On the first official day of school, all students reported in to their teachers or to their seniors, either way, if there were any absentees, the schools would quickly become aware of it. As for those who were foolish enough to not attend without a damn fine reason, they would not have the opportunity to return until the next enrolment, if they could pass the entrance tests.
Leon reported in to his Teacher, Sagi, while Jin Li reported in to Teacher Corvus... because it was convenient. And then the Martial Arts student was given permission to go into closed cultivation for the duration.
Closed cultivation, for both Teachers and Students, usually took place in a mountain to the north of the Institute, a fair distance from any of the schools. This was because of the lightning tribulations. Lightning tribulations were considered to be both a test and punishment from the Heavens, for Cultivators were considered upstarts who dared challenge them. Whether this was true or not, or whether it had more to do with the balance of the world, when Cultivators breached certain bottlenecks in their cultivation, it was highly likely to draw the phenomenon to their location. As it happened, completing core formation was one of these certainties.
So, those needing the shelter not only to protect themselves from the ambush of the lowest scum of life, but also in order to face those tribulations, Teachers and Students would seclude themselves in White Stone Mountain.
In ages past, the numerous caves that pock marked the mountain were simple; smooth walls and a sealing boulder that only the occupant, if still living, could open. Nowadays, Cultivators have realised that 'simple' did not have to mean 'uncomfortable', so the cold stone floors had been covered by soft rugs and Mage globes sit in small indentations along with some clean cloths and an Enchanted Bowl of Refreshing Water. There was also a wooden bed. As it was winter, a single Fire Mage crystal expelled warmth into the cold interior from a small side table. Jade bottles of fasting pills were given to those who had yet to complete Body Tempering, namely the students.
In one of these caverns, Jin Li sealed the opening with his spiritual energy then sat upon the bed in lotus position.
Meanwhile, Teacher Sagi was speaking with his three immediate students; Hue, Stygar and Leon.
The weather was still cold, even if the freezing temperatures and heavy snows that covered certain mountains in the region had abated somewhat. In the outer school of alchemy, they were somewhat sheltered, but the effects of their surroundings could still be somewhat felt. This meant that only the hardiest of herbs would grow in the fields, such as purple spirit grass and sweet sunclover, or those that favoured cold weather. Others had gone into a period of dormancy; these were usable if already mature, but seedlings were generally of no use. A few had wilted and died, leaving their seed or roots in the shelter of the ground ready for the spring in which they would reform once more, the latter as well as the dormant had the chance of becoming coveted one hundred year or even one thousand year herbs one day.
As the weather was not very pleasant, the four, one Teacher, three students, had gathered in one of the rooms in the lecture hall. Stygar had a particular aversion of the cold and had placed fire mage crystals close by, which warmed the air. Leon was particularly glad of this and was thinking of asking his senior how to obtain some of the crystals for his own home, which currently relied on the kitchen stove for warmth.
"In a few weeks, the Interschool exchange will begin once more," Teacher Sagi reminded them, to which Leon looked completely blank, as did Hue for a different reason, while Stygar sneered. "Now, now, you are all seniors and talented, it's not like there won't be anyone seeking to add you to their teams."
"Er..." Leon wondered how to bring up the fact that he had no idea of what his Teacher was speaking of.
Since returning to the school, perhaps due to the fact that meeting his grandfather and Russ had jolted his previously locked memories, a few others had awakened in his mind. For instance, he recalled that he'd been a bit of a loner before, not making friends easily, but the one or two he had had abandoned him thanks to Caprian's campaign of ruling over the outer school and abusing him. So he often ate alone in the Food Hall... if he remembered to eat at all; he really was obsessed over making pills. At first, he'd wanted to learn as much about alchemy in order to earn money and provide his grandfather with a better life as well as prove to his aunt that he was not a useless burden. But later, he just really liked it. Perhaps because of this, activities such as the Standings, the Five School Festival and now the Interschool exchange, he really had no knowledge of because he had no interest in them.
As if a similar notion occurred to him, Teacher Sagi turned to him to explain; "You didn't attend the event last year, if I recall correctly, you went into secluded training for that time. I don't think you would have left your room had you not run out of herbs. Also, I recall you fainted straight after leaving and had to be sent to the Healers' Hall."
Leon blushed, shamefaced; had there been something that happened like that?
Stygar and Hue left, while Sagi led Leon to the library wanting to show his youngest student something he managed to locate in the Winter break. As he did, he began to explain about the Interschool exchange.
It was not, as had been Leon's first thought, an exchange program for students involving other learning institutes. This event only involved the five schools within the institute, but unlike the Standings, students would battle and share their learnings with students from other schools. There were two main events. One was a one on one event, a competition that could be entered by anyone of any school, thus battles between disciplines were explored and challenged. Points could be earned or lost due to the matches, though placements on the Standings would not be affected. It was open to all, but generally, alchemists and scholars would not get involved. Of course, there were always exceptions.
The second event was a team battle, in which there would be up to sixty teams. These teams would be led by the top twenty students in the inner martial arts school, inner Mage school and the inner beast taming school. The teams consisted of six students and all five schools had to be represented. The sixth place was left to the discretion of the team leader, but could not be in the top fifty of any inner school (though any of the other five could, just not naturally in the top twenty for obvious reasons).
It would stand to reason that the top students would try and grab the twenty first through to twenty fifth of each Standing to their team, but this would not necessarily give them the best team. Dynamic and team work was also important or they would ultimately fail. Plus, there was talent to be had in the outer schools that couldn't be underestimated; the Standings involved skill and strength indeed, but also luck.
"T-Teacher?" Leon had to ask. "Why would a t-team n-n-need an alchemist or scholar?" Surely a team would be dragged down with these two non-combative occupations.
"Think about it," Teacher Sagi told him. "Outside of school, martial artists and other Cultivators that rely on their strength of body and mind still often need the pills an alchemist can provide, whether it be for healing or self-improvement. Also there are times they need to quick wit and intelligence of a scholar for who else can translate ancient tombs or help them adjust their cultivation method to their specific needs? Only an ignorant individual would deny the support you offer. That is partially what this exchange is all about. Also it is good training, for the talents of others can not be underestimated. A person who looks weak might be suppressing an immense strength. A person who looks strong, yet dim, might be hiding a sly wit."
Leon nodded that he understood. He'd not been one for reading fictional novels in his past life, unless it had been an assignment, but that didn't mean he didn't take the time to watch movies once in a while.