Professor Ronald stood around 195 centimeters tall. He had spiky yellow hair, black eyes, and a calm expression on his face.
Although his yellow hair made him look like the villain from some questionable mangas, his amicable demeanor balanced that impression, making him seem far from a bad person.
As he entered the building, all the students fell silent, their conversations ceasing as their attention turned toward him.
Walking behind Professor Ronald, aside from five elves were also the students Azrael had seen earlier chatting outside the building.
Azrael's gaze shifted to the five elves and he immediately recognized the male elf among them, the one he had seen just before entering Eonrift for his trial.
Since news of the exchange program between elves and humans had already spread last night, Azrael was aware of it as well.
Leading the group of elves was an elven woman with long, flowing black hair that reached her hips, a beautiful face, long pointed ears, and striking emerald-green eyes.
'Level 16…' Azrael assessed, noting that she was the highest-ranked among the elves.
Besides her, there was another Class Level warrior who was Level 14, while the remaining three were apprentice warriors—likely having completed their Eonrift Trial only a few days ago.
Professor Ronald gestured for the elves to remain where they were before approaching the stage in the middle of the open area.
With a light jump, he landed on the stage and turned to address the students in a calm voice.
"My name is Ronald River, and I will be in charge of your Elite Class. All matters related to your class will be handled by me. In the future, if you have any questions, you can come to me."
He paused briefly before continuing.
"As many of you have probably guessed, the reason I called you all here is to assess your abilities so that I can create a detailed training plan for you based on your capabilities. But before we get to that…" Ronald's gaze swept over everyone as his tone grew more serious.
"Regardless of anything else, there are two things all of you must do."
"First, make time every day to practice the Breathing Method. The usefulness of the Breathing Method might not have been significant before you activated your powers, but now, if you fall behind in its practice, the gap between you and those who are already training with it will only continue to grow."
No one seemed surprised at Professor Ronald's words as learning the Breathing Method after activating one's power was one of the basic steps most rankers took.
"If you don't have a Breathing Method, go to the skill library later to get one for free. It won't cost you academic credits, so there's no reason to neglect its practice."
Azrael silently listened to Ronald's instructions, relieved that he had already learned the Breathing Method.
At his current stage, he could clearly feel its benefits—not only did it improve his cosmic energy recovery speed, cosmic energy reserves, and skill potency, but it also allowed him to channel cosmic energy far faster than most others.
Before an opponent could even fully gather their energy, he could already manifest his power and strike.
"Second," Ronald continued, "I've seen many people neglect their source core cultivation, thinking they can just raise it after entering Eonrift by killing monsters or other opponents. But I advise you not to neglect it—cultivate it yourself as well. If you think increasing your level inside Eonrift will be easy, you are mistaken. The real Eonrift is far more dangerous than the trial grounds you've faced before. The opponents you encounter inside won't be restricted by the difficulty of your trial. Even as a level 10 Apprentice Warrior, there's a chance you might face a Star-level or even higher-level being."
His calm gaze swept across the room.
"That's why you should cultivate your source core outside of Eonrift as well, to become as strong as possible before entering—so you can protect yourselves."
Felix muttered under his breath, "I was planning to focus more on controlling my powers and learning some skills instead of source core cultivation… but it seems I can't really neglect it."
Hearing this, Azrael glanced at him and replied, "I don't know how dangerous the real Eonrift truly is, but neglecting your source core, which is the foundation of your strength is a foolish idea. Not to mention it can also increase your stat points. You're still at Level 8 and need to reach Level 10 before you can become a Class Warrior. Even if you want to put your source core cultivation aside to focus on other things, only do so after you've at least achieved your class."
Felix nodded thoughtfully at Azrael's advice and as if something occurred to him, he asked curiously, "What about you? What level are you at?"
Without looking away from Professor Ronald, Azrael answered flatly, "I'm already a Class Warrior."
Felix was momentarily taken aback by the reply, but recalling how Azrael had earlier claimed to be ranked first, he assumed it was another joke.
Shaking his head, he dismissed it, thinking Azrael was simply trying to act mysterious.
Before long, Professor Ronald finished explaining the basic points and smiled faintly at the students.
"Now that I have told you the essential things you must keep in mind during your training—regardless of the plans I later assign, let's return to the main topic."
Stepping aside from the center of the stage, he continued lightly, "I need to see your control over your power and how you utilize it. A short spar with one of your peers will do. Anyone can come up and fight first, but choose your opponent according to your level. If a Class Level warrior challenges an apprentice warrior without shame, I'll throw them out of the Elite Class myself."
As soon as Ronald finished speaking, the students began glancing at each other, but no one stepped forward.
Luo Bingqing and his group wore thoughtful expressions, also choosing not to move just yet.
The level 14 class level elf wanted to go up, but was stopped by the elven woman who seemed to be their leader.
Seeing the hesitation of the students, Ronald was preparing to call on someone himself when a figure finally stepped forward and made their way toward the stage.
Felix was startled to see Azrael walking up. He opened his mouth to say something but decided against it.
Azrael, for his part, didn't care about the stares he was receiving. His only thought was—
'Finally… I just need to finish this spar, leave this place, and I can go back to doing something meaningful instead of wasting my time with these kids.'