When Shang saw the schedule, his eyes widened.
'So many lessons!'
Every single spot, from dawn to early night, was filled with lessons!
Even more, several lessons overlapped, making it impossible to visit all of them!
And, apparently, there were even some lessons held at night, but they weren't held inside the academy.
Shang had thought that there wouldn't be that many lessons. After all, this was an academy for warriors, not doctors.
Shang looked over a couple of lessons.
Basic sword fighting.
Basic spear fighting.
Basic…
Advanced sword fighting.
Advanced spear fighting.
Advanced…
Expert sword fighting.
Expert spear fighting.
Expert…
There were so many different lessons for all kinds of weapons. Swords, sabers, bows, hammers, halberds, shields, and so on.
The weapon-related lessons happened twice a day and ate up three hours each.
These lessons were colored in bronze, which meant that they were suitable for everyone. The colors of the lessons were identical to the colors of the uniforms. It wasn't forbidden to partake in a class for a different color, but the knowledge gained from that class might not be applicable to one's chosen profession.
Of course, there were also lessons for many different classes, and the colored lessons were the ones that overlapped the most. The general lessons never overlapped with colored ones, but they did overlap with each other. After all, if someone used a spear, they probably weren't very interested in sword lessons.
An example of a colored lesson was the operation of general weaponry for the army, which was colored in yellow. The lesson taught the operation of large war machinery, such as ballista, catapults, siege towers, and so on.
Of course, not every lesson revolved around fighting. Another yellow lesson revolved around profiling other people to stop crime and general knowledge about how different people in cities operated, which made sense.
If the soldiers weren't going to war, they were overlooking the cities as a form of police force. The students coming from this academy were the best of the best, and they wouldn't be the ones that just stood in front of a gate the entire day. Because of that, they needed lots of knowledge about society.
The blue lessons were just absolutely filled with complex topics. They revolved all around leadership, tactics, social skills, nobility, etiquette, asset management, and so on. The blue lessons were probably the most numerous, and if someone decided to join that class, they would find nearly their entire day filled out.
But on top of that, the officers also needed to be more powerful than the normal students. After all, this was a world where strength reigned supreme.
In short, the students from the blue class needed to learn theory the entire day and train harder during the night than the other students trained during the day.
Shang could guess why there were only so few students wearing blue uniforms.
It was brutal.
The red class only had two unique lessons. One was a lesson that prepared them for fights against Mages, while the other one was all about the life of Mages. The first was the practical side, while the second was the theoretical side.
The black classes mostly revolved around scouting, tracking, hiding, assassination, and knowledge about beasts in general.
And the green class, the Caterpillar Class?
They literally only had a single lesson, but it took place every day for three hours.
It was simply called guided fighting practice.
From what Shang had read, guided fighting practice involved the student fighting against teachers. In a way, this lesson was identical to Shang's short fight with Soran, with the difference of actually getting feedback during the fight.
After Shang had looked over all the classes, he decided to create a timetable for himself. Luckily, he didn't need to submit anything since there were no grades. There was simply an annual exam that every student had to take part in. The exams were different for each class and mostly involved the relevant topics for that class.
This single exam was make or break.
Nothing else mattered.
If someone failed, they had proven to be too weak for the academy, and they would be expelled.
Every year, over 10% of the students were expelled during the exams.
It was brutal in a way, but it also had its good sides. For example, Shang could replan his schedule whenever he wanted. If Shang became too stressed, he could simply skip some lessons or attend other ones without any repercussions. Only his power was relevant.
When Shang thought about the exams, he also noticed what kind of schedule he had received.
Just like with any other school, the different classes were all categorized under different grades.
The Beginner Grade was for the new students, who all wore bronze uniforms. They were a bit older than 14 on average.
The Intermediate Grade was for students that reached the Middle Soldier Stage. Half of them still wore bronze uniforms, while the other half had already made their decision. The average age was a bit over 16.
The Advanced Grade was for students in the Late Soldier Stage. It was a requirement to choose one's class before advancing to that Grade, which was why everyone was already specialized. The average age was a bit over 18.
Then came the Preparation Grade. This was for students at the Peak Soldier Stage. As the name suggested, this Grade was for students preparing to reach the Second Realm, the General Stage.
When one managed to reach a sufficient Battle-Strength after having advanced to the General Stage, one could graduate.
However, one could also choose to remain here for special training.
This special training was the very thing that made this academy the best one in the world.
Nearly everyone wanted to take part in the special training, but only the best managed to enter.
What did the special training aim for?
To get the students to the Commander Stage.
The Commander Stage was the publicly acknowledged highest Realm for warriors since there was only a single True Path Stage warrior.
In short, if someone managed to graduate from special training, they would leave the academy as one of the strongest warriors in the world.
No other academy in the world had the means to push students to the Commander Stage.
A Commander Stage warrior was a big deal. Nearly all of them would be knighted and would be granted their own small territory. However, the word small referred to the general size of a noble's territory here. This "small" territory was still a couple hundred meters across.
When put in relation to Earth, graduating from this academy meant already having tens of millions of dollars and already having a sizable company.
As soon as someone graduated from that program, they had already achieved great success.
And they hadn't even entered the real world yet!
Of course, all of this was still far in the future for Shang.
pᴀɴdᴀ nᴏveʟ So, what Grade was Shang in?
Technically, as someone at the Peak of the Soldier Stage, he should join the Preparation Grade.
But that didn't happen.
Why?
Because Shang wasn't focusing on reaching the General Stage. He was focusing on increasing his power.
Due to these reasons, Shang was put into the Advanced Grade.
A Grade filled with 19- and 20-year-olds.
And Shang?
His body had maybe just reached its 15th birthday.