Chapter 153: A Very Important Decision "Thank you for earlier, Alex, Dim Dim," Chuck said. "Dim Dim~" "Oh? You helped me because I’m your friend?" "Dim~" "You’re the best, Dim Dim!" Seeing Chuck and Dim Dim happily high-five each other, Alex smiled. He had only known his roommate as a troublemaker, but didn’t really know his backstory. But now that he had a glimpse of the other party’s relationship with his brother, Alex vaguely knew why. He couldn’t help but feel sorry for the teenage boy who was currently chatting amicably with Dim Dim. After they finished eating, they returned to their room, as Alex wanted to list the things he would need during his stay at the academy. ’First, I need the mimic lantern,’ Alex thought as he wrote it in his journal. ’I need to put the mimic core shard to good use, so I will know whether a chest is a monster or not when I dive into dungeons. ’Next, I need to replenish the brittle vials we used up during the test. If there’s still time, maybe I should check out the auction house and see if they have any decent items.’ Alex listed a few more things, which he planned to buy before classes started. ’I should also prepare for the Class Allocation Trials,’ Alex realized. At Frieden Academy, the First-Years must participate in a series of mini-trials that will determine which class they will join. Those who performed exceptionally would be placed in Class A, and those who performed terribly would be sent to Class F. The mini trials were rather straightforward. They consisted of simple tests that would earn the students corresponding points. The academy had taken into account the varying Job Classes of their students, so they had prepared different tests for each. However, the cut-off point remains the same, and once a student reached a certain benchmark, they would be placed in a matching class. The tests for Archers mostly consisted of shooting moving targets. These targets could be anything from frisbees to summoned birds. One hundred of them would be released, and the more a student hit, the better their score. For Mages, they would need to cast spells and aim them at a measuring device. The stronger their magic power, the higher their score. For Swordsmen, they would need to fight against one of the Weapon Instructors of the academy. If they managed to land a hit on the instructors, they would be given corresponding points, which would determine their skill level. For alchemists, it would be potion or pill crafting. For blacksmiths, it would be crafting. For performers, it would be either singing or dancing. Students could freely choose which trials to take, preferably ones that would allow them to showcase their specialties. Since Alex could be considered a Magic Knight, his trial would be to spar with the magic knight’s instructor. Of course, a student could also take as many trials as possible. If they performed decently in all of them, they might have a shot at getting sent to Class A for being a jack-of-all-trades. "Chuck, what trial will you be taking for the Class Allocation test?" Alex inquired. "I plan to take as many as I can," Chuck replied. "But I’ll definitely be taking the magic trial test since I’m a Mage." 𝓯𝙧𝙚𝒆𝙬𝙚𝒃𝙣𝙤𝒗𝓮𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢 "You plan to take as many trials as possible?" "Yep!" Alex already felt pity for the instructors who would be assigned to conduct the trials Chuck planned to take. Still, joining more than one trial wasn’t necessarily a bad idea. ’Since I can use magic, maybe I should try the mage trials too,’ Alex thought. ’Right, they also have a singing trial. Time to showcase my hidden talent!’ Alex didn’t want to brag, but he was quite good at singing when he was still been on Earth. He had often visited karaoke bars and sang with his Guildmaster, Deathkiss, whenever they were together. For some reason, she had liked to sing songs with duets. Alex wasn’t left with much choice but to learn a few of these songs since his Guildmaster wouldn’t allow any score below 95 points during their singing sessions. The young man sighed after remembering the young lady who had added a bit of color to his dull life. ’It’s no use thinking of the past,’ Alex thought as he lightly tapped his face with his hands. ’Focus. Alex. You’re no longer on Earth.’ Alex then listed some of the mini-trials he planned to join in order to get a higher score. However, a thought crossed his mind, making him frown. ’The Heroes and Heroines would be in Class A, including Renard, who has trust issues,’ Alex mused. ’That class is very competitive, so it might be a good idea to get into a different class...’ Suddenly, the young man’s eyes widened in shock as he had forgotten something important. ’Why didn’t I think of that?!’ Alex thought. ’I’m so stupid!’ Since he was already in the academy, he should try to get into the class of one of his four queens. ’If I go to Class B, I’ll be in the same class as Astrea and Lapiz.’ Alex narrowed his eyes as he wrote Class B in his journal. ’If I go to Class C, I’ll be with Fran. Then Class D... I’ll be with Latifa.’ Astrea was the person whom Alex prayed to whenever he opened treasure chests or rolled gacha in the game. She was a very lucky person, and the majority of ELO treated her as their Goddess of Luck. Although many call her a Goddess, she was actually just a human. She also liked to bully the weak and feared the strong. Oddly enough, many found that endearing since she was the one doing it. Her only flaw was her extremely terrible sense of direction. There was not a single time she did not get lost when going on an adventure. Lapiz was an Elven Princess who was loved by many due to her diligence and desire to surpass her perfect sister, who was one of the Heroines of ELO. Obviously, her inferiority complex was developed by countless people constantly comparing the two of them. Fran was a Dwarf. She had her own small farm inside the academy. Together with her brother, Finn, she was part of the so-called "Farmville Route." Animal lovers also found her quite hardworking and cute, making her a very popular side-character in the game. As for Latifa, she was born from the union of a human and a fox spirit. She was quite a beauty, and Alex wanted nothing more than to fluff her fluffy tails and hug them to sleep. ’This is difficult,’ Alex crossed his arms over his chest. After all, this was one of the most important decisions he had to make. The four young ladies were the people whom he wanted to meet the most in the academy. He might be in a fantasy world now, but studying had always been boring. One of the very few ways to make academy life more fun was to have motivation. And what motivation was better than seeing your crush every day? After careful thought, he arrived at a decision. "Chuck, what class are you aiming for this year?" Alex asked. He couldn’t remember what class Chuck was in the game since he would just appear randomly in the academy. To make trouble. "Of course, I will aim for Class A," Chuck replied. "Come on, man, be more realistic." Alex shook his head. "You’re not Class A Material." "Fine, I don’t want to put in a lot of effort, so Class D or C is fine." "Choose one!" "Oh, I see! You want to become my classmate, right? Since you want it that way, I’m aiming for Class D!" Alex nodded. "Okay, I’ll do my best to not go to Class D." "Hey!" Chuck complained. "What happened to our friendship? Dim Dim, he is bullying me!" "Ei!" Dim Dim raised its small hand, telling Alex not to bully its new friend. "Dim Dim, whose side are you on?" Alex looked at the little guy with amusement. "Dim Dim~" "You can’t be on everyone’s side, you know?" Dim Dim pretended that it didn’t hear Alex’s words and whistled innocently. In the end, Alex sighed and decided to just go with the flow on the day of the trial. Regardless of which class he ended up in, he would do his best to study in the academy, and do what he needed to do. While the young man was busy thinking about his life plans, a certain young lady wearing a fox mask was meditating in one of the towers of the academy. Black mist swirled around her like live snakes, which guarded her without fail. "So you’re here, Himea," Rowan, who had finished his stroll around the academy, said to his disciple. "Are you alright?" "Yes, Master," Himea replied, making the dark mist enter her body until nothing was left. "I have everything under control." "Good," Rowan said. "But, you should spend more time around people your age. Staying cooped up here is bad for your health, you know?" "I’ll take note of that, Master," Himea promised before closing her eyes to restart her meditation. Rowan gave her one last glance before teleporting away. Since his disciple preferred peace and quiet, he would leave her alone until the classes officially started in Frieden Academy.