My Joker System: From Low Mana Trash to the Mightiest Wizard!
Chapter 50: Act 2

Chapter 50: Act 2

"I see... thank you for going with me on this mission, then."

After rather lackluster words of farewell tinged with disappointment, Liora bowed slightly and parted ways with Hal, returning to the five-star dormitories while the latter returned to the one-stars’.

The white-haired young lady had invited him on another mission to gain actual combat experience against E-ranked monsters, but unfortunately, Hal had long planned to complete the twenty-five days of arcanist classes first.

He also intended to explore the other unlocked functions over the next month.

While he might go out to hunt from time to time to try things out, he wouldn’t take on any missions, as he might miss classes if he did so.

Arriving at his dormitory room, heads turned as the other one-star students noticed the small black pup slung over Hal’s shoulder, starting a new wave of rumors.

But he didn’t care.

He was quite tired and just wanted to rest for tomorrow morning’s arcanist classes.

Entering his room, Hal placed Loki on one side of the bamboo cot before changing into comfortable clothes.

He then made sure to lock the door and close the windows before turning in for the night, giving the black-furred cub a goodnight rub before doing so.

Its cross-eyed gaze remained steadfast as it wagged its tail in acknowledgment.

Come morning, Hal rose from his deep slumber an hour earlier than usual.

He quickly prepared himself and headed to the academy canteen to eat, leaving the sleeping Loki on his own for a while.

He then returned half an hour later with takeout meat for the little one after enjoying a hearty breakfast of seasoned and roasted Blue-hide Boar meat, a cup of rice, blanched assorted veggies, and a mug of hot chocolate for thirty copper coins.

"Hey, Loki, look what I got!"

Hal called out to the adorable little cub looking out the window, capturing the tiny one’s attention.

Loki happily ran toward him, tail wagging and tongue out in utter excitement at the sight of the packed meal: a quarter kilo of roasted Blue-hide Boar meat.

The little pup quickly dug in after Hal placed the container on one side of the dilapidated room, along with another small container of water.

"Well then, Loki, stay well-behaved here, okay? I’ll ask the professor later if I can bring you next time."

He also planned to study how to take care of a Dharmwolf cub at the public library after the three-hour arcanist classes.

Since he had decided to adopt Loki, he would make sure the little guy lived a decent life and grew to his full potential.

Maybe the pup could even help him a lot in the future...

Perhaps not through battle, but through reconnaissance and navigation, as canids usually had extremely sharp noses and senses that could warn him if a dangerous enemy was nearby.

Giving the cross-eyed cub a farewell rub, Hal left his room, activating the mana-lock feature of the door to ensure that no one could snoop around and that Loki wouldn’t be able to leave the safety of his room.

***

’Damn... this is a classroom?’ Hal mused in awe as he looked around.

It was his first time attending a class and also his first time being inside a classroom, though he thought it was more appropriate to call it a Class Hall.

The sheer vastness and height of the ceiling overwhelmed him.

Thousands of seats were arranged in a half-colosseum layout, though only a few hundred students were present.

At the front stood the professor’s spacious table, the Manatech lecture devices, and a wide lecture board.

Soon, the bell rang, and it was time for Hal’s first arcanist class.

"A fine morning, everyone. I am Professor Dex, a full-time arcanist and a part-time professor here at the Grand Magic Academy. As you can see, I’m still fairly young and have a long way to go in studying the ways of the arcane. However, my knowledge is more than enough to teach you all the first five arcanist lessons," Dex said, introducing himself with a confident smile and a slight bow before adjusting his glasses and scanning his eyes over the crowd.

Unlike the expensive private arcanist academies, the Grand Magic Academy follows a different lesson format, ensuring that anyone can begin with the first lesson almost any time of the year, as long as they enter the correct classroom on the first day of the week.

But of course, the level of detail in the lessons was only enough to give aspiring arcanists a basic overview in the introductory classes and a slim fighting chance in the more advanced ones.

If someone wanted to seriously pursue this career path, it would be wiser to completely give up on becoming a combat wizard, leave the Grand Magic Academy, and enroll in a private but prominent arcanist academy, where reputation was almost guaranteed upon graduation.

It was simply impossible to become both a combat wizard and an arcanist.

After all, one would have to dedicate nearly all their time to reading and learning everything about individual arcane beasts and monsters, such as their body parts, the effects of their cores when mixed with other materials, and many other related subjects.

Hal had known this for a long time, as the matter was addressed during the opening ceremony for the benefit of the less-talented students.

He honestly didn’t know what would come of this.

However, he ultimately chose to trust Primordial Chaos and the system the divine being had bestowed upon him.

Perhaps, just as it had changed his once-bleak future, it could somehow make him both an arcanist and a combat wizard, if that was the path it intended for him.

"Now then, let’s begin." Dex’s voice once again rang out, snapping Hal out of his thoughts.

"There are three common types of Arcane Artifacts:

Weapons, which include elemental staffs, wands, grimoires, and other less common types.

Accessories, which are easily wearable and grant more versatile, though lesser, boosts than Weapons,

and Utilities, which make life easier for wizards, such as the famous but expensive spatial bags."

The professor then paused and laughed in continuation:

"Hahaha, even I can’t make or afford one."

"Each of these types is well within reach of even those with mana affinities as low as one percent..."

...And so, Hal’s twenty-five-day arcanist classes began...