CHAPTER 42: CHOOSING DEPARTMENTS

Throughout the week, I did what I set out to do.

I attended the various classes within each Department and got myself familiar with all the courses. Doing so has made me quickly realize that all of these courses—Compulsory and Electives—have their unique flavors, but still share a common theme with the Department that they are under.

Also, all compulsory courses are referred to as Core Courses.

From Monday to Sunday, the seven Departments have respective days in which they host classes.

On Monday, the Department of Administration & Statecraft holds all of its courses. It has a total of five Core Courses and three Elective Courses.

Fundamentals of Bureaucracy... Principles of Governance... Royal Decrees & Legislative History... Diplomacy and Treaty Law... Ethical Governance...

In that order, the Core Courses are the first to be held in the day.

The three Electives—Foreign Kingdom Studies, Trade & Economic Management, and Law and Ethics in Leadership are only held after.

Since it is such a political Department, I initially thought it would be boring.

However, the introductory lessons to each course actually piqued my interest. Perhaps it’s because I was the Head of the Aditi Household in my past life, but I didn’t find it as difficult as I initially expected.

Once I was done for the day, I was sure that I would be entering this department.

On Tuesday, it’s the turn of the Department of Etiquette & Noble Arts.

Honestly, what a boring department!

It has a total of five Core Courses too: Noble Etiquette & Decorum, Ballroom Conduct and Dance, History of Royal Lineages, Heraldry and Crest Design, and The Philosophy of Nobility.

However, unlike with the first Department, these courses did not pique my interest at all.

They were frankly chores to get through.

I believe the Academy knows this, which is why it made this a compulsory Department for all students in the Royal Academy.

How unfair!

It also has three Elective Courses: Music and Composition, Poetic Recitation and Classical Literature, and Royal Fashion & Presentation.

Initially, due to my bad experience with the Core Courses, I decided not to give them a try. But I decided to simply follow through with my intention at the start of the week and check all of them out. What did I find out?

They were all boring slogs—well, except one.

I particularly found the Poetic Recitation and Classical Literature to be quite an interesting experience, but it was mostly due to the lecturer involved.

Since I’m stuck taking the courses in this Department anyway, I might as well go for that Elective.

Needless to say, my Tuesday wasn’t the best experience.

But, I didn’t let it get to me.

After all, I held strong expectations towards the third day, Wednesday, when we would be taking courses from the Department of History & Academia.

Ever since the time I began studying for the Entrance Exams for this Royal Academy, I brushed up on my history and found an ignited love for such literature. I now possess a strong interest in Academia, and it really shows in my approach to many topics.

As such, attending classes on the third day—while not as familiar as the first Department—was far more bearable than whatever Tuesday showed me.

I ended up having a good time; enough to truly desire joining this Department.

It has four Core Courses: Continental History of Eariel, Historical Movements and Revolutions, Mythology and Heroic Records, and Introduction to Magivore Studies.

As for Electives, there are only three: Archaeology and Anthropology, Ancient Scripts and Lost Languages, and finally... Foundations of Logic and Critical Thought.

Honestly, all of them grabbed my attention in some way. It reached a point where I began to get greedy and desired to take them all. Of course, I couldn’t make that decision on the spot, especially when I still hadn’t even completed half of the week yet.

As such, I patiently went through the rest of the days while checking out the Departments.

The Department of Sciences and Natural Philosophy holds its classes on Thursdays. Just as I suspected, it indeed has the least populated classes.

But, much to my surprise... it held the most interesting Courses!

At least, to me.

Its five Core Courses: Fundamentals of Natural Law, Celestial Observation and Astronomy, Basic Alchemy, Theories of Matter and Energy, and Mathematics and Quantitative Logic were all amazing experiences.

They opened my eyes to a world I never once explored before.

I was bedazzled.

There are three Elective Courses—Engineering Foundations, Experimental Sciences, Mystical Phenomena & Scientific Discourse—and each of them was so novel to me that I couldn’t help but grow a fascination with each of them.

I even watched Professor Alaric Duskryn teach, and he wasn’t bad at all.

I felt genuine passion for what he taught, and he passed the message across wonderfully.

Overall, I had the best experience!

Definitely! I was certain that I would join this Department.

Friday arrived, and it was time for the Department of Martial & Chivalric Studies

It has four Core Courses: Swordsmanship, Spear, & Mounted Combat, Chivalric Code & Ethics, Military Strategy & Battle Formation, and Mystic Augmentation in Combat. Its three Electives are Knightly History, Command & Leadership Training, and Basic Medical & Survival Skills.

I am familiar with all of them since I attended the Knight Academy in my past life.

A part of me was tempted to skip this day and rest, but I wanted to see if the classes in the Royal Academy differed from the Knight Academy.

And honestly? I was pleasantly surprised by the difference.

The Royal Academy’s classes are far more polished and have a lot of focus on depth. It also delves into more theories and the intellectual parts of combat, whereas the Knight Academy placed more emphasis on actual practice and training.

As someone seeking to expand my mind and improve my skills, while also not missing out too much on building my body, this Department is the perfect fit for me.

In fact, I would be like a fish in water if I registered for all the Courses in this Department.

It would also boost my grades quite a bit.

Naturally, I added it to the list I was considering, and I moved on to the next day.

On Saturday, we have the Department of Theology & Sacred Studies.

Honestly? The classes were fine.

The serene atmosphere of the classroom was calming, and the reverence all the students displayed added to the ambiance of the hall. I spotted the girl who kept looking at me on the first day of school in all the classes. It seems she is a Clergy Student.

She is also in my Silver Wing, which means she actually got a Scholarship as well.

However, I didn’t speak to her throughout the day.

Why?

I felt she was a little weird.

I still do.

The Theology & Sacred Studies Department has a total of four Core Courses—Comparative Theologies of Eariel, Divine Law & Clerical Code, History of the Faith Orders, and Rites, Rituals, & Invocation Theory—and two Electives—Scripture Translation and Analysis, and Applied Miracles & Liturgical Practices.

After attending all the classes, I honestly felt pretty good.

It was a therapeutic session for sure, and it also opened my eyes to the diversity of religions in our Kingdom. I am certainly not the most religious person, but I do have my faith.

It’s called Talidology, and it is also the most dominant religion in the Randalorion Kingdom.

My belief states that the Gods created mankind to dominate the Earth and will not involve themselves in the affairs of man. If a man lives a noble life and is filial to his family, ensuring he does right by his fellow man, he will be able to rest in the embrace of the Earth after death.

If not, he will be stuck as a wandering spirit and live a life alone and destitute, before slowly being eroded by the passage of time.

This religious belief influenced me a lot in my past life, and I believe it is one of the main reasons I was so filial to my parents and did everything I was told.

I didn’t want to die and become a wandering spirit.

Despite the impact it had on my life and how it affects the lives of many people, Talidology still gives a lot of agency to the people. This, I feel, contributes to the very small political sway that the Churches have in the Randalorion Kingdom.

The Theology Department explores this Religion, its various denominations, as well as other Minor Religions that exist in the Randalorion Kingdom—some of which were exported from other Kingdoms.

I had a good time learning, and I felt curiosity towards what else could be learned there.

Naturally, I barely spotted Nobles in this Department.

In fact, it seems I am one of the few who have chosen to check out all the courses for the week.

From my experience this past week, I can tell that most students only showed up for the Department they were already interested in.

After Saturday came Sunday, and it gave me my last Department for the week:

The Department of Rhetoric & Political Philosophy!

It is also a rather niche Department, but it certainly has a lot of appeal—particularly among the Nobles. With four Core Courses and two Electives, it involves a lot of theoretical exploration as well as critical analysis.

The Core Courses are Fundamentals of Debate & Persuasion, Logic, Reason, & Argumentation, Philosophy of Rule & Power, and Theories of Justice. As for the Electives, they are Public Speaking and Deception & Statecraft.

The latter was deemed an ’Advanced Course,’ and is one of the few that is strictly restricted for High Nobility. No matter the Prestige Points, no other student may join. As such, despite my Prestige Points being high enough to attend practically all of the classes... these so-called ’Advanced Courses’ were out of my reach.

The only Departments that don’t have these ’Advanced Courses’ are the Theology Department, the Chivalric Studies Department, and the Department of Natural Sciences.

Everything else seems deeply shrouded in perpetual politics.

In any case, I was able to attend all the courses except those restricted to the High Nobility.

I personally felt drawn to the Department of Rhetoric & Political Philosophy for the same reason I loved the Department of History & Academia.

The allure of new knowledge, particularly presented in such a way, keeps on fascinating me.

All in all, what a ride this has been!

My first week in the Royal Academy has been an enlightening experience for sure.

But now... I have to pick which Department I desire to join.

To be honest, they all interest me.

Well, the Department of Etiquette & Noble Arts doesn’t attract me in any way, but it is a compulsory one, so I can’t leave it out of my considerations. As for the other six, the problem lies in choosing among them.

I wish I could do all of them, but that is not possible for me.

While there is no limit to the number of Departments a student can choose, its not feasible to attend classes every single day. There’s a reason most students only go for three or four Departments.

If I overexert myself and choose too many, I’d be biting off more than I can chew.

Considering how new this environment is to me, it would be a tumultuous experience that will backfire in more ways than one.

Though I desire all of these Departments, I need at least one free day.

In the end, I have to drop one Department.

At least!

I also have to take only one or two Electives in each Department. Well, maybe I can do three in some that I have the greatest interest in...

I find myself growing greedy once again, and I have to check myself.

The choice has to be made.

I need to cut my workload as short as possible, and that starts with letting a Department go.

But which one?

It was a tough choice, but I think I have finally chosen the one to abandon.

"The Department of Theology & Sacred Studies..." I sigh to myself and shake my head once I think about the matter deeply.

In the end, it’s only curiosity and nothing more.

I lose nothing by letting it go.

Maybe I can read on it in my free time, though I doubt I’ll be having much of that since Saturday will be my only free day. And I use that ’free’ rather loosely, since I will be spending most of it studying or doing assignments.

Ahh... I can feel it already.

Life in this school will be nothing short of torture.

But—

"I am excited for some reason!" I beam brightly at myself and laugh heartily.

Who knows? I just might excel here.

I know I’m not particularly talented in the world of Academics, and I will have to work extremely hard to get the results I desire.

But so what?

One hardly needs talent for a craft that they hold a deep love for.