Cole's mind went into full sprint mode as he tried his best to structure all of the information in his mind.
"Ummmm," Cole said while rising to his feet.
"Spiriters is the general name given to a group of people capable of using their innate spirit for combat," Cole responded.
The teacher's gaze shifted slightly, his eyes thinning to a slit as his brows creased.
"Is that all you know?" the teacher asked again.
Cole stood in his seat, his face flushing red as he lowered his head.
"Hmmm, you really need to work on your knowledge." The teacher said curtly.
The students in the class all looked towards Cole, the slight disgust in their eyes deepening further, though some just mocked him quietly.
With his lowered head, Cole could still catch some of their reactions from the side of his eyes, but he chose to ignore them.
"I am Edward Fingard, by the way," the man said nonchalantly.
"Since you have proven to know so little, I guess we will be having the full lecture," Edward said while glancing at Cole.
"Spiriters are the pillars of society that use their innate spirit for combat, like he previously said," Edward continued.
"But there is much more to that; Spiriters use the innate spirits, which grant them various abilities to cultivate too."
"How do they do that? They do so by using "Spirit Mantras" or "Soul Mantras."
"Spirit Mantras are generally available to be public and can be bought using money, but Soul Mantras aren't; they are completely unique and belong specifically to the respective innate spirit."
"They can't be shared or used by others," Edward poured out.
Cole still stood in his seat, listening to the teacher's words as best as he could.
The remaining students wore a slightly bored expression on their face but still didn't dare to slack.
"Using Spirit Mantras or Soul Mantras allows Spiriters to absorb life energy that could be found everywhere to advance stages."
"But just absorbing life energy isn't enough to progress through major stages; something really important is needed," Edward said.
The last statement awoke the students, all of them reshuffling, waiting for the important point.
"I won't be telling you, though; reasoning is a very important point for Spiriters, so figure it out yourselves."
Cole was also quite intrigued by that point, but Edward's refusal to tell them only left him disappointed.
The rest of the lectures went smoothly, with Edward expatiating on a lot of points about Spiriters, broadening Cole's horizon.
"Before I leave, in the next class your cultivation level will be measured again, and the person with the most progress will be awarded extra points." Edward said that before leaving.
That further invigorated the students, as most of them immediately left their seats to chat with their friends.
"I will cultivate as hard as I can; I really need those points." One student said to his friend.
Cole observed their interactions with a faint smile, though internally he too felt a deep sense of urgency.
Having no friends yet in the academy, Cole could only remain in his seat, only sharing one or two conversations with Bryan.
About 10 minutes later, this time a woman walked into their classroom; it was a very muscular woman with deep scars running across her face.
Her steps produced deep sounds that resonated throughout the class, commanding respect from anyone that set their eyes upon her.
She got to the front of the classroom under the students' gaze before scanning across the class.
"I am Eleanor Roid, and I will be teaching Spiriters Combat," the woman said slowly.
"The class will be divided into two parts, a part focusing on the theoretical aspect of combat and another part focusing on the actual combat.
The students grew excited, their freshness in full display.
"Finally a chance to learn actual combat," Cole also thought excitedly.
Eleanor waited for the class to quiet down a little before deciding to proceed.
"Combat can be decided into two parts, the first being the hand-to-hand combat and the weapon combat."
"Though weapons are very important in combat, they aren't the only deciding factor. Someone holding a weapon might still brutally lose to an unarmed person."
"The moment you realize that fact, combat becomes something you truly find important."
"Most Rogue Spiriters, who are Spiriters not registered under the Association tend to only fight using flashy abilities and forget skills."
"And this is why, most of the time, official or trained Spiriters are better than Rogue ones."
Cole's eyes widened when he heard that, further highlighting his right decision to attend the academy.
"The basics of combat are the form and posture," Eleanor continued.
She proceeded to demonstrate some basic combat postures for the students and discuss other aspects needed in combat.
The sun gradually ascended into the sky as the class continued on.
"Get ready for combat training; it will begin in 20 minutes," Eleanor said as she left the classroom.
The students flared up again as they left their seats along with their classmates, but this time to get lunch.
"Are you going to have lunch now?" Bryan asked Cole while he stood up.
Cole hesitated to respond slightly, as he wanted to be as frugal as possible with his Academy points.
The meals he had for the previous two days drained his academic points slightly, leaving him with just 45 points.
"Ummm, I think I will pass," Cole responded after thinking for a while.
Noticing Cole's expression, Bryan was able to guess Cole's situation and his plans.
"Lunch is on me," Bryan responded with a smile.
Life in the slums taught Cole some very important lessons, the main one being.
"Grab a free meal any chance you get."
"Ohh really, no problem then," Cole responded as he stood on his feet.
The journey towards the cafeteria was awkwardly silent between the two roommates, as Cole was currently lost in his thoughts.
"Why is he being so nice to me?He can't be one of Doctor Thomas's men, could he?" Cole pondered as beads of sweat began forming all across his face.