Mortal Realm, Capital Planet of the Hoborg Empire, Main Continent, Cloudmount City, Immortal Pillar Academy. Guang Yang being pure of mind said to her. “When I'll be able to turn into beast form, I'll let you pet me if you want.” Despite the boy not implying anything, Norah's cheeks turned even more red and the other two laughed at the 'show' in front of them for a few moments. While the group of four were discussing with each other, more and more students entered the classroom and sat in the seats available all around. After more than twenty minutes, an adult woman entered the room and arrived at the center of the classroom. “Hello everyone. Welcome to the new students among you and welcome back to the others. I am Miss Vidori and today I will teach you about Mathematics.” When the teacher finished talking, Guang Yang heard some student groaning from despair. “It seems that some people don't like mathematics. To be fair, it is a little dry, but it's not as if we could do without. In my opinion, we might as well focus and finish it quickly since we would have to do it anyway, instead of wasting time complaining. In the end those people do more Mathematics than the ones putting in the effort. It's a bit funny.” He thought, amused. And apparently he was not the only one amused since the teacher added, a smile on her face. “I can feel your enthusiasm for this topic, but you should still focus a bit more or you'll have to redo this class. And I'm not sure that it is what you want, is it?” On my side, I saw Angelo nodding and mumbling. “Redoing the class would kill me, so I have to succeed in one try.” Despite thinking that he was quiet enough, the other three heard him and all of them chuckled, amused by the 'despair' in his voice. When he heard the others chuckle, he rolled his eyes and added in a fake angry tone. “What a bunch of good friends you are, making fun of of someone bad at maths. I'll remember it. Mmmph!” Hearing him, they doubled up in laughter which caught the attention of the teacher, who said. “Mister Guang and Pioli, Miss Lalande and Greenhill, although I do like this topic, I don't believe that it is as funny as you make it seem. So if you could focus a bit more, that would be perfect.” Hearing the teacher talk, they all sobered up and apologized in embarrassment before focusing on what she was teaching. When the young Fox started paying attention, he noticed that the topic of the day was something that his teacher and him already went over not long ago. It was reassuring since that way he would not feel lost during this class. Of course, as it was in math, once one understood the principles then it was only a matter of how to apply them. And with his increased brain capacity, and the low level subjects, then it was not that hard to follow and understand everything. Even those who did not like the topic, did not have too much trouble to follow by virtue of their Level 1 cultivation. After a bit more than an hour of class, the teacher stopped the lesson and declared. “Alright kids, it's over for this week. I sent some optional homework to all of you in case you wish to practice a bit out of class.” After waiting for a few breaths she added, looking at the new faces in class and added. “For the new students who are not aware, all homework for each and every classes are optional. However, my advice to all of you is to do them. That way you won't be stuck in the same class for too long. Especially those classes in the Adventuring Section where you mostly need to learn everything by heart. By finishing them early, you will be able to focus on the other classes which are harder and take longer to pass. Another advice is to focus on cultivation. That way, with your mind power improved, you will be able to pass those Adventuring classes quicker and more easily.” As they could feel that she was really trying to help them by giving those advice, everyone, even those who had trouble focusing during the class, noted down in their mind what she just told them. After all, they did not want to be stuck doing something they did not like for a long time. Or worst, be expelled because they did not make enough effort to succeed. In this universe, although cultivation was important, you still needed a social position which could be more easily acquired when one had a diploma from the Academy. After all, one could not go killing and robbing everyone to make a living, could they? Well, they could, but it was very risky, and death was but the least of those risks. So passing as many courses as they could to acquire a stable and enjoyable job was the best way all those students had to enjoy their lives while doing what they like. Also, cultivation needed resources, and those could only be acquired with money, or in this case Mana stones. Although the resources were produced endlessly, they were still only a limited amount every time they were actually produced. That was why all those Empires tried to conquer as many High Grade planets as they could to get those limited resources. In the end everything ended up as: Cultivation to get a job to get resources to cultivate. It was an unending cycle. Back in the classroom. Guang Yang pondered about what the teacher told them. As he was younger than everyone else there, his thoughts were simpler. “I really like learning new things, so why would I waste time in class not focusing on the subjects taught? It doesn't really make sense to me. Since miss Vidori said it, that means that there are probably some people who are doing that...” He then shook his head slightly and added in his mind. “It doesn't matter. What's important is that I do my best and that way teacher, mom and dad will be proud of me. That's the best way.” A small smile then appeared on his face. “Alright, see you next week, kids.” Miss Vidori then left the class and all of them knew that they had a few minutes of break time before the History/Geography class. Angelo then turned towards the other three and asked them. “So, did you check your schedule for this week?” The two girls nodded, but Guang Yang asked puzzled. “What do you mean 'for this week'? Does it change every week?” Norah then cut in the conversation and answered his question. “Not necessarily. Actually it depends on the teachers' availability. Since some of the latter are brought from outside, their main job may be something else, and thus, they may not be able to teach on the same day every week.” The blond boy then nodded and said. “That makes sense. So there are two types of teachers, the full time and the guest teachers?” The other three nodded and Lisette added. “Pretty much. What is your schedule for this week?” As the girl started to consider the other boy as a friend, she was curious if they had the same classes this week. That way, the could all be together. To answer her, Guang Yang activated his Holo-Bracelet and pulled up his schedule. Once he had it, he sent a friend request to the other three. When they all accepted, he made a group and sent the document with his schedule there for the others to check out. Angelo then said. “Right, I forgot that we could do that. Holo-Bracelets have so many uses that I tend to forget many of them.” Norah and Lisette both said. “Same here.” Guang Yang chuckled slightly and added. “You should all send your respective schedules in the group. That way we can all compare them.” “Good idea.” The other three said. When all of them had finished sending the documents, Guang Yang then asked his AI to make a comparative table between all of them, so that they would not need to make it themselves. Once it was done, they had the complete list with everything arranged well enough for all four of them to understand easily. Norah then sighed and said. “Although Holo-Bracelets are extremely convenient, I feel like we lost something when we started using them for everything.” Her tone and speech made Angelo chuckle. “Norah, you're only eight but you sound like an old woman. Tools are meant to be used. If we can use Holo-Bracelets to make our life more convenient, then why shouldn't we?” Guang Yang nodded and added. “My teacher told me that as long as you're not too dependent on a tool, then it's fine to use it as you see fit. However, she also said that relying too much on something external can be detrimental and only one's cultivation can be trusted completely.” The other three then looked at him with admiration and Angelo even exclaimed loudly. “Well said! Your teacher is amazing!” Lisette rolled her eyes at the ruckus he was creating and told him. “Alright, tone it down, mister 'I can't be quiet for more than two seconds'.” That destroyed his enthusiasm completely, and he became dejected on the side. Noticing that her goal was accomplished, she turned towards the youngest child and asked, intrigued. “When you said 'your teacher', do you mean the teacher you had in a previous school?”Hearing her question, the other two perked up their ears, eager to know more about their new friend. Guang Yang shook his head and replied. “Not really. I've never went to school before and that's why my teacher and my parents sent me here. They said that I should make friends and have fun, because I felt too lonely at home. Also, my teacher became my teacher when I was not even a month old, and since then she started living with us. To be honest, she is more like a second mother to me than a teacher... Mmmhh... Maybe both... Yes! A mother and a teacher!” The other three were very interested and they kept asking questions while Lisette mumbled under her breath, in a slightly jealous tone. “Having two mother who care about you... So lucky...” As no one heard her, Norah then exclaimed. “Woah! Since you were that young, you already had a private teacher! Wasn't it hard? By the way, I'm guessing that you come from a very influential family?” When he heard the last question, Angelo started to frown slightly, waiting for the other boy's answer. Guang yang nodded and answered. “My family and I only recently arrived in this Empire, but since everyone in my family are powerful then I guess you could call them influential. And yeah it was hard. I started cultivating when I was around one year old. But I really like it, so I don't mind too much. What about you guys?” When Angelo heard his answer, he seemed to have made a decision internally, which made him relax and a smile reappeared on his face. When he was about to start answering his question, he was cut off by the History/Geography teacher who entered and walked towards the center of the classroom where he started to introduce himself. After a brief introduction, he started the lesson and everyone stayed silent, listening attentively at what was taught. This time, there was no complaint made, and Guang Yang only noticed the time passing by when the teacher stopped the lesson and gave some optional homework for the students. Since the morning classes were over, the group of four decided to go eat together at the cafeteria before going to their respective lesson. They then left the classroom and used the antigravity elevator to reach the entrance of the building. After which, they walked quickly towards the shuttle's parking area, where they embarked in one of the available ones and took off towards the cafeteria which was at the center of the campus, being at the same distance from every part of the whole campus. The group of four were quite famished because of the increasing demand of their body related to the rise of their cultivation. Indeed, only by reaching the next rank would they be able to lessen the need for food, the latter being replaced by the absorption of mana. Of course, it was not perfect and food was also extremely useful for cultivation, so most cultivators still ate despite not needing to. While they were on the way, they mostly talked about some simple anecdotes, the four having decided to wait until they were in front of their food before resuming their previous conversation and move on to more interesting topics. Despite that, Guang Yang still learned that the other three started school only a week ago, and they were not alone. Indeed, maybe as a coincidence, this period of the year was one were the majority of new students enrolled in the academy, and by 'chance' he did as well. After a moments of pondering he thought. “Well, maybe it wasn't really by chance and teacher did it on purpose. Or it could be both. I'm from the Divine Fate family after all.” That last thought made him laugh, since using the principle of 'fate' to explain being able to enroll in an academy at the same time than other students seemed a bit ridiculous. He also learned that they all went to smaller private school before. Norah to one that catered to Nobles, while the other two went to one specialized for commoners. Or in other words, a cheaper and less elitist one. While they were talking together, they noticed that the shuttle arrived at the cafeteria, where the shuttle landed in the parking area. “Let's go eat! I'm dying of hunger!” Angelo exclaimed with excitement, while the young fox chuckled, and the other two girls rolled their eyes, simultaneously saying. “So loud.” “I'm a bit hungry too, to be honest.” Guang Yang said in his calm voice. Hearing him speak, The red-haired child (Angelo) put his arm around the other boy's shoulders and added with a dramatic voice. “I knew I could count on my new bro, unlike some people who would put me down just for sharing my feelings. *Sigh* Poor me!” To which Lisette said with her indifferent voice. “What a drama queen.” Although Guang Yang never heard that term, he could guess the meaning, which prompted another laugh out of him, thinking that his new friend was very interesting, even if a bit strange. When the four found an empty table with four seats, they immediately sat themselves and ordered the food they wanted through their ever useful Holo-Bracelet. When they were done, they decided to resume the discussion they had during the break earlier. Norah started. “So, Angelo, Lisette and I have Level 1 basic fighting class and Yang has his Level 3 basic fighting class this afternoon. When you showed it to us earlier, I really thought that I misread the words. You look so young and you're already a Level 3 cultivator...” She sighed and added. “And I'm still only at the Peak Level 1...” As Guang Yang felt embarrassed, he tried to justify himself. “I've only recently reached Early Level 3. I'm not that incredible.” When the other two heard them, they felt like hitting someone. Lisette even said. “The two of you deserve to be beaten up. Multiple time.” Angelo nodded to show his assent. “I can even help if you need to.” Norah then rolled her eyes and replied. “Since you're at Mid Level 1, even if little yang were to let you hit him, you wouldn't even be able to bruise him.” “That's... unfortunately true.” Angelo said, defeated. As Guang Yang did not want his new friends to feel down, he tried to cheer them up. “I'm sure that all of you will quickly reach my level, so you shouldn't feel to bad about it. After all, the Rank 1 is simply the beginning of cultivation and not something to be overly proud about.” The other three nodded and Norah said. “Don't worry, I have confidence that I'll be able to reach Rank 2 and maybe even Rank 3 if I'm lucky enough. So I'm not really jealous.” A beautiful smile then appeared on her face. Hearing her explanation, the other two added. “I'm the same.” “Same here, bro!”