Chapter 6: Spirit Academy

Today was Monday, marking the first day of the Red Oak Spirit Academy.

Ain made his way there early in the morning.

The academy gates stood wide open, welcoming the new students.

Since the academy's curriculum lasted for only one year, only the new students were present on campus, aside from staff and faculty.

However, this did not dampen the bustling vibe. Newly awakened students from the local area had all congregated here. Thousands of students were already on campus, with more on the way.

Ain blended in with the crowd while looking around and thought, 'As expected of a spirit academy, they've spent a large amount of money on this campus.'

The campus was sprawled spaciously and openly. Buildings of various sizes were scattered around, and training fields and facilities were abundant.

Ain also observed the crowd. The uniforms would be distributed today, so students were all dressed in casual attire. It was a novel experience for them.

Following the map on his hololink, Ain made his way toward his assigned classroom.

However, upon arrival, what entered his vision was not a classroom but an entire building with 'Class B' written on a large plaque.

Ain was momentarily stunned as he thought, 'The entire building is the classroom?'

"Amazing, right?" While Ain examined the building, a voice appeared beside him.

Ain turned to see a student with short brown hair gawking at the building alongside him.

Seeing Ain turn towards him, the student smiled and continued. "I heard all classrooms are like this. They all have an attached training hall. Our class alone should have over a hundred students, so it isn't surprising when you think about it."

After finishing his piece, the student introduced himself as he extended his hand. "My name's Hugo Ravenfall. Nice to meet you."

"Ain Weisman, likewise." Ain smiled as he returned the handshake.

Ain wasn't one to initiate a conversation with strangers for small talk, but he wouldn’t shy away from socializing with a few soon-to-be classmates.

The two talked as they hurried inside.

The classroom was spacious with ample space between the seats. With a quick glance, Ain easily counted more than a hundred seats.

It would be difficult to whisper to your neighbors in such a room.

Ain looked around and found himself a seat. Hugo chose the seat to his right.

Time passed quickly as more students arrived.

Amidst the noisy conversations, a man with short black hair, a slight tan, and a muscular build walked into the classroom.

Seeing this, the students ceased their conversations and straightened up. They had already guessed who this was.

The man didn't glance at the students who had suddenly quieted down and made his way toward the front of the class.

After he set down his belongings, he finally looked at the students and spoke.

"Good morning, students. My name is Dean Turner, and I'll be the teacher in charge of Class B. I am also responsible for your training as a spirit tamer."

He paused for a brief moment before continuing.

"I'll start this class by asking, do you know the significance of spirit academies? The answer is simple. It's because newly awakened students like you need to have a foundation as spirit tamers before you can move forward in life."

"Not everyone is equally talented. Only a small number of you will continue your training at a university after graduation. Many of you will not be accepted and will have to look for other avenues for training and employment."

"Thus, the primary purpose of the spirit academies is to assess the talents of all our students and prepare you for whatever path you will take."

"All the effort you put in during this one year will build your foundation for the future."

"Any questions?" Teacher Turner finished his piece and looked at the students.

Silence prevailed in the classroom.

Teacher Turner was not surprised. This was how he always started the school year.

He would pour a bucket of cold water on the students' excitement as soon as he entered.

After seeing no response, Teacher Turner continued.

"That was the introduction. I'll take attendance, and then we'll move on to training."

The attendance was swiftly completed, and Teacher Turner retrieved stacks of booklets from a cabinet.

"This is the Basic Meditation Technique. It can allow you to become a Rank-2 Spirit Tamer."

"The Basic Meditation Technique is the most fundamental non-attribute meditation technique available. It has no particular strengths, nor does it have any weaknesses."

"If you have access to better techniques, I suggest you train using those. If not, you can use this technique."

"If your innate talent aligns with a certain attribute, you should start searching for meditation techniques with the same attribute. A suitable meditation technique will always be an advantage."

While introducing the technique, Teacher Turner also distributed the manual for the Basic Meditation Technique.

Ain casually flipped through the manual after receiving his copy.

The contents weren't difficult to understand but putting them into practice was the challenge.

"I'll explain the contents once, and then we'll move to the training hall. Now, pay attention."

...

Time passed slowly during Teacher Turner's lecture, and the class finally moved to the training hall when it ended.

The training hall was spacious, with a white stone floor. You could tell from the line bisecting the roof that it was retractable.

Ain sat in a comfortable posture for meditation. Most students were familiar with meditation, so it was no surprise to see them all quickly begin their practice.

Ain followed the meditation technique, attempting to circulate his spirit energy as described.

After multiple attempts, he realized the difficulty.

The first challenge he faced was controlling his spirit energy. The feeling was similar to when he experienced sleep paralysis. He was aware of his spirit energy but was unable to move it.

After each failure, Ain repeated the process. He knew that it would eventually work.

At first, it was just a slight tug, followed by a larger one, and then another larger one.

After about thirty minutes, he was finally able to unsteadily control his spirit energy and circulate it.

"Whew." Ain breathed out slowly and opened his eyes.

Glancing around, he realized that the students around him were also experiencing similar problems.

Many were sweating profusely, and their blood vessels were on the verge of bursting.

Ain's progress was fast, but he wasn’t satisfied.

Although he couldn't precisely sense it, a couple of students near him seemed to be making greater progress than him.

Ain's thoughts drifted to his innate talent. Although he believed that he understood the meditation technique thoroughly, he decided to use Analysis and test the result.

Closing his eyes, Ain did as he thought, and a portion of his spirit energy was absorbed.

After a few minutes, he opened his eyes again. Although the results weren't disappointing, he realized that the meditation technique was too simple. Understanding a few points better wouldn't help much.

But during his analysis, Ain reached another conclusion. He should try using Deduction. This meditation technique was too general. If he could deduce it to better suit his parameters, his efficiency would undoubtedly increase.

Feeling the puzzle pieces falling into place, Ain felt invigorated.

He closed his eyes again and activated Deduction. Information passed by in quick succession while data about himself also appeared periodically.

When the deduction finished, Ain felt like a few hours had passed, but glancing at his wrist told him that only a few minutes had gone by.

The deduced meditation technique was almost identical to the original. There were only slight adjustments relevant to his own body.

Ain sensed his exhausted spirit energy for a second and thought, 'It's enough for practice.'

He immediately resumed his meditation.

Circulating his spirit energy according to the modified technique, Ain felt a noticeable improvement in his control and stability.

The deduction was successful!

Ain didn't have time to cheer as he used the momentum to continue his training.

Amidst his trance, the morning training session ended, and Teacher Turner’s voice sounded.

"This concludes the morning session. Good job, everyone. Head back to class; your next few hours will be dedicated to your other subjects. We will have another training session before school ends. Dismissed!"

Teacher Turner concluded and left.

The students quickly came to and started stretching and talking as they returned to the classroom.

"Ain, how was your progress?" Hugo walked up from behind Ain, brushing his clothes to remove the nonexistent dirt.

"I made some progress, what about you?” Ain replied before asking in return.

"Sigh, at first, I thought it would be easy. Who would've thought that just controlling spirit energy would be so difficult? I've barely managed to start circulating it."

"Not bad. It's only the first day."

"You're right, we're just getting started."

Hugo cheered up quickly, and they headed for the classroom.

Ain was curious about what the following subjects entailed.

...

It was afternoon, and Ain had just finished his other classes.

They included Wilderness Survival, Spirit Ecology, Ethics and Morality, and Physical Training. The training hall was used for the last class.

While attending the classes, Ain realized that he had already covered most of the material with his mentor. These classes were a bit redundant to him.

Since the physical training had just ended, many students were covered in sweat, with disheveled clothes. Since they had yet to receive their uniforms, most students weren't dressed for physical activities.

Ain didn't have an extensive wardrobe, so he wore his usual attire that he wore to work, which was very suitable for physical training.

After straightening their clothes, students returned to the classroom once again, waiting for the afternoon training session to begin.