Aston settled into the dorm room's sturdy chair, the soft glow of the spirit conduit casting gentle light over the desk. He pulled out his device and opened the file Instructor Oscar had sent.

Lines of text scrolled up the screen, neatly formatted into headers and collapsible sections. At the top, bold and underlined:

Welcome to the Scouting Arts Division — Student Orientation Packet

Prepared by: The Scouting Arts Division Faculty

—

Academy Rules and Guidelines

Respect the Chain of Command: Instructors, professors, and elders outrank students in all official matters. Disobedience or disrespect in missions or classes may result in AP fines or punishment.

Combat Outside Designated Zones is Prohibited: Duels, tests, and sparring must only take place in approved areas. Unauthorized battles are punishable.

Spirit Beast Care Is Your Responsibility: Mishandling, neglecting, or abusing your or others' spirit beast companions is a serious offense and will be dealt with accordingly.

Free Student Policy: Classes are optional. However, to pass each course, students must meet minimum performance standards and pass the final assessments.

Exploration Boundaries: Some areas of the academy are off-limits to students without permission or a certain rank. Violations can lead to suspension.

Academy Points (AP) Are Everything: Your meals, housing, upgrades, materials, and privileges are all purchased or unlocked using AP.

Missions Are Ranked: You are not permitted to accept missions above your rank unless explicitly approved.

Cheating, Plagiarism, and Forgery Will Be Punished: Offenders risk having their AP frozen or deducted.

The Academy Is Not Responsible For Your Choices: You are treated as semi-independent contractors. Make your own path, but be ready to face the consequences.

—

He scrolled further down to the next section, eyes narrowing as a graph loaded in the screen.

—

About Academy Points (AP)

AP is the official currency of Dawn Crest Academy. Both students and faculty rely on it for daily life and advancement.

Monthly Maintenance Cost

Covers basic accommodation, three meals per day, and access to standard training facilities. Nonpayment results in service suspension.

Basic tier maintenance costs 30 AP per month.

Includes: standard meals, housing, basic training facilities.

Advanced tier maintenance costs 90 AP per month.

Includes: everything from the Basic tier, plus:

Upgraded housing: Private room with personal study space, improved furnishings, and integrated spirit energy conduits for faster recovery and meditation.

Enhanced meals: Access to advanced menu with spirit-nutrient-enhanced meals, in a buffet style, which improves stamina and recovery marginally over time.

Priority access to facilities: early access windows and extended hours for standard training facilities.

Tier 2 library access: includes access to some restricted data, books, and scrolls normally inaccessible to first-years.

Spirit beast lounge access: a shared environment where students can safely let spirit beasts rest, train, or socialize. Higher-tiered beast-care services included.

One free mission transfer per month: allows replacement or rerolling of one assigned mission.

Workshop access: permission to use intermediate-tier alchemy, enchantment, or engineering workstations (if the division allows).

Minor monthly AP subsidy quests: additional board with exclusive low-risk, low-reward missions only accessible to Advanced tier or higher.

Elite tier maintenance costs 150 AP per month.

Includes: everything from the Advanced tier, plus:

Premium housing: spacious private suite with personal hot spring bath, personal training space, and custom spirit-channeling enhancements.

Tailor-made meals: Spirit-enhanced gourmet dining tailored to the students' and their companions' bodies with occasional access to rare spiritual ingredients.

Exclusive training grounds: access to restricted training zones (e.g., gravity fields, elemental chambers, shadow halls, etc.)

Tier 3 library access: Access to high–tier spirit arts, advanced theory scrolls, and records of high-ranking graduates and historical battles.

Fast track healing and support access: emergency healing priority and schedules rejuvenation treatments to keep students in top shape.

Elite transport service: Use of sky trams between academy campuses or sectors to reduce downtime between tasks or training.

Mission priority and bonuses: higher mission payout rate (+5% bonus) and first access to limited-slot missions.

Monthly personalized training session: one-on-one with an instructor or professor to work on skills or evaluate progress.

Custom spirit gear forge access: right to request custom gear to be crafted by the academy once per season (raw materials not included).

Beast bonding chamber access: enhanced environment to synchronize with spirit beasts, level up links, or awaken rare traits faster.

New First-Year Bonus: 60 AP. One-time grant at the start of the year. This buffer is meant to help you acclimate. After two months, you're on your own.

How to Earn AP:

Completing academy-sanctioned missions

Trading goods, resources, or spirit beast services

Crafting potions, gear, or constructs

Assisting professors, instructors, researchers, or elders

Participating in arena and academy events

Discovering new territories or submitting reports

Winning in tournament duels

Gaining commendations or acknowledgements from faculty

Traded with other students

Faculty AP System: Faculty are also required to maintain their AP for research funding, housing, and more. They earn AP by:

Teaching and mentoring students

Publishing research or discoveries

Leading successful missions

Developing curriculum or technology

—

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Aston blinked, absorbing it all.

So… nothing here is free. Not even the instructors…

He leaned back in the chair, lips tugging into a faint smile.

It wasn't just a school. It was a living system. A working city. And now, he was part of its ecosystem.

A soft flutter drew his gaze as Mirage perched on the windowsill, watching the last streaks of twilight fade into evening. Gray let out a low rumble from the corner of the bed.

"I'll be depending on you both to earn academy points."

Mirage tilted its head while Gray meowed approvingly.

Sixty points, huh? Let's make them last.

Aston sat forward again and tapped the file once more, diving deeper into the specific missions and campus opportunities. If he was going to survive here, he couldn't afford to just drift along the current.

As the dusk neared, Aston, quite tired from the travels, surrendered himself to sleep.

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