Chapter 8: FIRST CLASS AND LEARNING THE HEAVEN SEVERING SWORD ART

The atmosphere inside the classroom remained gloomy after Professor Cross finished speaking about demons and death.

No one looked excited and prideful anymore. Even the noble students sitting near the front had stopped acting arrogant.

Professor Cross closed the projections and glanced at the room..

"Fear isn’t a bad thing," he said while leaning against the desk. "The ones who survive the longest are usually the ones smart enough to understand how important when to retreat is."

Daniel looked already half dead. "...I suddenly miss my old school," he muttered while staring blankly at the black screen.

"You mean the one where your biggest enemy was homework?"

"Yes." Daniel nodded immediately before placing a hand on my shoulder. "That life was beautiful."

It attracted a few laughs from the nearby students. Professor Cross ignored them completely.

"Starting today," he continued, "your practical combat lessons officially begin."

The large screen behind him changed and displayed different types of weapons one after another. Swords, spears, bows, daggers, gauntlets, staffs. 𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝚠𝚎𝚋𝗻𝗼𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝚘𝐦

"Every awakened chooses a weapon eventually," Professor Cross said while crossing his arms. "Some of you have already selected your weapon. Most of you haven’t. Make sure you choose it during this class."

His gaze slowly swept across the classroom.

"One hour from now," he said flatly, "all E-class students will report to the weapon training grounds."

Then he paused slightly before adding:

"And if I feel you aren’t cut out for it, I will personally expel you."

For a moment his eyes lingered on me before he walked out of the class. ’Not my fault for being an F rank.’

The weapon training grounds were massive. Weapon racks stretched across the grounds in organized rows. Some students had already brought expensive personal weapons from home.

Meanwhile, I quietly grabbed a standard academy sword from the rack. My family is not rich enough to buy a luxury sword. They had to spend a fortune just to pay my tuition fee.

A nearby student came towards me and snorted.

"The F-rank chose a sword?"

Another student laughed while adjusting the gauntlet on his hands.

"What a combination."

Even Daniel looked nervous while holding an absurdly large spear beside me.

"...Brother Ren," he whispered while struggling to balance the weapon properly, "shouldn’t swordsmen usually have good mana compatibility?"

"I like swords. I always wanted to be swordsman." I replied.

"If you say so." He adjusted the spear again before nearly dropping it onto his own foot.

"Oww...Why is this thing so heavy?"

I couldn’t contain my laughter. He’s hilarious. Meanwhile the mockery around me continued.

I looked down at the sword in my hand quietly. The Heaven Severing Sword Art existed inside my mind, but physically mastering it was completely a different thing.

I exhaled deeply and started performing the first form. At first my movements were stiff and unnatural. But as time went by, my breathing became normal, my movements becoming smoother. Everything in the background felt like it was fading. I was becoming one with the sword.

"...What kind of sword style is that?" Someone said, "It looks flashy."

Before I could continue practicing, a familiar voice suddenly entered my ears.

"Well now this is unexpected. Never knew you were into swords."

I turned only to see Serena walking towards me while spinning a spear in one hand. Several nearby students immediately moved aside for her while admiring her. Serena’s golden eyes shifted toward the sword in my hand before narrowing slightly.

"Nice sword style you got there. I honestly thought I was looking at a sword master."

"Is that suppose to be a joke?" I frowned.

"No seriously." She pointed the tip of her spear toward me. "You really looked like an expert at work tbere. I really wanna fight you." She licked her lips.

"I don’t wanna fight. And are you a battle manic?" The story never mentioned her being a battle junkie.

Serena stared at me for two seconds. Then burst out laughing,"Haha.. maybe I am. I’m leaving now, let’s seriously fight one day." With that she started walking away.

Before I could respond, Professor Cross walked towards me "Honestly at first I thought, you would be the first I would expel today." He chuckled.

"Well, sorry for not living up to your expectations." I replied.

"Don’t. You have enough potential to stay in this academy. I have seen your sword style. It’s deadly, even without much mana you were efficient in performing it." Professor Cross seems to be thinking of something, "But remember to choose your fight well."

"Thank you for your advice Professor." It was a good advice. One that I would definitely follow. With that Professor Cross left and walked towards the other students.

I then continued trying to learn the first form of the sword art. An hour passed by and suddenly something clicked. The world around me became quiet. Qi covered the entire blade.

Slash

A sharp pressure descended across the training ground. The sword couldn’t handle the overflowing amount of qi and shattered instantly.

Absolute silence spread throughout the training ground. All the eyes were on me. But didn’t create a scene probably because of fear of Professor. Daniel looked utterly devastated

"...Brother Ren," he whispered slowly, "why are you so strong despite being an F rank?"

"Your rank doesn’t determine your entire life. There are exceptions to everything. And I am one of those exceptions." I probably looked cool while saying that. Then a blue screen appeared quietly before my eyes.

[Quest Complete]

[Do you want to receive your rewards now?]

"No," I muttered under my breath. There would be too much commotion if I get my rewards here.

Professor Cross wanted to say something to me but kept quiet and announced— "Training ends in thirty minutes." Then he walked away.

By the time training ended, the sky had already darkened. Students gradually began leaving toward their assigned dormitories.

The E-class dormitory building stood near the outer section of the academy grounds. Compared to the luxurious towers belonging to higher-ranked classes, the E-class dorms were extremely ordinary.

But still more luxurious than my studio apartment that I had in my last life. At least the academy wasn’t making us sleep in caves. It had a bedroom, a small living room, a bathroom and a small training room.

Someone knocked at my door. When I opened it, Daniel was there. He helped himself in and immediately jumped onto the sofa.

"Brother Ren..." he groaned while staring at the ceiling. "Weapon training is terrible. My entire body hurts."

"You nearly stabbed yourself three times."

"That spear was cursed. After I changed the spear my training went fine."

I ignored him before sitting down cross-legged on my own bed quietly. I finally claimed my hard earned rewards. The moment I accepted them, the information about Nine Void Steps appeared in my mind. And at the same time a burning sensation spread through my eyes.