Instructor Veliana’s voice carried across the lecture hall, reaching even the students seated along the farthest tiers once again.

"I will remind you again. The start of the expedition will be in the second week of February. Between now and then, lectures will proceed as usual, but some adjustments have already been planned by your instructors."

Her eyes moved slowly across the hall, stopping briefly on a cluster of students who had begun whispering among themselves.

"If that arrangement feels inconvenient to some of you, then it would be wise to start getting used to that inconvenience now."

"The moment you graduate, and step outside the academy grounds or begin working in the field, you will quickly realize that the world outside does not rearrange itself to suit your schedule."

"You will often find yourself preparing for one responsibility while already dealing with two others at the same time. Learning how to handle several responsibilities at once is one of the abilities the academy expects you to develop here."

She clasped her hands lightly behind her back.

"Also, the three weeks you have been given are not meant as a comfortable waiting period. They exist for a clear purpose, and I suggest that each of you uses that time properly."

"In three weeks, you will depart for Vazrun Isle with four other scholars whose names were assigned to you earlier. Whether you already know those people or have never spoken to them before is not especially important."

Her gaze shifted toward the squad lists still displayed on the manaboard.

"What matters is that the five of you will be working as a single team once the examination begins. During the expedition, you will travel together, manage your supplies together, and deal with whatever problems appear together. If one member of the group struggles, the entire squad will feel the consequences."

Several students had already begun glancing toward the others whose names appeared beside their own.

Veliana allowed those quiet exchanges to continue for a moment before she spoke again.

"For the past several weeks, many of you have become used to working mostly with scholars from your own class ranking. And some with your Circle members. That is a natural result of how the academy is organized, since most of your daily lessons place you beside the same group of students."

"However, that arrangement only exists to make instruction easier during the early part of your education. It was never meant to become a permanent habit."

"Outside this academy, there is no system that guarantees the person beside you belongs to the same level of ability. Sometimes you will work with individuals who are much stronger than you."

"At other times, you may find yourself relying on someone whose abilities are far below what you expected. In both cases, the result depends on how well you can adjust to the people around you."

Her eyes narrowed slightly, not out of anger, but to make her point clearer.

"If you cannot work with people who think differently from you, who fight in ways you are not used to, or who simply come from different backgrounds than your own, then the problems you face in the field will become far more serious than anything the environment itself presents."

"Every year, we see a number of scholars who underestimate that reality. They assume that natural talent will carry them through any situation. Some believe that if they perform well enough on their own, the weaknesses of their teammates will no longer matter."

She continued calmly.

"However, experience has shown us that such thinking tends to fall apart very quickly once those scholars face real danger."

"That is why the three weeks ahead of you should not be spent simply talking about the expedition in general terms. Please, use that time to learn who your teammates are, understand their abilities, and consider how your own strengths might work alongside theirs."

She allowed a brief pause before finishing the thought.

"A squad that understands itself before the expedition begins will handle unexpected situations far more effectively than one that spends the first several days arguing about how to work together."

"If you approach this preparation period with patience and a practical mindset, you may find that working with unfamiliar people is not as troublesome as it first seems."

"In fact, many scholars eventually discover that the individuals they once overlooked become the very people they rely on the most when situations grow difficult."

Veliana let out a dejected sigh.

"Anyway, three weeks may feel like plenty of time from where you are sitting now. I assure you that it will pass much faster than most of you expect."

"For that reason, I suggest that each of you begin preparing sooner rather than later. Speak with your squad members, and review the equipment guidelines once they are provided."

"As for additional information, the examination itself will last ten days."

She adjusted her posture slightly beside the manaboard. "However, the full operational briefing for this expedition will not be given today. It will instead be delivered during the voyage to Vazrun Isle."

A few students exchanged confused glances.

"Aw, why can’t they just tell us immediately."

"Yeah, what’s the big deal of that anyway."

Veliana noticed the reaction and immediately responded.

"Silence!"

"This arrangement has already been decided. Over the years, the academy has learned that giving every detail too early often leads to unnecessary speculation. We have no intention of allowing that problem to repeat itself."

She continued calmly.

"By delivering the final briefing during the voyage, the academy ensures that the tests are to be confidential." 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

Her gaze moved across the hall again.

"Until that moment arrives, your responsibilities remain unchanged. You will continue attending your regular classes just as you have done since the beginning of the term."

A faint sigh escaped somewhere near the back rows.

Veliana ignored it without even turning her head.

"From your perspective, the most sensible approach is simply to remain attentive to the information posted by the academy."

Veliana gave a small nod.

"That concludes the announcement for today."

"You are dismissed."

For a moment the hall remained still, as though the scholars needed a second to process the sudden end of the briefing.

Then chairs began to shift, voices rose into conversation, and the quiet discipline of the assembly dissolved into a restless wave of movement as scholars returned to their respective classes.

Ruvian pushed himself up from the bench and joined the slow tide of students funneling out of the hall.

The Vazrun Island arc has always been known as the starting point of chaos...

And Ruvian had planned to take full advantage of that.

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[Chapter 122: Where Comfort Ends (2)]