After receiving their skill books from the academy, it was time for all of them to engage in a bit of self-learning. It was free time for the students to do as they wished, but in theory, it was meant to be used for learning the new skill books they had obtained.
There was a private courtyard at the back of the living area for the Blue headbands. It was larger than the others because the Blue headbands usually had a larger group of people.
The courtyard was filled with various things: basic swords lined up on racks, dummies made of cloth and sand scattered around the area, and even large totems with poles sticking out of them.
The idea was to strike one part while blocking another. The harder you hit one part of the totem, the faster it would spin around, increasing the chance of getting hit. All of this was for the students to use.
Right now, all of them were practicing, except for Simyon, who sat cross-legged, staring at the book on the floor.
"What am I even supposed to do?" Simyon said to himself. "I've gone through this thing from top to bottom, and it really is a book for weapon refining. A material must be able to withstand a large amount of heat. Then the weapon must be strengthened through different processes over and over, being placed in a mold and repeating the process with other minerals to get stronger and stronger."
Leaning back, he lifted his head into the sky and thought about his luck. "Maybe I could just observe the others and see if there's a skill that suits me. I tried to choose something that suited my body, but learning any skill should be fine, right?"
In other areas, Safa was diligently reading the book she had obtained. While others had immediately started following formations and trying to imitate the images or perform the steps, Safa was carefully reading the book from front to back.
Finally, when she was ready and had memorized what she needed, she left the book open on the first page and headed to the weapon rack, grabbing a spear.
Teacher Lee, who was observing all of the students, noticed this because she was the only one who had picked up a spear.
"She's... she's one of the No-names. I was told that she had done quite well in the assessment from Gunther. I wonder why he spoke so highly of the No-name."
In turn, this caused Teacher Lee to glance to the side from time to time. He saw that she was practicing the first formation of her spear technique, a thrust.
She took things slowly, focusing on where she needed to place her hands on the spear. She adjusted it to her own size and the weapon itself, changing her positioning until the balance was perfect.
This was one of the tips written in the book - that copying the images directly might not yield the same results. Since everyone's body was different in terms of weight and size, the way to use the technique would vary.
"This is already a good sign. She is a diligent person who misses no steps. I don't think I've ever seen someone follow a book so diligently."
With all of this, Teacher Lee started to walk over and saw her practicing a thrust. She threw it out strongly, but the pole at the end was vibrating and wavering a little.
"The strength in your muscles is a little weak at the moment," Teacher Lee commented. "You can increase your physical strength through training, or you can try to supplement it with Qi. But you have to make sure to use the perfect amount so your strike is straight and clear."
Safa nodded and repeated the steps again, thrusting her fist forward. She did it again and again, and Teacher Lee found it hard to contain his large smile.
"She's great, she's more than great. And if she's a No-name, she can have affiliations with any clan... but because she's a No-name, anyone will be able to snatch her up if they want. She has no protection. If she loses at the next assessment, then her confidence will be shattered before she even becomes a capable warrior... But this might be the chance I've been looking for."
Teacher Lee continued to watch the students, paying particular attention to Safa and offering her tips in more detail compared to the rest, until free time was just about over.
"Alright, students, now is the best time for you guys to absorb your Qi pills that I have given you. When your body is exhausted of Qi, it will allow you to absorb things a lot easier. Since you have two pills, one will be used to restore your Qi energy, and the remainder will be used to try and break down your Qi core and refine it so you can get closer to breaking through to the next stage."
Teacher Lee was supposed to oversee the others as they did this, but when he looked behind them, on the rooftop of the main building, he saw a man standing there in a black uniform with two tied-up ponytails that went down to his waist.
He hadn't appeared at the opening ceremony. He was mainly in charge of the second-year students.
"The vice principal Amir? What is he doing here?" When Teacher Lee made eye contact, there was a slight nod, as if he had something to inform them.
Leaving the students be, he thought they would be fine for a few moments, not that he needed to do anything anyway. Leaving the rest to their own devices, everyone pulled out their Qi pills, ready to cultivate.
At that point, Simyon, who had been doing next to nothing, jumped up and went over to the student closest to him, grabbing his hand that held the Qi pill.
"Stop!" Simyon said. "Everyone, your Qi pills, I need you to give them to me. It's an order on behalf of someone you really don't want to mess with."
"What the heck, why is a No-name grabbing onto me like he's some hotshot!" The student tried to twist Simyon's arm, but it did nothing. Even the skin on his arm was difficult to move.
"Do you really think I would be doing this on my own, being a No-name?" Simyon asked. "You guys should think about it. Unless I was confident that the person who asked me to do this couldn't deal with you guys, then I wouldn't be asking this in the first place. If you want to risk it, though, then be my guest."
There was a worry in the back of all the students' minds that they wouldn't like to admit, but they had heard what had happened to the other No-name. They heard that the main disciples had made him their target, and now he had disappeared.
In their minds, it was clear that the main disciples had dealt with him. So if they didn't comply, what would happen to them? It felt like Simyon was doing their bidding. So even if caught, it would be his own downfall.
Reluctantly, the students handed over the pills. Life felt unfair to all of them at that moment as Simyon went from student to student until he reached Liam with the eye patch.
"I'm sorry, man, but I'm all out. I gave it all to the pretty girls in the academy, and there are a lot of pretty girls," Liam commented.
"I saw you gave one to Safa; you should still have one. Please, you know I'm not doing it for myself. Just hand it over so we both don't get in trouble," Simyon asked.
"Hey, if you want a small ball so badly, then you can suck on mine," Liam commented. "But you ain't getting any other round-shaped objects other than that, and if the other guy wants to do something, he can suck on them too."
Tensing his fist while the teacher was away, Simyon thought about hitting the guy in front of him and forcing him to give up the pill.
"That would be a good excuse. I mean, this perv was talking to Safa; I need to keep him away."
"No way!" a student shouted, turning his head toward the courtyard gate that separated the dark blue headband living area from the rest of the academy grounds. He was pointing, and his hand was shaking. "That's... that's the other No-name. He's here. I mean, he's alive.
That white-haired guy's alive!"