《The Power of Formations》 Chapter 1 - Emmet Laghaz Emmet Laghaz loved puzzles. All day, all night, puzzles. Ever since he was a child, Emmet could turn anything into a puzzle. Plowing the field was a puzzle. What was the best possible way to plow the entire field while travelling the least distance? How about when you took a person¡¯s stamina and speed into account, and the breaks they took every few hours? What routes would allow someone to re-cross the least amount of area when plowing? Harvesting the crop was a puzzle. How could a group of five people harvest the most amount of wheat in the least time? Which paths should each take to maximize their total output while not overworking themselves? What order of people swapping in and out, taking into account their stamina, would ensure the maximum efficiency? One by one, Emmet tackled every puzzle he saw. Even when people thought there wasn¡¯t any puzzle there, Emmet would find a puzzle. For example, when welling water, considering a person¡¯s height and strength, what was the optimal rate to decrease a person¡¯s strain but increase production? By the time Emmet turned ten, he had moved on to bigger and better things. Instead of merely calculating the best routes with what he had and what was there, he was creating his own contraptions to optimize those routes. In welling stations, he had created and installed his own pulley bucket system, nearly a third more efficient and significantly easier to use than the previous. In the fields, he had created his own interactive scarecrows, using specially prepared sunstones in a circuit to absorb sunlight to light up and scare away a bird when one happened to land near it. He had even painstakingly created a design for his own specially shaped orestone shovel, designed specifically according to his height and strength to maximize the output force to torque put in - after a month of begging, the tribe blacksmith finally acquiesed and forged it for him, specially according to his design. By this time, his originally plain personal bedroom inside his family cabin had been completely transformed. Instead of what you would expect from any other preteen farm boy¡¯s room, a plain shack with maybe a few blunt tools, from head to toe, the entire space was mechanized and optimized. On the door, there was a little mechanized doorbell for anyone to ring when they needed him (using a piece of blue jadestone he had found in the fields). Inside the door was a little latch that funneled straight into a receiving basket next to his desk (he was proud to announce that this little trapdoor did not decrease the structural integrity of the door even a bit). Inside the room itself, his desk and bed was specially shaped to allow for the least constricted movement, and there was unfinished contraption after unfinished contraption lying all over the place, spare materials scattered all about. At that moment, a young boy arrived at the front of this bedroom door, sporting green hair and a lively face. In his hand he carried a wooden stick, which he used to knock on the door, creating a loud bang. ¡°Emmet! Come out, let¡¯s duel! I know you¡¯re in there, lil¡¯ dummy! Let¡¯s fight it out!¡± ¡°Geh¡­¡± The door opened, a small, skinny black-haired child appearing within the doorway. He had clear blue eyes and a tiny physique, clearly not someone with any kind of special physical prowess, and appeared to be slightly older than ten years old. ¡°What do you want, Yorick? I told you to use the doorbell!¡± ¡°Hehehe¡­ what doorbell?¡± The green-haired boy named Yorick sneered sinisterly. ¡°Dodging away from another challenge? Too scared to duel me?¡± He waved his stick around provokingly.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. ¡°Screw you, Yorick!¡± Emmet made an ugly face. ¡°You already know I¡¯m weaker than you. How many times have we fought already? You always beat me.¡± ¡°Kekeke! Looks like you know your place!¡± Yorick laughed heartily. ¡°Even still, fight me! I haven¡¯t had a tussle in a good while!¡± ¡°Go away. I¡¯m working on a project,¡± Emmet shook his head. ¡°What¡¯s the point? It¡¯s not like it¡¯s anything special to beat me. Everyone knows I¡¯m the runt of the tribe.¡± ¡°You underestimate yourself!¡± Yorick insisted. ¡°Everyone can improve. It just takes practice¡­ Now let¡¯s fight!¡± He threw himself forward. ¡°No-¡± Emmet had just enough time to let out a little yelp before - bam! - he was hit by Yorick and tackled to the ground. He landed with a thud. ¡°You battle-crazed maniac! I said I wasn¡¯t fighting!¡± He managed to spit out. ¡°Hehe! This is good sparring practice for you!¡± Yorick chuckled sinisterly, pressing his larger body over Emmet and shoving his head unceremoniously to the floor. ¡°I won¡¯t always be around to protect you! You need to be able to fend for yourself.¡± ¡°Pah! Fend for myself? You¡¯re the one who¡¯s bullying me!¡± Emmet ragefully screamed out, but since his face was pressed against the floor, it came out muffled. Like a little worm, he tried to struggle out of Yorick¡¯s grasp, but to no avail. Yorick was much too strong. Or rather, Emmet was much too weak. Just at that moment - Pa! Pa! Pa! Three little shooting sounds sounded out. A contraption on the ground next to the two grappling boys had suddenly came to life. Mechanizing and shifting, it shot out three little rocks, directly toward Yorick! ¡°Gah!¡± Yorick brought his hands up to defend. The rocks hit him in his arms, causing some stings, before falling to the ground. ¡°What the hell! What is that?¡± ¡°Kekeke!¡± Emmet cackled. ¡°That¡¯s what I¡¯ve been working on! I call it the Emmet Defense System 3000! Feel the wrath of my rocks!¡± ¡°Your rocks?!¡± Yorick brought his intense gaze back to Emmet, who was still struggling on the floor. ¡°You little shit! I¡¯ll get you!¡± With revitalized energy, he once again grappled down and tackled Emmet, thoroughly pinning him to the floor. ¡°Ah! Ah! It hurts!¡± ¡°Boys! What are you doing?!¡± A loud feminine voice rang out. The two boys stopped grappling and turned their heads. Or rather, Emmet tried to, but from his angle, he could only shift his head a few inches. A woman with brown hair around 30 years of age had appeared at the doorway, her hands on her hips and frowning disapprovingly. Upon closer inspection, her features seemed similar to Emmet¡¯s. ¡°Yorick, let go of him!¡± She chided out, unceremoniously striding forward and kicking Yorick in the butt. ¡°Ow!¡± Yorick yelped out and quickly hopped up, holding onto his tush sensitively. ¡°Mom¡­ so violent!¡± ¡°Oh, shut up,¡± the woman scowled and slightly shook her head. ¡°Always fighting¡­ boys, boys, always so full of energy. If you have so much energy, then go help plow the fields! It¡¯s peak tilling season!¡± ¡°We already did!¡± Both boys chanted at once. Emmet dusted himself off and got back up, meeting his mother¡¯s eyes. ¡°Mom, we already till for like 8 hours a day! It¡¯s already getting dark, we should at least have some time to ourselves!¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± Yorick nodded in agreement. ¡°Besides, if I¡¯m always just doing farmwork, how will I ever become a great warrior?¡± ¡°You little shits!¡± The woman brought her palm up and chopped down on both the boys¡¯ heads, causing them to wince. ¡°You think farmwork is something to take lightly? This is our heritage, our way of life! Don¡¯t you know-¡± ¡°Yeah yeah¡­¡± Emmet interrupted with a groan, holding his head tenderly. ¡°We¡¯re a migrant farming tribe¡­ going back hundreds of years¡­ yada yada¡­ we know already!¡± ¡°Then that¡¯s good!¡± The woman shouted out chidingly. She shook her head exasperatedly, as if she was dealing with a chronic pain. ¡°Anyway, supper¡¯s in ten minutes! Make sure to come in time! Tonight¡¯s meatloaf day.¡± ¡°Meatloaf day?!¡± Yorick¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Yes! So make sure to come down. Bring your brother,¡± the woman clicked her tongue before turning and exiting the room. Yorick turned toward Emmet, a mischievous smile on his face. ¡°AHHH!!!¡± A moment later, a shrieking scream rang out. Chapter 2 - Old man Maury Two parents and two ten-year-old boys sat at a small dinner table in a small cabin space. They all helped themselves to some bread and a loaf of unspecified meat sitting in the center. ¡°The tribe elder put in a word today,¡± a man that had blue eyes and black hair just like Emmet remarked, bringing a forkful of meat to his mouth. ¡°Really, dear?¡± The woman with brown hair turned toward him and exclaimed. ¡°Old man Maury himself?¡± ¡°Yes, honey. Old man Maury himself,¡± the man smiled slightly, ripping the chunk of meat from the fork and taking a few tentative chews. ¡°He noticed the increase of our harvest the previous month and wanted to praise us for the good work.¡± Hearing the good news, the woman¡¯s expression brightened. ¡°That¡¯s great!¡± The two boys at the table all felt their eyes brighten as well. Old man Maury? Everyone loved to receive his good words. The man met the woman¡¯s eyes and smiled proudly. ¡°...so I told him the truth, about all about the wily contraptions our lil¡¯ Emmet made, how they helped us increase our crop this past year. He wanted to see one for himself, so I took ¡®em to see one of those sunstone scarecrows.¡± He smiled broadly and turned his gaze toward the boy to his left. ¡°And¡­ he was impressed!¡± ¡°Mm?¡± Meeting eyes with his father and hearing the praise, Emmet couldn¡¯t help but become a bit excited. ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± Emmet¡¯s father laughed, reaching over and patting his son on the shoulder. ¡°Boy, how could I have known? When you were first growing up, I thought you were a crazy child! No interest in farmwork, all interested in those puzzles and contraptions¡­ I never thought it would become this useful!¡± ¡°Haha¡­¡± Emmet couldn¡¯t help but be embarrassed and averted his gaze. It was true that when growing up, his eccentric interests had confused his parents. However, they had never actively worked to stop them. ¡°Anyway, he says he has a present for you!¡± Emmet¡¯s father tapped his son¡¯s shoulder fondly. ¡°Haha, you lucky boy, old man Maury rarely gives out gifts! You¡¯re blessed!¡± ¡°A present?¡± Emmet¡¯s eyes lit up. The tribe head had a present for him? ¡°What?!¡± At this moment, the other boy at the table spoke up. It was a bigger boy with green hair. His name was Yorick. He stood up and pounded his fist onto the table. ¡°How come¡­ how come he gets a gift? That¡¯s unfair!¡± ¡°Hehe¡­¡± The boys¡¯ mother reached over and rubbed Yorick¡¯s head teasingly. ¡°If you want a prize, you¡¯ve gotta work for it! Besides, you¡¯ve gotten plenty of praise already, being such a lively and strong boy!¡± ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Yorick crossed his arms and grumbled. ¡°Emmet can¡¯t even till the field properly¡­ he¡¯s too weak. I should be the one getting the prize!¡± The boys¡¯ father guffawed. ¡°That¡¯s true¡­ you really do have the makings of a truly elite farmer! Next time, next time. Emmet¡¯s contraptions really did come in handy this year - our harvest was nearly 10% larger!¡± -------------------------------- Emmet met the tribe head, Old man Maury, the next time he and Yorick walked through the village. ¡°Emmet! Yorick! My boys!¡± An aging, white-haired, white-bearded man waved in greeting toward the two boys, his face smiling broadly. ¡°Come here, come here!¡±Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. ¡°Tribe head Maury!¡± Both Emmet and Yorick¡¯s faces lit up. They quickly ran over toward the village head, and as they reached him, took a deep bow. ¡°Tribe head, how are you today?¡± ¡°Haha¡­ such good manners!¡± Old man Maury reached over and patted both the boys on the head. ¡°No need to be so formal, this old man is family¡­¡± ¡°Haha,¡± Emmet and Yorick laughed and stood back up. ¡°So nice to see you, tribe head!¡± Their faces were full of smiles. Growing up, they had always loved their tribe head. Not just them, everyone in the village nearly universally loved him - he had always been kind and generous, putting his tribe¡¯s people ahead of even his own self. ¡°Thank you boys, you too,¡± old man Maury smiled. ¡°How is the family? Good, I¡¯m assuming?¡± ¡°Yes, they¡¯re good!¡± The two boys assented in unison. This was a common question that the tribe head routinely asked, so they had a very practiced answer. ¡°Great, great¡­¡± Maury smiled. He bent over and began searching through his bag, finally pulling out a large book with some abstract shapes on the cover. He glanced toward Emmet. ¡°Emmet, you heard I have a gift for you, right?¡± ¡°Yes!¡± Emmet nodded excitedly, impatiently eyeing the book Maury had pulled out of the bag. Was that the gift? Sure enough, Maury chuckled and extended the book over toward Emmet. ¡°A year back, I received a few books from some friends I made in town. One of them was this book here, which has a ton of interesting puzzles inside! I feel like you would really enjoy it. After seeing your genius scarecrow contraption, and hearing from your father how you always liked puzzles, I thought of the book, and had to gift it to you!¡± Emmet let out a breath and accepted the book, looking down and inspecting it. It was basic-looking enough, with a brown cover decorated by a few basic shapes - other than that, it didn¡¯t have a title or any other markings. However, he still pursed his lips, still having some misgivings. ¡°Is there¡­ are there lots lots of words inside? I¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry,¡± Maury reached over and patted Emmet on the shoulder. ¡°Even though I know you¡¯re better than many others in the tribe, I know that it would still be hard for you to read a text-heavy book. But this book is special - I looked through, it¡¯s largely a picture book, and just contains a lot of easy-to-understand diagrams and symbols, with very little words!¡± Meeting old man Maury¡¯s kind gaze, Emmet let out a breath and nodded. As a child of a simple farmer family and member of migrant farming tribe, he was never really taught to read. It just wasn¡¯t a priority - in the tribe, children were first taught to till the fields and take care of the livestock before learning any letters of the alphabet. Emmet had to go out of his way to learn from some others in the tribe before he knew some words - although, it wasn¡¯t as if those people could read too well either. Although he knew some words, he still wasn¡¯t confident he could read a full book on his own, especially if it consisted mainly of text. Thus, it was a relief that the book wasn¡¯t very word-heavy. ¡°Thank you, tribe head!¡± Emmet bowed his head and exclaimed, making sure to profusely thank his elder. He truly was grateful - a book like this was priceless! As a farmer¡¯s child with very little resources, Emmet had very little exposure to this kind of thing. He was thirsty for knowledge, but there wasn¡¯t much available! In fact, in his life, he rarely saw any books at all. Even if he couldn¡¯t understand anything in the book, just looking at the diagrams would likely be fascinating. Thus, to him, this book was now the most precious thing in the world. ¡°Of course my son!¡± Maury laughed happily, the corners of his lips tipping upward uncontrollably. ¡°Work hard, and become a great farmer! One might expect strength and tilling speed to be the primary aspects of a farmer, but problem-solving is an equally important aspect - our tribe will definitely need people like you in the future!¡± Emmet felt his face turn red. Looking down at the ground, he felt grateful emotions run through him. The tribe head was so kind. He suddenly had a desire to become the best farmer he could be! ¡°Ok, I have to take off now,¡± old man Maury smiled and took a few steps back, waving his hand. ¡°But be well, and say hi to your parents for me!¡± ¡°Hehe, of course!¡± Emmet waved back rigorously, excitement flowing through his body like a river. As he watched Maury turn around and walk off, his entire body suddenly itched, as if about to go into overdrive. He wanted nothing more than to just shut himself off into a room and stare at the book for a few days. ¡°Eh, I¡¯m not jealous anymore,¡± Yorick scrunched his face and said casually, bringing his hands behind his head and whistling an upbeat tune. ¡°Books are boring!¡± ¡°Heh, that¡¯s your opinion,¡± Emmet couldn¡¯t keep the smile off his face, his face already faced downward. His hands hurriedly flipped through the pages of the book. ¡°This was the best possible gift anyone could have given me!¡¯ Chapter 3 - Horu-beetle ¡°Hehehehe¡­¡± A young boy¡¯s childish voice rang out pervertedly throughout the dim room. A ten-year-old boy was sitting cross-legged on the floor, staring with bloodshot eyes down at an opened book. On the page was a diagram of a graph with multiple connected nodes and edges. Tracing the graph with his finger, he followed thedots and lines down the page, but every few moments, would stop and start from the beginning again. Occasionally, he would grab a stick laying beside him and trace a seemingly random path on the floor. It was Emmet Laghaz. A month had passed since he had first received the book from the tribe head, and so far, it was better than anything he could have ever expected. Despite having little to no words, the book was somehow still incredibly intuitive, its puzzles¡¯ goals and stipulations clear. There would sometimes be diagrams, sometimes graphs, sometimes strange intersecting shapes and even maps. However, for each puzzle, there was no answer key. Emmet would have to guess-and-check himself to make sure he did everything correctly. Thus, he was extremely strict on himself - if the answer wasn¡¯t absolutely perfect, with no flaws at all, then he wouldn¡¯t move on. At first, the puzzles in the first few pages had been simple, even easy. Breezing through the first ten pages within a single day, Emmet was at first concerned. Was this book actually just full of simple puzzles like these? Would it not be able to challenge him? Emmet was fairly sure in his answers were correct. In fact, he had abstracted a lot of these early puzzles shown in the book in his own mind before. But he was worried for no reason. Starting from page 15 forward, the puzzles got harder and harder. Every subsequent puzzle Emmet would tackle would be much more complicated or include a brand new concept. Starting from page 20 onwards, its difficulty rate began to progressively increase, and began utilizing barely introduced concepts from pages previous pages, cumulatively building on concepts. Emmet had thought the solution to a problem on page 18 was complicated. However, how could he have expected, a problem on page 20 expected him to use the solution to that problem as a mere building block to build up the answer! Currently, he was on page 25. After breezing through pages 1-10 in a day, he had taken two days for 10-15, and then three days for 16-19. Then, who could have expected¡­ he took an entire three days just for each of pages 20 and 21! Then, he spent four days on page 22¡­ five days on page 23¡­ and then six days on page 24! Emmet was shocked. The entire book was more than 150 pages! How long would it take for him to get through the whole thing? Every new problem that Emmet solved, he would have somewhat of an enlightenment. He would get introduced to an entirely new method of thinking about things, expanding his mind more and more. He realized that his previous scope had been so pitifully little¡­ he had no idea that there was such a world to puzzles! So many different types of useful abstractions and methods he had never thought about¡­ the more problems he solved, the more he added to his toolkit of problem-solving methods.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. On the current page, page 25, the puzzles were starting to become more and more practical, some even including real-life situations/objects. While in the previous problems, the prompts and structures were purely theoretical, the latest problem on page 25 had included mentions of sunstones - also of some mysterious object called a ¡°vitality leaf.¡± Although he didn¡¯t know what it was, Emmet could infer its function from context. The real-life practicality made him think back to his own contraptions. The more he thought, the more he slowly came up with more and more ideas about how to build them better, more efficiently, and more powerfully! The more puzzles he solved, the more he felt that the contraptions he had made were extremely crude. As he kept pondering puzzle after puzzle, he became more and more absorbed in the book, to the point of addiction. In the past month, he didn¡¯t think there were many moments, besides when doing farmwork, that he even looked away from the book for any reason - other than sometimes applying the concepts from the book to test building new contraptions. In the bathroom, he would be holding it and pondering the questions. During dinner, he would hold it as he ate. Even when tackled by Yorick, he would remain unphased and merely continue to stare at the book even while getting sat on. If he could have held it while doing farmwork, he would have, but mother had chided him and forced him to leave it back in his room. Thus, his entire day was packed full. When he wasn¡¯t doing necessary farmwork, eating, or sleeping, his entire time was filled with puzzles. Even when harvesting the fields and tending to the chickens he was obsessively thinking about the problems he was currently working on, the whole time craving to rush back and test out his theories that he had developed. Many a time, as he was doing some mundane task, he would randomly have an enlightenment and shout out ¡°hallelujah!¡±, causing not less than a few strange looks. Just at that moment, there was a knock on the door. ¡°Emmet, you loser! Come out and fight!¡± ¡°...¡± Emmet ignored it, staring at the floor and tracing a path on it with his stick. More knocks rang out. ¡°Emmet, I haven¡¯t seen you in a whole month! You bum, always looking at that damn book, come out and do something for once!¡± Emmet¡¯s brows slightly furrowed, but he still continued to focus on his task and trace paths with his stick. The knocks grew louder and more urgent. ¡°Em-ETT! Don¡¯t ignore me! I found a giant horu-beetle pest in the fields, and I¡¯m gonna go fight it! Come and help me!¡± ¡°Shut up!¡± Emmet finally turned his head and yelled out. ¡°I can¡¯t focus!¡± ¡°Haha, I knew you were in there,¡± Yorick¡¯s irritating voice cackled out. ¡°Come on, come with me! I found a huge horu-beetle! I know you wanna see it.¡± ¡°Horu-beetle?¡± Emmet blinked a couple times, seemingly interested. ¡°How big is it?¡± ¡°It¡¯s gigantic! Over a person tall!¡± Yorick¡¯s voice raised up high. ¡°It¡¯s got huge pincers.¡± Emmet paused, pondering for a moment. He shifted his eyes to glance at several new contraptions that were lying beside his bed and his expression suddenly lit up. ¡°Fine, let¡¯s go!¡± Chapter 4 - Sun Beam The horu-beetle was indeed gigantic. Staring at the thing with his mouth wide open, Emmet couldn¡¯t help but be surprised. Yorick had told him how big the thing had been, but actually seeing it was a very different thing from hearing. The two were standing in a large field of wheat, staring at a large, black beetle about ten meters away. The beetle was truly big. A little bit over a meter and a half long and colored a metallic black with a slight sheen, on its back was a round, shiny carapace. It had big beady eyes and long, spindly legs, giving a person a sickly feeling. Grazing leisurely within the wheat, it casually munched on a stalk. In fact, all around it were half eaten and trampled wheat stalks. If it noticed the two boys, it didn¡¯t seem to care. After all, it was a meter and a half long, while the boys themselves might only be somewhat taller than a meter. What did it need to fear? ¡°What a bastard!¡± Yorick cursed. In his hand he carried a shovel, which he waved menacingly at the beetle. ¡°We worked hard to grow that wheat! And he¡¯s just gonna eat it all?¡± Horu-beetles were a common pest often seen in the fields, universally hated by farmers. They were big and could consume an enormous amount of their crop in one go. Further, they were a pain to deal with, since their carapace armor was so hard and difficult to damage. Farmers would usually have to gather a large group of tool-armed people before they could batter it back and force it away. However, although they were big, they weren¡¯t usually this big! In their memory, neither Emmet or Yorick had ever seen a horu-beetle even half this large! Emmet laughed. ¡°Didn¡¯t you say you were a supreme warrior? If you¡¯re so tough, why don¡¯t you go fight it?¡± ¡°You know what, I will!¡± Yorick put on a tough face. Striding forward, he raised his shovel and gave the beetle a good whack! Ding! The shovel hit the beetle directly in the carapace, creating a loud ringing noise. On the carapace appeared a tiny scratch mark. However, the horu-beetle didn¡¯t seem to care. Not even pausing its little side-pinching mouth, it continued to chow down on the stalk of wheat it was holding. ¡°Geh!¡± Yorick scowled, stepping back and putting his hands on his hips. ¡°The armor¡¯s too hard!¡± Yorick only dared to attack it because horu-beetles were very passive. Even when attacked, they would rarely attack back, unless their lives were truly threatened. Even then, they would likely choose to flee first. They were more concerned with just eating their full. ¡°Ha-ha, weak!¡± Emmet chortled. ¡°Watch me!¡± Yorick was successfully provoked. His eyes turning red, he raised his shovel again, and with all his might, struck it down! Ding! Once again, another tiny scratch appeared on the horu-beetle¡¯s carapace. Even so, it still didn¡¯t bother to pay attention to Yorick, not pausing his munching even a little bit. ¡°This little¡­¡± Yorick was incensed. ¡°Loser! You boast about becoming a supreme warrior, yet you can¡¯t even handle a little beetle?¡± Emmet teased. ¡°How embarrassing!¡± ¡°Again!¡± Yorick protested and charged forward again. Another ding, another small scratch - it was to the same hopeless result. At this rate, it might take another thousand swings before the beetle took any real damage. In reality, even a single adult might not have the strength to threaten a horu-beetle, how could a ten-year-old boy possibly have the required strength? Seeing Yorick curse over and over again, Emmet grabbed his bag and pulled something out. At first glance, it appeared to be a contraption, consisting of a few layers of thin stone disks overlayed by varying patterns of sunstones and other common ingredients, organized in specific patterns. ¡°Hm?¡± Yorick noticed Emmet¡¯s movement and paused his swing. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Hehehe¡­¡± Emmet chortled ecstatically. ¡°I¡¯m glad you asked. This is my new creation I created recently! One of the puzzles in the book detailed a schematic similar, and I was enlightened¡­¡±If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°New creation?¡± Yorick¡¯s eyes lit up in curiosity. He walked over and closely observed the new contraption. Tracing over its complicated quartz circuitry, he nodded his head in intrigue. ¡°What does it do? Will it help beat this beetle?¡± ¡°You can say that!¡± Emmet smiled mysteriously. He pointed toward the horu-beetle. ¡°Don¡¯t mind me, go attack the horu-beetle again. Don¡¯t stop and just keep on striking it!¡± ¡°Keep attacking the beetle?¡± Yorick raised an eyebrow. What was this mysterious contraption? What would it do? It needed him to keep attacking the beetle? ¡°Alright,¡± he acquiesced, turning and stepping toward the beetle again, raising his shovel. Ding! Ding! Soon enough, he was rapidly attacking the horu-beetle. One shovel hit after another, he struck the horu-beetle without care. After some time, he started to get into a rhythm, hitting each of the beetle¡¯s sides with alternate strokes. Still, the beetle was unphased. Finished eating its current stalk, it scuttled forward a step and began to start eating a new one. The constant battering only seemed to function as a sort of massage. Preoccupied with attacking the beatle, Yorick didn¡¯t notice the contraption in Emmet¡¯s hands slowly light up brighter and brighter within the sunlight, showing off a light golden glow. Just as the glow was getting brighter and brighter, Emmet suddenly tilted it in Yorick¡¯s direction, causing a hazy yellow beam to shoot out of it! The beam hit Yorick in the back and dispersed around him, bathing him in a glowy light. ¡°Hm?¡± Yorick subtly noticed a change, but deeply engrossed in his combat, didn¡¯t look to see what had happened. He continued to strike at the beetle, varying his form with each hit, trying to find some sort of technique that would work better. Ding! Ding! He grit his teeth, striking with his shovel with more and more of his effort, the horu-beetle¡¯s shiny black carapace filling his enraged vision. By this time, it was filled with tens of tiny scratches. ¡°Hah! Hah!¡± He began to yell out, grunting with each swing. Unknowingly, his strikes began to get heavier and heavier. Suddenly, the more he struck, the more he felt invigorated. It was almost as if something was supplementing his energy. Seeing Yorick¡¯s reinvigorated energy, Emmet¡¯s eyes lit up. At this moment, Yorick saw a piece of the horu-beetle¡¯s carapace that had been hit multiple times. Several criss-crossing small scratches had joined together to form a slightly deeper scratch in the middle. His eyes suddenly turned red, and he turned his strikes toward that area of the shell! Ding! Ding! The shovel battered that section of the shell with harder and harder strikes, and the area was decorated with more and more scratches. Although not completely accurate, the shovel would usually hit within a few inches of the criss-crossing patches of scratches. At some point, Yorick had stopped treating the shovel as just a shovel, and was wielding it like a sword, taking sideways stances and using the rotation of his waist to give him more power in his slices. Suddenly, DAK! A slightly different sound rang out, a sound that gave the impression of something cracking. Mid-strike, Yorick¡¯s shovel bent near its tip, its malleable material curving from its usual shape. However, the beetle wasn¡¯t unscathed either. The last strike, the scratched-up part of the carapace finally gave, a tiny inch-deep crack appearing. At that moment, the horu-beetle finally felt threatened, and it quickly dropped the stalk of wheat it was feeding on and scurried away. Soon enough, it had disappeared within the thick patch of dense wheat stalks. ¡°Ha-HA!!!¡± Yorick tossed his shovel to the side and threw his arms into the air, screaming out gleefully. ¡°I did it! Hell yeah!¡± ¡°Good job, good job!¡± Emmet smiled, using a hand to awkwardly clap the side of his leg. It was hard to hold something and clap at the same time. It was then that Yorick finally noticed the hazy yellow light surrounding him. Turning toward Emmet and seeing the contraption still dimly lit, his eyes widened. ¡°What¡¯s that?! What did it do?¡± ¡°Hehehe, I¡¯m glad you asked!¡± Emmet chortled pervertedly. ¡°I don¡¯t know what it¡¯s called, but I think I¡¯m gonna name it the sunbeam! Using some quartz circuitry and several sunstones in a layered circuit, it can absorb the sun¡¯s energy, convert it to a nurturing state, and then shoot it out toward someone, allowing them to absorb the rays and invigorate their energy levels!¡± ¡°Oh!¡± Yorick had a realization. So no wonder he had been able to damage the beetle at the end - he had been recharged by Emmet¡¯s solar beam! He had thought it was strange that the more he had hit the beetle with the shovel, the more energy he seemed to have. Staring at the strange contraption in Emmet¡¯s arms, he couldn¡¯t help but be amazed. So things like this existed? He had never heard of anything like it! Although, for a sheltered farm boy, that wasn¡¯t saying much. Was it likely for something like that to make an appearance here? ¡°Hehe,¡± Emmet raised his head proudly. In truth, even a week ago, he would not have been able to build such an amazing device. It was all thanks to the amazing book the tribe head had gifted him - in one such puzzle on the 25th page, it detailed a similar configuration. Enlightened, he had modified a bit of its structure to build it in real life. Thankfully, the primary components, quartz and sunstones, were readily available to him. Especially in tilling season, farmers might find several wagonfuls of those rocks sitting in the fields. He was incredibly excited. After building the contraption a few days ago, he had been itching to try it out. However, he had no place to try it. Thus, today was a perfect opportunity to see his handiwork in action! Seeing the contraption actually work as intended, Emmet couldn¡¯t help but grow more and more motivated. The book was such an amazing resource that he was blessed to have - it would be such a waste to not take full advantage! ¡°Let¡¯s go again! Let¡¯s go again!¡± Yorick screamed out. He picked up his dented shovel and waved it around in the air. ¡°That felt amazing! We gotta go again - this is good training!¡± Chapter 5 - Progression In the end, the two boys spent nearly three hours roaming around the fields, looking for horu-beetles for Yorick to battle. By the finish, Yorick¡¯s poor shovel had turned into a deformed mess - at this point, it was more of a piece of scrap metal than a shovel. However, he was satisfied. This was the most exhilarating experience he had had in a long time. After extensive effort, he had even managed to give a few more cracks to some other horu-beetles¡¯ shells! The whole time, Emmet was grumbling. He wanted to go back to his room and work on the latest puzzles in the book that had been stumping him. However, Yorick would not relent and forcibly dragged him along, searching through the fields finding beetle after beetle. Although none were as big as the horu-beetle they had first seen, Yorick still manically enjoyed beating them up while basking in the sun beam¡¯s nurturing rays. Arriving home, just from constantly using the contraption, Emmet had already thought of a dozen different improvements that he could make for the sun beam. In reality, it was a pretty poor construction, an initial prototype made without any testing. After a few hours of use, the ray that it shot out had already dimmed in quality, and would turn inconsistent, sometimes sputtering out randomly. Further, the device was heavy - holding for a long time tired his arms. Within an hour, Emmet had already visualized multiple superior designs in his mind. In truth, he reasoned, theory was just theory. In order to really identify areas of improvement or find shortcomings of the design, one would need to use it in practical reality. For example, he realized that his method of circulating the energy from the sunstones outward was too naive - there was no guarantee that the sunstones would charge equally, or provide the same amount of energy, or actually, even provide any energy at all (maybe there would be a defect). There would need to be a better mechanism for controlling the flow from the energy production to the output, and controlling for when one was faster than the other. This type of problem had been introduced in the recent pages of the book (producer - consumer problem, as it was titled), and only now did Emmet fully understand the practical applications. Thus, by the time Emmet had charged into his room and shut the door, going into seclusion, he was actually glad he had spent so much time out. He had been able to extensively test out the contraption! Not only was he enlightened about how to improve the sun beam itself, in the process, he also thought of numerous possible directions for the other problems he had been pondering. Everything was connected, and learning one thing would help build understanding for another! Seeing the boys return home so late, their mother chided them. However, hearing that they had spent all this time driving away pests from the fields, her eyes softened. So they were so dedicated to their crop! It was a blessing. -------------- Time passed as quickly as a sun¡¯s rays passed through the atmosphere. In the blink of an eye, an entire three months had passed. It was now the dead of winter. The entire landscape was coated with a thicker layer of white, creating a breath-taking portrait - because there were little trees in the area, the white stretched all the way to the horizon. At this point, everyone in the tribe was stagnant. In fact, there was nothing much they could do - it wasn¡¯t like they could grow crop in that vast field of white. Thus, everyone spent their days inside. They would chat with each other, play games, whatever they could think of to pass time. ¡°Emmmmettttttt! Emmmmmeeeet! Come fight me!¡± Yorick¡¯s annoying voice resounded outside of Emmet¡¯s door. At this point, the entrance of Emmet¡¯s bedroom had evolved once again. The old doorbell had been replaced with a sleeker, more responsive, less space-intensive, smooth jade chime. The slot in the door was also now no longer just a funnel - somehow, Emmet had implemented a contraption that would suck any letter delivered in, safely transferring it to his desk. Further, there was now a doormat in front of the door, that when stepped on, would trigger some sunstones to light up near the sides of the door, creating a nice little light for a visitor. ¡°Shut up!¡± Emmet¡¯s exasperated voice rang out once again. At this point, he was reaching the end of his rope. During the tilling season, Yorick¡¯s intrusions had been annoying, but tolerable. Yet, now that it was winter, often Yorick literally had nothing else to do. It wasn¡¯t like he could just casually go outside - it was freezing, and at times, blizzarding! Thus, he would spend much of his time leaned up against Emmet¡¯s door, pestering him. ¡°Let¡¯s go outside and explore!¡± Yorick¡¯s excited voice rang out. ¡°It finally stopped blizzarding... There¡¯s so much we can do! It¡¯ll be just like tilling season - going out every week and bangin¡¯ up a bunch of critters!¡± After that day three months ago of having searched relentlessly for horu-beetles to batter, for the rest of the tilling season, they had made it a routine, going out and fighting pests nearly twice a week. At first, they had just fought boring, passive horu-beetles. However, after Yorick gained the strength to crack through their armors, they weren¡¯t enough of a challenge. Soon enough, the two were tackling bigger and bigger beasts. For example, they would often challenge grazing beasts, as farmers called it - they were big, horned quadrupedal creatures that would stand around in meadows eating grass. The problem was, they would also often come to farmers¡¯ fields and eat up all their crop. Even though, like horu-beetles, they too weren¡¯t known for being too aggressive, farmers still didn¡¯t like to mess with them. Sometimes, when they were in a bad mood, they would lower their horns and charge at you. If you weren¡¯t careful, they would maul you with hundreds of pounds of force. In fact, just the previous year, a careless member of the tribe had been killed by one of these grazing beasts. However, Yorick was fearless. Although he at first only challenged small, juvenile grazing beasts, he soon moved on to bigger and bigger beasts, until soon, he was challenging prime, adult beasts! Needless to say, he had several close calls, but luckily enough, had escaped any serious injury.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Much of this accomplishment was only made possible by Emmet¡¯s inventions. Unlike the first time, in which Emmet only brought one contraption, and it was bulky and inefficient, each time Emmet now brought several compact contraptions, including a new and improved sun beam! At this point, the sun beam was in its fourth iteration, and was much superior - while being a third of the original size, it would give twice the nurturing effect for twice as long, and was also much more consistent - the beam would rarely sputter out anymore. Further, unlike before, where it had gaudy circuitry dotting the outside of the contraption, all the mechanisms were now hidden underneath some casing, giving it much needed durability - even when struck by a shovel, it probably wouldn¡¯t break! However, that was no longer Emmet¡¯s only contraption! Now that he had compacted them into smaller, more efficient shapes, he could carry more, and sometimes combined them to make a contraption with dual effect! All of them were largely based on schematics found in puzzles in the puzzle book. One such contraption was called the earth aura beam, which used the combined effects of sunstones and earthjade to shoot a beam that provided its recipient with a surrounding earth aspect - a thin mist of earth would surround recipient, providing him a slight defensive advantage - any strikes into the zone would be weakened by the earth aura! Of course, it was only a slight effect - a regular punch might only have its power weakened by a slight factor. However, Yorick didn¡¯t mind. It felt amazing being in an earth atmosphere, feeling like a god amongst men, as if you could slay anything! Besides that, there was the healing beam - it utilized the overgreen root (sometimes found just naturally growing as a weed in the fields) combined with sunstones again to bless whoever came into its path with a slight sped-up healing effect, and the speed beam - it used quick-reacting spin-circle leaves combined with sunstones to bless the recipient with quicker reflexes. Although they both gave tiny, almost unnoticeable even, effects, they still gave Yorick a sense of vitality and quickness. It felt like his muscles were not only recovering quicker, but twitching faster, allowing him to move around with greater ease! The fast improvement of these contraptions was only made possible by constant use and experimentation - thus, during the tilling season, Emmet had actually not been too opposed to occasionally going out and aiding Yorick in fighting whatever he wanted. He wouldn¡¯t use the beams on his own self - he knew how scrawny he was, and didn¡¯t like to physically fight when he could. There was an unintended side effect - the more Yorick fought, the stronger and more skilled he became! At first, he had just used haphazard strokes on his enemies, just using what he knew from tilling and harvesting to shape his strikes. However, the more he fought, and the more he got in exhilarating situations, the more practiced his movements became, and the more confident in his fighting he became. While before, it would take at least a few dozen strikes before he could crack a horu-beetle¡¯s shell, now he could do it with just a few well-timed pierces. Needless to say, his strength also increased as well - repeatedly striking with a heavy metal shovel took a lot out of a person, and thus, Yorick became stronger and stronger, his muscles expanding. This was combined with his recent growth spurt, in which in the span of these three months, he had grown an entire inch and a half, just as he turned 11 years old. Everything lined up for Yorick to grow more and more into a young headstrong lad. (With all that striking, he had also destroyed a lot of shovels - at this point, he had probably deformed a whole dozen, completely beyond repair.) Emmet, on the other hand, barely grew at all, still the same scrawny little fellow. However, inside his head, his mind was rapidly expanding! In these past three months, other than working on his various contraptions, he had made it past another twelve pages in his book. It was hard work - after page 25, the puzzles continued to get progressively difficult, the answers more and more obscure. At this point, on page 37, it might take Emmet more than a few days to just solve a single puzzle on a page. However, to Emmet, this just made it more and more exciting! Frankly, he was glad the puzzles weren¡¯t basic. He was never one to back down from a challenge - if there was a puzzle, he would solve it! However, he was helpless about one thing. Starting from page 30, the puzzles would often include the use of something he had never heard of - a substance called ¡®mana.¡¯ The further pages Emmet flipped to, the more ¡®mana¡¯ would be used. In many cases, it was an indispensable component to the puzzles. Apparently, it was a crucial control source that could act through a surface, providing much more minute manipulability, opening one up to a much wider field of diverse puzzles. It was often depicted as a light blue colored amorphous substance and would often act as the primary sustaining energy through the circuits. Oftentimes, these would be puzzles with practical applications, many times including real-life objects such as sunstones or different types of plant parts. Mana was included equally as casually, as if it was a real life thing that could be easily acquired. Before page 30, sunstones and other similar equivalents had almost been exclusively used as the energy sources in the puzzles. However, after page 30, the puzzles would include this ¡®mana¡¯ more and more. The benefits of this ¡®mana¡¯ to sunstones were apparently immense - it could be instantly channeled, much more minutely controlled, and often provided a larger amount of power. Thus, the complexity of the puzzles could be greatly increased. However, Emmet didn¡¯t have this ¡®mana¡¯ in real life! Thus, he was a bit confused. Was this ¡®mana¡¯ actually a real thing? Could it be used in real life to build those schematics specified in the book? How could he get it? However, he slowly pushed these thoughts out of his mind. When pondering the puzzles, only thinking about the theory, it didn¡¯t matter - he could still visualize the problems in context of this ¡®mana,¡¯ even if he didn¡¯t have it in real life. However, this did restrict how many contraptions he could adapt in real life. Although Emmet would try to skirt around this lack of ¡®mana,¡¯ occasionally succeeding with more complicated circuits, it was growing more and more of a problem. In fact, sunstones had large drawbacks - they would only work after absorbing the sun¡¯s light after some time. Further, they could not turn off on their own - some circuitry was required to manipulate them, and that took resources, space, and time. Emmet pondered these issues for all of the three months. After the first snowfall hit and the family hunkered into their cabin for the winter, Emmet became even more obsessed. While before, he would take some breaks from the book to do farmwork, there was now little to do, aside from tending to the animals. After that was done, Emmet now spent 100% of his time on puzzles, completely engrossing himself. Sometimes, he even forgot to sleep. ¡°Did you hear me, Emmet?¡± Yorick¡¯s voice screamed out again. ¡°Let¡¯s go out! It¡¯s so nice outside!¡± ¡°Go away!¡± Emmet screamed out, closing his eyes and waving his hand around. He was attempting to visualize a solution in his mind. ¡°You¡¯re annoying!¡± ¡°Come on, Emmet! Let¡¯s go!¡± Yorick was persistent. ¡°Let¡¯s go let¡¯s go let¡¯s go let¡¯s go let¡¯s go let¡¯s go let¡¯s go let¡¯s go let¡¯s go let¡¯s go let¡¯s go let¡¯s go let¡¯s go let¡¯s go let¡¯s go let¡¯s go let¡¯s go-¡± ¡°Fine! Fine!¡± Emmet yelled out exasperatedly, throwing his book down. ¡°I have a new contraption to test anyway.¡± Chapter 6 - Wolf Pack The two boys dressed up head to toe in heavy snow garb. Each had three inch thick wool coats, patched together with bits of scrap fabric, and equally thick cowhide pants. On their heads they were covered by thick wool caps, and on their feet they wore simple high-ankled boots, ideal for traversing through snow. ¡°Jeez, you¡¯re so annoyingly persistent¡­¡± Emmet rolled his eyes, one by one taking careful steps through the blanket of thick white. With each step, his foot sunk down to his shins. ¡°Hehehe¡­ don¡¯t worry, we¡¯ll have a great adventure!¡± Yorick cackled gleefully, also carefully taking steps. ¡°The creatures that roam in this winter tundra are completely different from ones in the other seasons. Who knows what we¡¯ll meet?¡± They were both now over half a mile away from their home. Yorick was persistent on heading out toward the thick brush that surrounded the fields, in hopes of finding something exciting. Although for a brief few minutes, he had been content just making snow-angels and throwing snowballs, he had quickly grown bored, and was itching to do battle! ¡°Yeesh¡­¡± Emmet shook his head slightly. ¡°We¡¯d better not go too far. If we really find something, it¡¯d be hard for us to run in this thick snow.¡± The creatures that roamed around during the winter were completely different from in the other seasons! In the warmer seasons, animals were free to graze around, lazily living off the land, and there were many places to hide, so many that were around were docile. However, in the winter, all the greenery was gone, and most of the animals had gone into hibernation. Anything that was still out there was likely a predator, confident in its mobility through the snow. Mother had even warned them to be careful when they had went out, and to not go far, but clearly, Yorick hadn¡¯t been listening. ¡°Relax!¡± Yorick pumped his chest. ¡°What, you scared? Don¡¯t worry! Big brother Yorick has grown much stronger over these past months. With the help of little brother¡¯s healing arrays, what can possibly threaten us?¡± ¡°Ugh¡­¡± Emmet rolled his eyes. Over the past three months, Yorick¡¯s ego had really inflated. Soon enough, he was proclaiming that they were the ¡°unbeatable brothers¡± - big brother with the strength and little brother with the wit. Yorick pointed over the horizon. ¡°Look! There¡¯s an animal!¡± ¡°Hm?¡± Emmet looked over, squinting his eyes. Sure enough, in the distance there was a faint silhouette of a quadrupedal beast. ¡°Looks like a wolf.¡± ¡°Haha! Finally, something new!¡± Yorick exclaimed, raising his shovel excitedly. ¡°Let¡¯s fight! Fight! Fight fight fight!¡± The wolf seemed to hear the proclamation and turned its head in their direction. After staring at them for a few seconds, it let out a howl, and then turned around and dashed away. ¡°Hm?¡± Yorick was surprised. ¡°It¡¯s running away?¡± Emmet stared back at where the wolf had fled. For some reason, he had a bad premonition. ¡°Hahaha!¡± Yorick raised his head back and chortled. ¡°Afraid, ey? Who can blame ye¡¯? We are, after all, the unbeatable brothers!¡± ¡°Yorick¡­¡± Emmet let out a tentative whisper. ¡°Un-beat-able! Un-beat-able!¡± Yorick raised his shovel high and paraded around. ¡°Un-beat-able! Un-beat-able! We are un-beat-able!¡± ¡°Yorick!¡± Emmet said, a little louder now. ¡°What¡¯s wrong, unbeatable little bro?¡± Yorick patted Emmet¡¯s shoulder and smiled devilishly. ¡°We¡¯ve got a reputation now! They¡¯re scared.¡± ¡°Wolves¡­¡± Emmet gulped, panning his eyes around nervously. ¡°Wolves¡­ wolves usually travel in packs.¡± ¡°What?¡± For the first time, Yorick was stopped in his tracks. Then, they heard it.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. It was at first a distant rumble¡­ but then grew louder and louder. Within seconds, they could hear the collection of soft, rapid, footsteps. And then¡­ like a chorus¡­ AWOOOOOO!!!! ¡°Run!¡± Emmet screamed out, pulling Yorick back and haphazardly taking steps in retreat. Yorick didn¡¯t need a second warning. Immediately tucking his shovel away and turning around, he joined Emmet and began sprinting the other way. However, the snow was thick and it was hard to run. Despite flailing their little legs as hard as they could, they weren¡¯t making much progress. AWOOO!!! AWOOO!!! The howls were getting louder and louder. Taking step after step as fast as they could, Emmet and Yorick felt their adrenaline pumping loudly. For the first time, they felt a real sense of danger. A wolf pack¡­ They had never seen one in real life, but they had heard rumors. Apparently, they were the most ruthless hunter in the winter. One wolf was scary enough, with its sharp fangs and incredible darting mobility through the snow. An entire pack of wolves? Their prey would have nowhere to run, inevitably getting torn apart by the barrage of sharp fangs. Every year, they would hear the distant howls from the safety of inside the cabin. However, they had never experienced it up close! It was a truly frightening experience. ¡°Fuck¡­ fuck¡­¡± Yorick groaned. ¡°I¡¯m sorry lil¡¯ bro¡­ if this is the end, just know I love you.¡± ¡°Shut it!¡± Emmet snapped back. ¡°This isn¡¯t the end. Don¡¯t say stuff like that.¡± AWOOOO!!! The howls were much closer this time. They could hear the stampede of steps charging toward them grow heavier and heavier, so much that they could even feel the vibrations underneath their feet. At this rate, it wouldn¡¯t be another minute before they would get swamped. ¡°Dammit, we¡¯re not gonna make it,¡± Emmet grit his teeth. Although if he squinted his eyes, he could see their little cabin in the distance, it would take at least another ten minutes to reach it. There was no way they could get there in time. ¡°Fuck¡­¡± Yorick cursed for the n-th time. ¡°Fuck, fuck, fuck. Is this the end? I never thought my way out would be getting torn up by wolves¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s not over!¡± Emmet suddenly grabbed Yorick¡¯s shoulder and stopped in his steps. ¡°Let¡¯s stand our ground and fight!¡± Yorick stopped in his steps too and pursed his lips. ¡°You¡¯re right¡­ what kind of supreme warrior am I? It¡¯s just a little pack of wolves! Is something so puny gonna take us ¡®unbeatable brothers¡¯ down?¡± ¡°Now we¡¯re talking!¡± For some reason, in the face of supreme danger, Emmet felt his blood pressure rise, a palpable excitement flowing through his veins. ¡°Get ready for battle!¡± Both children turned around and faced their threat. Stampeding toward them was a closely-packed group of around ten grey wolves, each snarling fiercely. Their fangs were over an inch long, gleaming sinisterly in the snowy landscape. Although they were still a distance away, at the rate they were going, it would only take tens of seconds for them to arrive. ¡°Battle formation!¡± Emmet yelled out. ¡°Aye aye!¡± Yorick immediately followed the order, stepping out in front and holding out his shovel threateningly. At the same time, Emmet backed up a few paces. Soon enough, they were a considerable distance away. ¡°Sun beam!¡± Emmet held out a small contraption out in his left hand, which quickly began to absorb sunlight. ¡°Earth beam! Speed beam! Healing beam!¡± One by one, he took out small contraptions and held them out into the light. Each slowly began to glow with minute lights, growing stronger and stronger by the second. It might seem logical that in the winter, especially with the clouds blocking the sky, there would be less sunlight for the devices to absorb. However, that wasn¡¯t necessarily true. Although there was less direct sunlight from the sky to the ground, across the bright snowy landscape, the sunlight would be reflected through all different angles off the snow, resulting in a large amount of diffused sunlight streaming out in all directions. In particular, this large amount of light reflected off the snow and streamed into the sunstones embedded on the outside of Emmet¡¯s contraptions. ¡°Battle position ready!¡± Yorick screamed out. He was now standing in a slightly crouched position, knees bent, slightly angled away from the threat. His shovel was held out in front of him like a sword. ¡°Awaiting reinforcement beams!¡± ¡°Incoming!¡± Emmet screamed out. The wolves had arrived! The leading three in pack had just now approached Yorick, and leaped toward him, fangs bared. BANG! Yorick ruthlessly swung his shovel, smacking the first wolf in the side of the muzzle. It let out a small yelp before dashing to the side and retreating. However, the second and third wolves continued unimpeded! ¡°Fuck you!¡± Yorick shifted gears and slammed his shovel backwards, backhanding the second wolf. Taken by surprise, it sprawled out onto the ground for a moment before haphazardly getting back up and retreating back to the pack. However, there still was a third wolf. No time to do any other moves, Yorick attempted a forceful kick to drive it away. However, it wasn¡¯t enough. The wolf easily dodged the kick and sunk its fangs into Yorick¡¯s calf. ¡°Yorick!¡± Emmet yelled out. The beams needed to charge; they weren¡¯t ready yet! For now, Yorick was all on his own. ¡°AHHHH!!!¡± Yorick screamed out. He quickly raised his shovel and smashed it onto the wolf¡¯s skull, finally causing it to let its grip go and retreat. However, a flow of red had began to appear on his calf. However, it wasn¡¯t over. At that moment, three new wolves had charged toward him, barking incessantly. Chapter 7 - Mana ¡°Dammit!¡± Yorick cursed. Although his adrenaline was pumping too wildly to feel the pain, he could tell that his leg was heavily injured. For the next few weeks, he might not even be able to do farmwork. Mother would scold him! Fuoosh! At that moment, an aura of light appear around him! ¡°Sun beam!¡± He was overjoyed. ¡°Finally!¡± And then consecutively¡­ an aura of brown, blue, and green! ¡°Earth beam! Speed beam! Healing beam!¡± The beams had finally finished charging, and were shooting consistent beams toward him! Now, they would sustain him with energy! ¡°HAHAHAHA!!!¡± Yorick cackled like the devil. ¡°You¡¯re in for it now! Today is the day that you dared mess with the ¡®unbeatable brothers!¡¯ Pay your price!¡± As the beams engorged him in light, he felt a great power surge through him, coursing through his veins like a tide. With the power of the light, he was unbeatable! At that moment, he was god! He was asura! He was the devil, unbeatable and pure evil! The first wolf lunged toward his fearlessly, its fangs bared. ¡°Too weak!¡± Yorick swung his shovel like a bat, bashing the wolf directly in the head. It yelped out and retreated. The speed and strength of the strike was much greater than before! The second wolf lunged toward Yorick¡¯s injured leg, eager to immobilize the enemy. ¡°Too slow!¡± Yorick recovered quickly, and with a speed seemingly surpassing his limits, turned the shovel around and pounded the second wolf in the nape. Coughing out, it seethed its teeth and quickly limped away. The third wolf, a smaller one, leaped directly toward his chest! ¡°Nope!¡± With his fist, he reached out and pounded the wolf down directly on the head! Bang! The wolf let out a shrill bark and collapsed down in front of Yorick. ¡°Hehehehe!!!¡± Yorick waved his shovel around like a madman, laughing his head off. ¡°I feel powerful! I¡¯m a god! I¡¯m unbeatable! Come and try me, horu-beetle-fuckers!¡± ¡°Grrr¡­¡± The other wolves in the pack seemed to hesitate, no longer charging. They stood menacingly in a semicircle around him. ¡°No one dares?¡± Yorick pounded his chest teasingly. ¡°No one dares charge at this big daddy Yorick?¡± At that moment, one of the wolves had an idea. This shovel-bearing human had originally not been this powerful. It was only after the human behind him had held up those glowing things that he had become much stronger! Thus¡­ if he was to get the second human first, and disrupt the glowing lights, then they could deal with the first human! ¡°RAWRR!!!¡± With the speed only a quadrupedal snow beast could produce, the wolf dashed around Yorick toward Emmet. ¡°Emmet!¡± Yorick yelled out, turning his head just in time to see the wolf soar out toward his brother, jaw open. ¡°Hehe¡­¡± Emmet smiled. ¡°I thought you might get this idea.¡± He opened his hand, revealing a fifth contraption, which quickly mechanized! Pa! Pa! Pa! Three medium-sized rocks shot out of the contraption, soaring with quick speed toward the wolf! Although at the last moment, the wolf tried to change direction and dodge, it was a beat too slow, and the rocks hit it directly in the nose, forehead, and cheek. ¡°AHHIIHHH!!!¡± The wolf groaned out, halting in its tracks and dizzily backing off. Shaking its head, it steadied itself and retreated back towards it group. ¡°HAHAHA!!!¡± Yorick slapped his knee in laughter. ¡°Good move! Isn¡¯t that the Emmet Defense System 3000?¡± ¡°The Emmet Defense System 4000,¡± Emmet cackled. ¡°I¡¯ve recently made new improvements!¡±The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. A puzzle on page 35 had recently enlightened him, allowing to greatly shrink the Emmet Defense System, making it portable, while also increasingly its firing speed and offensive power! It was now a formidable weapon! ¡°Good, good!¡± Yorick smiled from ear to ear. He turned back toward the wolves, who were still in standoff. ¡°Ya want more?? Let¡¯s go! Let¡¯s see it! This is what you asked for when you messed with the unbeatable brothers!¡± ¡°Grrrr¡­¡± The leader wolf, now with a bruise on the side of its face, let out a short growl. Then, it turned around and quickly dashed off. ¡°Awoo!¡± The other members of the pack quickly peeled away and joined him, rushing off into the distance. ¡°Hahahahahaha...¡± Yorick laughed a belly laugh, holding his chest like he had just heard the funniest joke in the world. ¡°That¡¯s right, run off! That¡¯s why you don¡¯t pick a fight with the unbeatable brothers! Big bro with the brawn, little bro with the wit. Unbeatable once again!¡± ¡°Hahaha!¡± For the first time, Emmet found this line humorous, and burst out in a fit of laughter. Maybe it was the intense relief, or maybe the adrenaline high that was making him loopy. Putting away his contraptions, dissipating the beams of light, he walked up and patted Yorick on the shoulder. ¡°Good job, big bro.¡± ¡°Haha, you too, lil¡¯ bro!¡± Yorick laughed out loud, patting Emmet pack. He looked around him and saw that the aura of lights had faded. ¡°I don¡¯t know why, but even without those reinforcement beams, I still feel vibrant and full of energy! It must be the unbeatable spirit of us two bros!¡± ¡°Hm?¡± Emmet looked over and raised his eyebrows. For some reason, he felt that Yorick was a bit different. ¡°Even now, you still feel a rejuvenating spirit?¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± Yorick energetically swooshed his shovel round and round, as if he had boundless energy. ¡°Even without your beams shining onto me, I still feel like something inside is churning me with energy!¡± ¡°Wait!¡± Emmet shouted out. ¡°Swing your shovel again, this time with all your might.¡± He eyed Yorick carefully. ¡°Alright!¡± Yorick acquiesced, eagerly charging up his shovel once again. ¡°1¡­ 2¡­ 3¡­ HA!!!¡± With blurring-ly fast speed, the shovel blinked down into the snow. Shuk! It embedding deep inside, even through the hardened snow underneath, almost completely disappearing within. At the same time, the edges of Yorick¡¯s arms glowed slightly in a light blue light! ¡°Light blue¡­¡± Emmet¡¯s eyes widened. ¡°It¡¯s mana! Yorick, you developed mana!¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Yorick was breathing a bit heavily now, having used all his might in that one strike. He now felt a bit exhausted, the energy inside of him spent up. ¡°Mana?¡± ¡°Yeah, I saw it labeled in the book!¡± Emmet exclaimed, rushing up to Yorick and patting up and down his arm. ¡°It¡¯s supposed to be a light blue illusive substance, and provide the person with a source of power! I saw some light blue peek out from your arms¡­ it must be mana!¡± ¡°What?!¡± Yorick gaped his mouth. ¡°Mana? Something like that was developed in me?¡± ¡°It must be!¡± Emmet nodded his head excitedly. ¡°That¡¯s amazing! Maybe you actually are a supreme warrior!¡± ¡°Supreme warrior¡­?¡± Without missing a beat, Yorick accepted his new powers in stride. ¡°Well of course, that¡¯s to be expected,¡± Yorick made an arrogant face. ¡°How could I be a genius supreme warrior without mana? It was bound to happen.¡± ¡°Geh!¡± Emmet made an ugly face. ¡°So conceited!¡± ¡°Just kidding, just kidding!¡± Yorick laughed, stepping forward and patting Emmet on the shoulder. ¡°But what¡¯s this mana? And what else can it be used for? Is it just to make someone more powerful?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know much either,¡± Emmet shook his head. ¡°I just saw it in the book. It¡¯s used as a power source for many of the puzzle scenarios described in the later pages!¡± He clicked his tongue. ¡°Man, if only I could awaken mana too! It would be so useful for my puzzles! You¡¯re so lucky!¡± ¡°Hehehe,¡± Yorick giggled. ¡°Maybe you¡¯ll awaken it too! We are, after all, family. Maybe it¡¯s hereditary.¡± He grinned teasingly. ¡°Of course, you¡¯re probably not as talented as me. I¡¯m a gifted warrior!¡± ¡°Shut it!¡± ---------------- After returning home, mother saw Yorick¡¯s wound and was aghast. While rushing to bandage it, she harshly scolded the two. ¡°I told you to stay close! Why did you go so far?! Picking fights with wolves?! Are you crazy?!¡± Emmet and Yorick could only sulk as they received the lecture. In the end, the two boys were banned from going out into the winterland again. They would have to wait until next spring to continue their adventures. ¡°Haaa¡­¡± Yorick frowned. ¡°Well, it was good while it lasted. We¡¯re still the unbeatable bros! We¡¯ll continue on next spring!¡± After that, the two got together to inspect Yorick¡¯s mana. After having Yorick duplicate his shovel strike a few times, Emmet was able to confirm that in fact, Yorick did develop the light blue mana described in the book. After receiving the news, Yorick could only giggle sinisterly. This was a sign from the heavens! He really was a supreme warrior! On the other hand, Emmet tried many times to produce the same mana as Yorick, but to no avail. He had even tried multiple times to reproduce the circumstances that had resulted in Yorick''s awakening: receiving all four beams, swinging a shovel with all his might, however, it was ineffective. What made him more depressed was that Yorick only got better and better with his mana, eventually able to summon it at will. Emmet could only jealously look on. At times, he would even get Yorick to send some of his mana into him, hoping maybe that some kind of fantasy symbiotic brother-blood relation would trigger, awakening his mana too. But in the end, nothing happened. Emmet could only grit his teeth and dig his wits deeper into his puzzle book. Like this, three more months passed. Finally, the days got hotter, the snow melted, and spring arrived. Both boys were now 11 years old. Chapter 8 - Wolfie ¡°Let¡¯s go! Let¡¯s go out! Hahaha, it¡¯s finally spring!¡± Yorick pounded on Emmet¡¯s door without care. ¡°Emmet, you hear me? Let¡¯s go out! I finally got the ¡®okay¡¯ from mom! We can go out!¡± ¡°Ahhh¡­. fine¡­¡± Emmet groaned back. ¡°Coming.¡± From inside the room, Emmet glanced up from his book, slightly shaking his head. At this point, he had given up trying to make Yorick use the doorbell. However, this time, he actually wasn¡¯t too opposed to going out and causing trouble. Over the past three months, he had further improved his contraptions, and was eager to test them out! The two dressed up in long-sleeved garb and headed out, Yorick armed with a shovel, and Emmet carrying a cloth bag full of contraptions. It was still just the start of spring, so it was still a bit chilly out. ¡°Hehehe¡­ I¡¯m excited. My mana has gotten much better since before!¡± Yorick cackled. He tapped his chin self-obsessively. ¡°Man! I must really be a genius! Since it awakened, my mana hasn¡¯t stopped growing!¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, whatever,¡± Emmet rolled his eyes. ¡°Congratulations.¡± Over the past months, Yorick had seen it fit to constantly brag about his rapidly improving mana. Emmet could only sigh and shoo him off. He still tried every day to emulate what he saw from Yorick, even conducting extensive interviews with him about what he was doing to produce that blue aura, however, it was to no avail. He couldn¡¯t reproduce it. ¡°Hey Emmet, watch this!¡± Yorick turned toward Emmet and smiled devilishly. He brought two fingers to his mouth and blew out a sharp whistle. Ruff! Ruff! A distant barking sounded, and then a flurry of activity appeared in the distance. Moments later, a small wolf manifested, eagerly bounding toward Yorick, its tongue dangling messily out of the side of its bouncing jaw. It arrived in a huff in front of Yorick and sat at attention. ¡°Hehehe, good boy, Wolfie!¡± Yorick smiled from ear to ear and stroked the wolf behind the ears. ¡°It¡¯s been a while, huh? How ya been?¡± ¡°A¡­ a wolf?!¡± Emmet was completely stunned. Where had this wolf come from? Yorick had tamed a wolf?! ¡°Hehehe,¡± Yorick cackled. ¡°You might recognize this little guy. That time in the winter when we were attacked by that wolf pack, this was the last little guy to attack me! I punched him in the face, causing him to collapse in the snow.¡± Emmet stared at the little wolf sitting in front of Yorick, huffing and puffing cutely. It did actually look familiar¡­ that day, the impression of the wolves had been firmly planted inside his head. ¡°Who could¡¯ve known, a few days later, this little guy came to find me,¡± Yorick produced a strip of meat from his pocket and tossed it toward the wolf. The wolf hurriedly lifted his head up to receive it, and began enthusiastically chewing it up. ¡°After he had collapsed from my punch, the rest of his pack fled, leaving him behind. He¡¯s a smaller, weaker wolf, and wolf packs are ruthless. Those who can¡¯t keep up are left behind.¡± ¡°So it came to find you?¡± Emmet was incredulous.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. ¡°Yeah, he came to the cabin to find me! I found him outside, pawing the door,¡± Yorick smiled, stroking the back of Wolfie¡¯s head. ¡°Winter pack wolves respect power. Under an umbrella of protection, you can be safe. This little guy was impressed by my power, so he came to serve under me, and I gladly accepted him! It took a while to completely gain each other¡¯s trust though.¡± Emmet gawked. Who would have thought, the same wolf who had tried to murder them just three months ago was now Yorick¡¯s loyal pet?! How could that have happened? ¡°And you never told me?¡± ¡°I tried to!¡± Yorick insisted. ¡°But you were always so busy with your puzzles, and so cranky, so I didn¡¯t want to bother you. Of course, I didn¡¯t tell mom or dad. So I just kept it between me and Wolfie.¡± He tapped the wolf and pointed toward Emmet. ¡°Wolfie! This is Emmet! Remember him? He¡¯s a friend.¡± Ruff! Ruff! Wolfie turned toward Emmet and gave a few friendly barks. With a further urging from Yorick, he rushed forward. Slightly cringing, Emmet hesitantly let the wolf approach. He still had a strong impression of that day they had almost been mauled by that wolf pack. However, to his relief, the wolf merely playfully nudged his head on the side of Emmet¡¯s leg. ¡°Go on, pet him!¡± ¡°Ehh¡­¡± Emmet extended a slow hand outward, hesitantly stroking the wolf on the top of the head. Luckily, the wolf was receptive, huffing in pleasure. Emmet¡¯s eyes lit up. ¡°Oh, this is actually nice!¡¯ ¡°See?¡± Yorick gloated. ¡°Wolfie¡¯s a good boy. Since he knows you¡¯re my friend, he¡¯s no harm to you. He¡¯ll also come in handy today! Wolfie¡¯s gonna be our forward scout.¡± He turned toward Wolfie. ¡°Wolfie, go ahead and find some animals for us to fight. The bigger the better!¡± Wolfie briefly huffed twice, showing his assent, and then shot outward toward the distance. ¡°Good boy!¡± ----------------------- ¡°Hahaha! Would you look at that!¡± Yorick cackled out, pointing out toward the approaching fields. At this time of year, there were no long distances of long wheat stalks - they had long been harvested. The field was barren and plain, ready to be tilled and seeded. ¡°It¡¯s a horu-beetle! Looks like it¡¯s feeding on some weeds!¡± Emmet scanned his eyes forward, and sure enough, there was a large horu-beetle resting lazily on the fertile field earth. It was about a meter long, and in its mouth was a large piece of ginkgo root, a commonly seen weed during the spring. Next to Yorick was the perpetually huffing and puffing Wolfie, proudly looking on and nudging Yorick on the side of the leg. It wanted praise for succeeding in its task. ¡°Fine, fine,¡± Yorick acquiesced, extending his hand down and petting the wolf. ¡°Good boy, Wolfie! Very good job.¡± The dog growled softly in response, clearly happy with its master¡¯s praise. ¡°Alright, Emmet, watch me go!¡± Yorick stood back up and smiled evilly. ¡°At such a lowly level, there¡¯s not even a need for any of your support beams! Watch this!¡± He cocked his shovel and dashed forward, his feet tapping gracefully across the moist field. He quickly approached the oblivious horu-beetle! ¡°Supreme warrior¡­ strike!!!¡± The shovel blasted down like a meteor. At the same time, a light blue aura appeared around not only his arms, but also around his twisting waist and wrists! CRACK! The poor horu-beetle¡¯s hard carapace was cracked in half across the middle. Letting out a panicked squeal, it quickly dropped the ginkgo root and scurried away. ¡°Hehe¡­ too powerful!¡± Yorick rested his shovel over his shoulder gallantly, giving a radiant smile. ¡°So I have improved! Before, I could barely crack a horu-beetle¡¯s shell with even a dozen strikes!¡± ¡°Ehhh¡­¡± Emmet sucked in a breath. Yorick really had grown stronger! Compared to last year, he was on a completely different level! Even so¡­ he felt a bit bad. It felt wrong to just randomly injure a harmless horu-beetle like that. Especially before there was any crop in the field¡­ it had just been feeding on some weeds. And now, it had a huge crack in its back. It felt different from before, when their weak strikes were mostly harmless. ¡°This feels great!¡± Yorick exclaimed. ¡°C¡¯mon Emmet, let¡¯s find some more prey!¡± Chapter 9 - Saber-Toothed Bear Over the course of the next two hours, Wolfie helped the two find numerous other horu-beetles and small grazing beasts. Emmet convinced Yorick to hold back his strength and only give some light practice blows, so all the animals were chased away with only light injuries. Soon enough, Yorick began to feel bored, and felt the urge to tackle bigger prey. Although this kind of thing was exciting just a few months ago, these small fry were now too easy to bully. Thus, two boys and one wolf set off into the thick woods outside the fields. Inside the forest area, it was wet and cold. All over the barren trees there was leftover snow that hadn¡¯t melted yet, giving it a brisk atmosphere. The ground was also moist and muddy, giving the two boys, and even Wolfie, a hard time traversing through it. They had heard rumors of bigger beasts within the forest, with bigger diversity than just horu-beetles and grazing beasts, but had never tested it for themselves. Apparently, according to the other boys in the tribe, there were all kinds of fearsome creatures! The deeper you went, the bigger and stronger the beasts would be! All this excited Yorick. After the confrontation with the wolf pack, he had once again grown conceited, and wanted a challenge! A supreme warrior couldn¡¯t just battle with mere grazing beasts. Once again, Emmet was wary. However, it wasn¡¯t as if the two had never entered the woods before. Furthermore, Yorick had greatly increased his power, and currently, Emmet didn¡¯t feel too helpless either. After traveling for about half an hour, only meeting a few small game animals and deer, they began to relax. Maybe the rumors were wrong? Maybe this was just an ordinary patch of woods! However, they didn¡¯t give up. Even ordinary woods had fearsome creatures. Maybe they could beat up some striped panthers that were known to populate the area and call it a day. Ruff! Ruff! Ruff! At that moment, Wolfie suddenly became agitated. He paused and lowered his head, letting out loud barks. ¡°What is it, boy?¡± Yorick bent down to stroke the agitated wolf¡¯s held. ¡°Is there something there?¡± Pausing their progress, they heard some faint rustles, and immediately turned alert. Something was there! At that moment, some distant yelling noises rang out. ¡°AH!!!! Help!!¡± ¡°Someone¡¯s there!¡± Emmet exclaimed. ¡°Let¡¯s go!¡± The three rushed forward toward the source of the voice, arriving at a little clearing. There, there was a boy their age, dressed in a black cloak, fleeing in their direction. ¡°Run!!! RUN!!! It¡¯s a saber-toothed bear!!!¡± The boy screamed as he spotted the two boys. ¡°It¡¯s coming!!!¡± ¡°Huh?!¡± Yorick and Emmet were shocked. A saber-toothed bear?! It was coming this direction? The mysterious boy didn¡¯t pay a second more attention to their direction and quickly ran past them. Just as Yorick and Emmet were about to turn and question the boy further, they heard a rumble through the forest, and the next second, an enormous brown-furred bear appeared at the edge of the clearing. It unsheathed its enormous six inch slaws and gave a deep roar, exposing its nearly four inch long saber teeth. Standing fully, it was nearly eight feet tall! Wolfie let out a panicked shriek and immediately dashed backwards until he was behind Yorick¡¯s legs. ¡°Holy shit!!!¡± Yorick exclaimed out, immediately unsheathing his shovel. It they wanted to run, they had missed their moment. The bear was only a few meters from them now!Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings. ¡°Readying reinforcement beams!¡± Emmet shouted out while taking a few steps back, equally as stunned. However, his actions were practiced and quick, immediately taking out multiple contraptions and charging them up. They all began to light up quickly. Over the past three months, Emmet had realized that a big weakness of the contraptions was that they needed to charge for some time before becoming usable - this fact had almost led to disaster three months ago. Thus, he worked to reduce this charge time by efficiently attaching more sunstones evenly along the surfaces of the contraptions, so now, the devices charged up nearly two and a half times quicker. This increased the circuitry required and complexity of the devices, but using some tricks taken from some of the puzzles in the book, Emmet managed to keep the sizes of the devices the same. Further, he realized that it was tough to carry around five or more devices at once, so he combined many of the similar individual contraptions, creating a dual sun and healing beam contraption and a dual earth and quickness beam. Not to mention, he had been continuously working to improve all of the beams¡¯ strength - they had all grown nearly 50% more powerful since last time! ROAARRR!!! The bear charged forward, its powerful four legs thudding in rhythm across the clearing and its saber teeth bared, directly toward Yorick. It was like a giant behemoth from hell. Gulping as he saw it approach, and feeling the vibrations through his feet, Emmet felt that this was a scene from a nightmare. Unlike before when they had fought the wolves, there would be no second chances! If the bear managed to approach and get a clean strike on Yorick, it would be over. His body might even directly be torn in half. ¡°Dammit!¡± Yorick screamed out, assuming his usual crouched swordsman-like position. He waited a moment for the bear to arrive and then jumped out of its path to the side, just barely dodging the bear¡¯s lethal claw swipe. Regaining his bearings, he swung his shovel with all his might toward the bear¡¯s hulking body, his waist and arms lighting up with a bluish hue! Thunk¡­ The shovel made an unimpressive dull sound, hitting the bear¡¯s body like it was a mound of soil. The bear barely even reacted, dully noting the impact on its side and quickly adjusting its body to strike out again. At that moment, the contraptions finally lit up fully! Fuoosh - four multi colored beams of light soared out toward Yorick and bathed him in light. ¡°GOGOGO!!!¡± Yorick dodged backward, narrowing dodging another paw swipe, and then fearlessly charged forward again. He planted his feet and swung his shovel with all his might! THUNK! Again, Yorick¡¯s shovel hit the bear in the side. However, this time, the impact was much greater, and the bear actually momentarily lost its balance. ROARRRR!!!! The bear planted its hind legs and stood up to give a deafening roar, intimidatingly extending its enormous eight foot long body. It hovered ominously in this position for a split second before pushing off its powerful hind legs and crashing forward toward Yorick with its claws extended. This time, the bear had felt the strike! Although the injury was not lethal, the bear could feel the area of impact of the shovel ringing with pain. It was enraged! ¡°Shit!¡± Yorick panickedly leapt backwards, his speed aided by the quick beam. Fuoosh... Yorick felt the edge of one of the bear¡¯s claws just barely graze his cheek before crashing down into the ground. A fresh flow of blood started to spill from the cut. If he didn¡¯t have the assistance of Emmet¡¯s beam, and was just a beat slower, maybe his face would have been completely torn apart! ¡°Yorick!¡± Emmet exclaimed. ¡°Are you alright?¡± ¡°Yeah!¡± Yorick confirmed, quickly backing up out of the bear¡¯s range of attack. He had brazenly used an opening between the bear¡¯s winding strikes to get in range, managing to send out a powerful attack, but had almost paid the ultimate price. However, the bear wasn¡¯t done. Quickly recovering, it once more wound up strike out toward Yorick. ¡°Fucking shit! This guy is relentless!¡± Yorick groaned, once again just barely dodging sideways out of the path of the bear¡¯s claws. ¡°I don¡¯t even do damage! What the hell are we gonna do?¡± ¡°Hold on!¡± Emmet screamed, shuffling through his cloth bag, causing him to have to awkwardly balance his contraptions on his arms. ¡°I¡¯ll bring out that thing - let¡¯s give it all we got!¡± ¡°Alright!!!¡± Yorick screamed out, his energy rejuvenated. ¡°Unbeatable brothers¡­ let¡¯s do it!¡± Emmet produced another small contraption out of his bag and held it out in the sunlight. At first glance, it looked similar to the others, but upon closer inspection, had quite a different layout of circuity. Instead of multiple distinct layers of threaded quartz, this contraption instead threaded the quartz around in a circular fashion, creating one big intricate ball of quartz. Inside the ball, one could distinctly see a piece of shiny black obsidian, and all throughout the circuit were embedded small pieces of organic materia, various igneous rocks, and a plethora of lock/switches. On the outside, like usual, there were tens of embedded sunstones, which upon exposure to the sunlight, began to light up. Chapter 10 - Saber-Toothed Bear (2) Yorick once again sidestepped and narrowly dodged another one of the bear¡¯s quick claw swipes. However, he wasn¡¯t quite quick enough, and the edge of his shirt was lightly tapped and torn - fzzip! ¡°Dammit¡­ so fast!¡± But it wasn¡¯t over - the bear was learning from its mistakes, and was now predicting Yorick¡¯s movements. It quickly adjusted its feet and turned toward Yorick once more, its sharp six inch claws completely extended! At that moment, Emmet¡¯s roaring voice rang out. ¡°Flamethrower... activate!!!¡± Fuaasshhh!! The new contraption in Emmet¡¯s hands activated, the piece of obsidian inside the device lighting up with a radian yellow. Out of the side of the contraption was a small tube, and at that moment, a thick flow of yellow-orange flame burst out of that tube, directly toward the bear! ¡°Fire!!!¡± Yorick was overjoyed, stepping out of the way and letting the stream of fire flow unimpeded toward the bear. SzzzSZsZZSZZ!!! The fire crackled menacingly, spreading out and lighting up the entire area in an orange glow. ROAR! The bear was alarmed and quickly backed up, letting the fire harmlessly pitter out a few feet from him. Clearly, it was afraid of the fire. It could feel the warmth of it from even feet away, and all of its instincts told it to stay away. Pacing around the hot crackling fluid-like mass, it attempted to step past it, but every time, the fire would move, blocking his way. ¡°Keke¡­¡± The producer of the fire, Emmet, held onto his new contraption and guided it to steadily face the bear. Out of it continued to flow a steady stream of wildly crackling fire, seemingly without end. ¡°Taste my flamethrower!!!¡± Having successfully kept the bear at bay, Emmet reached down into bag and pulled out a final familiar contraption: the Emmet Defense System! Holding so many contraptions at once, it was very awkward, and he was forced to clamp one down underneath his arm. ¡°Take this! The Emmet Defense System 5000!¡± Pia! Pia! Pia! Pia! Pia! Numerous medium-sized rocks rapidly shot out of the mechanizing contraption, popping out like bullets. Pak! Pak! Pak! Although two rocks lost their way, three of them struck true, hitting the bear on the leg, chest, and face. These rocks were nearly the size of fists, so they packed a punch! The bear growled and hurriedly covered its face from further rocks.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. Yorick sucked in a breath. These rocks were more numerous, were traveling much faster, and were much more lethal than those from the Emmet Defense System 4000! Since last time, the contraption had been improved further! After reverse-mechanizing for a moment, the Emmet Defense System re-mechanized and shot out numerous more rocks! Pia! Pia! Pia! The bear quickly lost any hope of launching an offensive attack and quickly weaved away, dodging the rocks while still trying to keep away from the stream of hot fire. It had a tough task - Emmet made sure to keep his aim on the bear, and whenever the bear would move, Emmet¡¯s contraptions would tilt as well, keeping up with its movements. ¡°Here¡¯s my chance!¡± Yorick¡¯s eyes lit up. Having caught his breath, he cocked his shovel once more and burst forward. Following this sudden movement, Emmet had a bit of trouble keeping the reinforcement beams on him, but managed to just barely keep up. THUNK! THUNK! THUNK! Yorick didn¡¯t hold back, taking advantage of the bear¡¯s situation to land full strength hits one after another on the bear. Every other hit, he would shuffle his body around the bear so that the bear couldn¡¯t defend, and once again let out a strike with all his might. Distracted with everything else going on, the bear¡¯s movements were sluggish, and couldn¡¯t adjust itself in time to strike back. RUFF! RUFF! Seeing the opening, Wolfie suddenly gained back his courage too, charging forward and attempting to get some bites on the bear¡¯s legs. Even though it failed to bite through the bear¡¯s thick hide, it managed to make the scene more chaotic and disorient the bear further. ROAAARRRR!!! Finally, the bear had enough. He had originally been chasing just one human, but now, there were three, holding weird lights and producing fire, and even a yapping wolf. This was much more than it had bargained for! Letting out a final roar, it turned tail and charged away. Within moments, it had disappeared within the thick brush. Emmet and Yorick tensely waited a few moments, in case the bear was still around. ¡°Phew¡­¡± Yorick finally let out a breath. ¡°That was close!¡± Emmet nodded and let out a breath too, exhaustedly powering off all his contraptions and putting them down. It had been tiring trying to coordinate four things at once. The beams of light and fire quickly disappeared. That had been the most precarious situation they had experienced so far. One misstep, and it would have been over! Luckily, Yorick had gotten much quicker and stronger, and Emmet contraptions had greatly improved. Otherwise, this could have been the end! So there were such creatures in the surrounding forest! Yorick and Emmet would never doubt the danger of the forest ever again, that was for sure. ROARRRR!!! Suddenly, the familiar growl rang out again! Once again, the bear had appeared in their vision, and was charging directly toward them! Its face was fixed in an enraged expression, like an avenger coming to finish its mission. ¡°Fuck!¡± Yorick hurriedly lifted up his shovel again. ¡°It¡¯s back!¡± ¡°Wha!¡± Emmet panickedly picked up his contraptions once again, taken completely off-guard. It looked like the bear was much smarter than they had thought! It had pretended to run away, and then quietly sneaked back to launch a surprise attack! Just as the two were preparing for another intense fight, a calm voice rang out. ¡°Enclose.¡± Nuooong¡­ - a graceful-sounding noise rang out, and the next moment, four clear shimmering walls rose out of the ground, enclosing the bear in its path! BANG! The bear rammed straight into the clear wall in front of it and ricocheted backwards like it was a ragdoll. Surprisingly, the clear wall was completely unaffected by the impact, not moving in the slightest! Chapter 11 - Formations ¡°Grrr¡­..¡± The bear recovered and lifted its enormous body up confusedly. Groaning in pain and blinking disorientedly, it panned its gaze all around it and realized that it was enclosed in a glass-like box. RAAAAHH!!!! RAHHHHH!!! The bear charged forward against the clear wall once again, clawing it with all its might. Yet, the wall was sturdy, and didn¡¯t show any signs of weakening. The more the bear clawed, the more panicked it became. It seemed to sense that it had messed with something beyond its level. ¡°A mere saber-toothed bear¡­ Don¡¯t struggle,¡± the voice rang out again. A tall old man stepped out from the foliage, dressed in a fancy purple cloak and wearing a calm smile. Within his hand he held a tiny, sunstone-sized sphere, which was shimmering with a blue light. Emmet and Yorick gawked. Who was this old man? Had he summoned that clear box around the bear? Something as fragile-looking like that managed to contain it? They had spent all of their cumulative effort and just barely managed to hold back the massive bear¡­ yet this man only had to say one word and it was over? ¡°I said, don¡¯t struggle,¡± the man said calmly once again. The sphere he held flashed brightly with the blue light, and the walls surrounding the bear moved inward, enclosing the bear further. Panickedly seeing the walls shift inward, the bear momentarily fought back once more, but feeling the sturdiness of the walls, recognized its predicament and obediently stopped struggling. The man turned toward the two boys and wolf, his indifferent gaze turning toward Emmet and the contraptions in his hands. ¡°Those array formations¡­ made by you?¡± ¡°...hm? Ah...¡± Emmet was disturbed from his stupor. He glanced down at his contraptions. ¡°Oh, these? Umm¡­ yeah.¡± The man walked forward and approached Emmet to inspect the contraptions up close, gesturing toward them. ¡°May I?¡± ¡°Ah¡­ yeah,¡± Emmet held his contraptions out in offering. ¡°Thanks¡­ thanks for saving us, by the way.¡± The man picked up the sun/healing beam and inspected it up close. ¡°Remarkable. Triple layered Dijorbian-switch design, quartz-threaded with cordonian balance, network flow reduction, endowment origin sunstone. Quite good for a basic dual sun origin and Torique-style vitality array. Although the materials are cheap¡­ the design and execution aren¡¯t bad.¡± He met eyes with Emmet. ¡°You, which family do you come from?¡± Emmet gulped. Dijorbian-switch¡­ cordonian balance¡­ what? Emmet didn¡¯t even recognize half the words the man had just uttered. What was he talking about? ¡°Um¡­ the¡­ the Laghaz¡­ family?¡± He stuttered out. What was he supposed to say? No one had ever asked him for his family name before. ¡°Laghaz¡­?¡± The man furrowed his brows for a few moments. ¡°Hmm¡­ Laghaz¡­ never heard of it. Are you boys from around here?¡± ¡°We¡¯re¡­ we¡¯re farmers, sir,¡± Yorick meekly said. ¡°We live a few miles back.¡± ¡°Farmers?¡± For the first time, there was surprise on the man¡¯s face. His gaze transferred to Yorick, and saw the shovel in his hands. His gaze went back to the ¡®array¡¯ in his own hand. ¡°Where did you learn formations from?¡± The man met Emmet¡¯s eyes again, his eyes deeply curious. ¡°...huh?¡± Emmet gulped, unconsciously averting eye contact. This guy was intimidating! And that word, formations¡­ this man kept on saying that word. Were those contraptions he made considered ¡®formations¡¯? He had never heard that word before. ¡°Uh¡­ sorry sir, but I don¡¯t know what you¡¯re talking about¡­¡± ¡°Remarkable, remarkable!¡± The man¡¯s eyes lit up. His gaze shifted to behind the two boys. ¡°Faurak, you wuss, come out and look at this.¡± ¡°Ehh¡­¡± A purple-cloaked boy stepped out from the thick forest, nervously scratching the back of his neck. ¡°Alright¡­¡± Seeing the boy, Emmet and Yorick¡¯s eyes lit up. That was the boy who had originally been running from the bear! He had disappeared as soon as the boys had arrived, but it seemed that he had actually been watching from the back the entire time.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. ¡°Look at this,¡± the man beckoned the purple-cloaked boy forward to look at the sun/healing beam in his hand. ¡°Look at this design. Good, huh? You could learn a thing or two.¡± The boy nodded. Although he didn¡¯t quite understand the design from first glance, it looked pretty intricate. ¡°Even a farmer boy who¡¯s never even heard of the word ¡®formations¡¯ can make this, but you still can¡¯t construct a simple double layer Dijorbian-switch design singular array?¡± The man¡¯s words turned stern. ¡°Not to mention, as soon as you saw that bear, you forgot everything I ever told you and began running for your life. Those two boys, they stood their ground.¡± The boy could only look down in shame. ¡°Sorry, father.¡± ¡°Ahh¡­ I guess my expectations are too high,¡± the man shook his head slightly. His gaze landed on Emmet again. ¡°You there, kiddo, are you sure you¡¯ve never been taught this stuff before?¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡± Emmet quickly nodded his head. ¡°This stuff¡­? Um¡­ no, I¡¯ve never had a teacher.¡± He paused. ¡°Well actually, I do have this one book¡­¡± ¡°Book?¡± The man¡¯s interest was piqued. ¡°Um, well, not really a real book. I actually don¡¯t quite know how to read¡­¡± Emmet embarrassedly scratched the back of his head. After hearing the man utter so many nonsensical fancy words, he couldn¡¯t help but become embarrassed of his illiteracy. ¡°But it doesn¡¯t have many words in it, just a lot of puzzles. I kind of used that as a basis for those¡­ arrays.¡± ¡°Gemini¡¯s All-Encompassing Formations Manual!¡± The man¡¯s face changed. ¡°You were able to learn from that?¡± ¡°Uh¡­ yeah,¡± Emmet nodded. ¡°It was hard at first¡­ and I¡¯m not sure my solutions are completely correct, but yeah¡­¡± ¡°What a find!¡± The man exclaimed, rubbing his hands together in excitement. ¡°A true diamond in the rough! What talent!¡± Emmet could only blink a few times. Was he talking about him? ¡°Kiddo, what was your name?¡± The man¡¯s expression turned friendly. ¡°You said you were a farmer?¡± ¡°...ah yes,¡± Emmet managed to stutter out. ¡°My name is¡­ Emmet.¡± ¡°You know what, Emmet? How would you like to attend a school for formations?¡± The man asked. ¡°A talent like you, you could probably even go to the Gemini Academy.¡± ¡°Wha¡­!¡± The purple-cloaked boy¡¯s mouth gaped open and he stared at his father with astonishment. It seemed that this was a shocking statement. ¡°School¡­ school for formations?¡± Emmet eyes dazzled. ¡°There exists¡­ such a thing?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± The man chortled out, reaching out his arm to pat Emmet on the shoulder. ¡°The study of formations is a deep art. Of course there would be schools to cultivate the genius of the children. And for the geniuses of the geniuses¡­ there is the Gemini Institute!¡± Emmet gawked. School¡­ that in of itself was a foreign term to him. For a farmer, that would be useless, so he had never attended. It was never even an option. Now, he was given a chance to attend a school specifically for ¡®formations¡¯? ¡°What about it, huh? I can tell that your brain has been itching for something more than just farming,¡± the man laughed. ¡°Even if there¡¯s a learning curve, I think you¡¯ll adjust brilliantly. Such a talent, able to construct that triple layered Dijorbian-switch design dual array with such a shallow background, you¡¯ll catch up quickly!¡± Emmet¡¯s entire face was jittering with excitement. Formations school¡­? He couldn¡¯t help but have a strong longing. All these years doing farmwork, he had always felt something missing, like he was meant to do something more. Was this his calling? However, as he thought back to farming, he thought back to mother and father, and his face fell. ¡°But then¡­ I would have to go away, right?¡± ¡°Yes, you would have to leave town for at least a few years¡­¡± The man detected Emmet¡¯s falling spirits and became curious. ¡°Why, what¡¯s wrong?¡± ¡°Mother says this is the most important time for a budding farmer,¡± Emmet explained. ¡°I have to help till and seed the fields. If I leave, then¡­¡± ¡°Farming¡­?!¡± The man seemed stunned, and then lifted his head back and heaved in laughter. ¡°You¡¯re worried about missing out on your farming duties?!¡± ¡°Um¡­ yeah,¡± Emmet meekly said. He didn¡¯t understand why that was so humorous. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll have a talk with your parents,¡± the man assured. ¡°This is the opportunity of a lifetime! You don¡¯t want to miss out.¡± Emmet slightly nodded, glancing sideways toward Yorick, who was still standing there wide-eyed. ¡°You said there were¡­ schools for formations¡­ Are there also schools for warriors?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± The man smiled widely. ¡°In fact, just a few dozen miles from here is a pretty famous warrior academy. Why?¡± ¡°Well, if I go a formations school¡­ can, um, my brother Yorick here go to a warrior school?¡± Emmet asked. ¡°He¡¯s always wanted to be a warrior. Also, he¡¯s awakened mana, so he must be talented!¡± ¡°Hm?¡± The man glanced toward Yorick, who upon receiving the scanning gaze immediately stood up straighter. ¡°I see, yes¡­ that¡¯s pretty good. I see, you¡¯ve naturally awakened mana? You want to become a warrior?¡± ¡°Yes sir!¡± Yorick saluted. ¡°My dream is to become a warrior, sir!¡± ¡°Haha, you¡¯ve got spunk!¡± The man chortled. ¡°I like it! I¡¯m not an expert on warrior matters¡­ but looking at how you fought that bear, as far as I can tell, you seem to have talent. Alright, that¡¯s a deal then! I¡¯ll talk with your family and make sure each of you go to the schools of your choice.¡± ¡°Thank you sir!¡± Emmet and Yorick¡¯s eyes lit up excitedly. Everything had happened so suddenly. This was really happening? From the side, Wolfie seemed to sense the good mood too and began barking happily. From the side, the boy Fauruk just gawked. Chapter 12 - Setting Off ¡°School? Absolutely not, no way!¡± Mother shook her head defiantly. ¡°You young boys, are you out of your mind? Don¡¯t want to become great farmers? Our heritage-¡± ¡°I know, I know, mom!¡± Emmet pleaded. ¡°But we¡¯re not abandoning farming! We¡¯ll come back, and what we learned will help us farm better! Tribe head Maury even said - in the future, it¡¯s not just tilling speed and farming sense that makes a good farmer. We need problem solvers too!¡± ¡°Yeah! Yeah!¡± Yorick agreed with a rapidly nodding head. ¡°Plus, if we have a warrior, we could also protect the crop better if bad guys come!¡± ¡°Boys... ¡° Mother let out a sigh, wiping the sweat off her forehead. ¡°Such strange boys. All the other boys in the tribe are so committed to becoming great farmers¡­ but you two¡­¡± Knock! Knock! There was a quick knock on the door. ¡°Hm?¡± Mother turned and went to go answer the door, inwardly curious. Had father returned already? When the door opened, it was actually tribe head Maury, accompanied by a strange purple-cloaked old man! Tribe head Maury seemed to have brightly lit eyes. Seeing the two, the boys¡¯ eyes lit up. They had come, and could convince mom! ¡°Ah¡­ hello, hello!¡± Mother gave a greeting. ¡°Tribe head Maury¡­ and¡­¡± She turned her gaze toward the other unfamiliar man. ¡°You can just call me Tarhoh,¡± the man smiled and extended a hand. ¡°How are you doing today, ma¡¯am?¡± ¡°Good¡­¡± Mother extended her calloused hand and accepted Tarhoh¡¯s shake. ¡°What brings you here today?¡± ¡°Carlene, this esteemed man here¡­¡± Tribe head Maury spoke up with a barely-concealed excitement in his voice. ¡°This man here is a formations expert! He¡¯s come to talk to you about taking Emmet and Yorick to specialized formations and warrior schools in the city!¡± ¡°Formations¡­ expert?¡± Mother blinked a couple times. She had heard Emmet mention the word when he had tried to convince her that going to school was a good option, but she only heard nonsense. Formations? What was that? It sounded like a made-up word! ¡°Yes, formations expert!¡± tribe head maury excitedly exclaimed. ¡°From my travels to town, even a humble man like me has heard mentions of Tarhoh the formations expert from the time to time! He¡¯s somewhat of a local celebrity! The art of formations - making amazing structures and contraptions to do amazing things - Tarhoh can be said to be at the top of that world! Even lords respect him!¡± ¡°Haha, you¡¯re too kind, tribe head Maury,¡± Tarhoh laughed. ¡°I can¡¯t call myself an expert. Like everyone else, I¡¯m always learning.¡± Mother didn¡¯t seem to absorb what they were saying, her face stuck in a confused expression. Formations¡­ pinnacle of the world¡­ what? ¡°You¡¯re saying that Emmet and Yorick have¡­ talent?¡± ¡°Yes, yes!¡± Tarhoh explained. ¡°Yorick awoke his mana naturally, and seems to have an affinity with fighting, making him great material for a warrior. But especially Emmet¡­ I don¡¯t know if I¡¯ve seen that kind of raw talent in my entire life! Maybe if he was born in a noble family, and given the right resources, he would be considered a supreme genius!¡± Mother blinked a couples times. Supreme genius¡­ Emmet? Ever since he was young, he had always been solving puzzles and creating weird sophisticated devices¡­ that was considered supreme genius? ¡°Furthermore, ma¡¯am, I assure you,¡± Tarhoh continued. ¡°This doesn¡¯t mean that the boys have to give up their heritage as farmers. In fact, this education will greatly improve their farming potential! Think about it - becoming a warrior will give Yorick great strength, allowing him to till the fields faster. Not to mention Emmet - I¡¯ve been told from tribe head Maury that his contraptions have already improved the harvest from last year, correct?¡± Mother nodded slightly, coming to an understanding. That was right - those things could only be beneficial to their future careers as farmers! After thinking for a few moments, she finally spoke out. ¡°Alright¡­ I think¡­ I think I agree. If I talk to their father, I think he¡¯ll agree too.¡± She glanced back and stared down at the two boys. ¡°But you two, you¡¯d better not forget your farming heritages, you hear me! You better come back with greater skills, and renewed vigor!¡± ¡°Yes mom!!!¡± Emmet and Yorick excitedly bowed in agreement. --------------------This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere. ¡°They said it¡¯d be four years¡­¡± Yorick tightly held Emmet hands. ¡°Emmet¡­ this is incredible! Slap me, is this really happening?!¡± Taking the opportunity, Emmet freed his hand and slapped Yorick on the cheek. ¡°Ow!¡± Yorick scowled and rubbed his cheek. ¡°Sheesh, should¡¯ve known you would do that¡­¡± ¡°Hehe¡­¡± Emmet first attempted to look smug, but then his expression changed into an expression of nervousness and excitement. ¡°Four years¡­ we¡¯re going to two separate places. I¡¯ll be going with Torhah himself, while he arranged for one of his assistants to pick you up and send you to your warrior academy. Apparently, these schools we¡¯re going to are so strict and intense that throughout, we can¡¯t even go out to visit mom or dad until we graduate (or get kicked out). I wonder what¡¯ll change in that time?¡± ¡°Haha¡­¡± Yorick gave a nervous yet excited laugh as well. ¡°Four years¡­ that¡¯s a long time!¡± His face suddenly turned serious. ¡°Emmet, we must make a promise!¡± ¡°Promise?¡± ¡°A promise between two men!¡± Yorick face was stern and noble. ¡°We can¡¯t let mother and father down. In four years, we must return to the tribe as incredible men! From then, we will bring our tribe to prosperity!¡± ¡°Agreed!¡± Emmet immediately chanted. The laughter rang out through the night. When it was time to go, the two boys felt it was surreal. This would be the last time would see each other in at least a couple years. Within that time, they would have grown up. How would these four years change them? What would it be like when they reunited? The day the boys set off, tears filled mother and father¡¯s eyes. Yorick and Emmet said one last goodbye, by Yorick¡¯s side Wolfie barking emotionally as well. Then, they separated. --------------------- They were off. Emmet could scarcely believe what was happening. Just a few days ago, he had just been a simple farmer boy. He might not have went outside the tribe to venture into town even more than a few times in his life. But now, he was heading out, far far away, on the adventure of his dreams! Out to become a formations expert! He was sitting in the back of a large carriage, drawn by two huge, muscled horses. Joining him were Farhoh and his son Tauruk, both wearing their signature purple cloaks. This was his first time in a horse-drawn carriage. Although he had seen some before, he had never gotten into one. The experience was amazing! ¡°Here,¡± Tarhoh passed a small blue pill over to Emmet. ¡°Hm?¡± Emmet looked up and received the pill curiously. ¡°What¡¯s this?¡± ¡°It¡¯s called a mana pill,¡± Tarhoh smiled. ¡°I noticed that you haven¡¯t awakened your mana yet. Must have been restricting, having to only use sunstones to power your formations, huh?¡± ¡°M-mana pill?¡± Emmet eyes lit up. It was true. Without mana, he was severely restricted in what kinds of contraptions he could build. ¡°In fact, your brother is a special case,¡± Tarhoh smiled. ¡°Although many noble families carry pure blood, and are able to awaken their mana naturally, most commoners won¡¯t awaken their mana their entire lives. Yet, all humans possess some sort of mana, it¡¯s only a matter of awakening it if one has the means. Inside this little blue mana pill is a formation to awaken the hidden mana within you. I forged it myself, hehe.¡± ¡°Awaken my mana¡­?¡± Emmet¡¯s eyes twinkled escastically. So it really was possible for him to awaken his mana? He could be like Emmet, able to channel that mystical blue substance? ¡°Go ahead,¡± Torhah chuckled. ¡°I¡¯m curious to see what your mana potential is.¡± ¡°Alright!¡± Emmet didn¡¯t delay. Although his heart was nervous, he brought the pill to his mouth and swallowed it. Immediately, a stirring sensation began in his stomach. The sensation soothed his body for about half a minute before dimming. Suddenly - fuoosh! It was like a flow spread out from his stomach to all over his body, invigorating him! A powerful sensation circulated throughout his entire body making him feel amazing. A few moments later, the flow slowed, and began to even out. ¡°Mm¡­¡± Torhah nodded slightly. ¡°Looks like your mana potential is somewhat below average¡­ although for a commoner, that¡¯s probably normal.¡± ¡°Oh...¡± Emmet opened his eyes and sunk his head a bit. It looked like he wasn¡¯t special. ¡°But that¡¯s okay,¡± Torhah reassured. ¡°Maybe for a warrior, that would be a make-or-break condition, but you¡¯re going to be a formations expert. Personally, I¡¯m more concerned with natural intuition and talent. If I¡¯m not mistaken, yours should be exceptionally high.¡± Emmet lifted his head, his eyes hopeful. ¡°Although one could say that your brother is exceptionally talented, having naturally awakened a large pool of mana, I personally wasn¡¯t really too interested in him,¡± Torhah explained. ¡°In the noble world, people with naturally high levels of mana aren¡¯t too rare. However, someone with natural-born formations talent¡­ now that¡¯s something to behold!¡± His eyes shone. ¡°Even if a formations expert doesn¡¯t have the greatest mana pool, if they¡¯re wily enough, they¡¯ll be able to more than make up for it through their cunning! In fact, in some ways, a smaller pool could be an advantage - it forces the person to make improvements to their formations otherwise not necessarily needed. Myself, compared to many others, I actually don¡¯t have too big of a natural mana pool. However, I¡¯ve still managed to get around that and be considered an ¡®expert.¡¯¡± Emmet nodded excitedly. Although he was initially saddened by his apparent lackluster mana, he found that those worries were quickly fading. Torhah¡¯s words made sense: that restriction could even serve as a crux for improvement, were the person smart enough. Although, he hoped he could rise up to meet that requirement. ¡°Alright, shall we head off?¡± Tarhoh patted Emmet¡¯s shoulder and smiled. ¡°Off to a new adventure!¡± ¡°Yes!¡± From the side, Tauruk sulked silently. Great, there was now another person that his father could compare him to to diminish his accomplishments. Chapter 13 - Soaring Heights City The carriage continued for another couple of days until the scenery finally began to change. While before, it had been thick forest after thick forest on either side of the path, there were now more and more buildings and passing people. Emmet marveled from inside the carriage. He had spent his entire life inside the tribe¡¯s village area, so all of this was new to him. As they traveled further and further, and the little buildings became more and more frequent, Emmet¡¯s excitement grew more and more. So there was such a world outside! He had heard about it, but never seen it for himself. When the carriage finally actually reached the city, humbly named Winding Town, Emmet¡¯s mind was blown. Buildings¡­ with more than ten stories, lining block after block in a packed pattern, and tens of people walking each and every way¡­ it was almost too stimulating. Buildings back in the tribe village were almost never more than two stories! His eyes were never stagnant - one moment, he would be ogling at a beautiful gilded sculpture of an angel enveloping a man with her wings, and the next moment, he would be in awe at an enormous marketplace where hundreds of people were buying and selling goods at once. There weren¡¯t even a few hundred people in his home migrant farming tribe! Seeing Emmet¡¯s country bumpkin awe, Tauruk rolled his eyes. This wasn¡¯t even a big city! In fact, it was more of a town. Compared to where they were going, this could even be considered rural. The carriage stopped to pick up supplies for the next stretch of the journey, and along the way, some traders recognized Tarhoh. Bowing humbly toward him, they asked if he would grace them with his presence and join their caravan. In exchange for his protection from the numerous bandits that would notoriously hide in ambush within these winding paths between cities, they would pay him a portion of their sales at their destination city. This city happened to be where they were traveling, so called Soaring Heights City, so this would match up with Tarhoh¡¯s plans. Laughing jovially, Tarhoh agreed to their proposal, but denied their offers of payment. He just requested that they spare some of the best and most delicious food rations for them. Thus, like that, they were now travelling in a twenty-carriage large caravan. Emmet¡¯s excitement level grew even higher. He had heard of things like large merchant trading caravans, but never had seen one for himself. And now, he was part of that caravan! How could he not be overjoyed? They left Winding Town a day later, and set off for the next stop - Torus City. This would be the last rest stop before they finally reached their destination, Soaring Heights City! The food, as promised, was indeed amazing. Emmet had one mind blowing experience after another. He had no idea food could be this delicious, this juicy, this tangy, this vibrant, this sophisticated. He felt that in less than a week, he had experienced more cuisine that he would have in five lifetimes. It was a week into the journey when something finally happened. They had been travelling through some thick woods as normal when some movement appeared in the surrounding woods, and suddenly over thirty masked bandits emerged and attacked the carvan! This was when Tarhoh¡¯s reputation shined. Although the caravan had warriors in preparation of dealing with bandits, they weren¡¯t needed. Tahoh merely took out a big, intricate disk out and with one movement, trapped all thirty of the bandits within a large multicolored formation. No matter how the bandits tried to escape or attack through the formation, it was useless. In the end, it was the bandits who ended up getting robbed for all they had. Seeing the outcome, the leaders of the caravan could only laugh merrily and thank Tarhoh. As expected from a formations expert! So they were this amazing! As expected, it was a good idea to invite Tarhoh onto their caravan. Witnessing this stunning feat, Emmet¡¯s eyes widened like saucers, and he absorbed every detail. So this was the power of formations! He tried to sneak some glances at the disk that Torhah had used, but although he recognized some tiny embedded mini circuits within the structure, it was a mystery to him how it worked. There seemed to be some sort of multilayered nucleus with materials unknown to him, combined with strange high-level embedded miniformations and circuitry that puzzled him. He had certainly never seen anything like that before, not even in the book. Although, he was only currently on page 51. - maybe in the later pages, it would approach something like that. Speaking of the book, he found that the more he advanced in the book, the slower he would get. Although he still worked tirelessly on its problems every day, it was taking him longer and longer to solve them, and the puzzles were getting more and more advanced and intricate. However, recently, he had sped up! Before they had set off in the carriage, he had actually only been on page 44. However, now, when he was stuck on something, he could ask Torhah if he had any pointers, and sometimes, he would give a mysterious piece of advice that could allow Emmet to reach a revelation and reach a conclusion much faster. He also corrected some of Emmet¡¯s original misconceptions, causing him to create a better base intuition, and progress multiple times quicker. In just a few weeks, he had advanced seven whole pages!Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. Curious, Tauruk glanced at the book Emmet was studying from, but immediately looked away in distaste. There were no words! So primitive! He himself studied from a traditional textbook along the way, also receiving guidance from his father. Like this, another week passed, and they reached Torus City, which blew Emmet¡¯s mind once more. Buildings with twenty stories, stretching endlessly into the horizon, and literally hundreds of people walking back and forth through some of the long busy streets - it was a total culture shock. Yet, Emmet got the biggest shock when they set off again, and a few weeks later, finally reached their destination, Soaring Heights City. At this point, an entire three months had passed overall. Their destination was really far away! To Emmet, these three months passed incredibly quickly. He had so much fun that even if he was going away just for the trip, he felt it would be worth it. With one look at the gigantic metropolis that was Soaring Heights City, Emmet nearly fainted on the spot. My lord¡­ was all he could think. At that moment, he truly felt like a frog in a well. He thought the buildings in Torus City were tall. The buildings in Soaring Heights City¡­ some of them probably reached five hundred stories! From the ground, the natural sunlight was almost completely blocked by the towering buildings, requiring street lights along a mana-powered grid. There were formations everywhere. In fact, underneath the entire city could be seen an enormous formation, making up the very foundation of the city! Every mile or so would be another node of the formation, an enormous nearly hundred meter long intricate series of lit-up layered disks with incredibly intricate and strange symbols. Throughout the city, there were over five hundred of these layered disks, resulting in an enormous city-wide formation! This formation was used to not only power the city, but provide defense were the city to undergo attack. The formation could hold over a thousand controllers stationed on each of the layered disks spots and activate the defense mechanism, creating an impossibly powerful shield, blocking any attacks from the outside. It also allowed the defenders to attack with tremendously powerful array effects, more than capable of wiping out entire armies with one go. Apart from that, there were thousands of floating mini-islands hovering above the cityscape, populated by various buildings and people, as if the enormous real estate on the ground wasn¡¯t enough. Each of these islands was powered by a formation, allowing it to float in midair seemingly effortlessly. This could really be considered the city of formations. One would have to be out of their mind to mess with such a city, really... Witnessing Emmet¡¯s overwhelmed reaction, Torhah broke down laughing. He had been looking forward to seeing how a simple farm boy like Emmet would react to something like this, and he wasn¡¯t disappointed. For a whole day, Emmet was in a constant daze, like he had just woken up from a year-long coma. Reaching the city, the three said goodbye to the caravan they had accompanied and took a formations powered speed-rail to their destination, the famous Gemini Academy. In fact, Torhah had been planning to send his son Tauruk to the academy this very year, so it wasn¡¯t a special trip for Emmet. That would have been crazy. Tauruk had already been accepted a few months prior to them meeting Emmet. For all Torhah criticized Tauruk, in reality, he was actually pretty talented. On the way there, Torhah turned toward Emmet and smiled. ¡°In reality, you may have realized already, the Gemini Academy is more than just a formations school. It is the most prestigious formations school in the world, situated directly in the middle of the famous Soaring Heights Metropolis. Because of this, one needs to apply a year in advance, pay an enormous fee, qualify through extensive tests, and a third requirement: be a noble. You don¡¯t meet any of these requirements.¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± Emmet¡¯s eyes widened in worry. So he wouldn¡¯t be able to go? ¡°But the thing is, this useless boy of mine here,¡± he planted his hand on Tauruk¡¯s shoulder. ¡°A year ago now, actually managed to squeak in to the academy! I was amazed¡­ average talent, and was able to get into the Gemini Academy! But I¡¯m proud, my boy made me a proud father! Although, my wallet has suffered incredibly...¡± Tauruk groaned. ¡°But Emmet, that¡¯s your ticket in. Students are permitted a squire to assist them in their studies at the academy. That¡¯s you,¡± Torhah smiled at Emmet. ¡°Squire¡­?¡± ¡°Yep, but don¡¯t worry, you don¡¯t actually have to act as Tauruk¡¯s squire. I¡¯ll make sure to give Tauruk a stern talking to so that he understands.¡± He gave a stern look to Tauruk. ¡°Squires are actually permitted most of the permissions of ordinary students, since much the time, squires are sent in place of the students, and need access to the resources the student needs. This means that the libraries, the archives, study rooms, and dining halls, and most of everything else will be available to you.¡± Emmet¡¯s eyes brightened. Those resources¡­ what sort of amazing stuff would be there? At such an amazing school, in such an amazing city! ¡°Thank you so much, sir!¡± Torhah chuckled. ¡°Hehe, no problem. I¡¯m looking forward to seeing what you can accomplish!¡± Chapter 14 - Gemini Academy For the n-th time, as he became aware of his surroundings, Emmet could barely believe what was happening. It almost seemed like a dream. He was sitting in a speeding formation-powered railcar, in some kind of enormous fantasy city? And he was going to go to an elite formations school? Just a few months ago, he had been on a tiny farm growing wheat, beating up a bunch of harmless horu-beetles. He had never been to school, nor had he ever even heard of the word ¡®formations¡¯! Any time he looked out the window, a strong sense of disbelief would overwhelm him. He had a strong suspicion that this whole thing had been a long dream. Yet, Tauruk¡¯s annoyed look told him that it was in fact real. As they slowly approached closer and closer to the Gemini Academy, over the course the two-day trip, Emmet felt his excitement grow more and more. Finally, the railcar slowed and the Gemini Academy rose up into view. Emmet had thought he was done with shocks, that he had seen all the grandeur possible, but with one look at the massive academy, he knew that he was clearly wrong. Enormous, thousand foot high thick golden gates. An entrance that was so enormous and extravagant that it would be fit for giants fifty times Emmet¡¯s size. Further, there were formations literally everywhere. In the lights, in the grass, on the doors, on the windows, on top of the buildings, on the gates, in the departments of the school floating above the main building, along the walkways, and even in the air, there seemed to be random formations out and about. Most of these looked like floating, glowing intricate patterns. Floods of people were walking toward the hulking entrance, looking like tiny ant-like dots on an enormous plane. Clearly, people had come from all over to attend the academy. The railcar stopped and the three stepped out to a scene of great bustle. All around them were various other students and their parents, hurrying toward the academy while looking confusedly down at maps and other pamphlets. ¡°Alright kids, time to move ya guys in,¡± Torhah pulled out his own map and two little badges, one gold and one silver, handing them to the two children. ¡°These are your students tokens. You¡¯re in building 3C, room 427¡­ That¡¯s about three miles west from here, we¡¯ll have to take a formation shuttle.¡± The two kids nodded and followed him forward. Taruk carried a large floating suitcase behind him on some sort of formation, while Emmet merely carried a humble little sack on his back. There wasn¡¯t much for him to pack - just a few sets of clothes, some toiletries, his contraptions, and his book. The three threaded through the crowd, Emmet disorientedly bumping into numerous people and almost getting lost several times, until they finally made it to a shuttle station and stepped into a stalled sleek vehicle, decorated fancily with accessory formations and gilded with a sleek gold coating. They took a seat and the shuttle soon began to speed along, its formation locomotives humming powerfully. Inside the shuttle, the three spotted multiple other pairs of students and their parents, all of which without fail dressed in expensive-looking cloaks (only Emmet was in plain clothes). Some of them were attentively looking into textbooks, others were messing around with complicated-looked formations in their hands, while still others were excitedly looking around just like Emmet. Without fail, all of them seemed to be around Emmet and Taruk¡¯s age - 11-12 years old. The shuttle stopped three times before stopping at a more peaceful scene, and the three stepped off. Here, there were smaller, more sparsely spaced buildings with large amounts of greenery in between. Although there still clumps of people moving about, some also lugging large suitcases carried on colorful midair formations behind them, there was much less of a bustle, and people seemed to be less rushed. The three found their building and stepped inside. With one look, they were amazed. The entire space was optimized. On one side was a small efficiently-packed lounge area with barebones couches and tables, and on the other side was a much larger extensive study/experimentation station. Here, there were barrel after barrel of various materials, formations components, and circuitry parts, combined with specialized booth stations meant for studying and building. Clearly, the school was singularly focused on formations. The three took a colorful formation-powered elevator up to the fourth floor, and after traveling a short distance, quickly found their room. From a glance at the names on the door, they found out that it was actually shared with three others students. As soon as they reached the door, they heard a chorus of excited voices ring out from inside. ¡°What classes are you thinking of?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know yet, but for sure, I don¡¯t want to take Introduction to Formations again. I¡¯ve already learned all that!¡± ¡°Don¡¯t get cocky. I¡¯ve heard that despite its mundane topics, it¡¯s actually an extremely difficult class! There an added level of complexity in each step. At this level, it¡¯s worth relearning the concepts.¡±Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. ¡°No way!¡± ¡°That¡¯s to be expected of the Gemini Academy.¡± Tauruk excitedly strode forward and opened the door. The three peered in. Inside, there was a warm, spacious loft with six beds spread out throughout the room, several dressers, closets, and four specialized desks in separate corners. Toward the back of the room, three young boys were huddled together on a technicolor mat, all wearing fine cloaks. Sensing the door had opened, they stopped their conversation and turned their heads to inspect the new arrivals. ¡°Oh hey! You must be Tarauk, right?¡± One of them exclaimed. ¡°Yeah! That¡¯s me,¡± Tauruk scanned over the three boys there and waved with a smile. ¡°You guys are¡­ Fontezul, Torkam, and Ralun?¡± ¡°Haha, that¡¯s us!¡± The boys laughed. ¡°Welcome to 427! You¡¯re kinda late, we all arrived more than a day ago.¡± ¡°Dang, I hope I didn¡¯t miss anything!¡± Tauruk strode forward, casually pushing his suitcase toward one of the remaining unoccupied beds. It floated over and landed on the bed with a light thud. ¡°Nope! Orientation isn¡¯t ¡®til tomorrow,¡± the boys remarked, welcoming Tauruk in. ¡°Nothing¡¯s happened yet. But after tomorrow, things are gonna happen rapidly!¡± ¡°Before that, ahem, Tauruk...¡± Torhah a bit haughty interrupted from the back, resting his hand on Tauruk¡¯s shoulder. ¡°At least have the decency to say goodbye to your father!¡± ¡°Ugh...¡± Tauruk reluctantly turned and greeted his father. ¡°Yeah, yeah, goodbye father¡­¡± ¡°Be a good student!¡± Torhah scowled and patted Tauruk on the head. ¡°Don¡¯t forget to send letters. And study hard! If you¡¯re still as useless when you come back, I won¡¯t let off easy!¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah,¡± Tauruk groaned. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, father. I already promised to you that I¡¯ll do well.¡± Torhah smiled, clearly pleased. After lingering his gaze on his son for a few moments, he turned toward Emmet and gave a slight smile. Then, he turned and left the room. This would be the last time Tauruk or Emmet saw him in four years. The three students chuckled. ¡°Tauruk, come over here and chat! What did you think about that entrance exam? Pretty hard huh?¡± At that moment, one of the boys realized that there was another person still in the room, and glanced toward Emmet. After noticing the plain way he was dressed, however, he seemed to lose most of his interest. However, he still looked at him and said: ¡°Oh, and this is¡­?¡± ¡°My squire,¡± Tauruk said monotonically, as if there was nothing worth talking about. He strode forward toward the group of three and sat down to join them. ¡°Oh,¡± the three other children let out a brief sound of acknowledgement and then no longer paid attention to plainly dressed boy standing near the entrance. In fact, this would be the last time in nearly two years that they would pay any attention to Emmet - for the first year and a half, they wouldn¡¯t even know his name. Emmet would later find out that one of the other children also had a squire, which was why there were six beds. However, he was out running errands for the student, so he wasn¡¯t present. If he was, he wouldn¡¯t have been included in the conversation either. Why would he be? He wasn¡¯t a student. It wasn¡¯t like squires knew anything about formations. Emmet smartly shut his mouth and strode over toward the last empty bed, which was in a small simpler corner of the loft where the two smallest beds were located. Clearly, these two beds were for the squires. Putting down his plain sack, he unpacked his stuff into a little dresser prepared for him and sat down on the bed. It was very quick - he didn¡¯t have many belongings. Looking around at the new setting, he suddenly felt a bit overwhelmed. This was just too drastic of a change. This was his new life? ¡°Hey, squire,¡± a voice rang out. It took a moment for Emmet to realize the voice was directed toward him. He looked over and saw that Tauruk had addressed him, his face completely emotionless. ¡°Ah, uh¡­ yeah?¡± ¡°Go register me at admissions,¡± Tauruk said, tossing Emmet his gold token. ¡°Don¡¯t forget to bring back my ID.¡± ¡°Uh¡­¡± Emmet stared back at Tauruk in amazement. Were they strangers? If he didn¡¯t have three months of history with him, even Emmet would have been fooled. Tauruk¡¯s eyes were blank, like this was the first time he had laid eyes on Emmet, and he was just looking at a nameless servant. Still, Emmet knew he had no room to argue. ¡°Um¡­ alright. Where is that?¡± ¡°Just find it,¡± Tauruk said noncommitedly while turning back to his conversation with the three other students. The topic had turned toward the school¡¯s different professors and famous alumni, and each student had passionate opinions. Emmet held onto Tauruk¡¯s gold pin with a bit of exasperation. He hoped that this wouldn¡¯t be his fated role. For four years, would he just be a lackey sent out to do errands? Luckily, the admissions office was only a block down from the dorm building, and Emmet found it quickly. It was a large fancily decorated hall with a large, winding lobby. On the walls it said ¡°Admissions Office - 3,¡± indicating that this was just one of many. Although Emmet couldn¡¯t read, he could infer from context the meaning. Turning in Tauruk¡¯s gold student badge and his own silver badge, he received two metal cards - one gilded gold card studded with shiny rubies, and one card made of plain steel, each with numerous microformations embedded inside. The expensive-looking one was for Tauruk and the plain one was for him. When he returned back to the room, the four boys were were still heatedly discussing. Not wanting to bother them, Emmet placed Tauruk¡¯s gold card on his desk and slinked away. For the rest of the day, he just relaxed on his new bed and single-mindedly tackled some tough puzzles from his book. Just before he went to sleep, he met the other squire, an average-looking and mild-mannered boy named Jiro who greeted him kindly. At least one person actually acknowledged him as a human. Chapter 15 - Orientation The next day was the first-year orientation. The six boys rode the shuttle three stations away to a big lecture hall, where over four thousand children were seated. ¡°Out of the four thousand of you sitting in the room today, eight years from now, only 125 will remain,¡± an old man spoke harshly from the stage. In front of him was a glowing box, which seemed to amplify his voice throughout the room. The crowd was solemn, picking up on the atmosphere. They were all well aware - Gemini Academy was not only the best formations school, but also the most competitive and cutthroat! Only the very best were kept, and those who couldn¡¯t keep up were cut. They all knew the strict rules - at the end of each year would be an enormously important assessment, in which each student was ranked according to their score. At the end of the second, fourth, and then every subsequent year up to seventh, years, the bottom half of that ranking would be cut and forced to leave the school. Thus, after eight years, only the remaining 125 students would truly graduate, becoming legendary figures in the formations world! Countless legendary figures had come from those graduating classes of 125. Kordiner, Loran, Stroth¡­ many household names, extremely familiar to those noble families due to their extraordinary accomplishments, had originally come from that graduating class of 125. It was the greatest honor, the most prestigious of labels. If one graduated amongst that final class of 125, then that meant that you had potential to be one of the top formations experts in all of the entire world! The old man currently speaking was the headmaster, named Varale Stinula, nicknamed ¡®Stinger.¡¯ Emmet would later find out that he was well-known for how harsh his speeches were - there would seldom be a speech he gave where he didn¡¯t mention how students needed to buckle up and work or they would be left behind. However, he did have the chops to back it up - fifty years prior, he had been part of the graduating class of 125. Although there were some better-known names that had came from that year, it was still incredibly impressive - no doubt, he had tremendous skills in formations. Listening to Stinger¡¯s speech, many couldn¡¯t help but be a bit spooked. They knew how famous the Gemini Academy was for being cutthroat, but for the headmaster to begin his statements with something like that, it was intense! Each student had a feeling that come assessment time, there would be no time to breath. One would have to compete with all their might to not get cut. Most students didn¡¯t have any delusions. They might have been geniuses in their home towns, but this was the Gemini Academy they were talking about! Every person here was a total genius, or there was no way they would be able to be here. To compete with geniuses with similar levels of intellect¡­ that would no doubt be difficult! After ¡®Stinger¡¯ finished speaking, the principal of student matters, a middle-aged woman named Shei Horinger, came up to properly welcome the first-years. She introduced all of the resources on campus, including the ten massive libraries, all with large parts of distinct content, the four famous enormous forging stations, and the countless cafeteries, academic buildings, study spaces, etc. scattered all throughout the school. She also introduced a new campus-wide system, called ¡®points.¡¯ These points were stored in each student¡¯s ID card and were used as a universal currency. Everything costed points - building materials, textbooks, borrowing books from the library, shuttle rides, even food! The six boys paled when they realized that they had actually already spent 3 points each on the shuttle ride over. Those would be precious!Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. All students started out with only 1000 points (200 for squires), and it carried over year by year. It was like real money - they could use it to trade, buy, sell, and even gamble. If students ran low and desperately needed points on short notice, they could go to the admissions offices to borrow some, but with high interest. Luckily, the ways to earn points were also plentiful, and few ended up desperate enough to resort to loaning. Firstly, there was a monthly bulletin that listed tasks put up by teachers, fellow students, and even outside civilians that the students could complete to earn points. Second, there were on-campus job positions, ranging from low-end menial work to intricate formations design, that could earn a student a steady income. Finally, if one performed well enough in their classes, they would receive benefits just from their grades. At the end of each semester, for the first and second year level courses, a C earned a student 100 points, a B 300, and an A 1000! No points were awarded to any below that. Needless to say, classes were extremely competitive. Since grades were often curved according to the class average, many would try to sabotage their fellow students to gain an advantage. The idea of this system was not only to motivate students to strive higher and continuously compete, but to also promote innovation. If students didn¡¯t learn to cut corners and efficiently go out and earn points, they would inevitably run out. That was why the school charged points for even things like the shuttle - they wanted to implicitly encourage students to build their own kind of transportation vehicle. In the end, 1000 was a purposely low number. If a student didn¡¯t earn any extra points, they would likely run out in just a few months just from daily necessities. Not to mention, if you wanted to forge something, like a high-tier formation, 1000 points wasn¡¯t even enough to provide for even the smallest amounts of high-grade materials! The woman ended her talk with a reminder to look over the hundreds of courses listed in the booklets they had received and sign up for classes. The following week would be a trial week, and students could feel free to shop for classes, but the courses moved fast and if you moved too slow, you could find yourself left behind. The orientation ending, the boys quickly rushed to sign up for classes. They already knew what they wanted, and just hoped that there was enough room. Luckily, all of them managed to get what they wanted - Tauruk signed up for Introduction to Formations, Essentials of Debugging, and Fundamental Algorithms in Formations. In fact, three classes was already considered a lot. These classes were no ordinary classes - each were expected to be extremely difficult and would assign up to tens of hours of work each week. Emmet didn¡¯t sign up for any classes. In fact, he wasn¡¯t an actual student, so he wasn¡¯t able to. However, he could accompany Tauruk in his classes to learn alongside him. In fact, there wasn¡¯t really an attendance for classes, and the school was pretty free-form in general, so he would likely be able to sit in on any class going on, although he couldn¡¯t take the exams. The six boys decided to walk home. They already had an idea of how important points were - they couldn¡¯t afford to already start spending on comfort aspects like the shuttle. On the walk back, they not only saw countless upperclassmen travel around on various glowing transportation contraptions, but were even approached by some unscrupulous upperclassmen trying to take advantage of their juniors¡¯ inexperience and offer shiny but useless items in exchange for points. This further convinced them that they needed to treasure their points as much as possible. When they finally returned to their dorm room, each was much more motivated to study and work on their formations craft. After a brief discussion with each other, the four students split up and began to preview the material for their classes. Chapter 16 - First Day of Classes The next day, Emmet woke up late. However, ¡®late¡¯ was relative. No one had bothered to tell him that class was at seven in the morning. Thus, when he awoke with a start at 6:30, the four students had already dressed and were ready to head out. They didn¡¯t think of awakening the squires. After all, why would they need to go to classes? Emmet had to hurriedly brush his teeth and throw on some clothes before chasing the boys out. However, the boys were cutting it close too and traveled quickly, so it was hard to close the long gap. Halfway there, after Tauruk split off into some small alley, Emmet lost him. Although he spotted a trace of him a few minutes later way far in the distance, after that, he was completely left behind. Not knowing his way around the school, only some vague name of a building he couldn¡¯t read, Emmet had to weave through dizzyingly winding alleyways for more than a mile, getting lost numerous times, before he finally found the place. At this point, he was more than an hour late. The hallway was silent when he stepped into the corridor of the large academic building. Clearly, everyone had already found their classes and thus, no one was left roaming through the halls. Finding the door to the lecture hall, labeled with ¡°Fundamentals of Formations,¡± Emmet took a deep breath and then quickly pushed open the door. ¡°...and as you¡¯ve probably learned from your previous studies, this fatal flaw is why we largely design using Alivarian-style microcircuits today.¡± Creaaaakkk¡­ The door loudly creaked open to a massive lecture hall with over three hundred students. Right in front of Emmet was the professor, who stopped his lecture and turned to stare at him. The room turned silent as everyone followed the professor¡¯s gaze and scrutinized the new arrival. The silence was deafening. ¡°Ah¡­ ah¡­¡± Emmet gulped, scurrying to the side and hurrying to find an empty seat. Unfortunately, the entrance was in the front side of the room, right next to where the professor was speaking, causing him to become the center of attention. Furthermore, the door creak had been so loud that it had interrupted the entire class, so virtually everyone was staring toward him. Emmet walked past four filled rows of note-taking students before finally finding an empty seat and hurriedly sitting down, completely out a breath. What a way to make an entrance! ¡°Mr. Late arrival, now that you¡¯ve so rudely interrupted me, care to answer the question?¡± The professor¡¯s harsh voice rang out. Emmet looked around for a moment before realizing the request was targeted toward him. He quickly stood in attention. ¡°Ah¡­ huh?¡± He stuttered out, his face turning red. ¡°Qu¡­ question?¡± The professor clearly wasn¡¯t pleased, his eyebrows furrowing. The tone of his voice turned impatient. ¡°My question was: what is the fatal flaw of Coriander¡¯s recursive threading design that caused the collective switch to Alivarian-style microcircuits?¡± Emmet¡¯s face was totally blank. His heartbeat grew quicker and heavier, the thuds slamming against his heart like a hammer. Cordiander¡­ recursive threading¡­ Alivarian-style microcircuits... He had never heard any of those words before! What the hell was he talking about? After a few moments of silence, the professor repeated his question. ¡°I said, what is the fatal flaw of Coriander¡¯s recursive threading design? Do you know the answer? This is formations 101. If you don¡¯t know the answer to something as simple as this, you honestly shouldn¡¯t be at this school.¡± Emmet could only lower his head in shame. ¡°...I¡¯m sorry, I don¡¯t know.¡± The professor rolled his eyes and turned toward back to the board. ¡°In the past, Coriander¡¯s recursive threading design was largely sufficient for most designs, but in truth, was able to achieve only amortized constant time, instead of true constant time. While with a sufficiently sophisticated hash function, it was able to achieve constant time with over a 99.5% certainly, no hash function is perfect. When an already hashed mana bucket is inevitably hashed to again, a collision occurs, creating significant delay. However, with Alivaria¡¯s design, through the use of dynamically allocated multi-layered pockets, although there is significantly greater overhead, we are able to achieve true constant time without the use of imperfect hashing. This is superior for the vast majority of applications.¡± The professor continued on with his lecture on the details of Alivaria¡¯s microcircuit design for another two hours before finally assigning the homework and ending for the day. The clock struck time and all the students all stood and packed their stuff. But Emmet still sat there, a blank look in his eyes. He didn¡¯t understand anything. Coriander¡­ Alivaria¡­ recursive threading¡­ multi-layered pockets¡­? In one lecture, Emmet didn¡¯t learn a single thing. Not one thing. Not about Coriander recursive threading design, not on Alivaria¡¯s ingenious multi layered pocketing, not about any of it! The words just went in one ear and left the other. If he couldn¡¯t understand even half the words, how could he even begin to get a grasp of it?This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. And these were apparently the very basics. These were things that a formations student would learn in their very first year they were introduced to the material. All of this was just review. In truth, Emmet was just a simple farm boy. He had never had a proper education. Before this, he had spent all of his time either doing farmwork, beating up animals, or tackling problems in his book. How could he possibly recognize what the professor was talking about? Just three months ago, he hadn¡¯t even known what the word ¡®formations¡¯ was, for pete¡¯s sake! Emmet was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn¡¯t see a slightly frowning Tauruk exit the room. It was only a minute later that Emmet looked around that realized that most of the students had already left. Scanning around the room and realizing Tauruk was gone too (earlier, Emmet had spotted him among the students), he hurriedly stood and rushed out the door. However, even after scanning up and down the block, he couldn¡¯t see where Tauruk had gone. ¡°...ugh¡­¡± His heart sunk. He didn¡¯t know the way back! Now that Tauruk left without him, he would have to navigate on his own. For a moment, he was tempted to take a shuttle. However, he quickly shook his head. He was already a squire, and only had 200 points. It was barely enough for food! If he started splurging now, he might even starve later in the year. If that happened, he had doubts Tauruk would bother to lend him any if he needed it. Funneling out of the lecture hall and out into the street, Emmet looked left and right, his confusion growing deeper. It all looked the same! What direction did he come from, again? That morning, he had been so flustered from being late that he had failed to put the path into his memory. Luckily, there was a campus map on the corner of the street and he quickly walked over to examine it. After five minutes, however, his hopes were dashed. This campus map was just as confusing as the lectures. Nothing was intuitive - the labeling, the language, the diagrams. Emmet suspected that this might be yet another test to hone students¡¯ skills. Or maybe, it was because he had virtually no experience with maps, so he wasn¡¯t familiar with the structure and couldn¡¯t interpret it at first glance. After spending another ten minutes just standing there in front of the map, Emmet began to feel weird so he resolutely picked a direction and began to walk. Although he wasn¡¯t fully confident it was the right direction, things around him seemed kind of familiar from the walk over that morning, so he continued to walk. Time passed, and Emmet grew more and more confused. How come things had seemed familiar just a block ago, but now it seemed completely foreign? But when he would backtrack in the other direction, it would seem just as foreign. Any time he saw a map by the side of the road, he would stop and check. However, all of the maps were confusing to read, and all of the buildings looked similar, so it was hard to tell if he was really heading in the right direction. Half an hour soon passed. Emmet began to sweat. Even when he thought he was going the right direction, he was disoriented. There were few markers showing the direction, and even when there were, Emmet could never be sure that they were what he was looking for. At the core, he was just a simple farm boy. What experience did he have with navigating a cityscape? He couldn¡¯t even read, and could only just guess from the diagrams on maps he would see. For a long time, Emmet roamed down streets in seemingly random directions according to various street maps. However, he would frequently end up in the same place, or in some place completely wrong. Eventually, he went farther and farther away, until he barely recognized any of the buildings anymore... Two hours later, Emmet looked up into the sky and accepted his fate. He was lost. Even though the map was confusing, after some interpretation, he had thought he knew the way. One building on the map had a shiny red 3C on top of it, so Emmet had assumed that was his dorm building. Yet, when Emmet reached it, or when he thought he reached it, he saw no such building. Thus, he tried to turn and navigate to another promising large building, which turned out to be some kind of training facility and not his dorm. He repeated this process over and over, his hope and energy fading slowly. It was five plausible destinations later when Emmet realized that his initial navigation was faulty, and he had not actually reached that building labeled ¡®3C¡¯ the first time around. From there, his direction got worse and worse, until he was completely out of place. Now, there weren¡¯t even any street corners with maps. The buildings were smaller and sparsely spaced out, and there was large amounts of open fields grasslands. He didn¡¯t know if he was even on the school campus anymore. Emmet couldn¡¯t help but become more and more frazzled. He looked around and everything seemed dizzily larger, more maze-like. The buildings were tall, the spirit lamps unidentifiable-y identical, and the streets frantically winding. Suddenly, everything hit him at once. He paused his step, and the world revolved staggeringly around him. A panicked realization reached him. He was stranded, completely alone. He was 5000 miles away from home in some massive foreign city with no friends and no family. The only person he knew, Tauruk, pretended not to know him. Further, he just wasn¡¯t smart enough for this school. He didn¡¯t even know how to read, and couldn¡¯t understand a single thing from class. Now, in a foreign campus even bigger than the biggest town near his home tribe, he was completely and utterly lost, and there would be no one to help him. All at once, he wanted to give up. He just wanted to go home - this was all a mistake! Tauruk was right - he was just a fluke, and had one lucky break. It didn¡¯t mean he was actually talented, or had actual potential. What did Torhah possibly see in him? It was clear he didn¡¯t belong to this world, he was just a dumb farm boy. This ¡®formations¡¯ stuff was way over his head. A ¡®genius¡¯? What a laugh! But it was too late. He was already so far away from home. If he wanted to leave by himself, he would have a better chance of getting struck by lightning than gathering the funds for the trip. Loneliness. Emmet felt a loneliness beyond words. He put his hands to his head and looked down, rocking back and forth. Chapter 17 - Maisy ¡°Hey there, you ok?¡± A friendly voice rang out. ¡°You look disoriented.¡± Emmet snapped out of his trance and turned his panicked head. ¡°Ah?¡± ¡°Haha, no need to be so scared,¡± the voice laughed cheerfully. A pretty face entered into view, an older girl with jet black hair and wearing a plain purple robe, probably around eighteen or nineteen years old. She stepped in front of Emmet and leaned forward helpfully so that they were face to face. ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Uh¡­ I¡¯m Emmet,¡± Emmet stuttered out, unconsciously averting eye contact. ¡°Nice to meet you, Emmet,¡± the girl smiled, extending a hand out. ¡°I¡¯m Maisy. Do you need some directions? You look kind of lost.¡± Emmet shook the girl¡¯s hand and looked down a bit ashamedly. ¡°Um, yeah¡­ do you know where¡­ um¡­ the 3C dorm is? I¡¯m a squire, and I sat in on a class with my student, but on the way back I lost him, and I¡¯ve been trying to my way back for a while but...¡± ¡°3C?¡± The girl looked surprised. She glanced down at Emmet¡¯s shy face and suddenly burst out into laughter. ¡°That¡¯s over five miles from here! Wow, you must have really gotten lost¡­¡± ¡°Fi-five miles?!¡± Emmet was shocked. He had really traveled that far? No wonder he couldn¡¯t recognize anything! ¡°Haha, don¡¯t worry!¡± The girl¡¯s face was all smiles. ¡°You¡¯re in luck today. I¡¯ve been developing a new build of my flying Gigorian-style vehicle all week, and just today, I finally completed it! This is the perfect opportunity to take a test run! Wanna take it for a whirl?¡± ¡°F-flying formations vehicle!¡± Emmet was thrown for a loop, staring at the eager girl with wide eyes. The girl had built a device that could allow people to travel through the sky?! And she would let him use it? He looked down. ¡°Ah¡­ I¡­ uh, I mean, I¡¯m just a squire¡­¡± ¡°Ya little rascal, pretending to be shy!¡± Maisy patted Emmet on the shoulder and laughed out boisterously. ¡°I know you want to. Come with me!¡± ------------------ The two walked through a field until they reached a small building, and inside that small building¡¯s garage was a small intricate car, just big enough to hold two. All around the car were various glowing tools, materials, and notebooks filled with scribbles. In one word, it was a mess. But Emmet didn¡¯t care. With one look, he couldn¡¯t help but feel that the scene was beautiful.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Hehe, here it is!¡± Maisy giggled. ¡°Aren¡¯t you lucky, you get to be the first tester of my product! C¡¯mon, get in!¡± She gestured invitingly toward the car. ¡°Um¡­ ok,¡± Emmet hesitated for only a moment before stepping forward and crawling into the car. ¡°J-just like this¡­?¡± ¡°Perfect!¡± Maisy gave a thumbs up, crawling into the car after him. As soon as all of their limbs had entered the car, Maisy patted the car once, and it suddenly lit up with bright multicolored lights! VVvvmm¡­ A low comforting hum rose from the inside of the car, giving Emmet a relaxed feeling. ¡°Go!¡± The car shot forward out of the open garage door and then soared into the sky! ¡°Whaa!!!¡± Emmet almost lost his grip and hugged tightly onto Maisy¡¯s waist. However, given a moment, he marveled from the side. They really were in the sky! The device was flying! Whoosh! The car soared forward, rapidly accelerating. Before long, the people on the ground turned into little ants, and the buildings turned into little models that the ants walked in and out of. The wind blew noisily around him, and both their hairs fluttered wildly in the breeze. ¡°Oh my gosh!!!¡± Emmet couldn¡¯t help but exclaim. His grip on Maisy became even tighter. ¡°We¡¯re so high up!¡± ¡°Hahahahaha!!!¡± Maisy laughed heartily, casually patting Emmet on the head. ¡°Yes, we are! You like it?¡± She couldn¡¯t help but find that this little squire was cute. ¡°Y¡­ yeah!¡± Emmet stuttered out, his eyes shining. ¡°This is awesome!¡± But it was over too soon. Within a few minutes, the sky car slowed and sank back down to the ground. When it touched back down to the earth, they were already in front of the familiar 3C dorm. It was then that Emmet realized that he had been holding Maisy tightly and hurriedly stepped back. However, the car was small, so this caused him to fall backwards, rolling out of the car awkwardly and thumping his head on the ground. Rubbing his head and getting back up, he hurriedly made his body rigid and bowed consecutively, thanking Maisy profusely. ¡°Thank you so much, senior Maisy! Thank you so much!¡± ¡°It¡¯s no problem!¡± Maisy smiled, her face bright and sunny like a summer¡¯s day. ¡°You¡¯re a cute little fella¡¯! I¡¯ll see you later! Next time, just call me big sis!¡± She sat back down into the car and gave a short wave before operating the car again. The car quickly soared back up into the sky and shot away just as quickly. ¡°Big sis Maisy¡­¡± Emmet mumbled to himself absentmindedly, staring out at the disappearing sky car. ¡°That¡¯s amazing¡­¡± After standing there with a dazed expression for a few seconds, he snapped out of it and suddenly felt alright again, his loneliness swept away. Sure, he might not be so smart. But wasn¡¯t being here enough? Everything here was so amazing - it was a privilege just to experience it first-hand! If he managed to gain anything out of this experience, that would be good enough! He decided to himself that he would definitely accompany Tauruk in the rest of his classes. After seeing Maisy¡¯s amazing creation, he suddenly felt motivated, and wouldn¡¯t give up this quick! Even he was all alone here and couldn¡¯t understand any of the material, some way, he could definitely achieve something! He didn¡¯t notice that around him, people were gaping amazedly toward him and at the sky car that was disappearing from view. Chapter 18 - Job Emmet made sure to sit in on Tauruk¡¯s two remaining classes that week. He was never late again - he made sure of it. The day before each class, he would intensely study a map and then make the walk ahead of time several times to make sure he had the route memorized. Further, the morning of, he would wake up excessively early, arriving at 6:00, a full hour before class started. Both times, he was the first one there, and had to be the one to flip on the light formations on the ceiling before sitting in the back of the room previewing the material. Although he still didn¡¯t really understand any of the terms, he made a bigger effort, and some of the words were becoming familiar. He had checked out all three of the corresponding textbooks for Tauruk¡¯s classes from the library (spending a precious three points each) and during class would try to follow along. Luckily, all three books had detailed diagrams, so he was able to gain some kind of base intuition further than just sitting there sifting through all the terminology. Further, unlike the first professor who barely touched the chalk at all, the two other professors would actually draw out what they were talking about on the board, allowing Emmet some room to at least look at something familiar. At some times, the diagrams would be similar to the puzzles in Emmet¡¯s picture book, which made him feel a brief excitement. There would be moments where Emmet felt he understood the concepts! A week passed without incident. Just after the second class of Introduction to Formations rolled around again, however, Emmet ran into a bigger problem. He checked his balance on his card at a kiosk in the admissions office and realized that he had already spent 25 points! Heavens, this was only the second week! At this rate, his points would only last two months! Although, it was true that he had spent a large chunk of it to borrow textbooks for the semester. Thus, he decided that it was time to find a job. He didn¡¯t have much hope on the bounty tasks offered to students - they were probably for more advanced students who actually had practical experience. He just hoped he could find a menial work position that he could do, considering his limited skills and knowledge. His mind set, he trotted over to a bulletin with a large listing of tasks and jobs. However, with one look, he could only shake his head. Although he could pick out a few words, he couldn¡¯t read any of them. After spending a few minutes deciphering, managing to vaguely make out the gist of one of the tasks through the diagram included, he crept up to the front desk, where an older male student, likely a third-year or beyond, was reading through a textbook. It seemed that operating the front desk was his job. Clearly, this job had some downtime. ¡°Um¡­ hi¡­¡± Emmet raised a little hand. ¡°Hello,¡± the student looked up and glanced toward the little shy boy. ¡°Can I help you?¡± ¡°Um¡­ yeah¡­¡± Emmet gestured to the bulletin. ¡°Um, the tasks and jobs¡­¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t see what you want?¡± the student asked, nodding as if he knew Emmet¡¯s problem. ¡°As you¡¯ve probably guessed, not everything¡¯s listed there. The rest are spread out all throughout the other offices, but I can give you a full listing, it¡¯s somewhere down here...¡± He reached down under his desk and began to shuffle through some items. ¡°N-no¡­ that¡¯s not it,¡± Emmet shook his head. ¡°Actually¡­ the problem is... I¡­ I... never learned how to read¡­ can¡­ can you read them out to me?¡± His face turned red as he said it. Wasn¡¯t that something a little child would say? Sure enough, the student was thrown for a loop, pausing his movement and staring out toward Emmet with a blank expression. This boy didn¡¯t know how to read? Was he hearing him correctly? If that was the case, how was he at this school? Glancing down at the plain clothes Emmet had on and seeing the naive expression of his face, he came to an understanding. This boy was probably a simple squire, and just wanted a menial labor job to sustain enough points. ¡°Alright,¡± the student said kindly, stepping out from behind his desk and walking toward the bulletin. Emmet was overjoyed and closely followed behind him. ¡°First item here -¡± the student put his finger to the first item on the tasks list traced across it. ¡°Design me a four-wheeled locomotive car with over 50 horsepower - 2700 points.¡± Emmet nodded his head, a bit taken aback by the advanced nature of the request. He closely followed along with the student¡¯s finger, trying to learn the words. At this point, he felt he had a pretty good understanding of the number system. He had spent a long time looking at his textbooks and differentiating the different numerals and their meanings. However, the words were an even greater challenge.This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°Looking to buy a large-sized luggage transporter - 500 points.¡± ¡°Looking for a tutor in linear algebraic abstractions - 50 points per session.¡± ¡°Construct a level 4 defensive formation around a 200 meter wide compound, will provide materials, deadline one month - 6500 points.¡± At this moment, the student paused to glance toward Emmet¡¯s face, and saw his face tight in focus. ¡°You know what? This stuff is probably way out of your level. Why don¡¯t we move on to the jobs?¡± Emmet nodded in acquiescence. All of that sounded amazing, but it was completely out of reach for him. It would probably take years of extensive training to be able to complete tasks like those, especially the last one, so it was useless to read over it. ¡°Alright, onto the jobs board¡­¡± The student moved his finger over to the board on the right, starting at the first item. ¡°Building Fortification - the formations placed on many buildings on campus are ancient, and need replacement - must have taken at least Intermediate Warding and have a year¡¯s worth of experience in the field - 15 points per hour.¡± ¡°Teacher¡¯s Assistant - looking for a knowledgeable student who has taken and received an A in Basics of Parallel Threading Design. Will test all applicants and choose the most appropriate, about six hours of work per week - 1500 points for the whole semester.¡± ¡°Lawn Maintenance - manage and run the lawn-cutting formations on some select lots. Requires some knowledge about basic formations. Will take up about ten hours a week - 8 points per hour.¡± ¡°Library Desk Clerk - manage the help desk in Toussan West library. Will need extensive training to familiarize with the content and some control over mana for controlling the book-checking formation - 13 points per hour.¡± The student wrinkled his nose. ¡°It still looks like all of these jobs are above your level¡­¡± He skipped over some of the pages and scanned down the list, until he found something and paused. ¡°Oh, this is interesting!¡± ¡°Maisy¡¯s Debugging Depot - #1 Student-Run Debugging Service - looking for employees. Any skill level is welcome, as long as you¡¯re willing to learn! However, it¡¯s preferable for applicants to have either taken Essentials of Debugging, or be currently taking it - 5-10 points per hour, plus extra commissions.¡± He turned toward Emmet. ¡°I¡¯ve actually used Maisy¡¯s Debugging Depot before! It¡¯s run by an amazing sixth-year¡­ ah, seventh-year now, student Maisy Harbinger. At a base level, debugging is something a first-year can even do, although it¡¯s tedious.¡± He glanced at Emmet¡¯s simple-looking demeanor. ¡°...although I guess that it still might be above your level.¡± Maisy! Emmet¡¯s ears perked up. Could that be the same Maisy he had met the previous week? She ran a debugging service? A debugging service was an organization where students could turn in their malfunctioning formations, pay a fee, and then get them promptly fixed. Depending on the scale of the formation and the degree of bugginess, the price would fluctuate. Emmet only knew about it because he had overheard some of the boys in his dorm room consider using one. In one of their classes, their homework was to build a basic formation, and one of their constructions was malfunctioning. It was tedious to go one by one down all of the circuits of the formation to try to identify the problem, so he was considering going to go pay a fee to go to a debugging service and get it sorted out. Hearing about debugging, Emmet couldn¡¯t help but grow excited. Debugging - that was such an interesting field! Among Tauruk¡¯s three classes, Emmet liked Essentials of Debugging the best. This was because class was made up of mostly just inspecting various comprehensive diagrams, identifying the problems with them, and then creating a method of action to solving them. Although there was still a lot of wordy lecturing about theory, to Emmet, it was much more familiar. Wasn¡¯t this just a puzzle? Find the problem with the diagram and fix it - that was the definition of a puzzle! The history of the word ¡®debugging¡¯ was interesting. According to legend, thousands of years ago, when formations were much more primitive, one famous figure was having a problem with his construction. He was sure that he had built it right, but it wasn¡¯t working as expected. When he opened it up to take a look, he discovered a physical bug had gotten in and chewed through one of the flimsy circuits, causing it to short. After writing about it in a journal, saying he had to ¡®debug¡¯ the formation, the term caught on, and now the term encompassed any unforseen error in a formation that caused it to malfunction. The front desk upperclassman recognized the light in Emmet¡¯s eyes but still turned back to the bulletin and continued to scan down the list, looking for something more menial. Eventually, he found three simpler jobs, clearly meant for squires - janitor, babysitter, and groundskeeper. None of them required any skill in formations. However, they each only paid a pitiful 2 points an hour. In the end, Emmet made sure to profusely thank the student. Thankfully he had been here to help, or there would have been no way for him to select a job! Emmet had originally thought the school was cold and unforgiving, but it seemed that some people were nice. The student kindly accepted his thanks and they exchanged names. He was known as Borokov, and as suspected, he was a third-year student. According to him, it had been a stroke of luck that he made the cut from second to third year. As Borokov sat back down at his position at the desk, Emmet ripped off one of the tabs on the bottom of the flyer for Maisy¡¯s Debugging Depot. The flyer had said that all skills were welcome, so he hoped he would qualify - it seemed right up his alley! On the tab was a day, time, and address. Although Emmet failed to fully decipher it, he once again showed it to Borokov, and he informed him that it was for the very next day, at 7 PM. After giving a final thanks to Borokov, he left in a giddy mood. Chapter 19 - Trial At the appointed time, Emmet nervously walked up to the building specified in the tab. Coincidentally, it happened to be near where he had first met Maisy, when he had gotten horribly lost. The building was medium sized, and labeled as a student activity area. Opening the door and tip-toeing in, he saw a crowd of other first years sitting in a clump on the floor, in wait. He joined them and sat down criss-crossed, facing a board. The door opened and a jet-black haired girl walked in. ¡°Welcome, welcome!¡± her voice rang out, and she raised her hands enthusiastically. ¡°You are all applicants for Maisy¡¯s Debugging Depot, correct?¡± Most of the applicants nodded hesitantly, but Emmet was the opposite, nodding energetically as if greatly anticipating the job. His eyes were bright. That jet black hair and easygoing smile - it really was Maisy! Maisy panned her gaze around the crowd of applicants and landed her eyes on Emmet. After a brief moment of surprise, she gave a slight smile, and then continued to pan her gaze. ¡°This job isn¡¯t glorious, I¡¯ll be the first to say it. It involves hours of painstakingly inspecting formations and spotting oftentimes nearly invisible bugs. The pay starts out at 5 points per hour, and upon promotion, reaches 10 points per hour. However, you will also receive a commission for every formation you debug, about 10% of the total payment from the client. Sound good?¡± Everyone in the room nodded. They had all seen the flyers, and knew the wage. It wasn¡¯t the best job in the world, but since they were first-years, they didn¡¯t have too many better options. ¡°Great! Now, I¡¯d like to give you all a simple test,¡± Maisy gestured to her side, where there was a pile of simple-looking array formations on a floating baggage carrier formation. ¡°Each of these arrays has some sort of simple problem. Let¡¯s pass them around, and I¡¯ll give you each an hour to debug what you get. However, don¡¯t feel pressure! Even if you fail, as long as you¡¯re willing to learn, you¡¯re up for recruitment. This is just to give you a taste of what the job is like, and to gauge your initial skill.¡± Another girl, who seemed maybe 13 years old and had green hair, stepped out from the side and began to pass out the arrays. Soon enough, everyone had one. ¡°Ok, to debug what you have right now¡­ I¡¯ll give you an hour, starting now!¡± Maisy tapped the mini clock contraption on her wrist. ¡°Feel free to move around. There¡¯s plenty of workstations around this building.¡± Everyone hurriedly stood up and began to spread around, finding various workstations to work at. Emmet joined them, finding his own private workstation. He marveled at this ¡®workstation.¡¯ It was a nice little enclosed space, with a large desk, some cheap mending materials, a slot to purchase more advanced materials, and some tools for construction, like a hammer, soldering pen, tweezers, etc. Sitting down, he brought the contraption he had received out onto the desk, his eyes glowing. The formation seemed complicated! He could distinctly see that inside were various multilayered runes, interleaving jade circuits all over the place, and various glowing mana flow channelers. It was completely different from any type of contraption he had previously personally built! In fact, this was the first time he had seen a mana-powered formation up close, so close he could inspect it! He had only previously built contraptions powered from sunstones, and it was only after he had set off with Torhah and Tauruk that he had awakened his mana, so he had no chance to attempt to build one. He put his hand on the power introduction socket, and with a deep grunt, channeled his mana! Fisss¡­ A tiny flow of blue entered the formation, causing it to light up. The flow funneled through the circuitry of the device in one line before splintering off, reaching a series of chain-links... and then anticlimactically fizzled out. Emmet frowned. The mana fizzled out? He was pretty sure that wasn¡¯t supposed to happen. Was that the problem with it? Emmet grabbed a small tool from the station and pried the contraption open. What actually was the contraption? What was it supposed to do? He had to identify its purpose and mechanisms before he could attempt to fix it. Staring down at the complicated interleaving series of jade circuits, Emmet was momentarily confused. Everything looked so foreign! How was he supposed to fix this? All he saw were a a dense thicket of completely unrecognizable runes, threaded lines, and weirdly organized microcircuits. However, within moments, he had a realization. If he thought back to the puzzle diagrams inside his picture book, the basic structures of some of these microcircuits were actually familiar - he had experimented a lot with them before, although using simpler quartz circuits! After reaching this realization, he began tracing the paths of the microcircuits, and then suddenly had another lightbulb moment. This structure¡­ wasn¡¯t this just a double-layered sun beam?The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. The more he thought about it, the more he was sure he was correct. It had all the correct components, although they were formatted slightly differently, and although the circuits were confusing and superfluous, the basic structure was at least somewhat similar. The primary difference was, there was only one mana source instead of multiple sunstone sources, and there were also a lot of accessory parts that Emmet couldn¡¯t quite identify purpose of. Looking at it through the lens of a sun beam, Emmet observed closer, and within moments found the problem. Producer consumer¡­ that term lingered in his head. He had first been introduced to this dilemma through his picture book, and he had later discovered first-hand how without a proper producer consumer lock organization, a beam would work spottily at best. As he looked closely, in this fancy double-layered sun beam he held here, the locks appeared to be set improperly, and thus, the mana inputted could only fizz out. Knowing the problem, Emmet immediately got to work. Almost an hour later, Emmet finally looked up, relieved. He had finally finished the repair. It was much harder than expected - he was not used to the more expensive material of the array at all, and wasn¡¯t aware of the proper procedures to deal with it. It was also hard to spot out the different components of the formations clearly since they were so different in appearance from anything he knew. All he could do was a misguided brute force method of ripping out and soldering, hoping that they were put back in properly. In fact, there was a lot of finesse to constructing - Emmet wasn¡¯t aware that there was an entire course at the school on proper methods of dealing with jade circuits. His crude fix done, Emmet took a deep breath, put his hand on power source socket, and sent his mana in! Fuoosh! The contraption lit up, and a bright yellow beam shot out of the end, giving a person a warm feeling! ¡°YES!¡± Emmet pumped his fist. He had succeeded! Within this hour, Emmet had fallen deeply in love with debugging. The whole thing was like solving a puzzle. Identify the problem with the formation, and then solve it. There was nothing more familiar to Emmet, and there was nothing he loved more. He found that in many ways, it was even more stimulating than solving puzzles from his picture book - all of that was purely theoretical, simply printed on a page. But fixing actual formations was in physical reality! ¡°Time!¡± Maisy¡¯s voice called out. ¡°Everyone bring your arrays over.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± Some distant groans sounded out. Clearly, some people weren¡¯t ready yet. However, everyone obediently left their workstations and brought their hopefully debugged formations over, handing them over to the green-haired girl. Everyone crowded around Maisy again. ¡°Alright, first up,¡± Maisy grabbed a random formation from the top of the pile, holding it out. ¡°Who fixed this one?¡± ¡°Me¡­¡± A hesitant hand raised from the front. It was a brown-haired boy wearing a thick grey cloak. ¡°Let¡¯s test it.¡± Maisy promptly placed her hand on it and quickly channeled her mana. A flowing blue light went down her arm and shot into the formation! FUOOSH! The construction lit up with a bright brown glow. Then, a moment later, a steady beam of earth shot out from the end! However, a mere moment after that, the beam promptly sputtered out and died. ¡°Hm¡­¡± Maisy rubbed her chin. ¡°It¡¯s a good attempt, but the circuitry is still flawed. My guess would be with the producer consumer locks. Next!¡± The boy nodded slowly with a sigh. If he had just a little more time¡­ Maisy proceeded to pick up formation after formation, testing them out. Some would be complete duds, some would partially work, and some would work perfectly. She would give out criticism or praise accordingly. Finally, she reached Emmet¡¯s formation. ¡°This one?¡± Maisy raised the formation up. ¡°M...me¡­¡± Emmet shyly raised his hand. He felt his heart pound loudly. Would his repair be good? Maisy met eyes with Emmet and nodded slowly. She glanced down at the formation, unsure of her expectations. Although she thought the boy was cute, she was dubious of his actual capabilities. In the end he was only a squire, right? ¡°Alright, let¡¯s see what this can do.¡± She placed her hand on the array and channeled her mana! FUOOSH!!! The formation lit up virtually instantly, the outer end shooting out a steady stream of yellow energy! Even after a few moments, the yellow beam stayed steady, even increasing in intensity! ¡°Whoa!¡± Many exclaimed out. Some of the other arrays had worked as well, but none with this kind of speed or intensity! The device had lit up nearly instantly, and was even still increasing in power. ¡°Very nice!¡± Maisy praised, her face full of surprise. She glanced toward Emmet with an impressed look. ¡°Very, very nice! You not only fixed the main operational problem of the double-layered Dijorbian-switch design, but made optimizations to increase the speed and efficiency through cordonian balance! Very good, I hope to see you here in the future!¡± Emmet¡¯s face beamed, and he couldn¡¯t help but blush. He had actually passed! ¡­although, he didn¡¯t really understand what Maisy had just said. After Maisy had gone through all of the formations, she told everyone to come back the next day to start work if they were still interested. Each day one would work from 7-10 in the evening. However, it wasn¡¯t a set time. If one was busy, they could work less hours. Emmet left the building, feeling completely giddy. He had finally found something he was good at! Maybe he wasn¡¯t a talentless hack, after all! Chapter 20 - One Week Later The next day, when Emmet walked into the same building at 7 PM, there were only about ten first-years sitting in the room in wait. Only a quarter of the people who had applied had showed up. ¡°Alright!¡± Maisy¡¯s bright voice rang out as she stepped in through the doorway. ¡°Thank you all for coming.¡± She scanned over the group, identifying each person there. Seeing Emmet, she once again let out a slight smile. ¡°From now on, you are all employees of Maisy¡¯s Debugging Depot! Since you¡¯re now official employees, I want to give you all some brief basic training. For those who don¡¯t know the technique, I¡¯ll first show some proper procedure for wiring and soldering. Then, I¡¯ll give you all some practical advice on the way to go about debugging, and a list of some common bugs you might see. I¡¯ve been working in this business for over six years, so I¡¯ve developed quite a bit of experience.¡± Maisy first brought out a random demonstration formation and brought it to a workstation. Taking out some tools from the side compartments, she showed everyone the proper way to use the tools and how to handle the circuits and formation parts. Although everyone else seemed to already know the technique, Emmet was enlightened, and inwardly adjusted some of his habits. He suspected that this part of the training might be aimed toward him. Then, for the next hour, Maisy gave a light-hearted lecture on some common practices for debugging formations, and gave a long list of common errors in each formation type. There were countless types of formations defined by the collective society of formations experts, so Maisy only gave some basic categories. This included arrays, wards, locomotives, etc. In general, formations encompassed a nearly infinite array of applications, so Maisy covered a few basic types that first or second year students would commonly build. After that, the same green-haired girl from the day prior, introduced by Maisy as Janine (who was also an experienced debugger, in her third year), produced another large container floating on a baggage carrier formation. Maisy opened it, revealing tens of different malfunctioning formations stacked inside. Unlike the uniform quality of the arrays from yesterday, there all different shapes and types this time, including multilayered disks, cubes, spheres, and other interesting designs. ¡°Even though it¡¯s only the beginning of the year, since we¡¯re one of the biggest businesses around, the orders have already started to pile up. In the pile to the left are some of the more basic formations sent in by some first and second years, in the middle pile are some intermediate level formations sent in by third and fourth years, and in the smaller pile to the right are some more advanced ones send in by some fifth, sixth, and seventh year students. For today, I¡¯d suggest that you all work on the ones in the left pile. However, if you passed the test yesterday, I wouldn¡¯t be opposed to you tackling some in the middle pile - the commission for those will surely be higher,¡± Maisy gave a brief explanation.¡°If you have any problems or any more questions, come find me! The days will be very freeform like today, just make sure to come in at least three times a week, at least two hours each time. I¡¯ll expect you to debug at least a formation a week.¡± ¡°Oh!¡± Maisy seemed to remember something. ¡°We also have about ten other upperclassman employees that come in and out. If you see any of them, make sure to introduce yourself. We¡¯re one big family here!¡± Everyone nodded in understanding. Having been oriented, everyone thanked Maisy and then lined up in front of the three piles of formations. Each spent some time selecting a formation and then spread out throughout the space¡¯s workstations to stare down at their formation and focus. After Emmet had selected his, taking from the pile on the very left, Maisy came over to greet him. ¡°Emmet! My little cute squire, you¡¯re here!¡± Maisy¡¯s face was bright. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you had so much talent! When you debugged that formation from yesterday so perfectly, I was awestruck. For a squire, that ain¡¯t too bad!¡±This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. ¡°Hehe¡­¡± Emmet couldn¡¯t help but giggle sheepishly, his face turning red. ¡°Thank you senior Maisy.¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t I tell you?¡± Maisy patted Emmet on his head. Since Emmet was short, she didn¡¯t have to extend her hand far. ¡°Just call me big sis Maisy. If you have any questions, just ask me, ok? I¡¯m here to help. I think you have real potential!¡± She glanced down at Emmet¡¯s cute face, a warm feeling rising in her heart. It wasn¡¯t often that there was such a pure young fellow who attended this school. Emmet nodded profusely. ¡°Yes, big sis Maisy! Thanks so much!¡± Clutching his formation, he scurried his way over to a workstation and began inspecting what the problem was. ------------------- In the next week, Emmet made over 100 points from his new debugging job. On top of working the full hours, he also earned considerable compensation from commissions. The more he worked, the more he couldn¡¯t help but become obsessed with the job. It really was like solving puzzles! Each day, he would debug another basic formation. The more he did, the faster he became, and the greater skill he developed. Now that he had the proper technique for soldering the circuits, he worked quickly, fixing them at once when he identified the problem. However, it wasn¡¯t all smooth sailing. Emmet had pitiful experience with the variety of formations that needed debugging, and would frequently find himself completely lost when seeing something new. That first day during the trial he had gotten lucky and gotten a sun empowered array (sun beam), something he was familiar with, having built his own version in the past. However, when other types of formations entered his vision, he was clueless. What were they supposed to do? However, with Maisy¡¯s help, he learned quickly. Within a few days, he had learned how to accurately read how the jade threading worked, accounting for its differences with quartz threading, which allowed him to identify the structure of the formations much more easily. With that barrier out of the way, he grew more and more familiar with the various types of formations and their unique properties, linking them up mentally with what he saw in his picture puzzle book. The formations would often be formatted a bit differently or superfluously, with extra junk lying around, confusing Emmet at first, but in the end, would match something in his puzzle book. He couldn¡¯t help but be amazed. So the puzzle book really had everything! Now, it was only a matter of linking up the physical to the theoretical. In the other aspects of his life, classes were going alright. Without a personal teacher, Emmet still found it virtually impossible to identify what the terms the professors were spurting out meant, even when they were repeated multiple times, and thus, he still struggled to follow along. However, he was slowly but surely understanding more and more, if only just a few words. He enjoyed Fundamentals of Debugging the most, since it was most applicable to his job and the most visual-oriented. Some situations explored in the class would come up directly in some of the formations he would debug, so it was greatly helpful. The only other notable thing that happened in the past week was that one night, Emmet had overheard the four students of 427 gossip that there was apparently a lucky 3C first year student who had gotten a ride in an amazing flying car from a seventh year student. It must have been true, because many other first years had testified about seeing it with their own eyes. What had the first year done to receive such favor? Who was he? The four could only grumble in jealousy. They didn¡¯t yet have the funds or skills to build their own transportation devices, and still had to walk from place to place. If they could have an amazing upperclassman help them, especially a seventh year, it would be amazing. Emmet could only shake his head. They had the complete wrong idea. As for the four students themselves, just like Emmet, they had also gotten jobs, although all low-paying ones. However, unlike Emmet, they barely had enough income to keep themselves afloat. This was due to the fact that they had to purchase their own materials for the construction assignments in their classes! Emmet suspected that given a few months time, he might actually become the richest out of all them, not due to his income (which was actually rather high even for a first year student), but because he didn¡¯t need to spend so much. Somehow, the four students had also discovered that Emmet had gotten a job as a debugger, and would sometimes slide him disparaging looks. As expected, a squire would do grunt work! Emmet was too naive to know, but debugging as a primary profession was stigmatized in the formations world. What proud formations expert would base their entire job around correcting other people¡¯s malfunctioning formations? Many also felt that it was largely menial work. Chapter 21 - Literacy Lessons Time slowly passed, and Emmet debugged more and more formations. The more he worked, the more experienced he became, and the more he got to know his fellow coworkers. Eventually, he felt comfortable enough to bring his textbooks to the workplace to study when there was downtime. During breaks, he started to pull them out and look through a current chapter to attempt to understand the material. Although he couldn¡¯t read the dense blocks of text, he could attempt to look at the diagrams to decipher a meaning. One day during a break, Maisy spotted Emmet at a workstation looking down into a textbook, and walked over to pat him on the shoulder. ¡°Hard at work, huh? Few squires are so ambitious to study curriculum, that¡¯s commendable!¡± ¡°Haha, thanks, big sis Maisy¡­¡± Emmet laughed, rubbing his forehead tiredly. He slightly shook his head in exasperation. ¡°If only I could understand any of it though¡­¡± ¡°Don¡¯t get the material?¡± Maisy asked. ¡°If you have any questions, don¡¯t hesitate to ask me. As a seventh year, I¡¯ve taken most of the basic level classes.¡± She gave a confident thumbs up. Over the past week, she had been greatly impressed with this little squire¡¯s debugging skills, and even more so his rate of improvement, so she was more and more willing to help him out. In her opinion, he was more talented than many of the actual first year students! ¡°Thanks!¡± Emmet bowed his head, grateful for her kindness, but shortly after, let out a short sigh. ¡°I¡¯m probably too far gone though. I¡¯ve never actually really learned how to read, so I can only look at the diagrams¡­ I¡¯ve been trying to decipher them but they¡¯re labeled so confusingly...¡± ¡°WHAT?!¡± Maisy exclaimed out, gawking incredulously in his face. ¡°You can¡¯t read?!¡± Emmet cringed a bit, surprised at Maisy¡¯s outburst. His face quickly turned bright red, and he averted eye contact. ¡°Y-yeah¡­ I¡­ don¡¯t know how to read¡­ no one ever taught me...¡± Maisy stared incredulously at Emmet for a few moments, as if she couldn¡¯t believe it. After seeing Emmet¡¯s honest-looking expression, however, her face suddenly turned determined. ¡°You know what, I¡¯m taking matters into my own hands! From now on, during breaks, I¡¯m gonna give you lessons. You¡¯re gonna become a literate young man, whether you like it or not!¡± His eyes lighting up, Emmet could only quickly nod. Maisy wasn¡¯t joking. The very next day, she brought in a basic instructional book for the letters of the alphabet. Starting from A, she began to vigorously teach Emmet the phonetic pronunciations. Emmet would listen and nod along vigorously. These lessons continued on, day after day. Every break, Maisy would teach Emmet a bit more about the language. After the alphabet was vowels and consonants, and after that was basic words, sentence structure, grammar, etc. Emmet was a quick learner and would absorb the information quickly. All he really needed was a patient teacher to guide him through the first, and most difficult, steps. He already had a good intuition on the grammatical rules of the language from speaking, so in that aspect, progress was swift. However, just as expected, overall advancement was still extremely painstaking and tough, at least initially. All of this writing and reading was completely new to Emmet. Learning something completely foreign, how could it be easy? Thus, Emmet worked extremely diligently, following Maisy¡¯s every instruction. Every day, he allocated at least three hours after classes to studying the concepts Maisy had introduced, including writing out the letters, memorizing vocabulary, reading passages, and working on the grammar.Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings. To his surprise, within a month, he was able to read a few basic picture books without any errors! Motivated by this progress, Emmet worked even harder and longer, increasing his daily studying to four hours or more. The longer and more complicated passages that Maisy would assign for Emmet to read were extremely tough, and he would have to glue himself to the text for hours at a time. However, his hard work paid off. Before he knew it, things began to click. Once Emmet knew the letters and what they meant phonetically, he could look up words in the dictionary, opening a whole new world of opportunity. And once Emmet developed a base vocabulary, he was suddenly able to understand a large portion of the simply worded chunks in his textbooks. Then, once he picked up word after word, he could read them more and more fluently, often only having to run off to Maisy or look in a dictionary a few times per paragraph for the weirder jargon. Although it took a long time, and many patient lessons, the more he read, the more his vocabulary expanded, and eventually, he suddenly found that for the most part, he could read his textbooks just fine! After that happened, the ideas came to Emmet like a tornado. It was like the haze had completely cleared. Forget about those fancy terms¡­ this whole chapter here, when distilled, was just talking about that one picture on page 17 of his puzzle picture book! And that chapter there¡­ well, that whole thing was just talking about that diagram on page 22! He was absolutely certain of this too, because just a few weeks ago, he had debugged formations of both those exact prototypes, and their structures nearly exactly matched what was in the textbook! Emmet slowly realized that he had in reality understood most of the concepts all along, but just not in the same context or form that the professors had presented it in. It was flabbergasting. Remembering just how confused he had been just weeks prior, he could only shake his head disbelievingly. After understanding that, the progress was lightning quick. Emmet would link up the concepts in his mind, and his progress went flying. Within two months, he had completely caught up to the material in his classes, and then after that, disbelievingly almost felt the material was actually pretty simple. Although it would take upwards of a few hours to decipher through the language of a chapter, after linking the ideas with diagrams in his puzzle book and his debugging experience, Emmet would feel the concepts click within his mind instantly. Having personally worked with the structure of these ideas, and already knowing how to amend their faulty variations in physical reality, he had a leap start and could fathom them nearly instantaneously. Although he progressed much more rapidly, there would still be occasional moments where he would have to fill the gaps, where he reached material that was completely foreign. However, even so, he spent a relatively quick amount of time studying the concepts, and after understanding the intuition, would put it into his memory and move on. Whether he knew it or not, he now had a strong base of understanding to stand on, and could learn the concepts with just a few reads. Thus, he had plenty of time to read ahead in the textbook, and before long, quickly shot way ahead of each class¡¯s curriculum. In actuality, the toughest thing for Emmet was memorizing the names and terminology; the rest seemed pretty understandable. It was such a drastic change that Emmet would oftentimes wonder if he really fathomed the material, or was just building off of misunderstanding after misunderstanding. However, he would go to Maisy, and she would affirm that he had the right idea. One unexpected side effect of this amazing progress was that his confidence in himself grew. While in the beginning of the year, he was as shy and introverted as could be, completely unsure of himself, deep into the semester, his talents were now confirmed. As such, he began to carry himself more comfortably, and before long, many of his coworkers had noticed that he was walking around with his head held higher and higher, his previous unease nowhere to be seen. Like this, a whole six months quickly passed, and the semester ended. Chapter 22 - Six Months Later Like this, a whole six months quickly passed, and the semester ended. These six months, Emmet had never had a fuller existence. He had quickly realized that in reality, everything here was just puzzles, whether they were framed in that way or not. After realizing that, he suddenly found everything exhilarating. It was all about solving puzzles! That was just what he liked! In the morning, he would attend classes teaching material he already knew, and then after, would read ahead through more of the textbook. After that, he would study some passages Maisy had assigned him and memorize more vocabulary. If he finished early and didn¡¯t have anything to do, he would go back to his trusty puzzle picture book and work on the latest page. Currently, he was on page 70. Although he was stuck for a little while back in the 50s, after exposure to so many different formations through classes and his debugging job, he suddenly felt that his intuition was much better, and he sped through the book once again. Many of the concepts that appeared were reminiscent of those mentioned in the textbooks, so he felt that they were much easier to tackle through that lens. Although he had finally slowed down in the past month, he still solved a page a week. Then, he would go to his debugging job, where the real fun happened. At this point, he had developed a bit of a reputation. Among the employees in Maisy¡¯s Debugging Depot, he became known as ¡°mad man Emmet¡± for his insane speed and crazy rate of improvement. Shortly after the first few months, when he was finally getting the hang of reading, his debugging speed sharply increased from a linear improvement to exponential! At this point, a basic formation in the left pile would barely take 10 minutes. After getting extremely experienced with the basic formations in the left pile, he quickly moved on to the intermediate pile, where the formations were significantly more advanced and harder to debug. At first, when he had initially moved to that pile, Emmet had found himself frequently stuck, as everything seemed many times more complex, confusing, and unrecognizable. He barely managed to debug his first one within an entire week. However, he wasn¡¯t ¡°mad man Emmet¡± for nothing! Within a month, his intuition had connected and he realized that in essence, they weren¡¯t so complicated after all. They were just constructed with a greater number of interleaving building blocks. Before long, he was chugging along and debugging one every two or three days. It was truly insane - nobody there had ever seen anything like it! Because of this insane progress, Maisy already felt pressure to promote him, even though promotions were only meant for employees who had worked at least a year. But his improvement was just so crazy! This practice of debugging was most helpful to Emmet in increasing his familiarity with all sorts of formations. While previously, he had no idea what any of the formations around the school campus did, what their mechanisms were, or how they were constructed, soon enough, he was able to identify with a glance a vague answer to all three of those questions, just from recognizing their structure due to his vast experience with debugging. Each new type of formation Emmet tackled in his debugging expanded his knowledge more, until he felt confident that he could build many of them from scratch if given the materials. Unknowingly, he was building up a large bank of incredibly valuable experience just from debugging so many varying structures. Quickly, he became one of the fastest debuggers out of everyone in the company. In fact, at least for basic level formations, he was soon faster than virtually anyone else, other than Maisy herself. Considering there were numerous other upperclassman debuggers with in theory much more experience, this was quite the achievement! People could only look on with amazement. His rabid speed came just in time, when the peak rush of clients came in. Toward the end of the semester was when the hardest assignments would come, and when grades would matter the most, so a lot of the students would panic. Splurging on a debugging service didn¡¯t sound so bad if it would save their grade. Thus, Emmet never ran out of formations to debug, and the pile never shrunk much, actually growing larger in the last month until the final week of the semester. Along with that came Emmet¡¯s bulging pocket. Heavens! Everyone else at Maisy¡¯s Debugging Depot could only stare on with jealous eyes. Debugging so efficiently granted him an enormous amount of commissions! It had been a while since he had last checked, but last time he had went to the admissions office, even with consistent spending, he had already amassed around 5000 points. Seeing such a stunning number, Emmet could only blankly stare. He had never planned for having such a surplus of points. What would he even do with it?You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Seeing Emmet¡¯s drastic improvement, out of all of the employees, Maisy was the most shocked. None of the other employees had the same context as her, and weren¡¯t aware that Emmet was actually a squire, not a legitimately enrolled student. But what Maisy was most shocked at was that he was not just a squire, he was a squire that, just a few months ago, didn¡¯t even know how to read. For god¡¯s sake! What godly talent! This was a true diamond in the rough! Maisy made sure to tell Emmet that explicitly, pinching his cheeks teasingly and praising him excitedly. Emmet didn¡¯t stop her, blushing a deep red every time. It felt weird to get praised so much, but for some reason, he felt a warm feeling in his heart every time. No one had ever full-heartedly supported him like this before. He had also never had a sister, and couldn¡¯t help but feel that his relationship with Maisy resembled such a sibling relationship, so he felt happy as well. One other thing about Maisy: now that they had gotten closer, she would often show Emmet various extravagant projects she would be working on. One week, it would be some sort of speeding helicopter, another week it would be an absurdly large rainbow warding formation, and some other week, it could be a random half mile long roller coaster ride that she had decided to build. There was truly no pattern - it could be literally anything that randomly caught her fancy. Emmet could only drop his jaw at this show of wealth. Clearly, she had a blatant disregard for the prices of materials. All of these materials costed an unfathomable amount of points, and they weren¡¯t even for classes! This was all for fun! Emmet suspected that when purchasing materials, she probably wouldn¡¯t even bother to look at the prices. The rumor was, Maisy Harbinger was the wealthiest student on campus. Having run the biggest debugging service on campus for over five years, she had accumulated an unbelievable amount of points. Although she had to pay salaries and renting fees, and 10% of the debugging fee would go to the debugger, the rest all went directly to her! It had reached the point where she didn¡¯t even have to consider her points when making any purchase. No one knew just how many points she had, but some speculated that it could even be in the millions! Emmet could only bow down to that sort of power. Millions of points¡­ what kind of an idea was that? With that sort of money, you could probably build your own campus! In other words, because of all the great improvements, Emmet was having the time of his life. Presently, he was incredibly grateful that he really had come to this school. However, the four boys of 427 were a different story. At this point, they were all now worn out, and couldn¡¯t help but have dwindling spirits. Late at night, Emmet would often see them tiredly wipe their eyes as they droopingly returned to the room. It had only been a semester, but they were already developing symptoms of burn out. Who could have expected the classes to be so fast paced and difficult? They could handle it for a month or two, but after six months, it had really started to get to them. They were constantly tired, constantly sleep-deprived, always with a mountain of work to do, always having to be out late attempting to finish constructions¡­ it was draining. Especially for Tauruk - since he was taking three classes, he had the most work of all. Every day he would struggle to keep up with his written work, while also trying to find the resources and time to build his weekly assignments. At one point during the end of the semester, he had been forced to spend some precious points submitting a stubborn construction that just wouldn¡¯t work into a service called Maisy¡¯s Debugging Depot - it had been recommended by some of the other boys in the dorm. Luckily, the service delivered, and the formation was promptly fixed and returned to him, better than ever. Even some of the already functional parts had been enhanced for better efficiency, allowing Tauruk the best grade he had received all semester - his first A. Apparently, there was some sort of new ¡®mad man¡¯ at the service that was clearing through the formations like crazy, yet still with great quality, allowing a quick return speed. Tauruk was glad for that ¡®madman,¡¯ because it just barely allowed him to pass with passing grades - a B, C, and C. That A had come just in time, pulling his only D, in Fundamentals Algorithms in Formations, to a C. Two of the other three students in room 427 weren¡¯t so lucky - although each had passed one of their courses, each had also failed the other. The four could only sigh, recoup, and ready themselves for the next semester. If they tried to take it easy in the following semester, they would get left behind by the other students, and would inevitably get cut at the end of the second year. Thus, they had to grit their teeth and work through it. Learning his lesson, Tauruk only picked two courses for the second semester, Introduction to Warding and Basic Locomotives. After hearing about his choices, Emmet promptly returned his three old textbooks and borrowed the two corresponding new ones. For the first time, he was genuinely excited to learn new material. He hadn¡¯t really ever explored those two fields before, and couldn¡¯t help but get excited. The new semester began. Chapter 23 - Hoverboard Fall arrived, and the air grew cooler. This semester, Maisy became less and less available. With the first half of the year passing, the end of year assessment became omnipresent. To Maisy, as a seventh year, her assessment would be the hardest and most important assessment of her entire life. While for the four boys of 427 and other first years, it was important but not life-defining, for Maisy, it meant a splintering of two possible paths. Out of the 250 people in her grade, 125 would advance and graduate, and 125 would get ruthlessly cut. Those 125 on top would become the most glorious future leaders of the entire world! Thus, it was now a critical time. No longer as casual or carefree, she would frequently be seen during breaks with her nose stuck solemnly into an extremely complicated looking piece of text or research paper. Now that she was a seventh year, she was beyond simple textbooks and was more involved in the adult formations world. Likewise, the seventh year assessment would be less focused on fundamentals and would place more emphasis on current exciting developments from pioneering formations experts. This infinitely increased its scale and difficulty, forcing Maisy to get to work parsing through complicated publications. Because of this, Emmet had stopped receiving literacy lessons. However, in truth, he had stopped needing them for a while now. Now that he had a solid base, he could be self sufficient and improve on his own. Even without guidance, he never stopped reading and studying his vocabulary. Other than improving his reading and writing, he continued to debug formations with gusto, becoming even faster and even more skillful. At this point, he could debug a middle pile formation in at most two days, oftentimes in only one. One day, he even felt confident enough to dare touch an advanced formation in the rightmost pile, but with a big stop, realized he was over his head. There was an enormous difference between the middle pile and the small pile to the right. It was like going from a stick to a gun - they were two completely different things. All he could discern from the advanced formation he had happened to pick up was thousands and thousands of randomly intersecting circuits and locks, with structures completely foreign to him. Although he eventually found that many of the microcircuits were still the same, it was impossible to tell what their role was within the incredibly complex mechanism. Those who made the cut above fourth year were truly no joke! He figured that for him, it would probably take a few years of studying and more advanced classes to be able to start debugging things of that caliber. Still, he stubbornly stared at that advanced formation for an entire day before figuring out nothing and going back to the middle pile ones. He decided he would revisit it sometime soon. With his debugging starting to become a bit formulaic, Emmet turned his sights to other projects. He remembered he had over 5000 points sitting in his card, and couldn¡¯t help but itch to use them. After some deliberation, he decided to build his own transportation vehicle. He had quickly grown sick of walking back and forth across the wide campus every day, and after six months, felt it was time for an upgrade. He had a lot of confidence. These past months, he had only looked at other people¡¯s constructions, and was itching to create his own. After fixing so many other people¡¯s mistakes, he reckoned that he could create one on his own that was better. Thus, after a week of designing and planning, he took the trek to one of the four famed enormous formation construction centers on campus. With one glance, could only pause to marvel. The construction center was enormous, as large as a stadium. Walking in, he saw that all throughout the complex were privates rooms for students to rent out and construct their projects. Paying ten points to rent out a room for the day, Emmet entered his own private room, a 20x20 foot space with an enormous plethora of tools racked on the wall, a twenty foot desk along the wall, and multiple slots to buy materials of all sorts of qualities and quantities. This was very much an upgrade from the workstations at Maisy¡¯s place! He smiled and plopped a big piece of paper onto the desk, spreading it out. It was a blueprint for a simple transportation vehicle - a sleek curved plank called a hoverboard. He had debugged a lot of them in the past few months, and so was very familiar with the structure. The concept was simple - it was basically a sleek plank of material with two basic formations within it - a floating formation to hover off the ground and a propellant formation to thrust forward. In fact, it was one of the cheapest forms of transportation available, and by far the most common. However, it was also limited - it could only hover, not fly, and if you went too fast, it was easy to fall. But Emmet didn¡¯t plan to build just any old hoverboard. He had his own design, something with a few extra perks! ¡°Hehehe¡­¡± Emmet couldn¡¯t help but chuckle lewdly to himself. He pulled out his card and walked over to the material purchasing slots. It was time to get to work! Ten hours later, Emmet left the room, breathily carrying a brand new multicolor hoverboard. Although his face was tired, his eyes were bright. Four feet long, a foot wide, and four inches thick, it looked polished and modern, giving off a feeling of quickness. But this wasn¡¯t just a regular hoverboard, it had been incredibly expensive! Somehow, Emmet had spent an entire 2000 points on just the materials for the thing! For a mere hoverboard, that was unheard of! Normal quality hoverboards for retail on the market wouldn¡¯t even be a third of that price. The board wasn¡¯t just arbitrarily expensive - Emmet had customized the hoverboard specifically for him, adding many extra personal features. One big aspect of that was having to compensate for his pitiful supply of mana. Any other student at the school who purchased or built a hoverboard was likely a noble, and innately had a mana pool at least ten or twenty times larger than Emmet¡¯s. Thus, they were capable of sustaining the sizeable mana flow necessary to operate the two formations for long periods of time, and had no qualms building a barebones hoverboard that didn¡¯t pay attention to mana costs. However, Emmet wasn¡¯t so lucky. His mana pool was pitifully tiny. If he tried to design such a basic-style hoverboard for himself, he would likely only go two or three minutes before running completely dry out of mana and having to walk. At this predicament, Emmet could only shake his head. Although he had at first held onto the hope that his mana was only a late bloomer, and would rapidly increase later, reality was crushing. Over the last six months, his innate supply of mana had only marginally increased by a little over ten percent. The truth was, he really had no inborn aptitude in this area. Thus, he didn¡¯t have high hopes for his mana, and when designing his own formation, had to take in great consideration how to conserve his mana expenditure.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Over the months, this poor supply of mana had affected him in many ways - for one, when at his debugging job, he had to limit the amount of tests he did per formation. Since he had to input his mana into the formation socket to test if it worked, if he did it more than a few times in succession, he would quickly run dry of mana early in the work day. Thus, he was forced to rely on his intuition to accurately do most of the repair first, and then after he was satisfied with his work, do a test to see if it had done the trick. In some ways, this was good, because it forced him to think deeply about the nature of the repair and prohibited him from using a brainless step-by-step trial and error process, causing him to develop much better knowledge about the formations he was working with. For this hoverboard, Emmet had taken some tips he had read about in the Introduction to Formations textbook to make modifications and accomodate his pitiful base amount of mana. Inside of his hoverboard construction were four egg-sized blue spheres, spaced out evenly along the inside of the board. These were called mana batteries, and even though they were only of the lowest grade available, they were the most expensive part of the formation, at 200 points each. They were remarkable little things - just as the name suggested, they were capable of holding backup mana storage to use as a power source inside the board, were the user to run out of mana. However, that wasn¡¯t all - even more remarkably, they would naturally replenish themselves over time - left alone at night, they would be back to filled in the morning. However, Emmet still wasn¡¯t satisfied with just this, and installed a back-up plan - all along the top of the board was a clear, shiny veneer surface, looking like a layer of glass. This wasn¡¯t a glass glaze, but in actuality was a layer of flat clear sun shingles, carefully affixed along the top surface of the board. As soon as Emmet had seen the option, his eyes had shined. He was used to using the power of the sun, and couldn¡¯t help but be drawn to it! Similar in concept to the all too familiar sun stones Emmet had commonly used back on the farm, the sun shingles, when placed in sun light, would absorb the power of the sun to provide a power source. However, compared to the plentiful cheap alternative that were sun stones, they were much more reliable, refined, durable, and in general of higher quality. While sun stones would oftentimes be inconsistent and would absorb sunlight at a meagerly rate, forcing Emmet to gaudily embed tens of them into his old formations, these specially crafted sun shingles would react immediately and quickly, absorbing sunlight at over ten times the rate of sunstones. These were the second most expensive part of the board, costing 100 points per square foot. Emmet had to buy four square feet for the entire top of the board. However, as long as there was sunlight, if they could constantly charge the mana batteries to full, weren¡¯t they worth it? These two aspects alone costed Emmet a small fortune. However, Emmet didn¡¯t stop there. He was ambitious, and learning from Maisy, indiscriminately added several more interesting features into the board. Since he had the points, why not spend them? As soon as Emmet had left the building, he excitedly looked down at his new hoverboard and placed his hand on it. A moment later, a meager supply of blue mana channeled into his hoverboard, and it lit up with a rainbow brilliance. Smiling, he dropped it to the ground, letting it float in midair about a foot off the ground, and then stepped onto the board. Taking a deep breath and smiling giddily, he felt adrenaline rush through his veins. He had always fantasized about doing this! ¡°Alright, go!¡± Emmet shouted out, placing both his feet evenly onto the board. ZIP! His hoverboard zoomed forward out from underneath him like a snake. Not expecting the sudden movement, he fell straight off and hit his tush. ¡°OW!¡± The hoverboard continued to rush forward and fell into a thick bush. Emmet rubbed his tush and looked around embarrassedly, hoping no one had saw. He had lost his balance immediately! Why did it seem so much easier when other people did it? Was it really so hard to ride a hoverboard? He hurriedly got up and ran forward to retrieve it. An hour later, after a great deal of practice, he finally got the hang of it. Standing crouched on top of the board and with his arms stretched out for balance, he smiled. Although still a bit shaky, he was slowly but steadily traveling along the sidewalk, the wind rustling through his hair! ¡°WOOOoo!!!!¡± He couldn¡¯t help but shout out. It had taken a long time, and he had suffered a lot of sore falls, but he had finally gotten the gist of it! The key was to keep balance through momentum! Spotting a turn coming head, he readied himself, tilted his body, and elegantly arched the hoverboard toward the right! Whoosh... He slowly completed the turn, like an old man rounding a corner in a nursery home. ¡°HAHAHA!!!¡± Emmet cackled like a madman, enthusiastically pumping his fist. He had done it! He was riding! ¡°Now to test the features¡­¡± He smiled, and then slightly adjusted his flow of mana into the board. Phuoosh! Two large wings suddenly popped out of the side of hoverboard, creating a large lift and pushing Emmet a few feet into the air. He slightly misdirected his mana once more and then the hoverboard suddenly accelerated! Emmet was lifted even higher on the flying hoverboard, so high that he was above some of the buildings! ¡°Whoaaa!! Ok, that¡¯s enough,¡± Emmet let out a small yelp and then satisfiedly remarked, adjusting his mana flow back and causing the wings to shiver back into the sides of the hoverboard. With the lift gone, he began to dive back down. He eyes turned forward, where he saw a large fountain filled with water - there were several glorious fountains spread out across campus depicting the glorious old formations masters, and this was one of them, its pool of water stretching over a hundred meters. Emmet approached closer and closer to the fountain water, not slowing down a bit! Splash! The hoverboard hit the water, bobbing down for a moment, before Emmet further adjusted his mana and the hoverboard shifted into a boat shape. ¡°Boat mode!¡± PLUPLUPLUPLU! A little rudder appeared at the bottom of the hoverboard, directing the hoverboard¡¯s direction forward, and a little mechanical propeller appeared and began to push the hoverboard forward. ¡°Beams, on!¡± Emmet yelled, and within moments, the hoverboard had lit up with a multicolor radiance and was shooting several beams up, shrouding him in nourishing light. Emmet couldn¡¯t help but let out a sigh of satisfaction, feeling the invigorating rays flow through his veins. Any other person would have deemed putting array features into a hoverboard a tremendous waste of resources, but Emmet had decided to go all out an implement them in his. Although it took some complex circuiting to fit them all into this tiny board, it was worth it! Unknowingly, Maisy¡¯s principles had wiped off on him. ¡°Nice!¡± Emmet was overjoyed. All of the features worked correctly! Humming a happy tune, he exited the fountain and sped along back toward his dorm. Chapter 24 - The World The lecture hall. ¡°...and it¡¯s this series of transitive polarity abstractions that allows us to induce a strong querrassa force along the edges, each polarity field¡¯s radius following the Nershurin function of Qatinian circuitry recursion,¡± the mild mannered looking old man explained. Emmet was bored. Leaning slightly back in his seat as he stared at the old man, for the first time, he felt a strong lack of interest pervade him. So far, at the Gemini Academy, this feeling was completely unique. Prior, he had only ever felt a mix of either extreme confusion or extreme intrigue, causing the lecture hall to have long become associated with dynamic feelings, but now, he only felt numbness, an intense desire to do virtually anything else. It was already a bit more than a month and a half into the semester, and he was currently sitting in on Introduction to Warding. At first, he had felt it was somewhat interesting, but the professor was incredibly boring. He spoke only monotonically, as if even he himself was bored with the material, and there was nothing he would say that wouldn¡¯t be straight out of the textbook. It wouldn¡¯t be so bad if Emmet wasn¡¯t already familiar with everything he was saying. However, maybe it was due to his excessive diligence, but within a month of tackling the text, he had already read the course¡¯s textbook front to back several times. Aside from the confusing terms and language, he found it pretty straightforward.In the beginning, he had thought warding was a fresh new topic, since it was something he had never explicitly learned about it before. However, it turned out that he had already grasped most of its concepts without realizing, just from his experience debugging formations and solving puzzles in his puzzle book. Really, it was just using circuits and specific materials in a unique parallel manner (called Qatinian recursive logic) to build a formation that would induce a pushing force, called ¡®querrassa.¡¯ This circle of querrassa force would form an intruder-resistant protection field. This was a basic level class, so that was about the limit of the course¡¯s breadth, and to Emmet, was pretty intuitive. The one tricky bit was that the theory used several complicated polarity abstractions in order to induce the querrassa force, but Emmet had already read all about it throughout the textbook, and further had already debugged numerous faulty warding formations (in which he fixed numerous implementations of those exact polarity abstractions), so he was well aware of all the intricacies. After memorizing all of the different terms and complicated names for everything, he was basically set. Thus, nothing the professor said was new, and the professor had nothing else to add besides his dry tone of voice, so Emmet couldn¡¯t help but droop in his seat. After resisting the urge for a few moments, he gave in and pulled out his trusty picture puzzle book to work on. There would always be new and ever present challenges within that book. After class, Emmet hopped onto his hoverboard and pondered as he casually sped away. It wasn¡¯t just Introduction to Warding, Basic Locomotives was the same. At this point, he had also read through its textbook multiple times as well, so every time he sat in on lecture, he couldn¡¯t help but feel like he was wasting his time. All of those structures they were learning about, he had seen countless times during his debugging job! Was it really worth it to sit in on more of Tauruk¡¯s boring classes in the future, when he already knew all the material? Maybe he could start sitting in on other different, more interesting classes, not just Tauruk¡¯s! Most basic level courses at the academy were large and freeform, and often had several hundred students per lecture, so if he wanted, he would likely be able to sit in on pretty much any course. His mind whirled, pondering multiple other classes that caught his interest but that he had never taken a second look at. He would have to take a look at the official listing later. From then on, Emmet¡¯s mind was set. He no longer attended Tauruk¡¯s classes and instead went all about, sitting in on several of the other basic level courses he had been eyeing and some that had been suggested by Maisy. Although two of classes in particular were significant distances away from the dorm and all other academic buildings, causing his transportation route to become much more winding and significantly longer, it was now much easier and faster to navigate now that Emmet had his hoverboard. Most of the new classes were based in fields that actually didn¡¯t come up often in his debugging or even his puzzle book, so they were entirely new material, and Emmet would vigorously dig in, borrowing the textbook and reading it front to back. As if compensating for his previous lack of reading experience, the more he read, the more he developed quicker and quicker reading skills. Within the second month, he was reading through each textbook thoroughly in a matter of two or three weeks, although he would spend some additional time rereading and pondering its more complicated aspects. In actuality, this wasn¡¯t too shocking. Most of the textbooks weren¡¯t actually that large, just dense in content. Since Emmet had a strong baseline for the material, and had a great craving for interesting knowledge, he was able to read through them much faster. It took a bit for Tauruk to notice the change. He didn¡¯t pay attention to Emmet much, so he hadn¡¯t noticed that he had stopped attending the enormous lectures in his classes. What brought his attention back to him was that one time, he randomly spotted him speeding along on campus on an interesting-looking hoverboard! Hoverboards were incredibly common on campus, but he had never expected Emmet to even have one! He couldn¡¯t help but click his tongue in annoyance. He himself, an actual first year student, still had to constantly buy materials for classes, so he couldn¡¯t yet save up his income like that. Somehow, the squire had managed to purchase his own hoverboard before even he could!This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. However, he didn¡¯t have that much time to worry about it. Even with only two courses, the assignments were piling up and he was constantly pressed for time. Further, the end of year assessment was coming up, and he had to prepare. Although for first years, it didn¡¯t have a major impact since there wouldn¡¯t be a cut, there were still rewards for earning high scores. Most importantly, the second year built off the first year, so if he was already scoring low in the first year, wouldn¡¯t that mean he would probably get cut at the end of the second year? Emmet didn¡¯t worry about any of that. By now, his life had become full again, and he went through mountains of fascinating and mind-bending new content every day. He absorbed it ravenously. During this time, he pretty much dropped all of his time that he spent solving problems in his picture puzzle book, and focused 100% on his textbooks and personal studies. Yet, unintentionally, he still ended up pondering its questions just as often. Many a time, reading from the various new interesting textbooks he would come across, he would have flashes of insight for puzzles he had been stuck on, and so would go back to the puzzle book to flesh his idea out to solve the problem. Like this, he once again began to steadily advance through the book. By four months in, when winter arrived, Emmet was virtually living in the library. It was much too cold outside to be about too much, even with the hoverboard¡¯s useful sun empowered array warming him up. He had also realized his inefficiency - why pay points to borrow books when he could just stay in the library and read them there? That way, he didn¡¯t have to constantly carry such a big load with him too. Thus, the Kikuuran West library became his new home. Every moment he wasn¡¯t attending some new class, visiting the dining hall, experimenting constructing something new, sleeping, or working at his debugging job, he would be holed up in the library, reading books. At this point, he had realized just how wide of a selection the library had, encompassing literally tens of thousands of fascinating topics. Thus, his eyes would wander and he occasionally moved on from just textbooks to skimming some other interesting books. This would often not exclusively be about formations - Emmet also read through books about various histories and cultures, different interesting creatures, and the geography of the area. The more he read, the more his ignorance of the world was shed. Within a few books in, he made fascinating discovery after fascinating discovery, causing his mind to whirl crazily. He never knew about this stuff before! Was it true? One such book that opened up his mind was called Our World, the Sun, and the Moon. It detailed just how the world worked, and the process of the sun and moon¡¯s rotation. The world was an enormous enclosed concave spherical space surrounded by a nondescript layer of bedrock and dirt, and everyone lived within on the inside surface, bound by the mysterious outward force called querrassa gluing them onto the outer edge. There were two energy bodies that rotated within the center of this world - the sun and the moon, and they were the source of all life. Forever present in the same exactly upward location when people looked up, these two bodies were equally sized, and by some mysterious compelling force, would rotate around each other in a regular daily cycle. Every night, the moon would move in front of and completely block the sun¡¯s rays, causing night, and every morning, the sun would rotate back in front of the moon, causing day. Over the course of the year, their lateral orientation would also shift, causing fluctuating temperatures and spurring the different seasons. Because these celestial bodies were far away and hard to pinpoint, this finding was disputed heavily for over a thousand years. In fact, many had even questioned the very structure of this supposed enclosed world. Many proposed that it could be that the world was a round globe, humans resting on the edge facing out, and the celestial bodies were far away outside, revolving around each other far away in an empty space. However, this idea never picked up much steam, and was largely disproven by frequent observations that distant seafaring ships would appear slightly above the horizon, indicating an upward curvature instead of the assumed planarity or downward curvature. It was then that Gemini stepped into the limelight, and introduced his new invention called the Gemini telescope. For the first time, humans were able to see clearly this sun moon rotation process in action, thoroughly proving the full conjecture! They were certainly inside this enclosed world, with the sun and moon rotating in strange patterns within the center! Reading about all this, Emmet couldn¡¯t help but be completely and utterly stunned. He had always just assumed that the world was a flat plane, with the sun and moon shifting back and forth in a set place in the sky. The world was enclosed within bedrock? How would he be able to know different? As far as he could tell, everything was flat, and the sky was open and wide! As it was proven that the world was in fact an inwardly concave sphere of space, the logical follow-up question was of what was beneath, or rather above, the ground they stood on. If they digged down, was it all just rock? Were they alone, enclosed in this enormous spherical hole in bedrock? What was beyond? This question had plagued scholars for centuries. One notable personage had once even attempted to utilize a gigantic powerful formation to dig a nearly thirty mile deep hole into the earth, but only met bedrock and more bedrock. No one knew what was underneath. It was one of the biggest mysteries in this world, a common one told about in stories to children to spark intrigue. Another particularly eye-opening book was called Our Geography and the People that Inhabit It. It was an old, thick book, comprehensively detailing the entire geography of the land and remarkable features of it. The inwardly concave world was frequently categorically split into four main regions, each with thousands of inner localities and interesting features. These were: Oceana, the great sea, Gaea, the great earth, Petram, the great land of rock (also called the Great Magma Expanse), and Silva, the great evergreen thicket. Oceana was an enormous ocean, over fourty thousand miles wide and unfathomably deep. Gaea was the territory of the humans, made up of half woodlands and half grassy plains. Petram was a gigantic stretch of sparsely populated barren bedrock dotted with frequent molten volcanos and sheathes of hot magma. Finally, Silva was a medium-sized expanse of pure vibrant wildlife. Forever in daylight due to the angle of the sun¡¯s rotation, it was so full of life and vital energy that it would often overflow, flooding various powerful herds of magical beasts into Gaea and causing great trouble to humans. Emmet could hardly fathom what the book was talking about. The world was really this vast? Outside the scope of his migrant farming tribe, there was a massive perilous world out there! He felt dazed just thinking about it. Chapter 25 - The End of Year Assessment One day, after randomly scanning down several rows of bookshelves, Emmet made a fascinating discovery! Within one of the massive shelves of formations related curriculum content, he spotted a familiar book - one with no words on it, only shapes and diagrams. Taking out his precious picture puzzle book and comparing the two, he found that they were virtually identical in shape and design - it was the same book! After asking the receptionist about it, Emmet learned again that it was called Gemini¡¯s All-Encompassing Formations Manual, a relatively famous book created by the one and only Gemini himself. The story was, Gemini himself came from a disadvantaged family that couldn¡¯t afford to enroll their boy into a formations school. Thus, he had to teach himself the concepts, and had a difficult time reading through the only available convoluted books about them, full of terms only educated folks had been exposed to. Thankfully, he was able to be sponsored by a wealthy expert who had happened to discover him and valued his talents, and was able to deliver him to the then small, but now enormous Gemini Academy. After rising to prominence, he recalled his youth and wanted every gifted child, even ones who were never granted the luxury of literacy, to be able to study formations. Thus, he spent two years tirelessly creating his All-Encompassing Formations Manual. In only all theoretically intuitive puzzles, diagrams, pictures, and simple labels, it contained virtually every single significant concept within the study of formations known within it, starting from the most basic and ending in over 30 pages of unsolved problems. In theory, were a child gifted enough, they could rely on pure intuition to solve a large portion the puzzles, without ever having to get bogged down with the mire of complicated terms and structures. After the book was published, however, it received great ridicule. To many, it was Gemini¡¯s lowest point. Why spend two years of your precious career writing this useless picture book? Did he really think that some illiterate commoner could suddenly start learning the complexity of formations if the barrier of literacy was removed? They commended him for the ability to condense all the concepts into puzzles and diagrams, but thought it was mindless to think that any commoner would actually be able to get anything out of it by themselves. Formations were absurdly complicated and sophisticated. You needed the context around it, and specialized tutors to build up understanding from a young age. There was a reason why nearly every formations expert was a noble! Sure enough, after proliferating out throughout the world, nothing ever really came of it. As far as to the formations world¡¯s knowledge, no commoner child had ever managed to use the book to thoroughly learn formations on their own. The receptionist himself had laughed, saying that it was a joke that any commoner would be able to create any understanding from it. Quickly nodding, Emmet turned away and returned the book to its shelf. He quietly thanked Gemini under his breath. This manual had opened up so many doors for him! Even now, he felt it was much better than any textbook he had ever read. Gemini was truly a genius - every puzzle in the book was laid out in a perfect intuitive fashion, allowing someone to understand what the structure of the problem was with limited words. He went back to his seat and dove back in into a textbook he had been reading. Like this, two more months passed. With each week, the end of year assessment approached closer and closer. It hung over everyone¡¯s heads like a weight. However, Emmet didn¡¯t have to worry about that. Since he was a squire, he didn¡¯t need to take the end of year assessment. His life could be said to be very full. There virtually wasn¡¯t a waking moment in which he wasn¡¯t engaging in some passionate learning, whether it be tackling more varying and wackier formations to debug, reading through interesting new textbooks, pondering puzzles in his puzzle picture book, or discovering fascinating details about the world around him. Yet by the end, he only grew less and less satisfied. The more he learned and theorized, the more he realized he didn¡¯t know, and the more engrossed he became in learning new content. It was like diving into a small pool, before realizing that it was actually connected to an enormous ocean. He already couldn¡¯t wait until next year, when he could dive in even more! In the end, Emmet became too engrossed with his extensive study, and never ended up challenging the more advanced formations in the pile to the right at Maisy¡¯s Debugging Depot. However, he planned to do so as soon as the next year started. Other than that, he became even quicker in debugging the formations in the other piles, although with less radical improvement from before. In the last month, Maisy announced who would be promoted should they choose to continue working at this job the next year, and the first name she mentioned was Emmet. He could only beam proudly and accept the new position. This job was one of the most enjoyable things of his entire life, and he got to get paid for it! It was a total dream! Finally¡­ The end of year assessment came. It arrived impendingly and like the apocalypse. The last week, Emmet started to notice everyone around campus, including in his dorm, become increasingly quiet and nervous. This test would rank them within the grade! Even if they were first years, if they were ranked within the lower half, that meant it was likely they could be cut the following year! The atmosphere turned eerie. Usually boisterous and active, the campus seemed to have settled down, everyone shutting themselves indoors to cram. It was like a great tribulation was coming. Maisy also became more and more quiet, mentally preparing herself for the trial ahead. The seventh year assessment was a completely different beast from any other year¡¯s. If you made it to the seventh year, that meant you were extremely talented and capable, the best of the best. Thus, the assessment was created to match that, becoming increasingly enigmatic and open-ended. They would cover the highest level contemporary topics, testing the student on their level of engagement with current developments and theories, as well as pound in the fundamentals. It was likely the most difficult academic test throughout the entire formations world. If you didn¡¯t know your fundamentals down pat, then you would be stripped out immediately, as everyone else certainly would, gaining an edge off of you right off the bat. Emmet could only silently give her encouragement, wishing for her success. He believed that she could do it! She was probably the most amazing formations expert he had ever met. If she couldn¡¯t do it, then who could?Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there. This entire semester, Emmet felt sad that he wasn¡¯t able to talk to Maisy much. Aside from showing her his hoverboard (she loved it, praising him as ¡®a total stud¡¯ and calling him her ¡®number one disciple¡¯), asking for recommendations for courses, and greeting her when he came in to work, he hardly had the chance to talk. She would always be busy just sitting alone at her desk, completely focused on a scattered pile of texts in front of her, often also simultaneously experimenting with a formations disk in her hands, so he didn¡¯t want to bother her. Sometimes, he would look over her shoulder and just stare in awe at what she was looking at. Complicated formula after convoluted terminology¡­ many of the research papers were like encrypted puzzles in of themselves. The day of the assessment, it was like doomsday had come. Nearly 14,000 people woke early at 6, solemnly flooding out into the streets from their residences toward designated test halls spread out across the campus. There, they would go through nearly twelve hours of written testing, construction prompts, debugging sheets, and other related tests corresponding to their levels. How well they did would determine many of their fates. The more years that they advanced at the Gemini Academy, the more prestige they would receive within the formations world. The day passed slowly. Twelve hours later, when it had turned to night, a bell rang, and it was over. 14,000 people flooded out from the test centers, exhaustion on everyone¡¯s faces. Twelve full hours of expensive testing, building constructions, writing down theory, calculating mana efficiencies¡­ it was grueling. At that moment, no one had more of a desire than to just get back to their dorm and pass out. Maisy walked out of one of those buildings, stroking her chin curiously. Unlike everyone around her, she didn¡¯t seem tired, but rather pensive. ¡°That question¡­¡± She mumbled to herself. She thought back to something on the assessment she had just took. On one of the written portions of the exam, one of the last prompts had been a theoretical questioning about a famous open problem, called the Kamaran multi-directional mana separation problem. It prompted the student to discuss several possible frameworks in order to approach it and possibly solve it. She understood why it was there - just this past year, there had been a publication from a famous formations expert musing on the problem and suggesting some paths to a solution. Clearly, it was testing whether the student had paid attention and understood the prominent publication. This Kamaran multi-directional mana separation problem was important, as it was a structure of microcircuit logic that had potential to be used in many different types of formations, and had been pondered about by experts for hundreds of years. If solved, it would increase many formations¡¯ efficiency as well as dramatically decrease their mana costs. Although currently, there was an algorithm proposed that successfully completed the task, it didn¡¯t have a good efficiency, and took exponential more mana-consumption when it was scaled up, rendering it useless. The question was: was there an algorithm that would solve it efficiently, and scale with an efficient polynomial increase in mana cost? - polynomial being an increase rate one dimensional lower than exponential, and generally considered fast and efficient. This algorithmic speed and mana exertion of microcircuits was an incredibly important consideration for formations - for a small formation, it might not be too noticeable, since there were fewer microcircuits, and the input mana size was small, so it would activate in more or less the same time and with same mana cost. However, for a bigger scale formation, say, a city-wide protection warding formation, it mattered a lot more. If some of the formational microcircuit algorithms implemented in such a formation¡¯s countless microcircuits even had slightly worse than optimal efficiencies and mana costs, then it would waste a tremendous amount of resources as well as take way too long to function properly. The expert who wrote the paper hadn¡¯t quite solved the open problem, but had laid out several new possible paths to a solution, each not quite reaching an efficient formational microcircuit algorithm but having promising beginnings. Maisy had read it extensively, and felt she had a pretty good understanding of his thoughts. However, just as she had placed her pen to the paper, she couldn¡¯t help but think back to something that had happened while she had been studying the topic. The cute squire boy Emmet had taken a break from his job and come to peer over her shoulder, staring down at the complicated material. Wanting to tease him, she let him stare for a few minutes, and then suddenly jerked her head back and asked what he thought about it. Taken by surprise, Emmet could only stutter with a red face. However, he eventually did stammer something out in a messy ramble. However, for some reason, what he had said stuck in Maisy¡¯s mind. ¡°...uh¡­ ah¡­ um... it¡¯s¡­ I¡­ I think¡­ um, well it¡¯s probably not solvable at all¡­ right? Like, if you think about it¡­ pretty much all of the Bakastarian set can be reduced to it¡­ so if you could solve it, couldn¡¯t you solve pretty much all of the Bakastarian set?¡± If you could solve it, couldn¡¯t you solve pretty much all of the Bakastarian set? That question had rung out through Maisy¡¯s head. There were two complexity classes commonly used to broadly classify every formational microcircuit algorithm: Atistonal, the set of what can be solved in efficient polynomial time, and Bakastarian, the set of whose solution can be verified in polynomial time, but not necessarily solved. Anything in the Atistonal set was also in the Bakastarian set, but only a few problems in the Bakastarian set were in the Atistonal set. Although it was unknown whether the Kamaran multi-directional mana separation problem was contained within the Atistonal set, and was able to be solved, it was definitely contained in the Bakastarian set, famously proven by a personage named Beromi over two hundred years ago. If Kamaran multi-directional mana separation could really be solved, then that meant it in the Atistonal set as well. The important point was, if a different problem that was also in the Bakastarian set could be reduced to Kamaran multi-directional mana separation, then that meant it could also be placed within the Atistonal set, indicating that it could also be solved! The shocking thing was, this Bakastarian set was full of hundreds of unsolved problems, some more important and famous than even Kamaran multi-directional mana separation. So if these important unsolved problems could be reduced to Kamaran multi-directional mana separation, then that meant they also had solutions! She began writing down several other big unsolved problems within the Bakastaran set. Nearly an hour later, she shockingly discovered that over five of them were able to be quickly reduced to Kamaran multi-directional mana separation! Emmet was right! She didn¡¯t have time, but she was confident that she could find many more that would reduce to it. If Kamaran multi-directional mana separation could be solved, then likely tens of other unsolved problems would also instantly become solved! Thus, it was it was unlikely that there would be a solution! After that, the ideas flowed and maisy wrote down page after page of reductions and corresponding logic. Thinking about it now, Maisy rubbed her face. She didn¡¯t know why she had written all of that down in the moment. She was completely unsure of her answer, she had just been for some reason madly inspired by something Emmet had said. It would probably have been better to just go with the safe option and describe out what that one expert had said in his publication. Chapter 26 - End of the Year ¡°Doran...¡± a flat faced purple cloaked man enunciated softly, staring seriously down at a piece of paper. He was sitting at a nice desk, a lit-up pen in his hand. He intonation was slow, as if he had discovered something important. ¡°What is it?¡± The man named Doran didn¡¯t look up from his paper, continuing to mark it. The two men were grading exam packets side by side at large desks, each with large stacks of ungraded and graded packets sitting beside them. It was excruciating, but the job paid well, so they didn¡¯t mind particularly much. Furthermore, they were grading the seventh years¡¯ exams, so it was much more interesting and less formulaic than if they were grading say, a second year¡¯s paper. ¡°Take a look,¡± the flat faced man passed his paper over toward Doran, an expectant look in his eyes. Upon seeing his colleague''s movement, Doran stopped what he was doing and glanced toward him. ¡°It¡¯s really that good?¡± ¡°Just look,¡± the flat faced man smiled knowingly, tapping his feet impatiently. ¡°Alright,¡± Doran acquiesced, picking up the paper and bringing it a short distance from his face. At first, his expression was bewildered, and then turned intrigued. He took a surprised glance back at the flat faced man and then put the paper down onto his desk and began flipping through it for proper examination. He spent another fifteen minutes closely reading through the paper. The more he read, the more his expression turned stunned. By the end, his eyes were completely wide in astonishment, and he lifted the paper and turned back toward his colleague. ¡°Jogar¡­¡± ¡°I know, I know,¡± Jogar¡¯s face was brimming with anticipation. ¡°The student¡¯s name is Maisy Harbinger. I graded the rest of her packet too, it¡¯s almost all good marks. I think I heard from the other graders that her constructions are top-par too. Especially after this, there¡¯s no way she¡¯s not making the cut. She¡¯s gonna rise!¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± Doran looked up from his paper, an ecstatic look in his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m glad to have witnessed this moment. The Kamaran multi-directional mana separation problem¡­ so its solvability has such great ramifications! I doubted at first, but her logic is definitely sound¡­ this is an amazing development in the field! Fascinatingly convincing! And by a mere student!¡± ¡°That¡¯s to be expected from the Gemini Academy, I suppose,¡± Jogar chuckled. ¡°We have to show this to the headmaster. And publicise this. Immediately.¡± -------------- After the end of year assessment, there was a two week break before the next year started, where none of the common services on campus, like the shuttle or food in the dining halls, would cost points. At the beginning of the third week, the break would end, and the new year officially begin, first year orientation starting up again. For many, this period was a much needed breather, the first chance they got to finally rest after a year of nonstop work. However, this period was also full of tension, as the results of the assessment would come out in the second week, notifying those who had not made it to leave. Emmet walked into the administrations office, card in hand. Scanning around the room for a moment, his eyes lit up. He spotted someone he knew at the receptionist desk! ¡°Borokov! Long time no see!¡± He waved, running over toward the familiar third year student, his face full of smiles. ¡°Haha, if it isn¡¯t Emmet,¡± Borokov smiled, waving back. ¡°It¡¯s been a while since I''ve seen you!¡± ¡°Yeah, I was pretty busy¡­¡± Emmet honestly said, letting out a short tired breath and placing his card onto the desk. ¡°Could you please check the balance on my card? I was going to go use a machine, but since you¡¯re here, it¡¯s a nice excuse to come see you! I haven¡¯t checked my balance since early this semester, so I¡¯m hoping for a nice surprise, haha¡­¡± At this point, it was a full week after the end of the year assessment, and with the new year looming ahead, Emmet had become curious about just how points he had amassed over the semester. ¡°Sure thing!¡± Borokov smiled, taking Emmet¡¯s card and scanning it with his machine. ¡°You said you¡¯re busy? What have you been up to, still working at Maisy¡¯s place?¡± ¡°Yeah, I plan to work there next year too. I¡¯ve mostly been spending my time in the library! Ever since Maisy helped me learn to read, I¡¯ve wanted to take full advantage!¡± Emmet explained. After their first meeting, Emmet had come to the admissions office several more times, and they had gotten to know each other pretty well. The last time they had talked, Emmet had told him all about his lessons he was getting from Maisy. Borokov had even kindly helped him with some words. ¡°That¡¯s great! Always wanting to learn, aren¡¯t you,¡± Borokov smiled, handing the card back to Emmet. He turned toward the screen.¡°Let''s see, it says here that you have¡­¡± His face suddenly stilled. ¡°Hm?¡± Emmet craned his neck, trying to get a look. ¡°What does it say? How many points do I have?¡± ¡°15¡­ 15,000 points¡­¡± Borokov¡¯s face was stunned. ¡°Holy crap, lil¡¯ dude! You¡¯ve been grinding!¡± ¡°15,000!¡± Emmet formed an equally shocked face. He had really accumulated that many points? In actuality, he supposed it made sense. The second semester, he had started out fast, and only grew more and more rapid in debugging, resulting in a much greater overall income from commissions. Further, he debugged much more formations from the middle pile, resulting in significantly larger commissions. Although he had spent 3000 points at the beginning of the semester, reducing him to 2000 points¡­ it seemed he had improved enough to gain a startling 13,000 more points after that! He was rich! ¡°Man, that¡¯s almost enough for a pretty decent formations car!¡± Borokov couldn¡¯t help but exclaim, reaching over and patting Emmet on the shoulder. ¡°Good going!¡± ¡°Haha,¡± Emmet couldn¡¯t help but be sheepish. ¡°Thanks Borokov. Almost enough for the car you want, eh?¡± ¡°Oh, you still remember that?¡± Borokov chortled. His eyes turned dreamy. ¡°No, that¡¯s not nearly enough. You don¡¯t understand my aspirations, Emmet! Someday, I¡¯ll be driving around the sleekest, highest end car anyone has ever seen! Three inch shiny red Gorgesium plating, fully coated high-end glossy sun shingles, fourth-grade mana batteries, only the quickest and most mana efficient microcircuits, maybe a dual-engine...¡± Sensing a ramble incoming, Emmet could only throw his hands up and back off. ¡°Yeah, yeah, I get it. You want to be the coolest guy ever, with the coolest most powerful car imaginable.That was thereason why you wanted to be a formations expert in the first place¡­¡±The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement. ¡°Haha, now you get it!¡± Borokov laughed. ¡°Just watch... it''s gonna happen.¡± ¡°I believe you!¡± Emmet nodded his head in a placating gesture. His thoughts involuntarily turning toward his studies, he took a glance at the big clock on the wall. ¡°Hm¡­ I should probably go, I¡¯ve got a bunch of reading to do.¡± Borokov waved him off. ¡°Alright, see ya later. Come visit again!¡± ¡°Of course! See you Borokov!¡± Emmet cheerfully waved him back and excited the admissions office. ----------------------- ¡°...Mais... arbinger¡­¡± Hearing the familiar name once again, Emmet quickly turned his head. It happened again, he had overheard yet another piece of passing conversation casually mention Maisy¡¯s name. Was he hearing right? Why was everyone discussing Maisy? Did something happen? He had just exited from the admission office a few minutes ago and was riding his board leisurely down the street, pondering just what he wanted to do with all his accumulated points. It was just sitting there, so he might as well use it! However, who would have known, as soon as he stepped outside, he began to hear Maisy¡¯s name left and right. Although it wasn¡¯t uncommon for students to mention her, namely to discuss her debugging service, he even spotted two professors pass by who were discussing her. He slowed his board and turned around to eavesdrop on the group that had just passed. ¡°No doubt, crazy impressive¡­¡± ¡°Yeah, it was apparently so groundbreaking that Stinger personally wrote it up and published it, crediting her as the expert behind the concept!¡± ¡°Stinger, that old grouch? Holy shit!¡± ¡°I heard that Horin Corp and the Damentan Conglomerate were battling to recruit her. Horin offered 300,000 per year starting salary!¡± ¡°Whoa¡­¡± Emmet¡¯s eyes widened. Had Maisy done something amazing? What had happened? He hopped onto his hoverboard and rushed off to the Maisy Debugging Depot, hoping to meet her. To his shock, he discovered that he was blocked off. There was an enormous crowd surrounding it, and within it, several reporters carrying notepads yelling out requests for statements. ¡°Please, Miss Harbinger! Just a comment, that¡¯s all I need! It¡¯s an amazing theory you wrote on your assessment, what do you have to say about it?¡± ¡°Miss Harbinger, how do you feel about the publication blowing up within the formations world? Countless famous theorists have written follow up publications citing you, praising your insight as genius! How is your newfound fame?¡± ¡°Miss Harbinger, what do you plan to do after graduation? Horin Corp? Damentan Conglomerate? Surely, your potential is limitless!¡± Emmet attempted to squeeze through the crowd of spectating passerbys, but after a brief minute of struggle, gave up. It seemed that Maisy was too popular right now. He would have to meet with her when work started back up next week. ------------------- Three days passed, and finally the end of year assessment results came out. Over the course of these three days, Emmet discovered just what had happened with Maisy. During her assessment, for one of the open-ended questions, she had shocked the graders by answering with an amazing and illuminating theory about the very nature of algorithmic microcircuit unsolvability! According to reports, the concept was now being termed Harbinger Complexity Class Equivalency. The theory stemmed from the unsolved problem called Kamaran multi-directional mana separation, and the related two sets of complexity classes, Atistonal and Bakastarian. After her paper was published, countless experts responded with further publicationsdetailing further reductions, beyond what Maisy had detailed. At this point, there were over one hundred additional open problemsthat had been discovered to be able to reduce to Kamaran multi-directional mana separation, all with varying degrees of complexity and impressively creative steps. It really seemed the entire Bakastarian set could possibly be reduced to it! If Kamaran multi-directional mana separation could really be solved in polynomial time, then the over five hundred other unsolved problems in the Bakastarian set were automatically also solved! This one idea spurred the formations world into a frenzy. Within these three days, it seemed that every prominent formations expert had something to say about it, resulting in an endless stream of extensive publications. Many felt that Harbinger¡¯s new illuminating theory strongly suggested that Kamaran multi-directional mana separation was unsolvable by nature, as the implications of its solvability were just too large. However, many others were enthusiastically manic, reinvigorating their efforts into the open problem. The flip side of the coin was, if they really could solve it, then they would also solve over five hundred other unsolved problems, dozens of which were much more significant than Kamaran multi-directional mana separation! This could mean the start of a new technological revolution, spurring a new age of humanity! Upon hearing the details of the new theory, Emmet¡¯s eyes had widened. He actually remembered Maisy studying this exact topic! After thinking about it, he couldn''t help but excitedly smile and nod his head. He actually had a similar idea to her! Having become interested in Kamaran multi-directional mana separation before (since it was briefly mentioned in his Fundamental Algorithms in Formations textbook), he had taken a look at several other problems in the Bakastarian set, and eventually realized that many could reduce to it. Thus, he had a thought: maybe these reductions suggested it was unsolvable, because if you could solve it, then you instantly solve so many other unsolved problems! He remembered hesitantly telling Maisy her thoughts when she had prompted him, and was glad that all along, she had the same idea. Unknowingly, he felt a great sense of validation. His stuttered out idea was actually something Maisy had thought, too! That meant that his line of thinking had been correct! A happy smile spread across his face. He suddenly began to feel that maybe he really should be more sure of himself, that his ideas were in fact good. Even though he didn¡¯t start learning this stuff until much later than everyone else, he shouldn¡¯t discount himself!When everything and everyone around you constantly told you that you were inferior to others, it was hard not to believe it. Unknowingly, Emmet was step by step throwing away that baggage. Within all this craziness, the results of the end of year assessment finally officially came out. All the students crowded around the eight enormous plaques erected around the fountains, which ranked all of the students in each grade. Sure enough, Maisy had an impressive result, ranking 19th out of 250 and definitively making the cut to eight year. Now that it was guaranteed that she would graduate, her eighth year at the academy would be especially leisurely. There would be no more tests. She was now officially part of a legendary class of formations experts who fully graduated from the Gemini Academy! Especially with her status as a new groundbreaking figure within the formations world, there virtually wasn¡¯t a single place that wouldn¡¯t welcome her with open arms. However, there was another portion of campus that wasn¡¯t too happy. Inside room 427 inside the 3C dorm, four boys were gloomily sitting on a mat. ¡°2697th¡­¡± ¡°3002nd¡­¡± ¡°1783rd¡­¡± ¡°2367th¡­¡± Tauruk finished it off. The four boys sat in silence. ¡°Well, we knew it would be hard.¡± ¡°Yeah, but this¡­ It¡¯s too competitive...¡± ¡°At least Fontezul got 1783rd. That¡¯s in the top half.¡± The boys nodded unenthusiastically. Not even Fontezul was happy. He had gotten to know his fellow roommates extremely well for the past year, and didn¡¯t want to part with them after only two years. Further, it wasn¡¯t like he was guaranteed to pass the next year either. The second year, students would often get much more serious and much more desperate, doing anything they could to increase their assessment score. No doubt, it would be even more competitive, and if he didn¡¯t keep up, he could dip down to the bottom half! No one wanted to get cut from the illustrious Gemini Academy after only two years, especially after all the work they had to do to get there. ¡°We worked so hard, too¡­¡± Tauruk rubbed his forehead tiredly. A year full of exhaustion and tireless work, and this was what he had to show for it? He was solidly in the bottom half. If he didn¡¯t have some genius stroke of insight in the next year, he would probably be cut the next year! He couldn¡¯t even imagine his father¡¯s look were that to happen. Maybe¡­ he just wasn¡¯t smart enough. Chapter 27 - Harbinger Complexity Class Equivalency Soon after the end of year assessment results came out, a strange dichotomy formed on campus. Half of the students became overjoyed, while the other half were gloomy as could be. It was common to see sights of jubilation and celebration everywhere, loud yells and cheers ringing out throughout, but there would simultaneously also be aggregations of sulking students silently dragging around their luggage and leaving campus. At the same time, a new set of innocent and bright-eyed first years arrived at the school. They arrived in hoards, spilling into the dorms and stopping to look around at everything with eager eyes. Watching them nervously and excitedly fill into the 3C dorm, taking the spots of students who had just previously moved out, Emmet couldn¡¯t help but have a strange feeling. Just a year ago, he had been in their same position. Time really moved quickly. As for the four boys in 427, they would stay in the same room for their second year. However, starting from the third year, they would have to move out, find their own living space, and rent it out using points. The idea was, at that point, students could achieve a degree of self-sufficiency, and if they were properly skilled, could find work with much higher income (squires did not have to expend resources on schoolwork, so it was thought that they should have enough income for basic accommodations as well). The same principle applied to after fourth year: after that, students were no longer permitted squires altogether. The idea of Gemini Academy as a whole was to produce genius graduates who were completely competent in their own right. The third week after the break began, the new school year finally started. The campus once again exploded into a canvas of heated activity, dense crowds of students walking or riding this way and that to attend their classes. Riding into work for the first time in two weeks, Emmet finally saw Maisy. By now, most of the reporters had left her alone. Instead of looking excited, however, she looked a bit haggard; clearly, the constant media attention was exhausting. ¡°Big sis Maisy!¡± Emmet rushed over with a bright smile. ¡°Oh, Emmet!¡± Maisy smiled back, reaching over and patting Emmet on the head. ¡°It¡¯s been a while, huh?¡± Fatigue could be seen in her eyes. Not even after pulling all-nighters completing constructions did she look this tired. ¡°Congratulations on your advancement to grade eight! As expected, you passed with flying colors,¡± Emmet couldn¡¯t help but cheer. ¡°And congratulations on your groundbreaking new theory! You¡¯re famous now!¡± ¡°...my theory?¡± Maisy let out a short laugh and then shook her head. ¡°Emmet, in the end, it wasn¡¯t my-¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s right!¡± The other debuggers around the company overheard Emmet¡¯s cheers and hurriedly ran over to gather around Maisy. Soon enough, they had formed a semicircle around her. ¡°Congratulations! We¡¯re so glad to have known you before your fame!¡± For the first time, Maisy looked embarrassed. She hurriedly waved her hand down, dismissing their praises. ¡°It wasn¡¯t much... Besides, that grand theory is¡­¡± ¡°Right, your theory!¡± The green-haired girl named Janine exclaimed. ¡°Harbinger Complexity Class Equivalency¡­ Your own piece of formations theory! My god, that¡¯s incredible!¡± ¡°Yeah, imagine having a formations concept named after you! That¡¯s amazing!¡± Another student chimed in. ¡°What amazing intellect! It¡¯s an honor to work under a legend!¡± ¡°Hear, hear! What an amazing boss we have!¡± All of the workers had starry eyes. ¡°Thank you, thank you,¡± Maisy formed a thin smile. Unintentionally, she began patting Emmet¡¯s head more and more vigorously - ever since all the employees had celebrated Emmet¡¯s 12th birthday at the company a few months ago, Maisy had gotten into the habit of patting him on the head. ¡°But don¡¯t you know, the theory really wasn¡¯t mine. The idea behind it was actually Emmet¡¯s.¡± She brought her gaze toward the little squire boy in front of her.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°Emmet¡¯s?¡± Everyone glanced toward the little squire boy and then burst out into a collective laughter. Some people even walked up to jokingly pat Emmet¡¯s shoulders. ¡°So modest! You¡¯re surprisingly funny, Maisy.¡± Maisy placed her hand to the side of her head and let out a brief frustrated sigh. ¡°But it¡¯s true¡­ You know, the reporters kept saying that exact same thing.¡± Thinking that she was still playing along, all of the other workers let out further cackles of laughter. Maisy lifted her head. ¡°Alright, enough about that, let¡¯s get back to work! We still have a bunch of orders leftover from last year, and new stuff is already flowing in - chop, chop!¡± ¡°Roger!¡± Everyone stifled their laughter, nodding and turning back to their workstations. As they turned, they let out a final exclamation of praise: ¡°Congratulations, boss Maisy!¡± Just as Emmet was about to join them, turning around to grab a new formation from the pile, Maisy grabbed his arm and stopped him. ¡°Hm?¡± Emmet formed a puzzled face. ¡°Emmet¡­¡± Maisy spoke slowly, her face conflicted. She leaned in, lowered her tone of voice, and patted his shoulder. ¡°Hey... I know it¡¯s frustrating, I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Emmet¡¯s face was blank. ¡°I tried to tell those reporters that the idea really was yours you, but not knowing who you are, they thought I was joking. None of them can fathom a first year squire, someone who¡¯s not even a proper student at the school, doing such a thing¡­ and it doesn¡¯t help that I have a reputation for eccentricity. They think I¡¯m doing some kind of crazy fame deflection.¡± ¡°Wha?¡± Emmet blinked confusedly a couple times. ¡°Your¡­ your theory was inspired by me?¡± Maisy looked surprised for a moment, and then brought her face down to Emmet¡¯s level - she didn¡¯t have to extend so far down anymore, as in the past year, Emmet had grown two inches. ¡°Dummy, you don¡¯t remember your own theory? About the Kamaran problem and the Bakastarian set?¡± ¡°Oh... ¡° Emmet had a moment of realization. ¡°You mean¡­ that one time when you asked for my thoughts? ...that inspired you?¡± Maisy brought her hands down onto Emmet¡¯s shoulders. ¡°Yes, you dummy, yes! It¡¯s your theory, Emmet. It was you who inspired me.¡± Emmet blinked twice. ¡°...huh... I¡­ I mean... but I didn¡¯t really say much¡­ Are you sure it really wasn¡¯t your idea?¡± ¡°My god, Emmet!¡± Maisy laughed disbelievingly. She slightly shook her head. ¡°Emmet, you¡¯re too damn innocent¡­ Like this, you¡¯re definitely gonna get conned some day.¡± Emmet could only blankly stare back. ¡°You should have more confidence in yourself,¡± Maisy continued. ¡°You don¡¯t seem to realize, but you¡¯ve got a gift. You just gotta hone it. Now that I¡¯m an eighth year, I¡¯ll be much more free, so if there¡¯s anything you want to know, or if there¡¯s anything you need, just ask me. It¡¯s the least I can do to repay you.¡± Emmet nodded blankly. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I took the credit for your insight,¡± Maisy apologized. ¡°I hope you believe me when I say I didn¡¯t mean to, and that I don¡¯t care about the prestige or any of that stuff¡­ frankly, I think it¡¯s tiring.¡± She patted him reassuringly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. When you become famous in your own right, I¡¯ll make sure to appropriately correct the record. By then, people will properly believe it.¡± ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it!¡± Emmet smiled and retorted brightly. ¡°Hm?¡± Maisy raised an eyebrow. ¡°It¡¯s totally fine,¡± Emmet gave a cheerful thumbs up. ¡°Honestly, it really was just some vague idea I had, not anything that I would¡¯ve written about. It¡¯s thanks to you that the idea turned into a theory. And given your skills, it was probably something that you would have thought of too!¡± His face turned embarrassed. ¡°Besides, don¡¯t you remember, it was thanks to you that I¡¯m worth anything in the first place¡­ If I¡¯d never met you, I would still be a clueless illiterate struggling in classes, much less able to give you ideas!¡± As he spoke, Emmet felt warm emotions well up from inside him. Truly, he was more grateful toward Maisy than she could ever know. At his lowest moment, when it had just felt like the whole world was falling down on him, it was Maisy that had appeared like a beam of light, extending a helping hand and pulling him out of it. After riding with Maisy in her flying vehicle and experiencing the magical experience of flight for the first time, Emmet had suddenly felt alright again. After that, Maisy had taught him to read, truly blessing him with wings. It was only then that he could properly soar up through the world of formations. Maisy stared at Emmet for a moment, her eyes soft. She brought her hand up and patted Emmet¡¯s head again. ¡°You¡¯re a good kiddo.¡± Chapter 28 - Advanced Formation The first week of the year passed, and the weather turned warmer, as if signifying a new beginning. For Emmet, life continued as normal, his schedule relatively unchanged. His job proceeded as usual, and other than that, he continued to spend virtually all of his time at the library, reading and studying. While during the past semester, he had mainly focused on diversifying his exposure and reading on all the different basic level topics, he now began to move on to some intermediate level topics. The more concepts he was exposed to and became familiar with, the more his confidence rose. Over the course of the week, Emmet helped Maisy put up flyers for her debugging depot all over campus and register her company in all of the job listings. On each flyer and listing was a place and time for a trial for new recruits, a gathering happening at the end of the week. It was at this meeting the previous year that Emmet had first arrived at the company, so he couldn¡¯t help but become excited. On the day of the interest trial meeting, Emmet walked in and was shocked to see that this time, there were nearly two hundred students, nearly all first years, crowded in the room and sitting in wait. Witnessing such a dense crowd, Emmet was shocked. This many people had came? How come the job suddenly became so popular? However, he quickly realized the answer. Maisy had recently become famous, rising up like a bright crescent sun within the formations world. Given the opportunity, many students pounced to work for such an amazing groundbreaking figure, coming in droves to apply. This conjecture was proven by many of the students¡¯ respectful gazes toward her during her orientation statements. This orientation, instead of Janine, Emmet became the employee who stood next to Maisy during her speech and brought out the trial formations. Doing so, he couldn¡¯t help but feel prideful - standing there, he couldn¡¯t help but feel like he was a integral member of the company! This time, since there weren¡¯t enough buggy array formations to assign each new potential recruit to a single formation, Maisy assigned groups of four and gave each group one. Thus, there were many more successful debuggings during this trial, as people in the groups were able to work together to solve the problems collectively. The next day, nearly fifty of the recruits came back to the company to officially start work. In one day, although several of the veteran employees sadly had to leave campus due to not making their grades¡¯ cuts, the workbase increased by nearly three times, forcing Maisy to open up a whole other part of the building to make space. From then on, the company became much more lively. However, apart from having a few basic skills, many of the new employees were largely clueless on what they were doing. Thus, many of them would ask upperclassmen for help, and soon enough, a portion of them would come to Emmet to ask question and seek assistance. It seemed that they had heard of his reputation as a ¡®mad man¡¯ and respected his credentials, and it also helped that he appeared humble and down to earth, and was easy to approach. Emmet was happy to help, giving numerous tips on the appropriate steps to solve their problems. At this point, he could be considered pretty experienced, and had a very strong understanding of all the basic level formations. --------------- Time quickly passed, and Emmet¡¯s schedule turned into a concrete routine. Work, sleep, study, study, study, attend lecture, study, study, work, sleep... At his debugging job, things only became busier and busier. Even though there were now many more employees, and everyone became more efficient at debugging (especially Emmet, who would rip through many of the basic level formations so quickly it left people speechless), the piles of debugging assignments to complete didn¡¯t decrease. Rather, they increased, and every work day, everyone always had work to do. This phenomenon could be attributed to Maisy¡¯s fame. Because of her newfound widespread name-recognition, many more students began to utilize her service (instead of sending their faulty formations to other places). Because of this, the Maisy Debugging Depot not only kept its position as the #1 on-campus debugging service, but soon began to swallow up a large portion of all other competitors¡¯ clientele, monopolizing the business and becoming an oppressive and dominating presence not just on campus, but even within the nearby sector of the city as a whole. Soon enough, the number of faulty formations that came into the service had multiplied, causing the entire building to become constantly busy in a flurry of activity. As the weeks passed, many of the new employees became friendly with Emmet, largely due to his approachability and ability to explain concepts simply and concisely. It seemed his advice was helpful, because he had soon earned a reputation as a helpful mentor to the new recruits. Thanks to Emmet¡¯s help and guidance, a lot of them finally seemed to be getting the hang of debugging the basic formations, and because Emmet was so willing to help them, more and more of the recruits would come to him for assistance, not only with their debuggings, but also about their schoolwork. Soon enough, a small crowd would form around him every break. Emmet didn¡¯t mind this extra burden at all. He had constantly been receiving help from others in the company in the past year, so he felt glad that he could now pay it forward and help other people get their footing.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Time passed quickly. One day in the first week of the second month of the semester, after numerous easy debuggings and deep dives into new textbooks, Emmet glanced toward the three piles of buggy formations stacked up in the center of the room. His eyes wandered over toward the smaller pile to the right, and his eyes suddenly sparkled, his motivation beginning to spike. After quickly finishing off a middle pile formation he had been debugging, testing it and confirming that it was properly fixed, he walked over toward the piles of buggy formations and ominously stood there for a while. Eventually, he reached over to the pile to the right and chose a small intricate-looking one, bringing it back to his desk. ¡°It¡¯s time.¡± Finally, he felt like he was ready to tackle a formation from the pile to the right! ¡°Phew¡­¡± He sat down and took a deep breath. The formation was multicolored and smaller than some others, but that didn¡¯t mean it was any less complicated. If he could debug this formation, then that meant that nothing was off-limits! He could truly soar up within the company and become an advanced debugger! After steadying himself, he screwed off the cover of the formation and tensely peered in. Sure enough, an incredibly dense, maze-like labyrinth of microcircuitry and structures once again appeared before him. However, this time, he took a moment to take a deep breath, and found he wasn¡¯t as intimidated. Over these past six months, he had really gained a lot, and felt like if he worked at it, he could probably recognize many more of the structures. Without further ado, he got to work. It was a whole week later when Emmet finally looked up and let out a relieved sigh. He had finally finished. Fours hours a day for seven whole days (Emmet would regularly go overtime for no salary) - in total, this formation took about 28 hours to debug. And it wasn¡¯t even that big of a bug - on a macro scale, it actually was rather simple, but because of its complexity and scale, it had forced Emmet to spend hours and hours just figuring out the workings of the thing. After pinpointing some of the microcircuit structures within the formation, piecing them together one by one, he was finally able to match them together, and then from there, it got much easier, as the macro structure resembled a debugging of a more complicated medium pile formation. In general, there were so many more moving parts, so it was much more intricate and confusing. However, he was glad he had done it. It had been a while since he had been challenged by a debugging, and he enjoyed the feeling. He could feel his understanding growing as he worked through the kinks, and it was undeniably satisfying when all the puzzle pieces fit together at the end. Now, it was time to test it. Emmet nervously placed his hand on the mana introduction socket, took a deep breath, and sent his mana in! - at this point, he had a slightly larger pool from the beginning of last semester (about 30% more from his initial awakening amount), but it was still an extremely pitiful amount compared to everyone else around him, even to the other squires. Just testing this advanced formation sucked in nearly the entirety of his mana pool! Voom! Voom! Voom! Three clear layered warding circles appeared one by one around the formation, each about five feet in circumference. They pulsated rhythmically, creating a dim humming sound. Although he could look out through them perfectly clearly, Emmet could faintly feel the repulsive power even from inside the circles. Although it seemed simple, this was actually an extremely advanced technique. Although building a one-layered warding formation was relatively straightforward, building a multi-layered ward, in which two or more wards were layered over each other in the same space (which exponentially increased the power), was exponentially harder. It wasn¡¯t so simple as just building another ward within a ward. If done in this simplistic manner, the two fields would conflict with each other, causing both to falter and break. The only way to get it to work properly was to use a complicated series of microcircuital logic, called advanced multilayered Qatinian recursion, to sort it out. It used a ton of additional circuitry to link the gap, altering the very nature of the force to make sure they worked together, and required much more resources and mana, but also gave a proportionally much higher degree of repulsion and defense. The more layers of wards within each other, the more powerful a warding formation would be, but also the more exponentially complicated, slow to respond, and resource-intensive it was. That¡¯s why it was incredibly rare to see any warding formation with more than five layers. They existed, but only for extremely important situations or for places with incredibly high security. These layers were referred to as levels, so if someone asked for a level three warding formation, they would be asking for a warding formation with three layers of embedded wards. This topic was covered cursorily in the Intermediate Warding textbook, so Emmet had formed an understanding of how it worked. Apparently, it would be covered in detail in Advanced Warding. Mainly, however, his intuition yet again came from a puzzle in his picture book. This time, it was on page 68, way up ahead in his book. Clearly, it was a more advanced concept. ¡°Yes!¡± Emmet looked around and couldn¡¯t help but cheer. He really had done it! Looking over his handiwork, he felt a great sense of accomplishment rise up through him. Doing this had been his goal for a few months at this point. Finally completely his goal was certainly satisfying. He hurriedly ran off to show Maisy, who was now much more free and willing to talk to Emmet. After seeing the fixed formation, she was at first stunned for a moment, and then formed a happy expression and praised Emmet repeatedly. From then on, she ordered Emmet to tackle another formation from the pile to the right at least once every one or two weeks until he became even better and faster. As for Maisy, during this period, her life was once again carefree. Every day, she would be working on something different, a unique new construction in her workspace every week. Emmet was once again wowed by the diversity and scale of the plethora of constructions. Clearly, she was enjoying life. Chapter 29 - Locomotive Car Emmet decided to build a formations locomotive car. His hoverboard had served him well for the past months. However, the more he used it, the more he felt there was much to be desired. Although he continually upgraded it, increasing its efficiency, capacity, and even adding a level two warding formation onto it, he still found that it was limited, namely due to its size. It was pretty good if it was used to carry just a person and a few additional hand-held items, its advantage being that it allowed a nimbleness not possible with other modes of transportation. However, if one carried around a large load (more than what they could carry on just their back or in their arms), it became impractical, and even dangerous. Emmet was starting to reach that point. Every day, he would carry upwards of ten thick books he had checked out from the library with him, thoroughly weighing him down and forcing him to juggle them around (even when carrying a few in a big bag on his back). There had been multiple times he had almost veered out of control and crashed into a building, inspiring him to eventually add the current safety warding formations to it. That helped a bit, but in his opinion was still not enough. He often found himself thinking: if only he had a storage trunk to put stuff in, so that it was much easier to carry stuff, it would make his life much easier and safer! Furthermore, it oftentimes got cold or hot on campus, and being in an enclosed temperature controlled car seemed like an attractive option. Thus, Emmet settled down and spent a week drawing out the blueprint for a new design, and once he was ready, arrived at the same enormous construction center on campus he had previously built his hoverboard. He was now familiar with the process. Although the scale of this new car construction was bigger and many times more complicated, he had advanced a lot from last time. After reading through both Basic Locomotives and Intermediate Locomotives, relating the concepts to different aspects of constructions he had debugged, and thinking about some advanced diagrams within his Gemini¡¯s All-Encompassing Formations Manual, he felt confident that he could do it with ease. After brisky renting a room, he quickly got to work. This time, from beginning to end, the whole construction costed a whopping total of 17,500 points worth of materials. On top of that, it took nearly five half-days of hard work to complete. By the end, the project wiped out nearly all of Emmet¡¯s wealth. Still, he thought it was worth it. The end result was a small, cutesy little car that looked a bit dopey, but actually had a surprisingly diverse set of features. Firstly, it was incredibly resource-efficient, expending less than half the rate of mana than most other comparable car of its size on the market. Further, it automatically recharged within minutes, utilizing two medium grade and two low grade mana batteries as well as a surface coated with nearly thirty square feet of solar shingles. This efficiency aspect was Emmet¡¯s primary concern, as he had to be able to drive it using only his pitiful supply of mana to get around campus. Second, after some testing, it had a pretty high speed and sharp maneuverability compared to other cars he had seen, satisfying Emmet greatly. Thirdly, it had a dense security system with a series of mana locks, designed to open up to only Emmet¡¯s mana signature. Emmet had learned the security techniques from the Fundamentals of Mana Encryption textbook to create the lock, and was pretty satisfied with it. Having a few points left over, but not enough to do anything else substantial. he also added a similar lock system to his hoverboard. In the end, Emmet would have liked to add a few more additional features onto the car, namely a warding formation and maybe some high-tech acceleration mods, but due to lack of points, was forced to put them on hold. He figured he could always add them on to the car later. Finally finishing and driving out of the construction center in his new little car, he couldn¡¯t help but smile to himself. He could now officially be considered a true locomotive constructionist! From that day on, Emmet stopped using his hoverboard, and instead, rode around everywhere in his new car. It was like he had transitioned from a rebellious hoverboard-riding teenager to a professional car-driving white-collar worker. Any time he wanted to go anywhere, he would excitedly hop in and drive to his destination, and when he reached it, would proudly park his little vehicle nearby the building. Since he had now put a mana encryption security formation on it, he wasn¡¯t concerned that anyone could steal it. The more he drove the car, traveling this way and that and not afraid to go far away, the more he found it was enjoyable. Compared to riding on a hoverboard, it felt like he was a VIP. Few students on campus had personal cars, and riding one, people were forced to make way. As for his hoverboard, with limited remaining use of it, he decided to leave it at the company for any of the new recruits to use. They just needed to speak with him and register their mana signature with his security system, and it was good to go. After finding this out, many of the first years got into a fervor and fought each other over the right to use the hoverboard. Many even attempted to cozy up to Emmet to receive his favor, startling him. What first year wouldn¡¯t like the ability to fly a uniquely modded hoverboard around campus, especially such an amazing one made by their mentor Emmet? Eventually, it was decided that there would be a queue system. Every time, the top person in the queue could borrow it only for one day, and then would have to pass it on to the next person. Then, they could add their name back to the bottom of the queue. Like this, the hoverboard became communal property. At this point, Emmet was once again a hot topic amongst his coworkers. By now, he was debugging an advanced pile formation in the little pile to the very right once every five days. He went so fast that the pile was even starting to shrink, not even the increasingly high demand able to keep up with his pace. Everyone at the company could only marvel.Love this story? Find the genuine version on the author''s preferred platform and support their work! However, because Emmet became so busy with these advanced level formations, the piles to the left and middle would start to overflow, becoming a big problem. Oftentimes, when it really became too much, Maisy would have to personally step in to work through debugging the piles. Thus, each time he finished with an advanced formation, Emmet would spend a day or two alternating back to the other two piles, clearing out entire lots within hours. It was frightening. Oftentimes, employees would spot the pile of basic formations stretch to the ceiling when they walked in, yet by night, it would be cut by nearly a third. Because of this, his nickname roared back into popularity - he really was a ¡®madman!¡¯ Maisy often pointed him out as a shining model of what a Maisy Supply Depot employee should look like, causing Emmet to become embarrassed. He had never imagined a world where he would become the role model! -------------- Time flowed like water, and in no time, it was already three months deep into the semester. Finally, springtime came into full swing. All around campus, large amounts of pretty greenery were in full bloom, creating a pretty scene. In this atmosphere, students couldn¡¯t help but become a bit more relaxed. Although studies were hard, at least the weather could give them some comfort. One particular day, Emmet was passing by a large board on a pillar on the side of the street when something caught his eye. He stopped his car at the side of the read and brought his gaze toward what had caught his attention, a bulletin full of tasks and jobs. He had passed over this very same bulletin multiple times over the past semesters, but this time, something caught his interest. It was a flyer with a simple task - to build a level one warding formation over a hundred foot wide building nearby within the city. The materials would be provided, and the pay would be three hundred points. ¡°I can probably do that now¡­¡± Stroking his chin, Emmet couldn¡¯t help but become interested. For the past year, he had mostly not paid attention to the task listings on any of the bulletins, since he had figured that it was all way out of his level. However, at this moment, he suddenly realized that a lot of them weren¡¯t so out of his range anymore. Further, this kind of thing could be very beneficial for him. Besides the pay, Emmet was interested in gathering experience. He could now be considered proficient in theory, but he still lacked practical experience in actual non-locomotive construction. Although he got a lot of hands-on experience with his debugging job, it was still just fixing others¡¯ formations, and they were usually smaller in scale. Building from ground up some of these larger scale tasks would certainly be a good exercise for him! Looking at the listing that had caught his attention, he nodded. Just a level one warding formation¡­ although the scale was beyond anything he had done before, overall, it should be pretty simple. ¡°Let¡¯s contact that person.¡± Emmet quickly wrote down the contact information on the task listing onto a piece of paper before nodding and driving away. He had confidence in his skills. The real problem was that he was a squire, and not an officially enrolled student. Because of that, he had no transcript, no resume, and no official credentials to complete such a task. Since that was the case, would the personage who had put out the task consider hiring him? Pondering it over, his eyes suddenly lit up. He knew a solution. ----------- In a plain-looking room, two people sat. One was a baby-faced preteen, and the other was a staunch-faced middle aged woman wearing a long fashionable robe. Between them was a wooden table, and they faced each other, the atmosphere formal. ¡°Hmm¡­ Emmet Laghaz, was it?¡± The middle-aged woman glanced up at the young boy sitting across from her. Holding a piece of thin paper in her hand and periodically glancing toward it, she casually examined the boy. ¡°You say that this is your resume, but there¡¯s barely anything here. I did see your locomotive car construction when you came in, and I liked. But this is a large-scale warding formation we¡¯re talking about, so I need a guarantee that you can do it well. I know you¡¯re only a second year, but haven¡¯t you taken any classes? Can I see a transcript?¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± Emmet hesitated, gripping his sleeves. Inwardly, he shook his head. A transcript? He had never been graded in any of his classes, so how could he have a transcript? After a moment of thought, he pulled out another piece of paper, this one a written letter with a signature on it. ¡°Unfortunately, I can¡¯t provide a transcript. However, I do have a letter of recommendation¡­¡± ¡°Hm?¡± The woman received the piece of paper, lowering her gaze and carefully scrutinizing it. ¡°Letter of recommendation? From one of your professors?¡± ¡°No...¡± Emmet shook his head. ¡°Let¡¯s see¡­¡± The woman brisky read down the page, tracing down it with her finger. ¡°I highly recommend Emmet¡­ he is a skilled constructionist and quick learner¡­ extremely talented¡­ high amount of theoretical knowledge...¡± Her gaze suddenly stilled. She had reached the end of the letter, where there was a fancily written mana signature inscribed. ¡°Signed¡­ Maisy Harbinger.¡± She looked back up at Emmet, her eyes surprised. ¡°Maisy... Is that the Maisy Harbinger¡­? The one who proposed Harbinger Complexity Class Equivalency?¡± ¡°...ah¡­ yeah¡­¡± Emmet nodded sheepishly. As expected, Maisy¡¯s reputation had a dramatic effect. ¡°Um, I often work with her at my job.¡± ¡°I see¡­ so Maisy is your mentor?¡± The woman glanced down and inspected the letter¡¯s mana signature a second time, taking a moment to verify its authenticity. A moment later, she dropped the letter, smiled, and extended her hand. ¡°I didn¡¯t know you personally knew such a person! If the Maisy Harbinger guarantees your skill, then I have nothing to worry about! Would you like the job?¡± ¡°Yes, thank you so much!¡± Emmet happily extended his hand out and shook. That was one in the bank! Chapter 30 - Tasks The woman promptly gave Emmet the task guidelines. Within a two week span, Emmet would have to travel to a little house about half an hour away from campus and set up a basic level one warding formation around it. All materials would be provided. In the end, Emmet did it in only four days. The first day, he did a survey of the place, planned out the blueprint for the formation, and then laid a basic groundwork. The second day, he brought out the bulk of the materials and built up the base layer. The third day, he completed the top layer and inserted the circuitry. Finally, the fourth day, he completed the circuitry and inside logic, stitched it together, did some bug testing, and then gave the outer layer a nice sheen. It had helped that Emmet now had a car, and could transport materials and travel around relatively easily, allowing for an easier construction. Although there were some minor mishaps, namely with scaling up a warding formation so large, with some quick thinking, they were resolved and Emmet was able to finish early. The biggest roadblock by far was the physical requirements for the job. Often, Emmet would have to lug around heavy materials in order to assemble the formation, causing a lot of strain. Luckily, however, he had done farmwork for many years, so he was used to a lot of the movements and could complete it without calling for any help. Seeing the completed warding formation at the end of the fourth day, the contractor was shocked. In merely four days, it was already done? After observing it, she made sure to test the formation thoroughly, and after seeing that it was made excellently and very studily, she became impressed. Especially for someone so young, the formation was extremely impressive. In fact, there were many aspects of it that went above and beyond than the required specifications. After some thought, however, the contractor mused that it made sense. The boy had been personally recommended by Maisy Harbinger. How couldn¡¯t his constructions be impressive? The contractor promptly transferred Emmet the proper payment, including an extra fifty points for a quick construction, and gave some respectful praise before bidding him goodbye. She also casually requested that she mention her name to Maisy if given the chance. After this experience, Emmet felt incredibly fulfilled, and couldn¡¯t help but develop a strong desire to continue doing some more tasks. It was incredibly fun! It also helped Emmet get some actual experience in building such a large scale formation. Although he had completely memorized the theory, it still took some fine-tuning to translate it to real life, and the process really helped with his hands-on skill and dexterity. A few days after completing the first task, he took on another one, this time constructing a large scale barrier enclosure formation for a professional hunter. This time, Emmet¡¯s resume had become a bit stronger, as he had now added his warding formation task completion to his experience section. However, just like the first time, it took handing over Maisy¡¯s recommendation letter to completely convince the contractor to hire him. After completing the task with flying colors, however, he once again was able to add something to his resume, gradually building it up. After that, he took on another task¡­ and then another one¡­ and then another one. Emmet quickly became addicted to completing tasks. Other than giving practical experience, he felt it was much more ¡®real¡¯ than debugging or anything else he had been doing. This was emphasized by the fact that he could personally receive the thanks of the contractor after completing the job. The only thing he didn¡¯t like was the physical labor that sometimes came with the jobs. One unexpected byproduct of this, however, was that after each manual-labor intensive task, his stamina would improve, and his body would strengthen overall. Although it was unnoticeable on his figure at first glance, he could feel his overall strength and vitality improve. The semester zoomed by. Emmet tackled any interesting task he saw, one after another, slowly increasing in scale and difficulty. Every task he took, his resume grew longer and more extensive, and the easier it was to convince contractors to hire him. Many of the tasks were very unique, helping him grow his experience, and he found it just as fun as debugging interesting formations. Although debugging was always enjoyable, there was also a great satisfaction that came with building something from the ground up. Emmet targeted those ground-up construction types of tasks first, but also chose some other interesting tasks like research and knowledge-sharing. Time was like a speeding car, zipping toward its destination. Month after month, Emmet¡¯s life was fulfilling.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story. Like this, the first semester of his second year quickly passed. While the first year had seemed to pass as slow as a turtle, this third semester had passed so quickly it left Emmet rattled. Where had all the time gone? It was like he had just blinked, and the semester was over. He could remember first tackling his first advanced pile formation like it was yesterday. Over these six months, Emmet could really have said to have graduated a tier. By this point, through his extensive studying, he had already studied through all of the available basic level textbooks - every single basic level book that looked interesting enough. He suspected his reading speed now might be even greater than some actual students¡¯ who had been taught to readfrom youth, just from his constant practice. Thus, he had now moved on to solely reading the intermediate level textbooks and beyond. However, he only sped through them faster and faster, like he was racing. Part of this was because he now had the consistent help of Maisy. Whenever he had anything that he was remotely confused about, he would immediately go to Maisy and she would rapidly lead him to the right answer. Thus, his pace was incredibly quick. Other than textbooks, Emmet read more and more reference books about the world around him and grew more and more amazed. The more he read, the more the workings of his surroundings slowly came to him like simple intuition, and he felt more connected to the world at large. While he learned at a rapid pace, Emmet also continued to be a teacher to many other first year students at the company. It seemed that every week, more and more first years would approach him for some help. So far, Emmet was still able to help each of them without altering his schedule too much, but it was quickly becoming a time burden. However, he was insistent on continuing to help to the best of his ability. It was only because he had such a good teacher, Maisy, in his first year that he was able to achieve so much. Thus, he strove to give the best and simply-worded advice he could to help out the struggling first years. As for his addiction to completing tasks, it never slowed. In the midst of his busy life, he still found time to do task after task. Whenever he saw something interesting that was within his realm, Emmet would stop and immediately pick it up. The more tasks he completed, the better he became with constructing, and he quickly developed a reputation among some networks of contractors as a rapid and reliable constructor. At this point, his resume had developed into quite an impressive list of accomplishments. Following Maisy¡¯s guidelines, he included only the largest scale tasks he had completed, including some of his previous employers praises under each item, and would proudly hand the document to each new employer. Eventually, he became relatively well known among his level. Oftentimes, didn¡¯t even have to look for tasks; there would often be contractors who would personally seek him out. Obviously, this was also helped by his reputation as having been recommended by Maisy Harbinger. As for a certain other person who lived in his dorm... Over the past semester, he had spotted Tauruk multiple times by coincidence, often seeing him across the street when cruising in his car. Each time, Tauruk would be gloomily looking down toward the ground, so he wouldn¡¯t notice Emmet in return. To this day, he still didn¡¯t realize that Emmet had ditched his hoverboard and now drove around a car. Any time he spotted Tauruk in these moments, Emmet couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit worried. At this point, the guy was not looking good. He had finally managed to buy his own hoverboard, and would travel around campus riding on it instead of walking. However, every time Emmet spotted him, he looked more and more haggard, some untrimmed peach fuzz growing out on his upper lip. He had also gained weight, his stomach sagging forward a bit every time he made a turn. Clearly, he was stressed, and things didn¡¯t seem to be going well. This led Emmet to a realization. He had been too engrossed in his studies to pay attention before, but now he could no longer ignore it. Tauruk was technically still his ¡®master,¡¯ and he was his squire. So if Tauruk wasn¡¯t doing well, and failed the second year cutoff, then he would be cut from the school as well! This thought made him shudder. After all this time, he definitely didn¡¯t want to end his formations education after just two years; he still had so much to learn and experience! He had also recently noticed that Tauruk¡¯s rank in the first year end of year assessment had been in the bottom half, and couldn¡¯t help but worry it would stay there. He started to try to tentatively approach Tauruk, in an effort to fulfill his duty as a squire and help him out, maybe give him some pointers, but Tauruk would not have it. Any time Emmet would approach him, Tauruk would instantly turn away and pretend to not have heard of seen him. After multiple tries, Emmet could only deflate and try to think of something else. Eventually, he brought up the issue to Maisy. To his surprise, she quickly smiled and gave a thumbs up. ¡°Leave it to me! You¡¯ve got way too much potential to leave here after just two years!¡±After asking forTauruk¡¯s personal details and schedule, she told Emmet not to worry, and to just focus on improving his formations craft. She would handle everything. That had been just two days before the end of the semester. Thus, Emmet had no idea what she had in mind yet, just how she was going to let Tauruk ascend the rankings and make the cut past second year. However, Emmet deeply trusted Maisy, so he quickly threw the distraction out of his mind. If she said so, Maisy would definitely find a way to let Emmet stay at the school! Chapter 31 - Stinger The new semester started, and it once again began to turn cold. Like usual, Emmet continued to immerse himself deep in his studies. Visiting the admissions office and checking his points once again, meeting Borokov again and striking up another light-hearted conversation, he was shocked to find out he had earned yet another 33,000 points in just one semester! Suppressing his initial shock, Emmet realized what had happened. This year, he had been promoted at his job, so his salary had doubled from five points an hour to ten, doubling his cumulative wage. Further, he had also began to take on numerous tasks, each within the range of around three hundred to a thousand points. However, most importantly, he had also began debugging a lot of advanced level formations. On top of challenging Emmet and forcing him to grow, it also provided him with a large cash flow. Although Emmet took longer to debug these formations, albeit getting faster each time (at this point only taking less than four days to debug a single one), the advanced level formations were theoretically exponentially more complicated and harder to debug, and thus, granted much higher commissions (with a greater percentage going toward Emmet). On average, he had consistently debugged one at least once a week since the start of the semester, so all of those added up, and within a short amount of time, he had amassed a small fortune. With his new wealth, Emmet immediately got to work upgrading his car and doing improvement modifications. This included adding a level two warding formation, a leap gliding feature, array capabilities, and upgrading the two low grade mana batteries. When he was done, he had spent an entire 8,000 points on it, but even still, had a huge amount of points left in the bank. Shrugging and unsure of what to spend his points on, he decided to save up. If he wanted to do some big project later, he would be able to afford it. ------------------- ¡°Phew¡­¡± Maisy took a deep breath, staring intensely at the solid wooden door in front of her. Although the door looked simple, considering who was behind it, it had a great meaning. Stuck on its surface was a little nameplate, inscribed ¡®Headmaster: Varale Stinula¡¯ - that one name meant a nearly contested power within the academy. Knock, knock. Maisy brought her fist up and knocked on the door. ¡°Come in.¡± Maisy cautiously pushed open the door and peered in, careful not to make any loud noise. ¡°Hello?¡± The room was large and spacious, lavishly furnished with a thick red rug and intricately carved furniture. The walls were all decorated with various plaques or displays, giving off an intimidating feeling. In the back of the room, there sat a white-haired old man draped in thick gold-lined purple clothes, working at a large fancily-carved, gold-adorned desk. In front of him was a large stack of papers, so tall they nearly blocked his view. He looked up and scanned over Maisy with dead, steady eyes. ¡°Maisy Harbinger... you¡¯ve finally come. You know, you¡¯re one minute late.¡± ¡°My apologies,¡± Maisy quickly bowed. ¡°I was afraid of disturbing you.¡± ¡°Alright,¡± the old man put down his pen and clasped his hands together in front of him. ¡°I suppose I owe you an audience. You should know, if you weren¡¯t a genius eighth year student, I would never think about doing such a thing¡­¡± He eyed the clock. ¡°The clock is ticking.¡±This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°Ah, well¡­¡± Maisy began. She quickly moved forward to approach the headmaster and adjusted her stance to be more rigid and respectful. ¡°Actually¡­ I have a request to make¡­ It¡¯s regarding a student.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± The old man lifted his eyebrows. ¡°Actually, he¡¯s technically not a student,¡± Maisy corrected herself and continued. ¡°You see, there¡¯s this squire on campus - his name is Emmet. He¡¯s in his second year, and despite his status, he has a talent beyond the imagination. He works for my debugging service on campus, and has quickly become one of the fastest and best workers. Further, with a limited base, not even originally knowing how to read, he has since already achieved-¡± ¡°Squire?¡± The old man¡¯s face grew puzzled. ¡°Yes,¡± Maisy nodded. ¡°But this is no ordinary squire. He has a great gift like no one¡¯s ever seen.¡± ¡°...so what is it you want?¡± ¡°I know the rules. But surely, an exception can be made?¡± Maisy finally made her request, her demeanor turning serious. ¡°This boy is special. I know that the credit is attributed to me, but he was actually the brains behind Harbinger Complexity Class Equivalency.¡± ¡°...¡± If Varale Stinula was stunned, it didn¡¯t look like it. He stared at Maisy silently, as if scanning her face for a clue. ¡°Is that supposed to be a joke?¡± He finally said. Maisy shook her head. ¡°It¡¯s true.¡± ¡°So a second year squire with no educational background came up with Atistonal-Bakastarian equivalency? Is that what you¡¯re saying?¡± The old man¡¯s brows furrowed, and he leaned forward a bit intimidatingly. ¡°It¡¯s what I said,¡± Maisy didn¡¯t relent, steadily keeping her calm. ¡°I think Emmet should have an opportunity to become a real student. He¡¯s not a noble, but should that really hold a genius back?¡± ¡°Maisy Harbinger¡­¡± Varale Stinula leaned back in his chair, picking back up his pen. He seemed irked, annoyed even. ¡°Top graduate¡­ constructions genius¡­ Harbinger Complexity Equivalency. You¡¯re talented, Mrs. Harbinger, I¡¯ll give you that. But please don¡¯t get it twisted - it¡¯s not anything I haven¡¯t seen these past thirty-some years. If you think you can get something like that over me¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s not-¡± Maisy began. ¡°Please, don¡¯t come to me with nonsense like this,¡± Stinger interrupted tersely. He was already looking back down at the paper in front of him, continuing on with his work as if there was no interruption. ¡°School rules are rules, Mrs. Harbinger, you should know that.¡± ¡°...¡± Looking at Stinger¡¯s no-nonsense expression, Maisy knew it was helpless. Letting out a silent sigh, she bid the headmaster farewell and quietly left the room, closing the door behind her. She couldn¡¯t help but frown disappointedly. Damn Stinger¡­ I don¡¯t think anyone¡¯s ever gotten anything past that old git. The headmaster nicknamed ¡®Stinger¡¯ was famous for being extremely strict on the rules. There were even some famous alumni that had tried and failed to get favors from him. The rock of rocks - if nothing else, Stinger was stubborn. ¡°I guess there¡¯sthe other way...¡± Letting out a light grunt, she produced her bag and dug through it, quickly finding a slip of paper with a picture and a few lines of information. Tauruk Gorulon Age 13 Year: 2 Ranking: 2367/4000 Residence: 3C, R427 Classes: Basics of Encryption, Primary Barrier Formations Squire: Y She couldn¡¯t help but furrow her brows. Already, she didn¡¯t have a very good impression of this student. Over the past year, she had managed to get a general feeling for how he treated Emmet, and it didn¡¯t seem like he was¡­ favorable. Chapter 32 - Rollercoaster Emmet¡¯s second year second semester went about just like the previous semester, just even more rigorous. At his job, he tackled more and more advanced formations, bringing the time taken for each down to just three days, and decreasing still. In fact, at this point, he was probably the premiere master of debugging on campus. Even Maisy admitted that in this specific field, she couldn¡¯t compete - although Emmet vehemently denied it. The thing was, he had probably spent the most effort debugging formations out of anyone. Who in their right mind would dedicate all their mental space just to become the most skilled at debugging others¡¯ formations? To many raised within the high-falutin formations world, it didn¡¯t look too good to have that title. Thus, most would only do it if they had to, for works sake. But Emmet was different. He treated it as his passion. Every day, he would come in with high spirits, excited to tackle some more debuggings. Days full of challenging puzzle-solving - could he ask for anything more? Thus, one could say that he was becoming the dominant face of the company. Among employees and even among clients, his nickname especially was becoming more and more famous. The ¡®madman.¡¯ Quick, clean, and crazy. Many would specifically request to have their formations debugged by him, as they would always come back lightning quick and neatly fixed, often even with added improvements. As for the other aspects of Emmet¡¯s life, they only went further and further as well. Every week, he continued to tackle on task after task, each getting larger in scale and more intricate than the last. Still, he completed them with gusto. Each one was varying in subject - warding formations, locomotive constructions, research, locomotive upgrades - there wasn¡¯t anything Emmet was unwilling to do. As for his self studies, he was now deep within the library of middle level topic textbooks. For some subjects, he even read through the advanced level textbooks, although they were extremely wordy and sometimes hard to understand. However, their concepts were much broader in scale and much more fascinating, so he would always try to read over them until he understood, asking Maisy when he needed help. Like this, two months passed. -------------- ¡°Wow¡­¡± Emmet¡¯s mouth gaped wide open like a fish. Maisy¡¯s Mega Marvel. That was the name of the enormous blue rollercoaster construction that currently lay in his vision. Made up of enormous, solid tervoriam pillars holding up long stretches of track, it impressively stretched nearly half a mile outward, weaving around numerous greenery and buildings in the distance. ¡°Pretty ¡®marvelous,¡¯ huh?¡± Maisy laughed, patting Emmet affectionately on the head. ¡°What do you think?¡± ¡°Yeah, absolutely. It¡¯s incredible!¡± Emmet immediately nodded in agreement. The thing was absolutely stunning¡­ colored a nice royal blue, its peak stretched nearly two hundred feet, approaching even the height of some of the surrounding skyscrapers. Although too many tall buildings blocked its view for it to be visible from far, anyone who got in range would immediately notice it. It was just too conspicuous. Emmet had gotten a glimpse of this enormous construction the previous year, during his first semester when he had first witnessed Maisy go wild with her constructions. However, at that time, it wasn¡¯t even half the size of its current monstrous proportions. Clearly, Maisy had been hard at work. Since that time, she had extended the length of the meandering track by nearly 50%, creating an extra peak that stretched nearly two hundred feet into the sky. Just looking at it gave off an intimidating feeling. Again, Emmet was shocked at the sheer show of wealth and power. Not just the price of the enormous volume of materials, the cost of leasing the space out was definitely astronomical, and would likely alone wipe away the savings of any other couple dozen students, and then some. It was precious Gemini Academy campus ground! How could it not be in high demand?! Further, how did she even get permission to do such a thing, to built such a structure on top of the land? - Emmet still didn¡¯t know. Not to mention, actually physically constructing the thing - Maisy even had to build numerous helper constructions to provide the manpower to put the thing together, and even then, took over a year. The scale was enormous.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°After a full year, I¡¯ve finally finished this thing,¡± Maisy smiled excitedly. ¡°Last week, it passed safety inspections, and finally, it¡¯s ready to go! I¡¯m planning on opening it up to the public at the end of this week. 25 points per ride, do you think people will bite?¡± ¡°Of course!¡± Emmet nodded enthusiastically. He truly meant it. Something like this, something so one of a kind, how could people not flock toward? He reckoned most had never seen anything like it! Emmet had personally never even heard of such a concept, and had had to have it explained to him. He had been stunned after hearing it. People would pay money to ride this kind of huge, crazy machine, riding wildly within that railcar up and down slopes, in order to give them thrills? He supposed he understood it. In his past days of fighting animals with Yorick, it had introduced him to a thrill that got more addictive the more you experienced it. The rollercoaster was probably similar. Although, stuff like this was definitely a bored wealthy person¡¯s activity. ¡°Hehe¡­ how about it, Emmet?¡± Maisy snuck Emmet a sly smile. ¡°I didn¡¯t bring you here just to look. How about we take it for a whirl? We¡¯ll be the first ones on the entire campus to do so!¡± ¡°Wha¡­ Can we?¡± Emmet¡¯s breath sunk into his throat. Maisy was letting him ride it? He glanced toward the enormous structure, feeling a bit nervous. Although the thing looked scary and intimidating, he was sure it was safe. It was Maisy who had built it, after all. He trusted anything she created whole-heartedly. ¡°Hahahaha!!!¡± Maisy tilted her head back and let out a guffaw. ¡°It¡¯s just like old times, Emmet. Let¡¯s go!¡± ---------------- Emmet had never been so frightened in his entire life. The buildup was at first exciting. After the two had strapped themselves in, the railcar was gradually pushed up by a powerful locomotive lifting function up the slope. At the time, Emmet had looked around and just marveled at the amazing technology and sights. But as the car lifted higher, a nervous feeling in his heart began to grow. The surrounding ground got smaller and smaller, becoming a distant visage in the background. As the cart continued to rise up the slope, finally approaching the top, Emmet finally felt the beginnings of fear. Would this really be alright? It was right at the top of the peak of the hill when Emmet finally felt a stomach-full of regret. The railcar had just started to tip over toward the edge, and as his wide-eyed gaze shifted downward toward the distant ground, he felt a true fear for his life. At that moment, the cart traveled in slow motion, like a flashback before death. All he could do was tightly grasp the harness as if his life depended on it. ¡°WOOO!¡± It was then that Maisy yelled out, raising her arms up unrestrained, like a total maniac. The cart shot down, plateaued smoothly at the bottom and then soared up, fierce buffets of wind assaulting both their faces. Emmet literally felt his butt leave his seat as he floated up in his strap, and then just a moment later, crushed into his seat with a force surpassing anything he had ever felt before. Truly, it was an out-of-body experience. He could only feel himself hunker down and clutch his harness bar like it was the most precious thing in the world. When the car finally slowed and creaked back into the base of the rollercoaster, Emmet¡¯s face was completely white, his eyes wide open in numb shock. ¡°That was amazing!!!¡± Maisy screamed out excitedly. ¡°Again, again!¡± She casually slapped the side of car and channeled her mana in, once again powering it on. The track mechanized again, once again gradually raising Maisy and Emmet toward the top. ¡°W...wait¡­¡± Emmet could only weakly protest. -------------- The duo went through the ride for a total of three times. The first time, he had to admit it, Emmet had been scared witless. The second time, however, he began to get a feel for it and even felt a bit of excitement. By the third time, he was screaming along with Maisy, laughing alongside her at the end of the ride. As the two joked excitedly at the end, Emmet had a sudden realization. He had been aware of this simple fact, but it wasn¡¯t until now, having a giddy time with her, that it suddenly sank in. This was Maisy¡¯s last year at Gemini Academy. In merely four months, she would graduate, gone from this school forever. Surely, she would go into the real world and do amazing things. The thing was, as soon as he was finished at the school, Emmet was slated to head directly back to his migrant farming tribe, which was over 5000 miles away from this place. So would he ever see her again? Thinking about these things, Emmet glanced toward Maisy and could only smile bittersweetly as she teased him about his funny reactions. Chapter 33 - Tauruk Sitting slouched at a desk and staring at an unfinished construction in front of him, Tauruk let out a little sigh. As usual, he was having trouble. So far, this second year had been going just as disastrous as the last. With the increasing amount of work and mounting difficulty of his classes, Tauruk had progressively become even more strung out, gaining weight and only regularly getting 3 hours of sleep a night. But still, his grades didn¡¯t improve much. Although he was performing marginally better in his classes, receiving B¡¯s on some of the exams, yet again, constructions were the roadblock. He would always be certain he knew the corresponding theory, but whenever he actually tried to sit down and complete his classes¡¯ weekly constructions, it was like there was a mental block, and he just couldn¡¯t construct the main logic correctly. There would always be some bug, some problem. Thus, so far this year, he had already resorted to using Maisy¡¯s Debugging Depot four times. Two of these times, his submissions had been returned in excellent condition, netting him A¡¯s - Tauruk could instantly tell that they were the handiwork of the ¡®madman.¡¯ The third time and fourth time, however, it took a little while longer to receive back, and they just didn¡¯t have the same reliable luster to them - they reacted slower to activate and lacked the same neat and tidy organization. Tauruk suspected that it wasn¡¯t the ¡®madman¡¯ who had been the one to debug these ones, but since he still received B+¡¯s on both, he wasn¡¯t too upset. He could only hope that next time, it could be the madman again. However, by this point in the second semester, he was in a bind. During the first semester, after walking around tirelessly for over a year to get anywhere on campus, he had finally decided to splurge and buy a basic hoverboard from the task market. Although he felt that ultimately this purchase was worth it, as it saved him a lot of effort and time, it also nearly depleted his savings of points. For the past three months, he had been living almost paycheck to paycheck, and thus was unable to use Maisy¡¯s Debugging Depot with good conscious. That was until a few days ago. ¡°It¡¯s a bonus! Please take it, you¡¯ve worked hard,¡± his employer Professor Yokoran had said, handing him a paystub. Although Tauruk had thanked him and accepted it gratefully, in truth, he was left confused. He knew better than anyone that he was an average worker at best - he was a simple lab assistant helping Professor Yokoran conduct research on spatial manipulation formations. Although the topic was certainly advanced, Tauruk himself didn¡¯t do anything particularly special, and thus, it didn¡¯t pay much more than the average first or second year job. To receive a random bonus for ¡®hard work¡¯... that was completely unexpected! That wasn¡¯t the only thing. Ever since the start of the semester, lucky coincidences seemed to occur more and more. For example, just the previous month, when he had trouble with one of his constructions in Primary Barrier Formations, he was kindly given a free week-long extension. The professor was famed to be strict, so Tauruk had been shocked at his generosity. And then, just a week ago, as he was heading toward his usual spot at the academic center, he found two coupons laid out on his desk, each providing a free debugging by Maisy¡¯s Debugging Depot. Tauruk had at first thought it was a prank, but he showed them to a collector for the service, and they confirmed that they were legitimate. Had someone left them there by accident? Or was it a gift? Either way, Tauruk wouldn¡¯t hesitate to take advantage. But still, underneath his giddiness, he couldn¡¯t help but be left with an strange feeling. Overall, the most puzzling thing was the sudden willingness of his professors to help him. The first semester, although he hadn¡¯t gone to his professors¡¯ office hours particularly often, each time he sought assistance, it had been like fishing for a guppy within a tall well - the professors were always busy and seemingly unavailable. Yet ever since the second semester had started, his new classes¡¯ professors had suddenly turned very nice, even approaching him on occasion asking if he needed any help. Maybe he had just picked good teachers, ones much better than his first semester ones? He had thought that for a while, but despite being grateful, he couldn¡¯t help but feel it was a bit odd.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. But out of everything, the weirdest thing had happened just earlier that day. That morning, an upperclassman named Koriander (named after the famous figure) came to his lecture hall to make an announcement. He explained that he headed an on-campus tutoring agency called ¡®Koriander Basics¡¯ - if an underclassman was struggling in any of their courses, they could pay a fee to receive tutoring sessions from their collection of experienced upperclassmen. Many of the students in the class had heard about it, some even having used it before. After some struggle amongst his fellow students, Tauruk managed to snag a coupon from this Koriander. Apparently, they were having a promotion, and some lucky few who wished to use the service could receive a 70% discount for a whole month of tutoring (- the ¡®month¡¯ consisted of four two-hour sessions, netting a total of eight hours of tutoring). The strange thing was, Koriander only held five measly coupons within his hands, and an entire crowd of underclassmen had crowded around him to try to receive one, yet somehow, it was Tauruk in the very back that had managed to grab one. It was almost like it was presented to him. He stared down at the coupon now. Koriander Basics - Discount. Come now to receive a 70% discount on our month-long tutoring package! 200 points -> 60 points. The originally 200 point four-session package had been reduced to only 60 points. Such a thing could only be described as a steal! 60 points for multiple sessions of specialized guidance from an experienced upperclassman? Who wouldn¡¯t take that? The entire past year, Tauruk had thought about getting a tutor, but they were incredibly expensive. Most good ones charged 30 points an hour or more, and thus, he just wasn¡¯t able to justify it with his meager savings. But now, he was able to purchase a whole series of sessions for just 60 points? This was a great opportunity! - Tauruk decided to go visit the address of the agency the very next day to plan out his lessons. Yet still, even as he made up his mind, he couldn¡¯t shake a suspicious feeling from his heart. ---------- ¡°I¡¯m here for my first session,¡± Tauruk spoke kindly to the receptionist at the front desk. He was currently standing inside the lobby of a small building on the outskirts of campus, labeled on the outside as ¡®Koriander Basics.¡¯ The space was simple and clean, with various advertisements and pictures of students, presumably tutors, laid out on the walls. ¡°Sure! Name?¡± The receptionist asked, flipping through a booklet of appointments. ¡°Tauruk Gorulon.¡± ¡°Great, there you are!¡± The receptionist checked out a box on the sheet and directed him toward the right. ¡°Your room is the second door to the left. Your tutor is already there, waiting for you.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± Tauruk nodded his head, turning toward that direction. By his side he carried two textbooks and two defective constructions he had recently been working on. Hopefully, the tutor could give him guidance about what he was misunderstanding. The previous day, after receiving the discount coupon for the agency from Koriander, he had immediately hopped on his hoverboard and visited the agency building in order to purchase the package and schedule his sessions. He scheduled one session for the very next day, and another every week after that. Even though he was receiving some more help from his professors, they honestly weren¡¯t that good at explaining things, so he needed all the support he could get. Many upperclassman had went through the same trials as the underclassmen, and thus could give more practical and relevant advice. Finding the second door to the left, Tauruk took a deep breath and opened it, stepping into the space. ¡°...¡± He froze, his eyes widening. There was a familiar person sitting at the table. Brown hair, innocent eyes¡­ there was no mistake. It was his squire, Emmet. Chapter 34 - Revelation In a study room within Koriander Basics. Emmet sat at the table, tapping his fingers. He couldn¡¯t help but be a bit nervous. How would Tauruk react, stepping into the room and seeing his own squire waiting to tutor him? Emmet had discussed it extensively with Maisy. The idea was, in order for Emmet to continue to attend the academy past the second year, the most practical method of action was to get Tauruk into the top half of the rankings, thus allowing Emmet to tag along and stay at the school. To do this, they needed to help improve Tauruk¡¯s understanding, and by extension grades, allowing him to place higher in the end of year assessment. Over the past months, Maisy had tried numerous other ways to let Emmet stay at the school, many that included trying to upgrade him to a full time student. Even after getting rejected by ¡®Stinger,¡¯ she immediately worked to convince other members of high-ranking faculty of Emmet¡¯s qualifications, utilizing the full extent of her fame to put pressure on them to act - working together, many of the board members had the power to override the headmaster. However, the process was unexpectedly slow, despite Maisy being an influential figure. Many of the board members took literally weeks to respond to her, and only with formulaic answers that didn¡¯t actually mean anything. She had tried to schedule personal meetings with a few of them, but the meetings that actually did occur were brief and meaningless, full of shaken heads and answers like ¡°maybe, but we just have to wait and see.¡± She supposed it could be expected from an institution so large and prestigious - it was hard to put a dent within the bureaucracy within a short amount of time. Further, many were unwilling to go against the headmaster. However, how could she put it¡­ even so, there was a weird stillness with the board¡¯s response. Part of it could be attributed to their busy schedules, but Maisy suspected something else - one related to social status. There was the simple fact that Emmet was a squire, and didn¡¯t come from noble blood. By that truth alone, it provoked certain prejudices. Maisy didn¡¯t know if that was the full reason, but there was no doubt that within this elitist society, there was a certain¡­ tone used when describing those from ¡®common¡¯ birth. Not seeing any progress within the slow school bureaucracy, Maisy quickly turned toward some other practical methods. And then, they immediately landed on the most obvious and practical option - they could focus their attention on Emmet¡¯s student, Tauruk, and ascertain he would advance past second year and carry Emmet along with him. Although Maisy didn¡¯t have a particularly good impression of Tauruk, many of the other options were somewhat unreliable, and she wanted to have a guarantee that Emmet could reach at least grade four. This method seemed to work the best within the school¡¯s rules. In this line of thinking, there was one other option Maisy had thought about - with her status, it was an easy matter to just forget about Tauruk and find someone else. Given any amount of time, she was confident she could search and find some other better-performing second year student who didn¡¯t have a squire - if they were willing, it was possible to simply move Emmet from Tauruk to the new student. Although, such a thing seldom happened at the school, and there would likely be some complicated paperwork. Hopefully, the bureaucracy wouldn¡¯t get in the way again. However, Emmet quietly raised his objections to this method. Although he wouldn¡¯t be entirely opposed to the plan if worst came to worst, he would still like to avoid that option if at all possible. Even though Tauruk wasn¡¯t necessarily favorable, he felt a certain responsibility to Torhah, Tauruk¡¯s father. Finding another student and abandoning Tauruk - would it look good to just desert Tauruk like that? It certainly didn¡¯t leave a good feeling inside Emmet¡¯s heart. Torhah was the reason he was even able to come here in the first place, after all. Weighing all the options, Emmet was convinced that the best method of action was to stack their bets on aiding Tauruk as much as possible and help him climb the rankings. After all, it wasn¡¯t like Tauruk was ever actively terrible to him, just distant and cold. Further, he wasn¡¯t too below the halfway mark in the rankings - hopefully, it wouldn¡¯t take too much to push him over the top. Thus, throughout the second semester so far, Maisy had tried numerous discrete ways to boost Tauruk¡¯s learning process, even scheduling appointments with his professors and employer and asking them to help him out (upon speaking with Maisy, all had immediately acquiesced). Yet, even with the extra help, it seemed Tauruk was still struggling. According to Maisy¡¯s investigation, the boy actually didn¡¯t have too much a problem with the written material, but consistently struggled with the constructions. Since the art of formations construction was a physically learned art, one full of rich experience, she eventually figured that he would most strongly benefit from specialized tutoring. The was when Emmet stepped in. Although Maisy was willing to personally tutor Tauruk herself, Emmet felt that he should give it a try first. Tauruk was his student, after all - since it was for Emmet¡¯s own benefit, he felt it should be him who should be responsible, especially since Maisy had already done so much. Despite her proclamation that he didn¡¯t have to worry about anything and just focus on his studies, Emmet realized that he couldn¡¯t always rely on Maisy for everything, and at a certain point, had to solve his own problems. It was probably better to start now. Although, that was harder said than done. How could the prideful Tauruk bear to receive help from his own squire? It wasn¡¯t like Emmet could just go up to him and offer him his services. In fact, he had actually attempted to do a similar thing multiple times in the past months, with no effect. Thus, Maisy thought of a solution. She quickly got in contact with a tutoring agency on campus, called ¡®Koriander Basics.¡¯ She knew its founder, so the process was smooth. They set up an agreement - the agency would find a way to get Tauruk into their services, and then, when Tauruk came in to get tutored, they would station Emmet inside as the new tutor. This way, they could somewhat organically set up a meeting for the two boys to talk on even ground. Hopefully, by then, Tauruk would see that Emmet really was qualified to help him, and then maybe he would be receptive to his aid. In Emmet¡¯s eyes, this method was the best, as it challenged Tauruk¡¯s fragile pride the least, and also had the possibility of improving their relations. If Emmet could pose as just one of regular tutors of the agency, Tauruk wouldn¡¯t have as many suspicions that he was in some way patronizing him. Although Emmet was at first still a bit nervous about his qualifications to assume this tutoring role, as he had never really officially tutored anyone before, Maisy quickly reassured him. After witnessing him mentor a whole dozen first year employees at her debugging service, she was more than confident that he not only had the technical qualifications required, but the teaching chops to do so. Just to be safe, Emmet got oriented a week early, entering the agency and meeting everyone there, and then doing a short tutoring session every day up until when Tauruk would arrive. He didn¡¯t really have a structure to his lessons and just emulated what he did for the first years as Maisy Debugging Depot, answering students¡¯ confused questions, but so far, it had gone well, each student seeming to gain a lot from what he had to say. And thus, Emmet now sat at the table inside the small tutoring room, a notebook and some tools lying in front of him. He eyed the door a bit nervously. How would Tauruk react to seeing him? Shf¡­ The door slid open. A slightly overweight, haggard-looking teenager stepped into the room. His face peered in, and then rested on Emmet. Immediately, his eyes widened.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°...Emmet¡­?¡± ¡°Hey, Tauruk!¡± Emmet tried to say as enthusiastically as possible. ¡°Welcome to Koriander Basics. They told me I¡¯m your tutor for today.¡± ¡°...¡± Tauruk stared at Emmet like he was staring at a ghost. ¡°Would you like to take a seat?¡± Emmet asked, gesturing toward the chair next to him. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Tauruk finally asked, gripping the door¡¯s handle tightly. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± His voice trembled, as if he was on the verge of losing it. ¡°Ah, um¡­ I¡¯m actually a tutor here¡­¡± Emmet explained. ¡°I¡¯m pretty experienced on all the topics you said you were struggling with, so they assigned me¡­¡± Chk¡­ Tauruk didn¡¯t say another word, stepping away and closing the door behind him. Emmet could only sigh. -------------- ¡°Receptionist!¡± Tauruk strode up to the front desk once again, this time a bit of urgency in his voice. ¡°Hm?¡± The receptionist looked up and made a curious face. ¡°Is there a problem?¡± ¡°Where¡¯s my tutor?¡± Tauruk asked. ¡°You said he would be there, but I only see¡­ someone else... there.¡± ¡°Hm?¡± The receptionist formed a confused face. She looked down and leafed through her booklet again. ¡°He¡¯s not there? It should be¡­ let¡¯s see, it¡¯s Emmet who is your tutor for today¡­ was he not in the room?¡± Tauruk stilled, his face turning white. ¡°You know, you lucked out,¡± the receptionist looked up and smiled. ¡°That guy is amazing. He works at Maisy¡¯s Debugging Depot, and apparently, he has a nickname there as¡­ what was it, yes, the ¡®madman.¡¯ Supposedly, he¡¯s great about mentoring the first years at that service too. We¡¯re lucky he¡¯s taken his talents here!¡± ¡°...madman¡­?¡± Tauruk¡¯s face froze like a still toy. Holding onto the receptionist desk, he wobbled a bit dizzily, almost seeming like he would lose his balance. ¡°You said¡­ the madman?¡± ¡°Oh, so you¡¯ve heard of him!¡± The receptionist seemed to interpret Tauruk¡¯s shock as amazement. ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s true, that guy is really incredible. Apparently, he¡¯s really close with Maisy Harbinger herself. Maybe that¡¯s where he got his insane skills.¡± At that moment, the receptionist on the other side of the desk had overheard them and turned toward them: ¡°Oh, Emmet, the ¡®madman¡¯! Yeah, that guy is awesome, I was super excited to meet him in person. He was super nice and even agreed to debug my level two warding formation for a discount price! Sure enough, it was quickly returned, even better and faster than before!¡± ¡°...¡± Staring at the receptionists with whirling eyes, Tauruk¡¯s mind was completely blank. He really didn¡¯t know what to think. What the hell was going on?! --------------- Two hours later, Tauruk staggered out of the Koriander Basics building, his eyes hazy and his face completely stunned. In two hours, his world had been turned upside down. Never in a million years would he have thought that Emmet, a mere squire, could be so skilled, so knowledgeable - throughout this session, his preconceived notions had been challenged again and again. Tauruk still remembered that scene from the very first day of classes - Emmet had arrived late to first lecture, receiving the ridicule of the entire class, and embarrassingly failing to answer a teacher¡¯s basic level question. What happened to that? All along, had he just been hiding his knowledge? As his mind swirled, Tauruk found he truly did not know. It looked like after all, his dad had been completely right. This boy really was something special. After receiving that mind-shocking revelation from the receptionist, Tauruk had at first spent some time sitting in the lobby, just thinking. For the first time, he had pondered on his view of Emmet. Was it possible¡­ that his interpretation had been completely wrong? He had known that this boy had a job as a debugger, but just assumed that was some kind of manual trial and error thing, the kind of thing even a squire could do. To work for Maisy Debugging Depot, and be the ¡®madman¡¯ himself, someone even he had respected¡­ how could not be unbelievable? Even then, he didn¡¯t know if he fully believed it. However, it seemed to be the truth. He had even asked several other passerbys if they knew about Emmet, and a few of them reaffirmed his reputation as the ¡®madman.¡¯ If this was a conspiracy, it was an extensive one. After making up his mind, he had steadied himself and slowly dragged his feet back to the tutoring room. They could at least talk, and figure out what was going on. After all, he had paid for this tutoring session. If he walked out now, what would it all be for? He didn¡¯t expect Emmet to teach him anything. But maybe if he at least begrudgingly gave it a try¡­? That turned out to be the correct decision. Although, in the beginning of the lesson, Tauruk was at first stone-faced and reluctant, and the atmosphere turned undeniably awkward, he immediately realized that Emmet was the real deal. Within minutes, he began engaging seriously with Emmet, asking him difficult questions, and one after another, they were easily explained. By the end, Tauruk could only sit numb in dumb shock at the gap between them. Over his entire educational experience, he had no recollection of ever hearing such clean cut and easily understandable explanations, and of such complex concepts! It was like Emmet¡¯s words were magic. Tauruk would lay out something that he didn¡¯t understand (no matter how much he asked teachers or read textbooks), and Emmet would just say a few short simple phrases, and then suddenly, everything would just make sense. All along, it turned out the concepts had been intuitive; they had just been surrounded by sheaves of complex language and roundabout explanation. An entire set of lectures from one of his professors had been elucidated to him from just fifteen minutes of explanation from Emmet. Throughout the entire session, Emmet was incredibly patient, seeming to hold no grudge at all with Tauruk. With his steady and practiced cadence, it was clear he was used to doing this kind of thing, likely from other tutoring and mentoring underclassmen at his debugging job. But still, Tauruk was grateful for his calm attitude. After how he had treated Emmet over the past year and a half, he wouldn¡¯t have been surprised if Emmet had some negative feelings. After going over material from his classes, Tauruk soon got to the meat of his problem: he pulled out his two unfinished constructions and showed them to Emmet, hoping he could receive some help. Those two constructions were the two weekly constructions he had to do for his classes, and like always, he was stuck. He was planning to use a Maisy Debugging Depot coupon to fix one of them, but had figured that he should probably first go to the tutoring session to try to get his misunderstandings solved. As soon as the constructions entered his eyes, it was like Emmet had entered another mode. His eyes had lit up, and he had immediately brought them over and examined them. A mere two minutes later, he had detected the problem in both. After explaining the error in Tauruk¡¯s construction (the order of circuitry was flopped), he took eight more minutes more to debug the first one, his hands moving like a series of quick flashes. The second one, he left to Tauruk to fix, and gave some tricks of the trade for efficient and quick debugging. At that moment, Tauruk finally knew. It was all true. Emmet was the ¡®madman.¡¯ Only a madman could debug a formation in less than ten minutes - that was an absolutely insane pace! At the time, his jaw had hung low. A mere squire was actually the famed ¡®madman¡¯ of Maisy Debugging Depot. If others knew... Now, two hours later, as he dazedly walked out from the tutoring agency building toward where he had parked his hoverboard, a moment of realization hit him. If Emmet was the ¡®madman¡¯... then that meant he likely really was close to Maisy Harbinger. If that was true¡­ then all the strange things made sense. The coupons, the strange kindness of his professors, his bonus from his employer¡­ it all fit together like a puzzle. They had occurred because of Maisy¡¯s influence - Emmet had been silently helping him from behind the scenes the entire time. Likely, this entire tutoring session had been set up so that they could meet head to head and help him. Because of Tauruk¡¯s stubbornness, he had to resort to something like this. He stopped in his step, and his stomach lurched unexpectedly. He suddenly felt an enormous feeling of shame overwhelm him. How stupid was he? Thinking about it now, he recalled countless scenes where he had nonchalantly ignored Emmet over the past year and a half, as if he wasn¡¯t even worth looking at. After all, the boy was originally just a simple farmer. It was only because of Torhah, his nosy father, that he was here. But now, Tauruk could see the overall context. It was him who had been the idiot the entire time. His stupid pride had blocked the truth. Emmet, his squire, was completely superior. And he wasn¡¯t ashamed to admit that. Chapter 35 - Maisytown Maisy¡¯s rollercoaster ride was a big hit. Well¡­ not to students. Although the busy scholars of Gemini Academy all became aware of the humongous structure that had appeared on campus (having read the announcements of its grand opening posted everywhere), they didn¡¯t rush to go ride the ride. It was 25 points each time, were they crazy? How could they sacrifice their precious points like that, just to go for a brief joyride on such a structure? The whole thing was frankly ridiculous. Each and every student on campus was incredibly busy to the point of losing all of their sleep and even their sanity. Every week, it was like another arduous journey that they had to struggle to complete, leaving them no time or mental capacity for anything else. Thus, after witnessing the scale of Maisy¡¯s Mega Marvel for the first time, they were all completely flabbergasted. No one could imagine how a student attending the school like them could possibly have the leisure time to build such a huge and unnecessary structure. Was the school such a joke for them? They were too bored, they needed to find something better to do? Knowing that it was Maisy Harbinger who had built it, however, many came to an understanding. Out of all students, they supposed she had the funds, time, and genius to make such a thing happen. Although, they couldn¡¯t help but still be completely and utterly dumbfounded. The gap was just too large. Outside of the student population, however, it was a complete different story. From the day of opening, hordes and hordes of city people flocked toward the new attraction. Technically, the campus was open to the public, so anyone could walk in and tour, and the visitors took full advantage - after exchanging their real money for on-campus points, they could freely purchase anything on campus. Thus, after hearing that the famous Maisy Harbinger was opening up a new rollercoaster attraction within the Gemini Academy, many rushed to try it out, including a large demographic of wealthy lords who didn¡¯t have much better to do. Quickly, it became trendy to take their kids to the attraction and make a day out of it. The reception to the ride turned out amazing. Visitor after visitor who came out to the ride loved it, many riding multiple times consecutively. Good reviews flooded out throughout noble circles, causing local publications to glow with positive words about the new attraction - as expected of Maisy Harbinger, her eccentricity was just as rumored! Around the area in campus, loud collective screams could be heard constantly crying out from the distance, annoying students. What was this? Was this still a school or an amusement park? Around the base of the rollercoaster, a market economy suddenly began to develop. To take advantage of the crowd of people that would form every day, a few initial opportunistic students first started food stand and restaurant businesses around the walking area, each agreeing to pay a small tax to lease the space from Maisy. After that came some other recreational activity stands and souvenir stores, and eventually, a sizeable ¡®village¡¯ had formed around the originally grassy plain area. Becoming known as ¡°Maisytown,¡± this village in of itself began to attract some tourists. After receiving some noise complaints from annoyed students studying nearby the attraction, including some employees from the Maisy Debugging Depot, Maisy quickly installed a large sound-dampening formation array surrounding the entire area, which pretty much silenced the clamor. Still, everyone noticed a drastic increase in pedestrian traffic around the campus, and when seeing the new surge of sightseers, couldn¡¯t help but shake their heads. This Maisy sure was scary - her empire was expanding! As for Emmet, he continued to visit Koriander Basics for two hours every week to tutor Tauruk. Shockingly, after the first week, Tauruk seemed to have had a change in personality, diligently listening to Emmet¡¯s explanations and thanking him at the end of every lesson. Thus, all the lessons were productive, and they made quick progress. Seeing how smooth the breakthroughs were, to cover material even faster, Emmet began assigning Tauruk a few pages of homework each time. Each week, Tauruk would complete these assignments without complaint, not afraid to ask Emmet questions when he was confused about something. Before they knew it, the two became much more comfortable around each other, conversing with each other normally. The biggest change in their relationship, however, happened the fourth week. That day, Tauruk had walked in, bowed, and solemnly apologized for his previous behavior. Surprised, Emmet immediately felt that such a gesture was unnecessary, but quickly accepted it. He couldn¡¯t help but be glad. He had hoped their relations could improve, and it looked like that was finally happening.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. After that, it was like a barrier broke, and there was a drastic change in Tauruk¡¯s attitude. Whenever he saw Emmet, he would smile and say hi, even coming over and chatting with him for a bit. The fifth week, he invited him for a casual meal, just between two friends, and through that, they were able to further mend their relationship. This change of conduct raised some eyebrows among the other boys in 427 - Tauruk would actively greet Emmet whenever he saw him, and when that happened inside their dorm, the other boys could only be stunned. Along with this change, Tauruk suddenly became much more diligent in his studies, his productivity and work ethic rising to new heights. Maybe it was the power of shame, maybe it was the stress of the incoming end of year assessment, or maybe it was because he was grateful for the new help. But above all, it was probably because he was finally making headway in his classes. With the assistance of Emmet, it was like he could finally properly learn the material of his classes. He hadn¡¯t felt such a feeling of bliss in a long time. After Tauruk¡¯s month-long tutoring package ran out, the two continued to have sessions independently, often right in their dorm study rooms for convenience. In reality, Tauruk wasn¡¯t too bad at the concepts - he could even be considered talented, even within the context of this crazy school. However, at the core, he found physically constructing the formations difficult, and would spend hours just trying to figure them out. With Emmet, a constructions and debugging expert, assisting him, these roadblocks were cleared one by one. There were dividends to this intense learning process. Within a few weeks, Tauruk¡¯s grades had skyrocketed. The most recent two exams, he had received an A and an A-, respectively. Most importantly, Tauruk¡¯s constructions had quickly improved in quality, at this point netting more high-B and A-range scores than anything else. Because of this sudden change, his status among his professors instantly rose, and along with it, Tauruk¡¯s overall mood began to improve. Now that his time was spent more efficiently, he found more time to sleep, and gradually became more fit and energetic. Quickly, he began to lose his excess weight and finally shaved off his weird spotty stubble. Within the second month of these sessions, Emmet was satisfied enough with Tauruk¡¯s understanding of the current concepts to move on to introducing some new material not covered within any of his courses. The end of year assessment at the end of the second year would be even more difficult than the first year¡¯s, and would cover a wider array of basic topics, so it was better to be over prepared than not. Knowing that the assessment was quickly coming, Tauruk smartly shut his mouth, buckled down, and became even more focused in his studies. It wasn¡¯t only his reputation on the line, but Emmet¡¯s livelihood too. After all that Emmet was doing for him, he couldn¡¯t fail him! As for Emmet himself, in this time, aside from tutoring Tauruk, his usual schedule continued pretty much as normal. Aside from continuing to debug more advanced formations, reading through more advanced textbooks, and taking on more and more complicated tasks, he found he had begun to spend more time with Maisy. The two would often chat together during breaks at work, and even spend some time together on weekends. The last month of the year began. ------------ Once again, as the year approached its close, and the end of year assessment loomed near, students began to become increasingly stressed, desperately studying to keep up with everyone else. The weather got colder, and thus, less people came to Maisy¡¯s rollercoaster ride, so the campus also got quieter. Inside Maisy¡¯s Debugging Depot, a large group of anxious first years surrounded Emmet, waiting to approach Emmet with their confusions. Over the months, Emmet had been an invaluable resource for them, kindly giving them explanations for concepts they were struggling with. Winning a reputation as a great teacher, as the year went on, he had only become more and more popular, and every break, there would be a growing queue of students patiently lining up to ask for some assistance. Today was no exception. Despite work having already ended, a group of students still automatically gathered around to catch Emmet on the way out. Each student was stressed. In merely a month, they would undergo their very first end of year assessment. Were they ready? Would they do alright? They all automatically came to Emmet with their worries. ¡°Alright, alright sheesh!¡± Maisy came over and swept her hand around playfully. ¡°He''s already off work, you damn leeches! You can ask him whatever you want later.¡± Peering toward Maisy, the first years all let out reluctant laughs. However, they still obediently backed off, thanking Emmet and packing their own stuff to leave. They could ask their questions tomorrow, they supposed. Emmet was always willing to help. ¡°Maisy,¡± Emmet turned and laughed. ¡°There wasn¡¯t a need for that. I have time today.¡± Maisy only smiled laughingly. ¡°Emmet, what do you think about taking a ride out tonight? Just you and me.¡± ¡°Hm¡­?¡± Emmet was surprised for a brief moment, but quickly, his eyes brightened, and he immediately acquiesced. ¡°That¡¯d be nice!¡± ¡°Great!¡± Maisy reached over to pat Emmet¡¯s head, which was now up past her shoulders - this past year, he had grown another three inches. ¡°Come with me.¡± Chapter 36 - Wings The two walked out from the back door of the company building, striding down a path for a some time, until they reached a small, familiar shed. Inside of the open garage, there was a parked formations construction. With one glance, Emmet recognized it. ¡°Is that¡­¡± ¡°Yup, a flying Gigorian-style vehicle. The very same you saw when we first met,¡± Maisy explained. ¡°Aside from some upgrades, of course. I figured we could take a nice flight, just like old times.¡± Emmet immediately assented. The two crawled into the car and strapped in. Within moments, the vehicle lit up in a rainbow radiance, and a moment later, they lifted off from the ground into the sky. ¡°Phew¡­¡± Emmet looked over the side of the railing and peered down at the rapidly shrinking ground beneath them. Soon enough, the people walking amongst the streets had turned into little ants, and the buildings turned into little models that the ants walked in and out of. The wind blew noisily around him, and both their hairs fluttered wildly in the breeze. It was beautiful. In the night landscape, only lights from the formation streetlamps and windows could be seen, creating an amazing dotted portrait. ¡°How has the Gemini Academy been so far?¡± Maisy asked. ¡°...the academy¡­?¡± Emmet stilled for a moment, and then smiled. ¡°Thanks to you, it¡¯s been amazing.¡± Maisy glanced toward Emmet and gave a knowing smile, reaching over once again to pat his head. After that, they didn¡¯t speak - silently, they just stared forward out into the dark night sky. However, it wasn¡¯t awkward. Standing in peaceful silence, they felt comfortable - there was no pressure to talk, they just enjoyed each other¡¯s company. As Emmet alternated his gaze down toward the ground underneath and then back up toward the stoically stanced Maisy operating the vehicle beside him, he couldn¡¯t help but reminisce on his time at the school so far. It had seemed just like yesterday when he first arrived, a young starry-eyed little farmer boy who had just come to learn about puzzles. Two years later¡­ had he changed? His eyes turned assured. Yes, he had changed, he knew he had. In terms of pure knowledge, two years ago, he had not known even a hundredth of what he knew today. But more importantly, he felt he had grown mentally. No longer did the towering skyscrapers scare him, nor the bright formations, nor the fancily dressed people. Even as he stared at them head on, he wouldn¡¯t falter. And Maisy¡­ Emmet glanced silently toward her, admiring her long jet-black hair and headstrong demeanor. She was the one who had allowed him to experience this change. Without her, these two years, he doubted he would have had such a drastic advancement, if at all. The flying vehicle slowed and then began to descend down toward the front of a familiar admissions office - it was the same one Emmet frequently visited to check his points, located on the western side of campus. His face turned curious. ¡°Where are we going?¡± ¡°I have to make a points transfer,¡± Maisy¡¯s face was mischievous for some reason. ¡°Is that okay?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Emmet nodded. ¡°I¡¯m glad to accompany you.¡± Thinking about it, Emmet realized that over the years, Maisy must have had to deal with a lot of financial management responsibilities, considering how she now ran two businesses - not only her debugging business, but now her roller coaster attraction. As she now had authority over almost a hundred employees, it must have been demanding to keep up with. The vehicle landed softly on the walk in front of the large admissions office building and slowly powered off. ¡°What do you think about work, Emmet?¡± Maisy suddenly asked. ¡°About my debugging depot.¡± Emmet blinked twice, not understanding. ¡°You know I love work more than anything, Maisy.¡± ¡°You can¡¯t get enough of it? You want more?¡± Maisy further prodded. ¡°Ah¡­ yes,¡± Emmet admitted. If it were up to him, he would probably spend half his day working at the depot, debugging formations and engaging in studies. The space was just plain comfortable - any time Emmet clocked in for work, he felt at home. ¡°That¡¯s good then,¡± Maisy said mysteriously, before taking Emmet¡¯s hand and walking toward the entrance of the admissions office. The two walked through the door, and peering in, Emmet¡¯s face once again brightened. Borokov was at the front desk! The two immediately waved toward each other, and Emmet excitedly led Maisy toward his desk. ¡°Borokov! How have you been?¡± Emmet smiled widely. ¡°Haha, better than ever!¡± Borokov cracked a laugh. ¡°I¡¯m making the most of my final year.¡± Emmet nodded with a slight smile. The two had talked about it - Borokov didn¡¯t have high hopes of passing the assessment past this year, his fourth year. However, he didn¡¯t mind at all. On the contrary, he couldn¡¯t wait to return home - he wasn¡¯t too interested in high level formations theory, anyway. If he could just get a good enough job to start saving up enough to get his dream car, he was satisfied. ¡°Um, Borokov, this is Maisy,¡± Emmet gestured toward Maisy. ¡°I know,¡± Borokov nodded, smiling slightly as he glanced toward her. ¡°Who doesn¡¯t know Maisy Harbinger? Nice to meet you, Maisy. I¡¯m Borokov.¡± He extended a hand.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Maisy smiled back and accepted his shake. ¡°Nice to meet you too, Borokov. Thanks for taking care of Emmet.¡± She glanced toward the large scanning machine to the side of the desk. ¡°I need to make a points transfer, so do you think I could do that here?¡± ¡°Sure,¡± Borokov agreed. ¡°What¡¯s the transfer?¡± Maisy reached into her pocket and pulled out her student ID card, which at this point looked a bit faded - clearly, it had been used a lot. ¡°Could you please make a points transfer...¡± She paused. ¡°Let¡¯s say, of a million points. Could you transfer it...¡± She turned toward Emmet and gestured, clearly asking for his card. Puzzled, Emmet took his card out and handed it to Maisy. ¡°...to this card?¡± Maisy held up Emmet¡¯s unimpressive silver ID card. ¡°Can that be done?¡± ¡°Wha?¡± Emmet turned toward Maisy and gawked, his eyes widening like saucers. ¡°M¡­ M-Maisy¡­ wh¡­ what¡­¡± He wasn¡¯t the only one. Borokov also stared at Maisy a bit incredulously and involuntarily gulped. ¡°Ah¡­ um, yeah. We can do that...¡± Borokov reached out and accepted Maisy and Emmet¡¯s cards, his hands shaking. He slowly brought Maisy¡¯s card to his scanning machine. A moment later, his face turned pale. Sure enough, the total balance on the card had two commas, and then some... ¡°A-A million points?¡± Borokov stuttered out in question. ¡°Yeah,¡± Maisy nodded. ¡°Alright¡­ yes, that can be done. I need both of your mana signatures¡­¡± Borokov¡¯s face was stiff. Maisy casually extended out her hand toward the machine, but Emmet merely stood there, his face blank. What was going on? ¡°Maisy, how can¡­ what are you?¡± Emmet¡¯s stuttering voice let out. ¡°You said you like work, didn¡¯t you?¡± Maisy teased. ¡°Do you like it enough to take over? You know, fair warning, it¡¯s quite a tedious job.¡± Emmet merely stood there with glazed eyes. ¡°T-take over¡­ but... ¡° ¡°Are you willing to?¡± Maisy asked again. ¡°Yes, of course!¡± Emmet started. ¡°But¡­ me¡­ how can¡­¡± ¡°Ok, then to operate my businesses, you need funds. Let¡¯s sign,¡± Maisy grabbed Emmet¡¯s hand and lifted it up toward the mana signature device. Dazedly letting her do so, he performed the action, the two channeling their mana and inputting it into the device. A moment later, it rung with a successful sound. ¡°Um¡­¡± Borokov stood up a bit straighter, addressing the two people in front of him a bit more seriously. ¡°The transfer is too large to go through all at once, so¡­ 100,000 points will be transferred each week until the collective sum is delivered. Is that okay?¡± Maisy nodded. ¡°Thank you very much.¡± ¡°Of course,¡± Borokov finally smiled, glancing toward the stone-faced Emmet with pure wonder. ------------ It wasn¡¯t until Maisy and Emmet were back up high in the air that Emmet came back to reality. He turned toward Maisy with panicked eyes. ¡°Maisy¡­ you can¡¯t! How can¡­¡± ¡°Do you think you can handle it?¡± Maisy asked calmly. Emmet thought for a moment, and then nodded. ¡°...Yes.¡± ¡°Then as long as you accept it, starting from next year, the Maisy Debugging Depot as well as my Mega Marvel ¡®village¡¯ are your businesses,¡± Maisy patted Emmet¡¯s head. ¡°Please take care of them.¡± She glanced amusedly toward Emmet¡¯s flushed face. ¡°Don¡¯t worry, in this last month, I¡¯ll make sure to extensively train you, so you¡¯ll be prepared when it happens.¡± ¡°Yes...¡± Emmet hurriedly nodded. Obviously, he was ecstatic to take over Maisy¡¯s businesses, but it was still really sudden. He couldn¡¯t help but be incredulous of Maisy¡¯s choice. She had entrusted them to him? A second year squire? He couldn¡¯t help but gulp. If this was what Maisy wished, he would spare no effort to maintain her businesses and make sure her legacy wasn¡¯t ruined. A long silence ensued, and the two stared out toward the horizon, where the line of bright formation lights stopped and darkness began. It provided a calming sensation, like the sensation of a calm sea breeze. Whoosh! Suddenly, there was a wave a turbulence in the air, and Emmet panickedly stumbled for a moment, causing him to flail around. Fearful of his life, he quickly leaned over and tightly embraced Maisy. Feeling Emmet¡¯s panicked grip, Maisy could only crack up, and after Emmet had recovered, the two looked at each other and once again began laughing heartedly. ¡°Remember the first time I met you?¡± Maisy laughed. ¡°You were so scared that you hugged me tight the entire trip.¡± ¡°Oh, that¡¯s right¡­¡± Emmet a bit embarrassedly remembered. ¡°That won¡¯t happen anymore, huh?¡± Maisy teased. Emmet thought for a moment. Suddenly, as if spurred by the moment, he turned and once again hugged Maisy across the waist, sinking his head deep into Maisy¡¯s side as if wanting to be with her forever. ¡°...!¡± Maisy was at first surprised, but a moment later, her eyes turned soft. Letting out a soft sigh, she embraced him in return, patting his head reassuringly. The two landed down in front of the 3C dorm, a familiar sight for both of them at this point. Since it was late, there weren¡¯t too many people walking around, just a few late night dwellers. The two stepped out of the vehicle, and Maisy casually brought out a little light blue pendant necklace from her pocket. It was a cute little thing, a set of two angel wings connected by a little blue ball, dimly glowing within the darkness. She extended it over toward Emmet. ¡°For you.¡± ¡°Huh?¡± Emmet¡¯s face couldn¡¯t help but turn red. ¡°For¡­ for me?¡± ¡°They¡¯re wings,¡± Maisy laughed, reaching over and placing the necklace over his head. ¡°Look, I¡¯m placing them on you.¡± She stepped back to admire him for a moment, nodding in satisfaction. ¡°Now, you can fly.¡± ¡°Wings¡­¡± Emmet was stunned. ¡°You like it?¡± Maisy asked. ¡°Yeah¡­ I do,¡± Emmet nodded seriously, his face a bit red. He glanced down at the pendant, admiring its shape and color. ¡°Thank you, big sis Maisy.¡± ¡°Hahaha... for my cute squire boy, it¡¯s no problem,¡± Maisy gave a signature thumbs up. The two shared another heartfelt glance, and then Maisy turned and got back into her flying formations vehicle. With a final wave, the vehicle soared up, and within a minute, she had disappeared in the distance, no longer visible with the naked eye. ¡°...¡± Within the quiet environment of the night, Emmet couldn¡¯t help but feel a bit emotional. He turned his gaze downward down the pendant lying across his chest. Wings¡­ Maisy had granted him wings. With them, he could now fly up through the sky. After a few moments of pondering, Emmet looked back up toward the night sky, bringing his gaze toward the moon directly overhead. In an empty black sky devoid of any other object, it was a centerpiece of the world, literally and figuratively - forever in the same place in the sky, it was always high up above the clouds. A dimly lit celestial body, it provided only a thin cover of visibility for those down below without man-made illumination tools. However, when morning came, and the great rising crescent sun rotated back around, dawn would come. And it would be a new beginning. Chapter 37 - Results Maisy was right. Managing a business was a lot of work, especially a business the size of Maisy¡¯s Debugging Depot. In the next month, Maisy painstakingly walked Emmet through the intricacies of managing the business. This included managing profits, hiring and training employees, calculating and transferring wages, taking care of leasing issues, and registering the service in various job listings. Really, it was endless - throughout the training period, Maisy would often just go on and on in her explanations. Although Emmet was quick to pick it up, it was all no doubt time-consuming - in this month, as Emmet shadowed Maisy, he found that his time became pretty limited, and he was forced him to take on fewer tasks and spend some less time on his studies. However, even so, Emmet was more content than ever. Above all, being able to spend multiple hours a day with Maisy was a true blessing. When he thought about it, he realized that this would likely be the last time in a long while that he would be able see her regularly (or possibly at all), so he made sure to savor every moment. Further, although the responsibilities of Maisy¡¯s businesses were no doubt great, the benefits obviously outweighed the negatives. As for Maisy¡¯s rollercoaster ride, it temporarily closed down for the winter. As soon as it had gotten cold, and the first snow falls dotted the landscape, business had come to a standstill. However, since it had turned out to be so lucrative, Maisy recommended that Emmet reopen it in the spring. To make sure Emmet could handle it, Maisy periodically taught Emmet the various things she had learned about managing it in the past months - namely how to run the ride, do maintenance, pay fees, pass inspection, and collect taxes on the ¡®village.¡¯ Although Maisy had no way of showing Emmet directly, she trusted him to be able to pick it up where she left off. In this time, Emmet also continued tutoring Tauruk, even increasing the number of sessions from once to twice or three times a week. As the year rushed to a close, both boys felt some pressure, and so the lessons increased in intensity and pace, causing Tauruk to struggle a bit to keep up. However, since Tauruk had since transitioned into a receptive and diligent student, they were able to overcome the hurdles. Before Emmet knew it, the month had passed, and the end of year assessment arrived. The last week before the assessment, Emmet dropped some of his other activities and dedicated a large portion of his time to Tauruk, patiently working with him to make sure he had all his bases covered. At this point, Emmet had not only given him lectures in every basic subject, but had made sure he knew the theory and could construct from scratch all of the basic formation types. The last day before the end of year assessment, the two spent the entire day together, reviewing the entire cumulative material comprehensively. In this way, they could ascertain Tauruk would be able to pass the assessment, no matter what came up. Unexpectedly, perhaps it was the high stakes, or the common impending challenge, but this high-pressure situation served to create a bond between them, and the more time they spent with each other, the more they became comfortable in each others¡¯ presence. By this point, the two unknowingly had become friends. If Tauruk really pulled it off and managed to pass past the cut, the two agreed to once again room with each other the following year. Tauruk would often feel that the whole situation was mind-boggling. Just the previous year, he remembered becoming stressed out of his mind just before the assessment. Yet this year, even though the stakes were higher, with Emmet to talk to, he now felt much more at ease. Most of all, he just felt pressured to do well so he could carry Emmet onward to another two years. The morning of the assessment came, and Emmet got up early with Tauruk to send him off. The two stood outside the door and exchanged some last words. ¡°Good luck, I know you¡¯ll do well,¡± Emmet reassured. ¡°Ahhh¡­.¡± Tauruk seemed a bit stressed, bringing his hands up and tugging at his hair. ¡°Are you sure? I still feel like I don¡¯t completely understand barrier formation theory¡­ and that stuff about multilevel warding formations¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯ll be fine,¡± Emmet laughed, placing his hand on Tauruk¡¯s shoulder. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. With your current knowledge and skills, there¡¯s no way you¡¯re not at least within the top half.¡± ¡°Hah¡­¡± Letting out a short sigh, Tauruk seemed to be somewhat convinced. He glanced toward the clock formation on the wall. ¡°I should probably go now. But Emmet...¡± he met eyes with his squire. ¡°Thank you. For everything. Really.¡±This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. ¡°Of course!¡± Emmet smiled. The two shared a meaningful glance, and then Tauruk headed out. ------------------ A week and a half later. Within a loud overcrowded fountain square, three teenage boys stood at a large ranking boards, tracing their fingers along the list and looking for their places. Their names were Fontezul, Torkam, and Ralun, and they were three of the students living in dorm 3C room 427. ¡°Ah... ¡° Ralun¡¯s shoulders dropped. ¡°2650th. I didn¡¯t make it.¡± ¡°Me too,¡± Torkam¡¯s face also slumped. ¡°2987th.¡± They both turned toward the third boy, Fontezul, who didn¡¯t seem to be too happy either. ¡°What about you, Fontezul?¡± ¡°Passed¡­ just barely... 1898th,¡± Fontezul sighed lightly. ¡°Worse than last year.¡± ¡°Hey, better than us,¡± the two other boys reassured, coming over to pat his back. ¡°Congratulations, you made it!¡± ¡°Thanks¡­¡± Fontezul seemed to be a bit cheered up, but still, as he glanced toward his two friends, a trace of melancholy could be seen in his eyes. ¡°But you guys¡­ you all won¡¯t be here next year then... It¡¯ll just be me, huh?¡± He paused. ¡°Oh¡­ and Tauruk, did he make it? Where is that guy?¡± ¡°Tauruk¡­ He left before us, with his squire,¡± the two other boys glanced toward each other. ¡°He shouldn¡¯t have left yet.¡± The three exchanged some more weird glances, clearly a little uncomfortable with the topic. In the past few months, Tauruk had gradually become distant from the group. Often, he could be seen chatting humorously with his previously ignored squire, or hard at work studying even when there was downtime. The three had chalked the strange behavior up to pressure from the end of year assessment, but by now, they could clearly tell it was something more. ¡°Yes! We made it!¡± - a familiar two voices reached their ears. The three boys looked over, spotting two familiar figures - Tauruk and his squire, Emmet. They were staring toward a spot on the board a distance away from them, jumping up and down and cheering together. Clearly, from their reaction, something good had happened. ¡°Tauruk, you passed?¡± The three walked over curiouslly and asked. Tauruk looked over, and seeing the three boys, smiled broadly. ¡°Hey boys! Yeah, I passed, haha.¡± The three boys raised their eyebrows in a bit of surprise, bringing their gaze toward the board and locating Tauruk¡¯s name. Quickly, they were astonished. ¡°1387th¡­?¡± They stared back at Tauruk and suddenly noticed that he looked a lot healthier now. His jutting gut was gone, and his skin seemed to have cleared up. Not only that, he was standing up a bit straighter. And it showed, in his ranking - 1387th place¡­ that was more than a thousand places up from the previous year! What had happened, to allow him to improve so much? ¡°How¡¯d you guys do?¡± Tauruk quickly changed the subject, casually patting his hand over Emmet¡¯s shoulder and bringing him into the circle. Although the three felt a bit strange with Tauruk¡¯s squire standing there, they smartly ignored it and once again glanced toward each other with dejected looks. ¡°Fontezul passed, but the rest of us didn¡¯t...¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± Tauruk¡¯s voice lowered. ¡°...then our group¡­¡± ¡°Yeah¡­¡± All four of the boys quieted down in a newly depressed mood. ¡°It¡¯s over after this year.¡± A moment of depressed silence followed. ¡°Then¡­ Why don¡¯t we have a final party?¡± Tauruk finally suggested. ¡°A final hurrah of the boys of 427.¡± ¡°Hey¡­ I like the sound of that!¡± Fontezul slowly looked up, his eyes brightening. ¡°Same! Let¡¯s do it!¡± The two other boys echoed immediately, their forlorn expressions reverting into excited ones. ¡°Great!¡± Tauruk smiled broadly. He casually patted Emmet¡¯s shoulder. ¡°You don¡¯t mind if Emmet comes too, right?¡± ¡°...Emmet?¡± The three other boys glanced toward Emmet with blank expressions. ¡°Your squire?¡± ¡°Yeah,¡± Tauruk nodded, gesturing toward Ralun. ¡°Ralun, bring Jiro too. This¡¯ll be the last time we¡¯re together, so we should go all out.¡± ¡°...ah¡­ alright,¡± Ralun nodded slowly. ¡°How about this time, we do something fancy?¡± Tauruk become enthusiastic. ¡°Karaoke night at the Lordin! We¡¯ve always wanted to do it, but never had the points.¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± The three other boys looked hesitant. ¡°I mean, that sounds nice, but I still don¡¯t think we have the points¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯ll cover it,¡± Emmet¡¯s juvenile voice rang out. ¡°Huh?¡± The three other boys were startled, staring toward Emmet in surprise. ¡°I have a lot of points saved up,¡± Emmet explained, finding it kind of weird to finally be talking with these three boys. ¡°I¡¯m a squire, so I don¡¯t have to spend much.¡± ¡°You wouldn¡¯t mind¡­?¡± Fontezul¡¯s eyes wandered over toward Emmet curiously. Over the past year, he had only ever seen the boy around, and never actually had a real conversation with him, so this was a first. ¡°Yeah, no problem!¡± Emmet smiled easily. ¡°It¡¯s for the boys of 427, right? Let¡¯s end it with a bang.¡± Chapter 38 - Goodbye Four boys from room 427 stood on the curb of a lively large building on the corner of campus, placed within a busy street full of student-run businesses. They stared out toward the road, where two other boys pulled up in a colorful little formations car. ¡°Hey!¡± The two arriving boys stepped out of the car and waved toward the other four boys. ¡°Is that¡­ your car, Tauruk?¡± The four other boys gawked, glancing toward the well-built construction they had arrived in. ¡°What, did you win the lottery or something?¡± ¡°Hehe,¡± Tauruk smiled. ¡°It¡¯s not mine, it¡¯s Emmet¡¯s. And he built it himself.¡± He patted the boy next to him on the shoulder. The four other boys glanced toward Emmet with wide eyes. Was he joking? Even if given the resources, they knew that it would still probably be hard for them to construct something like that. Out of the four boys, Ralun¡¯s squire Jiro was the most incredulous of all. A squire, like him, had built something like that? Without further ado, the six strode into the restaurant, which Tauruk explained to be founded and ran by a pretty well-known current fifth year student - on the street, this was one of the most popular businesses. It had long become a goal of the four students to someday go there to celebrate, and it wasn¡¯t until now that they finally had a chance. The six approached the front desk and reserved a room for a few hours, a nicely decorated space where there was a long large table and large speaker system. Walking in and witnessing the luxurious atmosphere, all of the boys couldn¡¯t help but get excited all over again. ¡°Should we get this started?¡± The festivities began, and the boys went wild, putting on musical records and singing boisterously to songs that had become popular in recent years. At first, the interactions between squire and student were a bit awkward, but as alcoholic drinks flowed, the atmosphere quickly turned playful. Halfway in, they ordered five enormous platters of food, filling up the entire table¡¯s space, and ate to their full. Emmet was at first mystified by the experience as a whole, and in front of so many unknown people, was too timid to sing a song out loud - further, he didn¡¯t know any of the popular songs that many of these nobles knew! However, three drinks in, after getting to know everyone and witnessing them sing loudly and completely out of tune, he began to feel at ease, and eventually crowed out the songs together with everyone else. At the end of the session, the six finally finished off the food and went to the front desk to pay. Yet just as they were discussing how to split the check, sure enough, Emmet smiled and strode up to put the tab on his card. Seeing the payment go through with no problem, four of the others stared toward Emmet and were shocked speechless. It hadn¡¯t been a boast, after all. As they were walking out, Jiro turned toward Emmet and grabbed his shoulder with a drunken red face. ¡°Man¡­ you¡¯re an inspiration, Emmet.¡± Emmet could only smile earnestly. -------------- The next day, Tauruk, Emmet, and Fontezul all got together to talk about their future living arrangements. After some back and forth, they agreed that they all were getting along pretty well and agreed to room together once again in the following year. Thus, the following day, the three promptly set out and toured campus to search through some cheap apartments. After some searching, the three found a nice one near the spacious grasslands, only a few blocks from the Maisy Debugging Depot. Although it was a bit on the expensive end, Emmet offered to cover a large portion of the cost, which initially caused Tauruk and Fontezul to graciously refuse. However, after a large amount of reassurance from Emmet, in which he revealed just how wealthy he currently was, they agreed and could only gratefully express their appreciation. The day after that, the three signed a contract, and then began the moving process into the new apartment. Days quickly passed, and the end of the year approached. The day before the final day of break, Maisy gathered all the employees at the company and officially announced that Emmet would be taking over the following year. Upon hearing the news, many of the employees eagerly congratulated Emmet. All and all, Emmet was well-liked within the company, especially to the first years he had mentored all throughout the year, and since it was widely known he was Maisy¡¯s favorite, the news wasn¡¯t surprising. Although there were a few upperclassmen who were a bit disappointed that a relative underclassman had gotten the position, there was no one who doubted his qualifications.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. With this passing of ownership, a new era of the Maisy Debugging Depot officially began. And then, on the last day of break, the Gemini Academy graduation ceremony arrived. This wasn¡¯t just any graduation ceremony. This was the ceremony for the top graduates at the Gemini Academy! These 125 graduates had passed test after test, cut after cut, rising to the top of the most prestigious formations school in the world. Not one would not make some sort of impact on the formations world, becoming the elite figures of the new generation. Thus, this graduation ceremony was a major event, where thousands of notable personages would come to observe. Not only could they keep an eye on the rising new generation, but if someone caught their interest, they could rush to recruit them. Of course, that was easier said than done - every single student would certainly have many good options lined up for them. Along with thousands of other observers, Emmet was joined by a few other members of the Maisy Debugging Depot and funneled into the large ceremony hall, the very same used for freshman orientation. Maisy had used her influence to save them a spot near the front, so they were rather comfortable and could see the stage clearly. After a long aggrandizing speech from the headmaster ¡®Stinger,¡¯ the graduates were one by one called to the stage. As soon as Maisy was called, a resounding cheer erupted out throughout the crowd, everyone rising in a standing ovation. Among the graduates, she was undoubtedly the most famous. Who didn¡¯t know of her radical new theory creating waves throughout the formations world? Many felt that this was a historic moment before she would inevitably rise to prominence. Emmet also stood up to cheer her on. Just looking at her standing gloriously on stage, he felt a strong sense of pride, his eyes even watering a bit. This was her moment! There was no doubt, the entire world was now hers for the taking. And she deserved every bit of the glory. After the ceremony, Maisy was immediately inundated with hundreds of figures and reporters, some giving her generous offers and others bombarding her with questions. After patiently answering a few of the questions and denying the offers, she snuck off and met Emmet outside. This was Maisy¡¯s last day at the school. In just a few hours, she would have to leave campus and head out to the new position she had accepted a few months prior. Rather than taking a high-paying job within the city, Maisy had chosen to take a theoretical research position out in the undeveloped frontier - there, she would be more free to explore her formations craft, rather than be forced to assimilate to common city goal-oriented culture. Since it was far away, however, she would have to leave quickly after the ceremony, so there was only a few precious hours left. The two spent the last few hours together, happily chatting, as if this was just another tuesday. At this point, Maisy had already taken care of everything regarding her businesses, and the ownership deeds had already been passed on to Emmet, so there were little worries, and they spent the time leisurely. The hours passed incredibly quickly, and before they knew it, Maisy had to go. She gathered up her stuff, which consisted of five enormous formation-powered carriages, full of not only many of the various complicated formations she had created over the years, but mountains of expensive materials she had splurged on with her remaining points to take with her. With this backlog of materials, she would continue to be free to build whatever she felt, whenever she wanted. Before she left, the two shared a final hug. Then, Maisy got into one of the carriages, and the caravan set off. ¡°Stay in contact! Take care of my stuff for me!¡± ¡°Of course! Good luck on the frontier!¡± Maisy gave a final wave, and then she was gone. Emmet stared at her fading figure traveling down the city streets, an empty feeling pervading his chest. What was this feeling? Loss? He instinctively glanced down at the angel wing pendant lying across his chest and grasped it softly. There was no reason to be sad - he would eventually see her again. Right? ------------- That wasn¡¯t the only sad farewell. Later that day, Emmet, Tauruk, and Fontezul all gathered to send Ralun, Torkam, and Jiro off. They exchanged some final goodbyes, promising each other to stay in contact, and then the three left, dragging their baggage behind them. Unexpectedly, not only Tauruk and Fontezul, but Emmet also felt a bit sad seeing them go. Even though he had not talked with them much, in the past few days, he had suddenly felt that they weren¡¯t all too bad. Most of all, after two years of living in the same space, he had long gotten used to their presence, and no longer seeing them would be strange. However, what impacted Emmet more was sending Borokov off that night. As Borokov had anticipated, he had not made the cut from fourth year to fifth, and was heading home - however, it had been surprisingly close. He had only been fifty places away from the halfway point. However, Borokov wasn¡¯t disappointed. In contrast, he was happy to be heading back - he had missed his family dearly. Further, he was excited to start saving up for his dream car - at the academy, it was hard to earn excess income, unless you owned your own profitable business. At home, he had a job lined up, where he would finally start making the big bucks. Still, even knowing Borokov was happy, Emmet once again felt melancholic watching him go. During one of Emmet¡¯s vulnerable moments, Borokov had kindly helped him out, not looking down on such a ¡®bumpkin¡¯ at all. Since then, they had become good friends, always engaging in friendly discussion whenever Emmet visited the admissions office. Emmet couldn¡¯t imagine visiting the admissions office without him. They exchanged a final well wishes, and then Borokov left, his tiny figure waving casually from ahead before disappearing at a turn. With his two mentors leaving, Emmet suddenly felt that he had entered a new era of his school career. Chapter 39 - Silva Creature The new year started, and just as planned, Emmet took on the full role Maisy had left for him. Sure enough, he quickly got swept up in a hurricane of new responsibilities. Contractors, employees, fees, meetings¡­ all those blended together in Emmet¡¯s new busy schedule. Although he had witnessed just how hectic it would be in his month of training with Maisy, he was still swept away by all the various things he had to do, especially since it was the beginning of the year, and every day, there would always be some new thing he had to sort out, whether it was a contractor agreement, registration issue, or lease negotiation with the school. Complicating things further, this year, he also decided to institute some new changes within the company. In order to incentivize the current employees to come back and stay working at the depot, Emmet offered all of the debuggers still at the bottom tier (including all the new second years), promotions to higher 10 points/hour tier. Although Maisy had previously been a bit more conservative with her promotion offers, he found that all of the employees were qualified enough, and they had all worked hard, so there was no reason to be too stingy - thinking back to his discussions with Maisy, he felt that she would likely also agree with this sentiment. Further, this extra incentive could hopefully motivate them to work harder. After that, he further established a new third tier of employee that would earn 15 points/hour, and then immediately offered a dozen of the highest performing upperclassmen promotions to that top tier. At the end of each year, Emmet planned to repeat this process, granting those highest performing gracious rewards. Perhaps with this hierarchical system, it would inspire greater competitivity between the workers, causing everyone to collectively improve. Because of his efforts, nearly forty-five of the more than fifty original first year employees chose to accept the promotions and stay another year. Aside from the good pay, many had gained a lot from Emmet¡¯s mentorship over the past year, and thus, had developed some loyalty to the company - even if not offered promotions, many would have still returned. Apart from that, almost two-thirds of the other upperclassman employees who had made their cuts also chose to stay, many of them motivated by the generous offers of promotion. Overall, Emmet felt that this was a good rate of return. Although there was a greater rate of upperclassman employees leaving the company this year than had left previous years, with the reliable figurehead of Maisy gone, it was to be expected. To compensate for the large reduction in labor force, Emmet turned his hopes toward the rising wave of second years. As he had personally taught many of these employees in the past year, he had a first-hand knowledge of just how much they had improved, and thus, was confident that they could begin to carry the company forward as the year progressed. Finally, in order to continue this tradition of nurturing the new employees, Emmet also established a new paired mentoring system within the company, inspired by what he had seen in Koriander Basics, called the ¡®big sib little sib¡¯ system. For some extra pay, Emmet offered upperclassman employees positions to become ¡®big sibs,¡¯ who would be mentors to the new wave of newbie workers, the ¡®little sibs.¡¯ Each ¡®big sib¡¯ served as a newbie¡¯s personal advisor - within this relationship, the ¡®little sibs¡¯ could learn from the wealth of experience the upperclassmen had gathered and receive much needed assistance during their hectic first years. Emmet was especially fond of this system. He himself had heavily relied on Maisy¡¯s mentorship to rise to his current position, and likewise, many of the current second years at the company had relied on his help in order to dramatically improve over their first years. Thus, he hoped that this system would not only inspire a new generation of debuggers to improve quicker, but cause the workforce as a whole to become more connected, and thus more productive. The system would only work if there were enough upperclassmen willing to take that time-consuming role, and thus, Emmet was at first a bit concerned that there wouldn¡¯t be enough interest among the mentors. Luckily, upon introducing the system to the company, he quickly received a steady torrent of willing applications, more than enough to institute such a system. He carefully combed through and picked out the most qualified individuals to be ¡®big sibs,¡¯ putting them into a list in preparation for matching with the new employees. On the other hand, these few days, there was an unfortunate matter - Emmet quickly became so busy with Maisy Debugging Depot matters that he again barely found enough time to pursue his own personal projects. Every day, not only did he have the details of his new system to organize, but also had to resolve a mountain of contractual issues. Not only were these issues tedious, they had nothing to do with formations theory or puzzles, so Emmet got virtually no enjoyment out of them. However, they were essential to the function of the company, so he had to go through with them properly. At the end of this first hectic week, the annual worker recruitment meeting took place. This time, Emmet assigned a second year (named Qiay) as his assistant, who took on the traditional role of standing next to him and passing out trial formations. In this past year, out of all of the recruits he had mentored, he felt that this Qiay was not only the brightest, but was also one of the hardest working. Any time Emmet explained something to him, if he didn¡¯t immediately understand, he would dedicate all his effort to get to the bottom of it. His progress was also one of the quickest of the employees - by the end of the previous year, he had already moved on debugging formations in the middle pile. This year, about a hundred new interested recruits showed up to attend the trial. This wasn¡¯t as many as the previous year - clearly, without Maisy at the helm, the service was significantly less popular. But still, many more people had arrived than the few that had in Emmet¡¯s freshman year, so Emmet was satisfied. During the orientation, Emmet gave a long-winded speech to the new recruits, making sure to explain new benefits like the ¡®big sib little sib¡¯ system and the newly open possibilities of promotion. Having practiced what he was going to say dozens of times in the mirror, the speech went smoothly, and soon after, the testing trial commenced. Two hours later, Qiay collected back all of the formations, and Emmet proceeded to inspect through all of them one by one. In the end, only a few of the new recruits passed, most of them having failed to complete the debuggings in time. However, Emmet didn¡¯t seem to perturbed, merely giving some final words of encouragement and welcoming them all to come back the following day. The next day, out of the hundred interested newcomers, a bit over twenty showed for their first day of work. Although this didn¡¯t seem great, Emmet was satisfied with this turnout. Honestly, for him, this rate of recruitment was already pretty good - it was only a bit less than the rate from when Maisy was the head, so he figured it meant that he was doing something right - clearly, people had been attracted to the job in some way. The very same day, the ¡®big sib little sib¡¯ system went into effect. Emmet drew lots and paired up the two groups, posting them publicly up on a board, and soon after, the pairs all met up with each other to get acquainted. Within a few days, frequent pairs of discussing mentor-student pairs could be seen all throughout the company, livening up the space. Within days, schoolwork began to ramp up, and the school year officially began.Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. ------------------------------- In the next few weeks, the workers of the Maisy Debugging Depot began to settle into a routine, all of Emmet¡¯s new changes having been implemented smoothly. Although many of the new recruits were new to the business and at first struggled to complete their debuggings, with the help of their mentors, they were eventually able to adapt. It also helped that it was still the beginning of the year, and there weren¡¯t that many orders. In this time, Emmet was finally freed from most of his torturous administrative duties. Although he still had the responsibilities of overseeing the running of the company, he left much of the day-to-day management up to the employees up on the third tier, and thus, finally found time to fall back on his previous routine - ravenously reading in the library and tackling interesting tasks posted on the bulletins. About a month into the semester, he randomly received a message from a previous employer he had worked for, asking for him to fulfill yet another task. Emmet agreed and the two met up in one of the school buildings. To his surprise, when the employer - a wild-eyed middle-aged man - walked into the room, he carried with him a small cage, containing a small, colorful creature. Inside the cage was a unique, feral-looking bird, colored scarlet red with dark blue stripes, and with a long and powerful beak and large and penetrating eyes - by the eyes¡¯ anatomy, they would probably grant clear and far-seeing vision. However, what was most fascinating was that unlike ordinary birds, who universally had either a set of two wings or four wings, this bird had six large wings, clearly some kind of special breed. The client haphazardly set the bird down on top of the table, and in response, it chirped miserably, drooping its body down sadly. Noticing Emmet in the corner of its vision, it raised its head and stared out toward him with big eyes, as if pleading for him to do something. Making eye contact with the bird, Emmet briefly felt chills crawl down his spine. It was only a bird¡­ but why did he feel like it was actually trying to tell him something? ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± Emmet asked a bit apprehensively. He had read quite a few books on wildlife breeds from the library, and he was positive that he had never seen anything resembling such a creature before. ¡°Hehe, this?¡± The employer smirked, tapping the top of the cage without care. ¡°It¡¯s a creature I caught from Silva. Heh, impressed? As you can probably tell, it¡¯s not like the others. No idea of the species.¡± ¡°Silva?¡± Emmet couldn¡¯t help but gulp. Of course, Silva - the evergreen thicket. Only there could such a wild-looking creature be found. As a forest that received non-stop sunlight, it contained an overflow of wild and mysterious creatures, causing a popular market to form of capturing these animals, either for their valuable body parts or to keep as pets. Still, he asked: ¡°What were you doing in Silva?¡± ¡°I¡¯m a rare breeds hunter,¡± the employer explained, smiling giddily at the unique-looking bird within the cage. ¡°It¡¯s quite the time to be one. Currently, Silva is rimming with wealth! The rate of people finding crazy, unique breeds has recently shot up, and likewise, the demand has risen along with it. This bird is one such creature - I just recently caught him, and immediately had to bring him back here. Just look at it! The size, wings, beak shape¡­ I¡¯ve never quite seen anything like it!¡± ¡°It seems to understand what we¡¯re saying,¡± Emmet couldn¡¯t help but say, staring down at the pitiful-looking bird with a bit of unease - it was still looking straight back at him. He was positive that normal birds wouldn¡¯t hold eye contact for that long. ¡°Haha, you¡¯ve noticed, eh?¡± The client laughed, casually pounding the back of the cage as he chortled. ¡°I wouldn¡¯t say that it understands us¡­ but let me tell you, this one¡¯s a rare one. I¡¯ve never quite seen a bird with such mannerisms. It¡¯s almost human-like.¡± He rubbed his hands together in anticipation. ¡°After this, I¡¯m heading toward the markets to put it on bid - hopefully, it¡¯ll fetch a handsome price.¡± Emmet nodded in agreement with his assessment. Even now, the bird was swaying back and forth, still staring out toward Emmet, as if beseeching him to take action. Occasionally, it let out low chirps. ¡°Anyway, I came here today for a simple request,¡± the client crossed his arms and explained. ¡°I would like you to build another barrier entrapment formations for me. The one you built last time was great, and allowed me to catch some exceedingly quick creatures! I want another one. Name a price, and I can pay it.¡± ¡°Another barrier entrapment formation?¡± In a flash, Emmet recalled his previous interaction this employer. He had been commissioned to produce a fast-reacting barrier cage activation device for him, similar to the one Torhah had used to take care of the saber-toothed bear when they had first met. At the time, he had not thought about for what purpose this device was for, but now, it was clear. Instantly, Emmet couldn¡¯t help but have a sinking feeling. It wasn¡¯t his intention to be a participating factor in the capture of these fascinating-looking Silva creatures. Just looking at the tiny cage it was housed in, it clearly did not have an enjoyable life. Was this a commonplace practice? ¡°Hm¡­¡± Emmet pretended to ponder for a moment. ¡°I¡¯m actually quite busy at the moment. Barrier entrapment formations are quite complicated, and I¡¯m currently running my own on-campus business, so time is tight¡­¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± The client responded calmly, but clearly, he was disappointed, sagging a bit in his seat. ¡°So it¡¯s not possible?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry,¡± Emmet quickly nodded. ¡°I just don¡¯t have enough time.¡± In reality, he wasn¡¯t lying. In this moment, where he had to manage all the affairs of the debugging depot, he truly was busy. However, barrier entrapment formations were really not that time-intensive to construct, so the real reason was that he wasn¡¯t really willing. Once again, he couldn¡¯t help but glance once again toward the caged bird displayed out in front of him, noting how drooping and malnourished it was. As his glance panned upward, he once again made eye contact with the bird - he suddenly had another thought. The bird¡¯s fate - no matter what the client planned, it couldn¡¯t be good. Suddenly, a wild impulse overcame him, and he leaned over toward employer, alerting his attention. ¡°I¡¯ll buy the bird.¡± ¡°Uh¡­ huh?¡± The employer was thrown for a loop, clearly not having expected such a turn in the discussion. ¡°I¡¯ll buy the bird,¡± Emmet repeated, purposely using non-glamorous language to make it seem that the ¡®bird¡¯ really wasn¡¯t anything much. ¡°How much? I can pay it.¡± ¡°The bird...¡± The employer was surprised, looking down at the creature and furrowing his brows. ¡°I was planning on auctioning it off downtown¡­¡± ¡°I¡¯m pretty rich,¡± Emmet further pressed, sitting up straighter as if to convey a sense of prominence. ¡°As I said, I run an on-campus business. It¡¯s quite a successful one. I know that Gemini Academy points aren¡¯t equivalent to real currency, but still, they can be used to hire all sorts of genius students at the school for various tasks - they¡¯re very valuable.¡± ¡°Hm¡­¡± The employer paused in his movement, staring up toward Emmet, as if sizing him up. For a few moments, he just sat there and strummed his fingers onto the table. ¡°Alright,¡± he finally stated. ¡°Thirty thousand points.¡± ¡°Deal,¡± Emmet immediately consented, throwing down a piece of parchment and pen. In the next few moments, he wrote out a brief and simple contract - essentially, the wording guaranteed that Emmet would fulfill his end of the bargain later on and transfer the money over. Otherwise, the employer could take legal action against him through the school. ¡°Haha, ok!¡± The employer was suddenly all smiles, quickly looking over contract, signing it, and then enthusiastically shaking Emmet¡¯s hand. He glanced to the side and casually pushed the caged bird over toward Emmet¡¯s side of the table. ¡°It¡¯s all yours!¡± Thirty thousand points¡­ that was an incredibly large amount! Even for something like Gemini Academy currency - although they weren¡¯t interchangeable with real currency, they were still heavily sought after. In reality, thirty thousand points was exorbitant - he had truly wildly overcharged. Luckily, it seemed that this student really was rich - he even regretted not charging more. He quickly gave Emmet a few tips about keeping the bird and then got up to leave, as if he had gotten away with robbery. Chapter 40 - Fruity Leaving the building, Emmet stared curiously down at the creature in the cage in front of him. He couldn¡¯t help but marvel. Really, it was a unique specimen. Big dark purple eyes, a long dark beak, three sets of enormous red and blue striped wings, a feathered body that gave it a fluffy texture - Emmet had never seen something so exotic. Back in his hometown, he had only ever seen common pests like horu-beetles, gawker pigeons, and grazing beasts. Never could anything so colorful have appeared amongst the vast plain farmlands. Along the way back to his apartment, the creature seemed to realize what was happening and assumed a happy demeanor, dancing around its cage and chirping giddily as it observed its surroundings. Occasionally, it would look up at Emmet with a grateful look, causing Emmet to still in his steps. When it made those expressions¡­ it really did seem human! A few minutes and many happy chirps later, Emmet finally reached his place. Walking in through the door, he casually called out a greeting, receiving a short greeting in return - it seemed that Tauruk was home. Carefully, Emmet carried the cage in and walked toward the source of the voice - the living room. Sure enough, Tauruk was sat at a desk, his head down facing a packet of paper and writing down notes. At that moment, he looked up and spotted the animal, a look of surprise entering his face. ¡°What¡¯s that?¡± ¡°Dunno¡­¡± Emmet shrugged, also staring down at the bird with wonder. In the next few minutes, he quickly gave Tauruk a brief explanation of the series of events that had occured between him and the employer. After hearing everything, Tauruk pushed away his work and assumed an excited demeanor, staring out toward the creature with intense interest. ¡°I just bought some fruit last week, do you think it¡¯ll eat it?¡± ¡°No idea....¡± Emmet shrugged. The two quickly came up with a haphazard plan. Together, they brought the cage over to the living room, prepared a barrier enclosing formation in case it was hostile, got out the fruit, and then opened up the cage. ...Cheep? The creature stared at the open cage door for only a brief moment before hesitantly stepping out. For a few moments, it stared at the two boys with big eyes. Finally, it let out a delighted chirp. ¡°I think it likes us,¡± Tauruk murmured toward Emmet. ¡°Let¡¯s feed it some fruit.¡± Emmet nodded, grabbing a few grapes and rolling them out toward the creature. Ch¡­ cheep? Cheep? A bit startled, the creature looked down at the grapes curiously. For a few moments, it inspected them suspiciously. Finally, it gave in and pecked at one, swallowing it whole. Letting out a series of delighted cheeps, it quickly pecked at another one¡­ and then another one. Within a few moments, all the grapes were gone. ¡°Whoa¡­¡± Emmet¡¯s eyes shined. He had never had a pet before, so this was a fascinating experience. ¡°It does like them!¡± Tauruk also became excited, grabbing a few more grapes and tossing them over toward the creature. The creature eagerly received them as well and ate them all up. For a full hour, they continued to feed the creature various fruits, of which the creature eagerly ate up. Quickly, they found that out of all of them, it seemed to like grapes the best. When Fontezul returned to the apartment at end of that hour, he also joined them and fed the creature even more fruit. By the end of it, its stomach was completely bulging, and it staggered around a bit dizzily, as if drunk. ¡°You should name it!¡± Tauruk turned toward Emmet and gave a wide-toothed smile.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! ¡°Ah¡­ a name?¡± Emmet stilled, unsure of what to think. Cheep? Suddenly, the creature also turned toward Emmet, as if also anticipating what he had to say. Startled with its sudden gaze, Emmet suddenly couldn¡¯t help but feel some pressure. ¡°Um¡­¡± Emmet thought for a moment, glancing toward the remains of the fruit splattered across the floor. ¡°Maybe¡­ since it likes fruits so much... ¡®Fruity¡¯?¡± ¡°...huh?¡± Tauruk and Fontezul turned toward Emmet with strange expressions. ¡°...¡®Fruity¡¯?¡± They glanced toward each other with somewhat weird expressions. They could have expected something like Edmund or Charlie - normal pet names. But, out of all things¡­ ¡®Fruity.¡¯ In all their years, they had never heard of such a name before¡­ Chip! Cheep! Yet, at that moment, the creature seemed to react happily, suddenly dancing around and chirping happily, as if it really liked the name. Seeing the creature¡¯s happy display, Emmet couldn¡¯t help but smile. ¡°Fruity it is!¡± From then on, Fruity became a permanent fixture of the three boys¡¯ residence. ------------------------------- Making the last few marks on the large sheet of blueprint paper in front of him, Emmet finally put down his pen. Leaning back and looking over his work, he couldn¡¯t help but form a satisfied smile. Over the past week, he had been hard at work crafting a new design for an ambitious new project he¡¯d had in mind for months now - it was a new attraction for the area around Maisytown, which he had epicly named the ¡®Sky Wheel.¡¯ The final product was to be a large tower carrying an enormous spinning wheel on it, stretching down toward the ground and up into the sky. For each spoke on the perimeter of this wheel, there would be little cars for passengers to ride - visitors would enter the cars from the bottom, and then ride up along the wheel toward the top. As opposed to the adrenaline pumping action of the Maisy Mega Marvel, Emmet intended this ride to provide a slower, mellower experience - inspired by the quiet and nostalgia-inspiring trips Emmet had made on Maisy¡¯s flying formations vehicle, Emmet wanted the wheel to turn slowly, allowing those within the cars at the top to see the full extent of the city stretch out from beneath them in a beautiful portrait. The designing process took longer than usual. On top of it being so large and thus much more detailed, Emmet was especially painstaking about his calculations, more so than about any other project he had ever done before. Such an enormous structure, once it was built, it was not easily fixed. Further, there were actual lives at stake. If his calculations were off and the wheel did not have proper structural integrity, it could result in a catastrophe. Thus, Emmet made sure to quadruple check all his work and further confirmed with some people he trusted, including Tauruk, Fontezul, and Qiay. Apart from that, the project itself wasn¡¯t too technologically advanced or challenging, so he finished the actual designing rather quickly. ¡°What do you think, Fruity?¡± Emmet turned toward his side, where there was a bird-like creature perched on the edge of his chair. He petted the bird on the back of the head, stroking its feathers softly. Chip! Chip! Fruity nodded its head up and down, as if it strongly approved. ¡°Haha, thanks Fruity,¡± Emmet couldn¡¯t help but smile. At this point, the bird looked almost like a completely different creature, its previously dirty and malnourished self nowhere to be seen. Over the past week, it had adapted to its new life incredibly quickly, eating well, taking regular baths, and getting along with everyone at the apartment. By now, its previously matted coat was vibrant and healthy-looking, its belly was swelling up, and its head was held high. Every day, it seemed to become more relaxed, and by extension, more curious and intelligent, occasionally poking around the apartment observing what the boys were doing. It quickly picked up on the boys¡¯ simple commands and questions, and even seemed to be able to understand some of the more complicated things the boys would discuss with each other. Frankly, the boys were fascinated by this behavior. Most birds were dumb animals, and rarely operated on anything more than pure instinct. Yet, someone, it seemed Fruity was capable of much more than that. As for food, as the days progressed, the boys found out that Fruity seemed to eat everything that a human would, making meals easy - it would just join the other three for regular meals. However, most of all, Fruity seemed to like fruit the most, especially grapes, fitting for its name. Emmet didn¡¯t know if it was just his imagination, but with all the food it was consuming, it already seemed to be growing larger. Back at the Maisy Debugging Depot, things were finally settling down, so Emmet found that his schedule had relaxed considerably. Although the workload of formations to debug increased as the school year progressed and classes heightened in difficulty, it seemed that everyone was adapting quickly, debugging through the formations faster and better. By now, as it was still only early on in the semester, Emmet only needed to step in occasionally, either to help handle the workload or take care of some of the advanced level formations that no one else could figure out. That meant that now, he had much more time to focus on his own personal projects. ¡°Hehe¡­¡± Emmet peered down giddily at the detailed lines on the blueprint in front of him. He couldn¡¯t wait to get started. Chapter 41 - The Sky Wheel In a field near Maisytown. Emmet looked down satisfiedly at the large lattice of interleaving tervoriam pillars laying out in front of him. This was to be the base structure of his new Sky Wheel ride - he had spent the past five days carefully laying it out (using several auxiliary formations passed down from Maisy), and this morning, he had finally finished the underground base structure. Although it was currently only a modest height, just looking at it, he could already imagine the structure stretching out from the ground and up into the open sky. By now, he had already pre-purchased the bulk of all of the required materials, and thus, his wallet had taken a big hit. As it turned out, such a project required not only a tremendous amount of materials, but the required materials were also quite high end and expensive. However, at the moment, Emmet wasn¡¯t afraid to invest his wealth. Swiftly, he made multiple deals with the school for the required materials in bulk, including a dozen shiploads of tervoriam (weighing hundreds of tons), hundreds of massive jade circuit wire reels, and thousands of smaller connecting parts. All in all, he ended up spending about seven hundred thousand points, and that was just for the raw components! If this had been even just six months ago, Emmet would have been shocked speechless at such a reckless expenditure of points. However, the more he engaged in these grand constructions, the more numb he became to the numbers. To build such an ambitious structure, one needed to invest a corresponding large amount of time and resources. Further, with this design, he had actually saved quite a lot on assets - his structure was streamlined, using cost-efficient metrics, resulting in little excess waste. Although, Emmet had to admit, building such a thing in the snowy winter season was unprofitable. At the beginning of the construction, there had been a light covering of snow blanketing the ground, so in order to start the construction, Emmet was forced to painstakingly build up a series of heat arrays all around the area to melt it up. Time was of the essence. If he wanted to construct a project, he would do it as soon as possible, and couldn¡¯t afford to wait for the season to be right. As for his points, so far, despite the extra cost of wages, Maisy¡¯s Debugging Depot was profitable as expected, giving him a comfortable buffer to spend great amounts. Ultimately, this was an investment - he hoped that the ride would attract enough business to eventually pay for itself. The main challenge Emmet now faced was of how to properly approach building up such a tower and enormous structure - clearly, his usual strategies of lugging around the parts wouldn¡¯t hold up! In his three years of tinkering with formations, he had never quite tackled an arrangement of such a scale, and thus, Emmet was very careful about it, making sure the base especially was built properly and securely, strictly following guidelines he had read about in an advanced textbook about large-scale constructions. Letting out a satisfied sigh, his eyes wandered out toward the large lattice, where there was the familiar dancing figure of a colorful six-winged bird. It jumped back and forth between pillars, peering toward the various aspects of the construction curiously. Emmet couldn¡¯t help but smile laughingly. ¡°You¡¯re excited too, huh Fruity?¡± Looking out toward the sky and imagining the completed structure high up, stretching out into the clouds, he balled his fists, unable to stop himself from shaking with excitement. He had never built anything near such a structure before, so he could learn a lot from the experience. -------------- Over the next few months, Emmet alternated between managing Maisy¡¯s Debugging Depot and building up the ¡®Sky Wheel.¡¯ Over at Maisy¡¯s debugging Depot, the debuggers at the company had slowly gotten faster and faster, the entire workforce running like a well-oiled machine. Emmet didn¡¯t know whether it was because of the new changes he had implemented, but it seemed that the company had largely become self-sufficient, and were able to keep up with the rising demand. After the first month, Emmet really only needed to step in occasionally to fulfill basic managerial duties. Later, it would only be during peak season that he once again actually was required to help debug through the overflowing piles of formations, mostly the advanced ones that took a large amount of time to figure out. Thus, in this time, Emmet could dedicate almost all of his time to constructing his new project.This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there. When building up the structure, he was forced to use secondary auxiliary formation structures for transport. Luckily, Maisy had left behind a lot of the formation constructing equipment she had used for building her rollercoaster ride, including large cranes and flying cargo carriers, so Emmet could just modify this equipment for his own use, saving on time and expenses. It took just a few days to modify them appropriately, and then he got to business. Over the next few months, Emmet worked long hours every day, slowly building up the construction. Luckily, he had planned it well, and construction went smoothly, aside from some occasional hiccups, namely complications due to the scale of the project. By a month in, he had finished constructing the central wheel-holding tower. By two months in, he had placed a barebones wheel within this tower and was constructing the skeleton around it. By three months in, he had built and installed the cars and finished the inner foundation of the structure. Finally, in the final fourth month, Emmet threaded all the thick cable circuitry, installed the central mana powered locomotive system, implemented a large scale protection warding formation around the structure, and filled up each of the cars with cushioned seats and protection railings. For the last step, as a last decorative action, he gave the entire structure a layer of light blue paint, complementing the dynamically royal blue Maisy Mega Marvel, which lay only a short distance away, quite nicely. When the last drop of paint was plastered on, Emmet excitedly lowered himself back on the ground, took a step back and just stared out at the finished construction, a fully constructed grand-sized wheel that seemed to float in the sky. Just staring at it, he couldn¡¯t help but feel emotional - in the end, he felt it had turned out better than expected. On the one hand, it was huge and towering, but at the same time, he also felt it was also subtle and endearing, tinted a nice sky blue, as if blending in with the sky. On each spoke of the wheel hung a little car that hung downward, and at the top, the cars could reach over six hundred feet into the sky! He couldn¡¯t help but feel a strong sense of pride. This was the most ambitious and physically demanding formation project he had built by far, and finally looking at the finished project, he suddenly felt that it was all worth it. -------------- Early morning. Tauruk and Emmet sat leisurely at their dining room table, conversing with each other with laid-back demeanors. Fruity sat in between them in the middle of the table, picking at some laid out fruit and lazily grooming its feathers. ¡°Today¡¯s the day, huh?¡± Tauruk smiled as he reached across the table to stroke Fruity with long, slow moves. Fruity seemed to enjoy the touch, curling its body up with pleasure on each stroke. ¡°Maisytown Park¡¯s official opening.¡± ¡°Yep,¡± Emmet laughed, enjoying seeing Fruity enjoying itself so much. Still, he couldn¡¯t help but tap the side of the table agitatedly. ¡°After three days of inspections, it¡¯s finally approved for opening. I¡¯ve put some ads into some local papers to spread the news, but I don¡¯t know if people will actually be interested. I just hope people actually come¡­¡± ¡°You worry too much,¡± Tauruk shook his head with a sly smile. ¡°Don¡¯t you remember how popular it was last year? There¡¯s no way it won¡¯t be a hit - with Maisy¡¯s name, there¡¯ll be few who aren¡¯t at least keen toward it.¡± ¡°Yeah, but the ¡®Sky Wheel¡¯¡­¡± Emmet rubbed his chin. ¡°Nobody¡¯s ever seen it before. I don¡¯t think anyone has even ever built anything quite like it. Who knows if they¡¯ll respond well to it?¡± ¡°The ¡®Sky Wheel¡¯?¡± Tauruk let out a laugh. ¡°Emmet... that thing is damn amazing.¡± He stared out toward Emmet with confident eyes, admiration leaking out from his gaze. ¡°When you took me for a ride the other day, I was completely and totally blown away. Like¡­ just the fact that you were able to build such a thing¡­ and the atmosphere at the top... I think the city folk will react similarly well.¡± ¡°I hope so¡­¡± Emmet pondered a bit quietly. ¡°Well, I gotta head to class,¡± Tauruk checked the clock formation on the wall and gave Fruity a final pat before standing back up and slinging a bag over his shoulder. ¡°Really, I wouldn¡¯t be worried at all. I¡¯ve never seen anything like the Sky Wheel before¡­ it¡¯s honestly incredible, Emmet. I¡¯m constantly impressed by your creations, but this one just is on a completely different level.¡± ¡°Thanks, Tauruk,¡± Emmett gave a grateful smile, also standing up to get ready for the day. He turned to pat the colorful bird resting on the table. ¡°Fruity, let¡¯s get ready to go.¡± Cheep, cheep! Fruity responded happily, jumping up and flapping up onto Emmet¡¯s shoulder. By this point, it was nearly double its original size, its body overshadowing Emmet¡¯s figure as it perched on him. ¡°Ha¡­¡± Tauruk couldn¡¯t help let out a breath. ¡°That guy has really grown, huh? How big do you think he¡¯ll get?¡± ¡°Dunno,¡± Emmet could only shrug. ¡°Not even the guy who sold him to me knows what species it is. I can¡¯t imagine him getting much larger than this, though.¡± Chapter 42 - Maisytown Park ¡°Strange¡­¡± As Emmet strode out toward Maisytown Park (the new name Emmet had given for the newly established amusement park), Fruity perched securely on his shoulder, he discovered something peculiar. He couldn¡¯t help but feel that there were many more people walking around than usual - despite it being extremely early in the morning, there were nearly constant streams of passersby, excitedly chatting as they walked this way and that. Observing them, Emmet couldn¡¯t help but get an anticipatory feeling. Unconsciously, he quickened his pace, his heartbeat pumping quicker and quicker. Fruity seemed to be in sync, also tightening up with some excitement and grasping more firmly onto Emmet¡¯s shoulder. The closer they reached toward Maisytown Park, the thicker the crowds became, until soon, it became a crowded mess of interweaving people, and Fruity had to struggle to edge by all the passing people without getting rammed into. With a bit of clash, they finally reached the area of the park, and Emmet quickly panned his gaze over. His eyes immediately widened, his mouth gaping wide like a fish. ¡°Wha¡­ what.¡± Truly, it was incredible - almost like the scene of the eight year graduation. There were literally thousands and thousands of people in the space, huddling in loose lines around the two rides. The sound of chatter was nearly deafening, people clearly in high spirits as they looked up and oggled up at two towering rides. Around the two rides, especially, it was a dense mass of colors, people dressed in nice clothing just waiting for the rides to open up. Chirp! Chirp! Fruity could sense the mood, instantly becoming excited and flapping its wings up and down. It began to dance from the perch of Emmet¡¯s shoulder, like a high-energy performer. In the thick crowd around them, he attracted quite a few gazes. ¡°Emmet!¡± Emmet heard a distant yell. ¡°Hm?¡± He turned his gaze over, glancing upon a frantic-looking young student, weaving through thick rows of people tiredly and running toward him. ¡°Xia? What is it?¡± Xia - that was the name of this second year student. She was responsible for the overall management for Maisytown Park - Maisy had hired her the previous year as a manager for Maisy¡¯s Mega Marvel, and Emmet had her return as a manager for both of the new rides. Completely of breath, Xia reached Emmet and began to pant, but not before hurriedly bowing respectfully. Looking up, she only glanced at Fruity for a brief moment before turning toward Emmet and giving a brief: ¡°Emmet¡­ boss, you¡¯re finally here! It¡¯s bad. It¡¯s really bad. Look at these people, Emmet! I only have ten workers¡­ how are we supposed to manage all of this?¡± ¡°Ah¡­¡± Emmet panned his gaze around them, still in awe at what he was seeing. Was it really this popular? He had never seen anything close to this amount of people in this space, not even during the previous year at the opening of Maisy¡¯s Mega Marvel! ¡°I¡¯ll¡­ I¡¯ll quickly try to go hire more people. Manage for now! We¡¯ll open on schedule. Make sure to run the rides correctly and that no one gets hurt.¡± ¡°Ah, jeez¡­¡± Xia grasped her head exhaustedly. ¡°This is¡­ this is too much. Alright, boss. I¡¯ll try.¡± She hurriedly turned and ran off into the crowd. ¡°This¡­¡± Emmet spent a few moments just standing there and absorbing the atmosphere. Truly, it was overwhelming - thousands of loud voices travelling this way and that, tens of people crossing every which way every way you turned¡­ Suddenly, he was reminded of his first day of school at the academy, when he had to find his way through those dense crowds of students, and he hadn¡¯t a slightest idea where he was going. This scene before him now was remarkably similar, yet somehow even more crowded and chaotic. ¡°This is gonna be a long day¡­¡± Emmet had a sudden premonition. Even now, more and more hordes and hordes of people were rushing into the area, clearly to visit the attraction. He hurriedly weaved through the crowd and ran out toward the village, planning to meet with the other employees and discuss the operations for the park¡¯s opening. ---------------------------------------- At the end of the day, Emmet was completely exhausted. The opening of Maisytown Park was a total smash hit success - absolutely, there was no doubt. From the start of the day to the end, the crowds never died down, flowing into the area like a gushing waterfall. Because of the shortage of workers, Emmet was forced to personally step in and help as well, and so the entire day, found himself running back and forth between Maisy¡¯s Mega Marvel, The Sky Wheel, and Maisytown Village. Up until the last minute, there were still people cramming to get onto the rides that they had to deal with. Thus, Emmet was currently completely and utterly worn down. Of course, he was overjoyed at the park¡¯s popularity, but never in his wildest imagination could he have expected such a conglomeration of people! He had really underprepared.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. Luckily, throughout the course of the day, he had managed to hire an additional dozen more workers to come in and man the different stations and maintain order - ten of them had also agreed to start working there part-time. Or else, the next day, Emmet didn¡¯t know how he would be able to do it again. He immediately began looking for more workers, posting urgent notices on job bulletins looking for manual labor employees at the Maisytown Park. As Emmet strode back into his apartment and got ready to collapse down, he caught eye of Tauruk, who was busily writing something down at the dining room table. Noticing Emmet enter, Tauruk only looked up and gave a knowing look. ¡°Told ya. What were you worrying about?¡± Emmet could only give a wry smile as he staggered into his room and fell face-first into his bed. -------------------- As it turned out, not only was Maisytown Park a hit commercially, it was a smash hit critically as well. Review columns all over began to rave about it. There was a lot to talk about¡­ Maisy Harbinger¡¯s new amusement park, Maisy¡¯s new successor, the return of the Maisy Mega Marvel, the expansion of the Maisytown Village, and most of all¡­ the new ride, the Sky Wheel. The Sky Wheel proved to be a true phenomenon among noble circles. While it seemed that the young children still preferred Maisy¡¯s Mega Marvel as their ride of choice, favoring the fast-paced, adrenaline-pumping fun of riding the vast and spanning roller coaster, the adults found a new love in the soft and mellow experience of the Sky Wheel. Review after review detailed the serene and beautiful atmosphere up above in the little cars on the ride, and how when they slowly rose to the top, the beautiful scene of the city sprawled out before them, the bright radiant sun lighting up the busy metropolis beneath them. It was peaceful¡­ it was romantic¡­ and it was¡­ somewhat nostalgic. Many of the critics went through exaggerative lengths to boast the experience of the ride. As expected of the namesake of Maisy - it seemed that the person who took after Maisy (a boy named Emmet, according to sources), was just as incredible. With such a fantastic view on the top of ride, and such a calm, private, and amorous atmosphere in each car, many people felt it was a perfect spot for dates. Unexpectedly, this aspect of the ride became the most iconic and popular. Within a few weeks, it had become trendy for lovey-dovey noble couples to come ride the wheel and kiss just as their car arrived at the top. With such a relaxing and emotion-heartening view, some couples even did more than just kiss... Because of this reception, over the next few weeks, the ride only became more and more popular, becoming a hot topic among numerous noble circles. While thousands of people arrived on the first day to go on the rides, by the second week, this number had risen up to ten thousand. Soon enough, the overcrowded space began to get more and more chaotic, injuries and incidents becoming more and more common as the number of visitors increased. Although the sound of the clamor was mostly blocked off by arrays of noise-cancelling formations, the lack of establishment and organization in the park continued to cause more and more issues. Emmet scrambled to address these issues. Immediately, he put his new employment efforts in overdrive, putting out more and more work searching notices and immediately hiring anyone who contacted him, and within a few days, he had hired close to fifty people to help manage the rides and all of the crowds. Then, to address the messy crowding of the visitors, he built up queueing barriers everywhere to direct all the lines neatly, make sure no one cut in line unfairly, and make sure no one rammed into each other, causing any possible injuries. Finally, he paved a few roads in between the three locations to further direction traffic and make travel easier and more efficient. In this time, the Maisytown Village, full of food stands and street-side entertainment, also continued to expand, seemingly unrelentlessly. Day after day, Emmet would receive request after request for licenses to build new stands and set up their own businesses in the village. Emmet approved one after one, taking initiative and helping build up dozens of open structures for people to set up shop. There was only one caveat - for each of these new businesses, he charged a sizeable tax on their profits - this would provide another lucrative income source that Emmet could draw from. Within a month, the village had nearly tripled in size, and sure enough, as it expanded, it attracted more and more people. It was a few weeks in when Emmet finally felt that he had gotten the situation somewhat under control. Finally, it was beginning to get a bit colder, resulting in somewhat less crowds, and by now, he had regulated and segmented many areas of the space so that crowds would have very directed places to go. No more was there uncontrollable chaos, but rather lines of organized groups. Further, he eventually expanded his workforce to over a hundred people, all organized in a hierarchical structure of managers, relieving a large portion of the burden and allowing him to take some days off. All throughout this time, however, he still never stopped with his ever-continuing pursuit of knowledge. Like clockwork, every night, he would spend 2-3 hours in the library reading through book after book and working on problem after problem, or spending his time in one of Maisy¡¯s old construction spaces working on some kind of new formation or task. He felt his time was extremely fruitful, and every day, he would learn something new. By now, he had gone through a large portion of the advanced-level textbooks available in the library. Meanwhile, during this time, it seemed that Emmet¡¯s personal assistance was rarely needed at Maisy¡¯s Debugging Depot anymore. He would only have to check in for short periods every day to oversee what everyone was doing and then could leave to work on other matters. By now, the first years had integrated fully within the company, becoming quick and productive workers, resulting in a much more efficient workforce. He didn¡¯t know if it was because of the new changes, but it seemed that this year, the company was much more structured and organized, everyone working together collaboratively when they were struggling with finding a solution. Emmet was also glad to see frequent pairs of big sib - little sib students discussing heartedly with each other, clearly having gotten very close. --------------------- Within this busy routine, time quickly passed, and the weather got much colder. Week after week passed, the number of visitors toward Maisytown Park dwindling with the weather, relieving Emmet workers¡¯ burden greatly. Finally, in the last month, the first snowfall began, and Maisytown Park finally officially closed for the year. Like this, the second semester eventually approached a close. Chapter 43 - Expansion ¡°My word¡­¡± Emmet rubbed his head with amazement as he stared at the blinking number before him. He extended his arm out toward the screen, rubbing it as if it was a dirt spot that needed to be wiped away. He was currently standing in the admissions office, hovering before one of the kiosks. Although the space was never as homey as it had been when Borokov worked the desk, the place still left nostalgic feelings in his heart, and he couldn¡¯t help but slightly smile any time he entered it. You currently have 15,543,483 points in your account. Emmet almost couldn¡¯t believe his eyes. It was such a foreign number, something so unreachable that when he saw it, he almost tuned it out. Yet, thinking about it, it did make sense. Over the past year, he had ran two incredibly profitable businesses - Maisy¡¯s Debugging Depot and Maisytown Park. Despite the astronomical fees of employing hundreds of people, contracting hundreds of others, and leasing hotly-desired space, the profits were even more astronomical. As for Maisy¡¯s Debugging Depot, this was self-explanatory. From the previous year, it had only grown larger and larger, its popularity and reputation increasing among the students. Despite a short dip in the beginning of the year in business due to the fears of the competence of Maisy¡¯s successor, the worriers¡¯ doubts were quickly proven unnecessary, as the company quickly became faster, returning formations with even better quality and reliability. By now, there wasn¡¯t a single student who hadn¡¯t at least heard of their clean reputation. However, the real money maker was Emmet¡¯s newly updated business, Maisytown Park. Truly, it was basically the equivalent of printing money. Every day, there would be up to tens of thousands of visitors across the entire daytime, all riding rides and engaging in entertainment within Maisytown Village. Each of those rides costed about 25 points per person, and each ride would hold up to thirty riders at a time. Further, in Maisytown Village, each time a visitor made a purchase at a business, Emmet would receive a hefty tax on the profits, resulting in a lump sum at the end of each day. It was only now, after five months of continuous operation, that it now closed. The result of all this lucrative business was what Emmet saw now. Truly, Emmet found that he had trouble even comprehending such a number, so he didn¡¯t even try to rationalize it. Overall, one thing was certain - he would have to invest more of his time for an even more fruitful season the following year. If anything, the success of Maisytown Park proved that his ideas had potential. Over the past months, numerous more ideas for different rides and spots of entertainment had sprouted within his mind, and he was ready to also make them a reality. He also felt that after the close-call to disaster at this year¡¯s park opening, he now had a better understanding of how to manage the massives crowds. Next year, he would be fully ready. ------------ As Maisytown Park closed down and much of his responsibility was alleviated, Emmet spent much more time at Maisy¡¯s Debugging Depot. He couldn¡¯t help but feel somewhat guilty - over the past few months, aside from routine check-ins, he hadn¡¯t spent much time there, and thus, still hadn¡¯t gotten to know some of the first years. Thus, he spent much of these final few weeks hanging out there and catching up with everyone. Unexpectedly, as Emmet visited more frequently, and people realized he was more available, it ended up feeling just like old times. Every day at the end of work, many employees would crowd around him to ask questions and request general guidance. Many of the second years, especially, felt immense pressure regarding the end of year assessment, and thus would be the most common class of customer, frequently approaching Emmet with panicked pleas for help - if they failed to rank within the top half, then they would get kicked out of the school! With patience, Emmet tried to help as many people as possible, knowing full well the feeling of that kind of pressure - every day after work, he stayed behind and spent up to three hours just answering desperate students¡¯ questions. Seeing how bright and smart they all were, however, he knew that almost all of them would probably get through just fine. The weeks passed one by one, and the day of the end of year assessment arrived. The morning of, Emmet met with many of the second years he had been closest to and gave some encouraging words, attempting to convince them that they would do well. The exams came and went, and so too did the heightened anxiety and exhaustion that came with it. A nail-biting week later, the results finally came out. To everyone¡¯s immense relief, and also to their collective amazement, the entirety of the second year workforce at the company had passed with ease. Everyone relaxed their bodies, the pent-up stress flowing out like air from a balloon. A day later, as if as a reward for their hard work, Emmet held a gathering and passed out promotions like candy, granting every member of the workforce a promotion to a higher tier. He had originally planned on giving them out more sparingly, but overall, he was very satisfied with their work, and was grateful for their diligence and loyalty to the company. Regarding profit margins - wasn¡¯t he making enough money already? He felt no need to be stingy on something like this. All of the workers accepted the raises gratefully, all of them, save for a few who had other big opportunities lined up for them, announcing their plans to return to the company the following year. To celebrate everyone¡¯s advancement and the successful year at the company, Emmet announced a collective company retreat and reserved the entire Lordin Karaoke Bar for a day. Nearly the entire workforce came out and celebrated wildly, singing and dancing drunkenly throughout the night. What was the saying? - work hard, play even harder - Emmet suddenly felt it made a lot of sense. ----------------------------------------- Before anyone knew it, the new year had started once again. Now, Emmet was in his fourth year. According to custom, he could officially be called an upperclassman.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Immediately, Emmet commenced with his ambitious expansion plans for Maisytown Park. After the success of the previous year, he was all the more motivated to make it an even bigger attraction - this time, more organized and with even more things to do. He had spent the last weeks of the last year planning out the blueprints, and finally now, at the beginning of this year, he put them into action. This time, he chose to be much more efficient about it, hiring about two dozen experienced student workers to assist him in the tasks. Thus, he could just direct people to do things instead of personally constructing everything, saving enormous amounts of time. Like this, work went much faster, and he was able to get a lot more done. In the course of three months, Emmet directed his workers to build four big projects. Firstly, Emmet directed the contractors to build a large spinning ride in the center of Maisytown Village, constructed from a simple design - the ride spun horizontally along a central axis of movement, allowing those on the ride to experience a sense that they were riding some kind of levitating vehicle. Inside of this large spinning wheel, Emmet placed several Gregorian flying formation look-alike models that visitors could ride in, which also bobbed up and down along with the spin of the central wheel. Finally, he gave it a colorful outer sheen, decorating it with lights and dazzling shapes to give it a more interesting look. Next, Emmet directed his workers to construct another rollercoaster nearby Maisy¡¯s Mega Marvel, colored a radiant red - although not quite to the scale of Maisy¡¯s Mega Marvel. What was special about this ride, however, was that it had a unique kind of strap-in car that allowed the ride to go in loops, creating a totally different kind of exhilarating experience. Emmet had great anticipation for it, hoping that for thrill-seekers, it would be even more exciting than some of the dips of Maisy¡¯s Mega Marvel. After that, Emmet instructed his workers to build a jumpier, smaller ride that was made up of a large bouncing car sliding up and down a pole - when it went down, it would quickly stop, creating jerky movements that would spike adrenaline within the riders. Although this couldn¡¯t be considered anything ambitious, Emmet planned on placing it within Maisytown Village as a supplement to the entertainment there. Finally, Emmet directed the workers to build a miniature version of the Sky Wheel near Maisytown Village, designed for little children or those who were afraid of large heights, so that they would have something to do other than explore the village. Overall, Emmet¡¯s main goal with this expansion was to ¡®fill out¡¯ the park. Previously, although there had been two large flagship rides that drew in big crowds, in reality, apart from that, there really wasn¡¯t much else, and for children, there was even less. Now, with these new rides, and the ever-expanding entertainment of Maisytown Village, he guessed that it would take at least a few hours to go through everything the park had to offer. ------------------------- One morning, Emmet received a fancily-decorated letter at his door. Picking it up curiously, he took one look before freezing in his spot. The letter was from the school board! He quickly opened it and scanned it carefully. Dear Emmet, Thank you for your patience. The Gemini Academy School Board would like to meet with you next week, Monday, at 10 AM sharp. Please show up on time, and ready for discussion. The address is included inside. Sincerely, Gemini Academy School Board A board meeting? Was the school board considering making him a real student? Emmet¡¯s eyes slowly dilated in and out of focus. His thoughts spiraling, a myriad of fluctuating emotions came and went. In the end, he couldn¡¯t help but ponder on the years he had spent at the school. Of course, Emmet had never actually forgotten about his status as a squire. Over the past year, spurred on by Maisy¡¯s suggestion, he had never stopped inquiring about the situation or sending letters appealing to different board members, always including some kind of letter of recommendation or other proof of his credentials. Yet, out of dozens of letters, Emmet had never received a response, not even once. Over the months, he couldn¡¯t help but start to lose faith, and eventually wrote less and less. If even Maisy couldn¡¯t convince them, could he? The longer it went that he failed to receive a response, the more jaded Emmet inevitably felt. The bureaucracy that came with such a large and influential school was hard to breach. Ultimately, this was unsurprising - Maisy had warned him of such, and to Emmet, it seemed fitting for such high-falutin board members to display frigid attitudes. Still, he couldn¡¯t help but be slightly disappointed. Over the past year, to Emmet, the school had lost a bit of its sheen. Faced with the prospect of having to leave, he had thought a lot about his future. These four years, he had learned so much. The amazing resources, the unique experiences, the grand environments, the brilliant people¡­ truly, it was all one of a kind, and not for a moment did he take it for granted. With no pretense, he truly appreciated being here - no doubt, the school had made him the person he was today. Yet, ever since Maisy had left more than a year ago, a subtle nagging feeling had formed within his being. And over the past year, this nagging feeling had only gotten stronger and stronger. The school was good, sure, but it didn¡¯t seem quite as wondrous as he had initially thought. No longer was the campus an in-navigable labyrinth - over the years, it had become a stomping ground that he knew like the back of his hand. And this was great - he absolutely loved it here, but among the seas of faceless high-brow noble people, Emmet quickly found himself longing for home. And ultimately, this school didn¡¯t feel like home. He hadn¡¯t felt it too much the first or second years, but his third year, without Maisy or Borokov, he had begun feeling a sore aching of homesickness in his chest. He was glad Tauruk, Fontezul, and all the amazing employees of Maisy¡¯s Debugging Depot were still here - they were all like family to him, but still, there was no one like a mother, a father, a brother. Once upon a time, it had annoyed him, but recalling the rowdy bickering on the farm with Yorick, the stern but loving talks he would have with his mother, or the joking smiles he would receive from his father, he looked back with a strong sense of nostalgia and longing. In this sea of work and theory, he was increasingly feeling more and more isolated within the campus. He could distract himself with his extravagant projects, but in the end, he was always left with a subtle empty feeling. Throughout the years, he had sent various letters back home, recently more frequently - updates of his situation and what he was doing. Unfortunately, he was seldom able to get a response back, and had to keep a blind hope that his family was actually receiving them. It was possible to spend money to hire messengers to get letters out to them, piggy-backing on a bulk trip out, but in their remote location in their farming tribe, and with their limited wealth, it was especially hard for his family to travel out of their village and send things out - in the past three years, he had only received one letter back. With Emmet¡¯s previously relatively impoverished first and second years, he couldn¡¯t quite afford to hire someone to return with his family¡¯s response. About six months ago, Emmet realized that this had changed. With his newly acquired wealth, Emmet finally hired a private messenger to not only send a letter over but to also receive a letter back to deliver to him. Although it was incredibly expensive, having to pay for sixth months of their time and for the risk of travel, to the current Emmet, it was chump change. He hoped the letter had reached his family and that it would get back soon enough. But for right now, despite Emmet¡¯s misgivings, he still couldn¡¯t deny that this school was a wondrous place. Maisy¡¯s hopes rode on him. If he had to leave after this year, it would still be a real pity. For now, Emmet wanted to keep his hopes low. If he got excited too early, he might feel disappointed later. Chapter 44 - Board Meeting Knock, knock. Emmet slowly knocked on the large wooden door in front of him. It was cold to the touch - fitting, he couldn¡¯t help but think. Inscribed on the fine dark wooden material was a nameplate: ¡°Conference room 01.¡± In his four years here, this was the first time he had traveled to Gemini Academy¡¯s central administrative center. Everything here was sleek, open, and grand; from the expensive gold vases to the carefully decorated carvings on the high ceiling, there was virtually nothing that could be perceived as cheap. The wealth of the school was put on full display here. But Emmet didn¡¯t seem to feel the grandeur of the surroundings, instead developing a subtle sense of apprehension. It was only after many months that the influential school board had agreed to meet with him. What did that mean? Would they listen to his request? ¡°Come in,¡± a faint, regal-sounding voice sounded out from inside. Not allowing himself to hesitate, Emmet purposefully pushed open the door. Creak¡­ The door swung open, and before him appeared an array of well-dressed old men and women, all sitting in grand mahogany chairs around a wide, circular table. The atmosphere was silent, and they all stared toward him with harsh, inspective eyes. It seemed almost like a courtroom, as if Emmet was on trial. Had they all been waiting for him? Suddenly uncomfortable, Emmet couldn¡¯t help but think it was purposefully set up this way. ¡°Greetings to the school board...¡± Emmet bowed deeply and then stated cautiously, peeking out toward the members of the board hesitantly. He suddenly felt like it was the first day of school again. This time, instead of students, he was surrounded by the members of the school board! ¡°My name is Emmet... I believe I was invited here to join the board meeting?¡± ¡°Ah, yes, Emmet¡­¡± An old man on the corner of the table stood up and smiled. He walked over toward the side and pulled out the only open seat. ¡°Please, take a seat.¡± ¡°Thank you...¡± Emmet nodded lightly, stepping forward and carefully placing himself down into the chair provided for him. He glanced around the room, meeting everyone¡¯s curious glances. With such high profile figures examining him, how couldn¡¯t he not feel nervous? He suddenly had a feeling that he was some sort of prey, surrounded by a pack of hungry winter wolves. His breath quickening, his hand moved instinctively to his chest, resting over the beautifully carved blue winged pendant hanging from his neck. He unconsciously thought back to Maisy, visualizing her lecturing him, chiding - ¡®You should have more confidence in yourself.¡¯ Somehow, the effect worked. Moments later, his heartbeat had calmed, and he sat up a bit straighter, his bearing becoming calm and grounded. He silently looked out at the surrounding adults, as if ready to face the challenge. ¡°Hello, Emmet¡­¡± The old man sat back down and turned toward Emmet with curious yet intimidating eyes. ¡°We''ve been awaiting your arrival. Your issue is very unique, it seems. You¡¯re a squire, and wish to be granted full admission to the school, as a student?¡± Emmet didn¡¯t know if it was just his imagination, but with this statement, the gazes of the figures around the room seemed to turn disdainful, as if mocking him. ¡°Yes,¡± he calmed his heart and nodded in confirmation, no shame on his face. Maisy was right. In the end, these board members were just people, so why should he be scared? He forced himself to retain a steady bearing. ¡°You received my letter?¡± ¡°Ah¡­ yes, among others,¡± the old man slightly nodded his head. He paused a moment to stare at Emmet, a bit surprised at his calm demeanor. ¡°I¡¯m sorry for the delay, I have to admit that we didn¡¯t take the matter very seriously.¡± Emmet was silent, only nodding very slightly. ¡°We thought Maisy had lost her mind,¡± the man admitted, shrugging his arms. ¡°A squire with the apparent qualifications to rival higher grade students, it just sounds completely ridiculous¡­¡± He paused, taking on a confuddled expression. ¡°And for her to care so much about such a matter¡­ we really didn¡¯t understand why.¡± Many board members subtly nodded, clearly demonstrating their doubt. It was obvious that at this moment, no one was convinced of Emmet¡¯s case. ¡°But Maisy is really persistent,¡± the man continued, a small expression of wonder appearing on his face. ¡°We¡¯ve received so many letters from her, insistently recommending you. After one such letter, I finally caved and decided to investigate a bit further, and was shocked. For a squire¡­ no, even for a student, you have quite the resume!¡± He pulled out a slip of paper, scanning down it with a fascinated expression. ¡°You¡¯ve completed countless tasks in all different fields from task bulletins, confirmed by many witnesses. You¡¯re an experienced tutor at Koriander Basics. You¡¯re apparently a very proficient constructionist. Wards, arrays, barrier entrapment, encryption, debugging, locomotives¡­ you¡¯ve done them all. Most shocking of all, you¡¯re currently the head of Maisy¡¯s Debugging Depot and Maisytown Park, having taken over after Maisy left! - the recent expansion, presumably, was conducted by you.¡± The were sharp sounds of exhalation all across the room, especially after the mention of Maisy¡¯s businesses. Those were very high profile existences on campus! Who hadn¡¯t heard of these incredibly popular and lucrative organizations? Everyone quickly focused their gazes on the young boy sitting near them, their eyes narrowing in inspection. Suddenly, the atmosphere was much more intense. ¡°I have to say, I¡¯m astonished,¡± the man stared at Emmet with interest. It was as if he was trying to see through him. ¡°If all of it is true, it¡¯s an unbelievable achievement, especially for a squire.¡± Emmet slightly nodded his head, gracefully thanking him for the praise. The man scanned his gaze all around the room. ¡°So, fellow distinguished members of the board¡­ what do you think? You have to admit, it¡¯s extremely intriguing.¡± The room was silent for a few moments, many of the well-dressed board members exchanging some more glances with their peers. Clearly, they were reluctant. There were also several board members who were especially flippant, like this matter was ridiculous. ¡°Absolutely not,¡± a deep voice sounded out from the other side of the room, drawing glances. It was an old man, who was wearing a long and prestigious-looking robe. ¡°Not to be harsh, but the fact that we are even here in this room right now is - in my opinion - completely foolish. Even if the boy is as great as you say he is, of which I find I have doubts... have you forgotten the school rules? Such an action would clearly be in violation.¡± With one glance, Emmet recognized the man as Varule Stinula, the headmaster of Gemini Academy, also known as ¡®Stinger¡¯ - apart from his infamous commencement speech, over the years, Emmet also recognized him from countless pictures plastered over numerous walls within administrative buildings, always portrayed with a scowl. Although he wasn¡¯t actually a part of the school board, since he was the headmaster, the one actually in charge of running the school on a day to day basis, these matters were very relevant to him. The other board members turned silent, glancing toward the original speaker. Many of their faces showed tacit agreement. Another woman began to speak, glancing toward Emmet with an expression of suspicion. ¡°I have to say, I agree with Varule here. Not only would such an action would be in clear violation of school policy, although it is impressive that he is able to run two such prominent businesses, it doesn¡¯t prove his actual theoretical knowledge. How do I know if his resume is real? Who knows if he¡¯s really qualified?¡± There were a few murmurs of assent. ¡°Mm¡­ I suppose that might be true,¡± the original man leaned back in his seat, stroking his chin and forming a pondering expression. His gaze turned toward Emmet. ¡°What about you, Emmet? What do you have to say for yourself? Why are you qualified to become a student?¡± ¡°...¡± The room quieted, and all eyes turned toward Emmet, who instantly felt the pressure on him increase tenfold. However, he forced himself not to panic. Remembering Maisy¡¯s stern words, he took a deep breath, grasped the pendant across his chest, and then calmly stood up from his seat. ¡°Firstly, I would like to thank everyone here for their time.¡± He started with a polite greeting. ¡°I know that all of the distinguished individuals present have very important things to do, and it¡¯s an absolute honor to have the opportunity to be here and express my view.¡± He looked around at the room with a purposeful humble gaze. The expressions of many of the board members slightly changed. At the very least, it appeared the boy knew how to express himself properly. Emmet¡¯s gaze turned resolute. ¡°I am here because I believe I am qualified to become a full-fledged student of the Gemini Academy. I know that this may seem like a tall statement, but I can show you that not only is my theoretical knowledge of formations sound, I¡¯m also experienced in construction, and have a mastery of nearly every classical field in formations.¡± From his bag, he pulled out a thick stack of papers. ¡°Firstly, I would like to present letters of recommendation. The sources of these letters come from many places - most are from my past employers, of which I completed tasks for. Others come from professors and other professionals I¡¯ve worked with, including my previous employer, Ms. Harbinger. I believe that these letters serve as an initial proof that I have the skills to back up my resume.¡±Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. He shifted the stack of papers to the person to his left, indicating that they could take a look and pass them around. The person got the hint, shuffling through the papers with a small degree of shock. A few moments later, he passed them over to the left. ¡°Next,¡± Emmet continued, his attitude unhurried. He pulled out a few different formations from his bag, each appearing complicated and professionally constructed. ¡°I would like to provide several examples of my past constructions. As you can see, these constructs show both my breadth of knowledge in a diverse array of formations subjects, as well as a wealth of rich construction experience. I use a very methodical approach in my construction, following best conventions in theory, attempting to best mirror the procedures of experts such as yourselves. I believe that these constructions show that my skills are on par or even exceed those of many of my peers.¡± He once again handed the little stack of constructions over to the person on his left. With one glance, the person¡¯s eyes couldn¡¯t help but go wide. These were advanced level constructions! Emmet had picked out this small handful of formations carefully. They were all small, but complicated to build, dealing with advanced level subjects. If one didn¡¯t fully understand the theory and were shoddy at construction, they would definitely not be able to produce something of this quality. Further, he had made sure to choose formations of varying subjects, displaying a diverse and comprehensive knowledge of different types of formations. ¡°Finally, I understand that many of you still have doubts of my theoretical knowledge and ability. In response, I would like to point out that with my body of experience, it¡¯s a basic prerequisite to be well-versed in theory. I am not only a tutor at Koriander Basics, but am also a mentor for tens of young students at Maisy¡¯s Debugging Depot. Only through superior experience and knowledge would I be able to provide sufficient guidance to underclassmen.¡± He glanced around the room, seeing that people¡¯s faces were gradually starting to change. ¡°However, if any of you are still not convinced, as a final display of proof, I¡¯m willing to be tested. Any kind of assessment, I¡¯m willing to do. I¡¯m confident in my ability, and I just need one chance to prove myself.¡± He crossed his hands together and slightly bowed his head. ¡°That¡¯s all I have to say. Thank you so much for your time.¡± ¡°...¡± Once again, silence. Many of those large figureheads looked toward each other, surprised looks on their faces. Clearly, they weren¡¯t expecting such articulate yet bold words from a little boy who was just a squire. Of course, many had also taken a look at the letters and formations that had been passed around, and were shaken by their quality. Was this really something a squire could produce? Sitting back down, Emmet once again clutched the pendant around his neck, his heart beating out of his chest. He had managed to calmly get through his whole spiel¡­ but would it be enough? After some time, a familiar harsh voice broke the silence. ¡°It¡¯s all a bunch of bollocks,¡± Stinger stood up and faced Emmet. ¡°I¡¯ve known about this issue for more than a year, but never took it seriously, and so I don¡¯t understand why we should take it seriously now. Why does this boy deserve a chance to become a Gemini Academy student? Look at him - he¡¯s a squire, for heaven¡¯s sake!¡± There was yet another bout of silence. Even a dunce could spot the disdain in Stinger¡¯s eyes - it seethed outward like a toxic gas. Although the emotion was a bit extreme, most of the board members could relate with it. Although they didn¡¯t speak, it could be seen from many of their faces that they mostly agreed with the sentiment. It seemed like an absurd thing, but in this world, this train of thought was perfectly normal. Societal class lines were extremely distinct - it didn¡¯t matter how good the boy said he was, this one word, ¡°squire,¡± had already completely defined his existence. These two castes were like two different worlds - naturally, one could not cross between worlds, so it was a given that only talented nobles could become formations experts. A squire from the countryside? How could he have the mental capacity, the mana talent required? But beyond that, and more importantly, most felt that there was something more that defined this boundary, something innate. Really, they could come up with as many excuses for the separation as they wanted, but for many, this wasn¡¯t an explicit feeling, but a perception that was always there - silent, untraceable. There was something intrinsically noble to the study of formations that naturally required someone noble to master it. This feeling was hard to describe, but in the simplest terms, it was a culturally conditioned norm, something that was so natural and intrinsic for them that it couldn¡¯t be doubted. Formations were a noble practice, practiced by noble people. Of course, there was an exception - although they didn¡¯t explicitly think about it, many of them were acutely aware that Gemini, the ancient formations genius, was originally not a noble. However, could everyone be Gemini? Gemini was the namesake of the school, a personage of the like that had only been seen a few times in the history of the study of formations. Maybe they didn¡¯t even realize it themselves, but they had long stopped thinking of him as an actual person, instead as an extraordinary, larger-than-life figure that surpassed class bounds. It was natural for them to not think of Gemini as a common-folk, but instead as someone so legendary and innately noble that it didn¡¯t matter where they were born. In this way, they had managed to fit Gemini neatly into the boxed separations that existed in their mind, simply because he was not within the boxes - he was outside of it. Of course, the rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia also played a part. The world had long forgotten just how much abuse and ridicule he had received so long ago. ¡°Hey, wait now -¡± the first speaker interjected once again, looking toward the headmaster with a bit of disappointment. The room¡¯s attention instantly turned toward him, many gazes a bit surprised. ¡°Isn¡¯t that a little unfair? With what we¡¯ve been told¡­ if he¡¯s not deceiving us, isn¡¯t he an exceptionally talented young boy?¡± Looking around, the man saw that many were still stone-faced, and let out a little chuckle. ¡°You have to admit, he doesn¡¯t give out the aura of a boy who¡¯s just a squire. And he seems to have the talent. Isn¡¯t that what the Gemini Academy is about, nurturing true talent? In the end, why should it matter that he¡¯s not of noble blood? And if you¡¯re still in doubt of his credentials, why don¡¯t we go with his suggestion, to test him? Naturally, if he passes the test, he¡¯s qualified. If he¡¯s qualified, then no matter who he is, he deserves to be given a chance.¡± There was once again silence in the room, no one finding a way to refute his words. It was true, if they plainly refused him merely because of his status, that did seem kind of improper¡­ This was the Gemini Academy, after all. It was known as a bastion of fairness, a great equalizer - it had filtered many diamonds out of the rough. In reality, however, most people had viewed this ¡®fair¡¯ reputation in relation to the competition between nobles, never taking those of common blood into account. ¡°In fact,¡± the first speaker suddenly thought of something, the corner of his eyes creasing up into a smile. ¡°Why don¡¯t we have him take the end of year assessment? This is his fourth year here, so it follows that he should take the fourth year assessment. Naturally, if he fails, he must leave the school. But if he passes¡­ then hasn¡¯t he earned the right to become a real fifth grade student?¡± An old woman across the speaker spoke up: ¡°Letting a squire take an end of year assessment¡­ isn¡¯t that kind of excessive?¡± ¡°Why is it excessive?¡± The first speaker responded. ¡°Is there something about the end of year assessment that makes it exclusively for nobility? The more I think about it, the more I think that this solution is especially fair. It¡¯s the Gemini Academy end of year assessment, after all. Naturally, if he ranks in the top half of the grade, then he has a superior ability to the other half of the students. There¡¯s no ¡®ifs¡¯ or ¡®buts¡¯ about it.¡± The woman opened her mouth to retort, but the words seemed to stop in her throat, and she lowered her head. It was true that this solution was very fair - no matter how you looked at it, there was no way the squire could cheat their way out of this. Whether he passed or not was entirely up to his actual abilities. However, she still found that she couldn¡¯t help but feel discontented. Around the room, there were a few nods. It seemed that they had been somewhat convinced by the first speaker¡¯s reasoning. If the boy could really pass the end of year assessment, then he truly did have the credentials to become a fifth year student. There could be no excuse, as the tests were the famous Gemini Academy assessments, and were perfectly impartial. There was absolutely no way for an unqualified person to cheat or weasel their way through. ¡°Are we settled, then?¡± The first speaker looked around the room. ¡°Let us allow this boy to take the end of year assessment. If he passes, he can become a student. If he doesn¡¯t, he leaves.¡± He paused. ¡°All in favor¡­ please raise your hand.¡± Saying so, he raised his hand. Another silence pervaded the room, this one quieter and colder than any of the last. After what seemed like an eternity, an elderly man to the opposite of the first speaker shrugged and raised his hand. After that, it was like the flow of a tide, and one by one, others followed suit. It seemed that this speaker was very influential, able to have a big impact on their decisions. Eventually, after a good two or three reluctant minutes, two-thirds of the people had raised their hands. ¡°Great, we have a two-thirds majority,¡± the first speaker declared, putting down his hand and standing up to gather his things. ¡°This matter is settled, then.¡± He glanced toward the headmaster. ¡°Headmaster, I trust you¡¯ll be able to arrange this? And discreetly, please?¡± Stinger sat still for a little while before finally giving a little nod. He had been one of the few who had not raised their hands. His silence clearly indicated his position on the matter, but he didn¡¯t dare go against a board majority decision. ¡°This meeting is concluded, then,¡± the first speaker turned to give a glance at Emmet, smiling slightly, and then opened the door behind him and strode out of the room. It seemed that he was a busy person, and wouldn¡¯t spend any more time than what was necessary engaging with matters like these. The rest of the board members also got up and began to funnel out of the room. They all glanced toward Emmet, their looks slightly annoyed. But soon after, their gazes cleared up, and they also quickly left, clearly having other pressing things to attend to. The last one to leave was the headmaster, who gave a slightly derisive look toward Emmet before indifferently looking away and also striding out of the room. Emmet was the last person in the now-empty room, sitting alone at his chair. If one looked closely, they could see that his eyes were wide in shock, but at the same time, also bright. The events of the past few minutes had really thrown him for a loop - in reality, he had never expected to be given a chance. These board members had ignored him for many months - how could he have expected, at the last moment, he would receive such an amazing shot? He glanced down at the blue wing pendant lying across his chest and let out a low rueful sigh. The pendant was truly incredible. Whenever he felt pressure, he would just feel its presence, and it would suddenly seem to give him strength, as if Maisy was really here with him. Once again, without even being here, she had allowed him to pass through this tough situation. Although for a few moments, thinking about Maisy, Emmet was slightly saddened by her departure, his mood quickly cleared up. Maisy was the one who had granted him these wings. With them, he would fly! He glanced over toward his left, recalling the speaker who had welcomed him in. Thinking back, he realized that, even with Maisy, receiving this chance could only have happened because of that first speaker. It was pretty obvious that the entire rest of the board was not so keen on the proposal, and only he was willing to give Emmet the time of day. He had been the one to invite him to the meeting, the one to give him the opportunity to speak, the one to defend him at the last moment. Emmet would have to thank that man at some point. Who was he, and why was he willing to support him? Getting up and walking around the table to gather his things, Emmet happened to spot that there was a piece of parchment left in front of the spot of the first speaker - a formal-looking piece of documentation that it appeared, in his haste, he had forgotten. Glancing over it, he spotted the signature on the bottom - Best, Sir Yano Gemini. His eyebrows raised.