On Monday afternoon, I sat across the desk from Principal Johnston with the results of my placement tests.

“Mathematics, A,” he said. “Chemistry, B. Geography, C, you kept getting state capitals wrong, but your international geography isn’t too bad. Very artistic maps of Europe and Asia, by the way.”

“Thank you.” The freehand map drawing had taken me almost half an hour, but it had been worth it. Among other things, I’d realized that I knew the shapes of the continents and most countries reasonably well.

“Biology, B. Art, C, your drawing could use some work. History, D.” He looked up at me. “You got most of the questions up to the 20th century right, but you skipped half the questions in American history and virtually all the 21st-century questions.”

“I… haven’t studied those time periods well,” I admitted.

“English language arts, A. A well-rounded analysis of Coriolanus, and a very nicely written essay on the definition of masculinity.” He grinned. “I must say, it’s the first time I’ve had a student reference Mulan as a source.”

“You read my essay?”

“Mrs. Waters recommended it, said it was promising. Still, you do need work on your History, Civics and Geography. Having said that, I’m sure you can overcome these with a little determination.” He smiled at me. “Welcome to the twelfth grade, Mr. Drake. You can choose your electives - there are several we offer. You’ll need to take at least three electives in order to clear the Florida State Assessment Test, which you can take at any time that the class coordinator feels you have met the necessary standards.”

NEW QUESTLINE ALERT!

A QUESTLINE IS A SERIES OF RELATED QUESTS. BY JOINING EVERARD HIGH SCHOOL, YOU HAVE STARTED THE QUESTLINE: GET AN EDUCATION. SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETING QUESTS IN THE QUESTLINE WILL ENABLE YOU TO GAIN NEW SKILLS.

NEW QUEST: CHEMICAL WIZARDRY.

MASTER THE LABORATORY BY GAINING ‘A’ GRADES IN CHEMISTRY.

REWARDS: SKILLS UNLOCKED: CHEMIST, CHEMICAL ANALYSIS, EXPLOSIVES, +1 INT.

NEW QUEST: AS IN LIFE, SO IN ART.

SHOW YOUR PROWESS IN ARTISTIC EXPRESSION BY CREATING BEAUTIFUL WORKS. CREATE ONE OUTSTANDING PAINTING AND ONE OUTSTANDING SCULPTURE.

REWARDS: +1 DEX FOR PAINTING, +1 DEX FOR SCULPTURE

…. I can train my dexterity?

I can train my Dexterity!

The Agility Points limit could now be increased!

NEW QUEST: THE OPPORTUNITY TO PLAY.

DEMONSTRATE YOUR PHYSICAL FITNESS BY CHOOSING - AND EXCELLING - IN ONE OR MORE SPORTS.

REWARDS:

SPRINTING: RUN THE 400 METER TRACK IN 80 SECONDS.

SWIMMING: SWIM 10 LAPS TO UNLOCK THE SKILL ‘SWIMMING’. SWIM 50 M LAPS IN UNDER 40 SECONDS FOR +1 DEX.

JAVELIN THROW: HURL A JAVELIN 50 METRES TO UNLOCK THE SKILL ‘JAVELIN STRIKE’ AND GAIN +1 PER.

ARCHERY: ACHIEVE MASTERY OF BOW TO UNLOCK THE SKILL ‘DEADLY SHOT’.

BONUS REWARD: COMPLETE ALL FOUR SUBQUESTS TO ACHIEVE MASTERY OF THE GAME AND +1 VITALITY.

And I can also train my Vitality!

I was definitely completing this quest. The skills that could be gained were impressive - but the real bonus was the vitality boost.

I definitely needed every point of that I could get!

“Mr. Drake?” Principal Johnston was looking at me. “Are you all right?”

“I’m fine, sir,” I replied. “Just… a bit overwhelmed.”

“Well, that’s understandable,” replied the principal. “Off you go, then. Set your schedule, and since your hearing is cancelled, from tomorrow you and your sister can join school.”

I went through the rest of the quests in the ‘Get an Education’ questline as I headed back.

QUEST ALERT: GERM THEORY.

SHOW YOUR INSIGHT INTO MICROORGANISMS, PLANTS, AND ANIMALS TO GAIN AN ‘A’ IN BIOLOGY.

REWARD: SKILLS UNLOCKED: FIELD SURGERY, SKILL UPGRADES: MEDTECH, FIRST AID, +1 INT.

QUEST ALERT: TURN IT ON AND SEE IF IT SMOKES.

MASTER THE WORKSHOP AND GAIN AN ‘A’ IN INDUSTRIAL ARTS. CREATE A UNIQUE PROJECT FOR A BONUS.

REWARD: SKILL UPGRADES: MECHANIC, SKILLS UNLOCKED: ELECTRONIC INTERFACES.

BONUS REWARD: FOR A SUFFICIENTLY INTERESTING UNIQUE PROJECT, +1 TO DEX, +1 INT.

QUEST ALERT: THE LORE OF THE PAST.

ROUND OFF YOUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE ALIEN INVASION WITH A DEEPER INSIGHT INTO 21ST CENTURY HISTORY AND THE ATTENDANT ‘A’.

REWARDS: +1 INT, SKILL UPGRADE: HIERARCHY LORE.

The last quest showed me that there was a lot I didn’t know about the alien invasion in the first place.

I calculated that if I got all the six quests from this questline, I’d get a whopping bonus of +4 DEX, +4 INT, +1 PER and +1 VIT. Plus a whole bunch of new skills and upgrades.

I needed the INT increase if I wanted to continue using Prophet’s Roulette beyond Level 3. Once I went to Level 4, it would cost 300 MP, which was more than my entire Mental Energy pool. And I needed the DEX and PER increases. Just in case I ever got into a fight again.