Chapter 606 - Helping

Today is my sixth day in the Academy, and so far it’s been uneventful. There is nothing on my schedule, and I don’t even know what Assistant Professors tend to do in their free time. I bet it is something like socializing.

Losers.

Anyway, being locked in my room and, once in a while, checking the Community is a fun way to pass the time. Even though I almost went to the library with Min-Jae, who spends his free time locked up there. I just hope he is not reading some spicy novels instead of gathering knowledge that could be useful to him.

Well, it’s not as if he cannot do whatever he wants. He would just need to deal with the consequences if Tess or I judge him too weak, and he would then receive extra training to catch up.

An interesting event is scheduled for the seventh day, which is tomorrow. That is when one of this planet’s Champions will visit the Academy to give a short lesson.

Apparently, he is an alumnus of this Academy, so he does it once in a while, whenever he feels like it. To entice anyone else even close to the rank of Champion, you would need to offer them something they truly desire. Cool items, knowledge, connections. So it is pretty special for him to do it for free.

So, of course, I will go tomorrow and check him out. His lesson is approximately six hours before the third lesson I will participate in with Elian, so I will also have free time.

Annoyingly, I don’t think I’m the only one interested in that, and it is highly likely that most of the Academy will try to get there.

Damn, maybe getting personalized lessons from Sandra the Cockroach was very valuable. Just from hearing some Assistant Professors talk, I bet they would sell their Mana Hearts just to talk with the Champion “only” for a few minutes.

They talk like the Champion walks on molten gold. You’d think the guy cured mana poisoning with his tears or something. One Assistant Professor even got misty eyed describing a battle he’d never seen but swore was “life-changing.” It’s honestly kind of creepy. There’s this desperate reverence in their tone, like they’d auction off their lineage just to shake the guy’s hand. Some of them probably would.

Or as Dennis has said in the Community, “They would sell their own balls just to be able to sniff in the same room where the Champion farted.”

Where did it go wrong with the twins, and why on earth did Izzy laugh so much at that? Is she at an age where she appreciates lame jokes? Sophie should be worried and do something about that. I will observe the results of her attempts and take inspiration for how to deal with my minion when she reaches a similar age.

But as odd as it sounds, Dennis is not wrong. Champions here are treated as the highest grade celebrities, the best athletes, the richest people, and God knows what else, all combined into one to demonstrate the prestige of these titles.

There is also the fact that they are the greatest tactical weapons each country possesses. A weapon that can, in minutes or hours, be anywhere on the planet and cause incredible damage, and even attempting to stop them only causes more damage.

The others talk about it a lot in the Community, but if a weapon called Champion is used to its full potential, it is certain that millions will die, either while attempting to stop them or in an act of revenge.

There is only one being on this planet who reigns over them all: an Absolute, capable of shutting down any Champion and punishing the nation they come from. There are rules that even the Champions obey, and the Absolute is acknowledged as the top dog here.

Even though I think a powerful Champion could cause plenty of damage in just a few seconds or minutes and before the Absolute reacts. A powerful Champion might even cause some damage to the Absolute, but the current consensus is that this planet’s Absolute is way too strong.

I also wonder: what if multiple Champions joined forces? What if a Champion challenged the Absolute for the spot? What advantage does having the title of Absolute give you? Tess theorizes, based on the knowledge they have collected in six days, that the Absolute title brings with it certain benefits, but this information is not freely shared. So, of course, we don't know.

To avoid constant wars, their overall strategy seems focused on balancing power and culling Champions who could pose a threat: those who are too maniacal or unwilling to follow the rules, and are therefore killed by the others to prevent greater trouble, sometimes even before they officially become Champions. Along with displays of power, there is also careful politicking, and rather than open combat, Champions are often used as threats.

It is fun to think about all these scenarios and imagine how I would react in different roles: as a chump from a country whose Champion nuked a neighboring city, as a Champion wanting to kill the Absolute, or as the Absolute trying to slack off while being annoyed by these pests.

There is also a bit more information about the weapon the Absolute left behind for someone. Apparently, it could easily fall into the hands of a Champion, but it could just as easily end up with some random servant. Min-Jae discovered this in the library, but that weapon has been passed around for the past 100 years. There were even wars waged over it, and it has already killed two Champions: one 30 years ago and another 45 years ago.

Its description is nowhere to be found; there is just a rumor that a set of rules must be followed to use it and that it is connected to the web or array that the Absolute has placed over the entire planet.

This planet’s Absolute seems like a total weirdo, and we are not sure how much we can trust the rumors circulating around the Academy. Teenagers are not exactly the most reliable source of information, in my opinion.

***

Sitting at my new spot, since Ari has found my previous one, and Izzy finds me anyway. I’ll have to check again later how she’s able to trace people by the "emotional wavelength" they give off, since I haven’t sensed anything myself.

This spot is also in one of the smaller gardens, between trees that emit a pleasant scent and look exotic, a bit similar to the so-called dragon trees we have on Earth.

As Izzy sits next to me, and Noodle slithers out of her sleeve and moves towards me, expanding until he is as thick as my arm, then politely waits. He even nods in greeting.

Biting into my sandwich again, which this time tastes like it has chicken meat, I create two mana orbs made of a mix I know Noodle enjoys and send them to him.

“Did you know that before being let into the Academy, you have to pass tests and prove you can control your powers and won’t kill students by mistake?” Izzy asks out of nowhere.

“First time hearing it.”

“It’s true. And we, the attendees, are the only people in the Academy who entered here without such tests. Some attendees could easily end up there, kill a bunch of students by mistake, and spend the rest of the tutorial in the prison on this floor or fail the quest to locate and protect the Candidate,” she says seriously.

“If you are that bad at controlling your powers, you kind of deserve it.”

Izzy seems to contemplate this and then nods once. “Maybe. By the way, my class will be getting a transfer student in a few days.”

“Why are you telling me? Do you suspect the Ruler Candidate?”

“I don’t know. They say she is incredibly talented and that at only ten years old, she is almost level 350.”

"That is surprising. Reaching such a high level... For us, it is possible because of the tutorial and everything, but for a random girl?"

“I know, right? I have noticed some of my professors being scared of her when she is mentioned. It is hard to explain; it was not that they feared she would kill them, but something else, perhaps her potential or background? The Professors might know more than we do, and Sophie is looking into it.”

“Sounds good. Found anything on Ari, Kays, or Tyven?”

“Not that much. Tess and Sophie did dig up a bit, but Ari is possibly one of the best talents currently, and no one knows what family she is from or how she got here. Kays is from a family closely tied to a Champion and has a rare skill, and Tyven is also unknown but spends a lot of time in the library. Min-Jae says he has seen him a few times and even talked to him. He seems like a quiet guy. Why didn’t you ask the others in the Community and instead asked someone to meet you and share information in person?”

“I barely have any time left for today and am almost out of my Community daily limit.”

“Didn’t our daily limit go up after the 7th floor? What did you do?”

“What do you mean, what did I do? I just, out of curiosity, joined the Hard difficulty Community, and there are some guys also on their version of the 8th floor, so I talked to them a bit.”

“That’s unusual for you to talk to people. Let me check!” Izzy looks at the screen in front of her and does what I assume is reading the Community. She does this for one minute before she stops and turns to me.

“What?” I ask her. “Why are you giving me that look?”

“Nat, did you spend most of your daily limit going over the history of conversation they had about their floor and their version of the Academy, picking apart what they wrote, and trashing their use of "mana sciency bullshit terms"?’”

“Yup.”

“But why?”

“I was helping.”

Izzy looks at the screen and reads again, directly quoting what I wrote, “I’ve read cult manifestos that made more sense than what you just wrote.”

She glances at me again, and I remain silent.

Izzy continues to quote me, “You wrote a 12-paragraph post to say ‘I think magic goes boom and then it goes boom.’”

She gives me another look, and I keep silent.

“Just say you don’t know how it works instead of inventing the ‘Mana Thermal Rebound Loop.’”

This time I say, “This one was really egregious; even Elian wouldn’t say such nonsense.”

“If I had a mana point for every time someone used the word ‘resonance’ without knowing what it means, I’d be a Champion by now,” she reads.

“It’s true,” I defend myself.

“I’m convinced some of you are just rearranging words until they sound magical.” She gives me another look. “Wasn’t that harsh?”

“I’m helping.”

“Sure you are. So what is this: ‘This isn’t a mana hypothesis. It’s fanfiction with equations.’”

“Okay, that one was maybe rude, but I apologized and promised the guy some advice when we meet during the third tournament. He was very happy and even thanked me.”

Izzy sighs, “And this one? ‘Here’s my feedback: Don’t.’”

“Oh! Here, I strongly disagree with you! That crazy girl wanted to make a permanent modification to her mana flow after saying they think I did something similar. I saved her life.”

Izzy eventually stops reading and just says with a big smile, “Don’t get banned,” before heading off with Noodle after she gives me a quick hug.

I finish what’s left of my sandwich and glance at the timer before closing the window.

The wind moves through the garden, and I close my eyes for a moment to enjoy the scents it carries.

Maybe tomorrow will offer something less idiotic than the “Mana Thermal Rebound Loop” Maybe not.

***

Next Chapter