Chapter 55: Understanding the Academy

"First, we need to get you registered."

He walked at a relaxed pace, occasionally looking around as they passed the various buildings.

"Every new student needs an Academy Identification Token. You’ll use it for almost everything related to the Academy."

Ethan listened.

Ethan already knew all of this from his previous life.

Still, he listened quietly.

"The token stores your student information, Academy Points, and other Academy-related details. You’ll need it for most things you do here."

Darius glanced back at him.

"So don’t lose it."

Ethan nodded.

"Got it."

Darius continued walking.

"Oh, and there’s one thing you should know about Academy Points."

"What are they?"

"Basically, they’re what you’ll use to access most of the useful stuff here."

He scratched the back of his head.

"Gold Coins aren’t very useful inside the Academy. If you want better resources, training facilities, special items, or access to certain places, you’ll need Points."

Ethan’s eyes narrowed slightly.

"So how do we get them?"

"There are plenty of ways."

Darius pointed toward a large building ahead.

"Missions are one of the easiest. You can also exchange Gold Coins for Points, and there are other ways to earn them too. You’ll learn about those later."

They soon arrived in front of the building.

Darius stopped.

"This is the registration hall."

He pushed open the door.

"Let’s get your identification token first. Then I’ll show you the rest."

Ethan followed him into the registration hall.

The hall wasn’t particularly crowded. A few staff members were working behind long counters, while several newly selected students were waiting nearby.

Darius walked toward one of the counters.

A middle-aged man was sitting behind it, sorting through several small silver tokens.

"Another group?" the man asked without looking up.

Darius nodded.

"New student. He’s here for his identification token."

The man finally looked up at Ethan.

"We’ve had a few people come through already."

He reached beneath the counter and brought out several tokens.

"Name?"

"Ethan."

The man checked the tokens one by one.

"Here."

He picked up one and held it out.

"Put your hand on it. The token will confirm your identity."

Ethan took the token and placed his hand against its surface.

A faint glow appeared before quickly disappearing.

The man nodded.

"That’s yours."

Ethan slipped the token into his hand.

"Thanks."

The man waved him off.

"Keep it safe. If you lose it, come back here immediately. We can deactivate the old one and issue you a new token."

Darius turned toward the exit.

"We’ve only got fifteen minutes left. Come on."

Ethan followed him out of the registration hall.

"The next stop is the dormitory area."

Darius continued walking.

"Every new student gets a room there. It’s free, so you don’t have to worry about paying for a place to stay."

He glanced back at Ethan.

"Your room is already assigned, and you’ll find the location on your identification token."

Ethan looked down at the silver token in his hand.

He focused on it.

A simple information panel appeared above its surface.

[Name: Ethan]

[Category: Combat]

[Academy Points: 100]

[Dormitory: Area A, Building 7, Room 214]

That was all the information displayed on the token.

Ethan took a quick look before putting it away.

"For now, that’s pretty much all you’ll see," Darius said. "As you progress through the Academy, more information will be added. Rankings, achievements, and other things like that."

Ethan nodded.

For the next few minutes, Darius briefly explained some of the basic Academy rules and pointed out a few important buildings along the way.

Before long, they arrived at the dormitory area.

Darius stopped and checked the time.

"Well, this is it. Fifteen minutes are up."

He turned to Ethan and gave him a casual tap on the shoulder.

"Hey, since I’m your senior, let me give you a little piece of advice."

He lowered his voice.

"If you ever bring a girl to your room, make sure nobody sees her going in."

Ethan’s mouth twitched, but Darius only grinned.

"Better yet, wait until late at night."

Darius winked. "I’m off."

He turned around and walked away before Ethan could say anything.

Ethan shook his head and turned toward his dormitory.

There were seven dormitory buildings in Area A, each containing individual rooms for the students.

Ethan found Building 7 and headed inside.

His room was on the second floor.

He followed the room number shown on his identification token until he stopped in front of Room 214.

Ethan placed the token against the door.

A faint glow appeared on the surface.

[Identity Verified.]

The door unlocked.

Ethan pushed it open and stepped inside.

The room was simple.

There was a bed, a shelf, a chair, and a small bathroom. Aside from those basic necessities, there wasn’t much else.

Every student had a room of their own, so there was no need to worry about roommates or sharing personal space.

The only possible trouble would come from the students in the rooms nearby.

Even then, most students were too busy leveling up, going on missions, training, or exploring the Academy to spend much time in their rooms. They usually only returned when they needed to rest.

Ethan would be no different.

He looked around the plain room and decided to make a few changes.

It had everything he needed, but it was too bare for his taste.

He opened his inventory and took out a few things.

A small table appeared first, followed by a rug and a lamp. He placed them where he wanted, then added a few other items he had collected along the way.

After a few minutes, the room looked much better.

Ethan looked around and nodded.

"Much better."

Ethan checked his remaining Gold Coins..

He had 110,000 Gold Coins in total.

Half of that should be converted into Academy Points.

"I should take care of that first."

Ethan stood up and left the room.

He headed toward the Exchange Facility. It wasn’t too far from the dormitory, so he arrived after a short walk.

The Exchange Facility was a large building with several counters inside. Students came and went as they exchanged Gold Coins, Academy Points, resources, and other items.

Ethan walked inside.

He looked around the Exchange Facility before heading toward one of the counters.

He had just taken a few steps when someone nearby suddenly blocker his path.