Chapter 80: The First Lesson
As usual, Matilda walked into the classroom exactly on time.
Her eyes swept across the room. "Well, it seems everyone managed to arrive on time. Good. Try to maintain that achievement for future classes as well."
The students nodded.
She placed her teaching tablet on the desk and turned toward the class. "Yesterday, I mentioned that I would introduce you to some of the Academy facilities that can help improve your strength."
"So let’s start with that." She raised a finger. "First, the ever-classic Gravity Chamber."
"And I don’t think I need to explain much about it since you’ve all already seen similar things in movies, novels, and games."
Her simple and relaxed tone somehow made the lecture feel surprisingly easy to follow.
The students nodded in understanding.
She raised a second finger. "Second, the Will Chamber, and third, the VR Battleground."
Daniel raised his hand. "What is it?" Matilda asked. "Ma’am, could you explain the Will Chamber and VR Battleground in more detail?"
Matilda nodded. "Just like how the Gravity Chamber tempers the body, the Will Chamber tempers the mind."
"In the Gravity Chamber, you will be placed inside a specially constructed room with gravity runes engraved into the walls and ceiling. You can gradually increase the gravity according to your physical capabilities in order to strengthen your body."
"The Will Chamber operates on a similar principle. The chamber will be filled with illusion runes and specialized hallucination gas."
"The gas weakens your connection to reality, making you hallucinate various things. The illusion runes then force your consciousness into different scenarios."
"Life and death, hopeless situations, situations specifically designed to crush your spirit."
The classroom became noticeably quieter. Marty leaned toward Zac and whispered, "How does she say ’crush your spirit’ with a smile on her face?"
"Think of it as a blacksmith hammering a sword to make it stronger. The Will Chamber does the same thing to your mind."
"As unpleasant as it may sound, it is one of the most effective methods of strengthening mental resilience."
[As traumatizing as it sounds, she’s right. It’s one of the best ways to forge a mind.]
"Now, moving on to the VR Battleground."
"It is an artificial combat environment that connects students to a virtual battlefield where they can fight one another without risking permanent injuries."
"It allows you to sharpen combat instincts, battle awareness, and practical experience."
"And of course, none of these facilities are available in unlimited quantities. Every first-year student receives three free uses per month for each facility. Each session is limited to one hour."
"However..." Matilda smiled. "Once you enter your second year, those free uses disappear."
The relief instantly vanished from the classroom.
"From that point onward, you will need Merit Points to use them. The advantage is that there will be no time restrictions; you can train as much as you want as long as you can afford it."
"And the downside? If you don’t have merits, then the facilities become very beautiful decorations that you can admire from outside."
"Besides those three facilities, the Academy also operates a Three-Way Tester Center. And the reason it’s called the Three-Way Tester is because it measures three things."
"Strength, agility, and defense."
"If your scores enter the top three of your year, you will receive Merit Points. If your scores enter the top three of the entire academy, you will receive even more, and if, miraculously, you somehow enter the academy’s all-time top three...the rewards become considerably more interesting."
The expression on her face practically said, "Go ahead. Try if you can."
Several students straightened in their seats. Some were already imagining themselves standing at the top of the rankings and collecting unimaginable rewards.
"I recommend all of you visit the center after class."
Matilda tapped the board behind her.
"For the first six months, first-year students are prohibited from accepting missions."
The classroom immediately filled with disappointment. "Don’t give me those looks; I already told you this yesterday. So don’t act as if this is the first time you’re hearing it."
She tapped her chin thoughtfully.
"Now, where was I? Right. No missions."
"But that doesn’t mean you can stop increasing your levels. Once every month, the Academy opens controlled portals exclusively for first-year students."
"You may enter them to gain practical experience and levels."
A student raised his hand. "Why only once per month?"
"Because blindly chasing levels creates idiots with high stats and no control."
"Levels are important; they are the only way to rank up. But combat skills, techniques, experience, decision-making, willpower, and mana control matter just as much."
"The Academy would rather produce competent variants than high-level corpses."
The classroom became even quieter.
"You should already know that first-year students are not allowed to leave academy grounds during their first six months."
"However, exceptions can be made in emergencies. But for that exception to happen, you will need an approval letter from your class instructor."
She pointed at herself. "Which would be me."
"And remember attempting to sneak out will result in immediate expulsion."
Several students who had clearly been considering exactly that option suddenly looked much less confident. Apparently satisfied with the effect of her words, Matilda smiled once more.
"Now then enough about facilities and rules. Let’s move on to something more important."
She looked around the classroom before asking, "Can anyone tell me the very first and most fundamental thing every Variant who wishes to become great needs?"
Sabrina immediately raised her hand. "Mana control."
A voice came from behind her. "Nerd."
Sabrina instantly turned around and found Zac sitting there with a completely carefree expression. She shot him a sharp glare before turning back toward the front.
"Do you have something to say, Mr. Delencore?" Matilda asked.
"Who?" Zac looked around for a moment before realization dawned on him.
"Oh, right. That’s me. Delencore. hahaaa..." He scratched his cheek. "Yeah, that’s my name."
Several students looked at him strangely. "Anyway," Zac continued, "I think it should be coating."
Matilda raised an eyebrow. "Hmm. I didn’t expect you to know about coating already."
"I happened to travel on a flying beast once, and the trainer mentioned it."
"Fair enough." Matilda nodded. "But while coating is one of the first techniques every variant learns, mastering it requires mana control first. So technically, your answer is wrong, and Miss Sabrina’s answer is correct."
Sabrina immediately turned around and shot Zac a victorious look before facing forward again.
Zac simply rolled his eyes.
"Now then," Matilda continued, "let’s talk about mana control. What is mana?"
This time, Shobin raised his hand. "It is the energy used to perform our skills and abilities."
"Correct."
Another student raised a hand. "It is the mysterious energy that invaded Earth during the Apocalypse."
"That is also correct."
"Anyone else?" Matilda glanced around the room. This time, nobody answered. "Fine. Both answers are correct, but neither of them answers my actual question."
"Mana did invade Earth during the Apocalypse, and yes, it is the energy source that allows us to use our skills and abilities."
"But I asked what mana actually is." Seeing no one answer, Matilda gave a small smile. "To tell you the truth, scientists are still trying to answer that question."
"Due to our limited understanding and technology, we simply haven’t discovered its true origin." She paused for a moment.
"As far as our current understanding goes, mana is the culmination of both yin and yang. That’s right, the two fundamental forces involved in the creation of everything."
"And the reason mana can be used by everyone and exists within everything is because of this."
"We still don’t know why the apocalypse happened or our planet suddenly expanded in size or why the continents merged together."
"The only explanation we currently have is that all of it happened because of the influence of mana."
"Many scientists believe that just as humanity evolved through mana, the planet itself underwent a form of evolution after accumulating enough of it."
"And that evolutionary event became what we now call the Apocalypse."
She shrugged slightly.
"Of course, these are still only theories with a lot of plot holes. That’s why there are countless hypotheses surrounding this topic, but nobody has definitive proof."
"So keep the information in mind and leave the problem to the people who’ve dedicated their entire lives to researching it."
She smiled. "Our job is much simpler, which is to learn how to use it as effectively as possible."
Matilda allowed a few moments of silence for the information to settle in the students’ minds.
"Now, since mana has completely merged with our atmosphere, every time you breathe in oxygen, you also breathe in mana alongside it."
"The mana enters your body together with oxygen, and just as oxygen travels through your body using the heart as the pump and the blood vessels as the pathways, mana travels through your body using your meridians."
"When you exhale carbon dioxide, the older mana inside your body is expelled along with it and mana control is the art of controlling that flow."
"And to do that effectively, the first thing you need to do is open all twelve meridians and all three hundred and sixty-one acupoints in your body."
"This will be your first task as students of the academy, and I expect every one of you to complete it within the next month."
Everyone nodded.
Then Marty slowly raised his hand. "Ma’am, how long does it normally take to open a single meridian?"
Matilda thought for a moment before answering. "For an average person, it could take a few months."
Marty nodded, then froze. "Wait." The rest of the class also looked at her in bewilderment.
"Ma’am, if a normal person takes months just to open a single meridian, how are we supposed to open all twelve in one month?"
Matilda smiled. "That’s your problem."
The entire class immediately felt betrayed by their own teacher. She waved her hand, and a small booklet appeared in front of every student.
"This book contains the exact locations of all twelve meridians, along with instructions on how to open them."
Kelly raised her hand. "Ma’am, even with these instructions, opening twelve meridians in a single month sounds almost impossible."
Matilda smiled again. "Find a way."
"After all, aren’t you all supposed to be the best of the best of your generation?"
This time, Zac raised his hand. "The book only mentions the meridians. What about the acupoints?"
Matilda nodded approvingly. "As your meridians open, your acupoints will naturally begin opening as well. So you don’t need to worry about them separately."
Her expression suddenly became serious. "And for those who fail to open all twelve meridians within one month, you will spend time in the summer and winter cell."
"If you’re short by one meridian, you’ll spend one day there, and if you’re short by five, you’ll spend five days."
"And trust me, you do not want to be there."
Daniel slowly raised his hand. "Ma’am, isn’t that a little cruel?"
Matilda looked at him for a moment before realization appeared on her face. "Right. Your older sister studied here too, didn’t she?"
Daniel nodded.
"Then you probably already know about the Summer and Winter Cell. In that case, perhaps you can explain to your classmates just how unpleasant that place is."
She then picked up her things and walked toward the door. "Unfortunately, our time is up and I have other business to attend to. So, I’ll see you all next week."
And with that, she left the classroom.
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