+-----+
Damien Seymour: Class Qi
+-----+
"Class Qi, huh?"
It looks like I got my wish. In total, the school only has 4 classes for each grade. Each class only had 40 students. That's how it is every year.
These 4 classes were named after the 4 principles of balance, which include Yin, Yang, Wu Wei, and Qi.
Students weren't grouped based on strength, but the school made sure there was a balance in strength for each class. Each class was given their own powerhouse to keep the balance.
Class Qi was given the protagonist.
The elf princess, on the other hand, was placed in Class Yin. While for Class Yang, the leader and main powerhouse was actually the rival of the MC. Not only that, but he was the son of the rank 2 guild master, while the MC is the son of the ranked 1 guild master.
It was safe to say that these two were born to be rivals. As for Class Wu Wei, the main powerhouse was a girl from seemingly no background. She was from a single-mother household where her mother was very sickly. Her mother died just before she entered the academy.
That is why her performance on the entrance exam shocked everyone. She was a beauty, and on top of that, she was powerful and managed to rank 4th in the entire first year batch. She appeared seemingly out of nowhere and shocked everyone's expectations.
Of course, this girl was a demon. I admit she was one of the more competent demons in the academy, but she wasn't far off from the others. By far, her most redeemable quality was her good looks and her ability. Her demonic skill gives me a headache just thinking about it.
I took another look at my watch, and there it was: rank 137. One of the only things that bothered me about this ranking was that it was fairly accurate. The MC and the others were leagues above me.
The protagonist's father began his brutal training when he was only 5 years old. By the time he was 10 years old, he had already had dungeon experience.
How many monsters have I killed since coming here?
How many humans?
The answer was zero.
I didn't even know how to fight properly. I wasn't a natural at it. If Lilith decided to come after me right now, I would be helpless against her.
But what all this meant was that I had to train myself diligently until I got to their level. This was the purpose of this academy after all: to train its students. That was my goal for now: to advance from a third-rate demon into someone who could be considered a threat. That thought lingered on my mind as I slowly drifted asleep.
…
The next morning, as I arrived outside the classroom, I took another glance at the labeling above the door before entering inside.
'Class Qi'
Seeing that I was in the right place, I took my first step inside the classroom. The room was filled with light chatter as the students got acquainted with each other. I didn't look at anyone in particular and instead adjusted my glasses and lowered my head before striding forward.
My aim was the seat at the back of the classroom next to the window. This was where the MC sat. This was where all the MCs sat. Perhaps I was feeling petty, or maybe the seat spoke to me, but the moment I saw that the seat was empty, I couldn't fight the urge and plopped my bag down on the desk.
As I took my comfortable seat by the window, I glanced around at the faces of the students in the classroom. Some of them I recognized, while others I didn't have a clue who they were.
I had already set my goal for the day. My goal was to make friends.
Soon, due to the actions of a group of idiotic demons, the school will be made aware that demons had infiltrated the student body. This will naturally spark a manhunt.
If I was the student that sat alone and ate his lunch with no friends, then naturally I would be one of the prime suspects to be a demon.
The demons that weren't very smart were the ones that ostracized themselves from the rest of the school population. If I wanted to make sure it was less likely for me to be found out, then I needed to merge with them. The best way to do that was to make friends.
I already had my target. I compiled a list of students who it was possible for me to befriend, and then I selected the two best candidates.
To my right and sitting at the front of the classroom was a chunky-looking boy. He wasn't quite obese, but he wasn't slim either. Simply put, he was on the chubby side. His hair was combed backwards, and he had quite the round stomach hiding beneath his desk.
This boy was Theodore. Just like me in my past life, Theodore was an avid gamer. He was what you refer to as an otaku. Even now, he had a handheld gaming device underneath his desk, tapping it as if his life depended on it. This was part of the reason why I selected him out of all the others. It was because we shared similar interests. It would be easy for me to make friends with him.
The next candidate was also to my right, except he sat at the center of the classroom. When it came to appearance, I would say he was average or maybe a little below average. He had a slim build, and when it came to height, he was on the shorter side.
This was Oliver. He sat in a daze, his mouth slightly opened as he gawked at a group of female students chatting in a group. Oliver watched the group of female students almost like a hawk before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a small bottle of spray.
After pumping it in his mouth twice, he stood from his seat and slicked his messy brown hair backwards.
After putting on a smile that was borderline creepy, he began striding towards the girls. Every step caused heads to turn in his direction but still, he paid them no mind and walked towards the girls like a man on a mission.
Some of the girls began to frown, others looked at him blankly, while a few started to take a step back.
'It was definitely because of the creepy smile.'
"What's up, ladies? I couldn't help but notice the group of you talking," Oliver said, trying to casually lean on a desk only to fail and almost fall flat on his face. Two of the girls covered their mouths and began chuckling to themselves while the others only side-eyed him.
Oliver let out a small chuckle of his own and continued speaking as if nothing happened.
"My name is Oliver, by the way, if any of you were wondering. You could say I'm a bit of a celebrity," Oliver said, trying to sound casual.
For some reason, he still maintained that creepy smile.
"A celebrity?" one of the girls said, raising an eyebrow doubtfully.
Oliver smiled proudly and puffed out his chest.
"Yes, I've actually had to turn down offers from several top guilds, no big deal. It's all a bit bothersome since they all know I'm already going to inherit my family's top guild. You know, I'm actually in the market for a girlfriend, so if any of you lovely ladies would like to shoot your shot, then…"
"What guild does your family own?"
Oliver was interrupted by one of the girls who folded her arms and regarded him coldly.
"I… umm… I don't think you'll know it unless you follow guilds and stuff," Oliver sputtered out.
"Then I'll look it up," the girl said, taking out her phone.
Seeing that he was caught in a lie, Oliver began to backpedal, but the girls had already turned their backs on him as if he wasn't even worth their time.
Most of the students who witnessed the event tried to stifle their laughter. Oliver glanced around at their grinning faces before putting on a smile of his own as if nothing happened.
He walked back to his desk and took his seat, and far from what you would think, his gaze had already turned to another group of girls.
I shook my head and sighed. This pathetic creature would soon be my cover. Both he and Theodore.
Just then, a wave of whispers washed over the room, forcing me to pry my attention away from Oliver.
I immediately turned my attention to the entrance of the classroom, and what I saw interested me deeply.
It's him.
characters*