Chapter 41: Another Awakening Stone

"Based on your performance, there are 20,000 Ice Points in each of the cards. Ice Points are super valuable at the academy, so remember to always think before you buy," she explained, holding a sigh of envy in her voice.

They quickly nodded and placed the Ice Points cards in their backpacks. Seeing this, she explained, "Once classes officially begin, each of you will receive a spatial ring for free. With that, you would no longer need to carry a heavy bag when you enter dungeons."

"Do freshmen really get the chance to enter dungeons?" Jiang Zihan asked, his expression filled with curiosity.

The senior student nodded her head before saying, "Although our school doesn’t provide as many opportunities to enter the dungeon as the Royal Imperial Military Hunter Academy does, compared to other academies, what we have is more than enough. The stronger you are, the more chances you have."

Just as Jiang Zihan planned to ask more about the details, the senior suddenly leaned forward with a bright smile on her face. She winked at him, then pressed a finger to her lips, saying, "The rest you would know once class begins."

After a short conversation, they learned that her name was Chen Qiwen. She was a second-year student who had awakened as a B-Rank Hunter.

"Here is the school infirmary. Once Shen Qingyi wakes up, you could all head over to the admissions office to do a basic checkup in order to get the keys for your dorm," Chen Qiwen kindly reminded them before she left the building.

——

The moment Shen Qingyi opened her eyes, the first thing she saw was a white ceiling. She felt that her head was still a bit dizzy, and had a hard time remembering what happened before she lost consciousness.

She sat up and looked around the surroundings, and noticed that her brother was sitting right beside her, resting his head above his hand that leaned against the table.

She subconsciously reached her hand out, but seeing the dark circles beneath his eyes, her hand stopped midway. As if sensing her gaze, Shen Qingci slowly opened his eyes. The moment he realized that she was awake, he instinctively stood up straight, the chair scraping loudly against the floor.

"Big Brother—"

Before she was able to finish her sentence, Shen Qingci quickly asked, "Qingyi, how are you feeling right now? Are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?"

Shen Qingyi was stunned for a moment by his reaction before she let out a soft laugh.

"...What are you laughing at?" Shen Qingci asked with confusion.

"Nothing. It’s just that the way you are reacting right now felt exactly like the first time I met you when I was six," Shen Qingyi gently said.

Shen Qingci froze for a second before turning his head to the side. After a moment, he clenched his fist. "I promised that I was gonna protect you at that time, but I didn’t keep the promise," he said in a low voice.

Shen Qingyi knew that he was still stuck in the past memories, but she did not want him to recall those scenes anymore. So she changed the topic and asked, "Brother, where are we right now?"

"This is my dorm, in District 1," Shen Qingci answered as he organized the information that Chen Qiwen had shared with them. "Based on what she said, the dorms are divided into five districts based on the academy’s entrance exam score. The higher the score, the closer your district is to the front."

Shen Qingyi blinked her eyes. She tilted her head, suddenly recalling something, and asked, "But... I remember that your entrance exam score wasn’t very high. Why would you be living in District 1?"

"...That’s because District 1 is only for students who have self-awakened. As long as the freshmen had self-awakened, they would be automatically arranged to District 1."

"District 1 sits at the heart of the Interstellar Ice Hunting Academy, and the closer one is to the center, the higher the concentration of magical energy is. You could even say that it’s the academy’s way of allocating resources to those with higher potential," Shen Qingci explained with a calm voice, which Shen Qingyi was unable to understand what he was thinking.

Shen Qingyi gently nodded her head as she was still lost in her thoughts. She looked around and somehow felt that something was missing. Then, as if she suddenly recalled something, she quickly asked, "Where are Zihan and Shiyan?!"

As for where Jiang Zihan and Mo Shiyan had gone, the story starts from the moment they had just brought Shen Qingyi over to the school infirmary.

After the school doctor had confirmed that Shen Qingyi was just too tired and would wake up after getting some rest, all of them let out a sigh of relief.

Shen Qingci looked toward them and said, "I’ll stay here and look after Qingyi. The two of you should head over to the admissions office in order to pick up your dorm keys. Don’t forget that class will be starting on Monday."

Although they were still concerned, they could see that Shen Qingci had already made his decision. They did not say much before leaving toward the admissions office. The teacher took a quick look at their student records before frowning a little. "It seems like both of you have not yet gone to the Hunter Center to test your rankings..."

After hesitating for a while, the teacher finally said, "Follow behind." Then she led them down the hallway on the left side toward a door by the end of the hallway. After she opened the door, they noticed that the room was basically empty except that there was an Awakening Stone in the middle.

However, that Awakening Stone was much different than the one Jiang Zihan had seen before. It was floating in mid-air, being almost three times larger than the size of a normal Awakening Stone, with specks of light flowing around it.