Registration

The academy's main Teaching Building was packed with people, and the hall was extremely lively.

Elves were a race that loved peace and comfort. A scene like this could probably only be seen during the Elune Festival.

Young male and female elves dressed in exquisite silk skirts, white shirts, and leather vests gathered around rows of parchment hanging from ropes, studying the introductions to various subjects with great concentration.

Of course, choosing a suitable subject was extremely important for these young elves who had just enrolled...

Easy courses meant there would be very few points of knowledge to learn.

Taking those courses would make one feel sorry for paying so much tuition.

But choosing difficult courses meant not only a painful learning process, with pre-class notes driving people mad every time, but even more irritation during the final graduation defense. They might even have to retake the course...

Roy had heard all these inside details about course selection from Moira.

Don't ask how she knew. Moira had an older sister who had already studied at the Elf Academy for two years! Roy was now standing in front of a sheet of parchment...

There seemed to be someone in front of every sheet of parchment, giving introductory explanations about the subject.

Today was registration day for new students, and it had nothing to do with upperclassmen selecting courses.

Therefore, the recommended courses were basically introductory and elementary courses.

There were many courses listed beneath every subject on the parchment, making them look like skill trees.

They gradually advanced from the earliest courses toward increasingly profound ones.

At present, the courses suitable for newly enrolled students were all located at the roots of the skill tree. This knowledge formed the foundation of those subjects, and the basics of many subjects overlapped, giving everyone many more options.

Roy had already decided on the general direction of his studies before entering the Elf Academy.

He planned to study martial arts, navigation, and literature and history at the Elf Academy.

He was interested in all of these subjects, and they were all novel things he had never encountered before.

He was especially curious about martial arts.

The reason was simple: Sabrina had attended the Elf Academy for two years, and she could already beat Roy up with ease.

This time, Roy signed up for an Elementary Martial Arts training class. As for navigation, Castelton was a port city, and no matter what he did in the future, he would probably have to travel by ship.

Moreover, the Elven World was full of sailing ships, which were fundamentally different from the steamships and yachts Roy knew about.

However, Elf Continent Geography was surprisingly listed under the navigation subject, so Roy wrote that course on his application form.

As for literature and history, Roy applied for Silver Moon Elf Modern History.

If he had possessed magical talent, he would have also signed up for an introductory magic course.

But that was clearly impossible now. He would have to go to the Goddess of Freedom Temple to study divine arts.

It was not what he wanted most, but being paid while studying seemed pretty good too!

Squeezed among the crowd and listening to upperclassmen explain the various subjects, Roy finally selected three courses.

If his schedule had allowed it, he would have signed up for a fourth course.

He could only study at the Elf Academy in the mornings. In the afternoons, he had to go to the Goddess of Freedom Temple to study divine arts.

The hall was full of young elves. Along one wall, Roy filled out his forms and handed them in. The person receiving them was an academy teacher wearing a scholar's robe.

The teacher looked somewhat surprised when he saw Roy.

"Are you human?" the academy teacher asked.

Roy answered honestly, "Half-Elf. My mother is a Silver Moon Elf."

His Elven was very fluent, and he spoke with a local Castelton accent.

The academy teacher had actually only wanted to exchange a few words with Roy in Elven, because two of the courses Roy had applied for required a solid foundation in Elven.

If he had truly been one of those humans who could not even speak Elven fluently, then an Elven language course during the first year would have been unavoidable.

"Alright, none of these three courses are full yet, so you have successfully enrolled in all of them. Remember to come to the academy Training Ground tomorrow morning for a physical fitness assessment."

The academy teacher flipped through a thick catalog, wrote Roy's name on three different pages, then slowly said this to him after finishing.

The Elf Academy had another admirable quality. Elves believed that knowledge had no borders. Not only did they place no restrictions on Half-Elves, but even humans could study here as long as they paid sufficient tuition.

Hearing the academy teacher say this, Roy immediately bowed respectfully to him, then gave up his spot.

Quite a few new elf students were still lined up behind him.

Roy walked out of the Teaching Building. A long flight of stairs stood before the entrance, with lush laurel trees planted on both sides.

The blinding sunlight fell on Roy's face. After being scorched under the blazing sun for three seconds, Roy obediently slipped onto the shaded side path, where there was a sloping road paved with pebbles.

Many new academy students were cooling off in the shade. Elves were actually afraid of the sun too; if they stayed exposed too long, their skin would change color just the same...

Some young elves even sat on the low wall beside the road. Usually, these were males, and they would watch passing beauties with rather frivolous gazes.

When some particularly stunning elf beauties passed by, young elves would even jump down from the low wall and jog after them to strike up a conversation...

Roy thought this was perfectly normal.

What he had not expected was... someone actually came over to strike up a conversation with him.

And it was a delicate-looking male elf. He wore a beige vest and a white shirt with a bow tie. The cuffs even had a lantern-pants design, like two large snow-white embroidered balls tied around his wrists.

He was also wearing a pair of light-colored lantern pants.

Elves loved wearing silk, and this young elf was dressed in an exquisitely tailored silk outfit. His pant legs were tied at the ankles, while his leather boots were nothing special.

Silver Moon Elf males were generally very handsome, and this young elf was no exception.

His short silver hair was neatly combed, his two Pointed Ears were exposed, and his fair skin was almost translucent. He looked thoroughly clean and refreshing.

He did not block Roy's path. Instead, he walked alongside Roy and introduced himself as they went.

"Oh, hello. My name is Wagner Klayr. May I get to know you? I'm also a new student registering this year..."

"Roy."

Roy did not stop walking, but he did not refuse either. He casually gave his name.

Seeing that Wagner's nails were neatly trimmed, that he was not wearing any messy things like lipstick, foundation, or eyeshadow, and that his gaze was clear, Roy felt he ought to have a small social circle.

"I was standing right behind you earlier. I happened to see that you signed up for the Elementary Martial Arts training class too. I chose that course as well. We'll probably attend classes together over the next year, so I came over to get acquainted in advance," Klayr said quickly to Roy.

Only then did Roy stop walking and extend his right hand. "Klayr, it's nice to meet you."

Actually, there were no fixed classes at the Elf Academy.

Everyone only attended lessons together if they enrolled in the same course. They might encounter an entirely different group of classmates in the next course.

Klayr and Roy walked side by side down the tree-lined path...

What Roy found a little hard to understand was that there had been many elves in the hall. There must have been plenty who had enrolled in the Elementary Martial Arts training class, including many beautiful female elves.

Even if he had happened to stand in front of Klayr while registering, that was not a reasonable reason for Klayr to approach him...

The two casually chatted for a while as they walked.

Klayr had excellent manners and liked to use honorifics when he spoke. That was a habit only Elven Nobles had. In Roy's understanding, it simply made him seem more impressive.

Moreover, Roy could tell that Klayr had no ill will toward him.

At least, their conversation along the way had been quite pleasant.

Regarding the books needed for the courses, the academy teachers gave Roy two recommendations. First, he could borrow them from the library. Of course, the library had limited numbers of such textbooks, and many would inevitably be damaged to some extent.

Second, he could buy new ones at a bookstore, though books made from parchment were still a little expensive.

Roy felt those new books were the first choice for Elven Nobles who did not lack Kole. He wanted to rush to the library and borrow two books first. Even if they were old or missing a couple of pages, it would not matter...

When Roy mentioned to Klayr that he was going to the library to borrow books, Klayr said to him, "Why borrow books from the library? Want to go to Back Street and buy textbooks used by upperclassmen instead? A lot of the textbooks even have neat class notes written inside, with key knowledge marked out. After they finish studying them, they think they're useless, so at the start of every new school year, they set up stalls on Back Street to sell them. Want to take a look together?"

"Sure," Roy agreed readily.

Roy followed Klayr across the Elf Academy and discovered that it was truly enormous. It occupied three massive terraced levels on the hillside within Castelton City.

From outside, the academy's tallest Teaching Buildings looked like ancient trees dozens of meters tall, with dense branches and leaves atop their Tree Canopies.

Now that Roy was walking through the campus, he realized those ancient trees dozens of meters tall were actually tree-shaped buildings, while the trees on top of them were plants growing from the rooftops.

Even the main structures were covered in climbing vines, making those Teaching Buildings look like towering giant trees.

The academy had neither a cafeteria nor dormitories. All students from elsewhere had to rent their own rooms around the academy.

As for how to solve the lunch problem...

That was extremely simple for elves, because the only foods they liked were fish and fruit. Tossing an apple into their pocket was enough for a meal.

The academy did not have a wall in the true sense either. Broad lawns separated the academy from the streets.

Many artistic sculptures stood beside the paths crossing those lawns. Many of them expressed an appreciation for beautiful body curves, opening Roy's eyes.

Back Street was lined with all kinds of shops and workshops, along with a small market. Those secondhand books were displayed on stalls in this little market, and just as Klayr had said, the stall owners were young elves.

Some elves were even wearing academy robes.

Sure enough, the textbooks sold here cost almost half as much as new books in bookstores.

The older they were, the cheaper they became. Many books were even densely covered in Elven writing.

Of course, not all the Elven writing on those pages was class notes. There were also personal reflections, anonymous little poems written in pursuit of romance, and all sorts of other messy things.

These elf students had probably turned passing down old books into a unique culture.

Roy found it a little difficult to accept. After searching through the book stalls for a long time, he finally found two secondhand books containing only a small amount of class notes, buying each for one hundred and thirty Kole.

If they had been new, those two books would probably have cost around Four Hundred Kele.

That was right. Books in Castelton were just that expensive.

Spending roughly a week's wages to buy two secondhand textbooks that were seventy percent new immediately put Roy in a very good mood.

After buying the textbooks, Roy planned to leave the Elf Academy. He still had to go study divine arts at the Goddess of Freedom Temple that afternoon.

Before leaving, Roy finally could not help asking Klayr, who stood by the roadside waving goodbye to him, "Klayr, let me ask you something. If I don't ask, I probably won't sleep well tonight... Why did you choose me?"

Klayr had both hands in his pockets and three art textbooks tucked beneath his arm. To Roy, they looked like beginner music scores such as Canon.

Leaning against a laurel tree, he looked rather handsome, and his expression was not the arrogant, irritating sort. He had been about to wave goodbye to Roy.

"What?"

Klayr did not understand Roy's question at first.

Roy could only repeat himself. "I mean, why did you choose me as your new friend at the Elf Academy?"

Klayr chuckled, a hint of mischief in his clear eyes.

"Want to hear the truth?"

"Of course!"

"Then you can't get angry or stop being friends with me. I promise I don't mean any harm," Klayr said, patting his chest.

Roy agreed readily. "Alright, I promise."

Klayr lowered his voice and said, "I'm afraid of getting beaten up in the martial arts training class. A friend of mine signed up for this Elementary Martial Arts training class, and he was beaten up by his sparring partner every day until he gave up the course. He ended up wasting an entire year for nothing."

"..."

Roy had not expected that reason.

After parting with Klayr at the entrance to Back Street, Roy tucked the two books under his arm and jogged all the way toward the Lower District.

The academy was separated from Brown Street by an entire district, so it was still very far away. Fortunately, the route was almost entirely downhill, so getting back to the Goddess of Freedom Temple on time should not be too difficult for Roy.

Just as Roy's figure was about to disappear around the street corner filled with stairs, Sabrina and her two close friends happened to turn out from Back Street as well.

She recognized Roy at a glance. Watching him tuck two books under his arm and jog toward the Lower District, Sabrina could not help stopping and stretching out her fair neck to look in that direction...

She had inherited half of a Wood Elf's bloodline and was exceptionally tall, standing a head taller than her companions.

One of her friends asked curiously, "Sabrina, who are you looking at?"

"N-No one."

Sabrina froze slightly and answered instinctively.

Her friend gave Sabrina's back a push. "Come on..."

Her other friend held a thick stack of books in her arms and groaned in distress, "This is so annoying. I have to retake courses again this year..."

Feeling a little dizzy. That's all for today.