The Obligations of the Elderly - chapter 41

Chapter 40

As expected, upon entering the Academy, Xi Liu, who immediately knocked out the original top student to become the new number one, and Gong Si, whose language grades were outstanding, both became highly noticeable figures.

However, their time in the spotlight was short-lived. Once they finished the general curriculum and began classes related to Ability Users, both of them were assigned to the E-Class.

It wasn’t just Gong Si who was placed in E-Class; both of them ended up in E-Class together.

Ji Ling Academy divides its classes into two types: one is for general subjects, which are basically the same as ordinary schools, arranged as Class 1, Class 2, Class 3, and so on; the other type is for Ability Users, categorized as S-Class, A-Class, B-Class, etc. Unlike the random grouping of general classes, Ability User classes are strictly sorted by ability level, with E-Class being the lowest and weakest group.

This is unavoidable, since ability levels are innate and can’t be significantly changed through effort. Plus, different mastery levels require different teaching content…

“I’m an H-Class Vessel, so being in E-Class makes sense. But how did you, a User of the Ruler level, end up here too? Qiu Xia is just a Dominator and already stands out in our grade. You’re a Ruler-shouldn’t the whole school be going crazy over you, causing a storm or something? Why are you here in E-Class with me? It’s just not logical!” Sitting at his desk, Gong Si stared at Xi Liu, looking utterly incredulous.

Xi Liu sat upright at his seat, smiling cheerfully as he let Gong Si look at him.

He didn’t answer Gong Si’s question, but a boy sitting on Gong Si’s other side quietly reached out and poked Gong Si’s arm.

“Hm?” Gong Si frowned and turned around.

This boy had fair cheeks, a few freckles near his nose, and a head of brown curly hair.

“Although Xi Liu is a Ruler, he’s already Form Contract with you, and you’re G-Class. At most, you can only display E-Class abilities. As a User who can only utilize E-Class Vessel abilities, Xi Liu is also considered an E-Class User, so he was assigned to E-Class.” The boy looked ordinary, but his voice was very pleasant-not deep, but naturally magnetic, making Gong Si’s ears tingle.

(Note: To avoid unnecessary trouble, Gong Si’s submitted level was G-Class.)

Gong Si shook his ears and thanked him, “Thanks, but you are…?”

Back in Lengshui Town, all his classmates had moved up together from elementary and middle school, so there was no one he didn’t know. Now, transferring for the first time in his life, Gong Si realized he had a weakness: he couldn’t remember people.

Sure enough, the boy looked a little hurt, “I’m your desk mate in the general curriculum class!”

“Huh? Isn’t Xi Liu my desk mate?” Gong Si was stunned.

The curly-haired boy looked even more hurt, “He’s your desk mate on the left, I’m on your right.”

Gong Si suddenly understood.

“Sorry, sorry, it’s my first time transferring and I’m a bit nervous, plus I’m worried about keeping up with the coursework. During class I only paid attention to the teacher and the blackboard, didn’t notice the classmates beside me…” Gong Si explained, worried the boy might really be upset and not wanting-

“It’s not your fault. I look so average, I’m famous for being a background character. Most people don’t notice me.” Patting his chest, the curly-haired boy smiled nonchalantly, “Let me introduce myself: I’m Ni Lu. My name has the character ‘Lu’-like ‘background character Lu’-hahaha, isn’t that easy to remember?”

He even made fun of himself…

Gong Si reached out and shook his hand, “I’ll remember you now, Ni Lu. I’m Gong Si…”

“No need to introduce yourself, unlike me, you really stand out. You and Xi Liu are both so eye-catching, probably everyone in class already knows your names-maybe even the whole grade, since you’re both so outstanding…” Ni Lu said with envy.

“Xi Liu, sure, but me… really?” Gong Si was a bit surprised.

Ni Lu pulled his desk closer to Gong Si and whispered, “You’re very cool and aloof! You look just like an Eldest Brother who’s hard to mess with. You leave an even deeper impression than Xi Liu-at least for me.”

He smiled awkwardly, “Sorry, when I found out Gong Si was sitting next to me, I was startled. You look cold and fierce, I was worried you were a bully, but soon realized you’re just a studious good student. Your handwriting is beautiful, and… I peeked at your notes once…”

Gong Si: …Do I really look that fierce?

“The vice class leader, you look so tense. When you get nervous, your face turns like this.” Xi Liu laughed, then imitated Gong Si’s cold expression.

“Yeah, exactly like that,” Ni Lu agreed.

Gong Si: …I really feel like bullying you two right now.

But because of this, he immediately made a new friend. For Gong Si, who was transferring schools for the first time, this was a good start.
Even more surprising was that this student seemed to be an encyclopedic figure.

“Xi Liu is a Ruler. When people first heard he was a Ruler, the Users in the Academy were nervous for quite a while, and the Vessels were excited for half a day. But once they heard he had already Formed Contract, everyone’s enthusiasm faded,” Ni Lu said, glancing at Xi Liu. “After all, someone who’s married holds no appeal for the singles, especially when divorce isn’t an option.”

“That’s true~” Xi Liu chuckled. As someone who enjoyed similar metaphors, he deeply agreed with Ni Lu’s words.

Ni Lu shook hands with Xi Liu again.

Then he continued introducing the two: “Our E-Class is just like S-Class-the smallest class in the whole Academy. After all, there aren’t many low-ability Ability Users who can get into Ji Ling Academy. The Academy does recognize academic performance, but for Ability Users, there’s an extra evaluation of ability level.”

“My ability is F-Class, very low-pretty much the bottom at Ji Ling Academy. Based on what I know, among all the Ability System students currently enrolled, I should be the lowest.” He glanced at Gong Si. “Of course, starting today, that’s no longer the case.”

Without waiting for Gong Si to react, he continued, “With such a low level, I shouldn’t have been able to enter Ji Ling Academy. But my grades are good, I’m skilled at drawing, and my ability is a hard-to-identify Special Type. That’s why I was specially admitted.”

Ni Lu first introduced himself.

Then he began introducing other classmates: “Those two over there are just like you-User and Vessel who have Formed Contract, both E-Class. Their names are He Ze and Zhang Xiao Nuan. Neither of them has high ability, but after merging, their ability level reaches B-Class. They’re a rare compatible pair, so they were placed in E-Class. I expect they’ll move up to D-Class or C-Class soon, and maybe even B-Class in the future, though that’ll be tough.”

“Those two are Bao Po and La Mu, Vessels, twin brothers. Their ability is also E-Class, and when Vesselized, they become ordinary twin blades. Normally, they wouldn’t have been admitted, but actually, they’re triplets-their other brother is a User, and he’s B-Class. I’ve heard the three brothers have decided to Form Contract together in the future. Because of that, they were admitted.”

Ni Lu introduced a few more students, and Gong Si realized: every student here was a low-level straggler, but each had some special circumstance that kept them from being eliminated.

A typical underachiever class-Gong Si, who had always been among the gifted and never counted as an underachiever, felt a bit complicated inside…

But looking at Xi Liu: the one truly affected looked perfectly calm. What right did he have to feel complicated?

“Are you three done talking? If so, pay attention to the lesson, please?” The teacher at the front knocked on the blackboard.

The three-Gong Si, Xi Liu, and Ni Lu-immediately turned serious and listened to the lesson again.

Overall, the E-Class curriculum was relatively simple, still focused on theory. This was both Gong Si’s strength and weakness: a strength because he excelled at memorizing and learning, a weakness because, as a newly born Vessel, he truly lacked basic knowledge in this area.

He diligently finished his notes, and class ended.

This time, Ni Lu joined them after class.

As they left the classroom, the neighboring class also finished at the same time.

The people coming out… were clearly very different from their own group.

But like their class, this one also seemed to have very few students.

He noticed this because he felt he was being watched-or rather, not himself, but Xi Liu beside him.

As they exited, the leading student from that class looked at Xi Liu from afar, and even glanced at Gong Si.

The gaze was so intense that Gong Si couldn’t ignore it. Frowning, he asked Ni Lu in a low voice, “Who’s that long-haired guy over there?”

Tall and thin, obviously male but with long black hair and an air of arrogance-even if he was good-looking, Gong Si knew he couldn’t like someone like that.

Ni Lu shivered. “That’s Xing Yun, currently the top Ability User in the grade. He used to be first in both academics and ability, but now he’s only first in ability-Xi Liu has surpassed him in academics.”

“No wonder Xing Yun is paying attention to you guys. He’s heard Xi Liu is a Ruler, and used to see him as his biggest rival. But now…”

Ni Lu considered, “Xi Liu is just too outstanding. He’s still a bit concerned, I guess?”

But only a little.

After glancing at them and noticing Gong Si’s ability level, Xing Yun turned his head away expressionlessly.

He no longer saw these two as rivals.

The gap in level was too great-there was no need to be rivals anymore.

The two groups passed each other in the corridor, and the first day’s classes ended.