Though Bennet's unit was the only one to audibly groan they most definitely were not the only ones to dread the assignment, as simple as it seemed. Jien's teammates had, up to this point, escaped the responsibility of completing assignments outside of the classroom. While everyone had expected this to happen eventually most did not expect it to be on such a broad topic.
This topic in general was not really covered in their textbooks meaning that even if they were starting them here in this lecture hall they would be unlikely to finish without other resources, likely from the library. Even then there was only so much known about the other races. Human's may have tried to learn more about them but just like they themselves would hide a great number of secrets so to would the others.
This left varying generic topics to cover unless they were to personally think of something revolutionary. Knowing that staying here would not help him make headway in this project Jien raised his hand. The professor shifted his gaze across the row of students, sending shivers up their spines until his gaze was firmly centered on Jien. "What is your question?" he asked, voice cool but lacking some of the edge his speech had carried.
Jien lowered his hand before asking, "Are we required to stay until the end of the lesson to work on this assignment or could we leave to find study materials?" The words were calm but even Jien struggled under the intensity of his professor's eyes. The man shifted his gaze away before responding. "You may leave if you wish. I will remain here for the rest of the course to answer questions but if you feel you can find what you need elsewhere you are welcome to search on your own."
With that answer everyone seemed to shift in their seats preparing to leave. Jien's unit members were following his lead, feeling they could work better elsewhere. Bennet and his members seemed to simply want to escape from the classroom, proven by the fact that they had already made it through the door by the time Jien and the rest had packed their bags and started heading in that direction.
Rebecca and Carmichael instead kept pace with Jien hoping to be able to pick his brain for ideas. A fair number of the different members had different ideas on what concepts they would focus on but understanding how to repurpose those concepts was a completely different issue. Even if you took something as 'simple' as a standard weapon from the dwarves and wished to repurpose the techniques to form it you would need to have some basic understanding of the principles behind the techniques themselves.
If one wanted to simplify the assignment they could take an object and discuss how to repurpose it, such as taking an ax and repurposing it as a pan for cooking. They all knew that this was not what their professor was looking for though. Even Bennet wasn't intending to get that to pass despite how badly he seemed to want to skate by.
This ultimately led everyone to the library in a decent sized crowd. They were chatting casually as they climbed the stairs but stopped as they reached the entrance. They knew that those who watched over the library would not tolerate any ruckus, especially after having witnessed or at least heard stories of several new students being thrown out for excessive noise, often with a temporary ban on admission or some other minor punishment.
As they reached the entrance the same deathly quiet as the first time seemed to form a barrier between the tall door frame. Jien nodded to the other two units and their leaders before heading in without any hesitation in his step. They may have been here for less than two weeks but he had been back and forth from the library on an almost daily basis. There was so much to learn here and the silence was perfect for focus, once you got used to the sheer intensity of it.
As Jien entered the library he already had an idea for his own paper in mind. He was going to try and follow the lead that had piqued his interest earlier. If the elves could cast spells communally then what could possibly stop humans from doing so if they put their minds to it. He needed to understand the method used by the elves to further the concept.
With this in mind Jien split off from his own group, already having an idea where the information he needed may be stored. He walked through the maze of shelves until he found one of many bronze spiral staircases hidden within the shelves and reaching up to the floors above. He would only be able to go up a single floor being a first year but having already spent a fair amount of free time trying to map the depths of the building he knew that the section regarding the studies of the different races wasn't far from this particular staircase in the floor above.
Julie was the quickest to keep up with him. She knew nothing of the layout beyond their first foray into the library just after they had first met. Unlike Jien she felt the silence here was eerie and wanted very little to do with this stuffy place. That being said she took assignments seriously. Though not a bookworm like Jien she would complete her work to the best of her ability.
At times she would even go out of her way to ask for assistance in her studies despite not wanting to. She had already decided that the concept she wanted to focus on was the fighting style of the beastkin. She had never seen one but just the description of their strength excited her. She hoped that there would be some book or guide that would dig into the topic.
Perhaps if she worked out the moves herself she could find something interesting to use in her own fights.