The first class ended.
"Come to get your schedule for the first week."
Hermann said, standing next to a table with a stack of papers next to him, and then the students started to walk over to him.
They grabbed one paper each, took a good look at the schedule, and then went to sit back down.
Devon walked all the way back to the back row with the schedule paper in his hand, and once he sat down, he took a good look at it.
[8:00-9:00 - Hermann’s Class]
[9:00-10:00 - Janice’s Class]
[10:00-12:00 - Free Period]
[12:00-13:00 - Lunch Time]
[13:00-15:00 - Thomas’ Class]
[15:00 - End of the Classes]
[15:00-22:00 - Innerworld Game Session]
[22:00 - Lights Off]
"With that, the class concludes. Miss Janice’s class will be held at the Shopping Center—follow behind your Student Leader and head there immediately."
Hermann said, and then he took off—went outside from the back, lit up a cigarette, and sat down on one of the benches while enjoying the view of the ocean.
Meanwhile.
Every student looked at Devon, who stood up, and then, under his lead, they poured out of the lecture hall.
With the help of the signs, Devon found his way to the Shopping Center—which was located at the heart of the Box.
The Shopping Center was one big mall-like building with multiple levels full of shops, restaurants, and entertainment options.
In the middle of the lower floor, there was some kind of board—with slips of paper nailed to it—and all the stores were surrounding it in a circular pattern.
"Hello, everyone!"
They all looked to the top of the elevator and saw a woman—with brunette hair and a bright smile—walking down the elevator stairs towards them.
Unlike Hermann, she felt much more approachable.
"I recognize her... She is Janice McStar. She was part of New America’s team this year. She is one of the best in the world when it comes to Support Class players!"
A girl student said excitedly.
"Hehe, it sounds like some of you recognized me. Yes, I participated in this year’s World Tournament, but unfortunately, I was kicked out of the team once the tournament was over.
"They gave me the opportunity for me to come teach the new generation of players, and I accepted the offer."
Janice said with a smile.
In that moment, one of the students raised his hand, and Janice pointed at him and said, "Go ahead," and then the student lowered his arm.
"Why were you kicked? You are one of the best Support Class players in the world!"
"Everyone in the team got kicked. It doesn’t mean that nobody in that team can come back to the team. It just means they are doing the roster from scratch.
"I have reached my prime, and I know that I will be passed soon enough by my juniors, so I thought about using my experience with teaching instead."
Janice said.
The students nodded. It made sense. The Federation had been panicking ever since the disastrous World Tournament.
By getting kicked out of the team, even the best players in the team have to keep training hard so they could return to the team.
"What is this place?"
Ned raised his hand and asked.
The students looked around the Shopping Center. It seemed out of place. There were a lot of stores.
"..."
Nathaniel frowned as he managed to see a price tag under one of the items—the price tag said 5 points... 10 points... 3 points... et cetera.
"This is the Shopping Center. Here, you can do some shopping. Food, snacks, electronic devices, whatever you need.
"However, there is also a special shop here."
Janice turned her body to the left and looked at the shop in front of her—the shop sign said "Innerworld Store"—and it was a store that had nothing on the shelves.
"In Innerworld Store, you can purchase items that will help you over in Innerworld. You will pay for those items with the points you have accumulated."
Janice said and pointed at the watches at the wrists of the students, and they all saw that they had zero points.
"Isn’t using points foolish? After all, players with the fewest points will be kicked out!"
A student cried out.
"That’s correct; those points are very necessary. You need to be smart about how you use points. However, some of the items sold in the Innerworld Store are very... valuable in the long run.
"After the week, when the first players get kicked out of the Box, your points will reset back to zero.
"When the first week’s competition is over, you have some time to spend your points without worrying about being last.
"However, you can also spend the points during the week, risking dropping positions in the rankings. It can be worth it, as some of those items can help you gain more points.
"Just be smart about it."
Janice said, and then she turned around and walked to the board with paper slips nailed to it, and she stood next to it.
Grabbed it like she was wrapping her arm around a friend of hers.
"This is the mission board. You can accept missions here that you can do in Innerworld. These are the best methods of earning points, and the higher the risk, the greater the points.
"You can also choose to not do missions. You can still earn points just by playing Innerworld—if you do successful quests inside, kill monsters and players, and if you level up.
"But this mission board is where the big points are at."
Janice said.
The students all crowded around the mission board and looked at the missions that were currently available.
However.
All the missions were locked at floor 1, because everyone started from the bottom, so nobody was at any higher floors.
[Kill the Floor Boss]
[Reward: 10 points]
[Location: Floor 1]
[Difficulty: D]
’Most of them are only F and D-difficulty, except one...’
Devon thought and looked at the piece of paper that was crimson-red in color—it looked really dangerous to go for.
[Defeat the Nightmare]
[Reward: 1000 points]
[Location: Private World]
[Difficulty: S]