Ren took a moment to sort the situation out in his head.
The ruins would lie beyond the 200-meter mark, where the guards did not patrol. Dangerous, but with the right knowledge....... First of all, he had to find a way to reach that place without being discovered.
When the crystal gathering lecture ended, Ren and his companions blended into the students scattering toward their own destinations.
“No more lectures?”
Ren asked, puzzled.
“Senior Liu!”
Taro called out to their roommate, who was coming down from the floor above.
“Where is everyone going?”
Liu came over with his Night Bat on his shoulder, faint as a shadow.
“Ah, right. You're new. The day's schedule ends early today.”
“Early?”
Min tilted his head at that.
“The Academy runs on a rather particular system.”
Liu guided them along the corridor as he spoke.
“Once the basic lectures are over, they expect students to act on their own ‘initiative.’ Everyone decides for himself how to spend the time.”
He stopped in front of an enormous door. The library. The Academy library was a spectacle. Shelves filling several floors, sections divided clearly by Beast type, all of it greeting the new students.
“It gives students time to get used to the library and the gathering zones.”
Liu continued his explanation as he led Ren, Taro, and Min inside.
“You can study training techniques suited to your own Beast, or head out to the gathering zones and start collecting materials. The choice is yours.”
He pointed at a group that had already claimed the best tables.
“Most of the rich kids come straight to the library. They have money to buy materials, so they concentrate on theory.”
“Then what about us?”
Min asked.
“Us.......”
Liu smiled meaningfully.
“We usually split our time. A few hours in the library, a few hours gathering. We can't afford to let a single opportunity slip past.”
Ren scanned the shelves assigned to fungi and Spores. Noticeably smaller than the other sections.
“The library is organized by Grade.”
Liu added.
“Basic techniques downstairs, advanced techniques upstairs. Of course,”
He glanced at Ren and pointed at the mushrooms in his hair.
“in your case.......”
“The basic section will be more than enough, right?”
Ren finished for him, though the mushrooms in his hair pulsed with far deeper knowledge.
“You'd do well to spend an hour or so here today.”
Liu checked the wall clock.
“Then eat, and after that go take a look at the gathering zones. The first few days are the worst. The competition for the easy veins is fiercer.”
Min was already going through books on Water Snakes. Taro hovered between the insect section and the land Beast section.
“The Academy expects us to be independent.”
Liu went on as he searched for a book for his bat.
“Classes matter, but what you do with your free time....... That's the real key to whether you succeed here.”
Ren nodded in understanding. It was a system designed to reward initiative and individual effort. True knowledge was already inside his head and certainly would not be found in any book here, but at least he could catch a glimpse of how others had tried to train Spores.
***
The Iron Grade cafeteria took up a considerable portion of the first floor.
It was not an unpleasant place. Clean floors, well-kept wooden tables, wide windows. Only, compared with the other cafeterias visible through those windows.......
“This is part of the motivation system too.”
Liu explained as he joined them at the table.
“From here you can see the Bronze Grade cafeteria, and from there you can see the Silver Grade one.”
Ren looked down at his plate.
White rice, boiled vegetables, one small lump of meat. The food was edible enough. The ingredients looked good, but the cooking was deliberately plain.
“They could make it far tastier if they wanted to.”
Liu gestured with his chopsticks toward the other cafeteria sections.
“But then where would the motivation to climb a Grade come from?”
“At least it's nutritious.”
Ren let out a long breath as he scooped up some rice. As a cook's son, the absence of spices and the slight overcooking were the first things he noticed.
“Hey, it's better than cooking for ourselves. Though I do miss some salt.”
“Hey there, little disciple!”
At the cheerful voice, several students' heads turned at once.
Assistant Instructor Lin wove between the tables, drawing every eye along the way.
It was rare to see a teacher in the Iron Grade cafeteria, and rarer still to see one as conspicuous as her.
“Oh.......”
Liu dropped his chopsticks.
“Now this is interesting.”
“What is?”
Ren asked as Assistant Instructor Lin approached.
“Assistant Instructor Lin never comes down here.”
Liu lowered his voice.
“She's...... how should I put it, something of a legend at the Academy.”
“A legend?”
Min leaned in, interested.
“Assistant Instructor Lin's Beast stopped growing at Bronze stage 1. A shame, but her combat skill is unbelievably good. They say that in controlled duels she beats even professors with Silver Grade Beasts. That's why she still holds her post here, even though.......”
“Even though what?”
Taro asked.
“Academy politics are complicated.”
Liu held his tongue as Assistant Instructor Lin drew closer.
“Normally, a staff member with a Beast this low in Grade.......”
Liu shut his mouth entirely as Assistant Instructor Lin stopped in front of their table.
“Oh, dear.”
She muttered, looking at Ren's half-empty plate.
“No, no, no. You can't eat like that!”
Leaving startled whispers in her wake, she sat down beside them without the slightest hesitation.
“How do you plan to build muscle on one scrap of meat the size of a fingernail? Nonsense. Eat at least three times that much.”
She heaped food onto his plate, and Ren's face reddened.
“Assistant Instructor.......”
Students at the nearby tables watched the scene in astonishment. Some had frozen mid-chew.
“The food here is.......”
Ren ventured carefully.
“Plain? Bland? Lazy?”
Assistant Instructor Lin smiled.
“Of course it is. But,”
She scooped up another spoonful and gave his cheek a light pinch.
“you'll need energy to survive my training. Combat is stamina, little expert. If that clever head of yours is going to keep turning, you have to put fuel in it first.”
The mouths of the students around them fell open even wider.
Assistant Instructor Lin, sitting at a Gray Wing table, and piling food onto the mushroom boy's plate with her own hands, no less!
“Um.......”
Taro's nervous eyes swept the room.
“Shouldn't we head to the mine after we eat? To get crystals for training.......”
“Oh, there's plenty of time for that later.”
Assistant Instructor Lin smiled, watching Ren swallow one mouthful after another.
“After I've watched this one finish his meal, that is.”
“Assistant Instructor.”
Liu bowed his head politely.
“It is an honor.......”
His face reddened as well.
“Assistant Instructor Lin gives the best combat advice in the Academy.”
Liu added with a glance at the others.
“Normally she only helps upperclassmen who have proven their own worth.”
“Oh, but this little one proved something today.”
Assistant Instructor Lin ruffled Ren's hair, and the mushrooms glowed faintly.
“You don't see someone beat a technically superior opponent on pure knowledge every day.”
The whispering grew more frantic.
“But first,”
She pushed another plate toward Ren.
“we build up your stamina. I can't have a student who faints after a single fight.”
As she kept filling his plate, the mushrooms in his hair pulsed uneasily.
Somehow her playful smile felt more frightening than every blow Kai had landed.
“Assistant Instructor,”
Min asked, captivated by the scene.
“is it really true that you beat a professor with a Silver Grade Beast?”
“Oh, that old story.......”
Assistant Instructor Lin sighed theatrically.
“It was just luck. And that poor man...... well, that isn't important. What is important,”
Her smile turned predatory as she looked at Ren.
“is that our little expert needs to learn that knowledge without technique is a blade without an edge. But first,”
She pushed a third plate toward Ren.
“eat. All of it. You'll need the energy for what's coming.”
Assistant Instructor Lin's smile promised hellish training, yet Ren could not hide a smile of his own.
For the first time since arriving at the Academy, he felt he had met someone who truly recognized his potential.
***
“Is this the training ground?”
Ren looked around the quiet clearing behind Gray Wing, clutching his bulging stomach.
It was a simple but functional space, packed dirt underfoot and a few pieces of basic equipment.
“The main training ground is far more impressive.”
Assistant Instructor Lin smiled as she stretched.
“But here we can have time to ourselves. First of all, we build a solid foundation.”
“Aren't we going to practice combat techniques?”
“With those scrawny arms?”
Assistant Instructor Lin shook her head.
“Your Spore raises your physical ability by 10%, right? But 10% of almost nothing is still almost nothing.”
She walked over to a pile of logs.
“Most students lean too heavily on their Beasts. A Spirit Tiger raises physical ability by 30%, but if the base stamina is weak.......”
“Like mine.”
Ren lowered his eyes.
“Like yours now.”
Assistant Instructor Lin corrected him.
“But that will change. We'll train until your 10% boost to physical ability means more than those bastards' 30%. No throwing up allowed.”
The next several minutes were a succession of basic exercises. Push-ups, squats, running. Nothing special, nothing magical.
Just the groundwork needed to make a body stronger and to keep what was in his stomach from coming back up.
“Technique comes later.”
Assistant Instructor Lin explained as she corrected his posture.
“First you need the strength to execute it properly.”
By the time the training ended, Ren was barely standing. The mushrooms in his hair glowed faintly, as though exhausted too.
“Same place, after class tomorrow.”
Assistant Instructor Lin tossed him a towel.
“And, Ren.......”
“Yes?”
“This is only the beginning.”
***
A while later, Ren barely managed to drag himself back to Gray Wing.
Every single step to the room was torture, and the moment he reached the bedroom he collapsed straight onto the bed.
He had no idea how long he had slept before the sound of the door woke him. Every muscle in his body screamed, reminding him of Assistant Instructor Lin's brutal training.
“That was better than I expected!”
Min's voice came from the corridor.
“Thanks for showing us the best spots, Senior Liu.”
“The veins near the surface are the easiest to identify.”
Liu answered as they came in.
“The trick is recognizing the crystallization patterns in the rock. Give it time and you'll learn to tell a promising vein from a depleted one.”
Taro spotted Ren.
“Oh, you're awake. How was the training?”
“I learned that pain comes to find me every time I move.”
Ren tried to sit up and regretted it at once.
“It was just basic exercise. Though after the first hour it didn't feel so basic anymore. How was the mine?”
He asked to turn attention away from his own wretched state.
“Senior Liu taught us the basics.”
Min dropped his bag onto the desk.
“I got ten Iron Grade crystals! They aren't big, but for a first day.......”
“Twelve. Not that it's much.”
Taro corrected him quietly, showing off his small pouch.