the Star of hex art or increased proficiency to the maximum master level?"
Instructor Luna smiled at this. "Well, that leads up to the second question. What hex art should we teach to our hex core to get the best possible hex skill? Am I correct?"
Everyone said in unison, "Yes, Instructor."
"The one thing that you guys need to keep in mind is that you can learn as many hex arts as you want, but I recommend that you raise only one hex art to Transmute or higher proficiency."
Xane immediately understood why she said this. Still, many had confusion on their faces, and one of them asked, "Why?"
She smiled at them. "If you teach multiple hex arts to the hex core, then it will just randomly take bits of information from those arts, and you will lose control over the hex skill it creates."
Xane nodded as he thought of the same thing.
She continued. "Now you have to choose what kind of hex art you should increase your proficiency in. Here, the number of stars will decide the power of your hex skill. In case you choose a one-star or two-star hex art for evolution, then your hex skill will be weak, but on the other side, you will become a level 1 hex master faster."
Xane frowned at this idea. It was clear that if he wanted to become powerful, then a three-star hex art was the way.
Many around him had similar reactions, though a few had a different reaction to it.
"The second thing you have to keep in mind is that even if two people learn the same hex art, because of the five factors I mentioned before, it would result in developing different hex skills. In this aspect, those with higher potential would always develop a higher-power hex skill than their counterparts."
Now Xane understood another clear advantage of high potential. This one might be the biggest reason those with high potential received so much favor.
The instructor ignored their reaction and said, "I will suggest to all of you not to use one-star, two-star, or even three-star hex art available in the library for evolution."
Everyone looked confused.
She clarified, "See, if you use a commonly available hex art or even use a family hex art that was passed to you that others know of, then no matter what kind of hex skill you get, others can find its weakness just by studying the hex art you used for its creation."
Xane looked with wide eyes. <Oh, so that is the reason for hex art creation.>
[Yeah.]
Interestingly, this time, those from the noble families had a much worse reaction than the backbenchers.
One guy asked, "Instructor, are there any ways we can find less common hex art?"
She said with a smile, "There are multiple ways for you to get unique three-star hex arts. It's better to ask the three-star from your hex masters in the academy and then customize that hex art to your preference."
"Or you could try to explore the rift. There, you might find ancient hex arts that were left by ancient hex masters. Many even used those hex arts to advance."
"But I will recommend that all of you try to create your own hex art. The hex art that you create will always result in the development of advanced hex skills."
With that, she clapped her hands. "Well, that's all for today's class. Now, before I go."
The instructor suddenly asked in a cold tone, "Do all of you know the duration of the academy, right?"
The ever-smiling teacher returned to her first-class version as everyone sat stiffly.
Not long after, the entire class shouted, "Yes, Instructor."
She nodded. "Let's start with the first year. Around 80% of the students can usually move to the 2nd year. The other 20% will either die or become slaves."
Instant dread appeared in a few weaker hearts, but most of the students were already used to this pressure.
But then Instructor Luna asked again, "Now I have a question for you guys. Who do you think will fall in this last 20%?"
A student from the middle was the first to say, "Instructor, those with the least strength will fail."
Everyone nodded at the obvious answer. But Miss Luna shook her head. "Nope, think harder."
Silence!
Everyone looked at each other in shock. Those with low potential had a shine on their faces, while the higher-potential students frowned.
Instructor Luna said, "The most important thing for you guys is your performance in the tournament that will happen in the third month. The top 10 teams in the tournament will get multiple privileges and resources. Let me tell you, the top 10 teams will decide if you can live or not."
Even though they knew all of this, finally hearing it from the instructor's mouth made it clear.
This power was not just about these teams abusing their authority, but more of the academy's way of rewarding the best of the batch, where they could decide the lives of others in their batch.
A buzz started.
Soon, one girl from the left side asked, "Instructor, what is the requirement to form a group?"
Everyone in the class quieted down, attentively waiting for the answer.
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Day one: 2 chunky chapters.
Tomorrow's target -> 4 chapters.
(It will be a steak where every day, 2 more chapters will be added to the daily update. Let's see how far I reach. )