MTLNOVEL Chapter 1442: The Will to Grow
The kid was shaking and sniffling at first, and it seemed like it wouldn't take much for him to start peeing on his pants.
"Wuu…."
Percy cried, relieved he was uninjured, but when he opened his eyes and looked at his teacher and then at his surroundings, he finally absorbed what had happened and his face went completely red.
What could he do? He was terrified and he couldn't think straight anymore. He deadass wanted to get out of there!
Then, seeing his teacher's and classmates' eyes lowkey on him, he immediately wanted to bury himself in the soil. No cap, this was the most embarrassing thing he had ever experienced (after being beaten up by Jake, of course).
"Don't cry."
"I'm not crying!!" he sniffled, then looked at his teacher. "What do I do now?"
Students were allowed to give up and asked to be rescued, but that meant they failed the test and would have to do it over again—possibly twice, depending on the teacher's prerogative.
"This is mad hard, teach."
"Do you want to drop out?"
"Eh? NO."
"Your cousin had been saying you didn't want to go to school."
Percy was spoiled and thought he had a backing, so he didn't really value school as much as others. On the other hand, most students would never even think of this at all.
There were many advantages of graduating, other than learning new things. It was because if they graduated after at least 5 years in school (except for those who started as high schoolers, who would need only 3 years of high school), then they'd automatically be granted permanent residency.
And if they were already residents by the time they graduated, then they could get the equivalent cost of it in cash!
If that wasn't a tempting reason to graduate, nothing was!
"Jake will only support you until you're 18, you know that right?"
"He…" he knew this, and Jake told him this over and over. However, deep down, he didn't really believe that guy would throw him out and make him fend for himself.
Sammy sighed. He knew this type of people, and there were not a few of them.
If these people hadn't truly encountered major hardships in life—one they had no control and had no one to lean on—it was too difficult for them to understand that things might not go their way until it actually happened.
They logically knew that it could, but in their hearts, they doubted it'd be like that for them.
Sammy wondered how much he should make this kid suffer just for the heck of it.
"Then just keep trying. Once a day, you will be fighting an uninjured level 1 monster until you win them, and the week after that you'd go against a level 2. You'd do this over and over until you defeated two."
Sammy smiled as he let him stand on his own, casually tapping the kid's shoulder.
"Otherwise I'll throw you out the gates."
"..."
…
More tweens went out to go to the trial and, naturally, the aborigine kids did better than the terran kids. At least for the first few years, this trend was likely to be maintained.
Of course, Terran kids would adjust eventually and considering how much faster they developed than the locals, it was only a matter of time before they caught up. Of course, among the aborigines, there were also those whose talents far exceeded their peers.
For example, after everyone else was over, it was finally Honda's turn. The lad had grown up quite a bit in the past year and was incredibly popular due to his looks, pedigree, and talent.
"Ah, the finale," Rian said, making the younger boy stare at him.
His eyes and Rian's met, a subtle competitive spark passing between them.
He had just turned twelve but had been killing weaker monsters since before so the soldiers thought he should be able to handle this class faster.
Not to mention, because of his family's money and influence, he was also allowed to accompany a lot of clearing missions, provided that they were happening very near the walls.
He also excelled in the academic classes as well. Although in this field he was a bit behind the Terran kids, his intellect and genuine will to learn allowed him to learn much faster than other aborigine kids.
Since he was young, as a City noble, he was naturally trained to do a lot of things. Even if they had a limit on leveling up, there was plenty to learn, like how kids here went to school first before experiencing practicum with monsters.
The teachers also knew of his advantages so they did not bother weaken the monster against him. It was a beast 3 levels below him. Like Percy, he also chose sword and shield as his equipment for the exercise.
The difference was, he actually knew how to handle it. He was also lucky to have gotten the last slot so he was able to observe his classmates, specifically with how they applied what they had learned in actual combat.
ROARRR!
Honda's eyes were sharp, blocking the beast's attack with his shield. He then pushed back. The monster staggered back and he quickly used this time to stab at the monster, making it bleed. This was a technique called shield bash, taught in school.
There were plenty of techniques taught there that were not system skills. To be honest, he realized that he and the other aborigines were really dependent on system skills when they should not be.
In Alterra, he learned that there were plenty of things one could do on their own, without having to wait for 'gifts' from the mysterious system.
Anyway, with this in mind, Honda was determined to try out all the skills he had learned so far, and he was doing an excellent job.
Within ten minutes, the monster fell, and the classmates cheered.
"WHOAAA!"
"Amazing!!"
Sammy smiled and jumped down, looking at the students who remained to watch the others. "Well, this ends today's session.
"I hope you all learned a lot today, even if it was a bit scary. Growth happens the most when one overcomes tribulation and challenge.
"I want everyone to have the mindset of learning and improvement every time you fight—rather than fear and apprehension. It would make a world of difference."
And a world of difference it would make, indeed.