Chapter 35: Talent

On the morning of the first day of school, classes began for all students, including the freshmen of Garden College.

There were a total of eight practice areas, each designated for a single class of freshmen. An expectant face greeted the waiting students but was soon replaced with a frown. “Hello, students. I’m your teacher and adviser, Hershal.”

He spoke with a slightly languid tone. No trace of enthusiasm was apparent in his voice, and he seemed to slump a little after scanning the class.

This class was one of the many freshmen classes, but it was a little different.

For Garden College, the minimum standard for admission was a 5th grade intermediate level. However, the country had designated standards for a quota of students. Unable to completely reject this ruling due to being a public college dependent on the country’s funding, the college created a class to meet this requirement. The students in this class were either poor, barely below admission standards, or, in cases like Fang’s, admitted due to someone influential. It was a struggle for the students in this class to stay enrolled; historically, most people had left.

Hence, a blind eye was turned towards this class, and very few instructors wanted to take it as their own. Hershal had no choice.

A few days ago, Dean Rook had approached him and patted his shoulder. Back then, the Dean had said, “Ah, Hershal, your luck is really good. Your class for this year might have some of the best-talented geniuses in the college!”

So Hershal wasted no time checking the background information of all the students and groaned. The Dean really needed to stop with the drinking; there was no one outstanding. More embarrassingly, one student had only been at the novice level during the entrance examination…

What the hell, this was “the best talent” at Garden College, one of the top colleges in the country?!

But there was no use in regretting it—he was stuck with this class for the entire year. Hershal took a deep breath. “The purpose of today’s meeting is for introductions and to help you learn about your fellow classmates. Simply, display your strength and tell us a little about yourself.”

Looking at the class list in his hands, he read, “So, Tom, start us off.”

A fierce, coarse voice shouted, “My name is Tom, from a small city named Estonia City, and my goal is to become a mercenary warrior. Nice to meet you all!”

Finishing his introduction, energy burst forth from his body. According to the thickness of the energy, he was a 4th grade intermediate. Considering small cities, his talent was impressive, but at Garden College, he only managed to get into class eight. Moreover, his results from the entrance examination were good, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if Tom was the strongest in class eight.

Sure enough, starting from the second student onwards, everyone was a 3rd grade intermediate. Sighing, Hershal could only shake his head in disappointment.

“Number 49, Blue!”

When Blue’s name was read, Blue introduced himself and then showed off his energy—it was a 3rd grade intermediate rank.

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Wait, when did Blue become a 3rd grade intermediate?

As far as Fang recalled, when he entered the camp, he thought Blue had been a 9th grade novice like him. Later on, he remembered that Blue had said he was weaker than Fang, who had just become a 1st grade intermediate. But now, Blue’s level was this high.

Did he conceal his strength in the training camp? Blue probably didn’t, judging by his personality that Fang knew.

No wonder Blue was admitted to Garden College.

“Number 50, Fang!”

Hershal paid particular attention to Fang, the last one on the list, as he distinctly remembered Fang being only a 9th grade novice at the time of the entrance examination.

Would he really dare to report his energy rank at Garden College?

“My name is Fang, from the small Victoria City in the west. Pleased to meet you all!” Fang released his energy. 2nd grade intermediate.

In addition to Hershal, the other students were very astonished. Almost everyone in their class was a 3rd grade intermediate, and they thought they were the lowest of the low in this college. But here was someone even lower than them.

Hershal rubbed his eyes; his disbelief contrasted sharply with his students’. He couldn’t believe that Fang was at a level much higher than he thought. If he was a 9th grade novice at the entrance examination, he had risen a level and two grades in just over two months. Could it be that the lowest level was actually the student with unlimited potential? Thanks for reading on ManaNovel!

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The schedule for the college and training camp was quite similar, but in the beginning of the day, there was a mandatory class for all students with their adviser. Everything else was up to the students. There was also an energy tower on campus, but it wasn’t as big as the previous one, and in addition, there was a fee to enter.

Upon realizing that Fang wouldn’t accept her money, Valeria had already bought an annual access card for him. It wasn’t refundable on purchase, and Fang was secretly grateful as, even with the recent earnings, he couldn’t afford to enter for an entire year.

A few days later, when Fang and Blue came to practice in the evening at the practice field, they heard loud arguing.

The voice belonged to someone in his class—the student who wanted to be a mercenary, Tom. Although he had the highest energy rank in his class, he was hearty and easygoing, full of goodwill towards everyone, including Fang. To be honest, Fang thought Tom reminded him of a certain dwarven friend he had, so Fang pulled someone from his class aside and asked, “What’s happening?”

Outraged, the boy responded, “Some assholes from class two are refusing to leave, saying that it’s for the good of everyone if they stay longer.”

Fang quickly understood what was going on.

For the practice field that offered multiple helpful guides, all classes were assigned time slots. Simply, there wasn’t enough room for everyone. Class two had the spot before, but the time had long passed for class eight to take their turn. Thus, Tom had stepped up to represent the class and deal with these people.

“Are you deaf? More practice is useless; just be grateful that you had the chance to enter this place.” A man in a suit with gold accents stomped his foot on the ground. Known as Ray, he was the heir of Ray Industries, a relatively large business in Minuet City. Even though Ray’s father couldn’t use energy, his son could. Driven by greed and ambition, Ray’s father had invested most of his funds to support Ray, and combined with large donations to Garden College, it had paved an easy road to class two.

The upstart attitude Ray displayed in front of them provoked all of class eight.

“The hell, do you think we’re crippled?”

“Your class must be so great, not complying with the school rules and bullying others.”

“We’ll just have to ask a teacher to resolve this.”

Ray sneered. “You could find a teacher, but the only penalty I’d get would be a fee. And well, money, I have lots of that. Though after today, everyone in Garden College will know that class eight is full of cowards who can’t solve anything on their own. It’s to be expected, though; the weakest class crying and complaining to the teachers.”

Beside Ray, another student stepped up. “Well? Go ahead and complain, you spineless cowards!”

Unable to take the insulting taunts, Tom replied, “Okay, let’s settle this like men and decide it through a fight!”

Laughing, Ray almost fell on the ground. “You challenge me? This scum dares to challenge me? It seems that big body comes with a small brain.”

A student noisily whispered, “Ray, perhaps he’s just admiring the people from the top classes. They rarely get the chance to appreciate us; let’s help him nicely.”

Struggling to keep a straight face, Ray continued. “Who knows what will happen? Big fella, come at me and let me show you the immense gap that separates our class from your lower class!”