Skill Forge: Broken Extra Character

Lost in thought, Tessa felt a twinge of conflict. She couldn't help but admire Jett's strength and composure, yet something about him unsettled her. It was as if he carried a weight that she couldn't quite grasp.

"Alright, come with me," Tessa said, ushering Jett to a door behind her.

Jett walked through the door and found himself alone in a much larger, empty room. The space was vast, its silence almost echoing the enormity.

"Tessa?" Jett called out, though she was nowhere to be seen.

"This is a Tier 1 conversion room," Tessa's voice echoed, seemingly from everywhere and nowhere. "The previous room was a Tier 0 conversion room. When a student's haul surpasses that of a Tier 0 room, they earn the privilege of using a higher tier. We have a total of four tiers, each with its own rewards."

"Well then, I'll just drop everything here." Jett brought out everything from his storage space.

Once again, the room wasn't enough to hold everything. This time, even Jett was surprised, though he didn't show it.

"Um, why don't we go a tier higher?" Tessa suggested nervously, causing a new door to appear. "This is really troublesome. I was told only a handful of students could get this far."

"If you insist," Jett said, walking through the door.

Now in Tier 2, the room was vast, definitely bigger than the previous one. It felt like standing in an enormous arena, its sheer size almost overwhelming.

"This should be enough, right?" Tessa hoped.

Jett again brought everything out of his storage space, and this time, there was more than enough room.

"Finally," Tessa celebrated inwardly. "The rooms are equipped with scaling magic to properly ascertain the worth of your loot."

A magic circle soon appeared under everything, scanning their worth. At that moment, Jett immediately activated his skill.

[Market Value]

"The total sum of points gained is 37,700," a few seconds passed. "Due to the Tier 1 special bonus, you also get an enhancement stone. Everything has been sent to your linked ring."

"Thanks, I'll take my leave now." A door appeared, and Jett walked back into the main building.

"I hope the service was to your satisfaction," Tessa said with a smile.

Jett smiled as he walked past her. '[Duplicate Thoughts B]: That's actually a really nice skill. It'll come in handy if I ever have to multitask,' he mused.

As soon as he exited, he met up with the others. Ray invited Jett to share a room with them so they could stay together, but Jett declined, saying he'd pay for his own accommodation.

"But it's not wise to spend money like that. Finn says it's more efficient if we all contribute for a lodge," Cedric said.

"True, but he's not that nice. Finn might have tricked you guys so he'd be the last to spend," Jett replied. "Besides, I honestly have enough to spare. Give me your hand."

"Why?" Cedric asked.

"Just give me." Jett pulled Cedric's hand that held his linked ring and shook it.

[Transfer Complete: 1000p]

"There you go," Jett smiled.

"Isn't this too much?" Cedric asked, panicking.

"What are you talking about? I got a lot of points for selling some monster drops. Plus, this is just an investment," Jett replied.

He also gave Ray 12,000 points and instructed him to share it with the others, including the girls, before sending them away. 'This way they can prepare better before this arc starts,' Jett thought as he watched them walk away.

*****

For the remaining two days, everyone prepared thoroughly with the help of Jett's points. They each utilized the newfound resources to refine and upgrade their equipment if needed. The atmosphere was charged with determination and anticipation.

Jett, on the other hand, chose not to venture out. Instead, he focused on training his Lumix abilities. He asked Cormac to procure specific items while he stayed indoors, honing his skills.

"You're finally back," Jett said, snacking on some meat Cormac had brought.

"It wasn't easy to get these materials. If I may, what do you intend to do with them?" Cormac asked.

"That's a secret," Jett replied, carefully inspecting each item.

Cormac watched him silently for a few minutes, feeling a swell of pride. Serving Jett had been an honor, and witnessing his growth filled him with a sense of fulfillment.

"Tomorrow is the entrance ceremony. I'll be leaving when everything is settled," Cormac said.

"You really don't have to, after all, you've seen what I can do," Jett replied.

"Yes, but I still want to wait a bit longer," Cormac insisted.

"Suit yourself," Jett said, still rummaging through the items Cormac had bought.

*****

The entrance ceremony finally arrived. On that day, exactly one million new students gathered at the main campus for the briefing. They all wore the academy's black-themed uniforms, their excitement palpable in the air.

The students arranged themselves in a predetermined manner, the order based on their arrival time at the academy. This positioning placed Jett at the far end, observing the vast sea of his peers.

They waited for a while, chattering among themselves, but soon quieted down as someone climbed the podium. The hush that fell over the crowd was almost tangible, signaling the start of their new journey.

"Good day, everyone. I am Professor Drago, the vice principal of this esteemed academy," he announced with a commanding presence.

"It's really time, huh," Jett murmured, a smile playing on his lips as he listened intently to the elderly man.

"The principal won't be making an appearance today," Drago continued, his gaze scanning the gathering. "Hell, you guys might never get the opportunity to ever see him, but that's information for later."

His eyes lingered on the Divine Lords, Jett conspicuously excluded. "I wonder, things might take an interesting turn with them around. Well then…"

In that brief moment, Drago withdrew his gaze, only to catch sight of Jett. What he saw in that split second was an overwhelming aura that seemed to swallow up all the students gathered there.

Shaking his head, Drago wondered if he was just seeing things. This time, when he looked back, that overwhelming aura was gone. He knew Jett would be trouble, but there wasn't much he could do about it.

"To be here today, you must have received an acceptance letter either through recommendation from previous students or by personal endorsement from the teachers here who saw talent in you. So, don't think your family's influence played any role in getting you here," Drago declared firmly.

"There are exactly one million students here today. Not all of you will make it in. Out of the million, only 15% will actually graduate. Most of you might even get expelled or drop out, but that's just how it is. If you can't handle it, just leave. We only accept the best here," he paused, allowing murmurs to rise among the students.

"What were they saying?" Drago queried, letting them voice their concerns for a moment before commanding, "Silence."

The murmurs quieted down immediately.

"The weeding starts today. Only six hundred thousand of you will get in as first years. And of that number, only three hundred thousand will advance to second year, and a hundred and fifty thousand will make it to third year and graduate."

"That's for entry anyways. Most of you might still not understand what those rings you got are for. Basically, just think of them as a multipurpose tracking device. You can use them to store items if you don't already have a storage pouch, but take note that they don't have as much capacity as a basic storage pouch. And yes, you can only take them with you if you graduate, as proof," Drago explained.

"You can also use the rings as a communication device," he added.

"He means texting, right? Wonderful," Evalina chimed in cheerfully.

"Just shut up and listen," Elora retorted, annoyed.

"Hmph, you are such a buzzkill," Evalina huffed, turning away.

"The rings also display your current rank at the academy. There are three types of ranking: Academy ranking, Class ranking, and Hunt ranking," Drago continued.

'Yeah, yeah, it's even more boring to experience this in real life. AR is your combat ranking across the academy, CR is your academic ranking compared to peers in the same class, and HR is ranked based on how much monster drops and corpses you're able to convert into points.

I'm currently leading there, but my information will stay undisclosed until I decide to make it public,' Jett thought to himself, casually observing.

"If you want to climb the academy ranking, there's only one way: You have to fight. Challenge your peers and defeat them to steal their rank. Lower ranks have a fair advantage as they can issue an unavoidable challenge to anyone at a higher rank, but the higher ranks can't do the same."

'Conclude already,' was all anyone could think about at that moment. Drago's intention was to intimidate them, but it seemed everyone was too hyped up to pay attention.

"Hey old man, stop boring the children and get on with it," a woman's voice interrupted from among the teachers behind him.

"I think I've said enough. Let's start the weeding. I wish you good luck," Drago said, stepping down from the podium.

Walking away, he signaled for a teacher to approach.

"Yes, Vice Principal, how may I help you?" the teacher asked, stepping forward.

"I want you to investigate someone for me. Give me everything you can find on him," Drago replied, his expression serious.

"And who might this be to have piqued your interest?" she wondered with a suspicious smile.

"The kid with the red-black hair," Drago stated firmly before walking away.

*

*

*

Will the academy be any fun?