Classroom of the Elite: Monster Academy

Vol. 1 Chapter 2.3 - I will no longer be broke before this month ends

As I descended to the first floor, the echoes of Mashima-sensei's forging session still reverberated in my mind. With his work complete, there was no longer a reason for me to linger in the workshop. Sensei had mentioned that he had some paperwork to attend to, choosing to remain in his office while I made my way out.

I approached the counter and Hori—the same staff from earlier greeted me once again.

"Hello, is your session with Mashima-sensei over?" she asked.

"Yes, I'm now here to register as a blacksmith," I said, presenting my student id. Mashima-sensei said that the id is all I need to register.

Receiving my id, she fiddled something on the computer and returned it to me along with a badge— an insignia with an emblazoned hammer and a single star above. "Here you go, that badge serves as your proof of registration. I welcome you to the ANSA's Blacksmith Association, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka-kun," she said, beaming with a smile.

"That's it?" I was surprised that that was all it took to register, I didn't really think that when Mashima-sensei said that all you need is an id, he had meant literally. I assumed that I would need to present my id first to start the process and perhaps be taken somewhere to take a test.

"Mhmm, you see, there are only very few blacksmiths here in the academy as it is a very difficult and laborious profession, so we immediately accept any who are hopeful to become one," she explained.

"Nevertheless, we require each blacksmith to complete at least three commissions or requests each month to retain their registration."

"I see, is there any other information that I should know?"

"I was just about to get into that," standing up, she beckoned me to follow her.

Back to the second floor; Hori led me down the hall and stopped at the door numbered 37. Using a keycard, she opened it and what lies inside was a 20 square meters workshop. It was similar to Mashima-sensei's workshop albeit smaller in scale. Right smack in the center, a forging counter was placed and along the walls were lines of empty shelves.

"Here is the keycard for the room, now that you are registered you can now start accepting commissions from the floor below. Since you have just joined, you will be at the lowest rank-1-star. So, it is recommended that you only accept missions that are befitting of that rank, of course you can pick those a rank higher but bear in mind that failure to complete the request will incur penalties if that's the case. Failure on missions for your rank on the other hand will not," she explained, handing me the keycard.

"Another thing, metals and rare metals will be for you to purchase. Especially since you are just starting, it is essential that you have metals that you can use to practice. For commissions, the clients more often than not, provide the metals themselves by buying them beforehand from the association or somewhere else. So, you don't have to worry when accepting commissions for metals that you don't possess.

"The association will also buy refined metals from you at standard price, so if you have any metals that you won't use but have refined, don't hesitate to sell it to the Association. Also, after you had completed a certain number of commissions, you will automatically be promoted to 2-star and after that, to be promoted again, you will have to take a test."

"Last but not least, if you run into any problems, please don't hesitate to come by the Association for assistance," she smiled brightly thus ending her lengthy explanation.

Tracing the forging counter with the tip of my fingers, the smooth surface felt cool against my skin, its polished finish reflecting the soft glow of the dim workshop lights. It hasn't been used much.