Roy, Run!

Roy, Run! "Instructor, I plan to team up with Roy."

Klayr waited until all the elves had finished their tests before approaching instructor Abbott. Nora with Roy to submit their request.

The female elf instructor merely glanced at Klayr's handsome face, then asked with a half-smile:

"Is your surname Klayr?"

Klayr hurriedly gave his full name.

"Yes. Wagner Klayr."

Instructor Abbott. Nora nodded, punched him lightly in the chest, and said:

"You look a lot like your sister. I hope you can become an outstanding ranger too."

The smile on Klayr's face looked worse than crying.

Instructor Abbott. Nora casually said, "All right, your application has been approved."

"Thank you, Instructor!"

Klayr bowed respectfully as he spoke.

Instructor Abbott. Nora turned away and waved her hand. At that moment, other elves gathered around as well, taking the opportunity to throw out all sorts of questions.

Klayr draped an arm over Roy's shoulder and said smugly:

"See? It was that simple..."

But Roy did not see it that way, especially after recalling Steve's strange smile after the test.

The first Combat Skills class consisted only of a physical fitness test. Once the test was over, the class was nearly at its end.

Instructor Abbott. Nora told everyone to prepare a set of lightweight clothes. Starting tomorrow, they would begin learning body arts, a required skill for every Elf Ranger.

When the elf students heard instructor Abbott. Nora say they would begin learning Elf Body Arts, they cheered.

The class ended amid those cheers.

Roy still had a geography class that morning, and he needed to follow the numbers written on the notice board to find the corresponding classroom.

Klayr had enrolled in Ancient Elven Language, astronomy, botany, sculpture, and music. Aside from Combat Skills, none of his other classes overlapped with Roy's.

Klayr was going to the music room to learn the harp. He had signed up for six courses, with two more major classes in the afternoon.

Once Roy finished geography that morning, all his classes for the day would be over. In the afternoon, he would still be going to the Goddess of Freedom Temple to study divine arts.

Following the numbers on the notice board, Roy entered the academy's third Teaching Building. Although it was his first time there, the numbered signs hanging in the corridors made it easy to find the classroom.

The design of the Teaching Building was rather unconventional. The interior of the oval structure had been divided into several classrooms, none of them especially regular. Every classroom connected to the corridor, but none was a neat rectangle.

This geography classroom was circular, with two entrances on each side. One could walk in directly from the corridor, and since the classroom was open, it had no doors at all.

Once inside, Roy saw maps covering the walls around the classroom, including the three kingdoms of the entire Elf Continent, as well as the Endless Sea to the east and the Twin Seas to the west.

At the center of the room stood a huge sand table enclosed in a protective cover. Its mountains and rivers were rendered in lifelike detail. Some display stands around the classroom held geographical models, miniature mountains and rifts. Even the green plants around the room were samples of vegetation unique to different regions of the Silver Moon Kingdom.

The moment Roy entered the classroom, its furnishings opened a completely new door of knowledge for him.

So the Eastern Continent looked like a lamb shank. Before Roy could trace the coastline on the sand table and find Castleton, Master Harper.Gustav, who taught geography, walked in from outside.

No one knew how old this elderly elf was. He was slightly hunched, supported himself with a cane in one hand, wore a white robe and a pointed hat, and slowly made his way inside.

The previously noisy classroom fell silent at once. A group of students waiting near the entrance bowed to Master Harper.

Roy followed their example and bowed to the elf teacher as well...

The geography teacher walked straight to the sand table. His gaze swept across the classroom before returning to the model.

Without taking attendance or introducing himself, he pointed his cane at a raised area in one corner of the sand table and said in a deep, hoarse voice, "This is Castleton Harbour in the Falmouth District."

"It is only two hundred kilometers from Buenos, yet it belongs to a different district from that Elf King City..."

"This place lies in the heart of the Elven Kingdom, on a peninsula extending into the sea."

"It is surrounded by the sea on three sides, so its fishing industry is highly developed..."

He spoke very quickly, yet with a strong rhythm.

As Roy listened closely, he opened his textbook and discovered that Master Harper was teaching quite freely rather than starting from the first page.

When Roy found the page describing Castleton Harbour, he realized that Master Harper.Gustav's explanation was far more detailed than the textbook's. The pages already contained scattered notes, and Roy felt there might not be enough room to squeeze in more.

So he wrote Master Harper.Gustav's description of Castleton Harbour in a parchment notebook.

He stood in an inconspicuous corner.

After rapidly introducing Castleton City, Master Harper slowed down and said to everyone, "That's right, this is Castleton. Since you are studying at Castleton Elf Academy, I hope that when you leave this academy and someone asks what you learned here, you will at least be able to explain Castleton clearly."

"Since you have chosen geography, my requirements are simple. For every region on the maps you study, no matter which town I mention, you must immediately tell me which city is closest to it and point it out accurately on the map."

"If it is a city, I need you to clearly know its landmarks, population, and specialties."

"My geography class does not require creativity. As long as you remember all the knowledge in here, you will pass."

He pointed at his own head, turned in place, and looked at the students around him.

His voice was not loud, but it carried considerable authority.

"Do you understand?"

"Yes!"

Everyone responded.

Roy was rather surprised. This unassuming little old man seemed quite extraordinary.

Then Roy heard someone mutter quietly among the crowd:

"Don't listen to him. His final exams are always the hardest. Last year, his question was: 'After the Eastern coastline is completely blockaded, how many days would it take the Silver Moon King City elf guard to travel from Buenos to Inohaus in Saint Margaret County, Eternal Night Forest?'"

"That one essay question... made a third of the students retake the course."

"Do you know why so many students bowed to him at the entrance just now? Their graduation theses failed last year..."

"..."

Roy felt a chill run down his back after hearing that. Geography did not seem so easy after all.

After Master Harper said that, the students around him indeed began paying closer attention, and their expressions turned serious.

Then the formal geography lesson began. Master Harper's lecture was quite interesting, but there was an enormous amount that needed to be memorized by rote.

A major class lasted nearly two hours, and Roy wrote down all the key points Master Harper covered in his parchment notebook.

He felt that the notes written in the textbook were too scattered. After all, the palest ink is better than the best memory.

They included many of Master Harper's personal views, none of which could be found in the book.

In class, not many students took notes like Roy. Most merely underlined important sections in their textbooks and added a few remarks beneath them.

There were no chairs in the classroom either. Everyone listened while standing.

Even Master Harper taught the entire lesson standing...

At noon

It actually began to rain.

The falling rain formed a curtain of water over the steps at the entrance of the Teaching Building.

The entire city was shrouded in gray clouds. Gusts of wind blew through, making the rain curtain sway back and forth.

Roy stood beneath the eaves, troubled. He had not brought an umbrella.

In fact, umbrellas were not common in the Elven Kingdom. More often, they were one of the personal accessories carried by elf women.

Elves did not care much about light rain. Many liked to wear Light Leather Armor, which was waterproof to begin with, or rainproof cloaks.

Roy needed to hurry to the Goddess of Freedom Temple.

Ms. Belinda had specially prepared a croissant for his lunch. It was filled with jam and smelled richly of milk.

Roy stuffed the bread into his mouth in a few bites, then used the wax paper that had wrapped it to cover his two textbooks.

That would at least keep the books from getting soaked.

Holding the textbooks over his head, Roy took a deep breath and dashed into the rain...

When Steve arrived at the entrance of the Teaching Building with a group of friends, he saw only Roy's retreating figure as he ran into the rain with books over his head.

Several elves looked toward Steve. His gloomy face wore a cruel expression.

"Let's go after him..."

Under the watchful eyes of the other elf students on the steps, the elves rushed out into the rain.

They wore elf cloaks and hurried out of the academy gates, climbing into a carriage waiting outside.

The coachman cracked his whip and drove after Roy in the direction he had disappeared.

Steve pushed open the window on the left side of the carriage. A gust of wind carrying rain soaked the patterned curtains, and droplets splashed onto Steve's face, making him squint as he looked out at the rain-drenched street.

There were not many pedestrians on the street. Some elves held umbrellas in one hand while pressing down their skirts with the other, while others wrapped themselves in leather cloaks and strode through the rain...

Elves usually dressed with great care, and rainwater would cause their clothes to fade. Few elves would run through the rain like Roy.

The vendors had taken their goods away to shelter from the rain, leaving the street looking empty.

Elves without rain gear had all run into shops along the street to take cover. A carriage burst through the curtain of rain, and amid the horses' neighs, it stopped by the roadside in front of Roy.

The carriage door was shoved open, and several young Silver Moon Elves jumped down before striding toward Roy.

Roy froze slightly and stopped where he was.

The rain was growing heavier. Roy's clothes were nearly soaked through, and icy rainwater ran down his pant legs into his shoes.

At that moment, Roy finally saw through the rain that the person walking at the front of the group was Steve.

They were moving quickly...

When they saw him, several of the elves even instinctively spread out.

Roy knew this group of elves had definitely not come to invite him to lunch...

Nor were they taking a purposeless walk in the rain...

That left only one possibility: they had come looking for trouble.

Facing so many people, Roy did not hesitate. He turned and darted into the alley on the right.