The Stubborn Skill-Grinder In A Time Loop

Based on his reputation in this loop, he could be considered famous. But fame was inspiring to some and intimidating to others.

And the accompanying griffin rider - an Elite retainer of House Firesword who hadn’t tagged along on the expedition in Jerestir - hadn’t met Orodan and gotten to know him firsthand. To the man, Orodan was a distant and awe-inspiring figure who was rumored to be a Favored and host to an Avatar. Consequently, his escort was rather subdued and elected to spend the ride in silence as his and Orodan’s griffins soared through the skies towards Karilsgard.

Which suited Orodan just fine as he spent the time meditating on Eternal Soul Reactor.

In a few minutes, he saw glimpses of it.

There was another massive mountain that stood between Volarbury county and the Capital. This meant that wherever Orodan went within the county in his loops, he never quite got to see the spires of Karilsgard in the distance as the mountain would be in the way.

But now that their flight had gotten past the tall mountain for the first time?

He saw it.

And it was the biggest city Orodan had ever seen. Easily ten times the size of Vorskard in the northern continent.

Massive spires and towers the size of smaller mountains, glowing lights and so, so many people. The city was surrounded by walls which were almost as tall as some of the smaller towers, and many of the towers and buildings had walkways connecting them to other tall buildings and at some points even to the walls themselves.

It was incredible.

And in the center of the city, he could see it looming over everything, almost as tall as Mount Castarian. It was the High Spire of Karilsgard, the tallest building in the Republic of Aden and one of the tallest in the world. It rose from the Palace of the Council, where the Republic’s rulers convened. On Inuan, it was dwarfed only by the imperial citadel in Novarria.

He saw various other famous landmarks and buildings.

The utterly massive Cathedral of the Prime Five. The largest building of worship in the Republic and the priesthood’s base of power. It was surrounded by five massive statues of the Gods the size of castles. The High Forges of Karilsgard where the greatest craftsmen of the Republic worked to outfit the military, the Capital Guard and had certain powerful pieces of gear for sale. And the commercial section, which glowed with such bright lights even as the sun shined. And had such crowds of people flitting through that Orodan thought it alone held more people than the entirety of Volarbury county. Frankly, he thought the city itself likely outnumbered the surrounding few counties in terms of total population.

A few million people in Volarbury county? That was nothing before the likely tens of millions Karilsgard held.

Orodan now understood why House Firesword would want to hold some influence here. This place was a population center and base of power of titanic proportions.

As the griffins flew past the walls, Orodan noticed tall towers with mages on them who were performing the task of monitoring air traffic in and out of the city. There were also various anti-air defenses and lethal looking siege weaponry atop these towers. With a tower being present every half mile of the walls. Archers, peltasts and mages were present in force, ready send missile and spell fire upon intruders.

Any assault upon Karilsgard would face heavy resistance. The city’s defenses were prepared diligently and honed over a long period of time. Orodan felt that even an Avatar attempting to assail it would find a formidable amount of firepower sent their way, and who knew what other esoteric defense systems the Capital had in place?

Finally, as the griffins passed the High Spire of Karilsgard, Orodan was able to see the ethereal blue flame atop a tower behind the Palace.

This was the main tower of the Bluefire Academy. It was situated behind the Palace of the Council and located right in the center of Karilsgard.

The academy itself was at least half the size of Trumbetton, with a ludicrous number of buildings and people frolicking about between them. Near the tower, was a truly spacious open area with multiple pillars of blue fire surrounding it. This was the landing zone for all aerial traffic, and it looked large enough to accommodate even Cyvrosdyr if the mountain-sized dragon ever decided to land here.

They were directed to land, and before they did his escorting rider spoke. “Sir, it’s been an honor to escort you this far. It would be improper for someone like me to land, so I must turn back. The academy’s staff will look after you from here,” the retainer spoke, and then then gave Orodan a formal salute and turned his griffin in the opposite direction and flew off.

The pomp and social customs felt strange to Orodan, but who was he to argue?

His griffin touched down onto the ground, and now that they were within the bounds of the academy proper Orodan noticed the academy itself had an air traffic control tower which was subtly helping guide griffins to the ground.

But there was another flying creature on the landing zone as well… a pegasus! Two of them to be precise.

Pegasi! Orodan had never seen them before! He’d grown up hearing about the famous Pegasus knights of the Eastern Kingdoms. They were more common in the Eastern Kingdoms and down south in the peaks of the Dokuhan mountains where the dwarves had their mountain holds. But actually seeing the lustrous white winged horses was quite something compared to simply hearing stories about them and their famed riders.

The owner of the two pegasi - a dark skinned girl with curly hair - looked at Orodan’s enraptured gaze and approached him with a smile.

“Is this your first time seeing a Pegasus?” she asked with a friendly tone and Orodan nodded. “They’re rather shy and take time to warm up to any potential riders, but I dare say they have far more personality and intelligence than the griffins in these lands do!”

“Personality? How so?” Orodan asked as he dismounted his griffin, and it then promptly flew off back towards Trumbetton. “I’ve only ever ridden griffins a handful of times so far, so I don’t have much to compare with.”

“Not to say the griffins you ride in the Empire and Republic aren’t cute creatures, but a pegasus is akin to a dragon and gains intelligence once it reaches the Adept-level. Compared to griffins which gain intelligence at the Master-level like any other creature, the difference is quite stark,” she explained. “Olsinius here for example, can talk to you… if he cares to.”

“And I do not care to, at this time,” the pegasus remarked with a grunt that the System translated to the universal tongue. It caught Orodan entirely off guard as he was unused to a talking mount.

“You can talk?” he asked.

“You… have you never met an intelligent being that wasn’t human before?” the pegasus asked with a grunt of indignation. “Of course I can speak!”

“I’ve met a dragon that could talk. A worm too, although it wasn’t very friendly… and centipedes,” Orodan began listing off. “I’m aware that intelligent creatures exist, I just wasn’t aware that pegasi were a species of advanced intelligence akin to dragons.”

“Well consider this a lesson then, I’m not one of those mindless griffins you people ride around like slaves,” the pegasus, Olsinius replied with neighs and whinnies. “Us pegasi gain intelligence around the Adept-level. My younger brother here will soon become capable of speaking in a few months as well. Although he’ll be akin to a child for some time initially.”

It was quite interesting Orodan thought. While he knew monsters - which non-mortal species such as pegasi were technically classified as - gained intelligence at differing points depending on their species; Orodan learned today that this intelligence went through a process of growth like how human children would learn to talk.

“What arrangement do you have with your riders then? Do they ask for permission? Do you have designated work hours?” Orodan bluntly asked.

“How do you function at a job? Does your employer order you about like a slave?” the mouthy pegasus fired back with a grunt.

“Well… sometimes, yes? At my old job, I was often expected to follow orders without being given a choice in the matter,” Orodan replied, thinking of his militia days in Volarbury county. “My sergeant wouldn’t exactly ask for my permission before giving me the order to deal with something or someone.”

“While it’s not quite like what you military and guardsman types are used to, it’s more like a civilian job that you would be at liberty to leave,” the winged steed explained. “She’s managed to sweet talk my younger brother into becoming her companion… so I begrudgingly accompany them and ensure his training is proceeding well.”

“Pegasi engage in training? That’s quite familial of you to aid your younger brother.”

“Do you humans not engage in training? Is it shocking to consider that other intelligent beings would also hone their abilities?” Olsinius remarked with a tone of annoyance. “While I would have accompanied this heavy-hooved sibling of mine regardless, the elder of my clan bade me go as well, if only to ensure this girl remains safe during her education at this academy.”

“Speaking of! I don’t think we’ve been introduced! I apologize on behalf of Olsinius, he’s grumpy but he cares about his brother and I,” the girl interjected. “Mahari Ilya Vedharna at your service! I hail from the Kingdom of Ravastaran in the East, and I’m here to study alongside my older brother.”

“Orodan Wainwright,” he replied while extending his hand, which the girl shook with vigor. “I’m here to get an education, House Firesword is sponsoring me.”

“Wainwright… Wainwright…” Mahari muttered to herself. “Sounds familiar, I feel like I heard a bunch of the older students saying something about that name. But I don’t keep up with the rumors and gossip much, so I’m sorry I can’t be of more help!”

“That’s more than fine by me,” Orodan replied. “I prefer to keep my head down and focus on my work as well. Say… why are you waiting at the landing zone anyways?”

“Ah, I’m waiting for my older brother to return with his pegasus. He went to grab some harder to find ingredients to mix into the feed. He says it’ll make them stronger,” Mahari explained. “I don’t want to keep you if you’ve got somewhere to be though! He’ll take a while to get back, especially if he’s getting into arguments over the quality as he always does…”

With that Orodan nodded and bade her and the grumpy Olsinius farewell as he began walking towards the academy proper.

He was told he’d have a personal academy guide, but since he’d landed Orodan hadn’t seen anyone waiting for him specifically. There were groups of students and staff scattered about on the large and straight path to the academy tower, but nobody appeared to be keeping an eye out for him.

He kept walking until a small and unassuming voice interrupted him.

“M-mister Wainwright?” a female voice spoke.

Orodan looked to his right to see a woman he would almost mistake for a child based on her stature. Short, wearing glasses that covered nearly her entire face and a comically oversized book in her hands.

“Yes?”

“I apologize sir… I wasn’t aware of what you looked like, and this is my first time being an academy guide. I-I’m Lucille Carrotfoot, I’ll be helping you get situated today,” she introduced herself and spoke in a shy and nervous voice that had Orodan feeling somewhat bad for her.

Her words were quiet, but not quiet enough. His conversation with Mahari was in an area of the landing zone where nobody was within earshot. But now that they were on the path to the tower there were plenty of groups walking to and from or simply hanging out waiting for people. And at the mention of the name Wainwright many pairs of eyes suddenly flocked to him.

“Wainwright? I heard he’s the one who-”

“This is the guy who-”

“-grandfather says he discovered the energy well-”

“-monstrously strong!”

Were among the brief snippets of gossip and chatter Orodan suddenly began hearing about himself. Fame could be useful for some, but given Orodan’s experience with it in his last long loop, he preferred being away from the center of attention.

Which he was doing a poor job at this loop given how everyone was now looking at him. Some faces in the crowd had calculating gazes, some awed, some stand-offish as though he threatened their own sense of self-importance by existing. And poor Lucille looked mortified at all the attention she was getting for walking around with him.

“Perhaps we can walk a little faster and make way for wherever I need to register?” Orodan asked, as much as for his own sake as for Lucille’s.

She gladly complied and they walked as fast as her little legs would allow. Orodan hoped to avoid too many people coming up to talk to him. It sounded profoundly exhausting and he would rather get to training and learning.

Thirty seconds later however, the inevitable happened.

“Excuse me, are you Orodan Wainwright?” asked a young man, who looked the same physical age as Orodan. Red hair, green eyes and a confidently assertive demeanor. “I must say it’s an honor to meet someone like you. I’m Elucian Arslan, of noble House Arslan. You may have heard of my uncle, the High-Burgher who leads the Republic’s council? I believe he responded to Jerestir when the fight between you and that fearsome monster caused tremors felt all the way in Tooksten county.”

Elucian and his group of followers confidently approached Orodan, like hawks swooping for their prey. The Arslan’s tagalongs seemed almost mindless in their following of him, and Orodan would admit he felt a magnetic pull of charisma from the young man, likely a social skill. One Orodan easily ignored.

“Yes, that would be me. And I’ve seen your uncle and that big hammer he carries. Can I help you?” Orodan asked. “I’m in a bit of a rush to get the administrative parts of my arrival settled.”

“Ah, but that’s simply no problem at all. How about I show you around to where you need to go?” Elucian asked confidently and likely flared his social skill as he saw even Lucille begin to seriously consider the idea.

“That won’t be necessary, I have a guide already and I’m more than happy with her,” Orodan replied, and he saw the inklings of frustration on the Arslan’s face, something which he immediately schooled thereafter. “We really should be going, no?”

Lucille looked almost dazed as Orodan spoke to her, finally snapping out of whatever impact Elucian’s social skill had. “I-if you insist m-mister Wainwright…” she meekly replied.

“I do.”

“Before you go, Orodan, hope you don’t mind the informality by the way,” the man remarked in a self-confident manner that implied he had every right to call Orodan by his first name. “You really should stop by the Helmward Hall on the academy grounds sometime. It’s the most popular spot on campus to grab a drink and a bite to eat. I think you’ll come to find that making friends is an important part of the experience here at the Bluefire Academy, and it’s important to make the right sort.”

Orodan didn’t push the almost cocky man on what ‘the right sort’ was, but he did nod and quickly made his exit.

With some distance made between them, Orodan spoke. “Who even is Elucian Arslan? He gave me a slimy feeling.”

“H-he’s not slimy!” Lucille defended suddenly. “He’s one of the best leaders seen in generations! He’ll definitely become High-Burgher one day himself.”

“Oh? He wants to become High-Burgher like his uncle?” Orodan asked. “A lofty goal, but social skills alone won’t make him powerful enough to lead a nation and step in when the Republic’s enemies need to be reminded of its strength. How strong is he?”

“He reached Elite-level by the time he was a second year!” she passionately exclaimed. Perhaps she fancied the man? Or maybe it was the effect of his social skill, but her defense of him was the most spine he’d seen her show thus far.

But being an Elite really wasn’t as impressive as she made it sound. At least by Orodan’s standards. What was Elucian's battle-power? Could he fight at least a tier above? These were the factors that separated the greats from the average, and Elucian had a long way to go if he wanted to step into the boots of Sarvaan Ilsuan Arslan, who was on the high end of power even by the standards of Masters.

That being said, Orodan could understand why Lucille emphasized Elite as though it was so important. Unlike other academies, the Bluefire Academy did in fact teach its students at higher levels that the Master rank existed and gave them a slightly more comprehensive rundown of society’s power structure. But reaching the rank of Elite was still considered impressive and likely the height of what many students at the academy would ever achieve. To them, the Master-level was what they would dream of. Unlike any other academy where reaching the Elite-level was considered an incredible success story. In Bluefire, some monstrous talents entered the institution at the Elite-level, such as Orodan himself.

Therefore, to say Elucian was an Elite, was to say he was a real talent among the student body.

Orodan decided not to press the issue any further and simply continued the trip towards the tower in silence. Apparently the first floor of the massive building was where new arrivals would register.

Thankfully, no more people decided to interrupt them. Either they were too intimidated by Orodan’s reputation, or they saw him talking to Elucian Arslan and thought they weren’t of the requisite stature to speak to someone like that. Whatever the reason, Orodan was thankful.

Up close, the tower was truly massive. It was the second tallest building in Karilsgard after all. The massive double doors leading inside were open at all hours and they had two golden armored Capital Guard captains standing guard around the clock on either side of the doors.

They entered the gargantuan structure, and within Orodan saw thousands of students and staff on just the first floor alone. There were actual teleporters with signs saying they lead to different floors of the tower and campus, and there were plenty of administrative desks, and the walls were adorned with flyers for various products, services and even programs and activities organized by the academy or students themselves.

The administrative desks had a small line leading to them and there was a Capital Guardsman managing the queue as people walked up and directed them to various lines depending on what they needed.

“G-greetings, I have Mister Orodan Wainwright here, for registration,” Lucille thankfully whispered to the guard.

The guard’s reaction to hearing the name wasn’t subtle. His eyes snapped to Orodan, and his posture suddenly became a bit straighter.

“Right this way sir,” the man ushered, and Orodan was directed to the back and made to bypass the line entirely. Something which caused a few angry mutters and looks of curiosity as to who he might be.

“I’ll be waiting for you outside Mister Wainwright,” Lucille said as they separated. Orodan wondered if she didn’t have her own classes to attend.

He was then directed to a desk at the back where an older man sat, the placard on the desk noted him as a supervisor.

“Mister Wainwright! It’s good to have you with us,” the older man spoke. “I’m Karthic Bushnell, day shift supervisor for the academy’s administrative department. We’ve heard a lot about you in the past two weeks, the Bluefire Academy is glad to accept a talent like you as one of our students.”

“Thank you, I hope to get to learning as soon as I can,” Orodan replied.

“Then I shan’t delay you sir, this will be quick,” the man spoke.

And then Orodan was treated to a unique display of telekinetic magic where papers and pens animated themselves magically into filling out forms, all while the man didn’t move a muscle. Various papers floated right in front of his face as he read them, and the only thing Orodan saw was a glowing tattoo on the man’s hand light up as the magic occurred.

“Curious about the body enchantment Mister Wainwright?” Karthic asked. “While I wish I could say I was skilled in Telekinesis, the truth is the enchantment does all the magical work while I direct it with my mind. It’s a common mana-based body enchantment given to our administrative staff, both in the academy and throughout the Republic.”

The man was rather forthcoming with his explanation, correctly assuming that Orodan had never seen it before. Which was appreciated.

“Does it drain your mana pool when you use it?”

“Quite, but the drain is negligible when the items lifted are of such light weight,” the man replied. “I also have a mana battery in my drawer that I can lay my hand upon to slowly recharge my reserves. Lasts me the entire workday.”

“I see… how skilled would someone have to be in order to carry out body enchantments? Is it still the Enchanting skill involved?” Orodan asked.

“Good question and one that speaks to your inquisitiveness and thirst for knowledge,” the man praised. “The answer is it depends on the enchanter. As you’ll learn here, there are often multiple skills which can achieve the same result. The enchanter who worked on my telekinetic body enchantment is Master Gormir Eltros, he teaches many of the higher-level Enchanting courses at Bluefire and also services important clientele outside of the academy. He’s rather famed for being one of the few to have unlocked the Living Enchanting skill and his work on body enchantments is therefore a touch superior to any regular enchanter you’d find who uses merely the Enchanting skill.”

“Fascinating…” Orodan muttered, but he meant it. He hadn’t even registered and yet had already learned about a field he didn’t even know existed. “How common are body enchantments?”

“They’re more common than you would think, plenty of craftspeople use them for convenience in their trades much like how I use mine to aid in managing paperwork.”

“Yes, but how common are they among warriors and mages? Among combat specialists that is,” Orodan clarified.

“Ah, you’ll often see some people capable of limited flight, or their body becoming tougher mid-battle even though they aren’t mages. While I’m not as knowledgeable on the affairs of battle as you are Mister Wainwright, I assure you that they’re used extensively in combat, even if their use isn’t broadcasted often since clothing tends to cover the enchantment up.”

“No wonder I never saw any glowing marks on all the Elites and Masters I’ve killed so far… I don’t know if what they used was a skill or an enchantment. Although I did kill a Master with a glowing fiery sword once…” Orodan muttered. And perhaps it was a bit too loud as he saw Karthic visibly gulp, and the man’s face took on a more nervous and subservient look.

“You must have quite the decorated record as a warrior, Mister Wainwright!” the man nervously praised a little too quickly. And Orodan had to remind himself that not everyone was a combat specialist. Going around casually talking about how he’d killed Elites and Masters would probably make any non-combatants nervous, as casual as the act was to Orodan himself.

“Erm… thank you. On a different note, do you know if it’s possible to create enchantments and body enchantments that are powered not by mana… but perhaps vitality or soul energy?” Orodan asked. It was a question he had ever since he spoke to an enchanter for the first time at the Burgher’s welcoming party.

“That I’m afraid, is something I wouldn’t know much about. I’ve heard the topic bandied about occasionally and know that we follow the Imperial tradition of mana-based enchanting here in the Republic. But aside from telling you that blood magic is heavily regulated I’m afraid I can’t be of much help. Perhaps you can choose to sit in on the classes offered by a Master? At Bluefire anyone can sit in on any class as a spectator, or even participate at the discretion of the teacher.”

“I see… I might just do that,” Orodan replied.

Soon, the conversation turned to silence as papers were shuffled and written upon by magically animated pens. He was asked some brief questions about his background and asked to put down a signature which magically copied onto every document.

Finally, he was handed a schedule.

His classes would mainly be during the daytime, and included such things as ‘Soul Defense 100’, ‘Applied Skill Combinations 410’, ‘Warrior Skills 100’, ‘Mental Defense 100’ and ‘Monster Studies 210’. Of course, the ‘Politics 100’ and ‘World History 100’ were rather pointless additions Orodan felt.

The number denoted the course code, with numbers in the 100s meaning they were first year courses, and 400s meaning fourth year for example.

“Who even decided on this schedule? I can’t say I look forward to studying politics and world history…” Orodan complained.

“It’s usually decided by your benefactor, but let’s see here… signed by…” the man drawled, and his face then went paler and Orodan could see the beginnings of sweat upon his forehead. “…Arvayne Firesword.”

“That old man. I suppose I can’t complain. He does have some good advice, and this is a direction I also agree with but, do I have the option to add more courses at least?” Orodan asked.

“Of course! Your benefactor graciously left quite a few free periods for you to slot courses into,” Karthic answered. “You can choose up to four more courses, although this might leave your days rather packed.”

Which wasn’t a problem for Orodan. He didn’t need to sleep or do anything else unless House Firesword called upon him, so frankly, he could even pick overnight courses and cram up to eight more if he truly wanted. But for now, he would leave the overnight free for personal training and experimentation after the day of classes.

“Alright then. I want classes on Alchemy, Enchanting, Blacksmithing and Woodworking.”

And the administrator’s jaw hung agape.

“A-are you sure Mister Wainwright? For a martial student to take so many crafting related courses… not that I would presume to know better… but would your benefactor approve and not perhaps say you’re spreading yourself a bit thin?” Karthic asked. “For example, given your talent, why not take ‘Combat & Sparring 434’? Surely there is much to be learned?”

“I won’t gain much by beating up the students and instructors,” Orodan casually replied, which caused the man’s face to pale even further at the casual remark.

“U-understood… I’ll have the 100-level introductory courses for all of those slotted into your free periods as well.”

After that, the registration didn’t last much longer and Orodan was handed his new schedule. He was also handed a sealed letter which his benefactor had left for him, to be given to him upon registration.

He opened the envelope to find a written list from Arvayne Firesword detailing all the potential places and people that would be of use to him, and a comprehensive list of skills, professions and fields that he could dabble in. There was a small note at the bottom to take his reading seriously and to not approach things stupidly.

Orodan mentally cursed the old man for the insult and emerged from the back offices to find people were now staring at him and muttering. Word apparently reached the tower about who he was. Fantastic.

Before he could leave the tower and meet up with Lucille just outside, a big and burly man stood in his path.

People had always said Orodan was big. So, for someone to be bigger and taller than him? It was noteworthy.

“You must be the mighty Orodan Wainwright of House Firesword!” the man bellowed. “I’m Claridin Rockwood, how about we have a friendly duel?”

To be bullied so openly, and so soon? How was one supposed to react to such cornering?

With a manic smile of course.

“Certainly! Want to fight right here?” Orodan asked, his teeth showing in a feral grin. All too happy for a fight. Avoiding a duel was unfathomable to him. He loved fighting.

Even Claridin seemed taken aback by his casual and instant willingness to fight, and the man now had his guard up.

“Well… a duel right here would be impolite to everyone around, wouldn’t it? How about we settle this here with a different sort of competition if you’re so eager to compete,” the man suddenly backtracked a bit. Who knew if he was wary of Orodan now that he’d shown no concern? “We each take turns delivering a blow to the other, whoever quails first is the loser. Rules are simple, no divine assistance.”

Claridin had likely heard the false rumors of him possibly being host to an Avatar and of course felt he had no chance if a God came down. Additionally, given the man’s confidence, Orodan suspected he had several defensive skills.

“I agree, let’s step just outside the tower, that way if I send you flying you don’t smash into the walls,” Orodan remarked and while Claridin’s face turned red, he had a vicious grin on his face.

Orodan had an inkling of why exactly. The armor Claridin wore was the finest Orodan had ever seen, perhaps this unrivaled craftsmanship was what allowed him to have such confidence?

They stepped outside and Orodan saw Lucille’s ashen face looking on in horror as she realized what was going on. Poor girl must have been embarrassed.

Finally, the two stood before one another and Claridin drew his mace and great shield, taking a stance.

“I’ll be gracious and allow you to go first!” the man barked.

Orodan complied and tested the man with a half-strength power cross delivered directly onto his great shield. Drawing his sword would be excessive. The fist was empowered by nothing, just Physical Fitness and Unarmed Combat Mastery.

The shield dented with a groan, and Claridin’s eyes widened as he saw this. However, despite the dent the man seemed to have some sort of rebounding or damage absorption skill, as the shield and Claridin began glowing, and were filled with power.

Claridin roared and returned Orodan’s blow, with double the power Orodan had delivered.

It was a solid blow, and Orodan felt the wind get knocked out of him as he was hit across the chest by double the power of his own unarmed strike. But he held onto the solid ground and refused to be sent flying, even if one was allowed to get back up and continue as per the rules of this impromptu competition.

Seeing this Claridin began to tremble and looked downwards at his own neck at the amulet he was wearing. What even was that?

Orodan decided to now up the ante, and launched a full strength blow. Still unempowered, but this time it ripped right through the man’s great shield and struck him hard on the breastplate, which dented inwards. But then Claridin’s amulet glowed a deep red, and Orodan felt a repulsive force prevent his fist from reaching the man’s body.

Claridin looked incredibly nervous now that his shield had essentially been ripped through. As Orodan pulled his hand out, the man couldn’t help but yell.

“What kind of freakish strength is that?! You… you must be using divine assistance! Or an item!”

“Which is rather ironic considering that amulet around your neck glowed and caused a shield to block my fist,” Orodan quipped back.

Claridin roared as his body and weapon glowed brightly with raw power. And then he swung, returning Orodan’s full strength blow with twice as much power.

It struck Orodan’s chest, but this time he felt a few cracks in his sternum and was actually sent backwards a decent distance. But even as he slid along the ground he still remained on his feet. The very minor damage healed almost instantaneously.

His defensive and vitality skills far outpaced his offense. So, for Orodan to be hit by his own power twofold, wasn’t all that bad.

“Alright, you hit pretty decently for an Elite. Hells, you could even jump a tier I reckon. It’s been a while since someone of this level managed to injure me, so you’re quite talented,” Orodan praised as he began walking towards Claridin, whose face was now ashen. “I’m not going to kill you, but this next hit will hurt. And it might overtax that amulet you’re using to shield yourself.”

Death Rage came on, and Orodan’s knuckles popped with such strength that light shockwaves erupted from his hands as he clenched his fist. He delivered the blow at half-power, as Death Rage was just too strong of a multiplier at its high level now.

Claridin’s mace which launched a full power attack - thereby breaking the rules of their competition - desperately tried to meet Orodan’s fist in a bid to stop it and slow down its power.

It was pointless.

The mace was obliterated, Claridin's breastplate shattered, and the amulet glowed a dangerous color of bright red. The magical shield protecting the Rockwood barely held for a moment before it strained and shattered with a massive explosion. Orodan stopped his fist at the last instant before it would have torn right through the man.

The force of the shield’s explosion sent Claridin flying away like a ragdoll all the same.

He took an entire ten seconds before he decided to get back up.

“Your turn again,” Orodan said as he deactivated Death Rage.

Claridin forfeited.

***

Casually trouncing Claridin Rockwood while making it look easy was apparently a bigger deal than he thought it would be.

For starters, nobody had told him that Claridin was the third strongest student at Bluefire, and that he could fight a Master evenly and even defeat a weaker one on a good day. The two students stronger than Claridin also couldn’t have made it look as easy and casual as Orodan had.

In Orodan’s opinion the praise and acclaim were somewhat embarrassing to even consider. He had trounced an Elite-level warrior, one who could beat a Master, true… but still a mere Elite! For Orodan to be praised for beating up a student was shameful.

His battle power was such where he fought Grandmasters and was hoping to eventually fight Avatars. This was just disgraceful, and he didn’t know why he had expected any better from Claridin in the first place.

Orodan quietly resolved to avoid fighting students from then on. It just felt low.

Burgher Ignatius had contacted him via communication amulet to praise him for embarrassing House Rockwood and showing the strength of Firesword of course, but Orodan did not want to be reminded of the situation any longer.

Lucille looked both in awe and fearful of him at the same time, and her mannerisms became a lot quieter. Which was about the best he could expect.

He was led to his lodgings and from then on Orodan informed her that he would be able to make his own way around.

As for his lodgings…

…excessive, was how Orodan would describe it.

It was a personal manor on the edge of the campus, far larger than the guest manor the Burgher had housed him within in Trumbetton. It had a staff of maids and butlers, and Orodan made it clear to them that he would likely not be within the manor much, if at all, which they graciously accepted with relief and disappointment in equal measure.

Orodan didn’t have anything in the way of belongings that he had to bring along, and so there was nothing to drop off at his personal manor. In other words, he left without even bothering to enter the manor proper.

Rather, the day was still young and classes had yet to start.

Technically, his official start date for classes was tomorrow. But the classes ran on the same schedule every workday, so Orodan decided he would simply begin attending classes today. And the first one on the list, was ‘Warrior Skills 100’. Which began in less than ten minutes according to the schedule.

Of course, when one could Sprint at speeds fast enough to tear terrain apart… that deadline wasn’t an issue.

He kept his speed reasonable, not wanting to cause undue property damage, but students around him were still somewhat surprised even if he made sure to avoid running into anyone. Which at his speed might be fatal for them depending on their strength.

Of course, it wasn’t exactly unprecedented. Orodan saw at least a few other martial students rushing to classes and moving about in the same way. Some even flew, displaying skills which allowed them flight. They were a rarity and likely talented fourth years, but still present all the same. Physical Fitness and Sprinting was just a convenient combo.

He arrived at the Agathor’s Sanctum building with time to spare. It was where most lower year martial lessons were held, which included the 100 and 200-level courses for warriors. It was a decently large building with a massive, reinforced training yard behind it which carried a wide variety of equipment, most of which Orodan had never seen.

Inside, were lecture halls where the actual speaking and theory work would occur. But unlike the typical classroom he had heard of, even the indoor lecture halls had an arena style arrangement. With the seats up high surrounding a large stage where the instructor would speak from. He imagined that bringing equipment in and arranging duels and demonstrations on this stage would be a simple matter.

Most students had settled in by the time Orodan had arrived and there were a few minutes to spare. He thus took a seat at the very back, and it seemed nobody noticed him, or his appearance wasn’t too well known yet, for he wasn’t bothered.

Then, it began.

“Good morning, today we’ll be picking up where we left off yesterday. More demonstrations of the various movement skills in the hopes that you lot can pick some up,” the man spoke, with magic amplifying his voice to reach the entire hall. He had a fierce looking demeanor and a spear was strapped across his back.

“Now let’s review, what are movement skills? Can anyone tell me?” the man asked, and a student near the front raised their hand to whom he gave the floor. “Mister Vastoros.”

“Skills meant to traverse distances or change positions. Even something like Teleportation would be considered a movement skill,” the student answered.

“Correct. Movement is not only done in straight lines but can also consist of traveling through space. As long as your position changes, that is the important part,” the man explained. “Some even subscribe to the somewhat radical view that time magic is also a form of movement skill, as you change position in time itself. Personally, I’m a warrior and prefer to keep things simple and consider movement within three-dimensions, which is what we’ll go with for the purposes of this class.”

The man then gestured and nearly a dozen more instructors came out and onto the stage. He explained that they would be demonstrating various movement skills.

“Given how difficult it can be to obtain a skill for the average warrior, I have my fellow instructors up here with me. Somebody possessing multiple skills, while not too rare, is still quite difficult to manage. Can anyone explain why?” he asked, and the same student raised their hand. “Mister Vastoros once again.”

“Because obtaining new skills is a very difficult process and the limitation of Calledro's Average.”

“Correct. And that’s why most of you are in this class. Calledro’s Average is a hundred hours. Which is the number of hours the average person needs to obtain a new skill with constant and guided training in the environment of an academy. And that’s simply for a common skill. A lot of active combat skills are at the Uncommon-rarity, so to that end acquiring them can take even more work. And Exquisite… unless you’re a truly hard worker or have great talent… forget about it. Even I only have one Exquisite-rarity skill, and I’m a Master.”

“But…” Orodan interrupted from the back. “Would the stress of life and death battle not improve the growth rate of skills?”

“Ah, decided to sit in on the class, have you? I don’t recognize you mister…?”

“Orodan Wainwright.”

The class fell silent and devolved into hushed whispers. Orodan almost wished he hadn’t said his name as the effects of fame were starting to become a little annoying.

“Mister Wainwright! Your reputation precedes you. I was told you would be starting from tomorrow, but it speaks to your diligence that you’ve decided to come in today,” the man spoke and even his demeanor changed. “To answer your question, yes, life and death battles would in fact lead to tremendous gains despite their risks. Some of the greatest heroes oft have stories of surviving hellish battles and coming out with skill gains that changed their lives. Of course, this requires surviving the battle in the first place, and we can’t all tussle with a deadly monster deep underground like you can.”

Orodan brushed off the attempts at flattery.

“I gained the Perfect Parry and Evasiveness skills after maybe… a few hours of continuous battle in which my life was on the line?” Orodan remarked after a quick calculation of how much actual time he spent fighting the archer in Scarmorrow. “Definitely didn’t take me a hundred hours.”

Mutters filled the room. Some of indignation and outrage, some of quiet awe and envy and a few of disbelief. The instructor himself simply had an approving look on his face and a calculating glint in his eye.

“Yes, and it’s called Calledro’s Average for a reason, Mister Wainwright. I don’t think the famous scholar had a monstrous talent like yourself in mind when he postulated his theory,” the man said with a smirk. “How about we have the class come down to the stage now? I feel some hands-on practice and attempts at acquiring some skills by watching our instructors is called for.”

The class was then ushered down from the seats and onto the stage, which was large enough to accommodate the entire class of a thousand students. It was a decent crowd and Orodan assumed he would be near the back given his initial seating, but the crowd of students parted as the instructor approached him directly.

“Mister Wainwright, I’m Astiphus Marlston, the instructor for most of the lower year courses at the academy. It’s not often we get someone of your stature taking a mere first-year course,” the man introduced himself and spoke. “I’ve spoken to the venerable Arvayne Firesword, and he’s told me about your desire to acquire a formal education and shore up the gaps in your knowledge, to that end, we’ll do our best to support you and acquire what you seek. That being said, I don’t see you remaining in this class for long given your talent.”

Orodan thanked the man and soon enough the support took a form Orodan wasn’t expecting.

The rest of the class was on the massive stage, however Orodan and three other instructors, including Astiphus, were to the side and had taken a space of their own. Having three instructors move to tutor him personally was a bit excessive, but Orodan appreciated the potential for guidance and acquiring a new skill.

Naturally, some of the other students weren’t overly happy about it. Whether they felt slighted and less important or because they were ardent defenders of equality and fairness, Orodan did not know. But at least some of them were giving him jealous looks, even if they didn’t dare say anything about it.

Astiphus gave a few more introductory words to the class about movement skills, and that they’d be working on the Sprinting skill first today, followed by demonstrations of the Charge skill afterwards. The final skill demonstrated would be the Lunge skill, which was of Uncommon-rarity simply so that the students could see what the difference between the two Common skills and an Uncommon skill were. Obtaining an Uncommon skill was difficult, and the students weren't expected to actually acquire it unless they were lucky or talented.

Orodan came to learn that the building, alongside every other classroom in the academy, was enchanted with powerful time dilation effects. It turned an hour-long class in real time, into what was effectively a six-hour block of training. It was Orodan’s first time in a time dilation chamber altogether.

Bluefire truly spared no expense if they could afford to have time dilation on all their classrooms. He had never heard of such a thing anywhere else, likely due to the tremendous costs involved. No wonder Bluefire graduates were head and shoulders above the other academies in the Republic. Their students all had access to six times the amount of training hours.

“Mister Wainwright, as we’re focusing on movement skills today, we’ll be helping you by showing three movement skills at first. Sprinting, Charge and Lunge. Have you encountered any of these before?” Astiphus asked after he was done lecturing the rest of the class and now moved to assist Orodan personally as the other instructors took over his spot in walking among the class and giving pointers and demonstrations.

“I already have Sprinting, it’s at 31 currently. And I’ve fought and forced a man using Lunge to retreat before, it was a dangerous skill, and I can see how it’d be useful. Haven’t heard of or encountered the Charge skill however,” Orodan explained.

“Your Sprinting level is quite high! Most people, even at the Master-level don’t train the fundamental techniques of that skill, instead using raw Physical Fitness to get around. But of course, you must be quite fast at getting around with that and your Physical Fitness working in concert,” Astiphus praised. “As for Charge, it’s essentially an inferior version of Lunge, without much of the same distance traversal ability. Which is understandable given that Charge is of common rarity and Lunge is uncommon.”

“I’d like to see both, if possible,” Orodan said.

So, the training began. As the rest of the students were getting demonstrations on Sprinting and some of the more advanced ones were being shown Charge, Orodan was watching demonstrations of both Charge and Lunge.

“For the Charge skill, one must immerse themselves in the very mindset of crossing the distance and crushing enemy ranks. It’s a slightly limited skill in that it only works when moving towards an enemy or target you intend on destroying, but it can be a powerful multiplier for someone who is already strong,” Astiphus explained as he watched over Orodan attempting the skill.

Over the course of almost two hours Orodan experimented with getting the Charge skill down correctly and engaging himself in the proper mindset for it. It was a common rarity skill, but without the pressure and adrenaline of a life and death fight, it wasn’t easy to acquire. He had to put genuine thought and focus into the form of what he was attempting and direct his physical energy towards it.

But try as he might, he felt dissatisfied, as though he was missing something critical.

Charge involved almost empowering yourself in preparation for the inevitable collision with the enemy, the bracing for impact, the energy buildup within, and the execution of the attack. It was a movement skill in name only as the ability to traverse some distance with it was merely a byproduct of the increased empowerment in the body meant to be used upon arrival.

Lunge on the other hand focused more on a burst of distance traversal, meant to reach the target as swiftly as possible in the shortest amount of time. To that end, all the physical power of a warrior’s body should be dedicated to the movement itself. The attack upon arrival was merely a consequence empowered by the movement. This was a true movement skill, as the attack itself wasn’t as empowered by the skill as he thought it was.

But… Orodan felt discontent at the thought of acquiring something that did one or the other. Furthermore, he felt as though he had more energy in him than just the physical power of his body. What if he were to fuel mana into the attempt as well? He could even try adding soul energy to the mix, although that was best done in the private training chambers the academy had.

Five hours of the six passed, and Orodan kept experimenting. And halfway into the fifth hour, he had results.

Mana and physical power synergized together. His body was empowered for a furious attack, but it simultaneously was empowered for a bursting movement of titanic proportions.

Orodan’s eyes widened as he tore through the air like a shot from a magic siege cannon. He was going almost too fast to stop his own momentum.

He crossed the entire length of the large lecture hall and continued through the walls. Going through one classroom after another. Thankfully he aimed upwards and didn’t hit anyone. The energy buildup within him was begging for release, and he obliged by releasing the empowered strike as well, which tore completely through the ceiling… and caused the clouds above to part.

[New Skill (Exquisite) → Flash Strike 1]

He landed on the roof of the Agathor’s Sanctum building and looked down at the path he tore through multiple classrooms all the way to the ceiling.

It was a decent distance, but Orodan thought he saw a happy smile on Astiphus’s face.

And he hoped the tuition House Firesword paid covered the damages.

Because he had just disrupted the time dilation on multiple classrooms.