James made it back to the house as he went to check if his parents made it back yet. Susy was still asleep and his still out parents looking for work.

He went to the living room and pulled out the hob goblin monster core from his bag as he attached the bag back to his waist and sat cross legged on the ground.

James held the core with both his hands across from his chest and closed his eyes. It was finally time to make use of the big core for him to advance further. He could have sold it to Elena for even more gold and possibly gotten a water spell for himself or nature one for Susy from Mattias but that was unnecessary now.

Holding the monster core James sent mana out from both hands to create a bubble which encased it. He contineued to fill the bubble until it was completely full.

Taking a deep breath, he pumped out even more mana faster until the core crumbled apart. Switching from pushing mana he pulled in instead taking in the essence through his arms as James directed the flow in a smooth and slow pace to his core.

His body started to heat up rapidly as his body started turning red and his senses became overwhelmed. He could feel his blood was boiling while sweat coated his clothes. James noticed he felt full almost like he ate way too much food and drank too much water. James had to reign in his mind as he used his meditation skill to keep focused and completely drain the core. The essence from the monster core after passing through his arms and body entered his mana core smoothly the whole time.

This went on for a bit as he almost lost control a few times but eventually managed to gain back control at the last second. James felt no more essence traveling through his arms and released the mana bubble as he heard a ding.

Checking his stats James grinned ready to take on school now.

:::Ding: Gained- 2 levels

Gained- 1 Str

Gained- 2 Vit

Gained- 1 End

Gained- 3 Int

Gained- 1 Wis

Class: Apprentice Manaweaver Subclass: N/A Race: Human Level: 3

Health: 35/35 Stamina: 30/30 Mana: 100/100

Stats: Str-5 Vit-7 End-6 Int-10 Wis-7 Wil-8

Skills: Mana Sense Lvl 1, Meditation Lvl 1, Manaweaving Lvl 1

Spells: Lightning Augment Lvl 1, Wood Manipulation Lvl 1

The hobgoblin was something James could not take on for awhile so having the monster core allowed for huge gains. His mana increasing was the most important because he wanted to eventually learn shadow clone because the possible uses were endless.

He was about to start working on learning ice lance but was interrupted when Susy came downstairs rubbing her eyes.

They had a bite to eat as James told Susy that while at school she was not to sign or agree to anything from anyone no matter what without him being made aware. He stressed it multiple times until she seemed to realize the severity. James couldn’t always be with his sister so he needed some type of insurance that she wouldn’t be tricked into signing away years of her life to some noble house.

They eventually got ready then headed out to make their way to register for school. James was carrying two bags filled with his and Susy’s essentials to bring to their new home. They got to the big admin building Angelina mentioned and made their way in together.

There was a counter with multiple receptionists in front of the entrance wearing different colored robes and number of crystals stitched most likely to receive anyone coming in. There was a giant lavish staircase leading up that split both left and right on the next floor up. Hallways were also all around the floor that they just entered and probably lead to other important parts of the building.

The counter had lines of kids with or without their families that the receptionists worked to help. Sometimes the receptionist would leave with whoever they were helping then came back awhile later alone as they went straight to helping the next in line. A lot of the receptionists looked bored when talking but James noticed one girl who looked around fifteen with dirty blonde hair, red eyes, a curvy figure, and a beautiful face. She looked over at James and Susy while her eyes seem to sparkle.

James grabbed Susy’s hand and brought her to line of the blonde girl. Susy was nervous around a bunch of people, but he just kept her busy talking to her about magic. He enjoyed the excited look she had when she got lost into the conversation.

The receptionists would leave with people and the line would move slowly over the next couple of hours. It was long and talking could be heard filling up the area. James noticed most of the people in the lines were humans, but some were young elves, beast kins, gnomes, and even dwarves which showed how diverse the school was.

It took a while but eventually it was James and Susy’s turn as they approached the blonde who finally came back sitting behind the counter.

“Welcome my name is May and I will be helping you finish registering for school. Names, elements, and town you came from please.” May went on to say.

“My name is James and I have the ice element with a minor affinity in wind. My sister here is Susy with nature element and holy as her minor affinity. We both came from the town of Othar and just got into the city yesterday.” James responded with a smile.

May listened and had a huge grin when seeing James’s smile then started tapping on a glass screen she grabbed from the counter for a while. She eventually also grabbed a bag from under the counter and asked them to follow her.

Holding her glass screen and the bag she brought them down the hallway passing other rooms bringing them to a door that led them outside the side of the admin building.

They followed a path as May started explaining things, “Welcome to Xavier Academy James and Susy. Before we continue, I must ask if you would like your own dorms in gender separated dorm buildings or would you like to share in the co-ed dorm meant for siblings?”

Susy tugged on his sleeve and James responded, “Co-ed please I would like to keep an eye on my sister.”

May smiled and started pressing onto the glass screen as she continued, “Good choice you both actually remind me of my neighbors from my hometown. Ah they were such kids, especially the boy. Now we are heading to the building to get your dorm picked out. The Academy provides the first semester of school free of charge. This includes books, classes, equipment, two spell incantations, dorms, and food. Do keep in mind that if anything needs to be replaced that you will be charged so make sure to be careful.”

Still pressing her screen, she pulled out two badges waving them over the screen then handing them to James and Susy as she explained, “These are your badges which you will use throughout your years here at the Academy. On the badge side there is a picture of a tome or spell book which is the symbol of the Academy. The other side has a miniature glass screen and five buttons below it. The button on the left when pressed shows your basic information that is registered on file at the school, your school credits which is of no concern for first years, and the time below it. The button next to it when pressed gives you information on classes you can pick, their locations, and time they start so make sure to go through them before tomorrow. The middle button when pressed shows a map of the Academy with a green dot that represents where you are. If you press the button again and say where you want to go a red dot will show up on the map and help guide you there as you head that direction. The fourth button when held and aimed add another student’s badge shows their information from the school’s files to your screen. The school says this is to encourage meeting other students and branching out blah blah blah but just be careful of pointing it at any nobles. The last button and the most important when held as you tap your badge against someone else’s will register their name on a list. You can double press the button while holding the name and then talking into the badge which will send the words into a text which they could read by clicking your flashing contact information. Also, when you press their name and the button holding it for a few seconds at the same time their badge will vibrate showing your name on their screen. If they press your name and the button together you will be able to talk to them through the badge. Sharing contact of others information is also possible by pressing the badges together while holding over the persons information on the screen.”

James was completely surprised as he thought, ‘This is completely different than my past life. I expected things to have advanced but not this much.’

Susy’s eyes lit up as she looked with expectative eyes at James already having messed with her badge while May talked. James smiled as he held his badge up already prepared and they saved each other so they could call or message each other whenever they needed.

They approached the building as May directed them to hold their badge in front of the door handle and with a click gave them ability to enter the dorm building.

They made their way up some stairs in front of them passing multiple floors as they continued up. Each floor had doors that most likely went down long hallways filled with dorm rooms. On the fourth floor they finally stopped and made their way past multiple doors until they ended at one in the middle of a playing white hallway.

Rory and Susy were just holding their badges looking completely overwhelmed.

May turned to them still grinning and finished with, “Well here we are at your new home. To enter your dorm, it is the same process as entering the building. You will find two sets of robes on each bed so make sure to take care of them. All the essentials for classes you will get from your teachers. There is an orientation tomorrow explaining more things which I am supposed to mention but I do not recommend. Make sure to take care of each other and I hope you enjoy your stay at Xavier Academy.”

May pulled out a badge from her red robes pocket and tapped it onto James in his hand giving him a mischievous grin while winking as she walked off.

Rory raised his brow as he looked at her leaving and watched as she swayed her hips most likely on purpose but was a pleasant sight regardless.