Course Picking (Compulsory Courses)

After we are done with the match, my team decided to come and gather at our lovely Lecture Hall again, in order to discuss what courses to pick for our first semester.

Hearing our plan, some of our classmates also joined us in this wonderful opportunity. Not to brag, but as royalties, Hada and I are quite famous among archstudents or just Kaput citizens in general. One for his vast amount of knowledge, the other for their high intelligence.

With this quality in hand, it's a given that some of them would like to hear our opinion on what course should they pick. That being said, those who came are either wise or not confident enough in their choices.

Like every college, the Academy also has its educational system, which led their archstudents to normally graduate after 4 years of study, or 3.5 years if you can achieve Cum Laude.

The difference is, the Academy is owned by the God of Death alongside his wife, the Goddess of Living Object. Every archstudents here are under His blessing, which made us smarter, faster, and stronger (theoretically).

This blessing can be seen on our front page, which is named 'Bonus Attribute'. To make it simple, it'll increase our total statistics. You know… those numbers written on our front page.

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There are 8 ranks in the Academy that will determine how much blessings we gain from the God of Death. We need a fixed amount of EXP to rank up from one to another until finally, we can graduate as Iron rank members of the Guild. Whose statistics are increased by 50%.

We need to gain at least 19 EXP each semester to rank up, with the exception of last semester which also includes a thesis, like every college that existed.

The problem is, our grades also had a huge impact on how much EXP we can gain each semester. We start at 24 potential EXP and can go as low as 12 potential EXP, this can affect how long we'll be here before our graduation.

"Alright, I recommend that all of you write your choice on a piece of paper first before putting it on the CSS (Course Selection Sheet)."

I spoke from in front of the class, accompanied by Chiya who'll be my assistant for today, or maybe for this 4 years? Or maybe even forever if she also wanted to enter the Guild after graduation.

She's maybe not the smartest Scientist out there based on how low her intelligence point is as a Scientist. But she seems remarkable at taking orders and paying attention to details.

"All seems ready, Your Highness." The ashen lady reported.

"Alright, first of all, there are 2 types of courses you can apply in the Academy, the compulsory or the required courses, and the elective courses."

As I said this, Chiya began writing all the courses we can apply for this semester. To be fair, the list was also written on everyone's CSS, but it's better if all of them pay more attention to the whiteboard rather than keep peeking at their sheet.

There are about 8 compulsory courses and 19 elective courses for the first semester.

"The total EXP we get from the required one is about 20, meaning it's enough for you to rank up, so you are not forced to take elective courses," I said firmly.

"But, I highly recommend you take the elective you're interested in, since there may be some courses on the same field that you like, and it requires you to take specific courses before it." I continued with my explanation.

"Your Highness, what if we didn't take some of the compulsory courses?" A girl dressed in white and cyan raised her hand.

"Then you need to take it on another semester, odd and even applies," I answered. It's quite a good question, to be honest. Not everyone is aware of the consequences of not picking them.

"You can't graduate without passing them, Busyana…" A soothing voice said to her.

As I seek who's talking, I saw the ever enchanting Melati, the holy ladies from the White Horn. They're the wives of Pandeka, smart and powerful in combat, however, their physics is rather weak for a Shaper.

A Melati always wears a white blindfold to cover their eyes, the only person who's allowed to see the pure form of their beauty is no other than their husband.

You may think it's quite weird and oppressive, but those ladies can still see as clear as most people do, maybe even clearer, not with their eyes though. Just like every other Ambawak, they have the power to see through anything that touches the thing they touched.

But! As a White Horn, they also possessed another art that helps them recognize objects near them, which is through breathing. Their breathing technique allowed them to see the detail of everything the air touches, even writings and colors.

"There are of course reasons why you need to take these courses in order to survive as an archstudent in this Academy, or as part of the Guild in general." I pointed at the compulsory courses written on the board.

[ISDC (Integrated Self-Development Course) A]

[SDC (Self-Development Course) Holy System]

[Family Development]

[Calculus I]

[Basic Biology I]

[Monsters I]

[Basic Geography I]

[Safety Protocol]

"Let's start from the top," I said moving closer to the list.

"ISDC will build your character, something you must develop if you're to be associated with the God of Death, or else… suffering might be in order… please don't displease him I beg all of you."

Not a lot of us ever meet His Holiness personally, but all stories of Him, are either exceptional because he's an unmatched genius, or frightening, since he's the pinnacle of a sadist.

I could hear everyone present in this room gulp, swallowing their fear from just imagining what he'll do to them. Even Chiya whom a huge masochist, had a terrified look on her face.

"Next is the Holy System course, I don't know if you guys already realize this, but… prayer and God's intervention are really strong in the New World… having a vast knowledge of the Holy System will help you a lot in battle, or just life in general."

Everyone seems to agree with me on this. If I said this to the older generation, however, they might start arguing with me.

"Family Development… ah this one… to be honest, if you don't have the idea to stay on Kaput Island, it might not be really important to learn this." My explanation was filled with hesitation.

"Hm? Why's that, Your Highness?" This time, Chiya herself personally asked me the question.

"After our graduation, our kingdom had a plan to make a new city in another province, one which will be populated by our generation. That means you need to build a family, raise some children, and all that stuff." I replied to her question.

"Do-does that mean we need to get married…?" A girl clothed in a white dress came to ask. Her aura is so pleasing to see as she was bathed in light and luminance.

She's a Sky Scientist, a Hyakra (Light tribe), a healer that I speak of before, the one who doesn't carry the Sap of Life.

Her bright skin turns red, and her yellow sparkling eyes look watery as if she's about to cry. I guess she's not ready yet for the idea of getting married.

"Yes. Though fear not! This Island is blessed by the Goddess of Love herself, Her Holiness Karissa. I'm sure you'll find your 'The One' while devoting yourself to the Academy."

Oh, this topic, there are actually tons of blessings from all kinds of Gods and Goddesses to our generations residing on this Island. I would love to speak more about it but now is not the time.

"Understood, Your Highness…" I kinda pity the girl, her mind is probably crowded at the moment.

"Back to our courses…" I looked to the next one on the list, and I immediately sighed.

"Calculus I… to be honest… fuck this course!"

I could hear laughter, bursting out of everyone's mouth. Sure there's a lot of us who are good at math, but we all can agree on why we hated it.

"Basic Biology I and Monster I, I put these two on the same group, since they both necessary for hunting monsters and surviving them." I continued with my explanation.

"Does this also include practical lessons, Your Highness?" Asked one of the Genka. He's one of my subordinates during my military study back on Selebes Island. You can easily see the manner of his discipline by the way he raised his hand.

"If you're talking about hunting then no, those are done outside of academic courses. Don't worry, we won't be fighting life-threatening monsters unguided yet, Guild is compassionate about their members and won't let them die in vain." I assuringly replied and the boy nodded as a sign of understanding.

"They don't mind you taking damage or traumatized though. Our whole organization is still owned by the God of Death, and He eats fear for breakfast, lunch, and dinner."

Once again tons of gulp echoed through the Hall.

"What else what else… ah! Basic Geography I. This one is important even for me. The geological structure and mapping of Kaput Island are highly different from the Selebes Island, let alone above the Sky." I explained with a bit of excitement on my face and tone.

"This also includes the Underground Land of Mushrooms! As a member of the Guild, our mission will be carried out in every part of Kaput Island, and… you get my point…"

Everyone seemed to accept my statement. For all of us, this whole island is relatively new, so no one can argue with this course.

"Lastly, Safety Protocol… this include the one on the field and the one on the laboratory—" I ran out of words for a while.

"Yeah… I don't know if us non Scientists or Vhisawi (Toxic tribe) will also get to experience the laboratory… but! I guess it can help with future courses whether they are compulsory or elective since the God of Death not yet gave us the detail on all of the courses in other semesters."