Ernst Institute

"Goodbye, Uncle Lucas."

A few days later, at the registration desk at the entrance of the Ernst Institute, Garen bid farewell to Lucas and consciously joined the queue.

Today is February 8th, the very last day for registration at the Ernst Institute.

Looking at the massive, semi-circular gate that was over fifty meters wide and twenty meters high, engraved with all sorts of complex and profound runes, Garen couldn't help but sigh with emotion; it was truly worthy of being the number one magic academy on the continent.

While Garen was looking around, he suddenly heard the conversation between two children in front of him.

"Hello, my name is Reynolds, from the O'Brien Empire."

"Hello, my name is Linley, from the Fenlai Kingdom of the Holy Union."

Hearing these familiar lines, Garen was taken aback. He hadn't expected such a coincidence that he would be in the same year as Linley.

He wasn't the type to strike up conversations easily, so he listened to their chatter until it was soon Reynolds' turn, followed by Linley.

Both of them finished their tests quickly.

"Garen."

After the academy teacher called his name, he hurried over.

After handing over his admission letter, he had to undergo another test.

"Elemental affinity: fire and wind, super-grade."

"Spiritual energy: 60 times that of his peers."

Seeing such talent, both the recruitment teacher and the testing staff were shocked.

Reynolds and Linley, who had been preparing to go find their dorms, were startled by the test results and stared blankly at Garen.

Is this the Ernst Institute? Dual-element super-grade, 60 times the spiritual energy—that's just too monstrous! the two couldn't help but think.

Garen hadn't even unleashed his full power; otherwise, his spiritual energy might have reached 70 times that of his peers, as he was already a third-rank magus.

After paying the exorbitant tuition fee of 5,000 gold coins, Garen quickly received his student ID and dormitory key.

Ding, side quest completed: Join the Ernst Institute. Reward: Tiger Stripe Secret Manual.

It was exactly what he needed, just like being handed a pillow when one is sleepy; the Tiger Stripe Secret Manual was precisely what he required right now.

The four Ultimate Warriors could not cultivate other battle qi manuals, but now with the Tiger Stripe Secret Manual, his warrior cultivation should be much faster than the Qi-Nurturing Method.

After he turned six, even when his father took him for magic testing, he never tested his bloodline concentration. It was likely that the Tiger-Striped Warrior clan had truly fallen into such decline that even his father didn't know he belonged to it.

It seems I'll have to find a way to awaken my father's bloodline later, otherwise he can only cultivate his physical body and will likely only manage to become a sixth-rank warrior at best.

Looking at the key numbered 1988 in his hand, Garen went to find his dormitory.

1981, 1982, 1983... following the row of dorms, Garen arrived at the door of dormitory 1987.

"Your information is outdated this time, George. Our academy has more than just one monster like Dixie; there's also a guy named Garen. He also has dual-element super-grade affinity, and his spiritual energy is 60 times that of his peers. He's no less of a monster than Dixie. He was right behind Linley and me when we registered just now. If you don't believe me, ask Linley."

"Yeah, Reynolds isn't lying, it's true. It really shocked me. After all, I'd only heard of Dixie, but I saw this Garen with my own eyes."

At that moment, Reynolds happened to see Garen passing by the door while looking for his room.

"Speak of the devil, and the monster appears."

The four in dormitory 1987 all looked over in unison.

Garen had heard enough of their conversation to know they were talking about him.

"Hello everyone, my name is Garen. I'm living next door in dormitory 1988."

"Hello."

George, Linley, Yale, and Reynolds all greeted him in unison and introduced themselves.

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Garen went to his own room.

After opening the door, Garen did a quick cleaning, made his bed, and organized his belongings into the cabinets, only to find that no one else had arrived in this dorm yet.

After resting for a while, he began to plan his future cultivation path.

He had originally planned to focus primarily on magic, but now that his Tiger-Striped Warrior bloodline had awakened, he would definitely prioritize warrior cultivation, with magic as a supplement.

He couldn't neglect magic, though. Having read the original story, he knew that magic was written by the Overgods—it was essentially a simplified version of the Laws and Mysteries. By studying magic, he could draw inspiration to comprehend the Laws and Mysteries.

Furthermore, magic was very useful in the early stages; once wind magic reached the fifth rank, he could fly, and magic was also a means of long-range attack.

Magic cultivation was primarily about training spiritual energy, and spiritual energy remained crucial even if one cultivated to the Grand Perfection level.

After planning, Garen walked out of the dorm, took a stroll around the academy to familiarize himself with the surroundings, and then went to the back mountain to look around. He would need a place with a good environment and no disturbances for his warrior training in the future.

The Ernst Institute was truly worthy of being the best on the continent; the environment was beautiful, and it had a deep foundation, having produced several Saint-level experts in the past.

By evening, when he returned to the dorm, Garen found he was still alone. He didn't know whether to be happy or sad that he had a room all to himself.

Just as he stepped out of the dorm to head to the cafeteria, he ran into the four brothers from dormitory 1987.

"Hey, Garen, we're just about to go eat. Want to join us?"

Yale extended the invitation to Garen.

"Sounds good, I was just about to head to the school cafeteria. I heard the food there tastes pretty decent."

"Hey, it's your first day at school, why eat at the cafeteria? Let me take you out for a real meal today, brother."

Yale said with great generosity.

"Alright, then thank you. I'll treat you all next time."

Garen did not decline. After all, with his strength, it wouldn't be long before he could head to the Magical Beast Mountain Range to hunt magical beasts; gold coins would be easy enough to come by.

Besides, the system had rewarded him with ten thousand gold coins, and there was still a remainder in the magic crystal card his father had given him, so he could certainly afford to treat them to a meal.

Soon, they arrived at a luxurious hotel.

Yale grandly ordered a table full of dishes along with some fruit juice. The five of them tucked in heartily, slowly chatting about various interesting anecdotes. Being of similar age, their bond began to warm up.

During the meal, Bebe the Shadow Mouse caught the scent of meat and crawled out from Linley's embrace. It devoured a whole chicken and several large pork legs before finally feeling full, then scurried back into Linley's arms to sleep.

After eating and returning to the dormitory, Garen took out the Tiger Stripe Secret Manual and began his first session of Tiger Blood Battle Qi cultivation as a Tiger-Striped Warrior.

Cyan battle qi circulated throughout his entire body, with every muscle and tendon continuously absorbing energy. The results of this first session were excellent, and Garen's physical fitness improved rapidly.

Two hours later, Garen stopped his cultivation and opened the system.

Garen

Warrior Level: Level 3 (1098/2000 EXP)

A single session of cultivation had actually increased his experience by a full 30 points.

This was even more experience than killing a Level 3 magical beast. Although the first session likely yielded better results, even if future sessions only granted a dozen or so points, cultivating twice a day would still allow him to reach Level 4 in just over a month—and Level 6 after transforming.

Talent really is important.

(End of chapter)