System Change

Derek thought of the academy as a massive building, but that was an understatement. Yes, the building in the middle was enormous, but there was more than that. It was like an entire small city within the capital—one separate from everything else. And the giant wall encompassing it made that all the more so.

As he strode forward, Derek was at a bit of a loss as to how to find Thomas. The easy way would be to open a tunnel with Void Travel, then use his Void Sense to pinpoint the boy’s location, but that would also be the ‘unwanted attention’ way. With a shrug, Derek continued forth to the massive building in the center of everything else.

Before he arrived at a small bit of stairs going up to the entrance, he was met by another two guards. With a quick flash of the token—or badge—that Adviser Musgrave had given him, the two guards bowed with respect, then allowed him inside without asking any more questions. I may have to keep this, Derek thought as he pinned the badge to the right arm of his shirt before walking through the double door entrance—opting to wear it out in the open so he didn’t run into any problems.

Stepping inside and letting the doors swing closed behind him, Derek looked around. The room was empty of people. Instead, it had tapestries of a bunch of men that Derek didn’t recognize on either side. However, they all looked slightly familiar. There’s Edwin, he thought as his eyes landed on what looked to be a much younger version of King Edwin—he looked almost identical to Edward on the tapestry.

Well, I guess it is referred to as the ‘King’s Academy’ for a reason, Derek thought as he walked forward, then up one of the sets of stairs that were on either side of the entry room. He never liked the gaudy double stairs that led to the same place, it just took up too much room for his taste.

I wonder if there’s a principal’s office or a receptionist or something—an easy way to find out where the kid is, he thought as he made it to the top of the staircase, then moved to another double door on the center of the wall. Opening the doors, he was relieved to see that it might not be so hard to find the boy after all.

The answer to all his questions was sitting at a finely crafted wooden desk in the center of the new room, in front of a wall lined with shelve full of books and what looked like storage cabinets. Interesting choice… In a place where it was common for higher ups to have storage rings filled with any and all items, he hadn’t expected to see actual bookshelves and cabinets behind a receptionist. I guess it does give it more of an academy feel.

Derek knew he was in the right place, as the lobby had multiple gossiping students standing around, and a few even in line to talk to the receptionist. Derek looked the current students up and down. The ages of them had to vary greatly. Some looked as young, if not younger than Thomas did the last time Derek saw him. Then, on the opposite side of the equation, there were students who looked in the early twenties even.

One thing they all had in common, though, was the uniform they were wearing. Every student, male and female, wore a dark gray set of tunics and trousers accented throughout with blue patterns. The blue accents matched the color of the royal family’s lightning almost perfectly—there was nothing subtle about it.

Derek did notice that on the upper part of each student’s arm, there was a roman numeral. Most of the students in the lobby—especially the younger ones—had a ‘one’ plastered on them. Though, the older kids had ‘fours’ and there were even a ‘five’ among the bunch. I bet that’s what year they are.

Then, along with the blue accents and class numbers, each student had a symbol on the left side of their chests. One student had a pair of crossed swords, while another had a shield. There was even a girl who wore the symbol of a literal heart on her chest. He finally realized what it all meant when he saw a person with a hammer and anvil symbol. It’s showing what kind of class they have. The swords would be offensive or attack, the shield would be defensive or tanks, I guess. As for the heart… probably a healer.

After looking around the area and examining all the students, Derek looked at the multiple doors littered throughout the lobby. Some were adjacent to the receptionist’s desk, and some were on the side walls—none were labeled.

Finally, Derek stepped forward, drawing a bit of attention from the students, but when they saw the token pinned to his shirt sleeve, they backed away with raised brows. He settled in behind the few students in line and waited. The receptionist was pretty quick at handling each student, and after just a few minutes, it was Derek’s turn.

“How may I help you?” the man asked Derek, then, when his eyes landed on the badge, he hurriedly stood and gave him a small bow. “Sir!”

“Enough of that,” Derek said, motioning the man down with his hand. “Sit… sit…” he commanded. As the man sat, he noticed that the man was wearing almost the same uniform as the students, but on his upper arm was a symbol of an open book and a crown. I guess that signifies him as faculty or staff or something, Derek thought. The man did not have a symbol woven into his chest like the students did.

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“Yes, sir!” the man said as he retook his seat. “What are your orders? Sir!”

“No orders,” Derek said with a slight shake of his head. “I’m just here looking for someone. Maybe you can help me out?”

“Of course.” The man nodded fiercely. “Do you have a name? Is it a student or staff?”

“He’s a student,” Derek said. “His name is Thomas Stewart.”

Without another word, the man flicked his wrist and a giant binder appeared in front of him on his desk. Of course, Derek thought. All those books and storage shelves and cabinets were definitely just for show. He shook his head as he watched the man rapidly flip through the binder until he finally landed on a certain page and stopped. Then, he took his index finger and traced it down the page until he stopped on a certain line.

“Thomas Stewart you said?” he asked for confirmation.

“Yes,” Derek replied.

“A second year who is an offensive spear user,” the man read off. “Does that sound right?”

“That’s him,” Derek said.

“Very good.” The receptionist closed the binder and put it away before looking up at Derek. “The second years are currently in the academy arena doing their weekly random battle exams. If you would like, I can send someone to go fetch him.”

“No,” Derek said with a shake of his head. “What kind of exam is it?”

“It’s a graded practice for dungeons. It’s not weighted much, and they are graded on their improvement throughout the year,” the man explained. “They are paired with a random group made up of two damage dealers, a defensive tank, a support, and a healer. From there, a monster of a higher level than the group is released and they are to battle it while under the supervision of their instructors.”

“I see,” Derek said. From what the man was saying, it sounded like a good opportunity for the kids to learn coordination and increase their skill levels against a beast that was trying to harm them. I wonder how fast skill levels increase if they know that no real harm can come to them. “Would it be okay if I went to the arena and watched?”

“Of course it would, sir!” The man enthusiastically nodded, then slightly frowned. “Please excuse my ignorance, but I am familiar with all those who bear the king’s token, yet I do not recognize you. If you wouldn’t mind…”

Derek waved off his question. “You can call me Derek,” he said.

“Derek?” The man furrowed his brow, then a spark of recognition appeared in his eyes. “Derek Hunt?”

“That’s me,” Derek said with a chuckle. “I take it you’ve heard of me?”

“Oh, yes!” The man sprung from his seat once again and bowed. “It is an honor. I’ve heard about some of you accomplishments and I’ve seen the respect and… skepticism that some of my superiors have for you. Last I heard, you and the others who joined the prince’s raid had returned. Then I saw you leave on Prince Edgar’s wyvern—Blitz the Magnificent. Well… I didn’t see you, but I heard that you were up there.”

Damn… he said that with a straight face. Derek inwardly laughed. He was used to running around with the rulers and most powerful people on the continent, so they didn’t exactly have the same reverence as everyone else did for ‘Blitz the Magnificent.’ In fact, they were more likely to poke fun at him and Edgar about it.

“Skepticism is to be expected,” Derek said. “It’s hard to believe some things without seeing them with your own eyes.” He watched the receptionist nod heavily, then continued. “Anyway, about Thomas?”

“Oh, right!” The man quickly pulled something out of his storage ring and placed it on the center of his wooden desk.

“This…” Derek looked at it, and it was a standing sign that said ‘will return shortly.’

“Oh, I’m going to take you to the arena myself. Don’t worry about the students, it’s mid-semester, there’s nothing they need right now that they can’t wait for. They’re mostly all just looking for weekend passes and such. Also, they’re used to it,” the receptionist explained.

“Well… okay… I guess,” Derek said with a shrug.

The receptionist then moved out from behind his desk and announced, “I’ll be taking a thirty-minute break. Please plan accordingly.” There were a couple of sighs that came from the students behind Derek, but they all accepted everything rather easily.

I guess they really are used to it, Derek thought.

With the students informed, the receptionist had Derek follow him. He took Derek back out the central door and outside the way he’d just come from.

“The doors inside all lead to the general classrooms for each year. The buildings over here on the south side are the specialized classes buildings. There’s everything from cooking and alchemy to weapons and tactics,” the man said as he led Derek between the specialized buildings and the main academy.

“I see,” Derek said with a nod as he followed along.

“On the opposite side, the north side of campus, is the student and faculty dorms, along with stalls and buildings set up for purchasing items created by the crafting students. It’s a good way to earn extra tokens and such since gold and regular coins isn’t accepted in the academy,” he explained.

“Oh? Why’s that?” Derek asked. “If you can’t tell, I know absolutely nothing about this place. Other than none of the students are supposed to get any kind of preferential treatment. Which is one of the reasons I sent Thomas to this place.”

“I wouldn’t expect you to,” the man said. “Most don’t have a reason to learn more about it than the requirements to enroll. As for the Academy Credit, they are used so everyone is on equal footing when they enter. Students are given a small amount during enrollment, then they must obtain more through classwork, battles, selling materials or crafted items. Though, it has been harder on everyone this last year because the fighters aren’t able to go raid dungeons for materials, which leaves the crafters without as many items to sell.”

“Well, that should change soon,” Derek said.

“Seeing you here, I imagined that would be the case,” the man said, then led Derek around a corner to the back of the campus, behind the academy. “Here we are.”

“Holy shit,” Derek said as he looked over the enormous building. “This… is a coliseum.”

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