Gamer Reborn-Chapter 500

“It was nice of you to ensure the Nestor family got some rewards from House Berrymore.” Ajax whispered to Lexi as he waited among his family for the event to begin.

“They deserve it.” Lexi said. “We can’t have it look like we don’t give people recognition for their efforts.”

“Shhh! It's about to start.” Kate shushed both of them.

Under normal circumstances this wouldn’t happen but Kate was very excited for her son’s school entrance examination. Jake had worked really hard the last few weeks in hopes of impressing his family. He wasn’t old enough to fully understand the expectations placed on him as representing House Hearthbound but he did understand a bit.

Jake was fully focused as he stepped up into the training area. The easiest skills to assess were combat skills since a spar against a decent opponent would be enough. It was also the most interesting to watch.

Name : Jake Hearthbound

Level :7

Health: 130/130

Mana: 130/130 frёeωebɳovel.com

Stamina : 150/150

Vitality : 13

Strength : 16

Endurance : 15

Dexterity : 17

Intellect : 13

Wisdom : 14

Mind : 13

Perception : 20

Skills : [Running Lvl 5][Keen Hearing Lvl 3][Sharp Nose Lvl 2][Athleticism Lvl 2][Sense Mana Lvl 1][Knives Lvl 2][Cooperation Lvl 1]

Ajax took another look at his nephew’s stat sheet, with no privacy skill it was simple for his Legendary inspection skill to see everything. Jake was clearly above average, at the age of six his stats were already closing in on what most people had when they turned ten.

Despite feeling pride for his nephew Ajax couldn’t help but notice where the kid was lacking. With no way to actively use Mana his stats in that area were falling behind, the only reason why Wisdom was getting ahead was that they had started letting Jake play with enchanted items that could be fueled by the user so his regeneration finally had something to do.

More than just his mental stats however both Jake’s Vitality and Endurance were starting to fall behind. Vitality because everyone was rather protective of him even during training so he wouldn’t get hurt and Endurance because until recently he had no motivation to push himself.

Jake’s feline beastkin heritage might not have been all that pronounced in his features when compared to Kate but it could easily be seen in his Status. Two perception Skills as well as a Perception of twenty were clear signs of his talent.

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All in all Ajax was quite pleased by his nephew’s progress. He had a decent amount of Skills, not only that but unlike Ajax Jake also had proficiencies that weren’t reflected in his Skill list. Training that hadn’t yet manifested as Skills.

Facing off against Jake was one of the guard trainers that were teaching even back when Ajax had joined the classes. It was nostalgic for Ajax to watch as Jake tried his best with limited stats to so much as force the man to block. Wielding two knives Jake fully pressed into his strengths with his Perception and Dexterity.

The sparring match only lasted three minutes, enough for the examinee to show what they could do but barely any time at all considering the exam was to be taken over the course of two whole days. They were making it clear that combat wasn’t the focus.

A round of applause followed after Jake’s sparring match ended. With that the examination was officially underway as several more guards stepped up and seven sparring sessions were now being held at the same time.

“A good showing.” Camilla said as she approached. “Though I can’t help but feel that it was too short to evaluate certain aspects.”

All of the nobles had elected to extend their stay to watch the entrance exams once they got word that Ajax’s nephew would be taking part. Not only that but all of them were sitting close to House Hearthbound and a few of them were already making small talk with members of the family. Camilla however had remained quiet until after the spar had ended.

“We are not looking to test things that we won’t be teaching or things we’d be teaching regardless of existing aptitude.” Ajax answered. They weren’t going to test Endurance and Vitality, while it was a big part of being a combatant Endurance would be part of the training regardless and Vitality would be left as an extracurricular for the students to choose for themselves.

“I hear you are going to be splitting them into two classes?” Viscount Brightfist asked.

“Yes.” Silvia answered the question, she had gotten along very well with the Viscount when they were discussing potential trade, it helped a lot that the Viscount was receptive to their requests that security of merchants be a focus over the next few centuries as their roads started to expand over their duchy. “Children of age seven to ten will be in one class and those of age six will be in another.”

“That seems like an odd split.” Camilla mentioned curious about the choice.

“Six is the age when kids will start school moving forward.” Lexi explained. “Unfortunately for those already older they won’t get the benefit of attending for all four years and will have to make do with a more rushed schedule. Next year another class of six year olds will form and follow in the footsteps of the current one.”

“Is there a point to this examination?” Viscount Brightfist asked. “You mentioned everyone would be accepted anyway. Why put so much time and focus into it?”

“Because it will shape how the smaller classes are formed.” Ajax answered. “While it won’t be all that many now there are still some children who can already read. It’s important to separate them from those who can’t during those lessons or else they will get bored, that can also then lead to them disrupting the studies of the rest.”

“You are spending a lot of money to essentially give your commoners an inferior version of the education nobles receive as kids.I don’t see this working out well for you but I can tell you a lot of eyes will be on you.”

Ajax bit his tongue, he was about to snap back that they would be teaching the kids a lot more that the nobles didn’t study, after four years of school Ajax was sure that most of the kids in his duchy would have access to more skills than most noble kids in the capital but there was no point in making that public so soon, it would only draw more scrutiny.

The rest of the morning passed slowly as they watched all of the kids go through their sparring examination before being led away for the rest of the exams that were more individualistic and much more boring. It was near the end of the examination when one of the children drew a lot of attention.

Ajax was surprised to see a six year old throw a fireball, the guard doing the examination was even more surprised barely being able to move out of the way of the attack in time. Ajax reacted quickly using [Mana Syphon] to drain the spell in an instant before it hit any of the other children in the training area.

“Your grandson is quite something, Knight Bonehammer.” Tom’s praise clearly pleased the old Knight as he spent the next couple of minutes bragging about his grandson.

The rest of the tests continued without anything of note happening over the two days. With the end of the exams the visit of nobles also came to an end, though all of them made assurances they will return at the first occasion. Camilla in particular scheduled a follow up visit to follow up on the salamander project in a few months.

“Can you stop?” Lexi asked Ajax as the two of them walked towards their bedroom following dinner.

“Stop what?” Ajax played dumb, though he didn’t even try to keep the smile off his face.

The exams had marked the end of Ajax mandatory responsibilities. For the next few months the duchy will be going through a stabilization phase, this also meant that Ajax had the next couple of months free to focus on his training and Alchemy. The only other thing on his to-do list was the planting of the fortress tree but that was something he was very much looking forward to.

“You know what.” Lexi said as she playfully shoved her shoulder against his.

Both of them went to bed together pleased with what they had already achieved in their duchy but their focus was firmly on the future and what would come next.