10|Academy Life Beings (Part Two)
"Ahem!" His eyes swept over the classroom, he quickly noticed a student raising their hand.
"Himekawa Tenji," he pointed at Tenji. He stood, adjusting his specs. "Professor, I have two questions. The first: Hunters have been killing fiends for hundreds of years. How come they have not gone extinct, as I can recall they don't have any reproductive organs?"
The entire class went silent. He had just asked a question that lingered in their minds for a long time.
"You have asked a brilliant question. Not long ago, this was considered a state secret, but recently we have been allowed to disclose this information to students." His voice carried through the classroom. "I would also like to correct your statement. It is true that the lower ranked fiends don't possess reproductive organs. But Demon Kings and Devil Sovereigns all possess reproductive organs."
Grasp!
The mouths of most students widened. "And that's not all, the stream of the Evil God's blood still runs abundantly through the planes of Aylone," Balista replied calmly.
"Thank you for the well-defined answer, Professor." Tenji's gaze fell on Balista's left arm. "I'm curious to know what happened to your left arm. There have been rumours that it was the reason you retired to being an academy professor."
Black mana sizzled from Balista's body. "You shouldn't be listening to silly rumors." An eerie grin formed on his lips. "Hckkkk!" Tenji shrieked. "Forget I said anything, Professor." He fell onto his seat.
He had just stepped on a nerve, and Balista did not have a friendly reputation with students. He was not afraid to discipline students who got on his nerves.
"Now, students, let's continue." His terrifying mana pressure spread across the classroom. "Hckkkk," some female students shrieked.
"Hunters are divided into eight ranks, from Novice, which will be your starting point once you register as hunters after year one. Certain amounts of merit are required to rank up to the next hunter rank. As I mentioned earlier, merits are gained by killing fiends. The amount of merits gained depends on the rank of the fiend slayed. For instance, imps are worth two merits, while Demon Kings and Devil Sovereigns are worth ten billion merits. In that light, five billion imps are worth a single Demon King or Devil Sovereign. No merits are required to become a Novice."
"Next up is Adept, you just need two thousand merits. Do note that your hunter rank determines the layers you would be able to access. Gold requires twenty thousand merits. Then there's Diamond, which requires one million merits; this is where most hunters stop. After which is Mistriel, which I am proud to say is where I stopped. There are two conditions to rank up to Mistriel. The first is one hundred million merits, and the extra condition is to have reached Ascension Pathway One." He gloated slightly.
"As you all know, I am not a necromancer but a Magick. I will have you know that less than thirty percent of hunters reach this rank." He wasn't wrong, most people quit or resign at Gold and Diamond because they had already amassed enough wealth, since being a hunter was the highest paying job in existence. But they didn't gain fame, that was reserved for Mistriel rank hunters and above.
"Now let's step into ranks that differentiate prodigies and geniuses from monsters. The individuals in these ranks have transcended flesh and blood; you could hardly call them normal. First amongst them is the Conqueror rank, one billion merits is needed to reach it. Next is Adamantine, which also has two conditions. One is the collection of one hundred billion merits, and the extra condition is to have reached Ascension Pathway Two. When I discuss Ascension pathways, you will understand how close to impossible it is to get to this level. And finally, the rank that only a handful of hunters in our generation and the past generations have reached—Legendary Master, which requires one trillion merits to attain."
Legendary Masters were held in high regard; there are only a few of them currently in existence, like the Elf Queen, the Witch of Hekedom Peak, and the Berserker of Lingurd Wastes.
Grasp!
The students gasped in awe, well with the exception of Zen. "Does that mean I'm a Legendary Master too, since I have reached Ascension Pathway Two already?" He glanced over his status board that displayed before him.
"There were some changes, but my mana reserve is still Tier Eighteen, and my spells are still intact. Even my artifacts are still the same."
"Professor," Arima raised her hand. "Yes, Toran Arima," Balista pointed at her. "How many years does it take for one to reach Legendary Master?" She stood sluggishly.
"Well, it depends. As far as I can remember, the Barbarian of Lingurd Wastes mentioned that it took him about forty-five years. But many assumed he was joking due to his naturally unserious nature. So there's no particular time frame I can give you." He adjusted his glasses.
"Okay," she sat back down.
"If there are any other questions, please wait till the end of the class before asking, we still have much to discuss." He took a deep breath. "Now for the final part of today's lecture: Ascension pathways. Each class has two evolved forms, which are Ascension Pathway One and Two. Ascending one's class causes a significant increase in their mana reserve tiers—by four for the first ascension and eight for the second ascension. As we all know, mana reserve is a very vital asset of a hunter, as it determines the tiers of spells we will be able to cast."
"An ascension potion has to be consumed to initiate a class ascension. There are two ingredients required to brew the potion. One is a higher tier mana stone, which can only be gotten from high ranked fiends, and dew drop plants of unknown origin that only grow in the Aylone planes. Do note they are very hard to find. Each class ascension potion requires different amounts of dewdrops and tiers of mana stones to brew. For Ascension Pathway One, a hunter needs a Tier Eight mana core and two dewdrops. For the second class ascension, which ninety-eight percent of hunters fail to reach, a Tier Sixteen mana core and four dewdrops are required." He explained meticulously.
"Are there any questions?" He asked. No hands were raised. "In absence of any, have a good day." He walked out of the class.
Ding-dong
The school bell rang immediately after he left. Zen left the classroom afterwards. "You must be Kira." He tilted his head slightly to the back. A girl with brown hair and glasses walked behind him in the academy's uniform. "What's with the uniform, do you go here?" he asked.
"No, Lord Dark, I wore it so as not to attract any attention." They sat on a bench, Zen continued to lick his ice cream. "So?" He took another bite. "We found the dead body of the scientist by Lushan Lake a few hours ago."
"Oh, I see." He trashed the ice-cream cone.