Beyond Phantasia

A young man with gray hair and spectacles walked to the podium located in front of the class.

This caused a stir with some of the students.

“Isn’t that Cefin Sable?”

“Oh my god! I heard the dean personally taught him.”

“I can’t believe he’s our instructor!”

The man gave a nonchalant smile before slamming his fist into the podium, shattering it.

“Oh. I may have used too much force.”

This guy is a lunatic, I thought.

Cefin Sable. I remember him well enough. His voice lines were pretty funny, but he was also a tad bit crazy. Mainly because he's a battle maniac despite his scholarly appearance. Oddly enough, he was a physical technomancer. I think.

He turned his attention back to the class.

“Some of you might already know who I am, but let me properly introduce myself. My name is Cefin Sable, but you can address me as Instructor Cefin. I will be your instructor for S-Class throughout your four years here. So, consider me something akin to your homeroom teacher. However, I’m not a master of every subject, so make sure to report to your other classes and behave in front of your professors while I am not present… or else. Let’s make this a fun year, everyone.”

With a casual wave of his hand, traces of light flowed from his arms to his hand, and the desk repaired itself.

“I will now call attendance. Please respond with ‘here’ when your name is called.”

“Rank 1, Legacy Star: Novian Songstar.”

“Here.”

“Rank 2: Elara Von Castille.”

“Here.”

He’s calling ranks? What kind of bullshit is this?

Tsk.

According to the status screen, there were three hundred students in S-Class. As attendance was being taken, I noticed that the rankings weren’t in strict numerical order. For example, rank forty-two was called before rank thirty-one, suggesting that the order might reflect not just their rank but also their full rating and potential.

“Rank 4000: Lucien Crow?”

“Here.”

The room became silent and all eyes were on me.

“Mr. Crow, I know our system is very thorough, but there are occasional errors — rarely, but they do happen. By any chance, could I see your datachron?” Cefin said.

“That’s not the problem.”

“Oh? Then what is it?”

I could tell Cefin was intrigued.

I pulled out the envelope and held it up.

Woosh!

Cefin flicked his hand, and the envelope floated toward him as if carried by an invisible breeze.

He opened the envelope and scanned its contents.

His eyebrow arched in surprise before he sent the envelope flying back to me.

“My apologies, Lucien. Welcome to S-class.”

“It happens,” I said, waving my hand to show it was no problem.

I went back to casually minding my own business, but I could tell there were stares.

Clap!

Everyone’s attention returned back to Cefin.

“Let us begin our first basic lesson: technomancy.”

The class instantly became intrigued, as technomancy was one of the fundamentals needed to become a powerful technomancer, alongside socrixes.

I need to pay attention since I’ve skipped everything. I can't believe I'm doing this.

“As we all know,” Cefin began.

I don’t.

“Technomancy is a broad concept. It’s something that can be manifested through the technology we’re given. For example, natural elements. Can someone list them? How about…you, Mr. Smith?” Cefin said, pointing to a student.

The student stood up.

“Um...Fire, earth, water, air…”

Long ago the four....

“Incorrect. Ms. Von Castille please answer the question correctly.”

Elara stood up.

“Technomancy was specifically given to the human race by the primordial giant Erudition. The essence of technomancy is technology manifested by will. Through our gear, we can essentially manifest anything possible, as long as one has the willpower and skill to do so.”

“Correct. You may sit back down. In short, any natural element or artificial element can be used. However, we’re restricted by affinities. Now, what are the affinities, Mr. Songstar?”

Novian stood up this time.

“Not much is known about affinities besides the fact that they represent the natural order of the universe. However, different species and people are naturally attuned to specific affinities due to this order.”

“Correct. You may sit down. Affinities are something you are born with due to the order of the universe. That’s why some of you may be able to use fire better than others, or if you’re lucky, have two affinities. However, just because you’re attuned to a specific element doesn’t mean you can’t use other elements. It simply means that focusing on your natural affinity will likely yield better results and progress.”

"So that's the basis of technomancy." I muttered to myself, jotting down notes in the notebook provided at my desk.

I might stand out a bit due to everyone using the holo-screens at their desks, but writing on paper made it easier for me. The tactile feel of the pen and the act of writing helped me process the information better. Plus, I needed to focus, especially since I was back in school again.

Hah. I really hate this.

The class continued, with Cefin keeping it brief and concise since it was an introduction.

Ding! Dong! Ding!

"And with that, this will be the end of your first lesson. Remember to study and rest for the upcoming Socrilium Trials,” Cefin said, packing up his things before leaving the room.

I stretched my arms and rubbed my hands.

“At least I’m still disciplined,” I said, looking down at my perfectly written notes.

I then checked my datachron.

According to the freshmen schedule, we’d be learning four things: technomancy, socrix control, basic combat, and general education. All of which take a couple of hours, but socrix control won’t happen until after the Socrilium Trials. It’s important that during the trials, I manage to bond with a good one. The trials were one of the main events in the game that affected your gameplay and progression.

“This really is a pain.”

“Hey you! Rank 4000!”

I ignored the sound.

“Y-you! Rank 4000!”

Ignored.

A hand slapped in front of my desk.

Tsk.

I turned my head to face a rather big fellow with brown hair.

“What?”

I’m already getting annoyed with school, and now I have to deal with another kid. My luck must be really bad.

He was taken aback by my rude response.

“Y-you do you—!”

“Court death. Blah, blah, blah. Can you please shut up, kid? I don’t have time to roleplay school bully and victim. Next class is about to start, so how about you pick up your weight and move it?”

The number of times River has said that line during our friendly matches at the range was too many to count. I really wanted to lay low, but people like this are too annoying to ignore.

His face turned red. It looked like he was about to burst.

“Y-y-y-you! You won’t h-hear the last from me!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

I got up and left the raging tomato.

Let’s hope the next class goes a little bit smoother.