Chapter 477: Instructor Joseph
Chapter 477: Instructor Joseph
Returning to New York Superpower Universities, Mike officially began his college life.
"Mike, you've been assigned to Star Class Three. Please report to the designated building by 6:45!"
Star Class Three?
Mike recalled that Kaelum had mentioned this year's early batch at New York Superpower Universities only admitted 100 students. These 100 students were divided into 20 classes, five per class, ranked by strength into ten Star classes and ten Satellite classes.
Each class had different resources, with higher-ranked classes receiving more resources and better benefits!
Mike had previously ranked first in Zone C and performed well throughout the summer camp. As a result, he was directly placed in Star Class Three. Although his file listed his talent as C- level, rumors of Mike's second awakening had already spread privately!
Opinions on his second awakening varied among different people. Following the directions on the notice, Mike quickly found Star Class Three. Surprisingly, he was the last to arrive.
"Mike's here!"
Four people had been waiting for a while-two boys and two girls, Mike's new classmates. They seemed unfamiliar to Mike, but they clearly knew each other and had been chatting before Mike arrived.
"You're the Mike from Zone C of the summer camp, right? Introduce yourself."
A short guy, about 5.5 feet tall, stepped forward and greeted him, "I'm Libra, with an SS-level talent, ranked sixth in the training camp, currently challenging the twenty-third floor of the Tower of Truth."
Libra was obviously his ID, not his real name. For them, it was more common to use IDs in daily life. After all, names were given by parents, but IDs were chosen by themselves.
After Libra spoke, the others introduced themselves in turn. A pretty girl said, "I'm Sophie, ranked thirteenth in the training camp, currently on the twentieth floor of the Tower of Truth."
After Sophie, a muscular boy spoke, "I'm Blackdragon, ranked fifteenth, on the twentieth floor."
"I-I'm Candy, last in the training camp, I..."
The last to speak was a little girl who stammered, her face turning red, unable to finish her sentence.
"Candy is currently on the nineteenth floor of the Tower of Truth, preparing for her third class(job) change," Libra added, explaining, "Candy has a stuttering problem when she's nervous."
"No worries, no need to be too nervous," Mike waved his hand and introduced himself, "I'm Mike, with a D-level talent. My progress in the Tower of Truth is about the same as yours."
Everyone: ???
In Mike's statement, only "I'm Mike" was true; the rest was completely made up. How could he claim to have a D-level talent? Everyone at New York Superpower Universities knew Mike's talent had undergone a second awakening! Even with the second awakening, it was hard to believe Mike could catch up with the others in the Tower of Truth!
In just a month, these SS-level talents had already reached the twentieth floor. If not for Thor's overwhelming presence, they would have been the shining stars of this generation! "Seeing is believing," Libra remarked. He had heard that Mike was quite shameless, known as the 'shameless one' at the summer camp, even causing trouble for Ace, Bad Woman, and others.
Clearly, among these four SS-level talents, Libra was the leader. In fact, the members of Star Class Three, aside from Mike, were handpicked by Libra: Sophie, Blackdragon, and Candy. The ranking of Star classes wasn't fixed; they held regular battlefield simulations. Based on performance, they allocated points, determined rankings, and distributed resources! This meant the five members of the team needed to work together, creating a synergy greater than the sum of their parts.
The four from the SS-level talent training camp already had a rapport and had completed missions together. So, the only one needing to adapt was Mike, supposedly the weakest.
"Mike, let's set aside other issues for now," Libra said sincerely, not looking down on Mike despite his perceived weakness. "We'll be fighting side by side for the next four years. I need to confirm something. After your second awakening, is your talent S-level or SS-level?"
This question wasn't unreasonable. As teammates, they needed to have some understanding of Mike's abilities.
"You might be disappointed," Mike replied honestly, "Sorry, it's not."
Hearing Mike's answer, everyone looked a bit disappointed. If Mike had an SS-level talent, especially a reconnaissance talent, their team would be unbeatable!
Unfortunately, he couldn't change it. He couldn't exactly downgrade his SSS-level talent to SS-level, could he?
Libra stepped in to lighten the mood, "No worries, even an A-level talent is enough!"
Libra's words weren't just to comfort Mike. Reconnaissance talents were inherently more valuable on the battlefield, effectively ranking a level higher! This meant an A-level talent could function as an S-level, and an S-level as an SS-level!
In their five-person team, roles were clearly defined.
Blackdragon handled direct confrontations as a top-tier Warrior.
Sophie was responsible for healing, dispelling negative statuses, and providing buffs, essentially the healer.
Libra had strong output, mastering both physical and magical attacks with a variety of methods.
Candy was special, considered a trump card, a surprise element.
As a wind mage, Mike had high mobility and reconnaissance abilities, tasked with gathering intelligence and scouting routes.
After listening to Libra's introduction of the team, Mike nodded slowly, "Got it, I'm the freeloader."
"Mike loves to joke," Libra quickly waved his hand, explaining, "As part of the same team, we'll be fighting side by side for the next four years. Our success is tied together. To achieve good results in battlefield simulations, we need everyone!"
Libra added, "Of course, Mike, you should prioritize strengthening your survival skills. On the battlefield, staying alive is the first step to making an impact."
The competition among Star classes was fierce, and Star Class Three's position was precarious. Star Class One and Star Class Two were composed entirely of SS-level talents! They were undoubtedly the top of this year's New York Superpower Universities. Star Class Four had four SS-level talents and one S-level, making them formidable.
On paper, Star Class Three's strength was inferior to Star Class Four!
Mike wholeheartedly agreed with Libra's emphasis on survival, "Well said!"
Only those who survive can contribute!
"For targeted training, we went to great lengths to find a strong instructor for Class Three," Libra said with a smile, "Initially, they refused, but when they heard Mike was in Class Three,
they came to us."
"Oh?" Mike had a bad feeling. No way, no way! It couldn't be what he thought, could it?
A gentle breeze blew, dispersing the summer heat. A handsome man appeared in the distance.
A nine-star Lord, majestic and imposing!
Libra enthusiastically called out, "Instructor Joseph, we're over here!"
"Let me introduce you all. This is Joseph, the deputy commander of the Nightmare Corps, the number one wind mage!" Libra introduced seriously, "Instructor Joseph has achieved much on the Abyssal battlefield, slaying dozens of eight-star demon lords..."
A question mark slowly appeared above Mike's head.
Libra, are you praising Joseph or insulting him? A nine-star Lord, and his most notable
achievement is slaying eight-tier Lords...
Mike had single-handedly taken down 1000-level enemies twice!
Sure enough, hearing Libra's words, a hint of embarrassment flashed across Joseph's face. He coughed lightly, "Those are just empty titles, not worth mentioning."
To change the subject, Joseph quickly got into the swing of things, "Students, I'm the instructor for Star Class Three. For the next four years, I'll be responsible for your education. Of course, your daily courses will follow a [major course + one-on-one tutoring] model. Mandatory courses are divided into two classes for the entire grade, with collective lessons. One-on-one tutoring is tailored to individual needs..."
After briefly introducing the teaching methods at New York Superpower Universities, Joseph revealed a mysterious smile. "To stimulate your enthusiasm for learning and help early batch students grow faster, New York Superpower Universities has made some adjustments. The details are in this document; take a look."
With that, Joseph handed each of them a document. Mike glanced at it, quickly extracting the
key points:
The most important thing: New York Superpower Universities had reformed its credit system. At superpower universities, credits functioned as currency in a sense. Students earned credits through learning, completing tasks, gaining military merits, and submitting spoils. They could also use credits to exchange for various items.
After early batch students enrolled, New York Superpower Universities abolished the old credit exchange rules, adopting a new credit system. Simply put: 1 New York Superpower Universities credit = 1 Lord merit!
"Wow-" Mike took a sharp breath. Were they really this wealthy?
He saw in the document that Star Class Three received 2500 credits weekly! That meant, on average, each person got 500 credits, equivalent to 500 Lord merits! That wasn't a small
amount!
500 a week, 26,000 a year, 100,000 Lord merits over four years! There were 100 students in this year's New York Superpower Universities, and not everyone enjoyed such benefits. Star Class Three received 2500 credits per week, while Star Class Four only got 2000 credits per week! Just one rank difference meant 100 Lord merits more each week!
And Star Class One's reward was a staggering 10,000 credits per week!! If not for maintaining his persona, Mike might have rushed to Star Class One and defeated them all. 10,000 Lord merits a week meant doing nothing and still getting 2000 Lord merits! That's 285.7 Lord merits a day, nearly 200,000 gold coins per minute!
This was too good to be true! Mike glanced around, noticing everyone was equally shocked by the numbers. He patted Libra's shoulder, saying seriously, "Libra, we must reach Star Class
One as soon as possible!"
"Alright, Mike." Libra was amused yet helpless. Mike's enthusiasm was commendable.
However, Star Class Three's strength was considered weak among the Star classes. Candy was
at the bottom of the training camp, and Sophie and Blackdragon's performances were average. Although Mike was well-known, his reputation exceeded his strength, and with limited talent, the gap would only widen over time.
Instead of eyeing Star Class One's rewards, they should focus on maintaining their position in Star Class Three. In fact, Libra and the others had set low expectations. Initially, they aimed to stabilize in the Star classes, then, after Candy's third job change, strive for the top three!
Of course, Libra wouldn't share these thoughts with Mike. There was no need to dampen a classmate's enthusiasm! Besides, dreams were worth having; what if they came true?
In addition to the credit reform, New York Superpower Universities had hired many strong individuals and experts to create premium courses. To access these courses, students had to pay a significant amount of credits!
Mike logged into the learning platform on his tablet to see what courses were available. "Joseph, wind mage targeted tutoring, 6 sessions for 200 credits."
"Maxen, teaching you how to become the strongest below Supreme, 9,999,999 credits."
"Anonymous, endurance training, beaten until you submit, 1 session for 88 credits. Note: This
course requires a silent environment!"
"..."
Scanning through, Mike recognized many familiar names.
Joseph's course was reasonably priced at 6 sessions for 200 credits.
Before Thor's appearance, Joseph lived comfortably, with plenty of money. As a nine-star
Lord, he could earn by slaying eight-tier Lords.
But after meeting Thor, his wealth dwindled rapidly!
Now, Joseph had spent all his savings, bought a longbow on installment, and even signed a
contract with Thor. His financial situation was dire. In this context, Joseph naturally needed to find ways to earn extra money to pay off his debts.
As for Maxen's course, it was pure nonsense. 10 million credits, and he dared to ask for it!
Even if someone managed to gather 10 million credits, Maxen would only receive 0.1%! 10,000 Lord merits!
"Hmm, when you put it that way, it seems like quite a lot!" Mike mentally noted Maxen's recent windfall.
As for the 'Anonymous' course, it was undoubtedly Ace. Ace's course appeared for the same
reason as Joseph's...
He owed Thor 5 million Lord merits, and if he didn't repay soon, the interest would be terrifying! With nothing else to offer, Ace had no choice but to resort to this method. Looking at the courses on the platform, Mike pondered, nodding slowly, "No wonder New York Superpower Universities is so generous with credits."
For Libra and the others, improving their strength boiled down to a few directions: enhancing their core abilities, acquiring equipment and items, and finding a good instructor.
Core strength could be improved through the Tower of Truth. Equipment and items could be
acquired once they became Chiefs. At this stage, what they needed most was a good instructor!
This meant most students would spend their credits on the learning platform! These credits
would circulate and eventually return to the instructors!
And these instructors... were all sheep in Thor's pen! Some sheep still owed profits. Others
would grow new profits, ready for harvest.
Mike's eyes lit up, his thoughts crystal clear, "So, the credits from New York Superpower Universities ultimately end up in my pocket?!"