Chapter 54: Ch54 – The Schedule

Ryan unfolded the paper carefully, smoothing out the creases as he laid it flat on his desk.

James and Jared leaned forward from their beds, curious.

Eleanor also took out her own paper.

It was a schedule for his days at the academy.

The schedule was dense, filled with times, locations, and class names written in neat, precise handwriting.

Ryan Ray – First Year Academy Schedule

KNIGHT TRAINING (Mandatory Attendance)

Dawn (05:00) – Mana Internalisation – Training Grounds East

06:00 – Combat Forms & Techniques – Training Hall Alpha

07:30 – Body Reinforcement Training – Training Grounds East

09:00 – Sparring & Dueling – Arena Three

MAGE CLASSES (Flexible Attendance, The times at which a lesson will end or finish can change dramatically depending on your teacher. Please speak with the Administration office in the Main Building if you are confused.)

11:30 – Elemental Theory – Main Tower, Floor 3, Room 12

13:00 – Mana Control & Meditation – Main Tower, Floor 5, Room 8

15:00 – Spell Construction – Main Tower, Floor 3, Room 15

16:00 – Combat Casting – Training Grounds West

17:30 – Advanced Incantations – Main Tower, Floor 4, Room 6

Additional Classes (Optional)

Visit the Administration Office in the Main Building for information on supplementary courses.

Notes:

Knight training attendance is MANDATORY. Absences will result in additional evening sessions. If you have multiple absences you will be expelled from the program.

Mage classes have flexible attendance. Attend as many or as few as needed for your development. A lack of development may lead to expulsion.

Meals: Dining Hall open from 06:00-20:00

Training facilities available until 22:00

Ryan examined the schedule, but his eyes lingered on the first entry.

“Dawn?” he said aloud. “Five in the bloody morning?”

“That’s what dawn means, yes,” Jared said dryly from his bed.

“Every day?” Ryan asked, his voice rising slightly.

Eleanor pulled out her own schedule and unfolded it. Her eyes scanned the page quickly. “Mine’s all mage classes. Nothing starts before eleven.”

Ryan looked at her schedule enviously. “Of course it doesn’t.”

James laughed. “Welcome to knight training. Early mornings, brutal workouts, and if you’re late even once, they make you regret it.”

“How would you know?” Ryan asked.

“Did you hit your head on your trip here? Don’t you remember the hideout?” Jared said with a sigh.

“When do you start then, you just do Knight training, right?” Ryan questioned.

“Same as you,” Jared said as he took out a piece of paper to show to Ryan. “Five in the morning. Every single weekday.”

Ryan looked at the schedule, the lessons mimicked his own.

Ryan groaned and slumped forward onto the desk. “I’m going to die.”

“You won’t die,” Eleanor said, though there was amusement in her voice. “You’ll just wish you were dead.”

“Very encouraging, thank you.”

James stood and stretched. “It’s not that bad once you get used to it. Your body will adapt quick.”

“And if it doesn’t?” Ryan asked.

“Then you quit and become a pure mage,” Jared said bluntly. “Plenty of people try both, plenty of people fail.”

Ryan sat up straight. He wasn’t going to quit. He’d already decided to become a knight. If that meant waking up at dawn every day, then so be it.

Then his eyes fell down to the dreaded schedule again. Well maybe being just a mage wouldn’t be so bad.

“What classes do you two have?” Eleanor asked, glancing at James and Jared.

James pulled out his own schedule and held it up. “Pretty much the same as Ryan’s knight training, minus all the mage stuff.”

Jared nodded. “We’re going to be pure knights. We don’t have any elemental affinity, so no point in sitting through mage lectures.”

Eleanor scanned her own schedule again. “I’ve got Elemental Theory, Mana Control, Spell Construction, Combat Casting, and Advanced Incantations.”

“Advanced Incantations?” Ryan asked. “What’s that?”

“Silent casting,” Jared said. “High-level stuff. They only let you in if you’re already decent at normal casting.”

Eleanor raised an eyebrow. “I wasn’t aware I’d been assessed yet.”

“You’re a hero,” James said with a grin. “They probably just assumed.”

Ryan looked back down at his own schedule. The knight training took up the entire morning, four straight hours of physical and mana-based conditioning. Then a break, presumably for lunch, before the mage classes started in the afternoon.

It was going to be exhausting.

“Do we have any classes together?” Ryan asked, looking at Eleanor.

She compared their schedules. “Looks like every class I have is at the same time and in the same room as your ones. So as long as you do all your mage lessons, we’ll be having every class together.”

“I’ll do them all,” Ryan said immediately. Light magic was meant to be rare, and he had no idea how to use it properly yet. Any class that could help him understand his element a bit more was worth attending.

James glanced out the window. The sun was beginning to dip lower in the sky, casting long shadows across the academy grounds. The light had taken on that golden quality that came just before it was evening.

“What time is it?” Ryan asked.

“Four, maybe five in the afternoon,” James said. “We should head to the dining hall before it gets too crowded.”

Ryan’s stomach growled at the mention of food. He hadn’t eaten since… well, actually, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d eaten a proper meal.

“Good idea,” Eleanor said, folding her schedule and tucking it away. “I’m starving.”

Jared rose from his bed, stretching his arms above his head. “Let’s go then.”

The four of them filed out of the room, Ryan pulling the door shut behind him. The corridor was quiet, only a few other students passing by, most heading in the same direction.

They descended the stairs and stepped out into the academy grounds. The air was cooler now, the heat of the day fading as the sun sank toward the horizon. Long shadows stretched across the grass, and the stone buildings glowed faintly in the golden light.

Students moved between the dormitories and the main building, some in groups, others alone. A few glanced at Ryan and Eleanor’s military uniforms with mild curiosity, but most paid them no attention.

The dining hall was easy to spot. It sat near the edge of the grounds close to the wall which protected the academy from the rest of the city. It was a long, wide building with smoke rising from chimneys at either end. Warm light spilled from the windows, and the sound of conversation drifted out into the evening air.

Ryan felt his stomach growl again.

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