'...Father?'

Van could help but squint his eyes as he saw the black flame suddenly turn into the form of his father.

​​

This… why is my father here!? Why can't he just leave me alo--

Van took a deep breath before his anxiety could completely take over him. He closed his eyes and took 3 more deep breaths before finally closing his eyes.

[Souls Collected: 1]

'Could this be… my father's soul?'

One of his Passive Skills. [Collector of Souls], did say that he was able to send 'Souls' to the afterlife. Is this what it meant by that?

'Was I… able to collect my father's soul when he was killed by the harpy?', Van thought.

He still has not fully understood his skills yet and he didn't know how they worked. Hopefully, he will be able to learn about his System more throughout his stay in the academy. There's also the fact that he needed to learn how to read as he was sure some of the details of his skills were still hidden from him.

If this really is his father's soul, then does that mean he still hasn't fully moved on yet and was stuck in their world?

Van quietly hummed as he slowly pointed at the black flame to see if something was going to happen.

And as soon as he did that, another window appeared in front of him containing 3 options.

[Please choose where to send the Dark Soul:

The Fields of Punishment | Asphodel Meadows | Elysium ]

Van furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. He then tried clicking at one of the three options.

[Send the Dark Soul to the Fields of Punishment?

Yes | No ]

Visions of his father being tortured and flayed were sent to his mind. Screaming in pain as he was stuck in an endless land made of fire and lava.

Was his father's soul… going to be tormented like this if he sends him here? Van could not help but take a gulp as he once again replayed the vision in his mind.

And then again. And again, replaying it until a small smile started to slowly creep on his face. His hands trembled as his finger slowly made its way towards the word [Yes].

But before he could do so, he was disrupted by the voice of the one speaking on the stage, completely waking him up from his stupor.

"The thing you see before you is the reason you are here right now", the bald man, presumably the Headmaster, continued his speech as he started walking on stage, "That is the proof that you, the new bright students of the NYSA, are officially a System Holder"

"Those words now define who you are, and who you will be in the coming years. You are your System, and the System is you. It is not just some power you hold, it is your identity!", the voice of the Headmaster started to become fuller and more passionate.

"So you should never share any details of your skills, for you may never know who you can trust. But what we can promise you in NYSA is that you, our beloved students, can trust us. If there is one person that you may share your skills with, it is us, your instructors. Trust us to hone your skills…

...trust us to help you become the person that you want to become!", the Headmaster closed his fist in the air as he looked towards the students, his eyes full of fire and fervor.

All of the freshmen could not help but start clapping fervently as the words of the Headmaster pierced their hearts.

'Don't share details too much?', Van was the only one that wasn't clapping as he thought of Sarah, the woman from the Explorer's association, 'Is that why she didn't ask too much about my System?'

The Headmaster's speech continued on for about another 30 minutes before he concluded his speech and stepped down off the stage.

The freshmen once again clapped their hands in the air, their whispers and murmurs full of excitement. Van, however, was staring at the girl that was crying beside her.

"Is… something wrong, Beatrice?", Van said in a soft tone. He was going to touch Beatrice's shoulders to comfort her, but he hesitated in doing so.

"N...no", Beatrice quickly shook her head, "The Headmaster's words just touched me and inspired me to do my best", she said as she lifted up her glasses and wiped her tears.

"I... see", Van could not help but twitch his eyes and slightly release an awkward chuckle. Truly, if the Headmaster did his speech before Van unlocked his System, then he would also surely be moved.

But he had already tasted first hand how cruel the students of the academy can be. This… will be a journey full of hardships.

As the student's cheering continued, another individual walked up to the center of the stage, a woman.

"Settle down, children", she said. Unlike the Headmaster, whose words directly entered the student's ears, the woman had to use a round looking tool to raise the volume of his voice.

'Is that… a Portal Artifact?', Van squinted his eyes to see it clearly.

"I am here to orient you on the most basic of knowledge that you would need to know about your System", the woman continued, "First, the type of System you may have. There are different kinds of Systems, but they all primarily fall into 4 categories…"

The Mage-type System. People who are able to summon the elements using their will, those who can heal even the most fatal of wounds with their skills, they were all in this category.

There were also rumors that some Mage-type System Holders can summon the undead, but until now, no one has stepped in to take credit.

The Enhancer-type System, like the name suggests, enhances the capabilities of the System Holder, be it speed or strength. This is perhaps the most common type of System, but it is far from being weak. The highest-ranked Explorer in the whole world is an Enhancer-type, and he is rumored to be able to destroy mountains with his fists.

The Evolution System, which allows the Holder to transform or evolve into beings from the Portal and harness their power. Be it werewolves, centaurs, titans, vampires, or even gigantic humanoid insects. A straight forward system that shows you your potential from the beginning.

And lastly, were Unique Systems. To put it bluntly, these were the Systems that can't be categorized in any of the 3 systems. They are also the most dangerous ones due to the unpredictability of their skills.

Most of the students already know this, except for Van as he held his head with his fingers, trying to memorize each and every word that the woman was saying.

"Now, we are requiring you to figure out your System type before the weekends so we can place you to your designated extracurricular classes as soon as possible", the woman took a huge breath as she paused, obviously tired from talking non-stop.

"They are easy to figure out...", the woman sighed as she continued talking, "Just study the skills you have right now and you will be able to learn what type your System belongs to… and lastly, this--"

The woman raised her hand, holding a tiny shiny crystal in the air.

"!!!"

Van's eyes shone as soon as he saw the crystal on the woman's hand. Finally, something that didn't need to be introduced to him.

It was a Portal Crystal or just crystal for short. One can get them from the corpses of the creatures from the Portal. System Holders are able to level up by absorbing its essence.

But most importantly… They sell for a high price. Van could not help but let out a smile as his eyes glittered just by looking at the crystal.

"If you do well in the academy and show promise… scouts from different Explorer companies might gift you a crystal"

"!!!", Van's eyes widened in shock as soon as he heard this.

"Did you hear that!?"

"S...so there's a chance that we will be of a high level even before graduating from the academy!?"

"You guys seriously don't know that?"

Various shouts and whispers filled the air as the students started to clamor.

Van, however, was only thinking of one thing...

'Could I… could I also sell them even if it was given to me as a gift!?'