NOVPUB"Alright, we've gone over the basic composition identification of pelts, but who would like to tell me the most efficient way of tanning, say, a Grade-4 Wolfhide?" The First Year Processing Professor, a portly balding man in his late 50s, asked in a boring tone.
'Tossing cost out the window, the fastest is using Energia Crystal brine, one Grade higher than the pelt, mix it with three parts brain solution, from the creature, two parts calcium, one part Root of hardening, grade-3 or lower, and then six portions of Energia Crystal brine.'
Sitting in the far back corner of the scaled theater-style lecture hall, Aoni lazily thought of the answer, while several students raised their hands and began spewing answers far less accurate than his own.
Of course, the answer chosen wasn't even remotely close to the fastest method. Instead, they all went toward the more cost-effective method of tanning. If it weren't for the abundance of resources harvestable in his territory, Aoni wouldn't have bothered considering his method either.
Yet, for that very reason, cost didn't really matter to him, not when all that stuff was free so long as it was found by the top-tier sniffer of his doggo squad.
Yep…he named the wolf pack Doggo Squad.
'Sigh, this is going to be the longest four years of my life, even if Professor Chrome Dome over there is a Green-Card, I doubt he could teach me a single thing.'
'Then again, if I weren't me, I probably would be just as entranced by his words as the rest of the class.' Aoni mused while staying low-key and practically hiding from everyone.
It was only the second day of classes, and Aoni was already at wits' end when it came to attending this travesty of a college.
'Let alone finding a girlfriend to stop the annoying spam texts from Mom, I doubt I could even make any lasting friendships here, everyone is just so…average, no that's not the right way of thinking about things, it's not their fault they haven't come up against real challenges.'
| The Host's mentality is a bit skewed, and they shouldn't attempt to compare themselves with their peers. However, the Host's thoughts are correct when it comes to the innocence of those surrounding him |
'Sigh, the life of a Supreme Seed is bound to be lonely…well, at least I have you, AN, that brings me some solace.'
| … |
| Again, the Host uses this term "Supreme Seed" as if it is the end-all be-all of power stages…the Host should always be aiming beyond known limits, for they are treading the path of Progression |
'Yeah-yeah, you sound like a cult leader, OH, that's an idea, Attribute Notice, make a mental note to start up the cult of Floof when I have some free time,'
| The Host should pay more attention to important topics, like how the Professor is calling on them |
'Huh? Oh shit, how many times did he call on me?'
| Three times your name has been said, and roughly 80% of your classmates now view the Host as a lost cause |
"Aoni Thurston, since you seem to be lacking sleep, that must mean that you've stayed up all night studying. That being said, how about you grace the class with your answer?"
"Which type of Efficiency?" Without looking up and keeping his head down on the table since he could still see his AN, Aoni rebutted, causing some of the more confident students to scoff while others gave him a strange look.
"Answering a question with another, interesting, well, since several of your studious peers have given me the cost-effective version, how about the time-effective variant?" Contrary to what you'd expect from an Illustrious Professor from a Snooty College, Professor Langston wasn't really picking on Aoni, if anything, since he already knew all his students' information, he was quite impressed by Aoni's scores.
However, that didn't mean he would allow a decent seed from wasting away their talents by sleeping during his lectures.
"If we take cost out of the equation, Energia Crystal brine takes a fraction of the time to settle the hide, roughly an hour or two versus days of sitting in a solution."
"Oh, good answer, and the proper formula for such a brine?" Langston shot back with raised eyebrows due to not expecting a 16-year-old first year to know this method.
"Grind up one Grade-5 Energia Crystal, which is a single Grade higher than the pelt, mix it with three parts brain solution, from the creature, two parts calcium, one part Root of hardening, Grade-3 or lower, and then six portions of lower-grade Energia Crystal brine." Lifting his head slightly and ignoring the mixture of glares and strange looks, Aoni allowed the combination of his hood and long bangs to cover his face while speaking.
"Very good, I will add 100 Score Credits to your Account for the elaborate answer."
"Thanks, Prof," allowing his head to fall back onto the table with a soft thud, Aoni went back to playing dead and wishing he were invisible.
Score Credits were a basic currency only usable at EFU. With them, you could pay for just about anything, from food to flume access. But since he was a Scholarship student, he already had a monthly budget to begin with, so these 100 SC wouldn't really do much for him in the long run.
If there was one thing he didn't lack right now, it was Money, and with that being the case, purchasing anything he wanted within reason from outside the University was entirely possible.
While those he couldn't buy, for the most part, he could just make.
In all honesty, the only use he had for Score Credits was to either pay for CLEP tests, which allow you to pass an Entire Course by taking a test, or use the EFU Flumes.
'Unfortunately, I am trying to fly under the radar, or else I could CLEP my way through every class.' Aoni thought while wishing time would speed up so he could get on to the next lecture.
