Chapter 119: Promoted
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[Manaphone]
• Marketplace [Locked]
Unlock Requirement: 25 Credits
• Quest Board [Locked]
Unlock Requirements:
1. 20 Credits
2. Pass the first semester with zero backlogs / Reach Squire Grade
• Party System [Locked]
Unlock Requirements:
1. 15 Credits
2. Pass the first semester with zero backlogs / Reach Squire Grade
• Mentor Network [Tap to view]
• Arena Rankings [Locked]
Unlock Requirement: 50 Credits
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Current Credits: 6,258.6
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’Just as Seraphina said, the criteria to unlock the Party System and Quest Board have been changed,’ Vlad thought to himself as he read the screen of his phone.
He was walking through the long hallway of the main building with Chloe, on their way to attend the next lecture, Fundamentals of Tactics by Victor.
’To finish the second sub-quest, I need to complete ten B-Ranked quests and reach the top 50 in the Arena Rankings,’ he reminded himself before asking Chloe, "Wanna form a party together?"
’Party = many people, answer1 = No
Party = delicious food, answer2 = Yes
Priority (answer2) > Priority (answer1)
Winner = Answer2.’
Chloe completed her inner calculations before replying with a silent nod.
"Alright then, give me your phone. I’ll unlock the Party System for you."
Vlad took her phone, unlocked it with his fingerprint, tapped the screen a few times, then slipped it into his pocket.
"I’ll give it back after the lecture," he said as they entered Victor’s usual massive circular lecture hall with its raised platform at the center.
"Never asked," Chloe replied with a shrug. She was better off without her phone, which only added weight to the pocket of her trousers. It wasn’t like she used it for anything besides calling or texting Vlad. Even her meals were free thanks to the Cafeteria One-Month Membership she possessed.
As they entered the hall, the energetic chatter of the students completely died down. Vlad’s mere presence caused many of them to flinch. It had only been three days since he had mercilessly stabbed Lorenzo with a sword and challenged the entire freshman batch to try him. Some glared at him with resentment, some looked at him with admiration for refusing to bow before the high nobles, while others kept their heads lowered, terrified of meeting his gaze and becoming his next target.
Nevertheless, there was one fact they all unanimously agreed upon.
Vlad was monstrously strong for his age.
A few moments later, Victor entered the lecture hall, instantly lightening the atmosphere with his energetic charisma. The lecture focused on the behavioral patterns of common monsters and how to exploit their instincts. He explained when to engage, when to retreat, and how to lure enemies into advantageous terrain while minimizing casualties.
Once the two-hour lecture ended and Victor was about to dismiss the class, Vlad raised his hand.
"Yes, Vlad. You finally decided to attend the lecture?" Victor said, his auburn eyes shifting toward him. Although his tone was casual, it carried a hint of dissatisfaction over Vlad’s repeated absences.
"I apologize for my absence," Vlad replied respectfully before asking, "Could you evaluate my grade?"
"Oh, you formed your Mana Heart," Victor remarked, raising an eyebrow. He glanced at the watch on his wrist. "Alright, release your mana and bring me your identity ca—"
His words stopped mid-sentence as he watched Vlad’s unexpected actions. Vlad was calmly unsheathing the sword he had just taken out of his storage ring.
"Vlad, you don’t need a weapon to be promoted to Trainee Grade," Victor explained, assuming Vlad was unaware of the evaluation criteria.
"I’m aware, Professor," Vlad replied as dark mana surged from his hand, coating the blade with a steady layer of mana while dark flames flared outward from its surface, completely concealing the steel beneath. "I wish to be promoted to Squire Grade."
The dark flames surrounding his sword sent waves of gasps throughout the lecture hall. The students’ eyes widened and their mouths fell open in disbelief. It hadn’t even been a week since he had suffered Mana Backlash while forming his Mana Heart, yet he had already mastered Mana Blade.
Even Victor was stunned for a brief moment, barely maintaining his composure.
"Didn’t you have a duel against Lorenzo of the Order of Rings three days ago?" Victor asked, his voice carrying both curiosity and exasperation. "I heard about the results. You didn’t use Mana Blade during that duel."
"The duel enlightened me about Mana Blade. I took two days off to master it completely."
He almost bit his tongue after saying those words. No one should ever know that it had actually taken him an embarrassing fifty-eight days to learn it.
Victor now looked genuinely impressed. The disappointment he had shown when Vlad failed to form his Mana Heart had completely vanished.
He accepted Vlad’s identity card and inserted it into a Card Ledger that he retrieved from his storage ring. After pressing a few buttons and confirming the process with his mana signature, the card emerged from the other side with Vlad’s grade changed from Novice to Squire.
At the same moment, Vlad’s phone vibrated with a system notification.
[Congratulations, Vlad Lumberjack, for attaining the Squire Grade! 100 Credits have been credited to your account. Keep growing and bring honor to Arcane Academy!]
"If you ever have any doubts regarding your studies, contact me through the Mentor Network," Victor said as he handed the card back. "I won’t charge you any credits."
Before his words could be mistaken for favoritism by the other students, he added,
"The same goes for anyone who achieves the same or even better results than Vlad."
"Yes, sir!" the students answered enthusiastically, even though none of them believed they could actually earn such a privilege.
Victor’s gaze shifted between Vlad and Chloe, a proud smile appearing on his face as he revealed,
"I placed the two of you in Section B because neither of you had formed a Mana Heart at the time. But now, keeping you here would be unfair since from the next lecture, I’ll be teaching Mana Blade. Vlad has already mastered it, and Chloe will soon achieve it as well, given her talent."
After a brief pause, he declared,
"You two are promoted to Section A. Your new timetable will be updated by this evening."