Chapter 7: Class

There is only silence between them. Karl decides to break it. "So, how are you feeling now?"

"Better. Just a few cramps here and there." Karl smiles at that.

"You seem in a good mood. Did something happen?"

"Well, I got to know how an average man in the early 1900s feels after a late night of drinking and coming home to see his wife. Let me tell you, it's a great feeling."

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Look, apparently someone broke into my room yesterday and beat my roommate, Kareena, to a pulp."

"How do you know that?"

"Look at the news."

"IT CAME ON THE NEWS?"

"Stop yelling, dumbass. Obviously, I'm talking about the school news." Andressa sees Karl's unsatisfied expression.

"Oh, you lost your memories. There's an online page managed by the news club. They post the latest news, announcements, or any other school-related things. Give me your watch." She grabs Karl's hand and types a few buttons on it.

'Good info.' Karl reads the article at the top of the page.

"A FEMALE KNIGHT APPRENTICE WAS FOUND BEATEN UP IN HER OWN DORM. IS KNIGHTHOOD GONE IN BLACK PEGASUS ACADEMY?"

'Knighthood? What is that? And she was a knight? I didn't see any sword in her room.' Karl looks at Andressa.

"You want to ask something? Shoot away."

"Um, what's knighthood and a knight? Aren't we in a mage academy?"

"When a super strong person performs an incredible feat, they are awarded the title of a knight." Andressa explains while moving her hands up and down, making her look very cute.

"Also, when a Sentinel Family sees potential in a knight and takes them in, that knight receives knighthood. This means their offspring are also knights and are required to serve the very same family until the end."

'This is straight-up slavery and abuse of power. But what is a Sentinel Family anyway?'

"What is a Sen—"

"After the Crack, the remaining Stellars created their own families to pass on the knowledge of the Great Sage. But as generations changed, the families prioritized their own offspring over the public. Rumors say they were afraid someone with greater talent and proficiency would take their power away. So, to avoid that, they just stopped sharing their spells and tactics."

Andressa gives Karl time to process this information. Seeing the lack of response, she continues, "Honestly, this is just greed at this point. Their hunger for power will be the doom of humanity. The battles on the Red Border are the prime example of that. The difference between the top-class foot soldier and a low knight is so large that you can't even call it a comparison. All the normal mages and warriors are just dying while these knights piss on us from above."

Andressa grits her teeth. "The knights are scarce. They can't cover the entire border, so my father has to stall the enemies until the knights come and save him. Why? Why? Why?"

Karl stays quiet and listens to her. Tears fall from Andressa's eyes.

She looks down and cries. Karl just stands there.

"Sorry, you had to listen to my ranting again. Wait, was it your first time?" Karl doesn't answer.

"To end this greed and meaningless death, I will become a high knight and become the strongest. Then, I will release all the secret knowledge to the general public." Andressa looks up, and Karl sees her red eyes and chubby, big smile.

For some time, they continue to walk silently. Then Andressa suddenly asks, "By the way, how do you know the Phirsecots?"

"Well, let's just say I became Ian's brother-in-arms just yesterday." Karl smiles awkwardly.

"Wow, you became an apprentice of the knight who never fights."

"What? What do you mean?"

"You don't kn—Great Horizons, you got yourself into a mess," Andressa says in an exaggerated manner.

"Explain now."

"Here we go. Ian Desouza Phirsecot is the only child of the Phirsecot house. He was diagnosed with mana poisoning, which made him sicker the more mana he used. Just a few years ago, Ian's father, the head of the house, got crippled somehow. With no promising knight from the Phirsecot house, the Dandelion family kicked them out of its ranks. To save his house's respect and knighthood, Ian applied to various schools but got rejected by all of them. As a last option, Ian's parents sold almost all of their fortune and somehow got him into our school."

"And what's a brother-in-arms?"

"Basically, you got accepted into the Phirsecot house as an apprentice and swore to follow Ian till death."

Karl thinks for a second. 'A failing knight house that needs their hero to save them? Smells like a main character plot to me.' He smiles.

"Okay, I'll think about that."

Andressa looks at her watch. "Are we going anywhere specific?"

"Of course. We're going to our class." Karl sighs loudly.

After walking silently for a few minutes, Karl sees the same large wall from the wind range. But this one is not as tall. He notices dark clouds appearing in the sky.

In the distance, there is a large open gate with many students in different uniforms coming and going. Andressa notices Karl looking around. 'He's just like a kid.' She giggles softly.

"What?"

"Nothing. Welcome to the center of Black Pegasus Academy."

Karl and Andressa pass through the gate, only to be greeted by a giant Pegasus statue made from a black material. It stands at a height of forty meters. Fascinated, Karl looks around and notices his hair floating. He looks at Andressa and sees hers floating too. Every human in the academy has some kind of pull to them. Weak, but there's a faint pull.

'Is this due to that high-tier thunder range?'

"Don't worry, this will go back to normal after a while," Andressa assures Karl.

"Okay." Karl follows Andressa inside. The corridor has a vintage style with many rooms leading to different classrooms. Karl stands closely behind Andressa.

He has been ignoring this fact, but there is a significant height difference between him and everyone else. Somehow, this puts Karl in a bad mood.

"Is something wrong?" Andressa asks.

"No. Why?"

"Well, your face looks like a beat-up rotten orange."

"Shut up."

Andressa continues walking, and Karl follows closely. Without hesitation, she enters one of the classrooms. Karl follows but sees a man writing on the blackboard with a book in his hands.

"Wait, can we just go like—"

Without listening to Karl, Andressa takes a seat in the far back. Karl clicks his tongue and sits near the front row by the door.

"In order to connect the magic circuit with mana chip A234CW, we need to circulate our own mana at the tips of our fingers, especially the index finger and the thumb, as they make the most contact with the mana chip. This diagram will be on Monday's test. Any doubts?" The teacher faces the students.

He looks around for any questions. None.

Karl notices the students wearing the same uniform as him and Andressa but not paying attention at all. Some are even sleeping. He turns back to the blackboard and sees the teacher standing in front of him.

"Mr. Avaritia, meet me in my office."

After a few seconds of silence, Karl hesitantly nods, and the lecture continues. Most of the lecture Karl just practices his magic. He summons a rock from the void storage and puts it back. 

'12, 13, 14, 15, 16...what?' The magic circle on Karl's hand disappears. Karl tries to summon it back. But nothing changes. 'What is happening?' Karl tries again but it doesn't work.

Karl's face visibly looks paler than before. As if he was starving for days. He starts to take heavy breaths unconsciously.

SLAM!

"That's it for today. We won't have any lectures till next week so make sure to revise this regularly. See you all on monday." The teacher leaves the class.