Free Web NovelChapter 31: No Shortcuts
A few days passed, and the weekend finally arrived. A week in Eldrune felt strangely long.
The world followed a calendar that differed greatly from Earth’s. A year consisted of twenty-four months. Each month contained six weeks, each week ten days, and every day lasted thirty-six hours, divided into twenty hours of daylight and sixteen hours of night.
By now, Silas had spent an entire week at the academy.
He had settled into a fixed routine. Every morning, he woke at dawn to meditate before attending his classes. He participated in all five classes he had registered for and found each of them surprisingly informative.
The Survival class, contrary to his expectations, involved little practical training. It resembled studying from a textbook more than anything else. Even so, the knowledge it offered about surviving the Safe Haven wilderness and dangers proved fascinating.
The Races class was considerably more engaging. Throughout each lecture, the instructor projected holograms of the various races inhabiting Eldrune before assigning research papers on what distinguished each of them.
Like most of his classmates, Silas relied on the academy’s AI assistant to complete his first assignment. Yet, the result was disastrous.
"I asked you to conduct research," the furious teacher said as he tossed their papers into the trash. "Do not regurgitate ready-made information generated by an AI. The academy doesn’t tolerate shortcuts. Life doesn’t tolerate shortcuts. Eldrune doesn’t tolerate shortcuts."
The students stared at him in confusion. If they were not supposed to use the academy’s vast databases, where exactly were they expected to find such information?
The answer came at the end of the lecture.
"Go to the library and read some real books, for Gaia’s sake!"
Since then, Silas had become a regular library visitor.
Initially, he only sought books related to the world’s races. Before long, however, he discovered that the academy library was far more valuable than he had imagined. Even the most basic information about Eldrune could be found somewhere among its countless shelves.
For the price of a single crystal each month, students gained access to an enormous collection of books and were even allowed to borrow a few to read in their dormitories.
Soon, Silas found himself spending more time reading and meditating than doing anything else.
Training, ironically, occupied the smallest portion of his schedule, and not by choice.
His Mana reserves allowed him to train for only thirty minutes before exhaustion forced him to rest for nearly five hours to replenish what he had spent. Realising this limitation, he alternated between training, meditation, and reading. He also felt that meditation appeared to accelerate his Mana recovery, though he possessed no reliable method to confirm it.
What disappointed him most was that his Mana capacity remained unchanged.
No matter how diligently he trained or meditated, the ceiling remained firmly in place. Silas had already reached the limits imposed upon him, and despite days of thought, he had yet to discover a way to overcome them.
Without realising it, a gnawing thought invaded his mind and disturbed his thoughts.
’What if this is all I ever become?’
During his second Meditation class, he brought all of his questions and doubts to Laros. And the teacher answered them patiently.
"There are many forms of meditation," Laros explained. "We began with the simplest: establishing a connection with the world around you. Beyond that lies the exploration of the body, mind, and soul. Deeper still is communion with the natural forces governing existence itself."
Silas had never imagined meditation to be so complex, to be that long of a journey.
He had assumed that persistence alone would eventually grant him every benefit it offered. Instead, he learned that different forms of meditation yielded different results.
The method they currently practised served only as a foundation. It calmed the mind, strengthened one’s thoughts, and fostered a connection with Gaia.
The benefits sounded modest, yet foundations were essential.
"You wouldn’t throw someone into a raging ocean during their first swimming lesson and expect them to achieve anything," Laros said. "Meditation demands patience. Results do not appear overnight."
Because of that, Silas never attempted to enter the Time Mind World again. The fear of failure was vivid in his thoughts. If progress required time, then he would wait.
’I have to accept that meditation will give me results in the long run, not now. There isn’t a shortcut for me in this. I must stop chasing immediate results, be extra patient.’
He simply continued meditating whenever possible, especially after Laros strongly advised him to do so.
Amid this harmonious routine, only one complication remained: Darius.
After Silas stopped attending Fighting class, Darius began visiting his dormitory. On the third day, Silas returned from class to find his friend waiting outside in a camping tent.
Darius proved remarkably persistent.
Silas explained his reasons and stood by his decisions no matter how much Darius tried to persuade him otherwise. In the end, Darius settled for sharing everything he learned during Fighting class instead.
Unable to refuse such sincerity, Silas found himself spending several hours each day listening to his friend’s stories.
At first, he considered it an inconvenience. He had not asked Darius to sacrifice his time, nor did he enjoy idle conversation. Gradually, however, his irritation faded.
This was simply Darius’s way of supporting him, just as he had during the entrance examination. More than once, Silas considered confronting him about the inconsistencies surrounding his background and the half-truths he had told during the test.
Eventually, he never did.
’Darius supported me without hesitation. When everyone else doubted me, he chose to trust me. The least I can do is not repay that trust with suspicion.’
For now, Silas chose to let the matter rest.
Under normal circumstances, the weekend was a time for academy students to relax, complete assignments, and, for some, venture beyond the academy’s pocket world. That privilege belonged exclusively to second-year students and above.
For this weekend, though, first-year students had other responsibilities: forming teams. The announcement arrived through every student’s wristwatch on the final day of classes.
[Two days from now, all Frontier first-year students are required to join a team.
Teams will play an important role in the coming weeks, so take this matter seriously. No exceptions will be made.
A team must consist of at least five students and no more than nine.] freewēbnoveℓ.com
At first, Silas paid little attention to it. He saw little value in forming alliances within the academy.
’What could teams possibly accomplish? Compete for meaningless points and credits?’
His opinion changed after Darius visited later that day.
"Everyone in Fighting class has been talking about it," Darius said excitedly. "After Leopard explained things, the top-ranked students started getting swarmed with invitations. Teams won’t just train together. We’ll be sent on a mission before the major quest three weeks from now. High-performing teams receive additional resources, academy support, and improvements to their rankings."
Hearing that, Silas immediately reconsidered and noticed the value in this team’s concept. Silas had entered the academy believing that relying on others was dangerous. Yet as he looked at Darius’s grin, Silas realised that walking alone might not be enough.
He had no intention of becoming a follower, nor did he believe himself inferior to those standing above him in the rankings. If teams were necessary, then he would build one himself.
"Join me," Silas said.
Darius grinned.
"Looks like Team Day tomorrow is going to be interesting."
