The students shifted in their seats as Vale prepared for the next topic.
"The next thing to discuss are a few things about the academy," he said. "Although I hope you all must have read these things in the guidelines booklet, I will summarise a few of the important points."
"Firstly," he said, "the first day of the week is the only day when you are allowed to go out of the academy campus for a few fixed hours. If you want to go out on any other day or for an extended period of time for whatever reasons, then you will need written permission from an instructor."
"Secondly," he continued, "discipline is a valued trait in the Nawarin City Academy. Any act of indiscipline will be dealt with severity. You will not break the rules, cause any ruckus in the academy, or engage in fights."
"Any kind of fight, if you wish, be it a friendly spar or some grudge-resolving fight, will be done under the supervision of an instructor only. We have proper arenas for such fights. And this is a rule that our principal takes quite seriously."
"Thirdly, as long as you are in the academy, you are expected to attend all the classes. If you miss any class, you must have proper reasons for it. And whether the reason is proper or not will be decided by an instructor only."
Vale recited a few more rules and regulations of the academy, and Athar registered them earnestly in his mind. He did not want to get caught breaking rules in his early days at the academy.
"And now, continuing about academy life," Vale said. "I am going to talk about two more things before we wrap up this class: resources and the point system of our academy."
The ears of the class perked up at this, their focus increasing after having somewhat lessened while hearing the academy rules.
"Every student is eligible for a certain quota of fixed resources for their cultivation. It includes Mana crystals, beast cores, pills and certain other things if you require them. This quota is decided by your cultivation rank, the grade of your beast, which year of class you are in, and the points you have received or accumulated from the academy."
"Apart from this fixed quota, every student is allowed to buy resources from the Resource Exchange counter of the academy," he said. "But there is a twist. You can only use the points you receive from the academy. No crystals or any other kind of material can be exchanged for resources."
"The only thing for which you can use your own crystals is to pay the dormitory fees. It goes without saying that you can make the payment in points too."
"Let me make it clear, I am not saying that you cannot bring resources from outside. You are free to bring as many resources as you can from outside. But if you want to exchange something from the academy, apart from the fees I mentioned, you will only use the points."
"Am I clear?" he asked.
"Yes, sir," the students replied in unison.
"Good," Vale smiled. "Now, the last thing for today. What is the point that I was constantly blabbering about?"
"For certain things, the academy awards you points. And as I already told you, these points are more or less the currency inside the academy."
"How are the points awarded? You can earn points by doing a lot of things. Attending each class gives you five points. Advancing to the next rank gives you a certain number of points depending on your rank. If you are able to somehow upgrade your beast, you can receive a large amount of points. Completing tasks from the instructor or the academy grants you certain points."
"And if you are caught breaking the rules or do something which is against the philosophy of the academy, points will be deducted too as a sort of punishment."
"Well, that is it for today's class," Vale said with a big smile. "Any doubts? Any questions?"
When none of the students responded, Vale gave a satisfied smile.
"I believe that the rest of your day is free," he said. "So, enjoy the day and explore the academy."
"But also keep the rules in mind," he said as he walked away from the academy.
As soon as Vale exited the class, a small wave of chatter emerged, and students soon started to leave. Since the class had been arranged quite early, most of the students had not been able to have breakfast, and hence their destination was the dining hall. Athar too followed the crowd.
The dining hall was located in the D block, which housed the students' rooms. It was a big hall that could seat more than one thousand students at once. Different sizes of tables—from those that could seat more than twenty at a time to smaller tables that could seat four—had been neatly arranged in the hall. At one end was a large counter from where the food would be served.
When Athar arrived in the dining hall, the place was already loud and chaotic. Students from all years seemed to have gathered in the hall as they were preparing for their classes. Athar too joined the line for the food, and very soon he had a plate full of breakfast.
This was going to be one of the finest breakfasts he had ever had in his entire life. Sandwiches, roasted meat of two types of magical beasts, and a nutritious soup were on the menu. A fulfilling breakfast, and Athar was certainly going to enjoy it.
He took a seat at a smaller table that was completely unoccupied. He placed his plate on the table and had taken a few bites of his breakfast when he felt a certain presence looming over him.
He looked up to find a thin-looking youth standing in front of him.
The youth was less than six feet in height and had a scrawny appearance. He was not dressed in the uniform of the academy and was wearing his normal clothes. And the state of the youth's clothes- battered and old; clearly indicated to Athar that the youth was as dirt poor as him.
"Do you mind if I sit here?" he questioned.
Athar shook his head, and the boy took his seat on the opposite side of Athar.
"My name is Terius," he said as he extended his hand towards Athar.
"Athar," Athar introduced himself as he shook hands with Terius.
"Did you join the academy in the sixth batch?" Terius questioned.
"Yes," Athar replied.
"I joined in the fifth batch," Terius informed Athar, who nodded.
"How is life at the academy?" Athar questioned after a moment of silence. "You know, how is the environment for the cultivation? The instructors? Are they good? And the resources?"
Since Terius had arrived a month earlier, Athar thought it would be a good idea to ask some questions that had been on his mind. The question caught Terius off guard.
"Well," he said after a moment of thought, "it depends."
"Depends?" Athar asked with a frown. "Depends on what?"
"What beast do you have?" Terius questioned instead of answering. "If you don't mind, of course."
Athar was about to answer when a sudden commotion from the entrance of the dining hall drew his attention, and he turned to see what it was.
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