Chapter 5 – First Rate Education

After cheering his sister up, they both began gobbling up their food like it was the most delicious meal they’d ever had.

It only until everyone was done and had seconds and thirds and in even fourths that Dillan finally asked Haru something that had slipped his mind in his concern but had come back to him now, “Son, I want to know what you want to do.”

“What do you mean?”

“Do you want go and receive classes for a bloodline warrior as well as the spirit classes, or do you want to take regular classes?” Dillan asked with a stern face.

As stated before, inbetween 9-10 years old children had their first year of general education. After their awakening ceremony, the government and different factions assessed a child’s potential and whether they were worth nurturing. A child and his family also had a better picture as to what their child could and could not accomplish.

Therefore, intermediate schooling was held for 3 years for free to the general public. These classes encompassed a little bit of everything, introducing children to different professions as well as a lot of general but important knowledge. Everything a person would need to get by in life, of course due to this being free education, there was little emphasis on specialties and teachers taught at whatever pace they desired.

Those that were truly smart managed to learn and those that weren’t could only ever fall behind by the wayside. Parents could pay to have their children enter better academies for intermediate schooling but the burden that placed on most families would be impossible for almost all commoners to shoulder.

Children with a bloodline or spirit power would be allowed to take special courses. These special courses had less children per class, better teachers, better resources and were also paid for by the government. It could be considered a first-rate education equal to what the best money could buy for a child without a bloodline or spirit power.

Except for those who possessed a bloodline or spirit power, they were entitled to the full 6 years of intermediate courses! Something commoners could never afford! Commoners would begin their practice of a trade at 13-14. It was as clear as night and day the treatment that those with a bloodline and/or spirit power compared to those who didn’t received.

Haru answered with no hesitation “I want to become a bloodline warrior!” was all he said, but inwardly, ‘I will become strong. For all of us!’

Dillan continued “Your bloodline won’t be valued. You have spirit power, but its low. Barely there, likely no one will help you on your journey, and you’ll have to start from the very bottom to work yourself up. You’ll be behind everybody else. Is this really what you want to do?”

No hesitation “Yes!”

Dillan waited a moment before nodding and giving him a warm smile, “Since this is your choice, your mother and I will support you in your decision. Just know, that if the burden becomes too great, just let us know and we will figure something out for you. You are never alone, you’ll always have us son”

“Me too!” Lily piped in from the side with her adorable little face.

“Then… In a few weeks… You’ll begin practicing swordsmanship with your uncle Erith.”

“Swordsmanship?” Haru’s eyes lit up. His father had grown up telling him tales of different warriors, battling with special powers to different weapons. The sword had always appealed to him, but due to the importance of Bloodlines, he’d always had that one objective. Instead of being downtrodden, he was excited at prospect of learning swordsmanship!

“Yes. Erith is well regarded in this field. You will learn from him. I want you to prove to me that you have the determination and will power to walk down the road of your choosing. If you can get his approval, and become his disciple. Then I will do whatever it takes to make sure you succeed as a bloodline warrior!”

Haru’s eyes lit up and he readily agreed.

The rest of the night went by quite quickly and soon the kids were put to bed. Haru could almost not contain himself. He thought himself lucky that even if he’d slept for three days at least it hadn’t been four.

The next morning came and sky revealed a blue hue with clouds of different shapes.

‘It’s a wonderful day!’ Haru woke up in great spirits. Today would be his first day attending intermediate courses at the best academy Eastesp City! The intermediate academy run by the government.

Haru dressed and ate but couldn’t contain his excitement. ‘These will be the first three years of education that will pave the way for me!’

Although intermediate education would be six years for a bloodline and/or spirit possessor, after three years they would have the opportunity to be tested and possibly be moved to a larger or more prestigious academy. Therefore, the first three years truly did set the foundation for a child’s future.

Due to his now changed status. Haru would be attending a different academy then the one from the previous year. He would be attending the direct Eastesp Intermediate Academy instead of the small one he’d been at before. Dillan walked his son to the academy gates before giving him some last minute advice and leaving him to begin his journey.

Due to his status, A teacher was already waiting for him at the academy gates to welcome him as a new student and all the other new ‘talented’ students.

Aside from receiving a better education, those with a bloodline and/or spirit power would not only receive the same education as those who didn’t, but they would also split their times in lessons that revolved around knowledge regarding bloodlines and/or spirit power, their uses, professions regarding them, and how to harness and use their own abilities as well as grow them!

Haru watched as more and more children arrived. His father had wanted them to get there early, so he’d shown up before most of the students. Before long, everyone had arrived. There were 28 new students for this class. 8 of which possessed spirit power. It was a larger class than usual, most new classes averaged around 20 new students.

Most of the children were timid. It was only those with fancy clothes that seemingly came from a good background that were usually outspoken. In fact most of the students in the new class seemed to come from good families. It only made sense that those with bloodlines would usually intermingle with others with bloodlines. Over time, it was no different than speaking of those who have wealth. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

Eventually one of the students with simple clothes was the first to speak to Haru. “So, what’s your bloodline?” A lean boy about the same height as Haru asked him with some hesitation.

Everyone was the same age, and all of them were brimming with excitement to learn about the wonderous world they lived in.

Haru proudly answered “Snake type bloodline.”

The boy’s eyes grew large before looking a little more timid “That’s rare… I have a fox bloodline.”

Haru’s eyes widened “Ooooh! That’s really good! What can you do???”

The hesitation in the boy’s eyes lessened “Nothing yet. But my moms and dad have the same bloodline. They have super fast reflexes. Really good speed too.”

Haru nodded with excitement.

All of the students were currently discussing their bloodlines and their abilities if they had any. It was clearly what they were all most excited about. Haru already knew that perhaps his bloodline was nothing to brag about, so he chose not to take the initiative to speak with anybody else. He just let the boy introduce himself as Will and then prattle on about his family.

Even as they all shared about themselves, Haru was feeling more and more invigorated to become a bloodline warrior ‘I’ll definitely succeed!’

The more he heard about everybodies bloodlines, the less inferior he felt compared to them. He began thinking that perhaps the instructor from before had jumped to conclusions. After all, none of these bloodlines seemed extraordinary at all.

Soon they were all herded into their classroom and the teacher introduced himself.

“Good Morning children. I am your primary teacher. You can call me teacher Linlin. I’ll be teaching you everything that the ordinary students don’t have a right to learn. That’s right! I’ll be teaching you about bloodlines and spirit power!”

He gave all the children a few seconds to get their ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’ out of the way and calm down a bit before continuing.

“As you all know. A bloodline is an incredible thing. It makes an ordinary person gain the possibility to become extraordinary. Therefore, those of you who don’t want to share your bloodline with everyone that is fine. Those that do, that is fine as well. There is no particular harm in sharing, as it will never truly be a secret as all teachers in any of your schools will have this information. It won’t be too hard to find out for somebody. Of course, there is some benefit to keeping it to yourself, so I won’t force anybody to share.”

“Today is merely your first day. I will be explain the different classifications for bloodlines and some basic information. I will then, as I will after any lesson. Allow for questions and answers. I will teach you all to meditate.

Those with spirit power will need to do so in order to increase their power, capacity, control, and develop abilities.

Those of you with bloodlines will never truly need to do so. But let me tell you now. Every great bloodline warrior that has ever existed has acknowledged that without proper meditation they would never have truly synced with their bloodline and discovered the secrets within!”

Everyone was on the edge of their seats. Even if the teacher were talking about making eggs everyone would be paying close attention. It was the first day and everybody was anxious to learn, like a new sponge soaking up water, this was the time they were most willing and interested to digest new information!

“First let me begin by telling you, that bloodlines are categorized into different ranks.

Embryonic, Common, Rare, Variant, Legend, Myth, Unique

These seven ranks were slowly established overtime to grade all bloodlines.

Now I know you all have a lot of questions, so let me just answer some of the more obvious and common ones. Their ranking 1-7 doesn’t mean their ranked from worst to best or vice versa. Each rank means different things and can encompass a vast range of possibility! A common rank bloodline such as that of a wolf can be more powerful or useful than a myth creature with worthless attributes or ability. Although a case such as that is extremely unlikely, but a case such as a common bloodline being better or more useful than a rare one happens quite often.”

“Teacher! I’ve never heard of some of those rankings!” A commoner student yelled.

Linlin looked right at the student as if the world had ended scaring the student into sitting up straight.

“First off. No interrupting me in my class. Second of all, you raise your hand when you have a question. Understood?”

“Ye-yes!” the boy yelled suddenly too scared to even remember what he’d asked.

“I’ll have you know… What you just asked is one of the more commonly asked questions. After all, those who come from families without any bloodlines might not know this common piece of information.” The teacher smiled while taking a glance at each and everyone of them.