Chapter 62: Your impressions? (1/2)

After Arima left the principal's office, he attempted to decipher the map of the academy. It was actually pretty big, with an imposing main building, a vast terrain, and tens of annexes.

His assigned classroom was in the main building. The latter was simple to find since it was the enormous building that was erected in the middle of the courtyard. To give a clear image; the entire academy was built in a sort of 'square pattern'.

At the center, there's the main building welcoming the most visited classes. Around that building, there was a square courtyard and beyond that, there were the many annexes that were put together forming, once again, a square.

The only edifices escaping that 'square rule' were the training grounds, the several magic towers made for hazardous laboratories, and one smaller tower made for the headmaster to work and the teachers to consult each other.

After going through the courtyard, Arima stepped inside the main building. This giant structure could maybe be compared to the largest hotels back in the modern world. Arima was pretty sure that if the main building were to be accommodated for livelihood purposes, it could very easily welcome more than 10 000 rooms.

Thus, it was at that point that Arima started groaning. Finding this building was a matter of fact. As for the classroom, it was completely different.

”Why do they classify them with a letter, a number, and then the topic of the class? It's a fucking mess,” Arima complained. Night and Lanya were also staring at the map trying to understand it.

As they were walking in the corridors and losing themselves in the halls, every student they passed by would whisper to each other. Of course, it didn't pass unnoticed by Arima.

His expression sunk, ”School… one of the most dangerous things there is…gossip,” He muttered and looked around. The students were trying to avoid his eyes for some reason.

Arima sighed and approached a certain group. The only one who actually didn't avoid him, ”Hey, can you tell me where this class is located?” He showed them the classification of the room written on the document.

One of the girls viewed the number and thought for a second before smiling, ”It's really simple to find. It's at one of the top floors. I can bring you there if you want.”

”Thanks, that would help a lot,” Arima smiled and responded. He followed her and used a spiral staircase that went from the bottom floor all the way to the roof. It connected to all of the floors and anyone looking at it from below would be able to glimpse a small part of each floor. It was a really modern-like experience. Even more when the high-quality glass had been brazenly used to illuminate and decorate the entire building.

The student led Arima to an especially open area of the sixth floor and pointed at a big door on the wall. But it was almost indiscernible because of the huge gathering of students in front of it.

The girl who brought Arima there smiled wryly, ”This is your classroom. You are the new teacher hired by the academy, right? Because you're a Z rank, a lot of people are interested in you and came here to wait.”

Arima shrugged, ”I see, thank you for leading the way,” He glanced at the mob then disappeared from where he was before appearing inside the classroom. Fortunately, the room's door was closed until the teacher opened it. If it wasn't, then it would be full of students already.

Lanya saw Arima teleport and smiled at the girl, ”Thank you again, bye,” She said and teleported too.

The student gazed at her until she disappeared, ”She was really pretty…” She mumbled afterward and smiled, ”They were able to teleport so easily… it means they're really strong,” She concluded and was filled with excitement.

Arima observed the class and thought it should be called an auditorium instead. It was incredibly spacious and obviously was enchanted with space magic to be bigger. It could very well accommodate more than a hundred students with the elevated seats alone.

From Arima's point of view, at his left was the entrance and at his right, the wall was almost entirely made of glass which let the sunlight in without actually heating up thanks to certain enchants. In fact, the whole classroom was enchanted to keep an optimal temperature.

And, of course, there was a desk and a 'blue board' for the instructor. The latter seemed to be made to work with mana instead of outdated chalk.

”Will you start right away?” Lanya asked with a smile and Night jumped on the teacher's desk.

”Before that,” Arima approached the bookshelves placed at the very back of the room. He looked through the books and mused.

Lanya walked to his side and picked up a book, ”What is all of this for?”

”Those are all manuals and encyclopedias,” Arima answered while staring at an opened book in his hands. ”To be fair, I don't think they're useful in any way. But I need to know what they are learning currently.”

Arima flipped through the entire book in a few seconds. And at the same time, his magic sigil glowed faintly. He repeated that for all of the one hundred or so books there was.

Once he was finished, he rubbed his temples and groaned. ”Overexerting my brain is not a good idea after all,” He remarked and went toward the door of the classroom. ”Lanya, you can sit anywhere you want. You wanted to attend the lecture as well, right? Make yourself comfortable.”

Lanya chuckled and went to sit near the glass wall on an extra chair she had brought, ready to listen. Until now, she only had been taught by Night and it's not like she had received a full lecture. So, she was excited to see what Arima would do. Meanwhile, Night yawned and nonchalantly readied himself to take a nap on the desk.

Arima sighed and unlocked the door. He immediately went back to his desk afterward and waited. In no time, from the moment someone noticed the door was open, the students started 'pouring' inside.

When every seat was occupied, the rest sat down on the ground or remained standing while others were even prepared to listen from outside. Arima spotted Ofia and Lena coolly entering the room before they sat at the front row as if it had been reserved for them.

”Okay,” Arima sat down at his desk, ”For starters, I will introduce myself. I'm Arimane Blade, but you can call me Arima. The little guy here is Night Bahamut, my soul beast. The lady over there is Lanya, a companion of mine,” He pointed at Night, who was already half-asleep, and at Lanya who merrily waved her hand at everyone. When the students saw her, they were rendered speechless by her looks and almost mistook her for an angel because of the light coming through the glass behind her.

”As you may already know, I'm a Z rank mercenary approved by the guild, and I'm here to teach in this class for a period of two months from now on. Regarding what I will instruct; most of it was left to my desires. But, essentially, I will develop your ability to improve, survive, fight, and think for yourselves.”

All of the students focused to their maximum. The tone and manner of speech Arima employed resonated strongly within them. They wanted to listen more.

”For now, since this is my first lecture, I will teach you a really simple thing,” Arima resumed, ”Let me ask you; what is the most important thing in a battle?”

A male student raised his hand first, ”Physical aptitude!” He unhesitatingly said and Arima lightly laughed.